Gideon Lamb and Jeremiah Smallchild are a satirical, bible-thumping, folk music duo called God’s Pottery. In their new book, What Would God’s Pottery Do?
What would God’s Pottery do?
Gideon Lamb and Jeremiah Smallchild are a satirical, bible-thumping, folk music duo called God’s Pottery. In their new book, What Would God’s Pottery Do?, the comedians tackle tough issues for today’s teens and spread their “message” through pictures, diagrams, song lyrics and letters from everyday teens. God’s Pottery was kind enough to sit down with the Vanguard and talk about their upcoming visit to Lola’s Room, in character and all.
Daily Vanguard: What inspired you to write the book What Would God’s Pottery Do?
GL: It took a lifetime of pitching in and helping people. We thought it was time to get it all in one book format and into people’s hands. We tried making it rhyme at first. It takes a while to get things to rhyme.
JS: We gave up on that, but some of it still rhymes. You see, reading is a language of learning.
DV: In the book, you talk about how you’ve known each other since you were younger. How did you guys meet?
JS: Well, I was outside the Great Pines Lumber Museum, when I saw this guy standing there. I was looking for a friend—of course, the friend I was looking for was Jesus. After that Gideon and I became friends. In fact, we all three became friends.
DV: When did you start playing music together?
GL: In college, we were roommates. We love the same music and the same athletics. We thought, you know what, let’s work on this.
JS: So we wrote our first song, “Jesus.” It turned out great! Then we wrote the song “Jesus Jesus.” After that we wrote “Jesus Jesus Jesus.” We found that saying Jesus so many times wasn’t too easy, so we decided to start tackling the tough issues like abortion, adoption and divorce.
DV: Have you gotten any responses from teens reading your book?
JS: We’ve received plenty of e-mails, lots of book reviews—some not-so-nice ones. We get electronic mail from teens that tell us we made a difference. Some of them say, “Hey, I’m going to go tell those pregnant teens at my school what a horrible mistake they’ve made.”
GL: That’s the kind of response we love to see.
DV: What was it like to be on Last Comic Standing?
GL: The show was just a huge fun sesh. So many new experiences, but not without a downside. There were some hidden dangers.
JS: Most people think that Hollywood is all fun and games and Lawrence Welk with bubbles everywhere. Like the craft service table behind the scenes—there was so much sugar and Snickers. No one was monitoring it. Sugar highs were running rampant. I had to monitor Gideon.
GL: Yeah, he did.
JS: And we went to Las Vegas. Let me tell you, that is a dangerous place. All the gambling. They aren’t kidding when they call it the “City of Sin.” There’s a reason they call it the “Big Easy” [sic].
GL: But overall it was a really good experience. There were over 100 viewers! The opportunity to spread our message was wonderful. Although we ended up being the first comic failing.
JS: First and second comic failing.
DV: Was it difficult getting to know the other comics?
JS: Some of them were fun and really friendly. We got along with most of them. Like Jeff Dye, I’ve forgiven him for being such a horrible person. Sometimes the comics would get defensive and scared because of our positivity. They would put up a wall.
GL: Instead they’d say, “I don’t like your haircut and bright shirts.”
DV: How do you guys feel about performing in a bar with people drinking alcohol?
JS: You know, we actually love performing in bars. We sing the songs that tackle tough issues. It’s a lot like driving into the snow. You just have to head straight for it. It’s like going right into the lion’s den.
GL: The lion’s den is the bar.
JS: Or into the lion’s lair—you have to slay the alcohol’s dragon. The best way to do it is in the bar at the exact moment. Sometimes we’ll just stop in the middle of a song and yell at them, “No, don’t do it! Not another cordial!”
