Anime Herald
patreon
Muppets Mayhem at New York Comic Con
🕑 Added 2023-01-21 22:59:14 +0000 UTCAuthor: Seth Burn
Editor: Samantha Ferreira
Saara Chaudry & Anders Holm
Unknown Outlet: Can you break your characters and what they want from the band?
Anders Holm: Yes.
Saara Chaudry: I play Hannah. Hannah is Nora's younger sister. She's framed as her successful younger sister who Nora has had to take care of her whole life, because the parents are no longer in the picture. Hannah's built this social media empire for herself. She's a makeup artist, but primarily she's really just focused on social media.
When Nora decides to get the band and help them create their first studio album, Hannah is there to support her sister. As the story progresses, and we learn a bit more about what the band is doing, Hannah is there to support the band.
It takes her quite a while to get there, to realize what's important to her. We see her grapple with this idea “Is social media healthy for me? Is social media serving its purpose to me in a way that's beneficial to me and the people around me?”
Hannah's work with social media in the band is really prevalent. We will see that. I can't give away too many spoilers, because it's so special, I think the way in which social media plays a role with the band. I really want fans to see that for themselves and let that be a surprise.
Hannah is just there to support her sister. And kind of bring that familial element to the show. Bring that idea of sisterhood and a younger perspective. I think I'm the only Gen Z on the show. So that's Hannah.
Anders Holm: I play JJ. JJ is a hotshot music mogul who's got his own streaming app. He wants to sign the band to a streaming app. He just wants to build this brand. The plot twist, the backstory, is that JJ once upon a time was Nora's boyfriend, who's kind of this video gaming guy who didn't have any ambition.
When she dumped him to go make something of herself that was a wake up call for him to do a mentality makeover. Start wearing his fancy suits and go for broke. Now he thinks that if he can put the band on the map and make them into a success that'll help win back Nora.
Did I mention the suits?
Unknown Outlet: Let’s mention the suits.
Saara Chaudry: JJ’s wardrobe is just…
Anders Holm: JJ’s got a style… Very short pants… Not a lot of socks…
Saara Chaudry: No socks, actually.
Anders Holm: It’s very like the show The Bachelor. How those guys dress.
Saara Chaudry: JJ could easily be “The Bachelor.”
Anders Holm: JJ is the guy voted off first in The Bachelor.
Saara Chaudry: Yeah. Unfortunately, yeah.
Anders Holm: A lot of hair product.
Saara Chaudry: Hannah's wardrobe, I will say, is amazing. Hannah, because she’s an influencer, because she's working in this world of social media and she's a very public figure. She's a makeup artist. Her wardrobe is absolutely amazing. The way that the team was able to play around with different designers and different fun colors and elements of fashion was so cool and unlike any character I've gotten to play before. That was really fun, playing this really over the top character but somehow, even if she was wearing the most absurd thing, she pulled it off. It wasn't me. It was her.
Anime Herald: Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem has been around since 1975. How did they introduce that history to you, and what was it like experiencing all that for the first time?
Anders Holm: Two-parter!
Saara Chaudry: A two-parter!
I grew up with Sesame Street when it came to the Muppets. To be honest, I was relatively unfamiliar with Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. I obviously knew of the characters in a general sense. And of course we all know and love Animal, and that sort of stuff. But, you know, coming onto the show I had to... my parents are huge fans. My dad especially. The Muppets meant a lot to him growing up. He grew up in England, where the Muppets first came to be.
Getting to not only learn the history of the Muppets from Muppet performers themselves, and people who have been involved forever, like Bill, but also have that person at home who could be like, “Hey, this is what the Muppets meant to me growing up.” Have someone as close to me as my dad, who could turn around and say “You being a part of this project means so much more to me than you'll ever know.”
Unknown Outlet: Does that put a bit of pressure on you?
Saara Chaudry: I think there’s pressure in any role to do it justice. I think with the Muppets. There's such a long history. It's such a strong fandom, then, of course, there's a little bit of pressure to do it justice. But I think as I was doing it, I didn't feel too much pressure because everybody on set was so kind. It was so much fun to just play “Wow. Working with people like Anders.”
Anders Holm: We had a little bit of fun.
Saara Chaudry: We had a little bit of fun.
Anders Holm: Do you remember this? (Makes a funny face)
Saara Chaudry: Oh my god! This guy would try to make me laugh in every single scene.
