Nick Flanagan Balances Careers In Comedy And Brutal Punk

05/15/07 6:00pm

by Shehzaad Jiwani (CHARTattack)

Nick Flanagan is an interesting guy. He has an almost superhero-esque job description, except what he does by day is just as cool as what he does by night. And he usually does both by night. And it isn't really a secret. OK, so it's really nothing like a superhero at all, but he still has two things on his resume that most people don't.

Though Flanagan has made a name for himself as a stand-up comic on Toronto's comedy circuit, he also fronts punk rock quintet Brutal Knights, who recently released their second LP, Feast Of Shame.

"It's an outlet for me to do musical pursuits, and lyrically to express myself," Flanagan explains. "The band was oddly appreciative of my lyrics early on.

"They were really... let's say 'rusty,' earlier lyrics of mine. One of them was 'The Mask,' this kind of social commentary based on the movie The Mask, or just the concept of the movie. There was one called 'Dog Hospital' about, well, a dog hospital. The songs improved and we kept going."

His lyrics often take a satirical approach, but sarcasm has been a part of punk since its inception. Flanagan takes it one step further and lampoons things on a higher level. "Government Is Asshole!" (where Flanagan yells, "Fuck you, I buy sushi with my welfare money!") reads like another angry social commentary, when in fact it skewers the bands who wear shirts that say things like "Buck Fush."

"The most hilarious lyrics are the most mundane ones," the singer says. "I'm not really sure why that is.

"I like my punk rock with sarcasm. I'm not even criticizing people who don't like the government. The heart of it is saying it doesn't make a difference, you're really not changing shit.

"I'm not saying don't be politically active, I'm just saying don't make a song talking about it, because it's not going to make a difference nine times out of 10. You're in a rock band. If you're a political rock band, that's your right, but don't think that having an X-ray image of Bush as a banner on your Telus-sponsored tour is making a difference."

With such a great platform for parody, Brutal Knights, are the perfect way for Flanagan to mix his wit with his love for punk rock. "The comedy and the music do inform each other," he states.

"I tend not to have too much the same. I might not have a joke about extreme lifestyles, and I might not have a song about one of my comedy routines, but in terms of my subject matter, I like silly wording and puns and pop culture references. That goes on in both. Here's what it boils down to: the comedy is really based out of creating shame-based laughter, and the band is shame-based moshing."

With his feet in two very different areas of entertainment, Flanagan's occupation begs the same question that everyone loves to ask Lindsay Lohan, Hilary Duff and Jared Leto: Why are you such an asshole? Oops, that question is just reserved for Leto. What we actually asked was, "Which one do you like doing more?"

"I'm not a particularly trained musician in the slightest sense," Flanagan admits. "I'd probably feel more comfortable doing stand-up for a long-term period of time.

"That being said, if I can keep doing what I'm doing, and keep expressing my thoughts through the lyrics and keep it fun, great. But no one wants to see this old, 35-year-old guy with no shirt yelling, 'Fuck the government!' Nobody wants to see that."