walterknaub

When I went to your last live show, you guys constructed an eyeball on stage. Jad stated that he wanted to prove once and for all that eyes evolved and that there is no god. This struck me as rather forward, because I had never heard you put your thoughts on this out there so bluntly. Do the two of you often butt heads on these deeper theological questions? I know there's a fair amount of polite discourse on the air, but how is it approached behind the scenes?

I know your mom owns or owned the Comedy Store. I love Bill Hicks, and that was a spot that he performed at regularly. Did you ever meet Bill Hicks? Do you have any stories about times you did meet him?

Ira, you are one of my 3 heroes. The other two are Kurt Vonnegut and Bill Hicks, so you're the only one still living. Thanks for all of your wonderful shows. My question is, when you're interviewing people, what would you say is more important... staying on topic or listening and allowing the interview to take another path which might be more interesting? Do you ever start with one topic, but then get completely off topic onto another story that's even better than what you were there for in the first place?

What did you use as an escape before the extracurricular activities and work? I'm guessing that was too young for anything too harmful, like drug use, but was it music? TV? Books? Did you replace the positive male role model of an active father with characters or personalities in any way?

Everyone goes through some form of teenage angst against their parents. When you were 13-17, did your mom have to take the brunt of that, since your dad wasn't there to soften the load? My mom died when I was 18 months old, and I was a huge asshole to my step-mom and my dad. To be fair, I remember her being shitty to me too, but I know that I drove them insane.