Me and Tahj actually... that was inseparable. He were unable to get through a scene without cracking up.
But to answer your question, yes. The history behind the events was something that was very important for me to understand. I grew up with Sesame Street. Getting to learn about Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem was a beautiful journey. Learning it from the people themselves was an honor and a privilege.
Anders Holm: That’s what the show is about. Like they were saying on stage, this is finally a chance to spotlight a band that’s... everyone knows the band, but they haven’t really had their shot. That’s what this show is.
Saara Chaudry: Were you familiar with them?
Anders Holm: Yeah. I now have kids. I have an eight year-old, a four year-old and a zero year-old. I’m rewatching all these movies with them. They were pretty fresh in my mind. And so when the opportunity came up to be a part of it I was like “Hey kids, Dad’s going to work with the Muppets” and they’re like “Whatever, dude, make my oatmeal.”
Unknown Outlet: The Muppets are so timeless, they can be plugged into any genre or medium. Your dad (Saara) is a huge fan, and you’re watching with your kids (Anders) now. What do you think makes this IP and these characters that is so enduring?
Anders Holm: There is something about the Muppets that brings you in. Especially when you interact with them. The Muppet performers call us… “Fleshies?”
Saara Chaudry: The Muppet performers call us “Fleshies.”
Anders Holm: When you interact with them it brings them to life in a way that when you’re a kid and you see adults talking to them, it kind of flips a switch in your brain where you’re like “Wait, are they real?” Because you’re watching adults who you trust talk to these puppets like you talk to your stuffies or whatever.
Saara Chaudry: You talk to your stuffies?
Anders Holm: I’m not going to go there, homewrecker. Stop all these recording devices and I’ll go there.
Saara Chaudry: (Laughs)
Anders Holm: It gives a life to them and kind of marks them to you as this “other thing.” It’s not a cartoon, it’s not a puppet, it’s a muppet.
Saara Chaudry: A being. I think what makes the Muppets so special is the fact that they're so universal. When you look at the Muppets, you don't see color. You don't see gender. You don't see race. You see these beautiful characters who have incredible stories to tell. They're all lovers at heart. And they're just... kind characters that have so much to offer. And I think that's what I lead with.
My dad's story that he told me was The Muppets was the first thing he saw on screen that he could relate to. Because when he was growing up, even when I was growing up, I didn't really have that much representation on screen. Albeit, a little bit more than he would have had.
He only saw one dimensional white characters that he couldn't really relate to you. There weren't really many brown people on screen at the time. But the Muppets was something that he could sit down and watch with his siblings, or watch with his Indian father. “Hey, we don't have to think about any of that right now.” Here's this green frog behind on screen, that makes me laugh and puts a smile on my face. And there's not much else to it other than love and compassion and humor.
Anders Holm: And if you’ve met her dad, he’s kind of a Muppet. He’s a total character.
Saara Chaudry: He’s a Muppet in himself.
I was able to have a guardian on set. COVID restrictions were pretty tough. I turned eighteen on the show. I was seventeen when we started. I was allowed to have my guardians on set, so my dad or my mom would come with me.
The way that my dad got along with all the Muppet performers… like Bill (Barretta) and my dad are besties. It’s amazing. They're all in the same age range. He grew up watching them. They all relate to the same things.
Every time I would pull up to the set in the morning, it became progressively less “Hey, Saara, good morning,” and more “Hey, Saara, Where's your dad? Is he with you today?” I was like “Hi. So nice to see you too.”
But that was the beautiful thing. The Muppets transcend so many different generations.
I hope that Gen Z, girls and boys, people my age, are going to love the show. But it's it's also the older generation.
Anders Holm: Why are you looking at me?
Saara Chaudry: It’s the OLDER generation.
Anime Herald: When you got the role, what’s the first you did to do research to learn how to interact with the Muppets. What’s the first thing you watched?
Anders Holm: Zero research.
Saara Chaudry: He’s like “I didn’t care about this project actually.”
Anders Holm: I showed up… I read the scripts. I was just worried about myself, my character, and focusing on bringing as much as I can to it.
Saara Chaudry: That’s JJ. Focusing on himself.
Anders Holm: Yeah. Well, you know what I mean. And then when you get there, it’s a whole different style of production, where all the sets are elevated about four feet off the ground because the Muppet performers are down there in these dugouts. You have to watch where you step because you might fall and bust your head open. So that aspect was different.
