Steve Martin and Martin Short don't fight anymore. Getting out of the bunk beds fixed that.
"No we're not in bunk beds," Martin, 72, told CL as we joked about his and Short's sleeping arrangements.
"No, no" Short, 67, added.
"Well not anymore. Now we're in those beds with the adjustable sleep numbers, and that's solved a lot of problems." Martin quipped, laughing.
The exchange is a slice of a quick-hit phone call CL had with the gents as they prepared to bring two powerful forces in music with them to St. Pete for a night of jokes, storytelling, pickin' and singin'. It's the pair's third joint show in the area in the last 10 years.
Bluegrass outfit Steep Canyon Rangers, which has adopted Martin into its ranks will be there, and so will Short's musical director, Jeff Babko. The creative power is overpowering, but Short is just glad he gets to hang with people he loves.
"Jeff is a fantastic guy, and what's great about being on the road with someone is certainly you want them to be professional, and talented, and all those things, but it's the hang before and afterwards," Short said.
"It's the dinner afterwards, it's the rehearsal. Do you have laughs? Do you enjoy being with that person, and Jeff is the greatest guy in the world. He's just fantastic. That's what makes this whole tour that we're doing so special. Because of the Steep Canyon Rangers, and because of Steve and myself and Jeff — we all get along so well, and there's so much laughter and fun. You know, we'll have dinners before the show and after the show, and that's the most fun."
"In fact if Marty and I ever split, I'm gonna steal Jeff Babko from him," Martin said.
"That's what I love about working with Steve. That he's an unstable genius," Short said.
Read our full Q&A — where we talk about the joys of an analog show, new projects, stable genius and more — below. Get more information on the gig via local.cltampa.com.
[chatter] I know, and (incoherent)
[publicist] Hey, you're on with Ray.
Steve Martin: Hey Ray, Creative Loafing, ey?
That's us, we're just loafing around, sirs. I was just gonna listen to you guys talk for 10 minutes if that was alright.
Both: (laughing)
Would that be OK?
Steve Martin: What would we talk about?
I don't know, you were in a spirited conversation there. I would've loved to just be a fly on the wall there.
Steve Martin: Well, you were a fly on the wall, so there you go. I used to read Creative Loafing in Atlanta. Is that correct, that it started in Atlanta?
We did have a Creative Loafing Atlanta. We're no longer officially affiliated with them, but the family that founded that paper has roots here. Those are our roots. You guys are old-school Creative Loafing fans. Thanks for supporting journalism, print journalism and folks who, uh, pursue the facts.
Steve Martin: Yeah, we love the facts.
Martin Short: Yeah, not fake facts — real facts.
Yes, not fake facts, and not stable geniuses either. We don't want any of those.
Steve Martin: Yeah.
Martin Short: That's what I love about working with Steve. That he's an unstable genius.
Yeah, that was one of my questions for each of you. What's the worst thing about touring with each other?
Steve Martin: Everything…is not really an answer?
It's not specific.
Steve Martin: Yeah, well you know we do sometimes get asked that question, and we don't really have an answer. Because we have such a good time doing it, and we look forward to the tours. You know, and we almost never have a bad show, I would say. Never.
But you're not in bunk beds.
Steve Martin: No we're not in bunk beds.
Martin Short: No, no.
Steve Martin: Not anymore. Now we're in those beds with the adjustable sleep numbers, and that's solved a lot of problems.
The bed that knows your number — that was always kind of creepy to me.
Steve Martin: Yeah, exactly.
In 2016, Billboard compared you to Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, if they had “occasionally used Flatt or Scruggs as a fill-in.” How much of that duo do you see in yourselves?
Steve Martin: Yeah, right. Well, I'd say that Marty definitely has some Jerry in him. You know, I have a show on Broadway with Amy Schumer, and we weren't really aware — you know, we hadn't really done a Broadway show before — and I told her backstage you've got [incoherent] in you. And Marty definitely has Jerry. He's able to be completely free. I think Jerry Lewis influenced us both a lot, actually. Especially in the backstage personality.
