Shearer the voice of irreverent humor

Comic also bringing taste of New Orleans to both conventions

By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 22, 2008 at 3 p.m.

Text size

Saturday Night Live alumnus Harry Shearer speaks out politically through his comedy.

More Music

More stories »

Harry Shearer's new album Songs of the Bushmen skewers various members of the Bush Administration by name (No Cooler for the Scooter, for instance), but that wasn't the controversy.

The album cover with a picture of George W. Bush with a tribal bone through his nose is what got Clear Channel and others to reject ads for it.

Nothing new for Shearer, a longtime opponent of the Bush administration in his music, comedy, radio show and column on the Huffington Post. That stance includes the days shortly after 9/11.

"A lot of people in the comedy world were thrown back on their heels for a while, that it was too hot and radioactive to handle. That whole thing after 9/11 where you couldn't criticize those guys or make fun of them. I didn't have a problem going after these guys all along."

Shearer took a few minutes to talk with Rocky pop music writer Mark Brown about politics, the Democratic National Convention and the Friends of New Orleans benefit concert.

So much of political debate seems like marketing these days.

And the Democrats, by the evidence so far, are crappy self-marketers. Add that to all the things that Democrats are bad at, like winning elections. They're quite behind the curve in terms of putting everything into a marketing opportunity. (Humorist Jean Shepherd once said) to me, 'Everything in this country is turning into show business.' The only alteration I'd make is everything is turning into marketing.

What's it like when you promote your work on conservative shows like Glenn Beck? Those guys are nice when you're there, but eviscerate your views when you're gone.

I don't think that was a pose for Glenn. We talked quite a bit off the air and he knows chapter and verse of Chris Guest movies and loves them. That part of it didn't seem to be an act. What these guys do normally does seem to be an act. I'm not calling Glenn out. I don't know what he actually believes. But to have success in talk radio these days that's the appropriate act. I have to say I've long since stopped drawing lines in terms of whom I wanna do business with or who I wanna hang out with depending if they're liberal or conservative. I can't think of situations where I've been treated worse than I have by show-business liberals.

With The Simpsons (he provides the voice for Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders and others), radio, movies, the CD, etc., are you as busy as you look?

No (laughs). Not busy enough. My wife and I share the same malady - we love what we do so much that we get very morose when we're not doing it. I'm thinking about a next book. I have this long-in-the-gestation musical comedy that I'm trying to get done about the life of J. Edgar Hoover. It's a wonderful show but it's just taking an age to get it onstage. Musical theater has veered in this direction of 'let's not do anything but shows based on 30-year-old movies.' We didn't have the perspicacity to have made the precursor movie 30 years ago.

How about your other work?

The great thing about radio is you can do it from anywhere. When I'm in Louisiana I have a studio on my laptop. I go there for one overarching reason, that's spiritual nourishment. The city was battered, the culture is still alive. It's an incredible antidote to life in a city dominated by corporate show business.

Tell me about the Friends of New Orleans show you're bringing here on Sunday.

What Friends of New Orleans is attempting to do at both conventions is the culinary and musical culture, wrapped up in a portable package. And along with it some messaging, as the horrible verb of the year has it, about what has been done and what still needs to be done. It's a party with a purpose, I guess is the way I'd put it.

What kind of food and entertainment can fans expect for their $500?

The goal has been to give a really wonderful sampling of the musical culture that's still alive in the city.

You've got Henry Butler. We have to get Henry back from Boulder (he relocated there after Katrina). You've got him, but one more cold winter and I think we get him back. Henry is just a phenomenal representation of the New Orleans piano tradition at its highest.

Leo and George and Zig of the Meters, that is as fundamental to the New Orleans funk tradition as you can get. Randy (Newman), nobody needs any introduction. Cyril from the Neville Brothers . . . It's a glimpse of what the tourist at Mardi Gras never sees, which is this incredibly deep slice of culture built around the Mardi Gras Indians . . . It's a remarkable tradition and reminds you of the important parts of New Orleans that are non-European in tradition.

What else is in your future?

Chris (Guest), Michael (McKean) and I are focusing on next year as the 25th anniversary of the Spinal Tap movie and we're looking at stuff to - here's the other terrible verb of the year - monetize that.

brownm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2674

Political tunes

Most DNC-related music events are private affairs, but here are some public performances:

* After Five Jazz & Blues Festival: various sites near 26th and Welton streets, today through Aug. 29; Gerald Albright, Poncho Sanchez, Arturo Sandoval, Jeffrey Osbourne and more will play around Five Points with afternoon shows on the weekend and 5 p.m. shows the rest of the week. $59, $89 and $119; 303-296-2701 or www.ticket annex.com

* Rock the Bells Concert: noon today, Fiddler's Green; an unintentional DNC event of sorts, as Nas, Tribe Called Quest, Immortal Technique and others just happen to have politically charged music; $32.50-$98; www.ticketmaster.com

* New Orleans All-Star Jam-balaya Friends of New Orleans: Randy Newman, Henry Butler, some Nevilles and Meters, Tab Benoit, Allen Toussaint and many more, plus New Orleans food, included in the ticket price of $500; 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday, Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson St.; Livenation.com

* Rock the Vote Ballot Bash: 10 p.m. Monday, Ellie Caulkins Opera House; Fall Out Boy, N*E*R*D, Jakob Dylan and more rock the place in a late-night show (sold out)

* Willie Nelson: Tuesday, Red Rocks; after a private DNC party on Monday, Nelson takes it public at Red Rocks; $55; 303-830-8497 or ticketmaster.com

* Etown at the DNC: James Taylor, David Crosby, Graham Nash and Ani DiFranco team up for a taping of the Boulder radio show, 9 p.m. Tuesday, Buell Theatre; etown.org (sold out)

* Rage Against the Machine: A Tent State University concert featuring Rage, Flobots, Wayne Kramer and more; 11 a.m. Wednesday, Denver Coliseum. Tickets for the show are free, but fans must sign up for the ticket lottery, with a valid photo ID, by visiting the Tent State Music Festival Booth, Cuernavaca Park, between 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday. Winners will be notified by e-mail on Tuesday evening.

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News