You let the Muppet just wash over you. You’re acting with these icons. You’re trying to not look down to the performers. You’re trying to look in the eyes of the Muppets. I don’t know how you’d prefer for that… but I’m sure Saara did. How’d you do it?
Saara Chaudry: There would be days where I would go home from set, and I would watch the old show. Just for fun. It wasn't research. I wasn't like “Okay, I'm going to sit down and do this research and be prepared for this role.”
Anders is 100% right. Nothing can prepare you for working with the Muppets. It's something that happens on the day, on the job. Luckily, they're all incredible human beings and they guide you through it. They're so open to helping you. They know that it's a strange experience. I think just being open minded was the biggest form of preparation.
Bill Barretta
Unknown Outlet: You are expanding the backstories of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. What goes into diving into these characters and really spreading them out without ruining everything that you build slick previously established in the last few decades?
Bill Barretta: It's a good question. Because there are certain things that we all know about the band. I'm not sure how to explain it. There's so many different ideas that come out in the room. I was kind of this arbiter of having to sometimes say, “That doesn't feel right.” And I don't even know why exactly. Maybe it's a feeling. Then I checked in with the guys who are performing these characters. We talked about “What would you think, if this were to happen to them? What does this backstory feel like for you?” They could chime in and help guide that too. Jeff (Yorkes) is such a huge Muppet fan. Same with Adam (F. Goldberg.)
(Editor’s note: Otter translated “Jeff is such a huge Muppet fan” into “Jeff is such a huge lump of ham.” We deeply regret the correction.)
But it was not easy, but a comfortable process to be able to find these ideas. They just started to grow out. I wish I could put it into words. I don't know. I just feel like we thought “Okay, what would be fun for Dr. Teeth?” Is it something about when he grew up? Why does he have a gold tooth? Start asking questions, specific questions, about their characteristics now. And what can we pull from that? Is he a doctor? Why do they call him doctor? So we start to explore these things.
Floyd? They've never done an album. Is there a writer's block when happening? Who writes the band's music? Who wrote “Can you picture that?” When was it written? Was there a moment in time that they came up with the lyrics of some of these songs?
I think that's more of it. It's probably [that] we looked at who they were, and we started to pull little specific pieces of these characters that everybody knows, and thought, “Well, where does that come from? Where could that go? How could that grow and change in a good way?”
Sorry, that was really long, but I've really thought about why.
Unknown Outlet: It’s a tough tightrope for you to walk. How do you balance trying to add things without pissing off fans in the process?
Bill Barretta: I don't think you can think about or worry about fans or groups of people that are going to be concerned with what you're writing. At first I think you set out to just have fun. You walk this line of having integrity with the characters and maintaining that integrity.
I wish I could put some of this into words. I can say that I've never personally been in this position as a creator of a show, like this. I feel like because I live with the performers, I live in that trench, that I really have a good sense of these characters. I hope that my guidance, keeping them true to who I believe the performers think they are, helps guide this a little differently.
When we don't have a voice in the room, it can tend to go places sometimes that are unexpected, and may not be appealing to you. But I think it's great that we have a real voice in the room. Adam and Jeff, Adam is the showrunner, completely open to hearing what the Muppets have to say.
If we're sharing the experience that the Muppet performers share, I think it really helps drive a project like this in the right direction. I think it'll feel true to who they are. Without worrying about who they're good for. I think people will just get a great feeling from all over.
Unknown Outlet: The Muppets have been around for years. Can you talk about their evolution in this series?
Bill Barretta: Oh, well, I can’t give that away. I can’t give away what’s going to happen to them.
Unknown Outlet: Can you give it away though?
Bill Barretta: I would say that they do evolve. Everyone has a growth spurt. Doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good or bad. They all end up still being who they are innately. They all have great journeys.
Unknown Outlet: We were just talking with Anders and Saara, and how Saara’s dad is a huge fan of the Muppets and that Anders is now watching with his children. As someone who's been part of this world for so long, what makes the Muppets and its characters so enduring?
Bill Barretta: I think it’s heart. I think that's the key to it really. Also I think people identify with these characters. There's probably someone who maybe you identify with. I think it's family, too. I think there's a family unity. And it's not because they're blood relatives, it's because they're all different. I think it sounds corny, in a way, but I think it's true. It's embracing the difference, and loving each other for being different.
