The King Khan and BBQ Show: King-sized jerks

By Kristi Alexandra [Entertainment Bureau Chief]

Being a longtime fan of The King Khan and BBQ Show, I was more than thrilled when Arish Khan (better known as King Khan) and Mark Sultan (BBQ) invited me into their modest hotel room above the Biltmore Cabaret for an interview with The Runner.

Seriously, I was riding the shanty, vintage red carpeted elevator with the guys who started the Spaceshits and later came to write “fishfight”, the song that initially sparked my love for the Montreal-based twosome. I was elated; it was surreal.

Once inside the hotel room, though—notebook ready, digital recorder in hand—my questions were met with sarcasm and a mild air of condescension. The idols of my early twenties weren’t disappointing, but their response was dismissive at best.

And who can blame them? They’ve heard it all before. So they went to jail last year? Surprise, surprise: they didn’t want to talk about it. Did they care to elucidate on that time they stole robes from Quebecois nuns? Nope. And the things they did want to talk about? Well, that’s off the record. Of course.

If I took this interview at face value, I’d have learned that Sultan and Khan met when they invented the wheel together. Khan’s children are actually inflatable, and despite Khan and Sultan now living on different continents, they have no problem making time to rehearse ‘cause there’s this underground tunnel they’ve built from Montreal to Berlin that allows them to meet halfway.

But I get it. They’re so busy with press, they’ve got to fuck around with some people to get their kicks, and that’s fine.

But dear god, am I relieved I left my King Khan and BBQ show albums at home that night. Imagine asking for an autograph after that mess.

Whether it’s Bette Midler, Justin Timberlake or jeez, even Seth Rogen, don’t meet your idols, kids. Unless you really want to be disenchanted by them, in which case, it’s best to do as often as possible.