Risque comedian lounges in Asheville

Offensive, funny, rude, talented and perverted are a few words that describe the lounge singer Tony Clifton, a performer who comedian Andy Kaufman discovered. Just don't mention that to Clifton.

"Someone asked me the other day what I thought Andy Kaufman would be doing if he was alive today," Clifton said. "You know what I said? He'd be scratching at the inside of his coffin!"

Andy Kaufman and Bob Zmuda first introduced Tony Clifton in 1969. He opened for many of Kaufman's shows and appeared on Letterman, among other talk shows. After Kaufman died, Clifton continued to perform solo. He also appeared in the movie "Man on the Moon," starring Jim Carrey.

"I've been doing this my whole life," Clifton said.

One theory suggests Clifton was an alternate persona for Kaufman and that Zmuda appeared as Clifton on occasion.

"There is a good chance it's Bob Zmuda; there's a good chance Bob Zmuda passed the torch on to someone else. It could be that Tony Clifton was always Tony Clifton, and people were just made to believe that it was Bob Zmuda and Andy Kaufman," said 21-year-old David Howard. "The question is, do you know who Tony Clifton is?"

During the show at the Orange Peel last week, Clifton sang famous lounge songs such as Lonely Girl, Kick in the Head, Goldfinger and Swearing to God. When he wasn't singing, he insulted the audience, the South, religions, nationalities, Andy Kaufman and anyone else that came to mind.

"I think he does what he does for shock value, and it works," Howard said. "I was splattered with water, beer and asked to dance by this drunk chick. It was interesting. But he balances it out pretty well."

Clifton performed with the Katrina Kiss My Ass Orchestra, which formed in New Orleans.

Like any lounge act there were costume changes and stylish outfits as well as a burlesque troupe that was put together by Trixie Minx, a New Orleans native.

"We've been working with Tony Clifton since May and our first performances were in June. All of the girls are professional dancers in my troupe, which is now part of Tony's troupe," Minx said.

The constant shifts on stage were difficult for some performers.

"At first it drove me crazy," the 26-year-old said. "It's not a regular show at all. It's not run at all like anything else I've ever been a part of, but the more I'm in it, the more I fall in love with it. It's so off-the-cuff."

Minx offered a great deal of praise for the talent of the performers as well.

"We all had different gigs and talent scouts came down to where we were playing in little clubs and said, 'hey, you're really good,'" said Joshua Paxton, the pianist for the band. "I said, 'yeah, ok, whatever.' Then he said, 'I'm from Comic Relief. How would you like to come play for Tony Clifton?'"

Musicians like drummer Alfred Salvant have nothing but praise for Clifton and the show.

"It's the best damn thing in the world. You have Tony Clifton, just don't care what he says," Salvant said. "You got a 10 to 15-piece band orchestra, you got burlesque dancers and singers. What more could you want? I mean it's the greatest damn show on earth."

Clifton's antics can be hard to deal with at times for some performers.

"It's Tony being Tony, and people react to that in different ways. The emotional content is very real and people had just had enough and ended up leaving the stage. When we finished the show the twelve piece band was reduced to four members," Paxton said.

In the end, not all the members who left the stage quit the band but a few did, so the band is now in a transitional period, Paxton said.

"It's an incredible experience. Tony is everything he seems and more," Paxton said.

Though the band travels with the dancers on two buses, Clifton travels alone. Occasionally, he goes out afterward to party with the band. Yet no matter where he goes, the report from the band is always the same.

"Tony Clifton is Tony Clifton," Minx said. "I don't know about Bob Zmuda or Andy Kaufman, but Tony has always been my No. 1."

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