Anime Herald: Saara and Anders were talking about what it’s like on set. Any fun stories from the production?
Bill Barretta: Oh, my gosh. I have such a terrible memory. I can just tell you, it's always fun to see new people work with us. Because it's so strange. Our sets are raised three and a half feet above the ground, so that we can stand while we work. So our crew, and our cameras, are set about six and a half to seven feet off the ground so we can stand the front and the bottom-of-frame cuts off the waists of these characters. I have to figure out and help design how high is this room based on how tall Saara is, and Lilly and Tahj. It sounds really strange, but when we audition, some of my things were “Guys, we can't have everybody be over six feet tall, because the Muppets will look tiny.”
It sounds weird, but it kind of plays into the casting a bit. How tall are the people? Are they afraid of heights? Because you're always above. Aside from your talent, I know it's really weird, but logistically, it's always interesting to see how these people come into these spaces and go “Oh my gosh.” It takes about a week and they start to get comfortable and they know where to look and where to be and how to relate to the characters.
Anime Herald: Will there be an actual album?
Bill Barretta: Yes. It’s an album of all new recordings.
Lilly Singh & Tahj Mowry
Unknown Outlet: We have a member of the band moving into Nora’s house, upending her life. Where can we expect things to go right after that?
Lilly Singh: I think Nora is gonna very quickly learn that she's in for a huge handful with the band. When she first meets them, she's got to figure it out. They're gonna listen to her. She has a plan. She's a very organized person, very type A, she has lots of ideas. She thinks they're gonna listen, she thinks they're gonna sit down and take instruction, which is not at all what's gonna happen. I think they have their own way of doing things. And plans are hard to wrangle. You're gonna see her super stressed and just trying to act that she has it all together.
Unknown Outlet: Real “order versus chaos.”
Lilly Singh: Absolutely.
But a lot of learning along the way. I do think one special thing about the show is that it can seem outlandish at first glance, but I think she’s very relatable. I think people will watch it and see themselves in multiple characters, and in multiple Muppets. I think it’s a show with a lot of heart.
Tahj Mowry: For many reasons we haven’t seen this much of the band, ever. So we get to learn their backstories and why they're the way they are. It's a very human-like side to them that I don't think we've ever seen from... any Muppet really.
Lilly Singh: People cried on set.
Tahj Mowry: It’s so much heart, and like I said, you get to learn about them. They become more real to you than they were before. Which is crazy when you're doing a scene because you forget that you're talking to a Muppet.
Unknown Outlet: What’s your adjustment curve, where you’re suddenly interacting with the character and not aware of what's going on below deck?
Tahj Mowry: For me the first day I had to figure out the eyeline, because the voice is coming from three to four feet below and then the puppet’s right here. So you obviously have to look that up. But as far as getting into the groove, it was pretty instant, because they're so good. Like, you literally forget. And then what's crazy? When you remember that they are Muppets, you're like, “Oh, right. You're not real. But you are.” So, it was pretty. It was pretty quick for me because it was just, like acting with a person, you know what I mean?
Lilly Singh: Yeah.
Tahj Mowry: I mean, you are…
Lilly Singh: A lot of people ask me that. “Was it hard?” Honestly, no.
Tahj Mowry: Yeah (in agreement).
Lilly Singh: I go on set every day, and I said hi to Phil, and then Dr. Teeth, and then Peter, and then Lips, as if they're two different people. The scenes that are really tricky are when we can’t see the puppeteers at all.
Tahj Mowry: Those are crazy.
We got to the point where, and this is it hurts us to the core when this happens, when we can’t see the puppeteer, we can only see the Muppet, and you know, their arm is like this (raised upright), so they have to rest, right? So when they go down, it is the most depressing you’ll ever see in your life. It's like “No, where are you going? Come back!”
Lilly Singh: Yeah.
Some days it was the opposite. Some days I’d be working with the Muppet and I didn’t see the puppeteer at all, the person would start looking like the Muppets. Bill no longer exists, I just see Dr. Teeth, even I look at Bill
Anime Herald: I can just imagine Animal appearing out of nowhere
Unknown Outlet: That’s a nightmare.
