He's gone Up in Smoke and he's gone up the river. And this August Tommy Chong's new book—an "unauthorized" biography of Cheech & Chong—hits the shelves.

I recently had the chance to talk with Tommy about his life before and after his partnership with Cheech, his personal philosophy of peace, love and smoke, the public’s fascination with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, why comedians love our President, and his life-changing stretch in the big house.

Citizen Chong may be pushing 70, but the years (and all those high times), haven't mellowed him. Or dulled his uncensored and outspoken nature. Here are some of Tommy's insights, gleaned from decades of looking at life through bloodshot eyes.

BG: Cheech & Chong was one of the most successful comedy duos in history. How did you get started?
TC: I started as a musician and I owned a night club in Vancouver. It got so successful we bought a strip bar. I had seen Second City and other comedy troupes so I figured why not try some improv with the girls. I had Taps Harris, the MC of the club, do a show, and he quit the next day. It was too much work for him. So I asked the doorman, Dave. He said he'd only do it if I went onstage too. So we started doing shows.

BG: How'd the crowd take to improv at a strip club?
TC: The place was filled with hardcore bikers and perverts. They weren't paying attention to the show. We had these three doors on the stage, and a door would open and a mime would walk out. After that Dave would go out wearing a scarf and a cowboy hat and sing. The guys watching would laugh. Then another door would open and I'd come out as a hippie with no shirt on and beat Dave with a rolled up newspaper. The audience loved it. They'd go crazy. So we built on that. And I got more actors. Cheech was one of them.

BG: Wait, you hired more actors for a place where guys come looking for naked chicks?
TC: Actors work for nothing. Dancers are expensive. Dave and I played hippies. Cheech was an amateur magician and he played a cop, the straight man. Eventually the group broke up and Dave was glad. But Cheech wanted to keep going. First we formed a band. I've always had the music in me. But it sucked, so we went out and did all comedy. Which was much more successful.

BG: Obviously. Which do you think reaches people more, music or comedy?
TC: Music is the opposite of comedy. You hear it and feel it, but you can do other things while it’s going on. There's a big difference between music and comedy audiences. Comedy makes you go into yourself, you have to be present, have your wits about you.

BG: So how do you get people to pay attention to your humor?
TC: Cheech and I accidentally found out that to be a clown you have to be the lowest common denominator. Someone everybody could look down on and laugh. That's why our hippie characters worked so well. No one ever felt below them. Comics today do the same thing. Jim Carrey's maniacal characters, Steve Martin's wild and crazy guy, Dave Chappelle's crackhead. Everyone feels superior to them, and can laugh at them. It's why George Bush is such an easy target.


BG: Speaking of easy targets, while everyone else was bashing her, you came to Paris Hilton’s defense when she was sentenced to prison. Is she a friend?
TC: I’ve never met the woman, but come on, let’s get real. Paris represents everything that’s fucked up with our obsession with young beautiful women. She’s every guy’s dream and every guy’s nightmare – a hot woman who is rich and successful. People talk down about her like she has no talent, but look, she gets paid to go to a party. Promoters know if she’s there then everyone will think it’s the hip place to be. Just by showing up. Now that’s talent.

I saw the ugliest of America with what happened to Paris. We love to build them up to tear them down. Go to France or Europe. They revere their talent there. Even as they age. Not here. We force older women to look like teens. We worship the shiny things. We don’t see the depth or the beauty.

BG: You’ve described your own time in jail as “the highlight of my life”. Why?
TC: It was a very humbling and beautiful experience. One hour in jail will change your life. There is a scar there. You get a claustrophobic feeling that’s unbearable when you’re locked in. I had been reading a lot of spiritual books and learned about humility. Jesus washed people’s feet. I was not above sweeping floors and being a prisoner. That’s where the inner peace comes from. Once you go there, they can put you anywhere and you’ll still feel that peace.

BG: Besides the obvious, what do you do to feel that peace now?
TC: I look at sunsets. Three months into my sentence I started watching sunsets. I watched every single sunset for months. Even now I stop and watch. And critique God. Some were so magnificent they brought tears. Watching a sunset reminds you you’re traveling through space at an incredible speed. You can feel the earth turning. When you come to that realization, you realize you are alive.

BG: If you could write the next chapter of your life, how would it go?
TC: Much slower. I’ve been out of jail three years, going on four. But it seems so recent. Life seems to be going by too fast. So now I’m going to try to do everything I tell other people to do, like travel and dance. I’m a tango dancer. I want to go to Buenos Aires and tango. Before I get too feeble. I want to make a lot more memories.

For more rants, raves and meditations from Tommy Chong, visit www.CitzenChong.com