‘That Metal Show’ Host Don Jamieson Ditched Emmys for Metal Show

Comedian Don Jamieson's dedication and commitment to metal runs so deep, it practically hits marrow. When Jamieson won an Emmy for his work on HBO's 'Inside the NFL,' he and his 'Terrorizing Telemarketers' cohort Jim Florentine didn't even wait to pick up their statues. The duo had a more important pursuit: getting to New Jersey in time to see horror rocker Wednesday 13 of the Murderdolls perform.

"We raced out of Lincoln Center that night," Jamieson recently told Noisecreep. "We were like, 'We gotta get to Dingbatz.' We didn't want to miss Wednesday 13. We knew he went on at 11. It was like, 'F--- the Emmys!' We didn't even pick them up. We just said, 'Mail 'em to us!'"

The comic, who also co-hosts 'That Metal Show' on VH1 Classic, is releasing his new disc, 'Live and Hilarious,' via Metal Blade on April 26th. With Roadrunner putting out a DVD by comedian Doug Stanhope and comic Brian Posehn having released material through Relapse, the comedy-metal connection is now nearly as solid as the devil-metal connection.

"Most metal bands have a sense of humor," Jamieson said about why metal labels have gravitated towards the comedy realm in recent years. "Lemmy has a million one-liners and Ozzy [Osbourne] is like Rodney Dangerfield. The late Peter Steele [of Type O Negative] was so self-deprecating. There is a great element of humor in metal."

As with any comedian, Jamieson's life is the chief source material for his act. "I am a comic who is a metalhead," he said. "The longer you do this job, the more personal you get about your life. Heavy metal is such a part of my life, how could I not be talking about it on stage? Posehn said that and I went through the same thing. I host a metal show, how much more in the scene can I be? If I don't talk about it on stage, it feels phony to me. It's not like my whole act is about metal, but it's in there!"

Yes, Jamieson is quite happy being part of the Metal Blade family and sharing roster space with some of his favorite bands. "I am psyched to be on same label as King Diamond and Amon Amarth. My comedy is not quite Viking comedy or devil comedy, but it is loud and aggressive and I am the first comic signed to the label, so I am thrilled about it."

The 'Live and Hilarious' album cover also nods to Thin Lizzy's 'Live and Dangerous': Jamieson's name is scrawled in Thin Lizzy's signature font as the comic emulates the pose of the late Phil Lynott. As far as comedians go, Jamieson couldn't be any more metal if he tried.