Category: Q&A

Demetri Martin and his multimedia comedy show

Blending music and drawings with his signature one-liners and deadpan delivery, Demetri Martin takes the stage at the Capitol Center for the Arts (44 S. Main St., Concord, 225-1111, ccanh.com) on Saturday, Sept. 16. The comedian called in to talk about his current tour, called “The Joke Machine,” why he likes writing on typewriters, and what’s next on his growing list of creative pursuits.

What can audiences expect from your upcoming show?
I’m still mostly telling jokes, but trying to tell them in slightly different ways, with a little music and visual stuff. … There are drawings in the show, but with sort of a different twist on it. … There are a couple personal stories; I’ve been dabbling more in that but touring with jokes is still the most enjoyable, because with jokes it’s easier to switch things up from show to show and try new stuff.

When did you start drawing? How did that make its way into your comedy?
I liked drawing a lot when I was a kid. I remember, in grade school, I was considered one of the better kids at drawing. Then I just stopped until I started doing stand-up in my mid-20s. I carried a notebook around for writing jokes, and I found myself drawing again. Around 1999, I started trying out drawings on stage, at shows around New York City at what were called ‘alternative rooms’ where comics were trying more experimental stuff. … I’ve gotten better at drawing as an adult, and if I really try I can draw in what I think is a pretty respectable style. I don’t know how much that helps for jokes, though. You play music in your shows, though it’s not exactly ‘musical comedy.’

What does music contribute to your act?
As much as I wish I could write songs and sing, it’s not something I’ve figured out how to do. … I can play a couple instruments well enough — and it’s the same with drawing — where it’s not technically impressive, but it can serve a purpose in the flow of the show. I’m still just telling jokes or a story, but [music] can add a texture or shift the mood.

How do you turn a collection of one-liners into a cohesive set?
When I’m getting ready to do a new tour, I’ll do short sets around L.A., where I live, to see what works. … I have found that certain jokes don’t seem to work as well at the beginning of the show; I have to get the audience into a flow with me first. … On a good day, there’s a rhythm, and it’s sort of hypnotic, but when the crowd isn’t digging it, you can never really get it going. If I have set pieces that have endings, it helps. Like, the music and drawings have been very helpful for me in pacing out a show.

How do you craft a joke?
There’s the original way, where an idea arrives pretty nicely structured and seems like a joke. Other times — like leading up to a tour or when I’m on a deadline — it’s very intentional. I’ll write a page of jokes each morning, no matter how bad they are. I use old typewriters a lot because there’s no email or anything to distract me. I can physically see a piece of paper going through the typewriter, and when I get to the end of it, I say, ‘Cool. Got it,’ and then put it in a binder and let them pile up.

If a joke doesn’t land, how do you navigate that on stage?
If you’re telling a longer story, you can move past the parts where you thought people would laugh [but didn’t], and maybe they can’t even tell it was supposed to be a punchline. But when you’re a comic that tells jokes that are clearly jokes, there’s no hiding. … The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve learned to embrace whatever’s happening in real time and be a little less afraid. I’ve bombed so many times, but I’ve had lots of good shows, too, so no big deal.

What’s next for you?
I’ll finally have a new standup special out this fall on Netflix. My plan is for it to be the first in a trilogy — three standard specials that also go together as a larger story. The show I’m touring with now will be part 2. … Then, in the spring, I’m hoping to do my first art show. That’ll be in L.A. It’ll be fine art — paintings — but they’ll all be jokes, like, each canvas is a one-liner without words.

Featured photo: Demetri Martin presents “The Joke Machine.” Courtesy image. Art by Demetri Martin.

Concord grower discusses this year’s harvest

Diane Souther of Apple Hill Farm in Concord provides insight into a frost’s devastating impact on their apple harvest this year.

Can you describe what exactly happened this year with the harvest and how that affected you?

On the night of May 19, we were bracing for the predicted cold spell. We have measures in place to safeguard our crops, like our wind machine and [techniques such as] irrigating the strawberries. Around 11 p.m., Chuck went out to monitor the temperatures. It’s common for the coldest part of these frosty nights to be around 5 or 6 in the morning, but this time, temperatures dropped significantly earlier, starting around 11:30 p.m. and remaining low until the next morning. … [The apples] were past the sensitive blossom stage and had already started forming on the trees, some even bigger than pea size, so we thought they’d be alright. But as the day warmed, the apples just started dropping. They had been frozen solid. There was about three weeks when we just didn’t talk about it. We were hoping that some would just stay on the tree and still survive, but they weren’t. The very few apples that did survive had visible frost rings, a scar-like mark around them. The blueberries, the raspberries, the corn — they all pulled through. But it was just too cold for the apples.

What have you heard from other farms around the state?

The cold spell affected a stretch right down the Merrimack Valley. But the impact varied based on factors like elevation. Seacoast growers, for example, were a bit shielded due to the tempering effect of the ocean. For us, the cold seemed to roll right off Mount Washington and sweep down the river valley, and the orchards in its path felt it the most. However, farms like Carter Hill, which is slightly higher in elevation than ours, experienced slightly warmer conditions — maybe by a degree or two. Even so, they too had challenges to address as the season progressed. What’s the plan moving forward?
Where do we go from here? Luckily, we’ve been in the apple business for a number of years, and we have lots of good friends. … We’ve made calls to them, and they’ve got apples that they’re sharing with us. We’re able to purchase apples from them so we’ll have apples in the farmstand. And we’re trying to keep positive; our vegetable crops are doing great. We grow more than one thing here at Apple Hill: Our corn is coming in, tomatoes are coming in, cucumbers, beans, all of that stuff.

Have you ever had to do that before? Source products from other farms?

Not to this extent, no. We’ve always supplemented a bit. We go back and forth: if we had a good year and had lots of Honeycrisps, some of these farms that we’re purchasing from this year are ones we used to sell apples to. This year, we’re buying apples from them. It’s a great support system, the fellowship of the farmers here in New Hampshire, and even extending to New England. They’re a fantastic group of people. When one is struggling, the others will step up and assist as much as they can. With the “pick your own” option affected [Apple Hill will not offer pick-your-own apples, according to its website] this year, do you have alternative experiences for visitors at the farm?
Absolutely. We have a few hiking trails. We feature pollination plots, which are fascinating to wander through as different flowers bloom and attract various pollinators as the season shifts. We’re anticipating the arrival of fall raspberries, though I can’t provide an exact date. It depends on having about 10 days of sunlight. Our grapes are another attraction; while the initial batch was affected by the frost, the second blooming — often referred to as a secondary set of fruits — managed to thrive.

How have your customers responded to the situation?

It took us a while to address it … but we announced it on our website. The overwhelming support from our customers has truly uplifted our spirits. Many expressed their sympathy as if we’d lost a family member when they heard about our apple loss. They’ve been supporting us by buying our other products. The community has been great.

Diane and Chuck Souther of Apple Hill Farm. Courtesy photo.