They cloned Mozart, it went horribly wrong and now we’re stuck with the consequences. Making his UK debut in a cheap wig, Shitty Mozart (Aaron Nemo, a writer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) performs a dazzlingly chaotic, vulgar one-man multimedia concerto. Terrified that the audience will realize he lacks the musical genius of his predecessor, Shitty Mozart shows off his own talents – playing makeshift instruments he’s invented, performing duets with cartoons he drew, even conducting a brief laser light show – in a futile attempt to escape Wolfgang’s shadow and make a name for himself.
Would you mind giving us a brief insight into what your show is?
My show is the entirely true, zero-percent-made-up story of Wolfgang Mozart’s botched clone, Shitty Mozart. Unable to accept the fact that a miscalculation in the cloning process left him completely devoid of any musical talent, Shitty has developed a highly elaborate show featuring live animations, obscene music videos, and even a laser light show in order to mask the fact that he lacks the virtuosic abilities of his famous predecessor. It’s the hopefully relatable struggle of a person mustering every ounce of energy in their bones just to be good enough.
Tell us about the creative team and the process involved?
I’m Aaron Nemo — American late-night comedy writer by day, wig-sporting lunatic by night. This show combines three of my lifelong passions: songwriting, cartoons, and failure. About 10,000 of YouTube videos have allowed me to teach myself *just enough* to be able to pull off an hour of animated characters and original songs, but *not enough* to do so with any semblance of ease or expertise. The show revolves around how hard I’ll try, how profusely I’ll sweat, and how much I’ll do to gain affection from a room full of strangers.
I’m coming to Fringe with my buddy Reed Kavner, an NYC-based producer enthusiastic about projects that use multimedia to create exciting live experiences. He provides me with a ton of useful, prudent advice — all of which I obviously ignore!
How does it feel coming to the Fringe?
Having never been to the Fringe before, but having heard only the most magically glowing endorsements, the lead-up has reminded me of when I was seven years old and absolutely STOKED about my upcoming trip to Disney World. (This time hopefully I won’t hysterically cry for three hours like I did after riding Disney’s Space Mountain. But I’m sure I will.)
There are over 3,000 shows at the Fringe. So, what sets your show apart?
I’m crossing my fingers that Shitty Mozart is the only Fringe show that includes a three-minute-long multispecies musical orgy, an epic interdimensional sword fight, and an animatronic light that can only communicate via snippets from The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside.” But who knows, parallel thinking happens.
Is there anything specific you’re hoping the audience will take away?
I hope one audience takeaway is that they’ve just witnessed something unlike anything they’ve seen before. I hope
they won’t take away all the props I throw into the audience — I’m not bringing enough to last for 27 shows.
Your Ideal audience is in attendance, who’s watching? Or more importantly – who isn’t…?
My ideal audience would be the entire roster and coaching staff of the 1997-1998 NBA Champion Chicago Bulls. Those guys were all my childhood heroes, and — perhaps as an avoidance tactic to escape answering this difficult question — I’ll use this hypothetical scenario to get myself into a room with them. This would, of course, involve some sort of black magic to reanimate the corpse of assistant coach Tex Winter, the inventor of the triangle offence, who passed away in 2018. Oh, he can be the answer to the second part — the person I choose not to be in attendance. Because that’d be just plain scary.
It’s an intense month, so where you’re able, how do you plan to relax, and are there any other shows you intend to see or want to recommend?
I don’t think I’ve been relaxed since I was about four years old, but I’m incredibly excited to be just another Fringegoer when I’m not promoting or performing Shitty. I know of a few fellow American comedy acts who I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing live — Natalie Palamides, Demi Adejuyigbe, and Dave Adhoot, just to name a few — and I’m looking forward to expanding my want-to-see list with acts from the UK and beyond, especially anything weird, experimental, or dangerous-sounding.
In your ideal world, how can we improve the Fringe, performance, and the industry?
I should probably only provide constructive criticism regarding topics I’m more familiar with. Like how Dickey Simpkins deserved far more playing time on 1997-1998 NBA Champion Chicago Bulls! The man was shooting 63.4% from the field for crying out loud! Justice for Dickey!!
Shitty Mozart runs at Venue 24: Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose ( 3 Chambers St, EH1 1HT)
Photo credit – Alexander Trowbridge and Reed Kayner
Interested in being featured on our Have a Gander page? With many previews and Q&As lined up, we’re always happy to chat about including your show in future articles. Please do get in touch through the contact page to feature in an upcoming ‘Have A Gander’