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His latest such endeavor is the new IMDb animated seriesYoure Not a Monster.
How did this show come about for you?
Was it pitched to you?Everything takes so long now.
Over time, he said, Weve got a couple scripts on it!
all of a sudden, there it is.
Although all the characters are really not very qualified as therapists.
Which is maybe not a feather in my cap.
Were you familiar with John Seward from the originalDraculanovel?I am.
In fact, I read the original Bram Stoker novel years and years ago.
There was an annotated one released in the late 70s or early 80s that someone had given me.
Its a great story, of course, but I found it more enriching through that experience.
Like, say,Dr.
Frankenollie in the Disney cartoonRunaway Brain.Yes!
That was a Mickey Mouse cartoon.
And it was a theatrically released Mickey Mouse cartoon, no less!
They said it was going to be that kind of cartoon.
I have no idea if it ran.
Certainly one of your most famous voice gigs has been playing Sideshow Bob onThe Simpsons.Yes, of course.
Sideshow Bob casts a long shadow through the years.
It used to take a lot longer to turn them around.
It could be Christmas this year!
Sometimes youve gotta have Sideshow Bob!
That was just one of the greatest lines Ive ever said.
How much longer is this gonna go oh, myGod!
It wears you out and yet somehow gets you back.
I dont know how it happened, but its an extraordinary thing.
I mean, they sent me a copy.
They actually sent me atape!
But it ended up in a drawer and I didnt watch it.
And then I heard it was funny.
And then I heard I actually won an Emmy for it.
And then I thought Id better watch it.
So I finally got to see it a year or so after the fact or whatever.
But yes, it is actually quite funny.
It recurs in my life like a bad dream.
It was a beautiful thing.]
We were on with Pamela Anderson asStripperella, so it was an hour of cartoons.
I loved that character.
Maybe it was too on the nose?
But I thought it was a terrific show.
How did that come about?A buddy of mine, Bob Casale, was the engineer for it.
Hes gone now, but he was the guitar player in Devo.
He went into engineering and producing records for other guys, including the Vandals.
How did you and Bob Casale cross paths in the first place?Oh gosh, years ago.
It was one of those wild things.
Thats the 80s, right?
Id see him talking in the bathroom and somebody says, Hey, what do you do, man?
The Devo guys and some graphic artists I knew, we all hung out together.
It was an eclectic mix.
Bobs girlfriend at the time, Lisa, is still a pal.
She used to cut hair, so she would cut my hair when wed all hang out.
It was a great, great time.
Iinterviewed Gerald Casalea couple of years ago for the anniversary of DevosFreedom of Choicecoming out.
Great guy, great band.Oh yeah, wonderful.
And Mark [Mothersbaugh] actually wrote music for me forGary the Rat.
Hes done a couple of things for us over the years.
Of course, Im a big Orwell fan.
And Im definitely not a communist.
So that was right up my alley.
I thought it was an important thing to do.
Its one of the best distillates of why we dont want to become that society.
But, you know, were whistling through the graveyard right now.
If theres ever been a time to reevaluate Orwells work …It might be the time, yeah!
You have a lower register that is remarkable.
The minute you use it, your life will change.
And she was right!
It did change things a lot.
Im very proud of a number of the voice roles Ive done.
And Zozi the bear inBartok the Magnificent, the spinoff ofAnastasia.
And, oh, what was Gary Basemans thing called?Teachers Pet!
I really had a ball doing that.
Really?Its a very controversial thing, apparently.
John Lasseter and I were talking about these outtake things at the end of the movies, right?
They said, Were taking it out because of the Me Too movement.
And I said, But why?
Because, what, theyre guilty of it?
One would hope not.But they cut it out anyway.
It was fairly harmless.
It just was, Oh, yeah, that never happened in Hollywood.
Well, all right …
Youve also done a few musicals.
Have you ever thought of releasing an album?You know what?
I have actually recorded a full album.
I just never released it!
I recorded it some time ago.
Ive been thinking about singing in Vegas.
I know a lot of songs that Id sing if I were to do it.
Theres about a hundred songs that I know I could pull off.
But lately, Ive been doing actual musicals.
I didBig Fishabout two and a half years ago, and I just didMan of La Manchain London.
I love singing live.
Lastly but inevitably, youve been talking up the possibility of aFrasierreboot.
Is that still in the cards?Were definitely talking about it.
Theres life in there.
Theres a few other things were working on first, andFrasiertakes a backseat to that.
Like Fathermade it out, at least.Like Fatherwas good.
That was the beginning of it, but then theres four others after that.
So Ive been busy, which has been great.
And Ive got three new kids and thats really great, too!
