Sarah LaDuke: We all know the old joke: Two black cats, a demon, and a tiny wizard walk into a state-of-the-art recording studio and performance venue. … Wait … this is something new.
Berkshire native, producer and digital music maker, and erstwhile stand-up comedian McQueen Adams will be at Studio 9 on the Porches Inn campus in North Adams, Massachusetts, this Saturday and Sunday evenings performing new songs and bits for those in attendance. The shows will be recorded as McQueen's next album, “Touch,” and he'll be joined by a cadre of comedy and creep adjacent characters as embodied by artists and friends who seemed thrilled to be on this unique artistic journey with him.
McQueen honed his comedic voice with a successful Snapchat digital series for Comedy Central called “Heads Will Roll” which drew millions of views. Over time, he also developed his stage act, which included a Funny or Die tour performing around the country. That led to a record deal with aspecialthingrecords, an LA based comedy label, and the 2019 release of “Black Cat,” McQueen's first album. McQueen! Welcome back to the roundtable.
McQueen: Thank you so much for having me, Sarah. I appreciate it.
SLD: How do we begin to talk about what we're talking about here today? I guess I need to ask you to start where you began, what's the seed of the idea that has grown into this album? And we'll follow the path.
McQueen: So “Black Cat” was an album that I did, and we talked about, in 2019. And then COVID happened. So when COVID happened, there was no tour, everything stopped completely for everybody -- rightfully so. And we went into sort of lockdown. So I had to find friends. So I created imaginary friends in my studio. And that's where this show comes from. My mother's dead cat, which is weird for people - but he was very inspirational in all of this; a pint sized wizard, that's the size of my thumb that talks and cast spells that don't work on humans because he's so small; a demon from my childhood who used to sing songs to me when I was a kid, and then me. But I needed to feel like I had sort of a secret identity. So I kind of reached out to people that I knew. And this is where the Black Cat helmet came from, which I have, which is from Alterian. Alterian is the company responsible for Daft Punk helmets.
SLD: What do you and the imaginary friends do that is for public consumption?
McQueen: So basically, if you were to watch YouTube, and there's all these shows, and they review pedals and musical gear, and they take these serious kind of like takes on everything, which helps people buy stuff. We do the same thing except we sort of make fun of everything. Basically, pedal sound might open a porthole to a different universe, and we all travel there, but we do it together. And it's just kind of a group of friends like doing things together, which seems simple, but we're also a band. So we're writing music constantly -- funny music, but well produced music. And I think that's where the show shines the most is the original music. Because everybody involved has musical backgrounds – except for the wizard because he's got tiny hands and he can't play instruments. Yeah. Which makes sense. But yeah, I think it's, it's, I think that it was about like, creating a world where people could come in and like Pee Wee's Playhouse, or Mr. Rogers is a safe place, but with music that was for now, like, you know, Daft Punk and things that influence the show. And I think that's what this is all about. So - to come see it live, you're going to actually hear the songs for the first time. Because this is the first time we're actually performing them live. We were supposed to do MASS MoCA and then the writers’ strike happened. So that production got shut down and or, what is the word I'm looking for?
SLD: Postponed?
McQueen: Postponed! You are the professional. Yeah, postponed until further notice. So that's what we've kind of doing. We're here at Studio 9 in North Adams at Porches and we're going to do the show Saturday and Sunday night, August 12, Saturday, August 13. And it's going to be quite an experience for people. There's puppets and Davey Pierce plays the demon in the show. He was the bass player for the band called Of Montreal.
SLD: I love the band Of Montreal.
McQueen: So he's, he's, he's the demon in the show. So he'll be here. He's flying up from Atlanta. He's staying with us and then we'll be ready to rock and roll. I have an amazing singer, Crystal, who is in a lot of the songs and she's flying in from LA and she'll be singing them live too. So it's gonna be quite event of craziness.
SLD: What kind of information did you have to impart to Davey Pierce for him to prepare to play the demon in the Black Cat show?
