Eugene Mirman: The CC Insider Interview

Eugene Mirman will soon begin shooting the second season of Flight of the Conchords. Meanwhile his latest comedy album and DVD supplement En Garde, Society! is
out on Sub Pop and his first book,
"The Will to Whatev," will be released next year by Harper Collins. He'll be playing a benefit show tonight at Southpaw, but not before giving an interview to Alexandra Richmond.

Alexandra Richmond: The phone calls on your site, of you engaged
with the anti-gay phone company American United Technologies, or the "Faith,
Family and Freedom" telemarketing campaign, are super entertaining.
Apparently they got your phone number because you donated $50 to Alan
Keys' presidential campaign in 2000?

Eugene Mirman: Yes, that is true.
And I really donated to his campaign just so I could make jokes about it.

AR: Have you donated money to a political campaign since, or did
you learn your lesson?

EM: I've actually donated to Obama. it was the
first campaign I donated to thinking it it would help. Instead of donating
money to a crazy person like Alan Keyes, who is crazy.

AR: Were you
annoyed that they sold your contact information? Did you complain?

EM:
No, because I did get to record an anti-gay phone company. I think selling
information is just something that happens. It just turns out you can't play
pranks without some kind of repercussions. I think he just just cut my
information off the envelope I mailed my donation in, and sold it for
cash.

AR: What can we look forward to from you?

EM: I just wrote a
book which is a fake advice self-help book. It's called The Will To Whatev
and will be published in February by Harper Collins.

AR: Is it like
the letters you answer on your website?

EM: It came out of that, like the
letters on my website. it ended up becoming a munch broader book of advice
and guide to life. There are chapters on dating, death, what do do in the
afterlife, how to maintain a communist empire or open a manufacturing plant.
Really, quite a lot of things are covered.

AR: En Garde, Society! is
your second full-length comedy album and your first for Sub Pop Records. What's it like being a comedian on an indie rock label?

EM: I like it
a lot. Sup Pop and Suicide Squeeze are very nice and good to work with.
Historically comedy records were gigantic in the 60s, 70s and 80s. I think
music labels have always put them out. Like the way labels put out JFK's
speeches. Sub Pop is very small. It' s not like it has a comedy division. I'm
flying out to play their 20th anniversary show in July. The process of
making a comedy album is really fun, it's not like someone tells you to make
this appeal more to teens, or ever says anything about demographics to you.
They're not like, "the man." I think most indie labels are like that. I love
playing rock clubs. I have a rock booking agent.

See Eugene Mirman June 5th at Southpaw. South Towards Home helps
rebuild houses for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Also appearing are
Todd Barry, Michael Showalter, Andrew Donnelly, and Kristen Schaall.