The Savage Animal 01.09.08: Celebrity Novelty Musicians

Posted by Mikey MiGo on 01.09.2008

In this week’s Savage Animal, 411’s Mikey MiGo takes a look at celebrities who moonlight as novelty musicians. From Conan and his guitar to Will Ferrell and his cowbell to a few politicians, we take a look at some of the more offbeat performers.



It's been a fast moving week. A lot of it has been spent working on 2008 business plans, another new screenplay, casting my next movie, and marketing my first independent movie, "The Moving Men". I've been pushing myself like a mad man since the New Year began. This is mainly because I want to take over the world, but also because my New Year's Resolution was to quit smoking. I've been smoking about two packs a day for a little over five years now with no attempts to ever quit. I just keep myself focused on projects, drink a lot of tea, chew a lot of gum, and to psyche myself out I burn incense close to me most of the day so there's smoke around me. The mental urge is fading, but my body went bonkers. I had some cold sweats, head aches, fatigue, and have gotten dizzy a lot. The other day I felt higher than I ever did on any drug. It was a scary dizzy and loopy feeling that was a pretty hardcore with drawl session. But I'm too stubborn to quit quitting, so we'll just have to deal with it.


Last week, I spoke about the Fun Club concert in Chicagoland and promised video footage in this week's column. Well, I lied. No, no. I'm kidding. Here it is. It's Fun Club and fans performing a short play that I animated before they get into their hit song "MENSTRUATION CELEBRATION"!:



Yesterday was one of my favorite musicians of all time's 61st Birthday. Of course I'm talking about musician, actor, director, and artist…"The Thin White Duke", "Ziggy Stardust", "Aladin Sane"… David Bowie. The guy deserves all the respect in the world. I'm constantly enjoying his music and work and constantly opening up new worlds to people as they are exposed to his music. So a huge and heartfelt "Happy Birthday" goes out to Mr. Bowie. I hope you continue your unprecedented success and PLEASE go on tour so I can experience your wide selection of hits live.


CELEBRITY NOVELTY MUSICANS

I had a lot going on this past week and one of them was writers block. For a few days I've been thinking of a good topic to discuss with you guys and have a bitch of a time. I've asked friends, family, and anyone who would listen. Finally, in the late hours a friend came to the rescue with this topic idea. The more I thought about it the more I thought it would be a good one to go with.

There are plenty of celebrities out there who are in bands or are just flat out musicians. I did a column about it a few months ago. People like Juliette Lewis, Keanu Reeves, Russell Crowe, and others are all well known screen performers, but they are also in bands and enjoy expressing themselves in that form of art as well. Hell, Chevy Chase was the original drummer for the guys in the band prior to Steely Dan's. I didn't know that until about a week ago.

Then there's those who are not in a band and basically just bust out their skills every so often when the occasion calls for it.

Let's take a look at a few…

Conan O'Brien plays Guitar

The 411: When Conan was attending Harvard he got himself a drum kit, but didn't have much skill with it. He lent the kit to his roommate and drummer for the now defunct Galaxie 500 Damon Krukowski and would go on to play the acoustic guitar. For years he'd play it on Late Night on random sketches including "Conan sings a lullaby". With the writers strike, Conan dusted off his electric guitar for a performance. While his crew played "Rock Band", he played a long with his real guitar. You can see this for yourself on the video above. It's entertaining because it's Conan, but at the same time it's entertaining because the shock value that Conan is half decent on the strings.


Steve Martin plays Banjo

The 411: When I was a kid I'd be amazed that my grandfather could play the banjo. He's not a "country bumpkin" as the banjo stereotype goes. Neither is Steve Martin though. Steve would participate in music comedy shows as a teenager where he'd play banjo and entertain like only he can. As time would go on, Martin would continue to use music in his comedy routine. He sold a million albums of his comedy album featuring the hit single "King Tut" in the late 70's. Over the years you can see Steve make many appearances of Steve doing just what the video clip above contains. He is not only a banjo player, but a pretty damn good one at that.


Dana Carvey plays Drums

The 411: This is the clip from Waynes World(obviously), but Carvey can actually kick ass on drums. The clip I wanted to use was Carvey(again as Garth) sitting in with U2 for "Even Better Than The Real Thing". I know it was from an award show, but not sure which one. I think it was an MTV one, but that really doesn't matter without the clip. Anyways, Carvey got his first drum kit when he was a kid and continues to hone his craft as he became a huge success on Saturday Night Live. He even met his wife at one of his gigs, which is really cool. There have been rumors of a Waynes World 3. If it happens (it'll rock!), I hope to see Garth Algar behind the kit once again.