McQueen: We shot a teaser video because we are putting a pilot presentation together for Adult Swim to do the actual show, “Black Cat.” And Davey worked with me on my Comedy Central show in Los Angeles, he flew out and wrote a lot of the music with me. So he said to me, when he flew, I saw him at LAX. And he left after that experience, he looked at me and said, “If you ever do anything weird and wonderful again, he said, just send me an email and tell me where to be and who I'm playing, and I will be there.” Yeah, so I sent him a picture of the demon. And I took a small video of it, and sent it to him. And he was like, I am the demon. And so that's where it came from. And now he is, and he's going to dress in full garb. And he's gonna play the bass guitar. And he's going to play the piano, and he's going to be a huge musical force. And that's why and he wants to be in the show, too. So. So that's where he came from.
SLD: You said - you sent him a picture of the demon -- something that you drew?
McQueen: No, it's an actual full costume that we went out, went out and got so it's pretty, it's intense. But it's fun, too, it's fun. And I think that's there's nothing in this show that's like, I don't say overbearing, but it's not anything to like the creep people out. It's supposed to be like: You know, you have people who are friends who love Halloween? People who want to go to Salem? People who like that kind of dark stuff – like with TV shows. Or that love Fall? This is a celebration of all that kind of weirdness and coolness all together in a show with music that has amazing hooks. Cool concepts. Strange, but also awesome. It's a celebration of weird.
SLD: I mean, good! Tell us more about the helmet, please.
McQueen: So the helmet’s origin started with me being a huge Daft Punk fan. Absolutely. And then crushed when they broke up. But I also have friends that have worked within that whole realm at Daft Art. So with merchandise and things like that, and so you have an idea in your head, I push towards things I don't sit and wait. So I sent my album Black Cat to Alterian. Alterian is the company responsible for the helmets, but also Chucky. Tony Gardner, who owns the company, did the Thriller video, you actually see him. One of the dancers got sick. So he's actually dancing in the video, which he sent me, which I thought was hilarious … “Hocus Pocus,” any huge thing you've seen where special effects are scary monsters? They're responsible for. And he loved the song “Black Cat” and the album. So we started a dialogue that was friendly at first and I was like, This is what I'm thinking about doing. And they're like, let's do it. So from that point, being shocked, I went to New York City and got 3d imaging from the waist up. They sent the files to LA where the office was and the built me from the bust up my head everything. And they built the helmet onto the body. And that's how it started. And then over a period of time, about a year it went from prototype to does this fit. Do you like this helmet? Can you see out of it? Could you sing in this helmet? Can you hear inside this helmet? So we did test after test after test. And then a week ago, the final version came in, which you can't see on the radio, but Sarah can see over there on the piano.
SLD: It's very cool. Can you see in the helmet? Can you sing at the helmet?
McQueen: Absolutely. Both. We tested it. Yeah, it has a full ventilation system in it too. So it has fans that come from the back and push down. But once you start talking or singing to fans turn off. So yes, it's double-sided lenses that were specially designed for the helmet, so you can't see him. But I can see out – it doesn't fog in there. And there's no echo chamber when you sing. So it actually sounds crystal clear.
SLD: It's wild. It's weird and wild. Why do you - if you can put it into words - need or want a persona on top of yourself for the for the performances for this production?
McQueen: I think that comedy, I think for a while, like trying to figure out what people talk about what “your voice” is, and come to a place where creatively that you feel safe. For me, it's always been like, where's the next step to get to where I want to get? And being in a helmet - it's like almost, I don't say a superhero. But it's like, you can be whatever you want to be. And I think that's what I love about it. And I like that it's like this - what is it, an emoticon? I am the Black Cat. From seeing that the show was - and seeing the characters were - to actually becoming it. It's the focal point of what I'm trying to express. So I love having the helmet on and I love performing in it because - it's like it's funny. Someone asked me recently a friend, like, the same sort of question about the helmet and why - and I was like, it's like performance art. And I think that's what I've been searching for and speaks to me is that kind of experience. I think wearing the helmet it that's part of this whole production So I love it. And it's just, it's awesome.
SLD: The imaginary friend that we've talked about the least is your mother's dead cat. Max, Tell me why Max - real Max - is an inspiration important enough to you to include in this and then how it's being performed and represented in the production.