Unknown Outlet: When the 2011 Muppet movie, the one with Jason Segel game out, there was kind of this running joke, Jason Segel would be doing press, understanding that nobody's here to see the humans. They are here to see the Muppets. Was there any kind of concern for you too as performers? That, maybe, there's too much of us? Because everyone's willing to see Animal and Dr. Teeth and so on?
Lilly Singh: 100%?
Tahj Mowry: Yes.
Lilly Singh: Yes, absolutely. Every day. We talked about this on set a lot. Because we know this is such a beloved IP, you know, people love Muppets. And we know that, honestly, just to say like it is, it's not really about us. I think the show does a really good job at that. I think people are gonna get everything they want from the Muppets. And I don't think you will be upset thinking “Oh, my God, the humans took up so much room.” I think there's a lot of sweet interaction between both of us. That's what I'm telling myself in therapy at least. I'm hoping that that's the case.
Tahj Mowry: I think there’s a good balance. I think the purpose of this show is to see this band in real life situations. So, that includes human beings. The way that amazing writers wrote it, it’s just beautiful. It's harmonious. It works. There's a perfect balance. If there's a scene with just humans, you're going to get the same length of a scene with just the Muppets. You know what I mean? It's a give and take. And then obviously, when everyone's together, it's beautiful. Humans, Muppets, everyone.
Anime Herald: What was it like learning all the history? You had to learn the songs from before your time and stuff from 1975. What was that experience like introducing yourself to it?
Tahj Mowry: Oh man!
Lilly Singh: We were talking about how we both watched the movies….
Tahj Mowry: It was the best research I could ever do for any role. I just went through all the movies. Obviously, I grew up with Muppets Take Manhattan. But, yeah, it was the best work ever. Just going through. And you know, someone like “Moog,” I wanted to make sure that I was fresh with it, so that when I go to set I’m already in that energy of “I get to hang out with the band,” because that's “Moog” anyway. When he gets to hang out with the band, it is the best day of his life. So if he gets to do that every day, he can die happy.
For me going to work every day, getting to hang with the band, they went hand in hand. So for me, watching all those films reminding myself of all these characters, and also seeing how they interact with humans, and how they have interacted with humans before, and then finding ways that this can be different or the same. That was wonderful. Yeah, I had so much fun watching those movies.
Lilly Singh: Yeah. I watched all the movies. I think for me, it was also the fact that I did not grow up with rock & roll. I have a huge gap in my knowledge where I grew up with Bollywood. So, I had to learn kind of the whole genre of music. Prepping for Nora I would even wear rock & roll T shirts at home. I would borrow them, I would buy them, I would listen to it in my spare time, I would play it on my phone. I would submerse myself in this genre, even if it wasn't music I knew I needed for the show. I just want to get into that mindset.
I'm really big into manifestation in general so I changed things about my life. When I was waiting to hear back about whether or not I got the role I actually Photoshopped a credit and at the end of the show of Lilly Singh as Nora. Now when I see it I’ll be like “I manifested that.”
Tahj Mowry: Yeah. I think even in my trailer I had…
Lilly Signh: His trailer’s lit. If you want to see a trailer, he did his trailer up.
Tahj Mowry: It smells good in there, too. Everyone who comes in mentions that. But I have to keep in that energy. This guy goes to shoot every single Electric Mayhem show. I had rock & roll posters and stickers on my trailer wall. Anytime I was on a break, I still felt like “Moog.”
One of the best things about him is his wardrobe. He’s been to so many shows. so he gets to have the coolest band tees, ever. I got to take some home. Which I've already worn. So yeah, it’s literally his wardrobe. Band tees.
Unknown Outlet: As a superfan, what is it you’re looking for from the band? What do you want from the Muppets?
Tahj Mowry: I think “Moog” just wants to be in their presence as often as he can. To be along the journey of them making their first album. If that’s him holding a cup of coffee, or bring them some snacks in between rehearsals, whatever he can do. And if he can help you record, he can die happy.
Lilly Singh: I think Nora wants to feel validated in her industry. She wants to work with Electric Mayhem. She wants to prove herself to her boss, to other executives, so she needs for them to get their act together and make some awesome music so that she can make her mark in the industry. And that is a very difficult thing to do.
Anime Herald: Just out of curiosity, as someone who was introduced to rock music as an adult, what became your favorite stuff?
