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Music & Martinis: The Day Southside Johnny Met Second City
Asbury Park Press - December 31, 2004
by Ed Kaz

Southside Johnny Lyon, sketch comic? - You read right. It was way back in 1981, when Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes ventured to Canada to tape the legendary TV comedy show "SCTV Network 90." Even though it aired on NBC, hardly anyone saw it, given its graveyard time slot of 12:30 a.m.

Thankfully, this problem has been remedied. The episode was included as part of a "SCTV" DVD boxed set released in June, allowing fans to enjoy the show in all its comedic glory without bleary-eye syndrome. Lyon and the Jukes show up (as a wedding band!) in a sketch entitled "Southside Fracas." The group is at the top of its game, with Lyon trading witty repartee with the likes of Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara and the late John Candy.

Who knows? Had his career as a soul-shouter gone south, Johnny Lyon might have joined the ranks of Bob and Doug McKenzie and become a TV funnyman. Just the same, music fans are happy he's held on to his regular job. Lyon, who will be ringing in 2005 along with the Asbury Jukes at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, recounted his comedic adventure in the Great White North.

JERSEY ALIVE: It was a great event in the annals of television history: Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes appearing on "SCTV." I wasn't even aware of your appearance on the program until I picked up the boxed set, and surprise! There you were.

SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY: Yeah, I know. Tom Waits told me about it in Amsterdam.

JA: Really?

SSJ: (laughs) Yeah. He and his manager were watchin' it on the plane.

JA: How does Tom Waits approach you with this news?

SSJ: (In a gravelly Tom Waits voice) "Hey, what was that we were watchin'? Hey, what the hell was that? We were watchin' that, uh . . ." You know. That kind of thing. And I'm like, "What, Tom? What?" And he said, "You were really (mumbles)." I'm sure he said something in English, but I didn't hear it.

JA: So you haven't seen it?

SSJ: No, but I remember doing it. We got there the day before and we met everybody. It was way up north in Canada. The sun didn't go down until, like, 11 o'clock at night. So, we were there at 8 o'clock. We're doin' this, we're doin' that. You know, rehearsin' stuff. And John Candy rolls in. Huge guy. It's 10 o'clock, maybe 10:30 in the morning. And he goes, "You're Southside, right?" I go, "Yeah." He puts his big arm around me, and goes, "Come with me," and takes me right out of the building.

There's this funky little bar in like a cinder-block building about a hundred feet away, and we walk into the bar and he starts ordering drinks. It's 10 o'clock in the morning (laughs). I'm like worried or nervous (because) I want to be together for the show, and so we end up having martinis at 10 o'clock in the morning.

JA: So you were a bit medicated during your "SCTV" performance?

SSJ: Well, no. I said, "John, I really can't. One is enough. OK. Two, but that's it, and no olives." And he was great though. He showed no effects from it. And we had a great time.

JA: The Jukes did two songs. Remember which ones you did?

SSJ: "All I Want is Everything?" And I don't remember the other one.

JA: "The Fever." I loved the way "SCTV" would integrate the musical guests into the sketches -- it wasn't just, "Here's so-and-so." They would have to actually act. You actually acted.

SSJ: (In the sketch) Dave Thomas asked me how much I would charge to play at his daughter's wedding. I forget what figure I threw out, and he did a spit-take, and I went, "That's a classic spit-take!" (laughs) It was fun. We had a great time. We didn't sleep because the sun kept coming up.

JA: Good show. Good performance. You did better than Dr. John.

SSJ: One of the guys said to me, "You know, we had Dr. John on last week." And I went, "Oh yeah?" "Yeah, we had him in a hula skirt" (laughs). At that point, I thought, "Maybe I do need one more martini."

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