Josh & Josh Road Trip: The Augusten Burroughs Interview

Not long ago Josh and I rented a car and headed out of the city to interview author Augusten Burroughs at his home in Amherst, Massachusetts.

When we hit the open road I plugged in my iPod. Josh and I worked through most of my cardio playlist, singing the gayest songs imaginable at the top of our lungs. (Shhh, don't judge!) You know Joel Derfner would have been so proud.

I played navigator. (Scary thought, no?) This was our first East Coast road trip together, and since we'd never even heard of most of the roads and highways, it was all a bit of a leap of faith.

What's a road trip without a McDonald's stop? Josh K. did the chicken nugget routine; I went with cheeseburgers. And yes, we did sing with our mouths full.

We made it out of New York, drove north through all of Connecticut, and finally made it to Massachusetts.

When we pulled up to Augusten's house his partner, Dennis, was out in the driveway washing the car. Dennis greeted us affably and Augusten came outside moments later, ushering us into the house. As we set up the camera and fitted Augusten with a mic we teased him about the domestic suburban bliss he had created for himself in Amherst. (And we teased, of course, because we were completely envious.)

The house was immaculate and well-decorated (his own handiwork, he reported). I wanted to dig into the rows and rows of books on his shelves, but instead we got down to business with the interview. (Check out the interview here.)

After the camera was off Josh and I stood around in the kitchen with Augusten and Dennis as their dogs, Bentley and Cow, snorted and huffed around our feet. It was kind of surreal to be standing in Augusten Burroughs's kitchen, chatting casually with him and his partner and playing with his dogs.

Josh K., Augusten, and Josh H., smiling for posterity.

How do you follow up all of that surreal fun and craziness? Why, you go to Target Amherst, of course, and load up on tons and tons of goodies. (Josh and I have a serious love thing going on with Target. Target totally had us at hello)

Like the classy boys we are, we followed up our shopping with pizzas at Target's food court. It's all glamor all the time, people.

As we set out on the three-and-a-half-hour drive I switched the iPod soundtrack from cardio to acoustic as the sun began to set and Josh and I zipped down the highway and back home to New York.

Comments

[kenneth]

What, no sweet and sour sauce?

[m@]

The road trip details finally come together! Thanks for sharing your random adventure. You guys Zipcar fans? Definitely concur with your Target sentiment; in addition to hitting a Target any time I end up w/ a vehicle, I've also been known to obsessively frequent Panera. Mmmmmm. Congrats on the fantastic interview.

M.
http://www.mattsign.com

[Zack]

Mmm ... three of my favorite things: McDonald's, Pizza Hut and Target.

If only I could keep my figure as lithe as yours and still enjoy the first two of those ...

[Frank]

You should have put up more photos of Amherst. It's lovely. And it's home.
Come up to Massachusetts more often! Stay and get married if you want.

[brooke]

i have been staring at that damn chicken nugget photo all day long. and now i fear that a post-work trip to the drive-thru is inevitable.

thanks a lot, josh.

[Dan]

Hey Joshes - As always, love your blog :D
And from the photos - one of you have beautiful handwriting... Mine is rather embarrassing. Anyhow, cheers. Dan

[J]

You could have at least moved the chicken McNuggets if you were going to take a picture of his crotch! *sigh*

[Matt L]

You guys drove right past my house! Also, you could have shaved almost 45 minutes off the drive probably by taking 84 instead of god-awful 95. Next time...

[Ryan]

How fun is Amherst!?! (Answer: more fun than the MassPike, which scares the shit out of me.)

[Kyle]

Did Augusten give you a hard time for the way you pronounced Amherst in such an overpronounced Midwestern manner? As a first year Minnesotan at Amherst College back in the day, it seemed like the end of the world to the locals whenever I said their town name incorrectly...It was a little much.

[EM]

Nice work, guys. The pic of the Springfield skyline almost made me homesick, almost.

[Mark]

No prizes for guessing who I am going to see do a little reading and Q and A tonight in London!

[Jordi]

Looks like you had the most glorious of time... (slight jealousy kicks in ;o)) Was the car wash scene nice to look at?!

By the way, in the end you made me create my own blog too after years of reading yours. Mine more centered into music, so don't miss checking it out every now and then to catch up what's going on in London xxx

[Philip]

You guys must have great workouts with all the junk food. Jealous! :D