I seem to like imaginary crushes more than real relationships. I’m not sure why that is, except that reality is a little more of a mixed bag than our rosey-hued imaginations will account for. That and I’m a Sagittarius – one of the notorious dreamers of the Zodiac!
My first huge crush this summer was on Rufus Wainwright. I know he’s gay, but let’s just say I like a challenge. In reality, it’s his songwriting and musical genius that keeps bringing me back for more. We’ll save that rhapsody for another post.
Then there was this dude from work, who turned out to be a jerk. It was a delightful flirtation for about fifteen minutes, and then a sucky descent into “when will he call?” for about two weeks. I could keep daydreaming about him just for kicks, but after awhile, even Sadge the Dreamer knows that it’s masochistic to continue thinking that something is there when it’s really not.
In other news, I joined Twitter a few months ago, mainly to follow Rachel Maddow and Ana Marie Cox, that sexy lesbian couple (just kidding, they aren’t really a couple, but wow). I didn’t really use it that often, until I started watching shows and getting on Twitter at the same time – pretty fun!
Then one day, I finally went wild for Twitter. While searching through a hashtagged topic, I saw Paul F. Tompkins on there, who has won the AST Top 20 Comedians Poll several times. I looked him up, checked out who he follows, then proceeded to follow the tweetstreams of various other comedians and personalities. One of these was Mr. Dave Hill, a bon vivant and man about town in New York. I first saw him on YouTube, when Rufus Wainwright (one of my other crushes) was on his show, the Dave Hill Explosion, along with Dick Cavett.
Cue the violins!
I like how Twitter allows you to see the world through someone else’s eyes in a way. Dave Hill was in downtown Manhattan the first day I followed him – he snapped pictures of places and sights along the way, and then he “tweeted” them with humorous captions. Even though I don’t know him, and most likely will never meet him, I got a sense of what it would be like to walk around with him as he commented on things. Plus I got a little window into what was going on that day in NYC (he showed the marquee of the Radio City Music Hall in one) that I wouldn’t have access to otherwise.
I’ve gotten more familiar with Dave’s style of humor from his tweets and by watching some of his many internet videos. He seems to have mastered the art of internet promotion, with many different venues for his work. He has appeared on HBO and Cinemax and also starred in the show, The King of Miami on the Mojo Network. He has a one-man show currently running at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theater in New York City called Dave Hill: Big in Japan. He is also an accomplished musician who sings and plays guitar in the band Valley Lodge, and has backed fellow musicians Lucy Wainwright Roche and Walter Schreifels. He has also worked extensively for the comedy website Super Deluxe.
His humor is somewhat in the absurdist and self-aggrandizing vein of Stephen Colbert, although a bit more self-deprecating and purposely sophomoric. He inflates his “Dave Hill” character into a larger-than-life persona who is “pretty f-ing sweet” at everything, and who likes to “rock the f out” a lot. He plays himself as an awkward fool in interviews quite often, while mugging at the camera to indicate what he “really thinks”. It’s kinda subtle, but once you catch on, it’s really pretty hilarious what he’s doing. I’m amazed at the number of people on YouTube who just don’t seem to get it – I don’t think they are taking the time to watch him closely. Or maybe they are the kind of people he is making fun of!
When he is on stage playing music though, you see the other side of his performance persona, which is a serious and practiced musician. He plays mostly “power pop” type hooky riff songs, but also seems to have a range of styles available, including metal riffs and standards. I am still finding out more about his musical endeavors, but I definitely like what I see so far. He has a mesmerizing stage presence which is accented by his snappy dress style and cool moves.
So add Dave Hill (along with Barack Obama, Rachel Maddow, Stephen Colbert, Zach Galifianakis, and Rufus Wainwright) as one of my new inspirations and someone to admire. He gives self-aggrandizing, sexy-yet-awkward dorks everywhere a voice. I mean that in the nicest way possible! I’m one too 🙂
So I’ve decided Twitter is a pretty fun thing. You can take in a stream-of-consciousness feed from several hundred (or more) people at once. Sometimes a bit overwhelming, but definitely exciting and thought-provoking. It’s cool to watch trending topics rise and fall like on a tide. I think they call it the hive mind now? I’m a bit behind on my hip lingo. Love you Dave!
Dick Cavett and Rufus Wainwright on the Dave Hill Explosion at UCB (part 2 of 10)
Impose Magazine interview
clovernode 