Tag Archives: Reggie Watts

Fred Armisen Stars in Official Video for George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord”

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Fred Armisen has a sweet new project…

It only took 50 years, but George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” finally has its first official video, with a special appearance by the 55-year-old half-Venezuelan American actor/comedian/musician.

Fred ArmisenIn the star-packed effort directed by Lance Bangs and executive produced by Harrison’s son Dhani Harrison with David Zonshine, the new “My Sweet Lord” video stars Armisen and Vanessa Bayer as “metaphysical special agents” searching for something that can’t be seen. Sending them on the mission: Star Wars’ Mark Hamill himself.

With seemingly most of Hollywood and New York celebrities showing up for cameos, the video includes appearances by Darren Criss, Jon Hamm, Rosanna Arquette, Joe Walsh, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Reggie Watts, Moshe Kasher, Natasha Leggero, Patton Oswalt, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, Garfunkel and Oates (Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome), Taika Waititi, Shepard Fairey, Aimee Mullins, Rupert Friend and Harrison’s wife Olivia Harrison and their son Dhani.

Harrison’s former bandmates Ringo Starr and Jeff Lynne also appear

“Making this was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life,” said director Bangs in a statement. “The approach was to represent the song visually while these agents and inspectors kept missing the metaphysical wonder around them. Images are choreographed to the sounds of vocal melodies, guitar strums, drum patterns, chord changes.

“George threaded a sense of humor through all of his videos, so we kept that spirit and filled the cast with friends and admirers of his music, many coming from the current comedy landscape. I tracked down vintage prime lenses from some of the films George’s HandMade Films had produced, and I hope that viewers can feel a sense of wonder and searching while they watch it, and that the song continues to add to all of our lives.”

The video for “My Sweet Lord” features the new 2020 mix of the song mixed by engineer Paul Hicks released August 6 for the 50th anniversary editions of Harrison’s All Things Must Pass.

John Tejada Partners with Reggie Watts on the Single “Runnin'”

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John Tejada is runnin’ wild…

The 43-year-old half-Mexican electronic music artist, music producer and DJ has joined forces with comedian and musician Reggie Watts on their new single “Runnin’”

John Tejada

Released on Friday, November 24 via Comedy Dynamics Records, the single combines Watt’s improvisational lyrics with Tejada’s layered dance driven audioscapes.

A mashup of Watts and Tejada’s names, Wajatta will officially release the single next week.

“Runnin'” is a mix of electronic dance with roots in Detroit techno and the Chicago house music scene, infused with a ’70s funk and soul. Much of Watt’s vocals were improvised, showcasing his looping skills and wide range for unique vocal noises and non-words, paying homage to influences like Cocteau Twins’ singer Elizabeth Fraser.

“She was really the first one that when I heard the music, I was like, what language is this in?” Watts tells Billboard. “She has this weird mixture that oscillates between sounds. I think there’s something more interesting about hearing something that sounds kind of close to something else, but you’re not sure what it is, until you start to develop your own meaning.”

Nearly all of Watts’ vocals were improvisational, responding live to Tejada’s compositions, with Watts telling Billboard, “it’s hard to find people who likes to work like that. I like to freely improvise and rely on John and his sense of curation, and have someone whose tastes I trust.”

Tejada describes Watts vocals on “Runnin’” as “male house diva” and while both had concerns about releasing a straight forward music album on a comedy label, Watts said Comedy Dynamics has been supportive of the duo’s vision.

“I’ve wanted to be involved in some sort of electronic project for a very very long time. Just because it’s my favorite music to dance to,” Watts said.

Watts, who currently stars as the bandleader on CBS’ The Late Late Show with James Corden, said he had been a fan of Tejada’s music and met him at one of his shows in L.A. and eventually teamed up to record an album in Tejada’s home studio in Sherman Oakes, using loops Watts created for Lot Radio Brooklyn.

Tejada is a Vienna-born, Los Angeles-based electronic music composer and high demand remixer for The Postal Service, Bomb the Bass and Télépopmusic.

“I have so many loops stored and we pulled them in that sessions, picking and choosing,” Watts said. “And then he went in and really attacked it, and I just laid down a bunch of random vocals,” adding that he and Tejada had a similar creative process, working quickly, “being able to just flow what was in my head in response to his music and him locking onto that and crafting something great around/with it.”

Armisen to Participate in Comedy Central & Superfly’s “Colossal Clusterfest”

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Fred Armisen is preparing for a colossal cluster…

The 50-year-old half-Venezuelan American actor/comedian will take part in Colossal Clusterfest, Comedy Central and Superfly’s comedy event.

Fred Armisen

It’s slated to run June 2-4 at San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza and Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, culminating with a live Comedy Central special.

Colossal Clusterfest aims to do for the icons of Millennial comedy what Burning Man and Bonnaroo have done for music and other contemporary art happenings: Bring folks together for a paid communal experience featuring a wide range of programming, tons of food and ancillary experiences that will promote diversity and, not coincidentally, their brands.

In addition to Armisen, the inaugural lineup includes Sarah Silverman & Friends, Ice Cube, Hannibal Buress, Tig Notaro, Pete Davidson, Natasha Leggero, Tegan and Sara, Chromeo, Broad City’s Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, Bob Odenkirk, Vince Staples, Chris Hardwick, Reggie Watts, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Princess featuring Maya Rudolph, and Gretchen Lieberum. The full lineup is available at http://www.clusterfest.com.

“For a long time we’ve been really looking at the festival space,” Comedy Central president Kent Alterman said, discussing plans for the event at Superfly’s Midtown New York office. “It’s a great opportunity to connect directly with our fans and utilize the talent that is part of the fabric of what we do on a daily basis.

“We’ve had experience with comedy festivals in different regards – those festivals are always very fractured experiences that are all over town,” Alterman added. “Several years ago we got to know these guys at Superfly by going to Bonnaroo [and] Outside Lands, and those festivals are just complete holistic experiences that bring people together, where everything is happening in this almost communal atmosphere.”

The festival includes interactive attractions featuring three iconic comedy shows: Comedy Central’s South Park, FXX’s It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and Seinfeld. It will also incorporate musical performances and collaborations between musicians and comedians across five indoor and outdoor stages.

“Music is in our DNA,” said Superfly co-founder Jonathan Mayers. “And we’ve always had comedy as an ingredient at Bonnaroo and Outside Lands.” Mayers said that San Francisco was chosen as the site of the new festival because of Superfly’s decade-long experience presenting Outside Lands in the city’s Golden Gate Park.

On June 4, as the festival comes to a close, Comedy Central will present a live 90-minute on-air special hosted by @midnight’s Chris Hardwick and will feature a team of on-the-ground comedian correspondents, taped performances, collaborations, highlights, interviews and behind-the- scenes segments from the Colossal Clusterfest weekend, as well as live wrap-arounds from the last day.

“Comedy has become such a huge part of the Millennial audience lives, in terms of how they identify themselves,” Alterman said. “In our generation growing up it was all about music…comedy over the last decade or so overtook music.”