ED2012 Comedy ED2012 Interviews ED2012 Week1 Edition

Drennon Davis: Pajamas on for imaginary radio chat

By | Published on Wednesday 8 August 2012

Drennon Davis

Award-winning American character comedy duo The Pajama Men are doing a shorter run than normal at the Fringe this year.
But to make up, they’ve brought with them Edinburgh first-timer Drennon Davis and his musical comedy show ‘The Imaginary Radio Program’. We wanted to find out more but figured, who better to interrogate Davis than The Pajama Men themselves, act to act?

PM: Hey Drennon! Great name. Great to finally get a chance to sit down and ask you some important questions about you. First and foremost: do you work out?
DD: Psssh. Good question. Any successful comic knows that the key ingredient to being funny is working out at least three hours a day. Bi-cepts, Tri-cepts, uni-cepts, hammies, turkeys… No, I don’t work out.

PM: Awesome. Second and secondmost: have you ever stolen anything?
DD: Nothing crazy. Some olives at a salad bar, a towel from a hotel, some bones at a funeral… the usual balonery.

PM: Great, and why don’t you wear pajamas?
DD: Why bother? I would never be as cool as you guys. Trust me, I’ve tried, but people just say, “Hey! Look at that idiot trying to wear pajamas! Who does he think he is, the Pajama Men? He’s not even two people! Oh look, now he’s trying to sleep! That’s rich. Good luck trying to sleep like the Pajama Men, you fucking hack!” My girlfriend can be a very harsh critic.

PM: Indeed. Now before we ever came to Edinburgh we had… oh, first of all how do you pronounce “Edinburgh”? “Ed-in-borough”, “Ed-in-bra”, or “Ed-in-burg”?
DD: We’ve talked about this before…

PM: Well, we want to talk about it again.
DD: …and I believe I’m saying it wrong. I’ve been saying Ed-in-borough. I know we’re not supposed to say Ed-in-burg like most Americans say it, so I suppose I’ve decided to say it wrong in a way that makes me sound cultured to Americans and even dumber to people in the UK who know better. HOWEVER, I was emailing back and forth with a friend who’s a DJ on BBC Radio 1 and she SPELLED it “Edinborough.” There is no excuse for that. Don’t worry, I corrected her in my most condescending email voice.

PM: Wow, big shot eh? Friends at the BBC? Got it all figured out don’t you? Anyway, as we were saying: before we ever came to Edinburgh our image of it was much different than it actually is. What do you imagine Edinburgh will be like?
DD: No expectations. But if I don’t meet Shrek and/or the real Harry Potter, I’m going to burn down the entire village. It’s a small village right?

PM: Depends on your definition of “right”. Any plans to buy any specific souvenirs from Scotland?
DD: I’d really like a sweater with Nessie on it. No joke. Hopefully one hand-knitted by a salty Scotsman who claims to have seen her. Because why not? Let’s do this.

PM: So, how are you preparing for the marathon run?
DD: Just trying to be as cocky as I can. Every time I do anything, I say “I’ve got this mutha fucka!” It’s helping my confidence. It’s a little weird for people around me. Especially in public bathrooms but my ego has never been better. I AM THE GREATEST PERSON ALIVE! Honestly though, the show is ready to go. We’ve been performing a lot in LA. It’s been going very well. I’m a little freaked out at playing in an old church for an entire month but I’ll get used to it.

PM: Who’s that on stage with you?
DD: Ah, you mean Monique Moreau! She’s my Native-American body guard who also happens to be my musical accompanist in Edinburgh. She’s awesome with music. Any kind of genre that I can’t play on my own, she’s there to deliver. She’s also a much better singer than I am.

PM: Lastly, what’s the biggest Challenge you’ve faced in comedy in the last twelve months?
DD: Learning that some day I’m going to die. Also self-promotion. I was never very good at it, but now I’m THE GREATEST PERSON ALIVE! But someday I will die… then I will be the GREATEST PERSON NOT ALIVE! The trick is to yell, when you’re self-promoting.

PM: Great advice! And before we go, do you have any questions for us?
DD: Yes! First question: do you guys ever fight and if so, who wins?

PM: Yes. We do fight. Mark usually wins, but Shenoah’s usually right. Or did you mean “do we fight other people?”. Like in bars and stuff? The answer is “yes”. We’re always ganging up on comedians when they’re alone.
DD: Last question. Finish this sentence: I’m ___

PM: Horny-sad.
DD: Last question 2.0: I love you?

PM: Yes.

The Pajama Men’s ‘Improv Show’ was performed at Assembly George Square while Drennon Davis’s ‘The Imaginary Radio Program’ was performed at Assembly Roxy at Fringe 2012. 

LINKS: www.pjmen.comdrennondavis.weebly.com

Photo: Kat Gollock



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