In order to alleviate confusion I will be referring to Robert Smigel, the voice of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, as "Triumph."
This is how I got the job: Comedian Dave Hill was asked to be in Triumph's back up band. He'd worked with Triumph before. He recruited his band, Valley Lodge, to do the job. They needed a piano player and so they called me to fill the role. My band, .357 Lover, was off until June 18, so I said yes.
We rehearsed with Triumph for about a week. We went over the hits: "Lick Myself," "Cats Are C**ts," "Underage Pichon" and "Stuck to You." They were simple songs, yet he was very particular in how he wanted them played. I'd soon learn that he was a perfectionist. That made me respect him even more.
He'd been working on a song called "A Hole's a Hole in Ol' Tennessee" and didn't have music yet. I told him I had an idea and started playing an Alabama-style intro and then we all started following Triumph's singing and each other and by the end we had something. The lyrics weren't finished yet so it was mostly grunts. By the time he'd finished the song, it was hard to concentrate due to laughing. He liked what we'd made.
Our flight out of New York City was Wednesday night. Eddie Eyeball and I got to the airport first. I went past the gate while he enjoyed some fagioli soup in the food court (because he loves soup). He also has keen foresight since there was nothing good in our terminal.
Eddie used to play with the 2 Skinnee J's and now plays with Ginger of The Wildhearts. And also with Triumph. There's a small bar at the end of the terminal and that's where we camped.
Rob, Dave and Phil showed up. Phil plays with Tragedy, a Bee Gees metal tribute. Rob played with Sense Field and had just gotten a job with The Economist. He's a really good drummer.
Janeane Garofalo followed them and joined us at the bar. She has travel clothes that she keeps in her bag at all times. She never has to pack. She's smart and pretty.
After the flight we met up with the rest of the comedians and were taken to the Doubletree in Murfreesboro, Tenn. After dropping our bags in our room, we went to eat. The comics told us to meet them at Outback. By the time we got there we were locked out of the Outback Steakhouse -- I had bragged about how they put cheese on their steaks and was luckily disappointed (I shouldn't put that in my belly).
Instead, we went over to IHOP where I proceeded to ruin my stomach in a cheaper manner with a delicious chicken fried steak. Thus begun my failings to eat well during this festival.
