Kevin Nealon Has Been Playing Banjo Since 'Deliverance'

Now that Weeds is over (boo-hoo) what is our favorite character Doug Wilson (aka Kevin Nealon) going to do? And what will we do without him? Good news folks, you won't have to find out because Nealon's got his hands in a bunch of pots and with a career that has brought us amazing characters and tons of laughs and, believe it or not, music.

Nealon can fill you in first hand when he hits up the Irvine Improv this Friday through Sunday but before all of that, as fellow Weeds junkies, we had the chance to ask him a few Weeds-related questions about the wrap up of the show and the incredible music (including one of his own songs) that was featured in the series.

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OC Weekly (Ali Lerman): As a big fan of Weeds I have to admit, I cried like a baby when it ended. You almost lost me for a season back there, but in all I stayed loyal!

Kevin Nealon: I'm really glad you liked it, it was a lot of fun. [Laughs.] That's the thing about when a show is on eight seasons, it's hard to keep the viewers interested in every season I would imagine. I think every show also has their strong seasons and their weaker seasons. It was the same with Saturday Night Live. I remember Chevy Chase telling me once, “People don't remember this but one out of every three shows was good when it originally aired.” When a show's been out that long you're going to have peaks and valleys.

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Well I for one will miss it. What was your favorite storyline and were you happy with the way it wrapped up? I really thought it would end with Esteban coming back and killing Nancy. I mean, we heard he was dead but they never showed us the body…

Well you can always watch reruns! As far as my character was concerned, I liked my involvement with Celia. That was kind of sick and interesting I think. I did like the way it ended, I was happy with it. I like that they kept us all intact and there were no crazy drug raids or killings. It's like there was still hope for us. But yeah, that would have been interesting if she walked in to a room and Esteban was there though. [Laughs.]

It's also really cool that you recorded a version of the show's theme song “Little Boxes” with Steve Martin. How did that come about?

I've played the guitar for a long time and I've played the banjo since I saw the movie Deliverance. So they asked me because they knew that I am friends with Steve and that we both play the banjo. They thought it might be a nice duet. I e-mailed Steve to ask him if he was interested and he was, so we went into a recording studio and did it. He came up with a riff for it and then I came up with a riff on the banjo, you know, something that would complement each other. It just came out really nice. We had about eight different versions and that was the one they picked. [Laughs.] The music has always been a fun aspect of Weeds. They've really had some good music coordinators on there.

Well thank you for humoring us. I just watched your new Showtime special “Whelmed…But Not Overly,” will you be doing some of that material at the Irvine Improv?

I'm looking forward to doing Irvine because it's a great room and I love the crowds that come out there. You know, since I just did my second stand-up special you'll be seeing some of that material. Plus I'm working on what will eventually become my next special. I'll also try to come up with some new stuff too by then!

Check out Kevin's website www.KevinNealon.com to see what he's up to and where he'll be next and follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Nealon. Hurry and grab your tickets to see Kevin at the Irvine Improv this Friday through Sunday (October 26th-28th) by going to www.improv.com or by calling 949-854-5455. The Improv is located at 71 Fortune Drive Irvine, CA 92618.

Follow us on Twitter @OCWeeklyMusic and like us on Facebook at Heard Mentality.