Do you know the Mustard Man? Perhaps not, that is unless you’ve been to Portland Vancouver area, or caught him on the Tonight Show, downing a bottle of mustard. He’s the fling-fling wearing, mustard chugging, stoner comic from way out yonder on the West Coast. It was a bizarre twist of luck to hook up with this origial individual. We were then engaged in a rather long-winded conversation; covering everything from the swinging lifestyle of a 43 year old man, how corporate America is not always the answer, a possible tour with Tommy Chong, and his homage to the dearly departed Mitch Hedberg.
JESS: I guess we should start with why the Mustard Man?
MUSTY: Just about everyone in Portland knows who the Mustard Man is. I was just Mark Kikel, married, had a daughter and I was working as an environmental consultant. The highest level I reached was Senior Project Manager, which meant leading large-scale asbestos and lead removal projects.
JESS: Sounds like fun.
MUSTY: Yeah… but I kept doing comedy, I’d hit the open mike, you know, so I’d stay fresh. Then in 94’ Mark and Brian, KLOS Mark and Brian, I don’t know if you’ve heard of them, they have a radio show they simulcast all over the country and actually have a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. Anyway, they were having a contest, a "What would you do to hang out with Mark and Brian Contest." I volunteered to drink a 32oz bottle of mustard while playing the theme from the Lone Ranger on my belly button. They loved it and the next thing you know they’re up in Portland broadcasting from their station there, and 10 million people were listening to me drink a bottle of mustard in the studio live at 7:00 in the morning. Brian just spit out "Oh you Mustard Man you!" The name just kinda stuck.
I went to Harvey’s Comedy Club that night- I did 32oz at the radio station, and then we crashed this Portland morning show called AM Northwest, they had no idea we were even coming and I drank another 32oz of mustard in front of their studio audience. And about that time, I’m higher than a kite, because the vinegar thins your blood out really bad, and the doctor later said I was suffering from acute anemia-
JESS: Wow!
MUSTY: Yeah… It’s not something you do, it messes up your digestive tract horribly. What I have learned through the years is that when I do the mustard thing, which is basically for publicity, is don’t digest- I now drink a glass of water with baking soda in it and find some private place were I can expel. I don’t let that stuff go through like I let that 80oz and it basically changed the way I live. So I did the Mark and Brian thing and became the Mustard Man, Mark the Mustard Man Kikel.
The Mustard Man is beginning to leak out. "I’ll be darned, he’s on the Tonight Show." If you made a list of all the comics from Portland that have been on the Tonight Show, I’m the only comic on that list. But then there’s have to be an asterisk at the end of my name, then you have to look down at the bottom of the page and it would read, "asterisk did not tell joke only drank mustard." Because I’m not going to pretend like I’m some sort of big shot and tell jokes on the Tonight Show. All I did was this stupid mustard thing I do for publicity and exposure.
One of the things I do to make money is make and sell these pokers and clips to all the functioning alternative shops in the Portland and Vancouver area. As a matter of fact, they are in Oregon, Washington, and Montana and I also take them on the road with me and sell them, they’re called Joker Pokers. Toys from the bins of Good Will. They’re pretty cool, And you can check out some other interesting items at www.themustardman420.fanspace.com.
I’m Getting ready to launch a tour called the Funny 420 Tour, I’m middling with this guy Arlo Stone. He knew Mitch and was actually there the night I met Mitch, but Arlo’s like the local hippie political expert around here, this guy looks at the simple plain and finds the absolute absurd in it. He’s so politic he delves into the stuff and makes it easy to understand in a really funny way. Arlo’s great. I also picked up this young hot shot from Portland, his name is Richard Bain, and he’s going to be our emcee. So what I have done is package up a whole comedy show and am selling it, and booking venues here in the Portland Vancouver area, and probably go as far north as Seattle and see how far down I5 I can take it, hey, and probably hit some of the colleges. Hit up a few of the venues that Mitch did.
