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There is something fascinating about documentaries, and especially now with Covid-19, I find myself seeking out all sorts of them because I find inspiration listening and watching people’s stories. I’ve always been fascinated with the human mind, wondering why people do the things they do, and trying to wrap my head around why they might not do the things that they should. Scrolling through a tv platform called Tubi with my husband, we came across “Will Work for Views: The Lo-Fi Life of Weird Paul.” Okay sounds like it might be a fun way to kill time, so let our freak flags fly, as they say, and watch a few minutes.
Paul Petroskey (aka Weird Paul) lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his girlfriend Niffer, and is a musician with a purpose. In the documentary, only using VHS tapes and a camcorder, (yep he put the V in Vlogger way before anyone else thought of it!) Paul takes us on a trip down memory lane showing bits and pieces of all the fun and quirky videos he made since 1984. With a home filled with classic vintage toys that he has kept over the years, and goals far beyond the reach of what others may seem as impossible, Paul brings a smile to everyone he meets. We get a glimpse at songs he created (over 700 to date) and ponder, will he ever get a new hairdo?
Knowing from the documentary that Paul actually responds to every comment on his Youtube videos and other social media pages, I reached out to Paul to see if he would actually respond to me and do a Q&A about his life. No surprise, he responded with pleasure. Paul has and will probably always be a man of his word. Yes, a man of many words as you will read below!
Q&A with Paul:
1. Hey Paul, I have the most important question of our interview together that I think all our readers need to know. Do you prefer the toilet paper over or under?
Over. I can't use it if it's under. It drives me nuts. Sometimes Niffer (my girlfriend) will place it on that way and I have to change it immediately.
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2. Can you tell me about the most cherished memorabilia that you own?
The things that are the most cherished for me are the ones that link me to my younger self. A lot of people fall out of touch with who they were, but who you were is still very much a part of who you are. That's why nostalgia is so powerful. Holding something now that I held when I was ten years old brings out so many emotions. Many of these things are just pieces of toys I had...even though I saved a lot of stuff from when I was younger, things from before I was ten are very limited in quantity. I cherish them because I am luckier than most people to still have them around.
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3. What has been the most unusual gift that you've received from a subscriber?
Most of the stuff I get is really not that unusual...it's either helpful to me in some way or it's something that I collect. I get some expensive things, like musical instruments, old toys, rare video games, whole sets of trading cards. Sometimes I get unusual food to try, though I am careful to make sure it's not tampered with or past the expiration date. I can get things I use all the time, like a boxcutter, a microphone interface that I use to livestream, T-shirts and blank VHS tapes.
I've gotten some things I just can't use...like plant food! I've also gotten CD cases without the album inside, leaking batteries inside an old machine, DVDs so scratched they won't play, which can be useless or maybe harmful!
I get a lot of fan art, drawings and paintings of me, some of them are quite good. I love getting things that I don't have anymore from when I was younger or that I never had. One of those would be the pile of old 80s HBO guide booklets that showed you what was on the channel every month. Those are hard to find!
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4. How has the pandemic (COVID-19) affected your daily life?
For a while, it affected my life strongly because I got laid off from my job for three months. I made YouTube videos constantly, I had a huge pile of mail to show and I got all caught up to this year's. I also had some time to start cleaning up everything around the house that needed to be dealt with (though I still have a ways to go).
I started streaming live on Twitch, which is the best thing that I have done so far this year. Since I can't go out and perform my music live for anyone, it gives me a great outlet to reach people for the time being - and hopefully into the future. I'm doing well on there.
I'm back at work now but I am working earlier, since the mall closes earlier. Which
ended up being good, because I started going to bed earlier during the time off. I like getting home earlier and having dinner with Niffer. I also started reading again, every night before bed. I really enjoy that. The pandemic changed a lot of things about my habits, in a good way.
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5. Has the idea of fame changed for you since making the documentary?
I don't think so. I still know there are different levels of fame and I am not expecting to reach any of the high ones. Though I still consider everyone who is any kind of artist right now to be my contemporary, no matter how known or unknown they are. I will be happy having a large enough fanbase and being able to support myself (eventually) through my art.
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6. If a Hollywood exec called you up and said "Hey Weird Paul we want to do a biopic, but are racking our brains out not knowing who to cast as you!" Which actor would you like most to see portraying you?
I have said for a very long time that I wanted Steve Buscemi to play me. Niffer says he's too old now to do it. I really don't have any other ideas about that.
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7. You've travelled to a lot of places to perform over the years. Are there any others on your bucket list?
Sure, I'd like to perform a show in every state in the US. I'd also like to perform a show on every continent (but maybe not Antarctica!) I'm not sure what the chances of that are in the current state of affairs, but we'll see if things improve.
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8. With many people struggling with finding their purpose in life, what advice would you give them? Your optimism is surely infectious.
I guess I'm just lucky, I knew what my purpose in life was from a very early age. Though it took me a lot of years of doubting myself and needing other people's approval, which I never really got. I had to learn to love myself.
The best thing that anyone can do is be themselves. Society, your work environment and the people you surround yourself with throughout life may all try to keep you from being yourself.
Ultimately, you will find that you are the happiest when you get to be yourself as much as possible. And when you get to be yourself, you may find it a lot easier to find your purpose in life.
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You can check out all of Weird Paul’s songs and get to know him better on his website below:
💜Weird Paul
