Comedy and music: nice combo
October 13, 1995
Comedy and music go hand in hand, like cheese dip and chips. And now Johnny Orr’s Sports Bar and Grill is bringing you its own brand of chips and dip, Malone and Nootcheez, a musical-comedy tandem.
This Sunday at 8 p.m., Johnny Orr’s will showcase the duo’s comedic genius and musical prowess. “We’re not like Laurel and Hardy, we’re more like Ren and Stimpy. We’re both strong characters,” Hampton Nootcheez said. “[D.C. Malone]’s a hulking, post-hippie-like guy, and I’m this little, Jewish, accountant-looking guy.”
Obviously this version of the odd couple is fruitful, since they’ve been together longer than most marriages, 23 years to be exact. “Any fight we could have had, we’ve had twice,” Nootcheez said. “We like to blame each other for things — a lot of whining, like an old married couple.”
When they first got together, they had one thing in mind, and it wasn’t making money. “Our main intention was to get high and laid,” Nootcheez laughed. “We did the living room circuit. We’d hope to get picked up by some babes and stay over with them and drink cheap wine. They would all show us off because we were usually the guys with the longest hair.”
They’ve come a long way, baby, to cop a Virginia Slims clich‚. They went from the “living room” circuit to comedy without missing a beat. “The comedy scene sprouted up in the early 80s; there were a lot of clubs and not enough comics,” Nootcheez said. “[This agent told us], ‘Cut out everything in your show that’s not funny, and you’ve got a comedy show.’ We were like, ‘Wow, this guy’s a f—king genius.'”
So, it’s 1995 and Malone and Nootcheez are strictly a comedy bit, doing covers and some originals. “We have one CD out. After 23 years we figured out that’s about one note per hour, a word a day. I’m happy with what I’m responsible for; everything he did sucked,” Nootcheez laughed. “I’m pretty anal; he’s pretty happy-go-lucky.”
Besides putting each other down and laughing, Malone and Nootcheez plan to please their audience. “My biggest fear is boring people on stage,” Nootcheez said. “We always like to get familiar with the crowd. We have fun, and it’s very contagious.”
Catch these two opposite-attracted individuals at Johnny Orr’s Comedy Club Sunday night at 8 p.m. Cover charge is $5.