Exclusive Interview: Parry Gripp Jingles All The Way

Singer, songwriter, Nerf Herder front man, ear worm harbringer and You Tube prophet Parry Gripp will never be punched in the face by a gerbil or a pancake. Let’s go for a ride, shall we?

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Tell me a little bit about ‘growing up Parry’ and the road you traveled to become an entertainer. Who were some of your early musical influences?

When I was a kid I used to listen religiously to Doctor Demento every Sunday night on the radio. I would tape the shows, and then listen to them over and over. It was when Weird Al was getting started, so I heard ‘Another One Rides The Bus’ and ‘My Bologna’ when they first aired on the show. Also, Doctor Demento was the first place where I ever heard one of my favorite all-time bands, the Ramones. He played ‘Teenage Lobotomy’!

Speaking of influences, my husband turned me on to Nerf Herder after he read that Nirvana listed your band as an influence. Tell me more about the evolution of Nerf Herder. Do you have any debaucherous tales only a rock star can tell?

Ha ha! That is a funny story. Of course, Nerf Herder formed a couple of years after Kurt Cobain died. However, playing our first album for a young Kurt is high on my list of things that I will do when I invent a time machine. Nerf Herder formed shortly after some of us saw Weezer perform at our friend’s birthday party a couple of weeks before the ‘Blue‘ album came out.

In the song ‘New Jersey Girl‘, you mention going to a Bloodhound Gang show in Philly, Kenneth Keith Kallenbauch and Yuengling beer. This is one of my favorite songs as I am from the Philly area myself. Do you have a big east coast connection?

Nerf Herder toured in Pennsylvania a lot – I’m not sure why. Our first trip out of California, opening for Weezer on the ‘Pinkerton’ tour, had a lot of dates there. And then we did a lot of touring with our good friends the Bloodhound Gang. Those guys are all about Philly. And Wawa. That ‘New Jersey Girl’ song is mostly true – we did play at the Trocadero in Philly with the Bloodhound Gang, and Kenneth was there. And the girl was from Cherry Hill!

Tell me more about your 2005 solo album ‘For Those About to Shop, We Salute You‘. Do you have any personal favorite commercial jingles? Also, what are your thoughts on the effectiveness of today’s commercial jingles verses the jingles of ‘old’ from the seventies?

Oh man! Don’t get me started. Basically, any jingle about a hot dog is going to be good. The ‘Oscar Meyer Wiener’ and ‘Armour Hot Dogs’ songs are total classics. The sixties and seventies where such a great time for music in general, and for jingles, too. Today’s advertising isn’t jingle-y enough for my taste. However, the ‘Mini Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwich’ song (by Wojahn Bros. music) for Jack-In-The-Box is awesome! I’d buy a whole album of that!

How did you come up with the idea of making music and setting it to internet memes? And what was the first music video you did in this style?

Well, it started on accident with ‘Do You Like Waffles?‘, which was a video before You Tube was even around. It was quite popular on Newgrounds.com (a flash site). Then when You Tube started, it just took off. So, it became clear to me that You Tube was a really good way for people to share music. Then, because of my song of the week (see next question), I sort of ran out of stuff to write about, and it occurred to me just write about videos on You Tube. The idea was to both make fun of and celebrate them at the same time. ‘Cat Flushing A Toilet’ was the first one. Before I did the song, I thought, ‘this is crazy that so many people are watching this video of a cat flushing a toilet!’ And then, after watching the original video about 50 times, I realized that, I too, love watching a cat flushing a toilet. Both Bill O’Reilly and Michael Moore used my ‘Cat Flushing A Toilet’ video as an example of how stupid You Tube is. I guess those guys can agree on something.

You have a website called ‘Parry Gripp Song of the Week.’ How difficult is it to come up with a new song every week?

It is the opposite of difficult. For me, it is super fun. The great thing about doing one a week is that you don’t have to worry about them being any good. If you come up with a stinker, there is always next week. I guess sometimes I don’t feel like doing it. More often, I’ll be working on something and it just won’t turn out how I like it. Then I might wait on it until I think of how to fix it. I must have eight versions of ‘Turtle Eating Lettuce’ sitting around. I’ll get it right some day. And when I do, it will be the most kick-ass song about a turtle eating lettuce you have ever heard!