Lilly Singh: That's a good question. I would say my favorite stuff is probably the classic stuff you guys have known your whole entire life. I'm not gonna give any spoilers because some of them may be in the show. I am definitely in the minority, I am the problem. When I went home and I was practicing the song my friends would be like “Do you not know the words to the song?” “Do you?” “Everyone in the world does.” Oh, I'm the only one.
Tahj Mowry: She would come into the makeup trailer and be like “I’ve never heard this before” and we’re all like googly eyes at her.
Lilly Singh: I was gonna say that most people would kill to be in this position and here I am “What are the lyrics to this song?” I adjusted to the amount of work I had to do to learn them.
Adam F. Goldberg & Jeff Yorkes
Unknown Outlet: What is it like for you guys to go from fan to official?
Jeff Yorkes: (to Adam) You had that chance.
Adam F. Goldberg: I had that chance. I wrote Muppet Wizard of Oz when I was in my early 20’s. It was a big budget movie that got sliced and diced into a TV movie. Jeff saw it was like “Let’s do our own Muppet thing.” That’s how long this dates. Over the years Jeff would suggest “What about a ‘Pigs in Space’ show.”
Jeff Yorkes: That was just an hour ago.
Adam F. Goldberg: That’s true.
Probably about eight years ago Jeff sent me a trailer, which is what he does. It was the perfect [Electric] Mayhem trailer. I’m like “This is the show we have to start doing.” We’ve been working on this thing quietly for years.
By the time we pitched it to Bill we had every backstory of every character, some of which we actually shot. Some of the performers were like, “Nah, how about this?” and we were like “That’s great.”
Jeff Yorkes: That was the other thing. To get into this, as a fan, to get into this Muppet world. To be a true insider. We were working with the performers, “What do you guys think?” That was important to Muppet studios. And it was important to us that they be involved. These are their characters, so to have them as collaborators to say “We'd like this.” What Dave Goelz, legend, brought to Zoot. Adam and I just looked at each other “Oh, we're doing that.”
We just realized how lucky we were.
Adam F. Goldberg: And also Bill. Bill is phenomenal. As a performer, he had never been allowed on the writing side, which is kind of nuts. No performer had ever really been, ground floor up. It's generally, a showrunner comes in and they're like, “I'm the showrunner. I know what [the] Muppets is. Here you go.” And then the performers will get it and “You broke up Kermit & (Miss) Piggy.”
Bill, to have him there, was so instrumental. “This just feels so right.” In fact, Dave, when he watched the first three episodes, “This feels like Jim Muppets.” That was great to hear.
There's so many Muppet references that I cut that found there way back in. No one wants an (Emmet) Otter's Jug-Band Christmas reference. This is going to alienate so many people. *Laughs*
Jeff Yorkes: It’s one line.
Adam F. Goldberg: They’ll either love it or have no idea what you’re talking about.
Jeff Yorkes: And that’s fine. It’s an Easter Egg. You get rewarded if you find it.
Adam F. Goldberg: I would take these things out of the script and they would appear back in.
Jeff Yorkes: Or Adam would notice I’d be really mopey on Zoom. He’d be like “Okay, we’re putting it back in.” and I’d be like “Yay!”
Unknown Outlet: Was this designed as a single season?
Adam F. Goldberg: No.
Jeff Yorkes: It’s a launchpad. They make an album. What would you do if you were a band after you made an album? You go on tour.
Adam F. Goldberg: Then you go on an international tour.
Jeff Yorkes: And then you go to space! Season four!
Adam F. Goldberg: What we've discovered is, in terms of Muppet ideas, the performers have been doing it for so long, they've like they've written every version of every script. But oddly, Bill, after the Hollywood Bowl, Bill was like “This should be the show.” And no one had ever written it yet, or tried. Which is weird, because it seems like it's a kind of a gimme.
Jeff Yorkes: Totally.
Adam F. Goldberg: They even did a Star Wars that they wrote. They’ve done it all.
Anime Herald: You guys are launching two projects right now. You’re doing the show and the album, which are two separate things. That’s a lot of work. Can you talk about your process for creating the album?
Adam F. Goldberg: It’s super important to him
Jeff Yorkes: I’m a huge music geek. I collect vinyl. Not only do I want an Electric Mayhem album, I want an Electric Mayhem ALBUM. I want there to be colorways. I want there to be gatefold.
