Beloved By Many, DIY Icon Nardwuar Is Bringing His Video Vault to Dallas

Offbeat celebrity interviews may be the new normal these days, but the trend could be traced to its quirkiest pioneer, Nardwuar the Human Serviette. For the past 40 years, the proud Canadian has stumped, surprised and delighted an array of guests, including rappers, punk rockers, actors and politicians, with his in-depth research, nostalgic gifts and eccentric interview style.

His one-of-a-kind interviews, as heard and seen on his CiTR radio show, TV and the Internet, have hooked millions of followers online—he currently boasts 3.79 million on YouTube and 2.7 million on Instagram. Self-proclaimed “Nard nerds” have also shown him love in real life by attending his Video Vault Tour, where he reflects on his uncanny interviews in various cities around the globe. On Friday, Oct. 24, he’ll open up his star-studded inventory and make an appearance in his signature Scottish tam and tartan pants at the Texas Theatre in Dallas.

For the video vault itself, Nardwuar outsourced the task of curating clips from his catalog, but he provides commentary on some of his greatest hits at the event. “I will play the interview and give a bit of explanation,” he teases over Zoom, recently celebrating his 40th anniversary of his first interview. “It’s mainly [videos] that have been picked by other people because I don’t know what to pick.”

Though a veteran on the mic, Nardwuar admits he also doesn’t know which of his interviews will resonate with the masses until the Internet makes a moment go viral. 

“A lot of times, you do an interview and you don’t really think there’s going to be anything to be made of it,” he says. “Then, a couple of years later, the Internet resurrects it. An example is my interview with Future. These are some of the things that I address in the Video Vault.” (For context: The 2014 exchange with the Atlanta rapper produced the “Sensational” soundbite that made its way onto Saturday Night Live and into meme history.)

Nardwuar interviews are almost guaranteed to deliver sensational moments. See Lil Uzi Vert’s runaway exit in 2018, followed by a tear-jerking reunion in 2023. His bromantic saga with Snoop Dogg spans 12 interviews. And perhaps the most life-changing encounter of all: His 2008 sit-down with former rock and hip-hop group N.E.R.D. 

Pharrell Williams was so blown away by Nardwuar’s thoughtful presents and zany personality that he helped Nardwuar interview Jay-Z in 2011 and offered him a job for his YouTube channel, i am Other. “He hooked me up with Jay-Z, and he got me money,” Nardwuar says. “That was an amazing turning point in my life.”

Nardwuar has long been a beloved figure in hip-hop journalism and pop culture. In fact, Texas plays a pivotal role in his career. From the late 1990s to the early 2010s, as a freelancer for MuchMusic (Canada’s version of MTV), Nardwuar began spotlighting up-and-coming hip-hop acts in his videos at Austin’s esteemed SXSW Festival, turning his interviews into a rite of passage for rappers on the rise.

“Everybody would be there,” Nardwuar recalls. “I was so lucky to get Kendrick [Lamar] in 2012 because he was already huge at that time.” Other SXSW standouts include the aforementioned Future and Odd Future, the hip-hop collective co-founded by Nardwuar’s frequent subject and friend, Tyler, the Creator.

Nardwuar, who books his own guests and edits his own videos, often tags in close friends and collaborators for help. Among them is Melissa O’Brien, a former SXSW programmer who coordinated his interviews in Austin and books some of his gigs today. (Her daughter, Elizabeth, set up his event in Dallas.)

His deep Texas ties are also evident in his past videos. In 2002, Nardwuar shared space with Destiny’s Child in “possibly the shortest interview I’ve ever done.” He’s also held the mic to Port Arthur’s Bun B, Houston’s Paul Wall and Grapevine’s Post Malone.

While the rise of YouTube and social media has given millions access to his archives, it has also created a boom in unorthodox celebrity interviewers, i.e. Ziwe, Bobbi Althoff and Hot Ones host Sean Evans. When asked about the current landscape of music journalism, Nardwuar is quick to embrace its evolution through technology.

“I still can’t get over the fact that you can do something, [post it], and instantly, the world can see it,” says Nardwuar, who used to record his interviews, transfer them to cassettes or VHS tapes, then mail them everywhere to get the word out.

“When I interviewed Nirvana on Jan. 3, 1994, on my radio show, I didn’t get any phone calls,” he says. “So when some kid talking about journalism nowadays goes, ‘I posted my short story and only got five likes or five comments,’ I’m like, ‘I played my interview with possibly the biggest band in the world at that time, and nobody cared.’”