Martin Short: I actually don't think that this show, in Martin-Lewis Dean was kind of the straight man although he was really funny, but not necessarily with Jerry — he was always kind of just setting Jerry up. I don't think there's a real straight man in this show.
Steve Martin: I think you're right. That's interesting because almost all comedy teams — except for Laurel and Hardy — had a straight man and a funny guy, and this is like, uh, two straight men.
Haha. There's nothing wrong with that. I wish I was you guys' brother. I feel like you guys are siblings, and I want to be in your family.
Martin Short: Alright, come on over.
OK.
Steve Martin: Come on.
I'll build the third bunk, and I'll stay on the bottom because, I have problems.
Steve Martin: We could always use a new kidney donor.
Oh, I can give you one of mine if you like.
Martin Short: OK.
It might be more damaged than yours, to be honest. Steve, a fan wanted to ask you if there's any regret to this idea that a certain portion of the population will always think of King Tut when they hear your name?
Steve Martin: You know, answering the question honestly is that I don't really find that to be the case. I mean, it doesn't really come up. I used to get, in the 80s, "Can you say 'Excuse me,' but it kind of goes away. And it's still there, but it's not like something people insist on seeing on wanna see, you know. Especially now that it's racist.
You're right about that. I like the way these times are forcing people to re-think the way they have conversations with each other and the way they move around the world. The Golden Globes were awesome yesterday.
Steve Martin: Yeah.
Martin Short: Indeed.
Steve Martin: Yeah, I thought they were great.
Natalie Portman was awesome. See that?
Steve Martin: No, I didn't see that.
The Best Motion Picture Director category was all male, and she said something on the mic.
Martin Short: Yeah, we did see that.
Yeah, she's awesome. I wanted to ask you Mr. Martin Short.
Martin Short: Yes sir.
You’re excellent at sending up the self-infatuated nature of showbiz types – Jiminy Glick – but it seems to come out of love of showbiz. Will we see another TV variety series from you like the one you did with Maya Rudolph?
Martin Short: Um, I don't know. It would be fun. Um, Maya and Mine was a 10 show run, or whatever it was. But I don't know. Not in the workings — let's put it that way.
And speaking of the workings. Do either of you have any joint projects in the works after this? Obviously you enjoy each others; company, and you do it as much as you can — it's wildly popular.
Steve Martin: You know, one thing I like about our show is that it's analog, meaning we're not streaming it. We're actually there in front of an audience, and the only way to see it is to actually see it, and that could change because we could probably put it on television at some point, but you know, that's more like a television show. It's not a digital enterprise, and that part of it is really fun. I've always thought when I was touring doing stand-up, I thought, "I like this because I'm being paid only commensurate with what I bring in," and the movies you get paid and it could be a huge flop, but you'd still get paid. There's something very honest about selling tickets and doing a show that I really like.
Well thank you, and I think I'm running short on time, so I wanted to ask Martin about Jeff Babko. You've obviously worked together a lot for this, and he's the musical director. How's that relationship been, sharing time with Jimmy Kimmel?
Martin Short: Well, I first Jeff in 1999 — I think he was 27 or something. And when I was doing a talk show for King World, and he was in the band. And I started doing shows, and I asked him to be my accompanist, and we've been doing that since 2002. He's a fantastic guy, and what's great about being on the road with someone is certainly you want them to be professional, and talented, and all those things, but it's the hang before and afterwards. It's the dinner afterwards, it's the rehearsal. Do you have laughs? Do you enjoy being with that person, and Jeff is the greatest guy in the world. He's just fantastic. That's what makes this whole tour that we're doing so special. Because of the Steep Canyon Rangers, and because of Steve and myself and Jeff — we all get along so well, and there's so much laughter and fun. You know, we'll have dinners before the show and after the show, and that's the most fun.
Steve Martin: In fact if Marty and I ever split, I'm gonna steal Jeff Babko from him
Awesome.
Martin Short: I'm sure he would in one second.
Haha. Thanks see you when you get down here.
Steve Martin: Thanks, guy!
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This article appears in Jan 18-25, 2018.