On a fateful night back in early 1997, WFMU disc jockey Tom Scharpling and his comedy partner Jon Wurster orchestrated what they thought would be a one-off goof. Wurster called Scharpling’s radio program posing as Ronald Thomas Clontle, the author of Rock, Rot & Rule, a highly-dubious and aggressively idiotic tome that promised to be the “ultimate argument settler” by filing every musical artist into one of three vague categories – “rock”, “rot”, or “rule.”
The phones exploded, with angry and baffled callers falling right into the duo’s comedic trap. Scharpling navigated the ruse with expert faux incredulity, while Wurster plowed ahead undeterred, as Clontle’s bizarre justifications (David Bowie and Neil Young rot because “they made too many changes”) and inaccuracies (“Madness invented ska”) stirred up endless arguments. A tape of the call started making the rounds and soon became an underground hit, especially with touring rock bands. To meet the demand, Scharpling and Wurster formed Stereolaffs Records and released Rock, Rot, & Rule on CD in 1999.
Now, 10 years into their reign as the masters of radio sketch comedy, Scharpling and Wurster celebrate a decade of laffmaking with The Art of the Slap, their fifth release on Stereolaffs (out on April 17, 2007). Their collaborations now anchor Scharpling’s “The Best Show on WFMU”, a weekly, three-hour dose of mirth, music, and mayhem. Scharpling also continues to work as a writer/executive producer for the television show Monk, and Wurster, the longtime drummer for indie-rock pioneers Superchunk, has recently toured with former Guided By Voices frontman Robert Pollard and the Mountain Goats.
The duo recently worked on Tom Goes To The Mayor, a cult fave on the Cartoon Network’s popular “Adult Swim” block. This past October, Scharpling and Wurster rocketed to a #10 debut in the bi-annual Top 20 Comedians Poll on A Special Thing, the premier online portal tracking the comedy zeitgeist.
In the years following Rock, Rot & Rule, an increasing number of comedy and music titans began singing Scharpling and Wurster’s praises, like Conan O’Brien, David Cross, Patton Oswalt, Ben Gibbard and Ted Leo. The double-CD Best-Of compilations Chain Fights, Beer Busts and Service with a Grin (2002) and New Hope for the Ape-Eared(2004) were further evidence that not only were Scharpling and Wurster crafting brilliant, standalone bits, but also mapping out an exciting and unique comedic universe. Those releases were followed in 2005 by the instant-classic, Hippy Justice.
The Art of the Slap continues in this tradition by introducing six characters that allow for ruminating on issues of class, puncturing the self-inflated, and embracing the hilarity of the desperate scramble to maintain a tenuous grip on reality. You’ll meet Andy from Lake Newbridge, who engages Tom in mundane chit-chat that gradually builds to a surreal symphony of revelations, and enter the funhouse of “extreme” filmmaker Trent L. Strauss (“The Auteur”) as he holds a mirror up to society and sees grisly horror epics that uphold Hollywood’s history of socially-conscious filmmaking. You’ll also hear the heart-tugging story of Tornado Todd, a misguided entrepreneur who’s turned a life-changing event into a profitable non-profit charity that preys on society’s basest instincts.
And then there’s Horse (“Jock Squad”), a bodybuilding computer repairman who treats Tom’s PC like his personal heavy bag. The set ends with a call from Keith Garfinkle (“Postal Slap Fight”), a belligerent, ill-informed blowhard (he thinks Lon Chaney is the sitting Vice-President), whose latest hobby is entering a nine-sided polygon and competitively slapping the faces of morbidly obese teenagers.
Last but certainly not least is Corey Harris, who makes a glorious – if not so triumphant – return on The Art of the Slap in the riveting two-parter, “The First Rock Band on Mt. Everest.” (The saga appears as a limited-edition bonus CD on the initial pressings of the collection.) When we last heard from Mr. Harris (on “Mother 13” from New Hope for the Ape-Eared) he was an arrogant, talentless rocker who refused to believe Tom’s prediction that he was doomed for failure after playing to sparse, daytime crowds on a corporate festival circuit that included the not-so-prestigious Earthlink/Pringles Summer Slam Jam.
After being humbled by getting dropped from RCA and gaining new life perspective with the birth of his son, Sky Stalker, Harris has reformed Mother 13 for a woefully misconceived quest to climb Mt. Everest (with an eclectic lineup of special guests ranging from Buddy Guy to The Polyphonic Spree) and become the first band to perform at its summit.
Corey Harris has that glimmer of hope that resides somewhere deep within even the most crazed of Scharpling and Wurster’s characters. They’re constantly searching for something – success, money, fame, power – but they have no idea how to reasonably get there. (One shudders to think what would happen if they did.) Corey’s plan is, of course, destined to go horribly wrong, but there’s something endearing about the persistent struggle to make one’s dreams – rock ‘n roll or otherwise – come through.
While they keep pushing the boundaries of the art of long-form radio comedy, Scharpling and Wurster’s approach remains rooted in the inspiration for that first call: making each other laugh.
