Comedians Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim have just left a meeting together.
The duo known as Tim And Eric are in the midst of preparing for their first live tour in some time, and their chemistry remains strong.
“I’m not kidding, but 20 minutes ago I was in the office and finishing a bit with Eric, and I collapsed in my chair laughing because of the stupidity of what we talked about doing and the ease by which that was able to come,” Tim says. “It’s not always that easy, but something connects and we feel like 20-year-olds again, acting like silly idiots.”
Tim And Eric will begin 2020 with their 'Mandatory Attendance' World Tour, kicking off in Australia. While known for their comedy, Eric says the pair are deadly serious when they say attendance is mandatory.
“A lot of people are on the fence about buying tickets or not. We’ve kind of made it easy for everyone by saying you have to go. It’s the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do.”
Tim adds: “It’s a pretty stupid idea to insist that people come. It seems pretty dumb and pathetic, so we went with it,” he laughs.
Tim And Eric’s absurdist humour is a staple on Adult Swim, especially ‘Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!’. While the duo hasn’t starred in their own show for a while, they’re busy behind the scenes with their company Abso Lutely, producing cult hits ‘Nathan For You’ and ‘The Eric Andre Show’. But the duo has been busy with their own projects.
Tim has starred in a number of shows and films, including a cameo in ‘Ant-Man And The Wasp’ and a creepy turn in Jordan Peele’s ‘Us’. However, most of his attention has been devoted to his and Gregg Turkington’s ‘On Cinema’ universe, a film review show incorporating the low-budget action series ‘Decker’, a live-streamed murder trial, ongoing Twitter spats, and the recent film ‘Mister America’, which sees Tim running for District Attorney.
“There’s all sorts of world-building in all of the stuff we do, which you end up doing because you like the stuff you’re doing and you want to figure out how to grow it. With Twitter and the various shows, you can build worlds in real-time, you can tell stories, and you can build characters. It’s kind of like this weird 'Dungeons And Dragons' role-playing thing that’s turned into something that’s unlike anything else.”
Meanwhile, Eric is preparing to direct ‘Jonty’, a film starring Michael Cera and written by ‘Peep Show’ creators Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain. His passion of late has been co-owning Las Jaras Wines. He’s also writing a cookbook, which will feature his love of Australia’s contribution to the wine arts.
“Goon bag and the Wheel Of Goon! I love that concept so much. We’re going to put it on our rider to have a goon bag at every show. We’re going to set up a laundry line in the backstage area. We’ll spin it until we’re ready to perform,” Eric laughs.
The duo let slip that there’s a new Tim And Eric project coming. For now, they’ll be focusing on their world tour, which will feature new works and some special material for Australia.
“It’s a conceptually vivid bowl of goofs and spoofs and songs and videos. It’s a couple of hours of the dumbest sh.t you’ll see this year. It’ll be some of the dumbest sh.t that you won’t believe that we’re getting away with it. You’ll be so embarrassed you’re laughing about it.”
Tim And Eric Tour Dates
15 January – Enmore Theatre (Sydney)16 January – The Tivoli (Brisbane)
18 January – Astor Theatre (Perth)
20 January – The Gov (Adelaide)
21 January – Hamer Hall (Melbourne)
