Interview: Liam Cody, Comedian, The Gorskys - 9th November 2003

Liam Cody and Chris Tomkins

In our quest to interview Australia's foremost entertainers, we track down Liam Cody from The Gorskys.

Liam gives us a ripper interview, being insightful, informative and entertaining, all at once!

What's your background?

GORSKYS.COMedy is the web site of the Gorskys. We started out as a comedy group in Melbourne, then kind of drifted onto the Internet.

Now, we're more a comedy group of the world wide web. Someone described us once as the world's first "dot-comedians".

How did you get your break in the entertainment business?

Chris and I met at Monash University, and did some student reviews together. I was doing stand up in and around Melbourne at the time, and thought the live comedy scene needed some more sketch comedy. So, we teamed up with some of the best talent Monash Uni had to offer at the time, and launched ourselves onto the Melbourne comedy scene.

Luckily, audiences liked our first show, or there may not have been any more.

Have you always been funny?

I have always THOUGHT I was funny. Sometimes, though, I prove myself wrong, and my fantastic joke just turns out to be a dumb statement.

Do you have to be born funny, or can you learn it?

You need to have a certain gift, but you do get better with practice. I guess that means you can learn it, at least a bit.

But, interestingly, knowing the theory of what makes something funny doesn't make it funnier. In fact it makes it less funny. And knowing the theory of what makes something funny doesn't mean you can apply it.

What are you most well known for?

In my house, it's for always wanting to use the barbeque. The public best know us for the web site.

I'd like it if the groupies knew me for my amazing prowess, but we don't have any groupies. Just cyber-stalkers.

What's kind of acts do you prefer?

Tripod make me laugh a lot. So do Lano and Woodley. However, I prefer acts that aren't better than me, because they make me feel better about myself.

What inspires you?

Anything, really. There's no consistent source of inspiration. Looking at the GORSKYS.COMedy site, you'll see there's not really anything we haven't covered, or won't cover.

How do you get the creative ideas flowing, and transfer that into a show with some format?

My drugs of choice are alcohol and caffeine. The rest follows.

What are the highlights of your career?

Performing in Edinburgh, selling my first show to thecomedychannel, and attending my first Melbourne Comedy Festival after party, where the beer was free and the catering superb.

What moments would you prefer to not remember, but are "scared from for life"?

I have a happy knack of blacking out all horrid moments from my brain. However, I still have a scar from being cut free from my mother. It's in the middle of my stomach, and looks pretty awful.

Who are your mentors?

I wasn't aware there was a formal comedy mentorship program. Is this one of those awful government programs like work for the dole?

Do you prefer to work alone or with a partner?

With a partner. Which is why Chris and I have been working together for over 10 years.

What platforms of media do you use to advantage?

Huh? Do you mean what have we done? Like "been on telly, been on radio, been on the web?"

What media mobs have done you wrong? (if you care to mention them, or drop hints)

Pretty well all of them, at one time or another. Whether its' not reviewing a show, or not giving it a good enough review, or suing for defamation, there have been times in my life where I have hated every
major media outlet in Australia.

What's a few funny stories from the road?

We played a gig in a Pizza Hut for Triple M in Adelaide once, which was one of the most surreal moments of my life. I felt like I was a member of the Wiggles, to be honest. There were a lot of screaming 10 year olds. Sadly, our most popular thing at the time was "Unnatural Love: 20 Songs Of Beastiality from some of the world's finest artists". I don't think we got many laughs that afternoon. But
we did get a lot of pizza.

What do you do with hecklers? (Apart from have them taken out and shot?)

Hecklers are hard. Usually, you don't actually hear what they yell. The acoustics of a room are that the sound goes into the audience better than it comes back. As such, it's difficult. You try to think of a witty comeback to "Wha ha bes haba!".

How often do you have to supplement your arts career with "other" jobs, be it web design or whatever, to
keep you honest?

My day job is as an enforcer for a drug gang, so I can't say it keeps me honest.

How has the internet helped you?

I now have cheap access to an unlimited number of pictures of naked ladies.

GORSKYS.COMedy has about 50,000 users a month. We would never have reached an audience that size without the Internet.

The trick now, is to convince all those people to give me a dollar a month. I'm still working on that one.

Why are you unique?

Because I murdered my identical twin.

How do you stay motivated?

Alcohol and caffeine usually do the trick, as does a looming deadline. Money is a great concentrator of the mind.

What do you like to watch on TV?

Kath and Kim, The West Wing, and SBS World News are my most watched shows. I don't get to watch much TV, and am appalling at working the video, so seem to miss a lot more than I see.

What's the good, the bad and the ugly of Reality TV?

The good? I'm not sure there is anything good, to be honest. I'd much prefer stations to invest their money into original comedy and drama.

The bad? It's so cheap to make. Even if no one wants to watch it, stations will still make it in preference to real shows. I think it will be around a long time after we're all sick of it.

The ugly? Hmm... Dicko from Australian Idol isn't the most telegenic human being. And what's with that hair? I think, more fundamentally, our current obsession with reality TV to fill airtime is starving story telling and story tellers who can't get their ideas up.

Have you ever watched Channel 31? If so, your thoughts?

Watched it? I've been on it. We used to do regular spots on various shows on Melbourne's Channel 31.

I think it's a great concept, community TV. Most of it is completely appalling, but it has a certain innocence about it.

And it's a great opportunity and learning ground. Remember, Rove got his start on Channel 31.

What's your favorite bands?

Depends on the mood I'm in. De Phazz, a German acid jazz band, are good loungey listening. Warren Zevon I will always have a soft spot for, even though he decided to die rather than meet me.

Last band I saw was the Living End. They put on a good, rockin' show.

Why should the public support you?

I'm not sure comedy is like football. You don't support it. You go because you like it. And some people, you reckon are funnier than others.

I used to think bands were like football teams when I was a kid. I barracked for KISS. But our school was split: KISS v AC/DC. Now I realise you can like both, but then, we treated AC/DC supporters like they barracked for Collingwood.

What's your motto?

You know, I've just realised why my life is so desolate and empty. I forgot to get a motto. No wonder girls don't like me.

How do you give back to the public and industry?

I give back to the public by running a web site that is totally free, so they don't need to pay a cent to have a great laugh.

...end.

Editors note: These dudes are friggen funny. Get your butts up to Sydney, or otherwise I will have at least one good reason to go to Melbourne!

Contact Details

GORSKYS.COMedy
http://www.gorskys.com.au
more laughs than you can poke a click at

Links:

Gorskys official website

Gorskys Great Reality TV Show Ideas

The Comedy Channel (Australia)

Media Man Australia: Entertainment News

Media Man Australia: What's On!