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Podcast Notes: Literally! With Rob Lowe - Episode: Spinal Tap: Live & In-Person
Overview In this episode of "Literally! With Rob Lowe," Rob is joined live by the legendary rock band Spinal Tap and filmmaker Marty Di Bergi. They delve into their latest film, "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues," discuss various topics from pop culture to personal anecdotes, and engage in humorous banter that showcases their chemistry and camaraderie.
Key Themes and Discussions
Introduction of Guests
- Rob introduces the members of Spinal Tap, noting that all living members are present except their drummers, who are a running joke throughout the episode.
- The band shares their thoughts about their absence from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and their frustrations regarding it.
The New Film
"Spinal Tap II: The End Continues"
- The documentary captures the band's reunion and new journey. Rob praises the film, describing it as fantastic without giving away spoilers.
- The guests express their apprehensions about watching the final cut of the film for the first time, turning it into a humorous moment.
Rock and Roll Dynamics
- The conversation shifts to discussing their history, including the infamous incidents involving their drummers, including the humorous yet morbid anecdote about their last drummer, Skippy Scuffleton, who allegedly "sneezed himself to death."
- There's light-hearted banter about the nature of their past performances, groupies, and the evolution of rock culture.
Cultural References and Anecdotes
- The discussion highlights various cultural icons, including Paul McCartney, Elton John, and their interactions with them.
- Rob shares fond memories related to the Brat Pack films of the '80s, which leads to playful jabs about their reputations and films.
Comparisons with Modern Culture
- The episode touches on the differences in the music industry today compared to their prime, including discussions about other bands, current pop stars, and the evolution of music consumption.
- They reference current trends and how their legacy is perceived in light of modern entertainment formats like streaming and social media.
Audience Engagement
- Rob emphasizes the importance of audience participation and encourages fans to come out to theaters to support their new film, highlighting the communal experience of watching a movie together.
- The guests discuss potential Easter eggs in the new film, sparking curiosity without revealing too much.
Key Takeaways
- Legacy of Spinal Tap: The band reflects on their lasting impact on rock and pop culture, despite their humorous portrayal as a "fictional" band.
- Camaraderie and Humor: The essence of the episode is a blend of nostalgia, laughter, and the enduring friendship between the band members and Rob.
- Engagement with the Fans: The importance of live audiences and creating shared experiences in an era dominated by streaming services.
Conclusion The episode wraps up with Rob thanking his guests and expressing his excitement for the film's release. He humorously remarks about their dynamic and the depth of their shared history, leaving listeners looking forward to both the film and future episodes of the podcast.
Additional Notes
- Former First Lady Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson answer a listener's question towards the end, showcasing Rob's ability to weave in broader cultural references and maintain a light-hearted atmosphere throughout the episode.
- A reminder to subscribe to the podcast for ad-free listening and to engage with the show via voicemail.
Contact Information
- For questions and comments: Call 323-570-4551
- Subscribe to "Literally! With Rob Lowe" on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@LiterallyWithRobLowe) and various podcast platforms.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00St. Elmo's Fire, you never heard that's number one hit. to be rented soon. And given your expression tonight.
0:22Hey, everybody. A very special, literally, today. Multiple guests. One of my favorite bands in the world, Spinal Tap, is here with me. Their new documentary, what is it called again? Spinal Tap 2. The End Continues is coming out in theaters and it chronicles their reunion. And I don't want to do spoiler alerts. I've seen it. It is fantastic. We have every living member of Spinal Tap. Obviously, none of the drummers are here. So, stand by.
1:05Well, tap. Yes, sir. It's an honor. Well, thank you. You're correct. Hey, whoa, whoa. Hey. Quiet out there. Have some respect. It's really good. Have some respect. Clearly not an honor for them. Blow the bloody doors. Have some respect. This is future rock and roll. You're not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, though. No. Never. No, it's not going to happen. How I think it's a disgrace It is a disgrace Why do you have any sense of Aren't you friends with You must be friends with Jan Wenner No Not really No Well Here's how bad it is Wait You look bored Oh sorry I was inviting her to come in Because she was going out Oh And I don't know Now she's going out She's gone She's going to invite her back in Do you travel with groupies?
1:48Groupies? No We're old people What are you talking about? No Groupies It's a different thing It's more like groupers Really You know You know, big hanging mouth stuff. Now, they tried to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Well, we asked politely. But the thing is, they sell, you go to the gift shop, as you would at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they sell T-shirts that say, Hello Cleveland. They do. That's unfair. It is. Well, we don't get anything from it. No. No. They won't even let them in the gift shop. No. Now, let me ask you, the original Spinal Tap. I remember where I was when I saw it.
2:26I saw it in Westwood in the theaters. Yes, at the Bruin. They used to have theaters there. Yeah, nice. People used to go to movies in Westwood. Was it at the Bruin? It was not, I'm sorry to say it wasn't one of the big ones. But it was packed. And then I would watch it on tape with all my, like, Charlie Sheen and my homies growing up. Oh, yeah, yeah. And so we all loved the tap. But, and forgive me, Marty, do you think at the end of the day it was a hit piece? Yes. Felt like it. Felt like it. We've discussed this. Hatchet job. Yeah, you know what? I don't think this. I don't mean, I didn't mean it to be that way.
3:09No, I believe you. I believe that you did not think of it as a hatchet job or a hit piece. You just tried to show what was on. But you didn't show a lot of the good stuff. Well, the reason I bring it up is because you talk about in Cleveland, they sell the shirt. How many times did you get, like you get lost one time and that's what he plays. Well, that's the point. Once a week. Yeah. He shows the bad thing, not the good ones. Yeah. I think they did find the stage about 60 to 70 % of the time. Easy. Yeah. But, you know, well, you know, you're in show business. You understand drama. Yes. I mean, it's not dramatic to see everything working out perfectly.
3:52100%. You want to show the tension, the conflict, the problems. But you're denying reality if you do that. You're not really all that verite that you think you are. You're making the tension and the conflict. You're manipulating it is what you're doing. You're taking real time. And we say this is your friend. And we trust you that the new film is not like that. We haven't seen it ourselves. They haven't seen the new film. What? We have not seen the new film. I'm going to show it to them. I think he's afraid to show it. So are you a group that doesn't listen to the records? You don't? Oh, no, no.
4:23You have to. You mix them. No, no. No, no. I'm going to show it to them in IMAX. We're on Wednesday. Yeah. And they'll be the first time they see it. And I hope they like it. I hope you're going to live stream that. Well, yes, we are going to. And if they don't like it, it's going to be very embarrassing. It's going to be very awkward. So, and I've seen it. And a lot of great people make appearances. Yes. Should I not tell them who's in it? Well, no. We know. We know. They were there. Yes, of course. They were there. Sir Paul McCartney. Yes. It feels like you guys have a little bit of a complicated relationship.
4:59No, not us. One of us does. I know. I think he's amazing. I don't want to name names. No, he came in full of suggestions about an idea that I was pitching to these other two. none of his business at all. But he did come in and say, yeah, I didn't like that bit. You'll see, I'm sure part of it's in the film anyway. Let's hope Paul McCartney's, Paul McCartney. Yeah, but you know what? That doesn't give you a right to come in and throw your way around. I think he's a very nice man. I thought he was very down to earth and very easy to be. But, you know, David didn't have some nice things to say about him.
