Long before he was making people laugh for a living, Fred Armisen played drums with the Blue Man Group, and also manned the kit for Trenchmouth, a Chicago punk band that released five albums in the Nineties. Armisens love for music shines through in the new season of Documentary Now!, where he and fellow Saturday Night Live alum Bill Hader parody a series of famous docs including the classic Talking Heads concert film, Stop Making Sense. Right now, Armisen is shooting the seventh season of his other TV show, Portlandia, which debuts in January. Hes also plotting a comedy tour on which hell perform music by fake bands hes debuted on TV, and trying to brainstorm another television series, this one entirely in Spanish. I never take days off, he says. I love working. I just want to do it in a relentless way, just smash it. Kill it. Burn it, burn it, burn it.
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Youre a huge Talking Heads fan. Did that make it easier or harder to spoof Stop Making Sense?
I can only parody stuff I love. Being a fan really helped because I didnt have to research what the songs would sound like or what the stage setup would look like. Talking Heads were a big influence on my comedy. For David Byrne, every album had to be different. With Portlandia, every season has to be different. You gotta reinvent the look, all of it.
Did you consider parodying other music documentaries?
Music documentaries are tricky because of Spinal Tap. That movie has stood the test of time. We literally sit in the writers room and go, Well, Spinal Tap did that, so we cant do a thing about a ridiculous musician with some affectation.
Is there any part of you that wishes you had made it as a drummer?
No, because I have the best life in the whole world. And it all came together in the most harmonious and crazy way. I still get to play music, but in the way that I feel was meant to be.
You used to impersonate Prince on SNL. Did you ever meet him?
I often tell the story of how he was eating macaroni and cheese [at an SNL afterparty] and I tried to compliment him, and he just complimented the macaroni and cheese. But I leave out this other part of the story, which is that I met him at SNL. I came up and said, Hey, I hope its OK about me doing this impression of you. He stepped back and opened his eyes and then rubbed my arm in a friendly way and said, Oh, its cool. I was very struck by his posture. He was very male. He was a real guy.
What other heroes have you met that left you awestruck?
I was most awed meeting Paul McCartney. He made it easy to talk to him so I didnt feel like an idiot. At the same time, Mick Jones from the Clash was maybe the most for me. The amount Ive listened to the Clash is just neverending.
You recently shot a movie with Billie Joe Armstrong, Ordinary World. What did you learn from that experience?
We have the same roots we played in the same circles in the early Nineties. He really is the most positive person. He loves punk rock and loves his family, and he approached doing a movie in a way that was like, Yeah!
Whats your position on drum solos?
Everyone knows deep in their hearts that the drums are the coolest instrument, and that a band is only as good as its drummer. So Im all for drum solos. Im all for drummers hamming it up. Im all for drummers standing up and kicking over the kit.
Whats your favorite drum solo?
The drumbeat to Dreaming, by Blondie. Its not the kind of solo where everyone else stops playing; its like a solo all the way through. I also like the drum solos in Going Mobile, by the Who. If you listen to Keith Moon, its always a solo all the way through.
Youve been criticized for your behavior in relationships. Does it bother you to Google yourself and see all these articles about how youre the worst boyfriend in the world?
First of all, I dont Google myself. Secondly, thats all in the past. Im not in denial. But Im not dead, so all those negative things just help my recovery. Every days a new day where I can say to myself, I can become a better person. Im not perfect. I can be more considerate and less selfish.
Youre turning 50 in December. How does that feel?
Im psyched. For some reason, the person Ive focused on for turning 50 is Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips. Hes still himself and still an innovator. Hes turned the Flaming Lips into an art platform. Turning 50 is great. Im gonna celebrate in a graveyard.
Seriously?
Oh, yes. Ill have a bunch of my friends come together. Its not a public event, but well be at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Well have some chocolate. J Mascis is gonna play. He just turned 50 too. Well play music and celebrate being alive.