Bret McKenzie & Jermaine Clement

'Conchords' duo find an American niche

By ANTHONY D'ALESSANDRO

'Flight of the Conchords' duo Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement

� Judd Apatow
� Seth Rogen
� Michael Cera
� Jonah Hill

� Tim Allen
� Rowan Atkinson
� Kevin James
� Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
� Adam Sandler
� John Travolta
� John C. Reilly

� Jason Reitman & Diablo Cody
� The Hot Fuzz Guys
� Walt Becker
� Tyler Perry

� Brad Bird
� The Simpsons troika
� Jerry Seinfeld

� Jim Gaffigan
� Demetri Martin
� Katt Williams
� Mel Brooks & Thomas Meehan

� The Lonely Island Guys
� Perez Hilton
� Funnyordie.com

� Bill Engvall
� Jenna Fischer
� Tina Fey
� Bryan Fuller
� Flight of the Conchords
� Tracy Morgan
� Steven Koonin
� Chuck Lorre
� Neil Patrick Harris
� Ricky Gervais
� Jaime Pressly
� Conan O'Brien
� Jon Stewart
� Amy Poehler
� Sarah Silverman

The most high-profile New Zealand import to hit the States since "Whale Rider" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, these dry cabaret guitarists catapulted over the last five years from playing Wellington pubs to a half-hour spot on HBO's sked following "Entourage" last summer. The response to their musical sitcom, which follows the Conchords' bachelorhood as they meander and croon around Gotham, was an immediate hit with twentysomethings -- and HBO recently ordered up a second season. If viewers were a little unclear as to what they could expect from this folk-parody pairing, the "love ballad" crooned by Clement in the first episode gave a pretty good inkling: "You're so beautiful ... Like a high-class prostitute ... You could be a part-time model."

Point of view

"We ask ourselves, 'Would the Monkees have done this?'�And if the answer is yes, then we do it,"� McKenzie says.