This weekend, Milwaukee will be the home of a unique awards show. There are no ballots to be predicted, no accounting firm overseeing results, the nominees don’t even know they’re nominated. The only way to find out the categories, the nominees and the winners is to attend The McAdamy Awards, hosted by comedian and actor Joe McAdam (Strip Law, Derek’s Dead), at Interchange Theater Co-Op (628 N. 10th Street) on Sunday night. Ahead of the show, we caught up Joe to learn more about what to expect at the McAdamy Awards.
Milwaukee Record: So Joe, what are the McAdamy Awards?
Joe McAdam: It is first and foremost a pun about the Academy Awards with my name in the phrase now. And I thought of that as a pun and was like “that’s kind of funny, that could be a show” and then I just emailed a guy that runs a club here in Los Angeles and said put it on the calendar and I’ll figure it out later. And then it became basically what have I been obsessed with that I can’t get out of my head as a way to get to these things out of my head. Last year we did best song by DeGarmo & Key, the Christian rock duo. I was obsessed with them for like a month and that’s all I wanted to talk about so we played a bunch of their songs and talked about them. Whatever it is, it’s a fake Academy Awards with the shit I like. That’s all. That’s the real version of it.
MR: In putting together this show have you watched and studied other award shows?
JM: Not at all. I’ve done no planning or research. It’s remembering that they do give out awards. That’s a big part of it. They give out awards and there’s oftentimes a song. And then they usually list all the people that died that year. Those are the things that I can remember from award shows and I try to include those things.
MR: Do you have a favorite moment from other award shows?
JM: Ol’ Dirty Bastard getting on stage when Shawn Colvin won a Grammy award. I think the story goes that he thought that Sean Combs had won an award and he’s like “that sucks,” so he gets up on stage and goes “Puffy is good, but Wu-Tang is the best.” In retrospect, I don’t think Shawn Colvin won again and I feel bad about that part.
MR: Focusing on your show, is there a dress code for the McAdamy Awards?
JM: Listen, what am I going to do, put up a dress code? It’s not like Catholic high school, what are we doing? But I do think if you look better, you feel better, you know? I’m gonna dress up, I’ll tell you that much.
MR: Is there anything audience members should do to prepare for the McAdamy Awards?
JM: To avoid show spoilers, do not read the Wikipedia page for Trace Adkins.
MR: This is your first time performing the McAdamy Awards outside of Los Angeles, what inspired you to bring it to Milwaukee?
JM: I think Milwaukee is one of America’s good weird cities—one of the best weird cities. Everyone thinks New York or L.A., and there’s some weird people over there, but I think Milwaukee’s where it’s at and I love it there. I celebrate Wisconsin as much as possible. I just had a Wisconsin dinner last night. I had two bratwursts, and a bunch of mustard, and potato salad. I feel very tied to the culture, I just love Milwaukee.
MR: Now that you’ve had this show on the calendar, have you suddenly started noticing Milwaukee references in your everyday life?
JM: Milwaukee is everywhere for those with eyes to see it.
MR: Beyond your show, do you have any plans while you’re in Milwaukee?
JM: I’m gonna get some lake time in. If I’m obsessed with a new thing, it’s maybe lakes. That’s probably it. There might be a lake motif to the show, we’ll see.
MR: Are there any other things you’ve been recently obsessed with?
JM: This won’t even be in the show but it’s the new thing I’ve been obsessed with that I haven’t written anything for. My new guy is former WWF wrestler Waylon Mercy, who was a character based on DeNiro’s character in Cape Fear. And before he debuted, all of his promos were him on a park bench being like, “Boy, it sure is peaceful out here…you know, I’m just kind of a peaceful guy.” It’s all about how he’s setting up that’s he’s the most nice and gentle man and it’s like, “oh boy, this guy’s gonna snap.”
I just love WWF psychology in the 1990s. I’ve watched all of his promos, he’s my new number one guy. If you want to talk to me about Waylon Mercy after the show, please just flag me down. If you want to talk about mid-’90s WWF character guys, come hang out, let’s grab a beer, let’s hang out.
MR: Anything else you’d like to share about the show?
JM: I think just be prepared for probably the best night of your entire life.
The McAdamy Awards will take place at Interchange Theater Co-Op on Sunday, June 14. Tickets to the 7 p.m. show are available NOW.
