{"id":3815,"date":"2009-02-02T21:13:52","date_gmt":"2009-02-02T21:13:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/geek.ravenkai.com\/?p=3815"},"modified":"2009-02-04T09:54:38","modified_gmt":"2009-02-04T09:54:38","slug":"tom-konkle-evil-potatoes-and-time-traveling-documentaries-just-the-beginning-for-dave-and-tom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/?p=3815","title":{"rendered":"Tom Konkle: Evil Potatoes and Time Traveling Documentaries just the beginning for Dave and Tom"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Writer,
Writer, Director and Funny Man Tom Konkle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the age of YouTube<\/a>, comedy shorts are popping up in droves. With mostly lowbrow humor in these videos, Dave and Tom<\/a> (David Beeler and Tom Konkle) stand out from the masses with their wit and\u00a0writing, and performances that are\u00a0carried primarily by dialog rather than sight gags. The fact that they\u2019ve had over 12 million views might be because their sketches are filled with clever double entendres in the style of Monty Python’s Flying Circus<\/em><\/a>. One half of the comedy troupe, Tom Konkle<\/a>, answered a few questions for us about what they\u2019ve accomplished so far and where they hope to take Dave and Tom<\/em> next.<\/p>\n

\u00dcberSciFiGeek (\u00dcSFG)<\/strong> I read on your website how the two of you met during a production. If you were both characters in one of the sketches you now write, what would that first meeting have been like?<\/p>\n

Tom Konkle (TK)<\/strong> Well, it would have been a fairly looney occurrence I am sure. We’d probably have been like those two silly British old beans in our sketch The Secret to Happiness is a Bad Memory<\/em><\/a>. A sketch where Dave would say “Hello.” And I would reply, matching his jovial quality like this:<\/p>\n

Tom: Hello, as well. Funny meeting you like this, isn’t it?<\/p>\n

Dave: What, in character?<\/p>\n

Tom: Yes, I mean, here I am as Tom 2.0 and there you are as… sorry, I haven’t caught your name.<\/p>\n

Dave: Haven’t thrown it actually.<\/p>\n

Tom: I’m sorry… I don’t understand.<\/p>\n

Dave: It’s a joke.<\/p>\n

Tom: Not following you.<\/p>\n

Dave: You said didn’t catch my name and I said I haven’t thrown it.<\/p>\n

Tom: Ah. No. Nothing. Anyway, strange us meeting during one of our own productions and not even knowing each other yet, isn’t it?<\/p>\n

Dave: Yes, that is odd.<\/p>\n

Tom: (suddenly laughing deep and disturbingly) Hahahahahaha!<\/p>\n

Dave: What?<\/p>\n

Tom : Haven’t thrown it. Your name. HAHAHAHAHAHA!<\/p>\n

Dave: Yes, I still haven’t.<\/p>\n

Tom : I always enjoy a good joke as soon as I am made aware of it. Uh, what’s you name?<\/p>\n

Dave: Dave.<\/p>\n

Tom: Yes. Of course, what’s your name, Dave?<\/em><\/p>\n

Anyway, you meeting as characters from a sketch might be a bit like that.<\/p>\n

(\u00dcSFG)<\/strong> You both seem to be fans of British comedy, especially Monty Python<\/em>. How did that come about and how does it influence your sketches?<\/p>\n

(TK)<\/strong> Well, I think its more a matter of finding kindred spirits in British comedy, especially Monty Python<\/em>. I can remember as a boy seeing the first episodes on TV and thinking, there’s someone who thinks the way I do about the world. The craft of writing and acting your own material interested me as I grew older, working in the profession of acting or writing other people’s things, so again Python<\/em> was a blueprint for that. Sprinkle in my own flavors and Dave’s and my other influences, and hopefully a unique voice can develop.<\/p>\n

(\u00dcSFG)<\/strong> You recently worked with John Cleese<\/a> on The Art of Football<\/em><\/a>. What was that like?<\/p>\n

(TK)<\/strong> Amazing. Highlight of my acting career. He got me into sketch and, frankly, was my major influence, so going and working with him in a two-man sketch show on TV was a dream. Cleese was a great person, gentleman and mentor who bothered to keep in touch. Wonderful time.<\/p>\n

(\u00dcSFG)<\/strong> Do you work with your network of friends or do you hold auditions?<\/p>\n

(TK)<\/strong> Both. Of course you work with friends in the business over and over or people become your friends as a result of working together so you go back to them but also, we are auditioning people now, particularly actresses, to expand our pool of talent we want to work with for the new web series Safety Geeks: SVI<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

(\u00dcSFG)<\/strong> You\u2019ve recently announced that Season 1 of Safety Geeks: SVI<\/em> is on its way. What\u2019s going on with SVI<\/em>? When can we expect to see Season 1 rolling out, and what can we do to help?<\/p>\n

(TK)<\/strong> We shoot at the end of February and hopefully we will be finished a few months after that and have it out as a complete season.<\/p>\n

(\u00dcSFG)<\/strong> You\u2019ve appeared a few times on Comedy Gumbo<\/em><\/a> for C-Spot. How did you get involved in that group?<\/p>\n

(TK)<\/strong> I had met Payman (Benz)<\/a> and Sean (Becker)<\/a>, the two guys behind Gumbo<\/em> (Awkward Pictures<\/a>), a while ago at a film festival. Their film was showing and mine, called Who Makes Movies?<\/em><\/a>, that I did with Chris Luccy was part of the festival and they liked the performance. We stayed in touch and it worked out that we could do a few sketches together in Gumbo<\/em>. We also did a short, Behind the Cup: Two Girls One Cup<\/em>, where I play the cup and Dave was the host.<\/p>\n