5:38But he did do a lovely version of Cups and Cakes. He did. One of my tunes. And I was very proud of that. He's probably the nicest sir of all the sirs. Perhaps it's funny. I was going to ask later on, but since you brought it up, would any of you accept a knighthood? It's not going to happen. Sure. Don't think about it. I'd have to think about it, yeah, as well. I think it would have to be all of us. It would be weird if one of us. No, no, no, no. But that's not how it goes. I mean, Ronnie Wood's not a knight. Mick is. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that makes sense, though. Let's see. Would I accept it? I'd have to think about it, I suppose.
6:13Because there's a whole, I mean, I don't need to tell you guys. There's a whole thing of people like, I'm rock and roll. You know, the queen ain't a human being. There's that whole school of thought in rock and roll. But there's also different levels of knighthoods. You know, you've got the queen's thing. She does this thing. It was the queen. Now it's the king doing it. But you could get a CBE, which is what you want. Or an MBE. You don't want an MBE or an OBE. you don't want it because it's just... What are those even? What's the C, St. Paul? No, it's Order of the British Empire, Member of the British Empire.
6:44These are the lower grades of it, you see. What's CBE? CBE is Commando. That's what... Oh, that's Commando Bond. That's the one you want. That's the real one. I think they deserve it, and I don't see why they haven't gotten it. But it's really a figment of an imaginary past because he said British Empire. There's no British Empire. No. It doesn't exist anymore. Divine rights of kings, and queens, excuse me, no. Yeah, and it's all someone telling the king or queen what they should do. He's not thinking at night, oh, I wonder who I should do. Someone says to him, your majesty, do you have a second?
7:22He says, what? He says, yeah, this might be good. Here's a list of people. And then he does it. Just like the Oscars. Exactly. Don't even get me started. Well, don't worry. Yes, yes. And the king, who I've met briefly, is not exactly a rock and roll aficionado. I remember vividly when Live Aid happened, he was not going to that quote, pop jamboree. Huh? Yeah. That was the quote. And I was like, well. Too busy digging Pete in the Outer Hebrides, I suppose. That's right. Yeah. That may be true. Jamboree. That's a British saying, isn't it? Jamboree. Jamboree. Jamboree. Yeah. I don't think so. Marty, tell me, And I love that you proudly have the Coral Sea hat.
8:11No, if you look closely. Oh, it is. I just noticed it's Oral. It's Oral Sea. What ship is that? It's not any ship. Oh. They wouldn't let us use Coral Sea. I see. And so we had to, we made up a ship, the Oral Sea. I just assumed, because I was going to ask you about your exploits in NOM. Yeah, no, I didn't go to Nam or Vietnam. Either one of those. Yes, I understand. Did you have bone spurs? No, but I know some people who did. Yeah, I've heard of them. They got out. Yeah. You guys have such a great, it's not a filmography, discography. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. Goes back a ways. Goes back a ways.
9:01One of my favorite songs is Sex Farm. Ah, yeah. That makes sense. You know, in China, at every mall, every shop, when they close, they play a song. They play Kenny G's song called Closing Time. It's like they play it everywhere. And someone told me, and I don't know if it's true, that every night at sunset, Sex Farm was played on Epstein's Island. Interesting. Is that true? Do you think that's true? Or do you think they made that up? I think. It would make sense to me. Yes, it does make sense. Maybe too much sense. Yeah. I think so. You guys were never. No. You're not in the manifest, right? No, it's not really our style, you know.
9:47We're not in that book. No, we draw the curtain on our private moments. Well, you guys were always, there weren't a lot of, I don't associate Spinal Tap with groupies. Well, I was in a steady relationship. Yes, of course. at that time. Oh, yeah. We used to have groupies. Yeah, there were a lot, but this was before you were born, actually. Yeah. What I know, I know mostly from the album, the liner notes. Yeah. It doesn't give people's names on liner notes, does it? Yeah, that's just about the professional. So, Derek, you responded. Yes. Your eyes lit up when I say groupies. Yeah. One eye lit up.
10:30The left one does, yeah. Yeah, they lit up. And I'm wondering, Was that why the zucchini was in your pants? Was that a one-off? Was that another thing that Marty kind of screwed you on? It was a zucchini. It was not a cucumber. It was a zucchini. I know my vegetables. Yes, you do. And yet the cucumber's a fruit. Go on. And what's the zucchini? What do you have in the pants? It's a marrow. It's like a marrow. It's a fruit. A fruit? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you know, we discovered early on that there was a peculiar fact about the rock and roll backstage lifestyle. The girls seemed to choose to come according to the lyrics of their favorite song.
11:17Hence. Hence, Big Bottom. Yeah. I understand. And here they come. Yeah. And didn't Queen rip that off with Fat Bottom Girls? It was around the same time. I think they ripped you guys off. Oh, well. They were famous. You mentioned the zucchini. They used to throw, if I'm not mistaken, they would throw zucchinis on stage when you guys were playing, didn't they? They threw lots of stuff on stage. Lots of underwear, sort of foundational garments were thrown on a lot. A lot of those things, what they called them? Panties? Bras? No, the little tiny ones. Pasties? Yes. They threw pasties on. I mean, I don't have experience with that.
11:58Well, apparently, yeah, you do. They threw pasties on me. Tiny Frisbees. And, you know, as time goes on, and the panties that are thrown on stage just get bigger and bigger. Yeah. Well, it's the fan base. Well, I was going to ask you, do you think there is a band that has an older, whiter fan base than you? And you can't say Jimmy Buffett because he's dead now. Nah, yeah. We could say it, but he is dead. Yeah, yeah. He couldn't say it. That's hard to know. So yeah, definitely, I would say the average age of the woman that comes backstage is probably 74, 75 maybe. In answer to your question, I'd say the average white band.
12:38Very good. Could be, yeah. Who weren't white. I mean, they were white. They were white. They were white. Mostly white. Yeah. They were average too. And so when you said, I can remember their album cover with the W looking like a woman's. Yeah. Yes. Which brings me album covers to Smell the Glob. and Sabrina Carpenter. I'm sure I'm not the first journalist who's asked you about how you feel about Sabrina Carpenter. It's an obvious homage. It's a rip-off. It might be, or it's a rip-off. Yeah, we don't, yeah. And she gets away with it. They wouldn't let these guys get away with it. We were cancelled, basically, yeah.
13:17But you know what... It was a long time ago, though. Time has passed, but you know what's missing from her cover? The glove. No, she's not smelling really anything. That's why she's getting away with it. Well, it's in your imagination. You see these trousers and shoes and you wonder, one wonders, what's going on here, you know? Where's his other hand and his glove? You didn't have to wonder. But it's more violent even because they're pulling her hair. Well, but it's what she's supposed to be smelling. Well, she's not smelling anything. Well, we don't know what she's smelling. The real question is, what did she say?
