In the past few months, Fred Armisen has been everywhere.
He hugged Bruce Willis in a Super Bowl commercial, guest-starred on the new Fox comedy "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," popped up on the pilot for Comedy Central's "Broad City," and, most notably, landed the job of bandleader and "music curator" on his friend Seth Meyers' "Late Night" debut.
Not to mention he's touring a few cities right now — including an appearance Tuesday at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis — to roll out the fourth season of "Portlandia."
On the IFC series, Armisen and co-star Carrie Brownstein satirize contemporary upscale/hipster/yupster urban life in lighthearted sketches that take everyday occurrences to their absurd extreme.
It's hard to imagine Armisen, 47, having time for anything more, but we snagged a phone call with the "Saturday Night Live" vet to talk about his time in Minneapolis, his punk-rock roots, and the past and future of "Portlandia."
"You're in Minneapolis?" Armisen said immediately upon connecting. "I love Minneapolis a lot."
Q: Yeah? Tell us about it.
A: I grew up on Hüsker Dü and the Replacements and Prince. [Minneapolis] is one of the earliest inspirations for "Portlandia," actually. My band [Trenchmouth] was in Chicago but we would go up to Minneapolis because our label was up there. So we'd go play the Uptown [Bar], 7th Street Entry — all the time. We just loved the drive up there and always had really great shows. We'd eat at the Egg & I.
