Ninja Sex Party Shakes Up Toronto SketchFest

Danny Sexbang is handsome, musical and the self-proclaimed great Jewish lover of the 21^st century. Ninja Brian is a mute, masked pianist whose religious status is “murky at best.” Together they make the New Jersey-based sketch comedy duo Ninja Sex Party, whose musical videos have amassed a following on websites such as CollegeHumor, Funny or Die and Dailymotion.

The pair is visiting Toronto this week to perform in the sixth annual Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival. Shalom Life caught up with Dan Avidan and Brian Wecht, the brains behind the troupe, to talk ninjas, music videos and why they can’t wait to sell out.

How did Ninja Sex Party get started?

Brian Wecht (BW): It was basically a random connection through friends of friends. Dan had the idea for the name.

Dan Avidan (DA): I was looking for a piano player who wouldn’t mind dressing up like a ninja and Brian was the first person who tried out, and it was just kind of perfect.

BW: I think ‘tried out’ is a little…I showed up. I showed up, and he was like ‘cool.’

DA: And then we just started writing songs together.

Why focus on music videos instead of a more ‘traditional’ form of sketch comedy?

BW: Because we’re both musicians and both comedians, and we wanted to do something that was musical comedy.

DA: It’s important to stand out, and we figured these are two things that we can do well, so why not combine them instead of fighting to just do one? And a lot of the comedy we love, like Flight of the Conchords and Tenacious D, is musical comedy, so we’ve always been inspired by those guys.

How would you sum up the philosophy behind Ninja Sex Party?

DA: Oh my God. So much more thought than what’s ever been put into this before.

BW: I think we entertain the body and soul. Through the art of magical songery.

DA: Yeah, I’d say we’re two guys in Spandex who hop around for your amusement.

BW: That too.

Why ninjas?

BW: Why not ninjas? Just one of the coolest things we could think of.

DA: Yeah, the genesis of the name was just – we thought – what are everyone’s three favourite things? Ninjas, sex and parties. The concept actually grew from that.

You often bring Jewish references into your videos. How important is Jewish humour to your act?

DA: It’s part of who we are, you know. My dad’s from Tel Aviv and it’s so much funnier when you write what you know. We don’t want to overdo it, because we don’t want people to get the wrong idea that we’re making fun of Judaism or it’s something that we joke about. But we like to incorporate who we are as people into the humour, just because it feels more natural.

BW: And there are so many great things associated with Judaism – great words, great concepts or whatever – that I think we find a natural place for them in our comedy.

What is it that makes Jews so funny?

DA: [Laughs hard] Why don’t we just ask why the sky is blue? It’s one of those cosmic mysteries which we may never truly understand, but we can only enjoy. I actually got a little teary-eyed. I wish you could see that over the phone.

BW: I think it’s because we’ve had a long time to practice. I mean, we’ve been around a lot longer than Christians. They haven’t had as much time to hone their comedy skills.

BW: And I guess when you go through bad times – not that Jews have ever gone through difficult times – laughter is a big part of that. I’m sure cultures that deal with a lot of difficulty find comfort in humour. [Pauses] That’s probably the heavier answer.

What can audiences look forward to for your performances at SketchFest in Toronto?

BW: They can look forward to the most intense musical comedy experience of their entire lives.

DA: They will come out of a Ninja Sex Party show changed in fundamental ways that they might not like, but we hope they will.

What’s next after the Sketch Festival?

BW: We’re going to keep shooting a bunch of videos. And we’re looking forward to releasing some shorter, non-music videos as well.

DA: And down the line, working on a TV pilot and a movie script, just seeing where we can take this.

So in addition to the music, do you want to do more straightforward sketch comedy?

DA: I don’t think we want to do just straightforward sketch comedy. I think the music will always be important to what we do. But we’re not going to shy away from doing non-musical stuff. Whatever makes us the most money, frankly. [Laughs]

BW: We can’t wait to sell out.

How do you make money off sketch comedy?

BW: That’s a great question. If we knew the answer to that, we would be doing it already.

DA: I think the answer is probably in television. We recently acquired management, and that’s where they’ve been guiding us. At this point we’re still concentrating on the artistic side of it, and the money will come. You have to believe that. There’s a Willie Nelson quote that goes ‘Do your work and the world will beat a path to your door.’ And you sort of just have to believe that as an artist, you’ll be rewarded for loving what you do and trying your best.

BW: Of course, Willie Nelson is notoriously terrible at managing his money.

DA: But taking that quote out of context, yeah.

The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival runs until Nov. 6 at various downtown locations. Ninja Sex Party performs Nov. 5 and Nov. 6 at the Comedy Bar. For more information about the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival, visit www.torontosketchfest.com. For more information about Ninja Sex Party, visit www.ninjasexparty.com.