David Liebe Hart: Aliens and model trains

Eccentric and charismatic, David Liebe Hart has had a colourful career. Best known for his puppetry on Adult Swim's Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, he has a broad range of bizarre music, from 'Puberty' to 'I'm in Love with an Insect Woman', and takes on a wide variety of strange and iconic characters.

He is also known in Los Angeles for his puppeteering on The Junior Christian Teaching Bible Lesson Program, in line with his strong Christian Science beliefs. He has performed with Doug the Dog outside the Hollywood Bowl and Los Angeles Music Center, further establishing himself as a puppeteering icon in America.

David was born in Chicago before moving to Park Forest in Illinois, where he cultivated an interest in the railroad system and trains. He's notable in his vocal abstinence from smoking, alcohol and drugs, which he relays in much of his music.

Although his work is decidedly optimistic, his personal life has not always been straightforward, highlighted by his divorce from his wife in 1993. He's since been honest about his wish to move on with a new relationship - as frequently referenced when we spoke to him ahead of his solo performance at Delicious Clam on 20 March.

What have you done previously and what do you do now?

I was a musician at my church for nine years and then I wanted to go to The Willows, which was a Christian Science place. They wouldn't let me stay there because they wouldn't accept my church membership, even after I worked at the church for nine years, so I've had to have a lot of forgiveness about that. I'm disappointed in people within organised religion. It's very corrupt. I love God and I love Christianity but all the corruption is in organised religion.

I went to the Goodman Theatre for acting. I was influenced by different old TV shows, and my parents paid for me to go to acting school. I took music theory and piano at college. Now I've done music theory I know what I'm playing and what I'm singing, which makes it possible for me to create better songs. A lot of musicians go to Europe because the United States don't seem to want to give any fresh new talent a chance. I didn't make it famous until I did the Tim and Eric Show in the 2000s - then I became very famous and a household name.

Tim and Eric gave me a spin-off show called I Love David, and originally it was supposed to be a comedy about me to connect things and make it more diverse, because in America it's very conservative. They're against interracial dating in America. It's very sad because if people love each other that's all that counts. It's about love, it's not about race.

What's the inspiration behind your unique songs?

So I write about what I've been through. I've been alone since 1994 and I've never had any luck on Tinder or on other dating sites, or at Christian singles meetings. But I'm out there, I'm available if anybody would like a nice boyfriend and a family. Love is reflected, and I'm trying to find a young lady who is an artist and into acting like I am.

What I don't understand about people in California is that they're flaky and phony. On Valentines, eight girls were supposed to meet me. Two girls were supposed to meet me at Starbucks at different times just before Valentines but none of them ever showed up. I called them and they just never showed up. I hope that I'll meet a nice lady in Europe. I hope I can meet a good wife before it's all over because I don't look my age. I am in my sixties, I don't smoke or drink, I work out in the gym, I go vegan for a while and then I go back to eating meat. Being vegan for a while helps your body.

How do you feel about your first European tour?

I'm coming to make some connections over there with my music but my music is already being used at many of the churches, as I've got Christian copyright licensing all over Europe. I'm really anxious about going to Europe. I like Germany a lot, I like France a lot. People there didn't believe I was part Caucasian so I did my genealogy through ancestry.com and everything said I was part Norwegian, German, English and French. I found out a lot of people have English and German ancestry and don't know it.

I collect model trains - I love trains. When I was travelling, I toured in Australia about four times and they sell a lot of European trains over there, so I have a huge collection. I wish there was someone out there who could show me around Europe, take me on trains in my free time and take me to the hobby shops. That would mean a lot to me.

You're coming to Sheffield soon, what will you be doing here?

Well, when I come to jolly old England I'm going to be doing a lot of my original songs. I love a lot of the stuff from England, I wish that they would go back to kings and queens in America and stop doing things democratically, it doesn't seem to be working out.

I try to set a good example for my fans

They did the same thing at the church I was raised in - they would vote on everything and make the wrong decisions on everything every time.

You have some unusual ideas about aliens.

All the aristocracy are extra-terrestrial and I'd say that's why they're so brilliant and talented. They integrated with us. My family are the Scottish aristocracy as well as the German aristocracy. I think I'd like to talk with the Queen seeing as I have a lot in common with her, being part of the aristocracy. Mr Obama is related to her.

People have a lot of jealousy, but a lot of the aristocracy are talented in giving leadership to the world and there are a lot of jealous people who don't understand them and talk down about them, but we wouldn't have good leadership if it wasn't for queens for many of thousands of years up to now. I like the leadership of queens and kings better than the president.

Is there anything you hope your audience learns from your performance?

I try to set a good example for my fans. I try to be honest and pure and like a schoolteacher. People are trying to play God with the weather. We spayed, spayed, spayed and killed off so many species of animals when we should have let nature play itself out. We're trying to make man control everything. We've killed off so many species, different types of cats and chicken because of this. I am coming to jolly old England to bring you all joy, talent, my music, and I'm bringing my puppets with me. I'm bringing Jason the Cat and Chip the Black Boy.

Eve Thomas

David Liebe Hart comes to Delicious Clam on Friday 20 March. Tickets are £10