McQueen: Okay. So my mother's cat was awesome, Max. We had him for years, and he had, you know animals -- personality. We talk about that a lot. This cat had personality, very animated - visual. And for some reason, when we've ever had to put a pet down. Unfortunately, I've been the harbinger of death where my mother can't go. So she's like, You have to go do it. And it's a weird story. So. But anyway, so when he got older, we, I was in New York City, my mother said, “Will you please come up here?” And you know, so I went, I did it. And there was a moment -- do you ever have those moments where you're, everything gets quiet, and you can really hear? And when they put the cat asleep, we made eye contact, and the cat looked at me. I'm telling you, I know it sounds weird. But I heard two words: Go live. That's what I heard in my head. And I was like, Wow, this cat really was like, this is amazing being. And I had to honor that. So when the pandemic happened, I was like, in this world is going to be this cat. And so I went out, and we had this puppet made. And I have a good friend Joe, who's an amazing voice actor. And he is great with puppeteering. And so he became Max. And so we have this dialogue that runs through the show. And it's funny, and Max is absurd, but Max is clever, and the smartest of the group. And that was my homage to the cat.
SLD: That’s beautiful. As you know, I often speak with my dog, so I totally get it. No to him, with him. Let's talk more about the music. How long have you been working on the songs? How concrete are they etc.?
McQueen: So the first album went number one. And granted it was for a millisecond, but you're competing against albums, you know, that had been on the charts for 10 years. So but it was weird to be in a comedy-like part of that when the songs are funny, but it's music. So I decided I want to up the music game. So I was dealing with producers in New York and in Los Angeles and in Atlanta. And I was like, I was trying to figure out like, what's the next evolution of this? Like, what's funny, and I just start writing by myself and I got good at making music on my own, and then handing it off to people to elevate it. So the songs are – there really, they're good. And … they are.
SLD: I'm glad you like them.
McQueen: I like them. They're different. I think people are gonna enjoy them because I was constantly concerned about hooks. A good hook is everything. If it's your warmth, it’s everything. And I love Jack Black and I like you know, Adam Sandler, I like guitar, but it's, it's not -- there has to be another gear. And that's what I was I've been looking for. And I feel like with this album, we've created it. And I think that's what it is. I want people to know the words. Remember the hooks - be able to sing along, but also be like the songs are funny. And I think that's what Black Cat is all about is creating that that sound that people are like, wow. I want this on Ed Sheeran concert - and I was like 70,000 people knew the words to every song. I'm like: That's power, musically. Because music is a time machine, you know, you hear a song and are like “I was 17 when that song came out,” “I was you know brokenhearted” or “I was happy” or whatever it was. And I was like, I want the world to hear this music and be like, wow, like, this is changing something inside me. You know, and I that's what I was focused on making the second album. So what are people going to hear? They're going to hear versions that are - for the first time -being played out in public. And it's selfish for me in respects because after Mass MoCA, I wanted my parents to be able to see this because my parents aren't coming to London to come see me perform, you know, but they'll come to North Adams. So for me, it was a no brainer. So but yeah, if people come they're gonna hear stuff and hopefully leave with that stuck in their head.
SLD: What is the instrumentation such as it is?
McQueen: Piano, there is amazing synthesizers, arpeggiators, drums, everything. I play the Ableton Push 3. I write everything. I put it into Ableton, and I sample it out and then I control everything with my hands. But like I said, Davey plays the bass. We have somebody playing piano. So it's full arrangement. We tried to get a choir up here but they weren't available. And as you see in the space, it probably wouldn't have fit in here. So but that's what we're aiming for - a full sound that you wouldn't think that you would hear or see at a comedy show. There's people that have done bands or karaoke and things like that are comedians. But this is like another, like level of performance. And I think that's what, you know, you're gonna experience if you come to the show. But yeah, Martin guitars made my own - they're making my own Black Cat guitars, which is super cool for me because it came out of left field with them, but they're super, like, supportive and been amazing to me. So it's like, it's cool. So I'll be playing my Black Cat guitar. So there's all sorts of music. It's really, it's, it's, it's, it's good. It's, you know, it's good. I think it's good.
SLD: I am so excited that this is going to be realized, as I've been, you know, following along the pieces coming together. I'm so so psyched. Congratulations, and thanks for talking with me about it for the show.
McQueen: Sarah - you're the best. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it so much.
