Rehearsal at Sheil Park.

Diplomat Motel is the third team I've been placed on at iO. James Jackson, then Otis, now DipMo. That's pretty good for... what... seven years maybe? Six?

Eckart has been around for ten years. Diplomat Motel is his fifteenth team. Fifteen! First he was put on Habeas Corpus, then Pyramid Scheme, then Nancy Reagan, then Vegas Magic Act, then Men Of Steel, then Peanuts Envy ("this team lasted one weekend"), then Lisle Community College Teachers Credit Union, then Pope Joan, then Rockstar Of Siam (which was later renamed Liar's Beer), then Fashion Bug, then Little Fat Girl, then Johnny Roast Beef, which is still around but he was moved to Autorock, then Psychoplasmics, and now Diplomat Motel.

That's just iO-run teams. That doesn't count various side projects.

Eckart: Overall, I think I'm up there with Mulhern and Shay [both of whom have since moved away from Chicago] as far as record number of teams.
Me: Does it get harder to be put on new teams after a while, or easier?
Eckart: I guess it's like dating in some ways. When I was on a good team that got broken up, starting over was tough. In other cases, when things got stale, it would be reinvigorating to play with a new crew. For a while, I was the guy who got put on established, yet declining teams to help provide support so they could still play on weekends. I think people thought I would show up to rehearsals and shows, dress nice, and improvise competently enough to allow the team to die with dignity. Those were tough assignments because the other players usually knew their number was up and it showed on stage. I felt like the Jonah-type guy in 'Master and Commander' who everyone looks at funny because he brings bad luck.