Poshdeluxe

hallo ladies and gents!

for this week’s interview, i chose someone who frequently comments on this blog. however, unlike all of the previous interviewees, i met him just a few years ago, and i frankly don’t know much about him!

but i can tell you that his name is anthony moody (i call him moody, although i should probably ask him if he prefers anthony), and i don’t know anyone else quite like him.

i met moody at some point, probably in 2005 (maybe 06?), at videoke, a show henri used to host at the alamo village on fridays at midnight. it’s just like karaoke, but you act out movie scenes (with the actual scene and subtitles on a TV) instead of singing a song.

to be honest, i was never a big fan of videoke, in part because if i sit in a chair at midnight on a friday, i will most definitely fall asleep, and also watching the same scenes from “pulp fiction” and “glengerry glen ross” (don’t even get me started on “monster’s ball”) acted out by hyperactive teenage boys and drunken sorority chicks pretty much loses its charm after, oh, the first ten minutes.

however, moody was an exception. i remember LOVING it when moody signed up for a scene, because he usually performed… with a muppet accent. sometimes he sounded like fozzy, other times he sounded like kermit, but regardless, even that “pulp fiction” scene became awesome again, even, dare i say, inspiring when channeled by moody and his muppetry.

nowadays, i usually run into moody at the alamo, but a few months ago, i encountered him in his natural habitat– karaoke night at beerland. as you’ll see, moody is WAY into karaoke, and from what henri and i have heard, he’s made quite a name for himself!

so, let’s see what else we can learn about this charmingly eccentric pants.

 

moody! you are the first person i have interviewed on this blog that i actually don’t know v. well. so this will be, like, a real FACT FINDING interview. let’s start with the basics– give me a bio of yrself, but a bio like i would find on wikipedia or in a playbill.

I was born and raised in NC. I’m a southern boy who has, through the magic of TV watching, nearly gotten rid of his southern accent. It comes back every now and again. I went to and graduated from a Community College in Wilmington, NC. For those that don’t know it is where they filmed Dawson’s Creek and currently film One Tree Hill. I moved out to TX on whim from one of my best friends it felt like the next step in my
evolution as a creative individual.

OMG. did you ever see or meet anyone from dawsons?!!!!

I was an extra for a couple of episodes and prior to that I was a manager at the best theater in town we
sometimes saw them and their friends. Everyone that I met from the show was nice to me even though there were stories of them being not so nice. It’s funny that I have met more celebrities working at that movie theater than I have met since living here and when I visited L.A. If you were a fan of the show during the
last season you would know about the bar they frequented Hell’s Kitchen and after the show ended
someone bought the bar space and kept it just as it looked on the show. It’s still there today. You would
never know a street in Wilmington doubled as a street in Boston.

how did you get interested in acting? tell me about some of yr experiences thus far.

When I was younger I wanted to be a scientist, policeman, a lawyer, and a psychiatrist. Not at the same time mind you that would be a bit insane. I one day realized that the reason I wanted to do any of those professions was because of a TV show or movie. I wanted to be that inspiration for other people to figure out what they wanted to be when they grew up. I never looked back since. That is the Tonight Show answer. The Late Night with Conan O’Brien answer is that one of the first plays I was in I accidentally saw an actress’s Golden Globes while she was changing her wardrobe and I never looked back since. Of course being the fair person I have always been I decided “eye for an eye” so I lifted my shirt and showed her my chest. I’d say that made us even.

what are the worst and best roles you’ve ever played?

My worst acting experience happened in my Junior year of High School. It was the worst because I wasn’t as prepared as I thought I was or should have been. It was a play called Rest Assured. I played the main guy who is like Scrooge so he is visited by a ghost who tries to make him see the light before he dies. Our first show we did in front of some elementary students and I fudged up a line to the point of skipping to a scene from Act I to a scene in Act III. Yikes! Let’s just say I got a tongue lashing from my “wife” and the rest of the production I ended up having the director speak the lines into an ear piece. It has been a block in my acting ever since. I keep fearing it will happen again. My Best acting experience has to be the time I accidentally walked in on an actress. Kidding. My all time favorite acting gig was the time I played the Traveler in Picasso at the Lapin Aguile by Steve Martin. Basically the Traveler is Elvis from the future. It’s a real funny play if you ever get a chance to see it.

moody channels The King.

i happen to know that you are a Major Player on the austin karaoke scene. tell me about a few of the songs in yr repertoire.

