Montreal comedian inks new TV deal
Rodney Mann – The Aquinian
If you haven’t heard of Jon Lajoie, chances are you’ve been living the past two years without the internet.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Lajoie enjoys internet fame like no other. He has received numerous Youtube awards including #1 Most Subscribed Comedian (All-Time), and #1 Most Viewed (All-Time) for his quirky songs that leave you laughing days later.
From love-ballad style songs about stoned shenanigans, to satirically genius songs about women showing their goods, Lajoie has garnered well over a million hits on almost all of his videos, in some cases even reaching the 2 million view plateau rarely achieved by the best of ring-tone rappers.
Fresh off the release of his debut album “You Want Some of This?” Lajoie was set to embark on a Cross-Canada tour that would have kicked-off in Fredericton. However, his tour was postponed after he was approached to star on the new FX series The League.
And while he’s excited to get to the East Coast, who can say no to a TV series headed by the Executive Producer of Curb Your Enthusiasm? No one. That’s who.
aq: How long have you been involved in comedy?
JL: Not very long, about two and half years. I didn’t really know I wanted to get into comedy. I had taken an Acting and Theatre course earlier and I started trying to write sketch comedy, but it was hard as shit.
aq: Do you think without the internet and Youtube you could have achieved the same success?
JL: No not at all. You know, when I was a kid I never had dreams of LA and being an actor. If it wasn’t for the internet I’d probably be in my basement sitting on a stack of scripts trying to apply for little grants to put something on CBC. That or be into porn or hard drugs. Or both.
aq: On the topic of “The League”, how did that all unfold? Did they come to you? Or did you go down there and demand a TV show?
JL: This was actually really cool. I actually went down there, I heard a bunch of people down there were fans of mine. There was management and agents and stuff, I also met with Jeff Schaffer, who is the Executive Producer for Curb Your Enthusiasm and he said he was thinking about putting together this new show about fantasy football and a bunch of guys and he came to me and said “I have a character I wrote and he’s really based on you, and we’d like to see you on the show”. I kind of lucked out.
aq: Is it based on you, or a character you made?
JL: It’s actually based on me. The dude’s like a stoner weirdo who plays guitar and performs at old folks homes and bars. So I get to do a lot of stuff that I do already, but on a show with a bunch of funny dudes, so it should be really good. We already shot the pilot. We’re going to start shooting the show in a couple weeks. I get to do a lot of stuff that I’m known for which is great.
aq: Is this the first TV show you were on?
JL: No, I was on a TV show back in Montreal but nothing that anyone outside of Quebec could have seen because it was a French language TV show, kind of like a soap opera.
aq: I presume they paid you with liquor and weed?
JL: Yeah, basically, it was pretty low budget. They actually paid me in prostitutes, very low end prostitutes. I think we got like four prostitutes a month or something like that.
aq: Can you explain your role in “The League” Are you writing? Or are you strictly acting?
JL: It’s great because it’s semi-improvised. We don’t get a script. It’s kind of like “Curb Your Enthusiasm” in that sense. We get an idea of what’s going on in the scene and I get to bring my own ideas to the table. Whether they take them or not, I’m not in charge of that. So far, when we shot the pilot they were really open to that. I wrote a song for it that will be in it. They kept a lot of the stuff that I did in it, so I don’t get a writer’s credit, but I get to put what I think is funny in the mix and take it from there.
aq: You just released your first album “You Want Some of This?” Did that help at all in getting you this role?
JL: No, I really just wanted to have something my fans could have with my songs on it. I never planned on releasing an album when I started all of this, but then after 15 songs and 15 videos I figured I’d go remix it and re-master it in the studio so when people ask me “Hey! Where can I get all your songs?” I can point them in this direction to get it. Before the album, my songs were all over the place on mp3 download sites, which was fine, but people couldn’t get everything at once.
aq: It makes a good gift for your grandmother too.
JL: Yeah, I think she’d really appreciate the 2 Girls One Cup song.
aq: You may have been asked this before, but have you ever watched the sun go down, perhaps even while the world was spinning ‘round?
JL: I’ve actually never been asked that. Yeah I get pretty deep and I think about the universe and how I’m connected to it. Then I eat a lot of chips and fall asleep naked.
aq: Which leads me to the question on everybody’s mind. How high were you when you when you wrote “High As Fuck”?
JL: It’s going to be disappointing! I actually wasn’t high. I was just recalling all of the times that I was high. Because I’m not a social smoker. I’m the kind of guy that, when I’m walking my dog, it’s all good, but just the idea of going into a store to get something and face another human being always freaks me out. When I’m high I can’t write anything, I just sit and watch The Incredible Hulk and eat peanut butter on toast with a bit of honey on it. I’m not productive when I’m stoned.
aq: So that’s your go-to munch?
JL: Man! When you get high, put some peanut butter on toast and put some honey on it and when you’re eating it you’ll think “I can’t believe they don’t serve this in restaurants! It’s so good!”
aq:Your tour kicks off on the East Coast in December, how pumped are you?
JL: I can’t wait. I can’t wait to get back in Canada. I love my Canadian fans. Every time I get back into Canada, the support I get is wicked. I haven’t been on the East Coast yet. I’ve been trying to get out there for the longest time, so it will be sweet to get out there and party with some Maritimers. You guys party hard out there. If for whatever reason I have to postpone my tour again, just know shits going really well for me.