14:21The End else. We never were privy to that. It's like a dish of Ratatouille or something, you know, something grim. Smell the Ratatouille? Yes, it doesn't roll off the tongue. That's not a good album. No, it's not really. You could smell the Ratatouille, but you can't make it drink. Could. Now, Nigel, in the new movie, which is amazing, there are whispers of a memoir? No, I talked about it. Oh, sorry. Yes, I talked about it. It's your memoir. Yes, I was inspired by Bruce's work. Oh, yes. I am Springsteen going on Spreventine, which I really enjoyed very much. What was the title of it again? I am Springsteen going on Spreventine.
15:07Yeah. I listened to the audio book. How was it? Yeah, something like that, yeah. It wasn't Walter Brennan doing it, but it was close. Any titles? Hmm? What's your title? My title? Mr. David St. Hubbins. Oh, he means for the book. Not for the book. Oh, no, I haven't got a title yet. You know, I was going to call it Here Lies David St. Hubbins and Why Not, you know, which is what I plan to have on my tombstone. Well, you told me, this was some years ago, you said, what about me in it? That was going to be one, which I thought was good. I love it. I love it. I love it. I thought that was good, yeah.
15:46Or Hubbins. just well they could get that mixed up with yeah Hobbits Hobbits no no no I don't think so still working on it well it's it's great that you guys are back together for the con and thank you for memorializing it well for all the fans I'm lucky to get the job I understand so the movie comes out yeah it's I think very well it's in the Smithsonian it is well it's in the Library of Congress Library of Congress in the National Film Regist Home registry. And, you know, this goes to 11. That's in the Oxford English Dictionary. Did you ever get any money from? No. Anyway, I heard you had a Wrigley's gum offer.
16:31I didn't. For millions that you turned down. No. No, because I don't chew that type of gum. But thank you for mentioning it. Is it Nicorette? You could have just said that. Was Wrigley's in your mouth right now? No, it's not, though. Is it Nicorette? No. It's not. I can't say, don't get in trouble with a sponsor. That sounds more Fallon than it does Low. It is, don't you think? Yes, the gum. I'm trying to go where, you know, not... You're going to a press tour. Are you tired of answering the same questions? Well, you haven't asked us anything we've been asked before. You're doing very well. Oh, these are a little bit different?
17:08Yeah. But Guess the Gum is a great reality show. Guess the Gum. My guest, song title. Well, yeah. Guess the Gum. I'm seeing it TV series competition. I have all kinds of... Oh, yeah. Speaking of Bruce, have you ever been approached to buy your catalog? Like Bruce and Dylan famously have been made a fortune. I've been approached, yes. But it was David that approached me. And since we've written the songs together... I was a bit flush. I'd made a bit of money and I thought, why don't I just buy the catalog? And then I thought, no, it's nothing without these blokes. Well, also, you weren't that flush, honestly.
17:44Well, I was offering hundreds of pounds, as I recall. So it wasn't nothing. It wasn't nothing, but it wasn't something enough. It wasn't enough, I suppose, yeah. And you guys never, I mean, you've had your disagreements. They're famous. But I was always struck that it never felt, like as an actor, you do ensembles, right? And you always have to do the photo shoots. And I've been on shows where people were super angry about where people had to stand. The relationships have fallen apart. And look, you guys didn't even argue about where you're sitting. You never know. Be specific about which ones.
18:20Oh, he's not going to tell any of them. I'll tell you the West one, 100%. Oh, yeah. They told you where to stand? They always wanted me in the back. Why is that? Well, you're tall. You're tall. It stands to the mists of time. Because you're tall. Yeah. But I'm not tall. They're all taller than me. Allison Janney's seven foot tall. Josh Molina's going to be in the back now. No, I don't think so. He's the drummer. He's our version of the drummer. I've forgotten that. But you played in that, I haven't seen the show, but you were James Olmos' brother in that one? No, it's not the show. No, that's...
18:52No, the one, the gang show. The gang show. Hey, you, I'm going to cut you. No, no, no, no. This is the West Wing. It's about the white... Oh, that's West Side Story. No, I'm thinking of the one... West Side Story. This is about the White House. It's not Pensacola Wings of Gold either. It's not an aviation show. But you're famous for that thing where you throw the knife back and forth. Come on, buddy. No, no, that's West Side Story. Okay, look, you've never seen The West Wing? No, it's great. Apparently not. It's huge in England. It's actually almost bigger in England than it is here. I love the way that the cast is always chasing the camera crew down the hall.
19:27And they're all walking backwards in high heels, some of them. It's our version of Hello, Cleveland. That's right, yeah. The walk and talk. They've stolen a lot of things from this spinal tap. People talk about Tommy Schlummy style. No, it's DeBerge style all the way. Oh, all the way. Yeah. And do you think I ever get recognition? No. No. I mean, we've got the office. Well, you asked the question. I was going to ask you about that. Parks and Rec. I was going to ask you about that. Abbott Elementary. Abbott Elementary. Yeah. The modern family. Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer. No, no, no. Not Oppenheimer.
20:08What are you talking about? It's a bomb going off. Yeah. Yeah, it's not. The same. There's no bomb going off to the end. This is Spinal Tap. You bombed, but it wasn't. Well, yeah, that's something else. Yeah, entirely. We bombed without Fallout. Good. There was Fallout. You see, you didn't have that moment in the Oppie movie where Einstein comes up to him and they have that little chat. Yeah. You never had that happen to you. No, because that never happened on your tour. No. I only documented what was on the tour. there was no Einstein there was no discussion of the A-bomb Einstein is everywhere let's face it well you could argue that but it is true that Spinal Tap invented the format of Parks and Recreation the office and do you think I made a dime for that but you can't you can't copyright I think you made a dime yes yeah that's about it literally a dime a dime yeah what are your residuals on Spinal Tap well there are a lot of zeros Zeroes.
21:11And then more zeros after that. And then more zeros. That's the problem. Zeros at the front is the problem. You hear about, you know. At the end, you don't mind a few zeros. Royalties with a lot of zeros in them, but you'd never dream that it would be all zeros. Start at the zero. You guys are probably not going to remember, but I feel like we all may have partied together. No. I'm saying that. Let him finish. Okay, sorry, go ahead. You didn't hear the end of the sentence. I didn't. You're right. Go ahead. No, he did not. So I think it's 1985? Now? No, it's 2025. No, he's talking about back then.
21:51Oh, yeah, yeah. 1985 then. Yeah. Well, surely you weren't alive then. Oh, no. In 1985, London, we're at Stringfellows. And you were dancing. And I was dancing. I was there. I was with Jamie Lee Curtis, who was promoting a movie called Perfect. Were you the one wearing that, you're the hired guy with the thing in their underwear? With the big thing. Well, no, not really. But you were doing that dance. In that movie? On the stage. No, you were the dancer at that club. No, no, no. The Chinese people throw up the food and they catch it, that thing? No, no, I was already an actor. Okay. I feel embarrassed because you were the one in that movie with that racehorse secretary that won at the end.
