Much like Cher or Madonna (the patron diva saint of one), the hosts of the weekly Internet chat fest, “Fruit Salad,” are identified by first name only, Pauly and Rico. The pair keep fans of their podcast and Web site in stitches with their unique blend of “fun, frivolity and fruitiness.”

Podcasts (typically mp3 files that allow users to listen live or access archive material) have given Fruit Salad listeners the opportunity to catch past and present shows. Podcasting is a relatively new phenomenon (the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows more than 6 million U.S. adults have downloaded podcasted material). So Pauly and Rico are at the forefront of Web media.

The duo talked with the Gay & Lesbian Times about how they tapped into the market, how they’ve perfected the recipe for their weekly pop-culture podcast, and their friendship, which gave birth to their creative endeavor.

“We met through our No. 1 ‘fruit fly’ – now ‘fruit fly’ is what we call a ‘fag hag’ on the show,” Pauly said. “We met through our shared ‘fruit fly’ years and years ago, and the rest is history – she was a friend of ours individually and brought us together. Rico’s one of my best friends, and we established a friendship first, and a friend of ours had a podcast. And Rico and I thought that our daily phone calls would be a lot more hilarious than anything we were listening to.”

“Yeah, it really started out with phone calls like everyday – we’d call each other and crack each other up every morning,” Rico said.

They accompanied the daily phone calls with a theme song (which they gladly sang for us) even invented “special guest stars,” such as former “Golden Girl” Betty White.

“And The Fruit Salad Show podcast was born, and from there it evolved into a brand, with the Web site and public appearances,” Pauly said. “Rico and I have the perfect balance – he’s like the technical guy and I’m more like the creative guy and the personality, and it flows because of that.”

Each week their live show, which has aired Wednesdays at 9 p.m. since August, has included interviews with celebrities including everyone’s favorite drag queen RuPaul, mistress of the macabre Elvira, the incomparable Judy Tenuta, dance diva Amber, talented out and proud musicians Phil Putnam and Ari Gold, and the embodiment of “electric youth,” Deborah Gibson.

“Gay or gay friendly, if I am a fan, I’m just using the show as a vehicle to talk to the people I’m a fan of,” he kidded. “When I am a fan, I have personal stories, or personal connections with them – so our fans love to hear that stuff. And listeners also write in and say who they’d like to hear, and we do our best to accommodate.”

The interviews also afford Pauly and Rico an opportunity to quash misperceptions they have about some subjects.

“[Amber] surprised us,” Rico said. “We thought she was going to be a total diva, and she turned out to be this amazing, great personality, and she sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to one of our listeners.”

Pauly said RuPaul and Deborah Gibson were his favorite guests, Gibson partially because of her no-limits Q&A, which helped the duo ask the questions they wanted answered.

“When you see people interviewing celebrities, I think people get too comfortable in standard talk,” Pauly said. “And I don’t always hear the questions I want to hear. I always tell people, too, when they are on the show, let us know if there is anything [off-limits]. But, we like to keep the conversation open – but if it’s something you don’t want to talk about, then say that. I think people appreciate that more.”

Both Rico and Pauly said their ultimate accomplishment would be snagging Madonna for an interview.

“I think our Mt. Everest is Madonna!” both men said, without hesitation.

Doing a live show can lend itself to embarrassing on-air moments, Rico said.

“I do a lot of the technical stuff on the background,” Rico said. “And I think my embarrassing ones are I lose a guest; I have to conference them in, or if I drank too much, also. Sometimes, I’ll drink a glass of wine before I do the show,” he said with a laugh.

Rico also suffers from “ESL (English as a Second Language) moments,” Pauly said, before delving into his most awkward on-air moment.

“I cried after Deborah Gibson performed,” Pauly said. “Deborah Gibson may not be huge to everyone, but to me she is. It kind of hit me during her song that she’s on my show, and I couldn’t believe it – and I cried on the air.”

Hosting an Internet podcast does afford the twosome to be able to drop “F bombs.” Podcasts do not fall under pesky FCC rules and regulations.

Another benefit of having the show broadcast through the Internet is that Rico and Pauly get to be as fruity as they want to be. That, coupled with swearing like sailors, is the show’s big appeal for the hosts, and their loyal listeners. There are a few other draws, though.

“For me, it’s getting to have this experience with my best friend and bringing a new face of gay entertainment to the world,” Pauly said. “And I think we are normal, fun guys that try to bring laughter and something different to the table and something fun; and to be fruity.”

Rico agreed that the swearing and the fruit factor a part of the show’s appeal, but also said the podcast is a means to elevate gay visibility. Many of the show’s listeners and visitors to the Web site are straight women.

“Because we are not gay enough in the world,” Rico said. “I think we do a service of bringing gay to everyone. What I think is: We’re accessible to everyone – we’re not a show strictly for gay people, we just happen to be gay.”

The show also brings them plenty of joy through correspondence with their fan base.

“I like it when the people write back to us,” Rico said. “For example, people said, ‘You made my four hour flight way more enjoyable.’ So, we get e-mails like that, or people saying, ‘I finally caught up on all of your shows, I never laughed so much in Oregon,’” he said, with a laugh.

Pauly and Rico are grateful for their loyal fans and attribute their loyal following to their open, intellectual approach to comedy.

“I think it’s our accessibility, we try to answer every e-mail we get, myspace response; we do that all ourselves,” Pauly commented. “I think with comedy, I think it should have an intellectual base, an intellectual core. And, I think the audiences are a lot smarter than people give them credit for.”

Check out http://www.fruitsaladshow.com/ for your “FRUIT-tastic Thought of the Day,” to listen to interviews and more general gaiety than you can shake a stick at.