Terp 2 It Interview: SXSW 2010

Chris Trew wasn't born with a mic in his hand, but that's about the only time he wasn't actively entertaining folks. Starting out as a stand-up comedian long before he adopted the Terp 2 It moniker for his absurdist hip-hop material, the Austinite is a regular at comedy clubs and live music venues all over the south. When not teaching improvisational comedy classes at the New Movement comedy theater he helped found last year, he's doing stand-up comedy, Terp-ing it up on the musical front or leading local "geek nights" about a subject near and dear to his heart: pro wrestling. It's a fascination Trew makes obvious with the gigantic gold wrestling belt cinched around his waist whenever he takes the stage. His SXSW schedule balances those first two roles, giving audiences a taste of his new record 'My Wiener Touches The Ceiling' and the yucks he dishes out in his day job as a funnyman.

Describe your sound.

It's hip-hop, but definitely the fun side of hip-hop that's easy to digest. Every rapper has a couple songs where they talk about kind of inconsequential or extreme thing, Kanye and Lil Wayne have a lot of them, that are just stream of consciousness. I have a song where I talk about just what's in my backpack, and that's a style I go after.

How did you start playing music?

I was living in New Orleans and had written some joke songs as part of the comedy I do and I started setting into the idea of going out and performing them but not in comedy clubs because I wanted to to be able to dance together and have fun that you can only have in a music venue. The first show I did was at the afterparty for a comedy fest I put together and it was totally casual, which is when it seems to work best.

Who are your influences?

I was pretty big into Weird Al when I was a kid, just as much because he was doing whatever he wanted than the specific type of comedy he was doing. 'Eat It' and 'Fat' were huge songs for me when I was about 10. I remember being on vacation with my parents in Florida and rewinding those tapes over and over again.

Where did the Terp 2 It name come from?

The name is the handle I use for pretty much everything on the Internet. It started when someone called me Terp instead of my last name Trew, I think because of a typo or something. The 2 is my homage to Tupac and It wound up on there just because it sounded good.

What's your biggest vice?

Pro wrestling. No matter how ridiculous it is or how old I get I cannot stay away. It's been that way since I was age six and I'm pretty public with the fact I'm both proud and ashamed of how much I'm into it. I mean, there's a reason I perform with a pro wrestling championship belt on. Most people think I'm joking about it but for me it's absolutely real. The Rock is my favorite wrestler of all time, because of the supreme control he has over a crowd and how over-the-top and ridiculous his whole act is.

What are your must-have items for SXSW?

A spare phone charger, for sure, and a change of socks also makes the cut because I usually throw away pair number one from the day. I change headbands a lot as well, about two a day, so over the seven days of SXSW I'll go through 15. Those don't get thrown away, though.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

Miss Elizabeth, taking it back to pro wrestling again. It was pure disgust when the Macho Man turned on her.

Any musical guilty pleasures?

I find myself singing along to the most awful pro wrestling theme songs. It doesn't matter who it's for, something about them triggers so many memories for me.

We've been asking everyone whether they're bigger Beatles or Stones fans. For you, Biggie or Tupac seems like a better either/or.

For the longest time Tupac was it for me, without a doubt. But the older I get the more I realize how timeless Biggie's stuff is. When I started doing Terp I realized how much risk taking and absurdity he was putting into his stuff. I still listen to Tupac, but I listen to far more Biggie these days.

Dan Manfield is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.