Humorist/Essayist David Sedaris graced Austin with his presence last night to promote is latest collection When You are Engulfed in Flames. I stumbled upon his signing a couple weeks ago during my music shopping rounds on June 1. My brother Brian is a huge fan of David’s work so I called him then to see if he owned the new one. Obviously the answer was no but he also knew what he was receiving in the mail soon. Me? I’m a casual fan yet I do enjoy book signings, listening to the author read the work in his or her voice which gives you some insight on how it “should” flow [for example, James Ellroy reads in the same manner as a beatnik poet] and getting my face time with the writer. 
 
You’re probably now asking, “Where’s the picture then you name-dropping, windbag?” Mr. Sedaris doesn’t like having his picture taken and the Book People staff made this very, very clear before he appeared. I already saw it on the voucher when I bought it two weeks ago. I could show you the autograph yet I want to keep it a surprise for Brian, this is his belated birthday present. We did speak briefly. I told him how my brother is his biggest fan in Chicago. David smiled, offered me some candy and asked if I worked at an Apple store since I still had my badge on. No I replied, I work in the call center supporting servers. David seemed baffled over what a server was then told me about the problems he’s having with his MacBook Air. I recommended the people I know at the Domain but he was going to wait for the store in San Francisco when he had more time. Contrary to how David’s stories flow, our exchange was enjoyable. 
 
It’s a good thing I took a half-day from work too. Originally, I was going to split at noon until a long-ass call kept me chained to the phone for 90 minutes. Luck was my on side to salvage a victory. I managed to be twelfth in queue and maybe I’ve made a new friend with the lady I waited in line with; a fellow Midwesterner from the Chicago area who attended Illinois and Wisconsin! 
 
This signing was unusual. Normally, everyone waits around the second floor for several hours. The author descends the stairs because he is hiding out in a special part of the third floor. [I think there’s a secret entrance with an elevator for this too.] There’s a reading followed by some Q&A and then concludes with the signings. David’s kicked off early so he did several dozen signings to unwind, took a short break and then proceeded read. Being number 12 was awesome, just hard on finding a spot to sit afterwards. 
 
David chose to read “Of Mice and Men” to the audience, a very funny tale about a conversation starter not working out well during one of his trips to NYC. This was followed by an excerpt from his current work in progress involving animals; a modernization of Aesop’s Fables but lacking the morality as he said. It was a hilarious, mean-spirited story involving a male ladybug and how the insect kingdom shares humanity’s gender misperceptions. Think of Francis from A Bug’s Life, just more R rated in language and demeanor. David read random entries from his diary. The man makes me jealous while he impresses. He has a wit and gift for observation that amazes. Finally, the Q&A. Who would he wait in line to see for a signed book? Garrison Keillor was his first pick followed by several others, yet he was firm on Garrison. How did he feel about Strangers with Candy [the show his sister Amy starred in]? He thought it was okay, he just can’t see it the same way we do for obvious reasons. Does his family feel their privacy has been invaded by his books? No. David apologized if this answer seemed hostile though. Firstly, he said people like the questioner think they know his family yet he doesn’t tell intimate, ultra-personal details, only the amusing anecdotes involving them. Secondly, they always see what he plans to submit and can request changes or omissions. He doesn’t visit them, going, oh you wait until my next book comes out, you’ll get yours. If there was one person in the world he could torture that deserved it, who would it be? Robert Mugabe. However, he wouldn’t do anything directly, just leave him exposed for the people of Zimbabwe to have their vengeance over the dictator’s selfishness. How is the movie of Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim coming? It’s dead. He decided against it and is relieved. How did he feel about his time on The Daily Show? It was great because it was unlike all the other talk shows he’s appeared on and the producer who did the pre-interview was right, it was over before he knew it. Finally, Jon Stewart is a genuinely nice host as well as short. 
 
There was more, those are the only parts I remember well. Maybe the new friend will post and correct me on what I got wrong. I wish I remembered clearly his book recommendations, maybe they’ll be listed in next week’s Austin Chronicle; they were interviewing him upstairs. David is a very generous person with his time; he will sign everything and have a sincere chat with everyone who asks. This explained why Book People and his publicist limited the event to 500. In closing he thanked everyone for coming to see him, he was humbled by the turn out, especially in the Central Texas heat [I was in the shade most of the time, phew!]. David loves what he does too. He meets so many interesting people and learns interesting terms, namely the one nugget an airline stewardess shared; crop dusting. 
 
If David Sedaris is coming to your town on this tour, see him. He’s funnier and more mentally agile than most stand-up comics. Too late and you missed him? Then put him on your “to watch out” list so you won’t miss him next time. 
 