(\u00dcSFG)<\/strong> You\u2019ve created quite a collection of characters over the years. Where do you find inspiration for characters like Sir Reginald Bo-Hey No and Baxter Smalls<\/a>?<\/p>\n

(TK)<\/strong> I sort of channel them in the writing and rehearsal process. I know them very well and I like to play with these characters. Sir Reginald Bo-Hey No of the Invention with Brian Forbes<\/em><\/a> series is finally taking off, mostly due to Koldcast.TV<\/a> and their distribution of the show on Tivocast and iTunes, as well as their own website. Baxter was a labor of love with a director named Marcus and DP named Doug who I had shot a commercial with as Brahms, called Raisin Brahms<\/em><\/a>, a very silly PSA for music arts education, and so it was a natural progression.<\/p>\n

(\u00dcSFG)<\/strong> Speaking of Baxter Smalls, you\u2019ve created a wonderful premise for a series with a great pilot episode<\/a> and website to promote it. Can we look forward to more adventures with our favorite Time Traveling Documentarian?<\/p>\n

(TK)<\/strong> Yes. Baxter Smalls continues to be in development. I look forward to playing him in a series again.<\/p>\n

(\u00dcSFG)<\/strong> Are potatoes really evil? Do you eat potatoes in your house? What dark secrets are they the key to?<\/p>\n

(TK)<\/strong> Well, potatoes can certainly be used for evil, they can be turned. For all the answers you must look for Beyond the Known<\/em><\/a> online, about the potato conspiracy. It’s a sketch I used to do live and Gino C. Vianelli, who plays Art Gong in it, was always a champion of that sketch even when no one else was, and we finally did it for the cameras which was vindicating and fun. I like that bit.<\/p>\n

(\u00dcSFG)<\/strong> You\u2019ve been in several commercials recently, such as the Epson Artison series (Monkey<\/em><\/a>, Bling<\/em><\/a> and Art Critic<\/em><\/a>). What\u2019s been the most fun for you so far?<\/p>\n

(TK)<\/strong> I just did a Coke commercial<\/a> with my 3-year-old son that was special. It was a hard shoot as it was a night and, being three, he was a tired trooper. The Quiznos spots<\/a> where I played silly British characters in scenarios was fun. A LOT of the commercials I have done have been strange, silly fun. I rarely do a “straight” product commercial so it’s great. I did a Carrier<\/a> commercial directed by Christopher Guest<\/a> that was incredibly rewarding to work on.<\/p>\n

(\u00dcSFG)<\/strong> I thought your Star Wars: The Fate of the Duel<\/em><\/a> parody was hilarious. What made you decide to add sci-fi to your list of comedic genres?<\/p>\n

(TK)<\/strong> Love science fiction, HUGE library of books and DVDs. Star Wars<\/em> got me into filmmaking, really. So it was a natural fit.<\/p>\n

(\u00dcSFG)<\/strong> Who or what, exactly, is McFwap?<\/p>\n

(TK)<\/strong> McFwap was my sketch troupe for many years. Very talented, funny people in there, many became lifelong friends and all of them had such funny ideas and performances. I loved it.<\/p>\n

(\u00dcSFG)<\/strong> You have so many brilliant deadpan deliveries and one-liners, but so far I think my favorite is from Breaking the Language Barrier<\/em><\/a>: \u201cWhile some might drink from the fountain of knowledge, I merely gargled.\u201d What have been some of your favorites?<\/p>\n

(TK)<\/strong> That’s like picking a favorite child, really. Each line at the time is a snapshot of where I was comedically and what I was trying to accomplish, I can see when I see it again. I love the “Impossible as the proportional camel toe would be six inches across…” line that I wrote and got to deliver in the Safety Geeks<\/em> web series promo. Invention<\/em><\/a> has SO many. Lots in the television shows where my one or two lines were a deadpan line stuck in because they were part of helping make a larger project funny.<\/p>\n

(\u00dcSFG)<\/strong> I\u2019ve noticed a certain Biblical<\/a> theme in some of your work. Is there some inspiration behind those? Do you have any fear of “divine retribution”? Are they mostly ad-lib or scripted?<\/p>\n

(TK)<\/strong> The Biblical theme is there sometimes because it remains a sacred cow, which is intrinsic to comedy. Everything I do is very tightly scripted. I rehearse my improvs (no joke!)<\/p>\n

(\u00dcSFG)<\/strong> What else are you working on right now, and what would you like to do in the future?<\/p>\n

(TK)<\/strong> A feature called EMTs<\/em>. I have several web series I would like to do, a few television scripts and work on some projects with others. Hopefully the auditions keep rolling in, as well, while I do my own thing.<\/p>\n

Check out more of Dave and Tom<\/a> at their website and at YouTube<\/a>, Funny or Die<\/a>, Atom.com<\/a> and Blogspot<\/a>. The Art of Football<\/em><\/a> (or soccer, as they call it in America) is available now at Amazon on DVD.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the age of YouTube, comedy shorts are popping up in droves. With mostly lowbrow humor in these videos, Dave and Tom (David Beeler and Tom Konkle) stand out from the masses with their wit and\u00a0writing, and performances that are\u00a0carried primarily by dialog rather than sight gags. The fact that they\u2019ve had over 12 million … Continue reading “Tom Konkle: Evil Potatoes and Time Traveling Documentaries just the beginning for Dave and Tom”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,7,10,8,6,190],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exclusives","category-films","category-interviews","category-multimedia","category-television","category-web-series"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3815\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}