David Byrne Travels Around NYC By Bicycle | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

hi my name is David Byrne I feel. carefree and buoyant about being Conan. O'Brien's friend oh my God now is that. really how you feel or is you on some. kind of medication. no no I haven't had medication in quite. a while hours it's been hours. [Laughter]. well first of all I want to start by. asking you I am here at these serious. studios in Midtown New York did you ride. a bike here yes I did.

and did you in fact strike that woman. with your bike. um no I'm just curious because I know. that you are an avid biker I'm a biker I. love riding a bicycle a friend of mine. uh his my favorite saying is that he has. is no no one's ever had a bad day on a. bike. um but. is it practical here in New York City. can you get around pretty well relying. on the bike I can get around really well. I live in Manhattan Manhattan's not that. big of an island and usually most of my. meetings and work are below Central Park.

let's say yep. so it's pretty easy I've gotten used to. it I stay in the bike Lanes I mostly. stop at red lights. I've uh never had a serious accent so. I'm right very lucky about that yeah I. wouldn't Advocate and say oh just you've. never done it before okay just jump on a. bike and get in the traffic right yeah I. would not I would say that to someone I. didn't like.

I have an idea yes if you see some guy. coming right at you going the wrong way. stick your hand out but you know with. the e-bikes now It's Tricky I don't know. if you have that but I when I'm in. Manhattan now walking around uh there. are these people that are delivering. food and they'll go buy on a bike I. can't even hear that's going 60 miles an. hour in the bike lane I don't know if. you've encountered that I have certainly. encountered that sometimes going the. wrong way so when you're crossing the. street or whatever you don't expect them.

to kind of Blindside you right it's you. know there's a little bit of an. enforcement problem going on there right. well. um I I wanted to start talking to you. and I know that there are unusual. circumstances if you're growing up which. is you lived in Scotland Scotland for. how many years not very many I think the. family all left when I was two moved to. Canada. moved to Suburban Baltimore when I was.

around seven or eight so but you had a. Scottish accent for a while oh yeah yeah. and yeah the kids couldn't understand me. and so I would think what's going to. make someone in elementary school feel. more like an outsider than having a uh a. thick Scottish accent that must have. been uh I mean first of all that is. something that right away. if you're a kid and you're sensitive you. feel you must have felt like I need to. overcome this how do what do I do how do.

I fit in. yeah and kids at that age they want to. they want to fit in they want to be like. everyone else. there's not like oh I'm my own person. I'm yeah I do my own thing I talk my own. way I do kids are not ready for that. right uh so I'm sure I lost the accent. within you know a couple of years or. something but right away you know that. I didn't talk the same way as the other.

kids right my parents eat holding their. knives and forks at the same time uh. animals. [Music]. you're eating blood sausage yes you. can't have anyone come over yes we. called it black pudding yes. so I would think I mean again I do think. sometimes although these things can be. painful when you're a kid. um. being too well adjusted.

comes with a price and I think feeling a. little bit like an outsider maybe has. some advantages uh when it comes to. maybe you I don't know having an. interior life thinking what can I find. that's mine and then that turns out to. be music. yes music is very healing for a person. who feels a little bit of an outsider. trying to figure things out can't quite. fit in music yeah the rock music what. it's all like wow. there's people out there kind of like me.

where are they right they're not here. but I know they're out there they're not. they can hear them on the radio uh what. instruments because I'm obviously guitar. but there are other instruments that you. dabbled with as a as a kid uh. if you can call a tape recorder an. instrument yeah you can okay then I did. that my parents were uh. not. like Showbiz pushy but they were. supportive so my dad had a tape recorder.

and I wanted to start playing with it. and doing things I'd heard about like. cutting up tape and rearranging the. order of the stuff on the tapes and. editing and doing all that kind of thing. and uh so he you know let me do that. yeah uh so. supportive in that way it was really. nice and I think you dabbled in. violin accordion did you play accordion. I had a friend who played accordion I. played violin and then at some point uh. I connected with a friend and.

he played accordion I played violin and. ukulele and we uh played on the street. sometimes and I did a little bit of uh. well you might call it acrobatics mainly. I just stood on one leg. you stood on one leg Yeah as you played. yeah as I played and looked at looked at. this that's very Jethro Tull he used to. stand on one leg in uh I mean Aqualung. uh exactly. um what am I think of Ian Ian Anderson. is that his name yes would stand on one.

leg and play uh in this very dramatic. pose and play his uh flute solos I think. my gesture was meant to be a little more. ironic like. look at what I'm look like what I'm. doing look look isn't this amazing and. yet I was really just standing with on. one foot. well clearly you're active all.

right in the 70s at cbgb's people were. like you got to see this guy he stands. on one leg. music I don't know but I haven't. listened to it.