That sound you hear is Old Richmond rolling over in its grave. Dusty bones spinning 360s inside boxes buried underground. Agonized moaning from the Great Beyond.
You see, the long-dead founders of our fair city are totally bummed. First there was the whole Civil War thing. Then came GWAR, Dirtwoman and the iBook stampede. Ukrop's sold out. And now the makers of Evil Fart have hit the big time.
William Byrd's big dream has officially become a nightmare.
Then again, the dour, bearded men who settled here more than 350 years ago would probably be more confused than offended by the recent success of DAYBYDAY. If you told them that the local boys behind the infamous DMV driver's license prank have landed a spot on the upcoming HBO comedy series Funny or Die Presents, you'd likely get blank stares.
And not only because you'd be talking to a dead person, but because back in 1673, there was no such thing as YouTube. Or electricity. Or penicillin.
They would also not be impressed that the silly videos will be part of a premiere evening of comedy that includes new shows from Bill Maher and Ricky Gervais.
But I am. And you should be too.
Funny or Die Presents is a half-hour cable show compiled from the Funny or Die Web site, an online community of comedy videos founded by funnyman Will Ferrell and Adam McKay (writer and director of Talledega Nights and Step Brothers). Short videos created by DAYBYDAY will air alongside others starring Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Fred Willard, John C. Reilly and Wayne Newton.
DAYBYDAY is the brainchild of filmmakers Will Carsola and Dave Stewart, who have been acting like fools in front of a video camera for years, entertaining like-minded Richmond audiences with self-produced epics like Teenagers From Marz and Teenagers From Uranus. Currently, the duo creates segments for Fuel TV's original comedy series Stupidface (now in its third season).
Their homegrown sketch comedy is like Jackass with more punk-skateboard-graffiti grit. Think Andy Samberg-era SNL parodies that are as violent as a GWAR show, with a healthy dose of goofy faces, un-PC humor, projectile vomiting and grown men in their underwear.
It's not for everyone. But that's probably a good thing.
