A.V. Club Twin Cities INTERVIEW: Maria Bamford

AVC: Well, why do you think you’re drawn to speaking in these different voices?

MB: I think it’s because my own voice doesn’t command a lot of attention. In fact, I’ve been told that it’s irritating. So if I become something else—well, this is the sad answer, by the way. The uplifting answer is that it’s fun.

I did it when I was a kid. I remember mimicking different commercials and stuff. I guess my aunt, my dad’s sister, who I never really knew—she does voices, sort of just part of who she is. She’ll do different characters. She was a children’s librarian, now retired. I think it was just something that felt good or fun. [Low, husky voice] You just do it because it’s fun. [New, lower voice] It’s fun. I’d love to get better at it. I’d love to have the ability to learn more accents—sit down with a YouTube clip, or something like that.

AVC: Do you use voices with friends?

MB: I don’t think I do, but then sometimes people will say something about it. People will say, “That’s weird. You just went into that whole other thing [character].” So I must. I must do it. To some people it’s disconcerting, and to others, [charming voice] it’s charming! [Laughs.] Those are the people I choose to spend time with.

I am extremely lucky that my family is so open about being, what some might say “mocked,” but what I would call, “given eternal life through homage.” But yeah, I’ve had impersonations done of me, so I realize you have to have a loving detachment, and realize that if someone’s doing an impersonation of you, it means they’ve thought about you long enough to want to do one. So that’s a sort of love.

A.V. Club Twin Cities INTERVIEW: Maria Bamford / By Jason Zabel May 12, 2011