Meanwhile, I have to pack this unique copy of Engulfed to give my brother. I do hope he genuinely likes it. I have always treasured the personalized copy of Douglas Coupland’s Shampoo Planet he got me. 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ June 20, 2008 9:23:12 PM CDT ( 0 comments )

Most of you may think this entry is a stretch for my Brushes with Greatness category, but Dr. Phil Plait is famous to me: he has a popular web site, he wrote an impressive book [another due later this year], he is a guest on podcasts and he is part of my intellectual arsenal against all the Flat Earthers, Global-Warming Deniers and Creationists living in Texas. 
 
This week, there's an Astronomy convention with experts from all over the world converging on Austin. I read how he'd be here on his site and with that asteroid coming dangerously close to Earth, I'd better hurry. He invited everyone to come to the Iron Cactus Downtown to meet him, Pamela & Fraser of Astronomy Cast and other visiting scientists. The restaurant's hostess was confused when we arrived but when the party's coordinator appeared, we were allowed upstairs to join the festivities. The view from the roof of the Iron Cactus over Sixth Street was sweet. Only part of the deck was covered without a cloud last night giving everybody a decent view of the sky. Good thing we were surrounded by people who instantly knew which star [or planet] was which up there. 
 
Phil was great to talk to. He was very engaging and laughs about his “celebrity” status. He gladly signed my book, it’s personalized to me! Somara told him she found it at a Discovery Store which made Phil pretty happy because the only place to normally find Bad Astronomy is through Amazon. Thanks to him, I’m now getting started on catching up on the Astronomy Cast podcast run by his friends Pamela & Fraser, both very friendly scientists. I highly recommend both and emphasize the book if you can get it. Sorry, mine’s autographed so I won’t loan it out anymore. 
 
Jan. 10, 2008: D'oh! When I was showing off my autographed book I realized that I've been spelling Phil's last name with an additional 't' at the end. I'm sure it's because my mind was stuck in all those silent letters in French since it is pronounced like 'lait' [milk], what harm could an additional silent 't' do? 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ January 9, 2008 2:34:22 PM CST ( 0 comments )

Johnette Napolitano came to the Cactus Cafe Friday evening [always the best venue in Austin] to perform material from Scarred, her first official solo album. It was imperative to go because I hadn’t seen her play in 11 years and even then she was the Heads’ tour singer. Besides her new stuff she covered the Concrete Blonde faves: "Joey," "Mexican Moon," "Ghost of a Texas Ladies Man," and an a capella rendition of "Tomorrow, Wendy." She also explained during the show that she had completed another record in the past but it was lost in the butt cracks of the industry. Johnette remains very outspoken on politics as she gave her positions on AIDS, the Iraq conflict, etc. between songs. It wasn’t all dour, she joked about turning 50 and how she’s falling into the same behaviors of her dad. 
 
There were also several great surprises during the show. The first being the opener, Craig Marshall, a local performer. I first saw him and his partner play around the open-air courtyard of the San Jose Hotel off South Congress. He was very charming with the ladies, think of a wandering troubadour during the Middle Ages. Then came the guest surprise, Chris Bailey [leader of the Saints, a venerable Australian band] was in the audience. Johnette invited him on stage to do a duet and he obliged. Initially I didn't recognize him until his singing voice kicked in [more on him later]. Lastly, Johnette did play “Souvenir” from Pretty & Twisted and dedicated it to the memory of Marc Moreland—he was also the guitarist in Wall of Voodoo. Since she was in Austin, the set was closed with Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz” with a few of the words changed to reflect the times. 
 
After the show, I talked to Chris Bailey and members of the Saints. Found out they were in Austin for Fun Fun Fest and they’re touring the US to promote their new boxed set! I only owned their 1988 release Prodigal Son which had a single used for the Yahoo Serious movie Young Einstein and I always wanted more stuff but it was impossible to find in the States. Chris didn’t find any of my questions dumb either which was nice, mainly about how much of a boost did the movie give him. He dovetailed it with some odd success he had in Bolivia even though he’s never set foot in that country. He also elaborated on how the Saints are “related” to the Damned according to the Pete Frame diagram [it’s what got me interested in his music]. I mentioned how Jon Moss of Culture Club was indirectly part of the Damned tree too. Chris laughed and jokingly stated he took no responsibility for that act. 
 
