Dane & Hart :: Bring Me My Hookah!

Golly, I love the Internet. I really do. I know there’s a lot of junk to wade through, and yeah, social networking is a huge time suck and comes with its share of “issues” – but you gotta love how it enables people who’d never have met to meet one another. Don’t you?

I “met” Weston in the convoluted internet way of “friending” and “following” and I guess I was a lemming in there at some point because I ended up friending him on Facebook AND following him on Twitter (and maybe Myspace, too, god, it’s all become a blur) and then he was kind enough to share his time with me and give me this interview.

And yeah, he’s trying to blame me for his new IM habit, but I’m not taking the blame, people. You can lead a horse to water, but he’ll only drink it if he wants to.

On to the show!

First off, let me add that his name totally kicks ass. WESTON WALLS. How cool is that? He’s not only got one W, he’s got DOUBLE DOUBLE-YOUSE!

What’s your name, who’s your daddy and is he rich like me?
- Well, you know Megan, it’s the time of the season for loving.

Do you still DJ?
- Aha! You found the DJ’s on a Dime site. My friend Craig Henry started a DJ business and I occasionally go out on a job and help him. He hasn’t needed me to go on one for a few months but I’m sure he will at some point soon.

What do you like best about it?
- Drunk chicks

What do you like least about it?
- Their boyfriends….j/k The first answer would be the excitement around having a whole dance floor pumping because of the sounds we are laying down. The second would be hauling equipment.

What are your favorite jams to spin (Or WERE, if you’re no longer rockin’ the mic like a vandal)?
- For years, I have thought that Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enoughis one of the greatest dance songs of all time. Also, people these days can’t seem to resist Low (feat. T-Pain)by Flo-Rida. It’s a great song for a party scene.


Do you consider yourself an actor? Would you take more acting work?
-Absolutely I consider myself an actor. I’ve acted on and off all my life.

In Little CEO you play a beleaguered office worker under the hammering fist of a new boss. And you appear topless. Was that a difficult decision for you to make, or do you approach nudity in scripts based on how important it is to the story?
- I always strive to bring nudity to whatever project I am on. Be it an audition for a Coors Lite commercial, street theater or performing for 200 school kids at 9am on a Thursday. It’s an amazing tool. A tool for connecting with the audience, the producer or casting director, or myself. Yes, my amazing tool connects me with myself. It’s really quite wonderful! My Tool!

But seriously…

My friend Sari asked me to come out and be in her shoot. She was entering a Youtube contest…I was talking with Sari on the phone before the shoot…she said one scene was to be in PJ’s and did I have any to bring. I said (truthfully btw) that I sleep in the nude, so she decided to work that in.

Do you still play the trombone?
- Haven’t touched it in years. But I still have one.

What’s your favorite thing about live theater?
-The immediate response (and yes…connection) with the audience. That response, even if they are silent, is golden.

Do you have a karaoke “anthem” and if so, what is it and why?
- I am proud to say I have never picked up the karaoke mic. But if/when that happens, it would be The Devil Went Down to Georgia. I know every word. I’m not joking!

Tell me about It’s Weston Time! Tell me about the title, first. Why It’s Weston Time?
-When I was developing the show last summer, there was a “don’t take it all so seriously” theme coming through…and to make a joke about that, the original title for the first two shows was “come see my show or I will hurt myself” — making a joke about how seriously I used to take myself and my life. It was a fun title for a while but there came a time when I was a little uncomfortable with it. Even a little embarrassed to tell people it. I thought about a new title and some people were suggesting things like “The Weston Walls Show” which sounded really boring to me. Somewhere along the way “It’s Weston Time” popped into my head. It’s open ended enough to let me do whatever I want.

It’s a talk show. Or a variety show with interviews. I have musicians and stand up comics perform. I’ve had a cooking demo, a character that has a very funny work out program combining yoga and karaoke, a clown. I also have a great all teen house band. They are called Jameson Moss and the Fake ID’s. They are the freakin’ best!! I produce and host the show and it really is lots of fun. The last one was back in June and it was great. Before that I always did it just for the audience. This time I rented some nice cameras and mics and paid some guys to work them. Looking to go to the next level.

How long have you been doing it?
-My first show was late September last year. My 4th show was in June this year. I want it to become a weekly one-hour TV show, or a very well sponsored Internet show. Prefer TV though. It’s sexier.

Have you always wanted to do something like that? TV variety/interview show? Or did this spring out of something else?
-Over the past few years I’ve examined my patterns more than before…have done more self-examination…realized some of the things I’ve gravitated towards naturally. I’ve hosted a very successful poetry slam in Winston-Salem, played the Ringmaster in Barnum in HS…often fallen into the host/announcer role naturally. So, last year I was asking for some sort of inspiration for a project. Didn’t really have anything to hang my hat on really at that time. Then in early July, I received an email newsletter from a friend in San Francisco, a stand-up comic, and in it he mentioned that he had been doing his own little talk show in a club or theater…something about that email just hit me like a lightning bolt and I knew I had to put my own. It was so clear. I realized that it plays into many of my strengths as a performer and as a person. It fits the patterns I’ve lived in many ways. Hooray!

editor’s note: since part of this interview was conducted via IM, I wanted to share the cuteness of this exchange

MeganHart
…do you actually say hooray out loud?
ever?

westonwalls
yes

MeganHart
ME TOO

westonwalls
I think I say it often

MeganHart
we say it a lot around here

westonwalls
good

MeganHart
in a strange, affected accent
we are a strange family

westonwalls
I usually pump both fists above my head

So how do you find guests for your show?
- I have so many talented friends it isn’t funny, and they have many talented friends I haven’t met yet. I ask my friends to come perform…or ask them for suggestions of people to ask. Ask ask ask, phone, email, text message, IM. Ask ask ask. Sometimes post a Facebook status update –”hey I need a last minute replacement for a music guest, any suggestions?” People call or post. Then I call. On and on.

Do you prepare ahead of time?
-I like to meet and talk with my guests before the show, have a casual conversation/mock interview. Helps me prepare the direction of the interview. I usually have a few questions in mind for the show, but I like to let the interview take on a life of it’s own. Let’s us both discover together. Hooray!