MUSIC

It’s very natural and comfortable playing together, which I didn’t know going into this tour. I had put this band together through some recommendations, and I knew them a little but not too well. So I think certainly by the time we got to Boulder, we were kind of gelled and connected as friends traveling together. We all have acknowledged in different ways, at different times, just how lucky we feel to have all found each other.

What’s fun is that we introduce the band during that second act at the top of the show — and early in the tour, there was kind of a polite applause as they came out; but then as the tour kept going, and I kept including them in my [social media] posts and showing little videos of them online and stuff, people were really excited to see them too. Their own personalities were coming through on stage.

Let’s talk about the comedy side of the show — which is not on the record, but was part of the tour. What’s it like to slip between those two modes as a performer on the same night?

The transition is actually really natural, I think. I spend maybe like a minute before I come out as a stand-up guy, just looking at my notes, warming up, stretching and kind of getting into the mindset. It doesn’t take very much. It’s really ignited by coming out there to the music and reacting to the crowd. And by the end of it, I’m relieved to get offstage — but it happens so fast that the transition is not something I’m super conscious of. I’m more just focused on getting into a different look, taking a breath, having some water and resetting. What has been nice, which I was hoping would happen on this tour, is that I don’t have to turn off the funny button in my head for the second half. There’s plenty of places [in the show] where I can be funny as myself, and not treat the music side like suddenly, “No more jokes!” We can play around, and I can play with the audience and play with Vic [Berger] and keep it fairly light so it feels like a wellrounded evening of entertainment.

I’m not suddenly transitioning into another character as a mopey indie-rock band leader.

It seems like a tall order to pull off this imitation of a hacky stand-up act that’s legitimately funny. How do you know when you’ve gotten the material to a place that’s actually going to make people laugh, and isn’t just off-putting or obnoxious?

It’s trial and error. Living in L.A., there’s lots of little clubs and theaters where I can do 10 or 15 minutes. That’s a good place for me to try a few new ideas. So there are things I just learned work there. And like I said, the band is really funny, and they’re really into that part of the show too. I think they feel kind of invested in their own way. So I’ll run things by them. Sometimes they’ll suggest an idea, or throw out a prompt for me to think about.

I don’t want to be intentionally offensive just because I can get away with it under the mask of this character. There’s a way you could go out there and do that guy and he’s just completely awful and unpleasant. I’m always trying to make sure that the joke is on this guy, not making the audience feel uncomfortable. And I think most people coming to the show know the context, so they’re also playing a role. A lot of the laughs are, like, fake laughs — and that’s good, too. Some jokes are bad, but people kind of laugh because most jokes are sort of bad anyways.

Well, thanks for taking the time — and for the show. It was really a pleasure to chat with you.

I appreciate it. See you next time I’m in Boulder.

ON WAX: Tim Heidecker and The Very Good Band: Live in Boulder is available now via Spacebomb Records on limitededition purple vinyl, and digitally on major streaming platforms.