My perseverance was eventually rewarded with a brief personal audience with Johnette. She was a bit tipsy by then, courtesy of the free wine from the Cafe’s bar [so is the life of rock stars]. I asked her if she remembered the Peoria 1993 show [see the fifth paragraph]. Johnette said her memory is a bit hazy since it was a long time ago. I told her I had to say thanks for flipping the drunk off. Her humiliating him got the drunk jerk to behave for the rest of the evening. Then I asked if she related to the Democratic governor of Arizona, Janet Napolitano. She gave a funnier response of no, but if she is ever pulled over by the cops, she will say she is. Johnette gladly signed my CD and insisted on having our picture taken under the star symbol since it had a conspiratorial look to it, a hint of the Bush’s secret cabal. Finally, she let me know how much she loves the iPhone someone gave to her for her birthday [she saw my Apple badge in my backpack]. 
 
A great experience and memory to add to how much I love Walking in London and the memories it evokes from 15 years ago. I hope her tour is successful as it has been eventful. 
 
Postscript: Sorry this was late. Saturday was crazy and I couldn't complete the story thanks to misroutes followed by other plans. 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ November 4, 2007 5:40:29 PM CST ( 1376 comments )

Last night our friends Leslee and Michael took us to Master Pancake Theater's presentation of Halloween, the original John Carpenter version, not the Rob Zombie re-make. MPT is Austin and Alamo Drafthouse's version of Mystery Science Theater 3000 but it's done live with the actors sitting in the front row. I anticipated to chuckle from time to time, express some amusement since the original MST3K gang were hard to beat. These guys were actually pretty good. They were genuinely funny and they made me laugh unlike most films branded as comedies. Plus you get a goodie bag with Kerbey Lane's pancake mix! It smells really great raw, I imagine the finished product will be even better. 
 
Besides ripping on the slasher flick that started the trend, MPT had a special guest participating in the fun; Mary Jo Pehl. You may remember her from the last few seasons of MST3K as a writer, Jan in the Pan and by the end, Dr. Forrester's mother. She answered questions before the screening, threw in her jabs at the movie and had a skit at the intermission. I got to talk to her afterwards only to find out she moved to Austin. Another Midwesterner sick and tired of the cold, wet weather. The other great piece of news was her upcoming work with Joel Hodgson's new project Cinematica Titantica. No release dates yet. 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ November 1, 2007 6:13:22 PM CDT ( 0 comments )

Carlos Alazraqui returned to Austin to entertain us with his musings, commentaries and best of all, his repertoire of voices. Returned? Yes, he was earlier this year to introduce the Reno 911 movie at the Alamo Lake Creek; he said he really enjoyed that, it made him feel like a star. If you watch the show, he plays Deputy James Garcia but you wouldn't recognize him immediately as he's usually wearing sunglasses and a mustache. If you don't watch Reno, you will probably know him best as the voice of the Taco Bell dog 10 years ago; he does a series of jokes about those salad days. Carlos is most famous as a voice actor to me. Currently he is a character on at least a half dozen active cartoons airing on Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network: Mr. Crocker of Fairly Oddparents; Lazlo of Camp Lazlo; Salty Mike on Squirrel Boy; just to name several. 
 
One of the recent contest winners hosted the evening. Scott and I had seen him before at Maria Bamford. He was still pretty good plus he had more material over his slacker lifestyle around Austin. 
 
Then came Jim Hope to get the crowd going. This gentleman is currently a writer for George Lopez's sitcom and he worked on Titus. He started off by hovering over Scott, going bonkers, trying to get Scott to shout the MC's name and then imitating a velociraptor. I felt a bit terrible, the front-row seats are great yet the goal was relaxing, not being pulled into the show pretty early. Scott was a good sport though. Hope had other great jokes regarding his marriage, his daughter and huge finally with the craziest conspiracy involving the Green Bay Packers being the real power in the world. Forget the Gnomes of Zurich or Colonel Sanders. 
 
Carlos had his turn and he killed with imitations of Bush, Clinton, Gore, the Taco Bell dog, Dr. Phil, Steve Irwin, and a quick Q&A with Deputy Garcia. I especially liked his bit requesting retarded people being dressed better and why they're smarter than Goths. He also assured the audience that Texas would prevail against Oklahoma in their annual game, at least his bookie shared the optimism. 
 