Yes ever since I sang Blink 182’s Dammit at Karaoke 8 years ago (has it been that long ago. Wow doesn’t really seem like it) I have been going to karaoke rather regularly. I try to make it at least once a week if not more. I think my record is something like four nights in a row or something. My repertoire has changed over the years. I still do some pop punk, pop rock. I had always wanted to tackle Justin Timberlake for fun and then I went to one of Henri’s Boy Band Sing’a'Longs and was inspired to go through with it. I listened to all of JT’s songs and realized I was a fan. I have been one ever since. I was actually surprised at how well received JT at karaoke turns out to be. I also sing some Bon Jovi Livin on a Prayer and some Bryan Adams Summer of 69. And I love singing Coldplay.

check out moody singing the JT classic, love stoned:

are there any songs that you tried once and will never, ever try again?

No matter how hard I try I cannot do Like I Love You justice. As for one I have tried and will never do again? None come to mind but I am sure there is one.

what or who is yr karaoke muse?

I would have to say my muse is singing in front of a crowd. Having said crowd have a few people I don’t know come up to me and tell me I did a good job. It’s also a good way to meet new friends. I would say that I have more friends through karaoke than anything else.

in yr opinion, what makes a good karaoke night? what are the top venues in austin?

A good night at karaoke for me is one where there are a lot of people there but most are just there for the atmosphere and don’t really sing. When it takes 3 hours to get a song in I don’t have a good time. And oddly enough singing with friends at the Karaoke booths doesn’t do that much for me. I always have a good time there but I like the element of possibly meeting new people through karaoke.

As you may or may not know my stomping ground is Beerland on Monday nights. It is the first place I went to karaoke in Austin. I have been there through a few hosts and a changing of the regulars. I feel like that one guy on ER who has been there since the beginning and just hasn’t moved on yet. I recently sold out and joined the Karaoke League that was started in Austin. I’ll see how that plays out starting next week.

ooh! what is the karaoke league? tell me about it.

It’s a league where you play on teams and they do different style competitions every week. Like best duo, group, kind of things. I have only seen it done once and it seemed like it may be fun. But I am not a very competitive person. I karaoke for fun.

check out moody tackling incubus… you can FEEL the angst:

one of the first things i discovered about you is yr deep and abiding love for superman. when did this love first spring forward? how did this relationship evolve?

My earliest memories are of the Super Friends Super Powers show and having a Superman shirt at at least 4 years old. I also watched the Superman movie on HBO every time it came on. I watched the Superboy TV show in the late 80s. It stayed with me through High School in the form of Lois and Clark the New Adventures of Superman. I loved that show so much I wouldn’t dare watch anything that would come on against it. Even if I recorded it. I had 9 different Superman shirts in High School. Still have most of
them and 4 more today. I loved this show so much I dressed up for the wedding episode. And the real wedding episode as well. I even shed some tears when I saw the last episode. Today I watch Smallville and the Bryan Singer movie. I also read a lot of the comics but since I’m more about the stories than about collecting them I just wait for the Graphic Novels. The best being Birthright which is a re-re-telling of the origin of Superman that is very brilliant.

in yr opinion, which actor has made the best superman (besides yrself, of course)?

Christopher Reeve will always be my favorite Superman but I always liked how they portrayed Clark Kent in Lois and Clark and Smallville. Where it seems Superman
is the Secret Identity and not the other way around. Brandon Routh did an excellent job I thought in Superman Returns.

if you were given the chance to play superman in a film, what would you do to prepare?

What’s funny about you asking me that question is that I was toying with the idea of bulking up and trying out for Superman when they were casting. But I like who they eventually chose.

moody, doing what he does best, wearing what he wears best.

so you currently work in a grocery store. i know that it’s a job for you, but can i just say I LOVE GROCERY STORES. what do you do at the store? do you get a discount on food? cos that would be awesome.

I work in the Customer Service booth at Randall’s. That is where the little old ladies who can’t get their kitties to eat a certain can of 32 cent cat food wait in line for 15 minutes to return their 32 cent can of cat food (that happened once). I didn’t realize how much and how little people return things until I started working there. As for discounts I get 10% off the Safeway brand products, which is pretty cool sometimes. I like their store brand stuff. And those chocolate cookies that think they are brownies I shared with you and Jessica that time.

