(Part I) In which P&B announce the upcoming Firesign shows in LA (buy tickets here), Richard reveals himself to be a “baby of the Firesign Theatre” (it’s true!),  Phil tells how the Firesign Theatre were the original computer hackers and we discover why Surrealism makes you smarter. As Peter says near the end, “You either never heard of us, or you have us memorized.” I fall into the latter camp and this one is for all my fellow Bozos on this Bus. I have done hundreds of interviews in my career and this one is in my top five favorites. Hopefully, schedules permitting, I’ll be speaking to all four Firesign Theatre members next month. Stayed tuned for Part II next week. (You can listen to David Ossman and Phil Austin on Air America recently here)

These 2 guys are absolutely brilliant.  I’ll be trying to fly out for their show.

I love their mention of Artificial Intelligence & inherent understanding of it.

These guy’s are pure genius, i’d love to sit down and pick their minds I could listen to them for ever and never get bored.

I think I recall seeing the Firesign Theater perform live in the Stony Brook University Student Union or the so-called “sincere flattery” imitation. It was very interesting, almost surreal and obtained a degree from there after truckin’ up to Buffalo, NY for the “visual and performing arts college” in residence experiment part of the new campus opening, with state Law School. Good luck with the cues! To be on the mark!

Nice to hear Richard share about having discovered them as a kid. My college-age brother left his copy of ‘Bozos’ behind one fall when I was but 8 years old, and it profoundly warped my sense of humor, for which I’m grateful.

Great interview. That’s shoes for industry, Charlie.

I love these guys. The whole troupe have been intellectual heroes since my teens. Try listening to the organ on Prairie Home Companion WITHOUT thinking of the background music in Don’t Crush That Dwarf. The FT have had far more influence on the culture than most realize or ever mention.

“Hey Paolo? Who broke the President?”

“The Holy Trinitron: Mother, Luis and his lawyer.”

“That’s the steel box! Inside I’m tan and handsome!”

“Janet Bangalong ... He’s a prize-winning bore, and she’s a Filipino housewife living off the fat of the land.”