Neither superhero or punk act of the same name, Underdog represents Manhattan's best disenfranchised comedians: skronky-literary types with physical comic aptitude who form a writing/performance mafia of sorts. Besides working with Late Night with Conan O'Brien writer Andy Blitz and Saturday Night Live writer Leo Allen, Demetri Martin, who has a sitcom development deal with NBC/Paramount, and Eugene Mirman, currently writing/directing short films for Showtime, are famous faces on Comedy Central's Premium Blend. They've merged with The Neverlands (Shonali Bhowmik from Ultrababyfat and Russ Dungan of Kokomo, tag-alongs on David Cross' 2002 tour) to create a mix of caustic wit and crushing rock that'll play well at bars to boozehounds across America. I spoke with Mirman and Martin (pictured center and right, with Allen, left) about their shared experiences.

City Paper: You have a lot of similar circumstances: Conan O'Brien, Premium Blend, the Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. Do you find Blend to be an annoyingly abbreviated comic experience?

Demetri Martin: It was good. It was one of my first TV spots, kind of short, but sometimes less is more. "Less awkward, new comedian equals more time to be good on TV later."

Eugene Mirman: PB is brief, but that's what it is. I didn't think I was getting a half-hour. I know some people get cut very short, which sucks, but that's just what the show is. Four people doing standup for a bit.

CP: How is being in Aspen where it's cold and contains little atmospheric pressure conducive to comedy?

DM: Aspen was fun. I pulled an all nighter before the festival and made it to the airport gate an hour before my flight. I fell asleep at the terminal, right in front of the gate and almost missed the flight. Luckily, one of my friends was in line, saw me and woke me up. It would've been a different festival for me if he didn't happen to see me sprawled out and drooling in the airport. The festival was good, though -- the altitude actually did have an effect. A lot of people had gas.

EM: There is 30 percent less oxygen, which gets you kind of tired. When I did it, I lived in Boston and didn't really know too many people. I bet it would be more fun now, though it was very exciting, because it was the first break I got.

CP: Being that Andy Blitz is a writer on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, have there been opportunities for him to lord that gig over you?

DM: Blitz doesn't really hold his job over us. He's got a great gig, but there's a trade-off. He's got to go to a job every day. We don't have to. Of course, I have to ride my skateboard around the city because I can't afford cabs, but I think it builds character -- until I have to go back to a day job.

EM: Not really. Just like I don't taunt him with the fact that I am often free in the afternoons.

DM: I think I came up with the idea. I tapped these guys to go on tour, because I thought we shared something -- a certain comedic sensibility. And we've all been doing things lately that are beyond the standard comedy-club parameters. I pitched the name Underdog because it kind of captures the ethos of where we're all at right now. We all have TV credits, but none of us are famous, most of us are broke and we don't get a lot of the prime spots in the city clubs because we don't do the "who's-in-a-relationship-what's-up-with-airplane-food?" material. In that sense, I feel like we're kind of underdogs in the comedy world. Or, I just thought the name sounded cool.

EM: Myself and Demetri and Leo. We've wanted to tour for a long time, but didn't really want to go alone to comedy clubs in the middle of the country. Then we thought, why don't we try to tour together at colleges and rock clubs? We haven't really defined it yet. It's just our sensibility and some multimedia and some standup and sketch.

DM: We see this as the beginning of something; a show that goes beyond the typical standup gig. Also, it sounds cooler. In New York, right now, there is a great comedy scene; a lot of people doing a lot of new, creative things. We wanted to bring a substantial piece of that scene to different cities.

EM: Shonali [Bhowmik] of Ultrababyfat, who toured with David Cross, was at a show and I was telling her that Demetri and Leo and Andy and I were interested in touring rock clubs. She mentioned she might be able to help and two months later we had a little tour thanks to her.

CP: Since this is a rock experience, what band is Underdog most related to? Foo Fighters, Fischerspooner? Who can and will drink the most of what? And what sort of groupies do the men of Underdog expect?

DM: Eugene will drink the most -- Dewer's neat. Demetri will eat the most sugar on the tour -- Hostess chocolate cupcakes. Leo will meet the most women -- white, black, Asian, Latina. And I realized that "God, red nuts! A fast underdog" is a palindrome. That must have some significance.

EM: We are a cross between The Soft Boys and Neutral Milk Hotel. I will be the one to drink the most. Scotch. It will look fun and then sleepy. As for groupies? People who are easily tricked.

Underdog, Thu., March 27, 8 p.m., $8, The Khyber, 56 S. Second St., 215-238-5888.