The star of Portlandia, Fred Armisen, will be touring New Zealand for the first time, bringing his show Comedy For Musicians But Everyone Is Welcome to Auckland for a one off show at SKYCITY Theatre in September 2019.
Fred Armisen is one of the most diversely talented performers working today. He is an actor, comedian, voice artist, screen writer, producer, singer and musician, best recognised as a cast member on NBC’s Saturday Night Live from 2002-2013, which won him a Peabody Award.
His career began as a musician in the Chicago based posed punk band Trenchmouth as well as the Blue Man Group. His transition to comedy came with the 1998 underground short film Fred Armisen’s Guide To Music And South By Southwest which followed him through the Austin, Texas 'South by Southwest' musical festival posing as a journalist.
As co-creator and co-star of the famed sketch comedy series Portlandia, Armisen was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series in 2012, 2013 and 2014. He was also nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2014. In 2013 Armisen, along with the other writers, won a Writers Guild Award for Outstanding Comedy/Variety Series, and they were nominated again in 2014 and 2018. Portlandia received the prestigious Peabody Award for Excellence in 2011.
Fred’s film career features many small but memorial roles, including characters in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Eurotrip, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, Battle Of The Sexes and Zoolander 2. He also leant his voice to the features The Lego Ninjago Movie and the Smurfs. Television credits include 30 Rock, Modern Family, Parks & Recreation, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job and Yo Gabba Gabba to name a few.
Armisen was recently seen on Netflix in his original stand-up comedy special Fred Armisen: Stand Up For Drummers. In the special, Armisen shares his thoughts on musical genres, drummer quirks, regional accents and more for an audience of fellow drummers. The special was released in February 2018 and received a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album in 2019.
In February 2014, Armisen was named band leader of the 8G Band on Late Night With Seth Meyers. The band, curated by Armisen, includes members of indie rock bands Les Savy Fav and Girls Against Boys.
Armisen splits his time between Portland, New York, and Los Angeles.