After the show, he did autographs and had a DVD for sale of a performance from Houston in 2004. Carlos was gracious enough to let me have my picture with him and he did a quick quip of Lazlo and Mr. Crocker for me. I told him how my lawyer friends John and Mark love his show because policemen are sometimes the worst witnesses on the stand. He was really upbeat over his voice work, said it was a joy to work with people like Maria Bamford. Now I can tell the children in my life that I've met all those characters they know and laugh at. 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ October 6, 2007 6:15:15 PM CDT ( 0 comments )

Another fine, memorable show at the Cactus Cafe last night! Stan Ridgway celebrating the 25th anniversary of Call of the West, Wall of Voodoo's most famous album and the one with the single "Mexican Radio" on it. However, the show was a big treat for my concert-going partner Mark, his wife Alison, his brother Scott and me because we're fans of Stan's larger body of solo work. The previous statement isn't meant as a conceit, the problem is the general public is unaware of Stan's post-Voodoo career. Most people have a flash of memory when you mention his song "Don't Box Me In" from Rumblefish. 
 
As a performer, he is even more entertaining than the characters and situations his lyrics illustrate or describe. When he took the stage, he asked the audience to pardon him for the Spinal Tap moment his band was experiencing; they were lost in the UT Student Union somewhere. Then he told the crowd to forget he was there earlier so he could go out the back door and have the keyboard player start up an MP3 of "Vertigo" [from the Hitchcock movie] to introduce him. Stan and the band did a good variety of songs from all periods of his career. Best of all, he sang my personal favorites "Drive She Said," "Road Block" and "Don't Box Me In." 
 
After the show he gladly answered questions, autographed items [he wanted to know where I got my copy of The Big Heat since it was an out of print 1986 edition] and posed for pictures. There weren't many people so I asked a couple questions I wanted to know. Is he related to General Matthew Ridgway, the Allied commander who succeeded MacArthur in the Korean War? Yes, his mother said that he is distantly related to the famous general but doesn't know many details. Has he ever heard El Vez's cover and alteration of "Mexican Radio"? Yes and he likes it. He even recommended the Mexican band Kinky that's currently covering it. I need to check it out. 
 
If you really want to see a performer who is film noir music personified, I recommend you catch him on this tour. He'll be playing small, intimate venues until late August and now would be a good time to see him because he doesn't venture beyond the southwest much from what I saw on his web site. 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ July 24, 2007 7:44:50 PM CDT ( 0 comments )

July 12 was another great evening of comedy in Austin with Maria Bamford headlining! You may recognize her from cameos in comedy shows or stand-up appearances over the years but more often for her voice work in the cartoons Catdog, Home Movies, Word Girl and most recently Barnyard. 
 
Before she came on, there were a half dozen opening performers who were the finalists of Austin's recent stand-up contest. They were all solid because they made me laugh which is something I barely do at movies or TV. My friend Scott and I hope to come back for an open mic night to see some of them again as an act of support. 
 
Maria was on a roll from the start. Her material is great to listen to but you have to see her in person due to the physical elements in her act; she contorts, makes faces and gestures to illustrate her jokes—there's this gut-busting geography routine done with her hands. 
 
After the show, she was a treat to talk to. We had to keep it brief since there were many people who also wanted some face time with Maria. She smiled when I mentioned how much I loved her Shriek Dubois villain on Catdog and gave her a compliment on the animals she imitates. I told her I felt she could be the next Frank Welker [the voice actor for animals]. Finally, the answer to your burning question if you've seen her; when she does speak off stage, her real voice is similar to what you hear on stage just with a normal amount of confidence. 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ July 13, 2007 6:35:51 PM CDT ( 0 comments )

I chose to put this recent incident under my relatively new Brushes section because On the Media is aired nationally with numerous NPR affiliates and iTunes offers the podcast. 
 
Last week, they did a piece on SIGMA working with the Dept. of Homeland Security. I don't consider taking pitches from SIGMA a complete waste of tax dollars, this administration excels at squandering billions on dumber things. But if you listen to the clip or read the transcript, the name Jerry Pournelle comes up. Unlike Heinlein, I have read his books and those of his frequent partner Larry Niven. The details or context of Pournelle being mentioned worried me since his material and Niven's have usually had undemocratic tendencies with their protagonists. They both like to portray democracies as ineffective in crises, wars or alien invasions. Only swift, brutal action by enlightened hawks can save the day—more violent versions of Plato's philosopher-kings. I also remember an interview with Niven bragging over his involvement on SDI and how it was a ploy to scare the Soviet Union into foolishly spending on counter measures. Too bad this Reagan-era fraud cost us billions which could've been put to better use. I would prefer to get the opinions of authors less inclined to use martial law as the solution to everything. These writers' concepts contributed to Traveller's militaristic tone and setting—PCs with military careers get more skills than civilians. GDW founder Loren Wiseman once told me that Pournelle played the game. Made sense to me, GDW's key members Miller, Chadwick and Wiseman always came off as closet monarchists and shared Niven and Pournelle's disdain of democracy. 
 
