The Jester Interview: Marc Maron (continued)

Jester: Do these projects change the direction or affect the direction of the podcast?

Marc Maron: I don’t know. I don’t think so. My life has been sort of consumed with the process of promoting and doing things, and doing stand-up. I just recorded a special as well. I’ve got to start sort of living life again, and engaging in a real life, so I have things to talk about. I’m not sure what you mean by affecting the podcast, but we remain on schedule and continue to interview. We didn’t miss any during the filming, and I think the quality of the podcast has been better than ever. That seems pretty steady. What were you thinking of specifically on affecting the podcast?

J: Maybe guests … or reaching into other areas?

MM: I think the podcast is its own thing and keeps moving forward. We continue to engage all kinds of guests. The podcast is fine. It’s gotten better. Lately it’s been great. It’s an honor to interview John Fogerty. The Kevin Christy interview that went up Monday is great. I’m still very engaged in doing it. It all seems very good to me.

J: Do you see it having no limit, or how do you see it evolving?

MM: I’d like to get back to doing some interesting out of the studio episodes like we did early on, and really just engaging unique guests – people that haven’t been heard before – and also trying to do great interviews with people who are known but who people haven’t heard talk is exciting.

For me the John Fogerty thing was outstanding, and the Mel Brooks one was great – just to keep it vital and interesting, and talk to more of the old guys. There’s definitely always room for growing that stuff out, doing more stuff with the podcast.

J: Is there a dream guest or guests that you would like to get?

MM: There’s always people to talk to. I’d like to talk to Bob Newhart … Larry David … Iggy Pop. There’s always people around to talk to, I have found. There’s no shortage of interesting people to talk to. I’m not worried about that really. There’s still a lot of comedian guys or comedy people I haven’t been able to get on the show yet – guys who are my generation or younger who still haven’t done the show – like Will Ferrell … or Jonah Hill is back in the loop and interested in doing it. I have Seth Rogen and Evan [Goldberg] coming over today. It keeps moving. There seem to be plenty of people around that want to do it.

J: I was wondering if you were trying to get or ever will get Lorne Michaels?

MM: Hahahahah! That’s my whale. I don’t know how to get through to him. I guess I can try. I’d like to try [says meekly, earnestly]. That would be pretty interesting I think. Maybe more interesting for me personally. But I think it’s possible. I don’t know that I’ve ever really tried, to be honest. I can make some phone calls. I’m not really in New York that often.

J: I’m sure everyone would love to hear it if it happened.

MM: It would be exciting, wouldn’t it?

J: As the podcast has grown, is it tougher to have these more intimate interviews with people? Or does it make it easier to get things like you had with Louis CK?

MM: There’s people I know directly, but it doesn’t seem like the quality of interview is diminishing. It’s a per case situation. It just depends on what people are willing to talk about or want to talk about. But I don’t feel that’s really diminished it in any way. Do you?

J: No. You get things like with Mel Brooks – I never would have guessed that he would be aware of Sam Kinison, and you brought that out – and he had been doing a lot of interviews.

MM: It still seems to be pretty exciting and … when you talk to somebody for an hour, where’s it going to go? What’s going to happen? It’s hard to know. I just try to engage in as immediate a way as possible, and get something genuine. I generally do. When you’re talking for an hour, you’re going to get something. Sometimes it’s worth waiting for, even if it’s one thing. One little thing can really change the whole – it becomes worth waiting for.

J: Do you know in the moment if it’s going to be like the two-hour ones that you do? Like the one with Mel Brooks – or shorter, like Gallagher walking out the door?

MM: No – I don’t really know. Sometimes even when they’re great I don’t really know it, because I’m really in it, in that moment. I might wish I had done this or that, but I don’t let my feelings get in the way too much, because I’ve grown to understand whatever my expectations were, however I may have felt about anything, these are still people that others love or are fans of, and hearing them talk for an hour is going to be a treat no matter what. If I don’t think I got something, I don’t judge it or let my mind get crowded by it, because this is still this person talking for an hour plus, and that’s an amazing thing in and of itself a lot of times.