Beyond the big-name bookings, Nardwuar’s charming trademarks have made his interviews a must-watch. He begins every experience with the question “Who are you?,” stirring a variety of responses from the direct to the unhinged. The interview ends with the Neil Young reference “Keep rockin’ in the free world,” his sign-off song “doot doola doot doo,” and a voluntary “doot doo” from his guest. (The latter is a call-back to the notes an organist would play at hockey games Nardwuar attended.)

“I just love having fun,” Nardwuar says about his playful interview style, which also matches his demeanor off-air. “I’m always afraid somebody’s going to phone in [to my radio show] and say, ‘Nardwuar, you’re boring.’ So we try to make it fun and interesting.”

How Nardwuar Became the Human Serviette

Nardwuar (born John Ruskin) has been allergic to boring since his first interview on Sept. 26, 1985, with the Vancouver punk band Poisoned. In high school, he was the president of the student council at Vancouver’s Hillside Secondary School and booked bands for the school dance. This developed his musical tastes. “Other people [were] telling me what was cool,” he says. “Before that, I [liked] everything, like Cheap Trick or the Beatles. I didn’t know anything about music.”

Around this time, Nardwuar’s career and identity began to take shape. First, he picked a bizarre name. “Nardwuar’s like a dumb, stupid name, like Sting,” he once explained to Pharrell. “‘Human’ is from the band The Cramps’ song ‘Human Fly.’ And in the United States of America, you don’t have serviettes, you have napkins. So I’m Nardwuar the Human Serviette.” 

Then, he joined the campus radio station in college and hosted his first show on CiTR-FM at the University of British Columbia. He also formed and fronted the Vancouver-based band The Evaporators, using their compilation albums as promotional tools for his radio interviews. (He continues to be a CiTR contributor.)

The art of interviewing is also in Nardwuar’s genes. His mother, Olga Ruskin, was a journalist who hosted a cable-access show called Our Pioneers and Neighbours, spotlighting Vancouver’s vast history and rich community. By taking little Nardwuar to local historical meetings and interviewing his neighbors on TV, she also showed him how to be a skilled storyteller with a unique perspective.

“It’s not only the research, but how do you put a different spin on a question that’s maybe been asked a thousand times?” he says. “Hopefully, that’ll bring a reaction.”

To this day, Nardwuar does his own research. For any given interview, he dedicates at least a week to absorbing everything about his subject and collecting deep-cut references, if he has the luxury of time. “My assignments come sort of last-minute,” he says.

But he always stays ready. “There is a file open on my computer that I always pile little tidbits about people into,” he says. “The research never stops.”

Another trademark of a viral Nardwuar interview is the meaningful memorabilia he gives his subjects. Take his recent tête-à-tête with pop chart-topper Sabrina Carpenter. To incorporate Carpenter’s love for Dolly Parton, Nardwuar gave the singer a life-size cutout of the Queen of Country.

His gifts have even swayed legends. After suffering a brain hemorrhage in 1999 (one of two health scares in his life), Nardwuar secured a James Brown interview based on the collection of vintage records and merch he brought to the venue for him to sign. “I guess he saw I was a true fan,” Nardwuar says.

To conclude every interview, Nardwuar freezes in an awkward yet impressive pose that often generates confusion for his subjects and lasts for minutes. This peculiarity is also praised in the comments online.

After four decades, Nardwuar still finds joy in interviewing anyone, even if it means pushing past his personal fears. “I’m always scared. That’s kind of what drives you to do stuff,” he says. “If you ain’t scared, you shouldn’t be doing something.” He’s also optimistic about landing elusive gets like Paul McCartney, Neil Young and Playboi Carti. 

For the rest of Q4, he’s preparing for the Nardwuar Nike Dunk release (he recently gifted a pair to NBA champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) during the holidays and additional tour stops overseas in Toronto, London and New York City. The long-term future, though, is to be determined.

“I haven’t really thought about the end yet, so I just kind of continue on,” he says. But his larger mission remains clear: “I’m there to inspire people. Like if this guy can do it, you can do it too.”

Nardwuar the Human Serviette will do a live Q&A and show videos from his interviews on Friday, Oct. 24, at 8 p.m. at Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd. Advance tickets are available starting at $32.47 on Eventim.