Formed in good ol' Orange County in early 2010, Dudley Jones Comedy Tribe (Evan Cassidy, Alexa Green, and Andrew McCormick) is currently filming a 13 episode sketch comedy pilot/web series titled, “Dudley Jones Comedy Tribe Show.” If you can't wait for their series you're in luck because they will be bringing some musical ha-ha tonight (June 16th) at the Starlight Theatre Co in Costa Mesa! Evan filled me in on the beginnings of the “tribe” and what's next for them.
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OC Weekly (Ali Lerman): When did you get into comedy?
Evan Cassidy: I've been doing comedy basically my whole life and I just finished college last year so I am kinda diving head first into this series. With the 13 episodes for the web series…will they be all related like a story or will it cover the whole spectrum? The format is 13 episodes for the 1st season and each episode is around 7 minutes. Each episode has one music video and one sketch and then it has some little in-between dancer things. It's a lot like the Chappelle Show format. We filmed a lot of stuff at the Starlight Theatre Co in Costa Mesa.
When did you realize you had a gift for parody songs?
I started when I was about twelve. I would just kinda write things down with my sister and my friends and we'd record them on the boom box. After that, I started up my first band called, “The Pocket Protectors.” We played together for a while and we were a dork-rock band. We started writing these songs, a couple of them were parodies and then there were some joke songs. That was kind of the beginnings of it all. The Pocket Protectors are probably going to make an appearance on the web series. I can't confirm but…You heard it here first folks! How hard is it to get a networks attention? [Laughs.]This is the first web series I have tried to put together but I imagine it's hard! There are a lot of different avenues though, like Adult Swim. There's a lot of competition but the ultimate goal is to have the project be sustainable. A network would be the best way but I think if you build a good following on sites like YouTube, you can be pretty sustainable.
True. You can actually be Justin Bieber. Which network are you aiming for?
It's hard to say. Essentially Comedy Central would be ideal. I also think HBO would be
really cool. I think the on-line format is pretty awesome though. The way we have it set up is pretty ideal. I don't like censorship. I mean, we aren't that vulgar necessarily but it is kind of nice that we can have a song called, “Bro, I Fucked Your Girlfriend” and not have
flack for that.
What's the story behind your song, “NyQuil?”
It was the first one we did and my girlfriend actually had swine flu! She was sick in bed and she asked me to go to the store and get her some NyQuil. When I went to check out at the store it beeped and said I had to show my ID to buy it. I was like, are you serious? So this old
crotchety woman came out and when I asked her why she said, “You need
to be 16 to buy NyQuil. Those kids come to buy it and get high on that stuff!” When she said that I thought of all these kids running through the store saying, “let's drink NyQuil!” That's really how it started.
What an awakening moment with you regarding NyQuil.
Yeah you know, if my girlfriend didn't have swine flu maybe this whole thing would have never happened! Wow. Thank you swine flu!
Who's the actual owner of the dinosaur sweater?
It was purchased by my friend Brian Nguyen who filmed the NyQuil music video. And he's a really funny guy. He bought it at some random place I guess. He had it in his closet and the day we filmed, he pulled it out and I wear it in the beginning of the video. It was one of those “inspiration” things where I was like, what if this sweater got all of the chicks? Wouldn't it be funny if the sweater actually gained pimp status? We are actually going to be releasing our own dinosaur sweater pretty soon. Ladies and men alike have been asking for it ever since we released the video. Dinosaurs are the pimpest animals. They're gangster. Gangstersaurs!
What do you think about the state of music?
It makes it easier to parody for sure. They make it a pretty easy target. There is so much cheesy pop music! I wouldn't say it's all bad because I like a lot of the artists but, I would say it's pretty colorful. They're kind of asking for it.
Where do you record most of your music?
The Beehive Recording Studio in Costa Mesa and its produced by Daniel Martin. He's a genius. I work with some other great people like Roberta and Shawn King, Frankie and Debbie Guerrero, and Yvan Galermo. Alexa and Andrew too. It's a lot of fun, a real talented bunch.
Which do you like better, performing for the camera on web or for a live audience?
It's hard to say. I think each is a totally different vibe. I'd say both. That is why we're doing this live show. We're planning to release our album at the end of the year and it's good to have both aspects. There is a lot more energy in a live performance of course.
Where can people come see you and what's next?
Dudely Jones Comedy Tribe has a show on June 16th at the Starlight Theatre Co. Then in July the first part of our series will premiere. We'll put up a teaser pretty soon. Another music video will be out pretty soon too.
What is your all-time favorite parody?
“Every Sperm is Sacred” by Monty Python from the movie, “The Meaning of Life.” It's a classic one. I love so many parodies though. Weird Al and The Lonely Island…there is so much of it!
Check out Dudley Jones Comedy Tribe videos on their website and be sure to grab tickets for tonight's show at the Starlight Theatre Co. You can also help the web series by going to their Kickstarter campaign which will help with the costs of production!
Ali Lerman knows much about comedy, basketball, and celebrating Wu-Tang Wednesday. She’s been writing for sixteen years and still calls her mom with grammatical questions.