22:40No. He's encouraging him on. No, no, no. And he's broken his leg and he's on and on and has a close-up of you and he broke his leg. What? Who broke whose leg? The jockey. He was playing the jockey in that movie. He played a jockey. That amazing horse that won those races. He was too tall to play a jockey. That was the name of the film, Amazing Horse. War Horse? No. Amazing Ravel. No, Secretary. No, not Secretary. The other horse. I have a feeling we're not talking about anything, really. But what I'm trying to say is a compliment which you don't want, obviously. No, that was the guy that was in Spider-Man.
23:14Yes, Spider-Man. You're losing. No, I've never been in like a Marvel thing yet. You're losing control of this show. You could be in a Marvel thing. Yeah, why not? You're losing control of this show. Well, listen, it wouldn't be the first time. Because I can see you bursting through a wall in, you know, Avenger type thing and saying you and what army to the people, the villains, and then kicking them in the bum. The villains. The villains. The villains. The bad guys. The villains. That's what I said, yeah. You said the villains. So the reason you're not doing that is not my fault. You should be doing that.
23:54Okay, go ahead. Well, if he called up Marvel and said, I'd like to play a villain, then just laugh him out of the room. Well, maybe you're not, yeah. They might be listening, those guys that run that studio. Could be. Let me ask you. So, okay, so I have to say, David, in the original, I was always struck, you're kind of pretty. Thank you. And I'm wondering if that ever, not that you're not now, but like at that moment in your life, the blonde, the very, the blue eyes, was that ever, was there any jealousy about any of that? Someone pointed out to me one time that Janine and I, my lady love at the time.
24:30Yes, and she looked a great deal like me. with the same haircut, the same eye color, and she was fairly tall. Same fashion sense. Pretty much, yeah. Well, I wore a lot of her clothes and vice versa. And it worked out. But you weren't a cross-dresser. No, no, no. Even when we were kids in Squatney, we'd take a walk after school, and there'd be a park, and there'd be a little pond, and we'd be walking by, and he'd look in the water. Oh, I wouldn't do that. And he would do this. Listen, I wasn't even trained. He would do this and I'd say, what are you doing? And there were little ducks in there, but he was looking at himself in the thing and he was taken by his looks.
25:10Yeah. It was a real thing. It's a total misread. It's a total misread. No, these were the ducks. Okay. But yet, I think that's probably the energy that I'm picking up on. And I take that as a compliment. It's not in any way. Oh, no. No, I'm not misalted. No, he was. I think a lot of people thought you were pretty. Well, that's why I say I can relate. Pretty boy. A pretty guy. boy. No, I used to be like, oh, he can't play a policeman. Because he's too pretty. There's all kinds of things I could not play. Yeah, but they were right. In order to play a policeman, you had to go to the UK. That's right.
25:41Yes, you did. I like that show very much. Thank you. The thing you did, yeah, that part, you were the cowboy, the person, the rodeo person, you know, finally they said, he can do that. He can ride this bull which you did very well and i know what movie what movie are you talking about i can't remember the name it's a you're riding this bull in a ring with all these cowboy people and there's this cowgirl that sees you and goes oh you're nice and then you hook up in the end in it you know but the fact that you got to see you were muscular when you were a young man you could never have done that because they thought was it that i wasn't muscular enough or well the pretty thing again.
26:24He's pretty. He can't hold on to a raging ball, not literally raging ball. That's a different thing. Or Jake LaMarta. No. How long is this show? It's long. I mean, because you know what, don't you understand all the important podcasts are really long. Yeah, I know. Isn't that interesting? Now, wait, wait, wait. One of you guys is doing, is making music for podcasts now. Yeah, I am. It's you. I specialize in murder, murder podcasts. Yeah. So what kind of like, like give me it like, just dun dun dun dun like what do you like how do you just did it really i travel with uh it's a bit it is a it's a keyboard you break up into segments i travel with one segment it's only got five keys on it and i get a kind of a sketch idea put it into the computer and then i run it backwards and then i do some splicing and some bits and it always comes out sounding sort of like
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27:21that's all you need you know he does a lot of great six or seven hours of that you loop that and I loop that and I lube it and then it all works like clockwork he also does music for you know when you're on hold you're on the phone yeah he does that music I do he won an award yes the holdy yeah holdy I'm aware yeah yeah it's a big it's kind of a big deal Yeah, it really is. It's not nothing. It's not a Grammy. Definitely not nothing. But then what is? What? I was always, until I saw the documentary, and this is why I love the new documentary, which is coming out when? The 12th. Immediately. September 12th.
28:01I was watching the documentary. Have you seen the documentary, We Are the World? Of course. Yeah, I did see that. Yeah, sure. What are your thoughts? First of all, here's my thing. I wonder, fucking Dan Aykroyd is there. I mean, hello I could have easily Yes, I agree with you on that What the hell is he doing there? Do you have a good singing voice? I'm as good as Dan Aykroyd I would imagine Dan Aykroyd was the remaining Blues Brother I know, that is the one that I realized And the Blues Brothers did sell a lot of albums And that's why I'm not totally irate No, you're fairly irate You're hanging on to this decades later I hang on to a lot Just open me up and I can...
28:45I love the moment when Stevie Wonder is showing Bob Dylan how to sing like Bob Dylan. It's amazing, isn't it? It's a great moment. It's really a great moment. Do you guys ever feel like you should have been... There aren't that many Englishmen. No, there weren't. When you think about it, it just occurred to me. It should have been called... Freddie Mercury is not there. It should have been called We Are The World except for the UK. Yeah. Right. We are a lot of the world. You could be on that one, that really awful one that Geldof did. Do you know it's Christmas? Do they even know it's Christmas?
29:17I mean, I think it's so insulting. Yeah, it was kind of a snide comment. Isn't it? Well, actually, Derek and I were on one called, it was a group called Hearing Aid. And it was put together by Ronnie James Dio, the late, the late, the short, remarkable musician. And he got all these heavy metal artists together, Derek and myself. Oh, my God. It would be Yngwie Malmsteen. The guy from Judas Priest, Rob Halford. Rob Halford, the entire guy. And they're all deaf. Deaf as opposed. Because of the loud music. The loud music. Because we're all loud. Yeah, and it was a single called Stars, and you can actually find it.
29:57Really? Yeah. And now all proceeds go nowhere near the charity. So you can spend as freely as you like. Does that charity still exist? I don't know. Ear and Aid? No, I don't think so. That wasn't the name of the charity. Oh, what was the name of the charity? I don't recall. I don't, but that was the name of the show. Oh, yeah, yeah.
30:27Oasis just played in L.A. Yeah. Where did they play? They played the Enormadum. They played the... The Rose Bowl. Rose Bowl. Rose Bowl. Yeah. You guys fuck with Oasis? What? those little guys? I felt like there might be a beef there. There's no beef. There's not enough to be a beef. They have got that Mancunian thing where they walk sort of like this because they come from up north. They do this thing. Is that a, is that a, is it? It's a Manchester. It's a Manchester thing. It's a Manchester BS. The Simeon Shuffle. Yes, they do this thing like that. But the people in Manchester are going like this, you know, what's this thing?