Bill Clinton plays the Saxophone
The 411: When Bill Clinton was running for president he would appear on the Arsenio Hall Show and play the saxophone. The way I see it, it was a great way to show he was in touch with pop culture and to show off he's more than a stiff suit like so many politics are. He was a tenor saxophone player from way back to grade school, but realized he'd never be a Coltrane or Getz so he moved on. Still, over the years you can see him bust out the sax and entertain a crowd. Like in this video above from the 40th Anniversary of the Newport Jazz Fest held on the White House lawn. He wasn't going to play, rather just close the show with a thank you. The crowd and musicians would have none of that and cheered him on to play. And he did.


Mike Huckabee plays Bass Guitar

The 411: While not nearly as cool(or smart, educated, or great) as Bill Clinton, Huckabee is also a musician. He plays the bass guitar for his band called "Capitol Offense". He's played a lot of political functions for the Republican Party. Not to even touch on his political career or standing, it seems to be as if he's trying to be hip a little too hard. I mean "Capitol Offense"? C'mon!


Will Ferrell playing the Cowbell

The 411: Everyone knows the "Don't Fear The Reaper" SNL skit. Everyone knows the whole phenomenon of "More Cowbell". The cowbell story did not end with the Christopher Walken episode. Shortly after, Queens of the Stone Age would appear on the show to perform. The single "Little Sister" was introduced by Will Ferrell. The band went to rock on as they always do and then it happened again. Will Ferrell joined them on stage and rocked the cowbell once again. My favorite part of this clip is the fact that the band didn't break kayfabe. They didn't one laugh, smirk, or make a mockery of the cowbell legacy. Surely, they know the song needed cowbell or they wouldn't have recorded it that way. You can't tell me this isn't great.


I didn't plan on it, but a lot of these people are former Saturday Night Live cast members. Hell, Conan was a writer and Steve Martin has been guest host more times than anyone in the show's history. Damn politicians ruining everything.


I know I'm missing some. What are some of your favorite celebrity novelty musicians?

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MY "WRISTCUTTERS A LOVE STORY" REVIEW IN 501 WORDS OR LESS
Wristcutters is one of those independent movies that give me a kick in the ass to up my own game. The whole concept behind the movie is original and really remarkable. Basically, when you kill yourself you go to a bizzaro world to live with other suicides. There is no smiles, no stars in the sky, a black hole under the car seat that sucks in anything that comes near, and so much more that even what I just said did not spoil anything about this movie. The main character was Patrick Fugit of Almost Famous, Spun, and Saved! Fame with a supporting cast of Shannyn Sossamon, Will Arnett, and Leslie Bibb. Yet, there were two supporting characters that really stole the show in my eyes. First we have the legendary Tom Waits who ran a camp or community for the lost souls. He's just so casual and perfect for this role. I wish he'd do a little more acting, but he knows the roles that work him. The other show stealer was Shea Whigham playing Eugene, a thick accent immigrant who killed himself as he performed on stage by electrocuting himself by pouring a beer on his guitar due to a unimpressed crowd. Like how Donny Darko was all hyped and loved with a cult following when it came out, this movie deserves it even more so and has a rewatchable level that doesn't come very often these days. When this hits the DVD shelves I'll be buying my copy. I guess it's still in some cinemas. If you can go see on a big screen, if not make sure you pick it up on DVD as soon as it's made available. The year is very young and I know this came out last year, but it's the best movie I've seen so far in 2008.

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RANDOM THOUGHT
Speaking of the talented and lovely Shannyn Sossamon, "One Missed Call" reminds me of this one movie. What was it again? Oh yeah! The other dozen movies to "borrow" from The Ring. No wonder you have to hunt and dig deep for decent horror movies these days. Sossamon deserves better,.

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"Hey! Check This Out!" (a.k.a. cheap plug)


Add "The Moving Men" on Myspace!


I got a late start on this week's column, but I'm still happy with it. Hopefully you got some entertainment or at least a little bit of a distraction from it. Next week, I plan to bust out something with a little more time put into it. Until then… Have a Great Week!