 

what is yr secret power?

I have a secret identity known as the Pun-Issuer. (It’s a pun on the Punisher) There is not a pun I wouldn’t make. Yet I have never been to the O. Henry Pun-Off. Weird.

do you sleep in jimjams? what kind?

I have a rotation of gym shorts, black and blue pajama bottoms and of course Superman pajama bottoms. I even have a Superman Alarm Clock that wakes me up to the sound of the Superman theme every morning.

what is yr #1 favorite food?

I am a huge Italian food fan.

what is yr top restaurant recommendation in austin? what’s the best thing on the menu?

I would have to say Magnolia Cafe. The main reason for me including this is for the Mag Mud queso. And I love their Eggs Benedict if I am there early enough to eat it.

I am pretty good at useless entertainment trivia. At Mother Egan’s Trivia night I once answered the question about Paris Hilton’s middle name. (It’s Whitney.)

anthony’s homage to justin.

what was yr favorite item of clothing as a child?

Any and all Superman shirts I had. (Suggestion: Maybe you could include a favorite stuffed animal as a child question as well. To which I would reply Scrappy Doo. Of course when I was a child I felt sorry for the other stuffed animals who weren’t sleeping with me so I would outline my body with all of the stuffed animals so they wouldn’t feel left out.)

what do you plan on doing when you’re 80?

Whatever it is I do when I’m 80 I hope capes have come back in style for me to do it in.

if you could assemble yr own ocean’s 11, who would you pick and why?

I would pick the Bandit, the Indian, The African, the Munitions expert and Charles Darwin from the movie The Fall. Only because I want everyone to see the movie The Fall. In theaters today. Check local listings. I had nothing to do with it but I saw it in L.A. last week and thought it was brilliant. Of course me praising it so much might have the opposing effect for some people to where they can’t enjoy it so maybe you should just see it if you can.

what is yr best karaoke song?

Cry Me a River. Every time I sing that song something weird happens. Like getting tips. And having random people giving each other lap dances. And having someone ask you to sing it to them outside because she got there too late to see it. I also get told I sound just like Weezer when I sing their songs.

do people ever tell you that you look like someone famous? who?

Yes. People always tell me I look like Val Kilmer. Once I went to LensCrafters and the eye Dr. asked me if anyone has ever told me I looked like Val Kilmer. When I came back in about an hour to pick up my glasses the lady fitting them asked me the same thing. And recently a new co-worker said it.

tell me something scandalous!

I was once banned from the Alamo. The actual Alamo not the Drafthouse. My brother and I were there and my brother wanted to take a picture that mimicked Ozzy Ozbourne peeing on the wall of the Alamo and out of nowhere a park ranger came and kicked us both out. Fortunately my dad wasn’t kicked out so he got to see the Alamo. I’m sure had he been banned it would have made the rest of the trip maddening instead of the funny that it was. And also it seemed like everywhere we went after that security was keeping an eye on us. When we went to the tower a guard came up the elevator with us and after an hour and a half of reading the history we went back downstairs and there was the same security guard following us out. Oh by the way this happened last August.

ok, that is spectacular. i wish you’d been able to take the photo before you got kicked out, cos that would have been SO worth it.

***

well, moody, it’s been a pleasure finding out more about you, esp. cos it proves what i already know: you are totally unique, and definitely awesome. perhaps we can put together a pants world outing to enjoy yr karaoke stylings this summer!

p.s. i’m sorry to tell you this but… i like batman way more than superman. i’m sorry, i just have to be honest.

LINKS

david byrne transformed an abandoned new york building into an instrument. because he is can.

carter sent me this v. v. good piece of news today: starting june 1, weekday shows outside at the mohawk and deville will be over by 11 PM. i know it automatically makes me lame to say this, but, HALLELUJAH!

there is now a catering company in austin that solely provides desserts. it is called the cupcake bar. and yes, i should be the owner.

carrie brownstein discusses this year’s prom themes, including “a night to shine” and “don’t want to miss a thing” (note: wow. do people still like that song?!!). it made me recall my own prom theme, which was… eh, i can’t remember. so i really hope it wasn’t “a night to remember.”