31:06Right, yeah. And what's with the, like... Punching each other thing? And the Dressing like snowboarders Is that like a thing? You ask them because they'll listen to you You call them I'm having dinner with one of them today One of the brothers I've never met him When you meet him And you come in and you say Oh hello, how are you? You'll do that Well see I can't ask him about the snowboarding Because it's the non-snowboarding brother And if he starts talking shit No, you know how to do it You've done this long enough. You know how to do it. But don't roll your eyes straight away. Wait till the main...
31:45How do you tell the brothers apart? Crowbar? One has the Caesar. You count the eyebrows is the answer. See? One of them's got two and one's got one. But, you know, Nigel and David, they're like brothers. And they've had their issues very much like the guys in the waist. Yeah, but we haven't punched each other in the face. Not since we were like 12 or 13. Yeah, no, but these guys are whacking away on each other and they're supposed to be grown-up people. I hear Mick and Keith aren't talking again. Oh, really? Yeah, but how do they know? I don't know. I'm talking about what? To each other. Oh. Well, it's like the Kinks brothers too.
32:25It's like the Davis brothers, Ray and Dave. They would squabble on stage. Yeah, squabble. Who were your heroes? Oh, I do love the Kinks. Right. Oh, my God. What about Peter Noon? Lovely man. Right? You know him? I do know him. Eric Idle calls him Peter Noon. I think that's cruel. I think it is as well. Not so nice. Not nice. Not so. I like, well, my hero, hero, hero, hero is Blind Bubba Cheeks, who was a Delta musician from that. And he was the guy. Bubba Cheeks? He was Blind Bubba Cheeks. Blind Bubba Cheeks. Yeah, he was the guy. No, he was the greatest of all. Best, yeah. Did you guys ever want to go to like Muscle Shoals and record?
33:07Oh, I would have loved that, yeah. Yeah, I would have liked to. Bit of funk, you know. Right? That would have been fun. Yeah, that would have been fun. Yeah, but five strings. Yeah. No slapping. You can slap if you like. But you're only playing four.
33:29It's five strings. Is it? Well, look, I only play air guitar. I don't play Airbase. Oh, I see. That's what I'm saying. So, Marty, the, what is it? The viewfinder. Yes, the viewfinder. Let's talk about the viewfinder. So, everybody does viewfinders on their phones now. You know this, right? Well, here's the - There's an app that people use. Yeah. But I like that it's an affectation that Marty continues to carry with them. The thing is, this was used when you used film. Yes. And now it's digital. So this is pretty obsolete, but it's a security blanket. It's a security blanket. It's a talisman. That's what it really is.
34:11It's a good luck charm. Well, yeah. Well, I don't know how good luck it was since after I made the first film. It worked in the dog food commercial. Well, yes, it did. And then the first film. And then after that, it was downhill all the way. Where do you currently live? Well, you know, I lived under the freeway for a while, but that period is gone. I'm happy to hear that. And then I went to this retreat, the great guru, you know, Baba Ram Dass Boat. Oh. Baba Ram Dass Boat. Boat? You were on his boat? Baba Ram Dass. No, that's the name of the guy. Oh, so you weren't on a boat with him. Baba Ram Dass Boat.
34:52Got it. He was a very spiritual guy. And I was lost. I was completely lost after making one Hollywood movie that was a disaster. And I couldn't get arrested. Well, I did get arrested, but not, I couldn't make a movie. Not the good way. Yeah, not in a good way. Not in a good way. And so I was, you know, just sitting there and trying to get enlightened. And I read, I'm drinking on my morning spirulina smoothie. And I see in Deadline Hollywood, these guys are getting back together. It's a miracle. I've been together 15 years and I'm thinking, you know, maybe you put enlightenment on hold for a while and pursue this again.
35:34And that's why I called up their manager who is now Hope Faith, who is the daughter of Ian Faith. In fairness, he is semi-enlightened. Well, I'm a couple of credits away from being enlightened. And you had to find a drummer, obviously. Yes. And it's kind of amazing in that. it's one of my favorite parts of the new movie is just the search for the drummer and some of the amazing people I won't spoiler alert but there's some very very amazing talents unusual talents but they rejected you well and vice versa and it's really truly just because they thought something they were worried yeah no you could hear it in their voices the trembling in their voice as they said I think I'll pass well but one of them actually said he didn't want to die right yeah yeah he wasn't a trembling it was out and out.
36:23And some of them just... It's a bad track record. They couldn't afford the insurance. They had 12 drummers over the years. And we talk about the... I mean, you guys talked about the last drummer they had, Skippy Scuffleton, who died. Sneezing. Yeah, he sneezed himself to death. Sneezing. Of all of the drummer deaths, what is the one that still hurts? I'd say Skippy. Skippy. Yeah. Yeah. That was tough. Because we really got to know Skippy. Skippy. What was his name? You didn't know him that well. Didn't know him because he got his name right. We always called him Skippy Scoupledon. He didn't care.
37:03He wasn't really sure of his name. But he was a hell of a drummer. Yeah. Yeah, that was tough. Do you do a tribute? Because obviously, some of the concert is in the movie, but not all of it. Yeah. I'm assuming there's a moment where you show on the screens all of the drummers that came, like people that have passed. Where were you? when we were putting the show together because we would have gone for that idea. It's really emotional. I just love that idea. It's not a good idea. I didn't think of that. It's not the Oscars. Right. No. Would you ever play the, how sick would it be if you guys were the, because now it's not good enough just to honor the amazing people that are dead.
37:40You've got to have like Alicia Keys singing. Right, yeah. So like, it would be super sick if you guys did it. But you guys don't do the ballads really. No, we have a few ballads. You love your ballads. We know, we know that you love yeah look look the truth is after the first drummer died the second one was okay he's dead move on you know you can't hang on to it your whole life you know he's dead he's a dead man so then you know next next exactly Joe Mama Besser was only with us for about five gigs yeah in Japan and then we lost track of him entirely we assume he's dead because he was our drummer but and you haven't heard from him you know So we don't get too misty when we think about Joe Mama Bessa.
38:24No. But they have a very good new drummer now. Yeah, she's wonderful. She's really good. Is that the first girl that's ever been in the band? It is. And how is that? It's amazing. Great. Because it's a guys club. I mean, let's face it. You guys are a guys club. Yeah. She's young. She's young. Well, anyone's young compared to us these days. And so it's different. It's weird, you know. But she's very lively. She's got life in her. Yeah. Which is good. You see, rock and roll is a thing of youth. Rock and roll keeps you young, but you have to die young. Yeah. Why? You see? No, think about it. I'm right.
38:59But there's so many of our legends are your guys' age, and they're up there killing the game, killing it. Yeah. And some are dead. Lots of dead. Either killing or dead. More dead than you remember. The Who finally wrapped up. He did for sure wrap up. Yeah, pretty much. I saw Roger Daltrey. He's 80 years old. He's still singing. And Pete, yeah. Yeah, well, they've, oh, Roger's got an entirely different career too. And you never had any rivalry with any of these? You have no historic rock and roll beefs? No, not really. That's nice. That's really nice to hear. I think that speaks to who you guys are.