Anyway, I decided to post a comment on OTM's site because they mentioned this recent addition to their site. I thought why not, it didn't seem to receive much traffic and this meant less vitriol, The Nation's site is plagued with it. I had no idea my comment would be read aloud by co-host Brooke Gladstone. If I knew this were a possibility, I would've given instructions on how to pronounce my name correctly. I figured it would just slip through the cracks and OTM was going to search the comments in the more important stories: the recent Supreme Court decision or the undercover piece on lobbying for dictatorships. Mrs. Gladstone only skipped my last sentence which I didn't find too important. The jackass who followed missed my point, especially on how authors don't have a monopoly on what the future may hold. 
 
First my supportive rebuttal to defend Ann Richards' bridge is published in the Austin American-Statesman and now my comment is broadcast on NPR. Could it be my writing is gaining gravitas as I approach 40? Probably not. I chalk it up to practice and persistence even if it was only my second letter to OTM, my first was over South Park conservatives. I found the guest's claims to be spurious. 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ July 7, 2007 5:23:37 PM CDT ( 0 comments )

Last night my friend Scott and I caught the late show of comedian Dana Gould. You may recognize him from his numerous cameos in sitcoms and movies, check here for a more complete list. You may see a few and go, oh yeah, that guy! More recently he is known for being a writer and voice on The Simpsons which was really icing on the comedy cake to me. I’ve seen his numerous standup routines for years on Comedy Central so I was really excited to see him live because he rarely works outside of the LA area lately. We also had great seats. I didn’t know the $19 tickets meant we had a reserved table in the front row! I just thought reserved meant we were guaranteed two chairs if the show was sold out. It was worth every penny. We were up close to hear his jokes and see the expressions on his face clearly. Now I remembered why I need to attend shows at Austin’s local club more often, it’s almost as small as Stubb’s indoors but the intimacy level with the performer is on par with the Cactus Club. As for his performance, Dana was hitting on all cylinders. That’s no shock, he is a pro with over 15 years of experience. I just didn’t expect to bust a gut from laughing so hard neither. He was also on stage for well over an hour too, definitely worth every dime. 
 
The opening MC guy was quite good, he was last year’s winner of Austin’s Funniest Person. Dana’s warm-up guy was Tom Ryan, a staple of Letterman and other tours. Hilarious in his own right, especially his jokes about travel and the warning lights on the car [Low on oil? That symbol makes it look like I’m low on gravy or the lamp is ready to grant me my three wishes if I rub harder. I know the genie is coming because there’s smoke coming. How fitting since my VW is acting up lately. Certainly going to be on the look out for him on Comedy Central. 
 
After the show was fantastic too. Dana had time to talk and autograph my CD I had of his material from 1998. He had no reservations about answering my questions or elaborating on his appearances on Sabrina the Teenage Witch or the movie Dumb and Dumberer. Turns out he was not the first standup comic The Simpsons hired as a writer, Tom Martin was according to him. Being Apple employees we mentioned that to him and he told us how much he enjoys his Video iPod. A really gracious person who didn’t find any question annoying or stupid. I do hope he comes to Austin more often in the near future. Now to figure out how to get a copy of this picture to him because he requested it for his MySpace page. 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ March 31, 2007 1:18:50 PM CDT ( 0 comments )

Here is the kick off I promised to my new Category [what the software calls it] or Section [what I prefer]: Brushes with Greatness. Why Greatness instead of Fame? Firstly, I admit to ripping off an old bit from David Letterman’s show in the 80s: people would be chosen from the audience to tell him about celebrities they met and what happened. The goal was it to be funny. They should’ve had James Cagney on while he was still alive since I remembered he had a great story about seeing Humphrey Bogart picking his nose. Secondly, not everybody in this Section has obvious fame such as an athlete, rock star or actress. I plan to include authors, genre actors, politicians [if I ever meet one that doesn’t make me puke], comedians, voice actors and “cultural relics” [locations, trophies, etc.] . In one instance, I will even go with a historical celebrity but it would be his tombstone. Many of these are from my past so expect me to adjust the dates to the day or day after they happened. 
 
As promised, here are two members of Southern Culture on the Skids to kick it off, followed by another entry today! Older ones will follow and hopefully I will continue to meet many more, another reason why I love living in Austin. I know some will be repeats from other stories but Mac OS X Server’s ‘blog solution can’t handle entries with more than one Category. Enjoy though. 
 

 
 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ March 31, 2007 10:10:45 AM CDT ( 0 comments )