Who actually is Tim Heidecker? Even for followers of his comedy, it is generally exhausting to know. As the grasp of his personal leisure universe for the previous 20-plus years, the multi-hyphenate who made waves as co-creator of “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” on Adult Swim is somebody whose humor comes from taking part in totally different characters over time. He has constructed a profession creating absurd new worlds that usually bear little resemblance to his day by day life as a laid-back, hyperliterate, baseball-loving suburban dad.
At least that is the facet of him that emerged throughout a current interview at his dwelling recording studio within the quiet, tree-lined hills of Glendale, the place he typically hides away to write down extra introspective than hilarious songs or cinematic episodes of his weekly present. , phone discuss present “Office Hours”. Taking time to report his new album, “Slipping Away,” out Friday, his actual life comes into sharper focus, whilst he writes a deceptively complicated mixture of heat folks songs about fatherhood and others that showcase dystopian tales post-apocalyptic. worry.
Together together with her touring band: Eliana Athayde on bass and vocals; Josh Adams on drums; Vic Berger on keyboards; and Connor “Catfish” Gallaher on guitar and pedal metal: Heidecker has created his most formidable album so far. “Slipping Away” thrives on brief vignettes of sound that create an environment that shifts from lighthearted avenue music to darker existential jams that one way or the other find yourself giving hope. We not too long ago spoke with Heidecker about having enjoyable along with his identification as a singer-songwriter. The dialog has been edited for size and readability.
World-building is a vital factor in your comedy: creating characters and plots in a present like “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” in addition to in your stand-ups or mockumentaries like “Mister America”. How does your method to world-building in music differ from comedy?
It’s definitely totally different. I’m within the midst of constructing a brand new world, I suppose, and there is continuity with the sort of songs I write and the type they play to, or the preparations and the manufacturing type. There’s positively a line that runs from one report to the subsequent: the themes are related, the musicians are related. In any universe or world, there are individuals inside it, and that is changing into constant. In my small group of collaborators there are some well-known individuals who have labored on my data, like Natalie (Laura Mering) from Weyes Blood, Jonathan Rado and Kurt Vile, Mac DeMarco and now with my present band, their personalities are beginning to emerge and hopefully persons are changing into followers of it. I gown a sure approach within the music enterprise; it is slightly nearer to how I really gown. But each time you go on stage, you contemplate how you’ll look, the way it will seem on movie or when individuals will take pictures of you. So I stay as an individual, certain, but it surely’s slightly extra grounded, slightly nearer to myself.
In the music video for “Wells Running Dry,” which was filmed within the recording studio the place you made the album, what was your objective in exhibiting a behind-the-scenes take a look at the way you make music together with your band?
I’m a fan of seeing processes, I’m a fan of seeing how issues get made. I may watch hours of studio footage. It’s one thing you possibly can’t all the time see. Sometimes it’s totally boring, generally you need to wander round for a very long time to search out one thing helpful. But in that individual video I needed to indicate how a lot collaboration and the way a lot love there’s between all of us. There’s a way of me by way of a few of my tasks and a few of my on-line presence, my humor on Twitter, my stand-up, that I might be who I’m. But I believe by way of music it is a possibility to see that I’m fairly personable and all the way down to earth and that I’ve enjoyable with different individuals. And I’ve been making (music) with these individuals for thus lengthy that I’ve to be fairly tolerable to be round.
What impressed the album title “Slipping Away?”
Titles are a difficult enterprise to cope with. I’m a giant fan of data, clearly, and the little tips that emerge over time. There’s a report or two the place the title of the report is not the title of the music, but it surely’s a line from one of many songs. So “slipping away” is a line from the music “Tripping”. For me it had two meanings: one is constructive, letting go, being open, stumbling, getting misplaced. And then the darkish facet, the second facet is that all the things is slipping away, all the things is falling aside. OK, so I like the place it has an A-side which means and a B-side which means.
I additionally assume the album cowl has a twin which means too. It’s a photograph of the management room (of the recording studio) with an empty chair. And there’s two meanings to that for me, which is like are available and sit down and hearken to my report. And the opposite facet of the coin is that there is not any one, they’re all gone.
Tim Heidecker performs piano and bass at his dwelling within the hills of Glendale.
(Carlos Gonzalez/For The Times)
There are additionally two elements to the album as an entire that type an arc that touches on how luck can rise and likewise fall simply as rapidly in life attributable to chaos or sudden occasions. Did you write among the songs first after which the others got here later? How did the narrative arc of the album develop?
