He's best known to Kiwi audiences as Dave, but Arj Barker tells Jacqueline Smith he hopes his Flight of the Conchords' character no longer overshadows his stand-up career.
Since the Flight of the Conchords television series wrapped, Jemaine Clement has become a Hollywood regular, Bret McKenzie's been working on the soundtrack for the new Muppets movie and a local film, while Rhys Darby has commercials coming out of his ears.
So Arj Barker, who played Dave on the show ... how is the FOTC springboard working out for you?
"The direction this is going on is very hurtful," laughs Barker, who is still on the international stand-up circuit. He has also scored the gig of MC at tomorrow night's New Zealand International Comedy Festival Gala, a role he takes great pride in, before presenting his own solo stand-up season Eleven.
"I'm still waiting for the movie offers to roll in but I have done a lot of stand-up and it has definitely enhanced that. I toured Europe and sold more tickets than ever in Australia."
Barker now treats Oz as a second home and has released a series of live DVDs from his tours there. Last time he was in New Zealand, though, Barker was greeted by fans as Dave but he hopes that enough time has passed for people to recognise him as a stand-up who just happened to star on a series, rather than the other way around. After all, it was a stand-up tour that introduced him to Clement and McKenzie in the first place.
He says his new show is an open-ended discussion around the number 11. It's a nod to the present year as well as an underrated number, he says.
"I don't think I would call my show 10 because that could sound almost conceited. It's too tidy and brings to mind, the perfect 10, 10 out of 10, a 'Jeez how good does this guy think he is?'. But 11 is also a cool number. So my show is a mish-mash of different subjects - it's a broad title for a broad show."
And he no longer wears the headbands which became Dave's trademark. "I thought people would perceive I was trying to be recognised if I wore them in everyday life after the show. So in a way the show ruined my use of headbands," he deadpans.
LOWDOWN
Who: Arj Barker
Where & When: SkyCity Theatre, April 30 to May 6.
Also: Hosting Comedy Festival Gala at Aotea Centre, Friday, 8pm (screening TV3 Sunday, 8.30pm).
-TimeOut
