Victoria radio host scores interview with his idol

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VICTORIA (NEWS1130) – Validation feels extra special when it comes from your hero.

A BCIT graduate and radio morning show host learned that first-hand when he interviewed comedian John Cleese this week. Getting the interview wasn’t easy, but it was one of the most rewarding things Jason Lamb has ever done.

Lamb works at 91.3 the Zone FM in Victoria by day; by night, he’s a stand-up comedian. He’s also been a huge Monty Python fan since he was nine years old.

“I belonged to a sketch tribute group in high school that did Python sketches at lunch hour,” Lamb mentions first as he lists off his impressive fan credentials.

“I went to Aspen Colorado by myself in the late 90s when they did a reunion show just because I wanted to meet them. I auditioned for a movie about them that was never made. I have a huge collection of memorabilia and I’ve seen everything they’ve ever made. I’m a total Monty Python nerd.”

When Lamb got word that Cleese would be visiting Canada on his “Last Time To See Me Before I Die” tour, he did two things: Bought a front-row ticket to the show and put in a request for an interview.

“I thought I had to stand out somehow, so I made a video with Bud, who is our on-staff video guru here,” he explains. “I sent the video and an email to a contact I found in Montreal and I [got a response] from her saying that she loved the video, but Cleese wasn’t doing any press.”

Cleese granted a single interview to a national newspaper and turned down 65 other requests, including Lamb’s.

Fortunately, friends and Zone listeners took up Jason’s cause. Hundreds of people posted links to the video on Cleese’s Facebook page. Others sent Cleese the link on Twitter and asked him to watch it.

It worked.

Last Friday night, Lamb was on his way to do a comedy show when he got a call from Cleese’s tour manager.

“He said John had watched the video and loved it, and he agreed to come in and do an in-studio interview,” says Lamb. “So, I had to keep it a secret for four days!”

Cleese showed up at the Zone for a chat that lasted 45 minutes. They talked about everything: Python, a bizarre game of Scrabble Cleese played with musician Keith Moon and, of course, comedy. But before they got to any of that, Lamb got the thrill of his life.

“[The video] was really, really excellent,” Cleese says in the interview. “I was just astonished at how good the timing was. I thought anybody who goes through that amount of trouble to make something as good as that, you should be able to drag an old man out of bed in the morning.”

Lamb got a little emotional; it was a compliment from his comedy idol on the most important skill a comedian can have — timing.

“It was the ultimate fantasy, a perfect case scenario,” says Lamb. “I would have been so happy just to get to shake his hand, or even have someone tell me that he laughed at his video. That would have made my life. But the fact that all of this happened, I don’t even know how to explain how I feel. It was just… perfect.”

Click here to listen to the interview.

Lamb’s video that persuaded Cleese to go in for an interview can be seen below:

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