Fred Armisen’s Love For Hotels Stems From Dad’s IBM Job

Fred Armisen is one of the most well-rounded entertainers in America with a long list of premiere credits. Armisen spent 11 seasons on SNL, did "Portlandia" for 8 years,  plays Uncle Fester on the Netflix hit "Wednesday" and has toured the world with his comedy.

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Now, Armisen is bringing his new show: "Comedy For Musicians But Everyone is Welcome" to the Ridgefield Playhouse. Ahead of this exciting show Fred joined us on the Thursday (08/08/24) edition of the I-95 Morning Show and shared his many ties to our local area. We learned about Fred's time growing up on Long Island, his Dad working at IBM and his teenage road trips to Connecticut.

Lou: In preparation for this interview, I learned that you and I have something in common, assuming the information is correct. I learned that our dads both worked at IBM. 

Fred: "No way! Like what building, what city did he work in?"

Lou: So, my Dad was in all of them I feel like, he moved around over the years. He was in Westchester and New York City but I feel like most of the years were spent in Westchester. 

Fred: "That's where my Dad was! He also moved around a little bit but basically White Plains."

Lou: What I think is interesting about it it, watching him work there when I was growing up, showed me exactly what I did not want to do with my life. I knew at an early age that I needed to be in entertainment, something I could really enjoy. 

Fred: "Isn't that funny? Except, my Dad traveled a lot like they would send him to other cities and stuff, around the world and I remember he was always staying in hotels. That is the one thing I did like, I was like Oh, I like hotels. That is the one part I wanted to take on but that is so funny how not entertainment that is, at all. That's like so businessy." 

Lou: Did you ever go to any of the family days at Rye Playland? 

Fred: "Oh yes! Yep and Rye Playland, dude it is so funny even hearing you say Rye Playland." 

Dave: Fred, we're located in Danbury, CT and obviously you sort of grew up around this area, in our listening area. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about Connecticut? 

Fred: "Driving up. I grew up on Long Island and as we got older and started to drive I remember one of my friends had a girlfriend who lived up in Connecticut so we would all just kind of go up. Then, over the years Connecticut is just one of those places where everyone just ends up at. You know what I mean? It's like a constant in my life." 

Lou: You mentioned growing up on Long Island. Isn't it true that you went to school with, or at least attended the same school as fellow SNL cast member Jim Breuer? 

Fred: "We went to high school together, we were in the same high school. How crazy is that?"

Lou: Did you guys hangout at the Sunrise Cinemas together? 

Fred: "Yup! We used to go to Sunrise Cinemas, that was at Green Acres Mall, you know everyone worked at Green Acres Mall. By the way, you do you remember when malls were like a place that people worked at? I literally don't even hear the word mall anymore. Oh my God! I had this friend, we were really punk-rock, like against everything, you know? But, we still went to the mall even though we were anti-mall, even though we were like I hate those stupid stores, we still went."

Lou: I can relate to that feeling as a person who has hated almost everything my entire life, I still need to seek out and see the things I hate. 

Fred: "Yeah, why is that? We could have so easily avoided it but we rode our bikes, went all the way there and went to all these stores that we hated." 

Lou: Can you tell our listeners what they can expect if they come see your show at the Ridgefield Playhouse?

Fred: "I'll have my drumkit setup and a guitar and what I di mostly is I talk about music. It's not like a lecture, it's more like sharing feelings about how we listen to music. It's like observations, like when I hear this kind of music, this is how I react, do you guys react the same way? Then, some impressions of guitar style, drum styles and I expanded a little bit from there. You don't have to be a musician but its in that zone and then if you are a musician it gets pretty deep-cuts and specific references. So, it's a mix of like broad and then really specific."

Don't miss Fred Armisen at the Ridgefield Playhouse on Wednesday, August 14th for his show "Comedy For Musicians But Everyone is Welcome."

You can listen to our complete two-part interview with Fred Armisen below. 

Part 1 - Fred talks about being weird with his comedy, discusses multiple infamous bits from "Portlandia" and praises Jason Sudeikis for his comedy chops. 

Part 2 - Fred chats about his hilarious role as Raul on Parks & Recreation, jamming punk songs at record stores and the success of the Danbury Fair Mall. 

Check out the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Show on Apple & Spotify 

For the record, I was not as averse to IBM as I made it sound. I agree with Fred, there was something that felt fancy about it. I was not complaining at Playland, or "take your son to work day" in NYC. Seeing my Dad as a businessman with a briefcase and a desk at a high-rise was pretty cool as a kid.