Interviews

Actor and Comedian Brett Gelman

We're huge fans of alternative comedy on Opportunity LOL and it doesn't get significantly more alternative than the work of Brett Gelman. He also seems like a pretty cool guy and so I was thrilled he agreed to do this interview with us. I've personally loved hearing him on Comedy Death-Ray Radio (now Comedy Bang Bang) and now on his own Earwolf podcast "Gelmania" which is always an insane thirty+ minutes hitting the internet at an uneven pace. Brett Gelman is starting to boast a pretty sick IMDB, with appearances in Eagleheart, The League, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30:Minutes or Less, and Human Giant.

Manny Rivas, Head Curator of the Most Wanted Collective

Designer and custom toy fans already know the basics of the Most Wanted Dunny series - they sell fast, the customs are amazing, and everyone wants them. With MW3 looming, we now have the names of the participating artists: Sergio Mancini, Tim Munz, PAUSE, Ryan the Wheelbarrow, Frank Mysterio, Dr. Befa, Gomi, Igor Ventura, Matucha, NEVERCREW, Kevin Gosselin, Grimsheep, Nikejerk, Chauskoskis, Map-Map, RunDMB, and Luihz Unreal. Exciting - right? Well, now a ton more information on Most Wanted is coming to you today. Head Curator Manny Rivas hooked us all up with background info on the collective, it's future, and some reveals!

The Hosts of "Professor Blastoff"

Do you remember hanging out in dorm rooms talking about philosophy, science, and life? If you miss it, Earwolf's Professor Blastoff is a much funnier and more intelligent analysis of the same topics we all are curious about. The show is hosted by three comedians: Tig Notaro, Kyle Dunnigan, and David Huntsberger plus researcher (and comedian) Aaron Burrell - who put together a great weekly podcast every Sunday. We've thrown a ton of questions at the foursome and they were very kind in answering them. Learn their thoughts on the future of the show, how it's affected their individual careers, and their influences.

Benny Kline and Stephanie Phillips of Tenacious Toys

If you are an artist, toy collector, blogger, or fan - you know about Tenacious Toys. They're an extremely popular online toy retailer with roots in New York, and they stock some of the best in designer vinyl. Through networking, kindness, and great decisions - Tenacious Toys also has the custom toy hook-up, with one-of-a-kind artwork from some sick talent. Furthermore, it's truly difficult to say enough kind words about Tenacious Toys and husband-and-wife co-owners, Benny Kline and Stephanie Phillips. Providing advice, friendship, and hooking us up for massive reviews and giveaways, working with Tenacious Toys has been exceptional. Well, we know they rock - but today brings an epic three part interview with answers from both individuals.

Artist Lee "Leecifer" Gajda

Few artists have dominated the custom toy world to the extent of Lee Gajda - an artist more commonly known as "Leecifer." His work has an iconic, americana-on-fire feel and if you are a fan of Halloween, Lee is your customizer. His work is featured in many of the biggest group shows as a huge draw plus Leecifer is also the designer behind Super7's Honoo figure. It's with a lot of pride that we present today's interview, as this man is so well-loved and personally - one my favorite toy customizers of all time. Learn the artist's thoughts on customizing, toy flipping, social media, comedy, and more.

Artist Jon-Paul Kaiser

With a highly detailed, primarily black-and-white painting style, Jon-Paul Kaiser has found a huge following within the toy customizing world. His art is constantly in demand and in the best collections, he is behind many of the coolest production toys, and seems like a pretty good guy - a great combination to equal a rising star. If you are a fan or merely curious, today's interview is pretty huge. Learn the artist's thoughts on Star Wars, the possibility of going full time, Coarsetoys, and see some cool shots of his toy collection.

Comedian and Actress Retta Sirleaf

Retta Sirleaf, better known simply as Retta is a popular comedian and actress. You may have seen her clever observational stand-up live or on television. Furthermore, if you're a comedy fan it's very likely you know Retta from NBC's Parks and Recreation, playing the role of fan-favorite Donna. Season four of the TV show is currently running and came back from a winter break as of yesterday, January 12th 2012. Retta was extremely generous in answering my questions on topics ranging from stand-up, Parks and Recreation, chemistry with Aziz Ansari, Funny or Die, collecting, and more.

Artist Philip Lumbang

How did you learn about Philip Lumbang and his Awesome Bears? Was it Watsky? His prints? His street art? His many gallery shows? I first saw Philip Lumbang's work online in late 2010 and immediately had to contact him. His art has a fun, simple, and clever edge to it and I wanted him to know any time he had something we could promote that I would love to do so. Philip took me up on the offer and we began posting his work on Opportunity LOL. Following that, he hooked us up big time - we reviewed some of his t-shirts and one of his prints. Life is good, right? Well today it gets even better - we have a great interview with the artist below.

Maestro Harrell

Like many fans, I learned about Maestro Harrell through his portrayal of Randy Wagstaff - one of the corner boys in season four of HBO's "The Wire." However, that alone does not define Maestro's body of work. This impressive young man is a music producer and singer - he even created the music for this commercial starring Rihanna. Furthermore, Maestro started acting at a very early age - evidence that child stars can lead fruitful, successful, and happy lives. In terms of recent work, have you checked out ABC's "Suburgatory"? The show is currently in season one and has a full season order, with Maestro Harrell playing Malik.

Adam Hendle of Storenvy

I was recently contacted by Adam Hendle of Storenvy alerting us to a very cool new spot for people to purchase toys, their Designer Toys marketplace. I had a fun phone call with Adam and that led to this interview you are reading today. Our friend Benny of Tenacious Toys had a similar talk with Adam and that led to this blog post, which is a well written introduction to Storenvy. If you are an artist with custom toys or just a collector with way too many items in your collection, Storenvy strikes me as a neat way to sell your products. I haven't personally used this website myself, but LIFT, Red Mutuca Studios, southerndrawl, and Mashed Creative all gave Storenvy a shot - which might say something very good!

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