Ny blogg. Nya möjligheter. Nya misslyckanden. Kul!
Tänkte blogga om ståupp här. Enklare än tidigare. Inte lika ofta. Lite tråkigare.
Häng med på denna halvdrägliga resa.
Tänkte att vi börjar med det inlägg som blev bra i min förra blogg. Så blir det inte så mycket jobb för mig. En Q&A med Steve Hicks. Bill Hicks bror. Mycket sk. nöje.
Here's the Q&A:
Q: Hi Steve how are you?
S: Wonderful; thanks for being Bill supporters. It's great to know his work is still reaching people around the world.
Q: First of, I got alot of people wanting to know more about the times when Bill took magic mushrooms. But no specific questions. If you know anything and want to share, please do.
S: I never joined Bill in this endeavor but there was a time he tried to get me to. I tell that story and it is on the extras disc of American: The Bill Hicks Story documentary. Also, when Bill was sick near the end of his life and was staying at our parents house, he thought he could get our very conservative father to try mushrooms:) I told Bill he was crazy, that there is no way in the world our father was going to take mushrooms with him!! So, we made a bet for $200.00; I won the bet and Bill still owes me that money.
Q: What did Bill do to break his drug addiction?
S: For years Bill's friends and some fellow comedians tried to get him to stop but they never were able to. So, one time he was touring in North Carolina and he was going to do an interview on an early morning radio show. He had been up all night partying and as he sat there struggling to get through the interview on no sleep, it finally hit him that this was not the way he wanted to live his life. He went to his first AA(Alcoholics Anonymous) meeting that day. Then he moved from Houston to New York City for a fresh start away from the temptations of his previous lifestyle. As was mentioned in the documentary he said it was about 6 months before he felt he started being funny again. It was after this time frame, when Bill got cleaned up, that he started to become the comedian that the world began to sit up and take notice.
Q: Bill was raised baptist, do you know if he he remained a believer (not necessarily a baptist believer)?
S: Yes, he believed in his version of God, the one that he believes is within all of us. I think that came thru clearly is his later work and in my opinion it is that soul and humanity about Bill that so many people are attracted to in his work all these years later.
Q: You toured with Bill for a time. What was that like?
S: I would travel alot to see Bill perform and it was just brothers hanging out; probably anyone who has a close relationship with their sibling can understand that. We had a mutual admiration going on-he said he always admired the stability I had in my life(been married almost 31 years) and I always told him I admired his creativity and freedom to go where he wanted when he wanted. But mostly we'd just hang out and listen to music, watch movies, that kind of stuff; we liked alot of the same things and liked turning each other on to new music.
Q: Do you have any favourites amongst Bills routines/jokes?
S: I love the simplicity, but brilliance, of "hey buddy we're Christians and we don't like what you said. Well, then, forgive me."
I also am real partial to the Put'em in the Movies bit; that's not one that has really stayed strong with the fans after all these years but it was so absurd(or is it?) that I loved it.
Of course, Grey Gym Sock/Your Children Aren't Special, cracks me up every time.
Q: I can see some similarities between Bills message and the message Frank Zappa has in some of his songs, was Bill a Zappa fan?
S: I think Bill was familiar with Zappa and liked him but I don't think he was in Bill's top 5 or 10 bands or musicians. Bill loved Kiss when he was younger, the Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, John Hiatt, and especially Bob Dylan.
Q: Did Bill express any regrets about anything related to his stand up career?
S: No. He thought everything happens for a reason, and his life unfolded like it did, so go with it.
He certainly did not want to die-who does? But once it was inevitable he approached it with the same grace and dignity he had shown throughout his life.
One time, very near the end of his life, he was sitting on a couch at our parents house and he leaned back and said, "Well, I'm about to go on my greatest adventure." That always moved me.
Q: How do you feel about how Letterman handled the cancelled gig and your
mom's appearance at the show?
S: He never had to do anything about it so the fact that he wanted to make things right, even if it was many years later, seemed right by me.
He didn't have to do it, but he did, so give him his props. It was a fun experience, considering the circumstances.
Q: How do you think Bill's career would have looked if he were alive today?
S: I always shy away about what Bill might be up to these days; one never knows where the next twenty years of life may have taken him. However, I will say with a high degree of confidence, that somehow he would still be raising hell and would never compromise his standards!
Q: Do you follow stand up comedy today? Who, if anyone, do you see as a
worthy successor to Bill?
S: I don't follow it closely. Bill was one of a kind; while there are plenty of good comedians out there, before and after Bill, he had a unique perspective and outlook from his soul that made him stand apart(in my humble opinion).
Q: When you see comedians who obviously pattern themselves after Bill, do
you feel pride for your brother or that they shouldn't try to copy
him?
S: A little bit of both. On the one hand it is great to see his influence is still so strong out there and I imagine it will be that way for years to come.
On the other hand, Bill encouraged people to be inspired to go out and find their own voice, do their own thing. I believe, though, that whether they pattern themselves on purpose or are just strongly influenced by Bill, they do it out of respect and esteem for him and what he accomplished. So, in the long run, it's all good.
Q: Could you tell us something we don't know about Bill?
S: As a kid he loved sandwiches with only mustard and mayonaisse on bread, nothing else.
Also, two of his toes were partially grown together. I used to always joke with him that he could swim real fast...but only in a circle!!
Q: Is there any upcoming news for Bill Hicks fans?
S: Well, to commemorate what would have been Bill's 50th birthday in December, there will be a surprise release for digital download only(iTunes, Amazon, etc.) that comes out on December 13th. On January 17, 2012, there will be another release that includes some material that is already available but also some new stuff that has never been out before. There are also plans for more new Bill stuff later in 2012 and into 2013. As long as people remain interested we'll keep looking for things we can put out to share Bill and his work.
Q: Thanks for your time!
S: Not a problem. Thank you for sharing your interest in Bill and his work. Our family is very appreciative of the love and support we continue to receive from Bill's fans all over the world. Thanks to each of you; we're humbled by it all.
Hope all is well in your world.
Take care.
Steve"
Pusskram.