JESS: So you have pretty much cornered the market on Mitch Hedberg Memorabilia I heard.
MUSTY: My Mitch Hedberg collection is to me, right now, nowhere near a monetary value. It’s a shrine, definitely a homage that I’m paying to him and trying to gain some inspiration and yeah, he’s just an awesome guy, was an awesome guy, was- … I’m still not used to saying that. Since Mitch’s death- wow, we felt it. I know this is going to sound stupid but it really was a disruption in the Force- I mean I couldn’t stop crying for a good week. Every time I’d think about it I’d start crying. I only met him that one time, I mean I saw him perform on TV and all that stuff but that one night- I can’t say that it didn’t influence me a great deal because it did. He was incredible, a good man and a great comic. It was a sad day for comedy… the camaraderie. We lost one of our generals and no one will ever be able to replace, to fill that void. The only thing I can do is to continue what I already do. If I’m onstage and someone thinks I’m piecing my material on something and thinks of Mitch. I would just be honored to be in the same thought as him. I never got to open with him, and I have always wanted to work with him.
JESS: Is there anyone you’d like to work with in the future?
MUSTY: I got a lady, Mary Jane from Mary Jane’s House of Glass, and she’s real good friends with Tommy Chong. He’s off probation in September and wants to hit the road and he’s looking for an opening act. Mary Jane told me to pack it down with my new head shot, DVD, the whole nine yards. She’s already talked to him about me, and the Tonight Show didn’t hurt at all. So it’s very feasible that I could be touring with Tommy Chong this winter.
JESS: Wow, that’s cool.
MUSTY: Or, opening with him on tour when he hits the road. He was doing a show that got shut down, because people were not respecting his probation. He can’t be associating with certain elements. He has to play the game all the way through to the end of his probation. He’s dying to get out on tour. So, I’m very lucky to have that connection. Something like that could be what it takes for me to finally go nationwide.

JESS: Will IT be hard to maintain a relationship while you’re bringing your show to so many clubs?
MUSTY: My girlfriend’s name is Megan and we’ve been together for 2 1⁄2 years and that’s been the longest relationship I’ve had other than my marriage. And I absolutely love her, she’s 15 years younger than me. Its not like I chase around younger girls. The joke I tell is "I love, her she’s 15 years younger than me, she’s bi- and I don’t mean polar." For a 43-year-old guy I do have a lot of fun.
JESS: Indeed.
MUSTY: I have been described as one of a kind. It’s weird I’ve had someone call me a pimp one day and later I was called a hippy. I combined the two and I like to be called a himpy. I wear the tie-dye and color coordinated bright yellow sweats, my hemp jewelry. I wear gold but it’s not blingbling its pieces of gold that women have thrown back at me in anger. So I like to refer to it as fling fling.
I’m making a living, I’m not rich, but I’m making a living now doing stand up comedy and just developing- I’ve finally metamorphosed into the Mustard Man, which is pretty much this big friendly stoner type guy. So anyway that’s pretty much the new thing I’m getting ready to go to Seattle hit a bunch of clubs, I’m focusing on this funny 420 tour and coming to New York in September. I couldn’t be more happy where I am sitting right now. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t mind having a couple movies, or a half hour comedy special under my belt, but you know what that’s just stuff I need to go out and get and I’m working on that…. So do you have any questions, I guess I have rambled
JESS- No, I think you pretty much just covered everything.
MUSTY- Did I? – is this what you call an easy interview?
JESS: Yeah.
MUSTY: Okay. I had a feeling that I was just going to ramble and answer everything you had to ask.
JESS: Pretty much.
MUSTY: Cool, cool. Well, I can’t tell you how excited I am and how grateful. This is really cool, kinda weird, I mean a West Coast comic appearing in an East Coast paper. I believe there’s a reason for everything and the fact that’ll be in New York shortly. Who knows, maybe I’ll get a week of gigs colleges out there.