39:29Chaz and Dave maybe gave us a bit of trouble. Chaz and Dave? Nobody knows who Chaz and Dave is over here. Not Chaz and Jeremy. Not Chaz and Jeremy. No, Chaz and Dave. Not Sam and Dave. Not Sam and Dave. No, Chaz and Dave. Not Peter and Gordon. But that's about it. Not Peter and Gordon. Or Peter Gordon. No. Yeah. Did you ever meet Princess Diana? No. No. Which one? The one who died. Oh, yeah. Yeah. No. No. I did not. Did you? I did meet. No. No, I didn't meet. I met. No, did not. Have you ever met any royalty? Royalty. Be more specific. Do you mean? Let's see. Did I meet? What do they call those people?
40:09Oh, he was an usher at a movie. But he wore a uniform. Wait. Usher's not the usher. Usher's not the usher. is not royalty. No. No, he's an idiot. I met a duke. You met a duke? Yeah, I met a duke in England. But he wasn't a royal duke. There are dukes that are not royal dukes. They're just dukes. It's not like Duke Snyder. Not remotely like dukes. Not like Duke. Duke Ellington. No, not like that. No, so basically no. No. No. I met someone who looked very much like Meghan Markle once. Might have been her. Could have been. She was a barista. Oh, she might have been, yeah. Could have been. They're my neighbors up in...
40:48I met that guy that... I am the king. I met that guy. I am the king? Yeah, the commercial. The mattress king. Oh, the mattress king. You directed that commercial, didn't you? No, he couldn't get that commercial. No, I couldn't get that one. You wish you could. I wish I did. Did you do the one, you're going to like the way you look, that guy? You mean the men's warehouse? Men's warehouse, yeah. No, again, I wish... I wish... The one you wanted, he said this, and I'm not telling... Why am I looking here suddenly? telling stories no is the one you wanted that he said there's this guy who has this black stuff that he pours in a little boat and then he's floating around and it doesn't sink that's the one you wanted that guy Phil what's his name oh yeah he's in that boat thing he wanted that desperately what is he selling what commercial is that well it's the stuff it doesn't leak and he's on this thing it's a waterproof a sealant it's a waterproof sealant you know I had this idea you know what I'm talking about Because you know I directed all those Purina commercials.
41:49With the dog that runs underneath the thing. It's amazing. Well, I had an idea to take that because we ran. The truck wagon, the Purina. We had a whole series of where the truck wagon would go and the dog would chase. And they ran out of areas to chase the thing. And I thought, you know, this could be like a multi, you know, a feature. A feature film. Or a universe, because everything's a universe now. A feature film, you know? Look, Barbie. It's a doll. They turned it into a feature. Why couldn't this be a feature? I think you've just explained why. Really? Yes. You've laid it out for us to reject.
42:32They didn't run out of dogs. They ran out of places to hide. Did you start wearing the hat, or did Steven Spielberg start wearing the hat first? That's another thing I always wanted. Well, you'd have to ask, Steven. It's a hat. Lots of people wear a hat. It's for a specific director. The baseball cap. Ron, you know, Ronnie Howard, of course, he wears a cap. Directors, he wears a hat. Yeah. I got to say that Martin Scorsese got very mad at me. Why? Because he said, I stole, you know, his thing because I put myself in the film. If you remember in Last Walls, he's in the film. And I thought, well, if he could be in the film, why can't I?
43:14That's a stupid argument, isn't it? He got mad and he says, I never wore a baseball cap. He was saying. That's a stupid argument. In a film, in a classic film, a Western, which I love, called Shane. He says, Shane, Shane. And he puts him, he's in the film. The little boy is yelling at the guy on the horse, Shane, Shane. It's like an echo, you know. What does that have to do with me wearing a hat and interviewing you in the movie? Well, I didn't say he had something to do with it. Well, because he's in The Last Waltz. He's interviewing the band. Maybe he hasn't seen The Last Waltz. I don't know.
43:51No, I have seen it. I've seen the first bit. So, the first waltz. No, the first bit of The Last Waltz I've seen. But he saw Shane. And I did see all of Shane, yes. But what does Shane have to do with this? Sort of an echo thing, you know, because you're talking about something else. Well, they wore a cowboy hat. It's reverb. It's reverb, really, when you're thinking. It is technically, yes. Urban reverb. I want to make sure because, again. I think you have everything. No. I've never, by the way, in all of the years I've been doing this podcast, I've never prepared more. What was the first? No, don't ask any questions.
44:33Who did you have on the very first one? The very first one, do you guys remember? Was it Chris Pratt? Chris Pratt. Wow. Chris Pratt is a funny bloke. He's married to Catherine. To my goddaughter. Catherine. Catherine Schwarzenegger is my goddaughter. Is your goddaughter? Yeah. You're not old enough to have a goddaughter. I know. See, we told him to say that. If they ask, I will do it. We talked about Sir Paul McCartney. Oh, how did we not talk about Elton? I know. How did we not talk about Elton? Sir Elton. Sir Elton. Talk about the Elton in the room. The Elton in the room. And he's angry, I think.
45:10Well, you know, things happen to him. We don't want to give it away. But as of now, he hasn't dropped a lawsuit on us. How injured did he get in the new movie? Well, you'll have to see. You shouldn't say because it's still a lawyer thing. Has he seen the film? Has he seen it? Yeah, well, he didn't have to see the film. He lived there. But his lawyers have seen the film. But he's a lovely chap. He's a lovely, great singer. Amazing singer. We're not allowed to talk about it because it's still under adjudication. Yeah. But he's got a great future ahead of him. Yeah, yeah. He's, like Sir Paul, like one of the most humble, like he's like a laser.
45:56He knows everything that's still going on. And there's no need for him to do that. He could be like up on his throne, but he really understands. Yeah, no, he's very down. About 15 years ago, he was a benefit. and he played Tiny Dancer just solo. Yeah. And you go, good God, that's what this is all about, isn't it? Yeah, there are not many people that famous that are that humble, right? Remarkable. I remember I met, weirdly, Jack Lord from Hawaii movie thing. How was Hawaii Five-O? Yeah. Very humble, just... Were you surprised? I was surprised, yes. To meet him? I was surprised. I was surprised to meet him, yes.
46:34and he just was as if, oh, I'm just a regular person. Amazing. He was great. He had one of the great hairdos. Yeah, it was a little drippy in the back. The color was a little... Orange. Prematurely orange. A combo. How do you guys feel about plastic surgery? Oh, I'm terrified. I saw a film one time of what they do and they just cut your face like this and you just lift it up. It's like a mask. Yeah. And then they monkey around. Yeah, I don't need to say that. Well, we thought about it. You know, we don't have the money to actually do it. But I thought about doing this film just like this and saying.
47:15Look at how much younger you look. Look at this. You say, yeah, we should have a rehearsal now and play. I think I'll do my solo now. And, you know. You need your hands. And just saying, I'm a little tired. But look how old his hands look. That's the giveaway. That's the giveaway. How can you play if you're holding your hands like that? CG hands. There's hands. Look on wrinkle when he does that. CG hands, you know. Yeah. Look, we're old people. We don't dispute it. We're old people. By the way, I don't think, it feels to me like plastic surgery is not an English thing. Oh, maybe you haven't seen.
