The Superkiiids!

The Superkiiids! are at once strangely funny and energetically outlandish with their delivery. Imagine if Andy Kaufman had a twin and they were a Monty Python flavored comedy duo... - Bootleg Magazine

BY: ANGHUS HOUVOURAS

Comedy albums are something of a hit or miss for me. I got into them at an early age, owning vinyl (remember vinyl?) records of Steve Martin, Bill Cosby, George Carlin and Eddie Murphy. I even bought a few of those Adam Sandler comedy discs back in college; though don’t often admit it in public. Back then, comedy wasn’t nearly as present as it is today, where networks and stand-up specials stream a constant barrage of poorly dressed schleps, who ask us if we ever noticed this or that.

But there was a time when I got most of my comedy from the record store. So it was with great interest that I was delivered the Wilmington comedy duo the Superkiiids! first album, er, CD, Aw Bumbershoots.
I was first introduced to this daring duo when a friend asked, “Have you heard the SuperKiiids are putting out an album?”

I replied, “Who the hell are the Superkiiids!, and why should I give a damn?”

It turns out they’re Jonathan Guggenheim and Cory Howard, two local surrealists who entertain from stages to bus stops around our port city. I decided to listen to the disc just as I had listened to all of the comedy albums back in the day: with a pair of ridiculously oversized headphones on, stoned out of my gourd.

The album starts out strangely with a song, naturally sung by Guggenheim and Howard, who sound like two cracked-out puppets explaining what the letters in “Superkiiids!” mean. Of course, it stands for nothing but gibberish, the insane machinations of two characters who are as odd as the entire east wing of the Salvador Dali display at the Tate Modern. Most tracks on Aw, Bumbershoots (which is available at CD Alley and Gravity Records) defy explanation—like “Woman to Woman,” which takes an old Fifties R&B gem and turns an already bizarre phone call setup to strange heights. Or the nearly 10-minute track where each of the Superkiiids! talk about heartbreaking accounts of past relationships, all while laughing maniacally. There were times when I couldn’t figure out if the track was the most brutally honest and painful comedy bit recorded or a window into the scarred psyche of the Superkiiids!. Maybe both.

That kind of question stayed with me as I listened to the album, which is an incredibly polished and professional attempt to package the supa madness sweeping our town. The best bits are the ones that are mercifully short, such as the series on Jigga Juice, a fictional soft drink endorsed by rap superstars that pop up throughout the disk. They were everything the Superkiiids! aspire to be: strange yet phantasmagorically endearing.

If I had one issue with the CD, it’s that the stream-of-consciousness style of comedy the kids are known for is something that’s hard to package. While I give them an “A” for effort, I found some of the tracks to be so long that I questioned just what the set up was in the first place. A prime example comes toward the end, where three straight tracks were devoted to “The Rapping Queens,” two Queens who sound like Julia Child rapping about various subjects. The first track was funny. The second was interesting enough.

By the third, I had to check my jewel case to make sure I was listening to the right track. One of the key components to comedy is knowing where the routine needs to end. The next Superkiiids! album could use some trimming. And I say “the next Superkiiids!! album” because I hope there is another.

Despite some head-scratching moments, Aw Bumbershoots has some genuinely funny moments. While it lacks some of the quote-ability of modern comedy, it takes free-form comedy that was pioneered by Ernie Kovacs and Monty Python to a different level—and it’s well worth a listen, even sober.

Don’t miss the Superkiiids! at the Helping Hands benefit at the Soapbox this Thursday, January 17th. - Encore Magazine

By John Staton,
Currents Editor

About a year and a half ago, I profiled Cory Howard and Jonathan Guggenheim, the local comedy duo who call themselves - strangely, audaciously and hilariously - The SuperKiiids! (To pronounce their name, say "supa" and then stretch out the second part as loudly and lengthily as you can. Just don't say "super kids.")

The profile was pegged to a series of four shows they did in one month at the restaurant Sweet and Savory near Wrightsville Beach. By the time of the final performance, the legend of the SuperKiiids! had grown so much that there was a line out the door. Howard and Guggenheim totally captivated the crowd - some of whom were random diners who probably wondered what crazy universe they'd stumbled into - with crazy skits (one was about a hyper-competitive couple) and two bizarre characters called The Rapping Queens, a pair of royal, diamond-encrusted dames who spit cocky rhymes to hip-hop beats. ("When you've got a flow as wicked as these two queens/ You make a lot less friends than you do enemies.")

Howard and Guggenheim - both UNCW grads who got their start with Wilmington improv troupe The Other Side, with whom they still occasionally appear - moved to California a couple of weeks after their Sweet and Savory success and, to make a long story short, they're back. Plans for a comedy album are in the works (they've already cut a track advertising fake softs drink named after hip-hop stars, like Berry J. Blige and Kanye's Best with Twista lime); they just finished a new video titled Bust Out (you can find it, along with an old Rapping Queens video, on YouTube.com by searching for "SuperKiiids!" ) that features the pair bursting through a series of improbable barriers; and they've lined up a series of performances this month (see box) that will take them up to the Cucalorus Film Festival Nov. 7-10, during which they'll perform before a number of screenings.

An exhilarating, childlike silliness pervades the work of the SuperKiiids! But there's also an intelligence, and a fearlessness, that makes them all the more captivating. Not to mention a tight, brotherly chemistry they forged during their years performing improv together.

And while they might make the occasional scatalogical or sexual reference, their show is, for the most part, PG. As anyone in comedy will tell you, it's harder to be funny clean than funny dirty, and they've performed in front of everyone from kids and old folks to hipsters and Christian groups.

If you want a good laugh, go see their shows. Read Jarvis Slacks' crucial column below about his night out with these boys. Check out their videos online. And read an awesome, gut-busting, fake advice column they wrote for us below.

I'm willing to bet you'll be seeing a lot more of these crazy Kiiids! in the coming weeks.

John Staton: 343-2343

john.staton@starnewsonline.com - Wilmington StarNews

Bravo!! You guys were a supreme hit!! I can't thank you enough for
your creative, energetic, fun-loving show. The residents really enjoyed
it and you have become the house favorite. As enjoyable, was the time
spent with the residents after your show. They love youth and energy
and sincere conversation. I was impressed with your patience and
genuine interest in these great folks. Please feel welcome anytime. I
sincerely wish you both the best of luck with your future careers as The
Superkiiids. Goodness always wins and you both are wonderful, talented,
and kind-hearted people; lots of great things will happen for you. Take care
and stay in touch!! - Kristen Daley