You seem to have a fondness for using animal clips in your music videos, most notably, ‘Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom‘ What kind of pets do you own and have you ever actually owned a hamster that drives a miniature car or a hedgehog that likes to play with empty paper rolls?

I have owned many hamsters, some of which did drive miniature cars. I’ve never had a hedgehog, although I dream of it. Currently, my wife and I have a rabbit named Bruno Bunbun. Sadly, both of our cats died within the last year. Oh great. Now you went and made me cry…. I do really like singing about animals, much more than singing about people. A gerbil will never track you down and punch you in the face.

You’ve been described as the ‘Weird Al Yankovic of You Tube’. Is that pretty much how you see yourself and, if not, what self-proclaimed title would you prefer being known as?

Well, I am a huge fan of Weird Al. He is incredibly witty and inventive, as well as being a great dancer, handsome, fit looking, and seemingly very good natured. And following him on Twitter is awesome! That said, I am no Weird Al. Not by a long shot. His songs are like futuristic space-shuttles, navigated by Einstein through a TIVO. Mine are like paper airplanes, with few simple folds, piloted by a flea held on with non-brand-name adhesive tape.

What is it like working with greeting card monstrosity Hallmark on the Hoops & YoYo?

It was great! The exact opposite of what you would think. I have worked with corporate bureaucracy before, so I know what it can be like. Making the Hoops & Yoyo CDwas more like having a few good friends over to make cookies. First, I wrote a bunch of songs. I kept expecting to get a memo with lots of red ink on it, but it never happened. There was hardly any revision. Then, Bob Holt and Mike Adair, the artists who draw Hoops & Yoyo and do their voices, flew out to my house from Kansas City. Bev Carlson came along, too. She works with them and does the voice of Piddles. I set up a microphone in my living room. There were actual cats and rabbits running around during the recording! Say what you will about the Hallmark, but the people I worked with are some of the nicest I have ever met.

Breakfast hoagies? Do tell!

I love singing about food (a pancake will never track you down and punch you in the face, either). I’m super old (born 1967), so eating a good sandwich is pretty much the most exciting thing that ever happens to me. Wawa has been very cool about using my crazy songs to advertise their Hoagies (I do the voice overs, too). I am hoping I get call soon for Hoagiefest 2010.

What kind of music are you listening to these days and does any of it inspire you to come up with other vehicles for your talent?

All of my songs are tributes, in a way, to the music I love. Mostly I listen to old music. Lately I have been listening to ‘God Bless Tiny Tim‘ over and over. That is some crazy stuff! I like that MGMT record, but that is probably old news to most people.

What new things can we expect in the future from Parry Gripp besides more songs of the week?

Big plans for 2010! I am working on a Christmas collection, ‘Disco Christmas In Hamster Land’. It will be all Christmas and all Hamsters, all the time! Also, I really want to finish my psychedelic ‘Happy Squid’ concept album. Like most psychedelic concept albums, it won’t make any sense at all. And, I will be performing at SXSW in Austin this March. My event will be called ‘Hamster-On-A-Piano-(Eating-Popcorn) Fest 2010′. I am making T-shirts and everything! I’ll have to send you one. Hmmm, those plans don’t sound that big now that I am reading them. Oh well.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Please visit ParryGripp.com. And please fly to Austin this March (date to be announced) for ‘Hamster-On-A-Piano-(Eating-Popcorn) Fest 2010′. Also, please eat at Wawa and casually mention how much you like the Hoagie jingles.

And finally, if you could sum up the world in one word, what would it be?

Yeah!

FUCK yeah, Parry! Thanks for taking your time to do such a great interview. And to my blogeratti faithful, get yourself a Nerf Herder album and play it LOUD! Oh, and Parry, if you ever run out of things to sing about, there’s always my ever-growing collection of my own Instant Club Hits.