47:50I don't think it is. I won't mention the names. What they call plastic surgery is really just a visit to the dentist. Plasticine surgery. Yeah. Yes, exactly. Some shit like that, right? No, there's some people who've done it. They're not that well. Definitely people have done it there. But more here. I agree. Yeah, more here. They have subtler version there, microplastic surgery. Oh, really? Yeah. But it's just, you can barely see a difference. And your hair, all of you, I mean, you would, like, nobody wants to see bald spinal tap. Like, no one wants to see it. But it's only one guy that wants to see it.
48:25Yeah. And he's bald. And he's dead. Yeah, I wouldn't want to see you guys without. I thought about coloring it, making it jet black, you know, just to keep it. But I thought then what? But it wasn't jet black to begin with. No, it wasn't. It was always a bit of a brunette. Yeah, I know. You could color it jet black. I thought you had more red hair when you were back. Yeah, I know. But that's what, you know more than anyone about that. When you did that film with that dog, the collie dog. Which, what was that called? Well, I don't remember the name. Lassie? He wasn't in Lassie. He's not in Lassie.
48:57He was not in Lassie. No, he never did a Lassie picture. The film, it's insane. You're thinking of Roddy McDowell. Have you never seen a Brat Pack movie? I have. Let me ask you a question. Is that the one with the cars skid around going really fast with the diesel guy? No. No, no, no. That's Fast and Furious. Fast and Furious. Fast and Furious. Yeah, right. That's not Brat Pack. You're the guy in that WXR little one. No. No, the Brat Pack. No, you're talking about C. Thomas Howell. Yeah. Yeah, guys like that. To me more? To me. Emilio Estevez Ali Sheedy Ali Sheedy St. Elmo's Fire You never heard That's number one hit St.
49:37Elmo's Fire Number one It was a big show It was a big film Yes No I've heard I've heard of them all But not To be rented soon Stream it And given your expression Tonight I think Maybe tonight I mean Maybe he'll join you And maybe Maybe he'll pay for it Have my friend do a little popcorn. Yeah. Ooh, your friend. Yeah, and then really just kick back as you kids like to say. Breakfast Club, you should watch Breakfast Club. No, I'm not in that. Why don't you watch that? No, no, that's when you're not in that. No, you had aged out by that time. Well, you're the guy, no, this doesn't make sense. You're not the guy, the Asian guy in breakfast at Tiffany's.
50:18No, that's Mickey Rooney. That's Mickey Rooney. Look, I need some education, I admit. You do, you do. But I'm going to be renting or... I was going to, what are you guys following in pop culture? Like, are you Netflix guys? I see everything, with the exception of your films, apparently. I see virtually Netflix, the Amazon thing, HBO Max thing. Britbox. Britbox. Acorn. Britbox thing. Britbox thing. I like YouTube as well. I've been watching all Top of the Pops on YouTube. There's a bit too much of Jimmy Savile I mean, for public use Cliff Richards is on there all the time Yeah, yeah, yeah But it's great You see some of these blokes that are still around Like Cliff, you know, every year Has a shot at the Christmas number one And occasionally makes it, you know Remarkable Did you guys ever do any panto?
51:16No We've been asked to do panto You've probably done it I've never done it I should do it, right? I should do it, right? You should do it Yes, you should do it You've been asked, for sure I saw Henry Winkler as Captain Hook. Ooh. You should do that. Yeah, it'd be great, yeah. I should. I think it'll be fun for you, really. I know lots of people have done it. It would be fun. Would you like to direct a Panto? You'd be great at it. Explain to an American audience what Panto is. He doesn't know what it is. I have no idea. It's like an old-fashioned sort of entertainment. It's a Christmas event. It's a Christmas-era thing.
51:49And a lot of kids go. There's a villain. There's a genie. There's the old dame. It's almost like musical. Yeah. Isn't there? Yeah. You is what they want. They want an American famous person. Yeah. And then millions of people go and see it. You should do that. It'll be fun for you. And all you would need to do to really audition for it is just to say, ooh, it's behind you. Because that's a big cast. Yeah, you're in. And you're in. That's a big thing. You're in. Well, I don't do it now. Would you ever do something like that? A panto? Yeah. Yeah. I'll do anything. Listen, I was trying to dance to the Academy Awards.
52:19That's true. You should do it. That's true. I'm willing to do anything. Yeah, it would be good. Well, maybe somebody watching. And you should wear that sort of Space Command outfit you wore in the... That film. He's not in that one either. Whatever that is you're talking about. Not in Star Trek. What movie would that be? Look, I can be confused. This is stupid. You were in that film with the spaceship, the guy with the funny ears. That's Spock's Star Trek. Star Trek. That's a TV show. That was TV. Okay. It was also a movie. This show isn't about you This isn't about you is it? No It seems to be That's what you're making it about They would like you in a panto I'd like to see that I don't think they'd ask me frankly To do a panto If you were playing Captain Hook One of us might get cast as Smee That's about as close We wouldn't be the star No no In closing Let me ask you this.
53:22What are your hopes for this movie, for the fans? Like, what do you hope that they take? By the way, this is the most traditional journalistic question of the interview. It is. Right, isn't it? It's like where the onus is on you. But I'm glad you're asking it. Right? Because my hope is that they come to the theater. Because people don't come to the theater anymore. Sometimes they do. They got a chance this time. You could come to the theater. have a good time with your brand new friends. Yeah. And sing along. Yeah. Yeah. Sing along. See it more than once. So all the hidden meanings come out. What's hidden?
53:59I don't know that there are any hidden meanings. Are there any, what's it? Easter eggs. Easter eggs? There are a couple of Easter eggs. There are, yeah. Yep. Oh, yeah. What are they? Well, I'm not going to say because then it spoils the hunt. Yeah. Well, I will be there. I will be hunting. I've seen it already, but I will go and support in the theater. Will you take your wife? I'll take my wife and my boys. Wow. Super excited. Good. Take your wife, please. To go, this is great. Thank you guys. How much longer are you doing a press tour of America? We'll be asleep in about half an hour. That's all I can say.
54:35Thank you for doing this because this is the most journalistic of all the things we've done. Most people come in for three minutes and say, what's your favorite animal? And things like that. What is your favorite animal? You've never told me. To eat. Oh, to eat? Yeah. Probably cow. I like a good puffin. Puffins are good eating. Is it like chicken? Not at all like chicken, no. Like fish? It's like chicken of the sea, more like. I'm going to go have a puffin tonight. In your honor. Have a puffin. Thank you for helping us. Thank you.
55:19I hope you got that was, I could have, I could have had that interview go on for a hundred thousand more years. I am still trying to figure out what Nigel was talking about with those movies that I wasn't in. I'm not sure because I'm kind of feeling maybe they did exist and he saw them and he's conflating me with like Kyle McLaughlin or something. I don't, I don't, I'm going to, I have my own homework to figure out what the hell he was talking about. Anyway, Anyway, Spinal Tap. I mean, it is what it is. Those guys are amazing. Thank you for listening. This was one of my all-time favorites, and I'm glad we got to share it together.
