No. 1 fans — on-screen and on tour

By Susan Wloszczyna - June 14 2007

One of the funnier conceits of HBO's Flight of the Conchords is its take on rocker-groupie relations. The show's out-of-work band consisting of New Zealanders Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement might be reduced to eating "found food" (better known as garbage) and moonlighting as human billboards on the streets of Manhattan.

But they can always count on Mel, their No. 1 and only fan, to stand by them. They would just feel better if she stood farther away. Without a court order, if possible.

"She is drawn from our own touring experiences," says McKenzie. Played with stalker intensity by comic Kristen Schaal, Mel is also based on some of the more fervid followers he inadvertently attracted from his appearance as an elf extra in Lord of the Rings.

The band's actual No. 1 fan is Sherry de Andres, 36, of South West England. She founded the first Conchords site, What the Folk!, in 2002 after meeting the duo at the Fringe Festival at Edinburgh.

"Chiseled cheekbones and scary sideburns had nothing to do with it," she says of her attraction to the band. Instead, "it's because I thought they are rather talented."

Clement and McKenzie appreciate her efforts on their behalf. "Our official site is rather lame," McKenzie notes of conchords.co.nz, which hasn't been updated for a year. "Hers is quite amazing," complete with news, articles, lyrics and photos. The pair even rely on her list of concert dates to check where they are heading next.

For newcomers to the world of the Conchords, de Andres offers this guide to telling the difference between the two members: "Bret is known as 'the cute one,' but sometimes Jemaine is referred to as 'the cute one with glasses.' "

For those who would like a test flight before Sunday's premiere, YouTube is a gold mine of Conchords concert clips. De Andres suggests checking out the rambling relationship riff Jenny (although, she warns, "it might go on for too long for many of the quick-fix brigade"), the social-issue mockfest Think About It, Think Think About It, and reggae-spiked She's So Hot … Boom! ("Bret and Jemaine at their insane best," she says).

The cute one and the cute one with glasses

Taken from USA Today

*editors note* USA Today film critic Susan Wloszczyna wrote this article after interviewing the Conchords and humble lil moi. Susan being the writer who gave Bret McKenzie some USA Today column space a few years back and has enjoyed following his career ever since. I think its great that fans are given opportunities like this to explain their interest in the Conchords. Not all fans are a fan girl stereotype (if there is such a thing for folk parody) or stalker woman extraordinaire ;) Hell, the extent of my stalkering is that when the guys were supposedly doing some promotion for Phones 4 U a few years back I *thought* about going to the nearby city to see them. But then I thought not :p So yes, I am super-failed-miserably- at-the-first-teeny-tiny-hurdle No 1 fan! Wooo. Mel has nothing on me

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