Adam F. Goldberg: I don’t know what any of this is.
Jeff Yorkes: The music in our show is a combination of covers of originals. For the covers, Adam has a limited spectrum.
Adam F. Goldberg: I like Queen. I like Billy Joel. The music I learned in Summer camp. In the ‘80s. ‘80s Summer Camp.
Jeff Yorkes: But he’s the smartest writer I know. He’d be like “Just tell me what song will give us this emotion at the end. Help us tell this story moment.” Which is an incredible thing to be given as a music fan. I’d be like “Here’s my pitches. Here are eight songs we could use here.”
Adam F. Goldberg: I’m like “No one knows ‘Cake.’ What’s ‘Cake?’ No one knows this band. Jeff’s like “Oh my god.” I’m like “’Chicago’ they know.”
Jeff Yorkes: Then we brought in Linda Perry, who’s a super rock star. Adam’s like “Okay?” and I’m like “And I say hey.” Adam’s like “Oh, I do know her.” She’s incredible and super cool.
I don’t write music. I don’t play music, I don’t play an instrument. But, I was just like “Here’s the story that’s happening in this episode. These are the story points. These are the images that are happening in this episode. And here’s a lyric that I wrote… it’s a poem…”
And then she came into our next Zoom “Here’s the song I wrote with Jeff’s lyrics.” I’m like “Oh my god!”
The other day, we we’re just cutting (editing) the episode with the song that I co-wrote with Linda Perry. It’ll be on [Electric] Mayhem’s album.
Unknown Outlet: Is she doing all the originals?
Adam F. Goldberg: We were under the gun in production, and Linda was so busy working on earlier stuff, we cast a net. Musicians were amazing. They had 24 hours and every song was great.
Jeff Yorkes: “We have to pick?”
Adam F. Goldberg: There are songwriters who every day are writing some new song, or pulling a song out of the vault “This might be good.”
Jeff Yorkes: Ed Mitchell, Steve Burrell, worked with the Muppets before, did a bunch of songs with us. Fantastic. Just fantastic. Just an embarrassment of riches.
Adam F. Goldberg: Initially, I was greatly inspired by the Lonely Island rockumentary “Popstar” (“Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.”) I just stopped there. I was like, “Is that what this is gonna be like? Are we doing a commentary on modern day music?” But ultimately, we went legit. We got Linda Perry and we did real songs. Because “Can You Picture That” is a real song. It's the best. We wanted it to be like a real album with real songs.
We do have some comedy bits and songs and stuff. Some mumble rap.
Unknown Outlet: So you’re not just keeping it blues rock, Dr. John feel.
Adam F. Goldberg: A lot of the point of the season is if the band was making an album today, what would their sound be? Is it the original sound? Is it going to be influenced by absurd modern music?
Jeff Yorkes: It's also the person who's putting together Nora, she really wants to make a name for herself. She's struggling. She wants to be true to the band, but also wants this to be a successful album. How does she deal with that? What's the album that she's helping them make?
Unknown Outlet: It seems with Muppets Haunted Mansion coming out last year that was focused on Gonzo and Pepe, now we've got this (Electric) Mayhem show. Does it feel like there's a push from Disney or Muppet studios to give focus to these secondary Muppet characters?
Adam F. Goldberg: I think it's designed from me being terrified to do a Kermit show. He's so iconic. For us, the band seemed just as iconic. Animal, Janice, Doctor Teeth.
Jeff Yorkes: So much freedom.
Adam F. Goldberg: That's what gave us freedom.
If we went in and pitched a Kermit show, they'd be like, “Sure, great.” But I think it was just us creatively. When they started the Marvel universe they went with Iron Man.
Jeff Yorkes: So, sort of known?
Adam F. Goldberg: Right. It wasn't Captain America who you know.
Jeff Yorkes: Or Spider-Man.
Adam F. Goldberg: So that's what we want. We do want those. They should have movies, they should have shows, they should have variety shows.
Anime Herald: The birth of the Muppetverse.
Adam F. Goldberg: Yeah.
Jeff Yorkes: The MCU.
When we pitched the show over Zoom, [Electric] Mayhem crashed the Zoom.
Adam F. Goldberg: Yeah, [Electric] Mayhem was on the Zoom.
Anime Herald: Who could say no to Animal?
Adam F. Goldberg: Who would dare?