The writing for this report was positively popping out of the pandemic and it felt like we received a style of what you would possibly see in a catastrophe film. There have been occasions in our lives the place it felt like, oh, s—, we’re raiding the grocery retailer for bathroom paper. So among the songs I used to be writing had been type of very verbatim brief tales, character research, about individuals residing in a world the place issues have fallen aside. So it actually got here out simply from that being within the air. But it is actually heavy, and I did not need the entire album to be burdened by it. And I believe all good idea albums all the time have some wacky songs as a result of they are not musicals or rock operas. So the opposite factor that was happening in my life was that I had simply launched this new undertaking, which was the band. And I used to be having constructive new experiences, however I used to be additionally feeling considerate about my place on the planet and approaching 50. So the primary half of the report is a bit more home and slightly extra reflective. And then I believe I really like the shock of the B-side which turns into very heavy, very dystopian, summary and never very private. I imply, it is private within the sense that it is fears and anxieties and nightmares that I believe everybody can relate to. But these usually are not issues which might be taking place to me.
“My survival intuition, my animal intuition, is all the time enjoyable,” Heidecker stated of his stay concert events. “This would be the underlying theme of your entire present.”
(Carlos Gonzalez/For The Times)
You added a light-weight contact to the tip of the final music, “Bells Are Ringing,” together with your daughter Millie singing the outro. It added a a lot wanted factor a type of palate cleaning second. How did you come to that call?
It got here out as a result of I felt it (the music) was too heavy. I’m in charge of what I’m posting; it should not exist. It exists as a result of I’m making it and I can say no matter I would like. So I positively felt this nice, lovely ending to the report. And lyrically, all I used to be saying is that it is over and issues are going to hell and all the things dies finally. And I used to be like, ‘Well, it is sort of a cop-out to finish up like this, , it is not that fascinating. It’s not that deep.” So I had that little phrase (“But underground perhaps there’s love rising, not a lot but it surely’s all we have now. That may be sufficient.”). It was too uncooked for me to sing, too weak, I suppose. And I simply heard the sound of a child singing, and Millie can sing, and I assumed it was a enjoyable factor to do collectively. It was cute, I did not assume a lot about it, besides, once I put it in, I used to be paranoid that it was a foul concept. But once I performed it for buddies, everybody reassured me by saying that it was very tender and cute, sure, that we had been making an attempt to keep away from embarrassment, as we all the time do.
Heidecker sitting exterior his dwelling recording studio.
(Carlos Gonzalez/For The Times)
Have you all the time carried out and recorded your personal music or did you begin taking part in after changing into captivated with comedy?
I’ve all the time had bands since highschool. I had aspirations of taking part in music since I used to be a child and placing it on the again burner for a very long time when comedy was actually highly effective and when Eric (Wareheim) and I had been simply overwhelmed with creation (“Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Work! ”) after which make one other TV present. Even throughout these occasions, there was a lot music on these reveals that I used to be all the time in a position to have a guitar useful, sit down on the keyboard and pull out some songs for the present. But with the beginning of my daughter, which was now 11 years in the past, and the transfer into my own residence, it gave me one thing to write down about that I did not have earlier than. Something that wasn’t ironic, wasn’t satirical, wasn’t a parody of one thing It was like, “Oh, I’m a dad and I stay within the suburbs.” And, , “This is sort of an fascinating new section and perhaps somebody may relate to this expertise.”
“I’m not a fan of going to see a band that simply performs their songs and leaves,” Heidecker stated. “I would like it to be an interactive, dynamic, enjoyable, but in addition shifting night for everybody.”
(Carlos Gonzalez/For The Times)
Have you considered the way you would possibly merge the worlds of comedy and music on tour for this album or within the close to future?
I believe even on this tour and the final tour I opened for Waxahatchee, my survival intuition, my animal intuition, is all the time enjoyable. This would be the underlying theme of your entire present. Yes, there are songs that aren’t humorous in any respect, however I might be earlier than, after and through (the present). Some of the songs are enjoyable, and I discover it is similar to the character work I do, like with stand-up it’s totally enjoyable and entertaining, but it surely’s good, restricted, such as you’re in a personality mode. When I’m alone on stage with the band, I can do every kind of enjoyable issues, nearer to how I do on my podcast “Office Hours”. I take the concept of placing collectively present very significantly and meaning it is going to be dynamic. There might be some rock stuff, there might be some unhappy stuff, there might be some humorous stuff. I’m not a fan of going to see a band that simply performs their songs after which leaves. I would like it to be an interactive, dynamic, enjoyable, but in addition shifting night for everybody.