55:58Hello, you've reached literally in our lowdown line where you can get the lowdown on all things about me, Rob Lowe. 323-570-4551. So have at it. Here's the beep. All right. This is fun. I'm going to switch things up. Check this out. I'm going to ask a question to former first lady Michelle Obama and her brother Craig Robinson. They both host their podcast. I am. Oh.
56:37Hey, Craig and Michelle, congratulations on the podcast. Super fun to hear you guys. Your dynamic is awesome. Here's the thing, though. Were you guys pranksters like when you were growing up? Were there practical jokes going on? And if there were, I want to know if it continued in the West Wing, because when I was in the West Wing, you know, I used to walk into the Oval and I would hide behind the Resolute desk. And when Martin Sheen would come in, I would grab him by the ankle. Did you do any of that with the president? Tell me what's going on. What's going on in the world? God bless you guys.
57:19Good to talk to you. Rob Lowe. Wow. Great question. Pranks that we play to lighten the mood on a team. Yeah, this is a good one because, you know, I don't know. Sadly, for me, the answer is that pranks were played probably a little bit too often on my team when we were in the White House. And it wasn't my idea. Yeah, sure. No, no, it really wasn't. I had a team of a lot of young jokers and people, you know, and it was true. People, you know, it was a tense environment, you know, especially first term. You're in the White House. Everything was critical. We had a lot of young staff coming in. So, you know, it did make sense to try to, you know, help these young people understand that this was important work, but we were still a family.
58:11We still wanted to have fun. But a couple of the staff members got the idea that it would be nice to break in new staff members by playing pranks. Right. And, you know, and I wasn't that sure about it, but I always found myself roped into the prank because, of course, Of course, in order to make a prank in the first lady's office of the United States work, you'd have to engage the first lady. So there were an array of pranks. And one that I will tell quickly as an example is that I had two what we call body people, right, which were young aides that were with me or the president all the time, like our personal aides in Hollywood, your personal assistant, right?
58:54and there were two Kristins on my team. The older Kristen, KJ1, as she called herself, Kristen Jarvis, I'm going to use names because they know who they are. She'd been around for a while and we had recruited this young intern in who was Kristen Jones, KJ2. So KJ1 decides it's time to show KJ2 who's the real KJ. So let's play a prank on the new KJ. And one of the things that a body person was supposed to do if we were out in another city, country, whatever, when the team left the hotel, the younger KJ had to go and sweep the hotel room to make sure that there were no personal effects left, nothing valuable, because sometimes we were rushing to get out, right?
59:45So the prank was to make KJ2 go in, sweep the room, get into the motorcade, head out to the airport in the presidential motorcade. But in the middle of the drive from, and we were in LA, from Beverly Hills Hotel to the FBO, the text came in from me to KJ2 saying, I left my wedding ring in the bathroom of the hotel. Oh, that's harsh. And the prank was to do it when we were all gone, right? Like we had left the building, we were in the motorcade. So the text was, I know somebody swept it, so I'm assuming that you have it if someone swept the room, right? So everybody's in different cars in the motorcade, and KJ2 was put in a motorcade with no one that she could ask questions of.
1:00:48So she was left for the entire ride thinking that she had basically lost my engagement ring. And she's trying to text everybody in between and everybody goes silent, right? Now, in the motorcade, everybody's texting everybody. You're doing work. We're about to get off and we're, you know, but all of a sudden, everybody who's on this trip goes dead silent on KJ2 to let her stew in the fact that she might have lost my ring, which was so mean. I think KJ2 is like 12 and a half. No, she was young. She's 23. So she's sweating and she's like, I know, I know. I swept the room. She's telling the people in the car, but everybody's kind of looking at her like, you're going to have to talk the first lady about that.
1:01:36So we get on the plane. I go to my cabin. And the only thing she knows is that you have to see the first lady, period. So she walks in, you know, immediately says, I don't know what happened. I sweat. And that's when we said, it's a prank. We have it. So we let her sweat for an entire drive to the airport. So that's an example of the kind of pranks. I don't know whether that lightens the mood or I don't know. After a while, I just had to stop the pranks because they just got more elaborate and people were crying. And, you know, I just like, I don't know. I had to tell the younger stuff. I think we just need to, or at least keep me out of it.
1:02:21You know, I mean, it's one thing to play a prank in the office and it's another thing to involve the first lady of the United States. So, so I guess that that's the long way of saying, Rob, Yes, we played pranks on each other. What about you, Craig? Because we did a lot of pranking when we were little in our household. Yeah, great to be with you. And my sister said it correctly. We pranked each other all the time at home. My mom, my dad, my sister, and myself. So I don't play any more pranks because I got pranked so badly as a 10-year-old that I have refused to be a part of any kind of pranks because I'm still traumatized by what my mom did to me.
1:03:08And let me just set the stage for you as quickly as possible, Rob. We used to scare each other in our little bitty home. We grew up in a very small apartment, but we always managed to scare each other, scare the daylights out of each other. Well, that was fun. It's like who could scare who the most? And it was fun at the time. And I, unbeknownst to myself, accidentally scared my mom. My mom was looking for something in her purse in her bedroom. And I walked in and she had no idea that I was walking in. And I scared her. And she thought I did it on purpose. So to get me back, I was taking a shower as a 10-year-old.
1:03:53And she snuck into the bathroom and laid down on the bathroom floor. as if she were dead. And when I turned the shower off and everybody has gotten to know my mom, Marianne Robinson, you know we lost her recently. She's the sweetest person in the world as Misha's telling you now. But she would try to scare the heck out of us. But she was diabolical when it came to scaring pranks. And I opened the shower curtain and there my mother is laying on the bathroom floor. I mean, that was the last thing I expected to see. And I am bare naked, soaking wet, and I scream at the top of my lungs. And I mean, it is a shriek.
1:04:37Because we all know she's going to do this because she tells us, me and my dad, shh, I'm going to get him. Right? So we hear this, ah! Like blood-curdling scream. And we're all like, uh-oh. Listen, Rob, I was so scared that I was shivering, not because I was standing there with no clothes on wet. I was scared to death. And it scared my mom so much that we, from that day on, we stopped trying to scare each other. So I am now prankless because of that experience. Prank-free zone. Oh, that was a good one, Mom. She is the best at it. Listen to IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson. I'll see you next week right here on Literally.
1:05:50and Colin Anderson for Stitcher. Booking by Deirdre Dodd. Music by Devin Bryant. Special thanks to Hidden City Studios. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time on Literally.
From the publisher
Rob Lowe is joined live and in person by the iconic rock band Spinal Tap and filmmaker Marty Di Bergi (who bear a striking resemblance to legendary comedians Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer and director Rob Reiner). They discuss their new film, “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” Sabrina Carpenter’s album cover, their beef with Oasis, the films of the Brat Pack era, and much more. "SPINAL TAP II: THE END CONTINUES" will be available On Demand to rent or buy September 30.
Plus, former First Lady Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson answer a question from Rob! Check out "IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson" wherever you find your podcasts.
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