Greg Giraldo: Comedy game plan in effect

by Dylan P. Gadino

One of the most underrated — and talented — comedians working today, Greg Giraldo has a new album and DVD, Midlife Vices, a new positive outlook on life and thankfully the same hilariously scathing approach to comedy.

Though mostly known to the masses as the dude who kills on every Comedy Central Roast, Greg Giraldo wears his skin best when he’s headlining across the country, where his target of ire is not some overblown celebrity but society as a whole and oftentimes, himself. Few comedians offer the thematic breadth he does onstage. Intense in tone, like a kettle repeatedly boiling and then spilling over, the twice Ivy League-educated comedy veteran masterfully incises life and from its pieces, molds a string of truths that are equally enlightening and hilarious.

On his new DVD and album — his second — Midlife Vices, the father of three delves into the personal (his impending divorce, his addictions), the political (Obama’s role as pussy-whipped sitcom husband), gay rights, sports and a genius set-ending spiel on immigration reform. We caught up with Greg during a recent tour stop in Columbus, OH to chat about his place in the contemporary comedy scene, his coming to terms with his success and much more.

The last time we talked at length, you were doing the interstitial show, Stand-up Nation with Greg Giraldo on Comedy Central, you were just turning 40, you were a bit bummed and you said you were trying to turn things around— trying to be a better dad, and all that good stuff. So how’s that going?
I’ve decided to not talk to my children ever. I’ve disowned them, and I’m hoping that their new daddy will just love them more than I was ever able to.

Nice.
I’m kidding! I had to start out light, you know? Actually, since we talked, I’m not married. I’ve been living apart from my wife over a year now and we’re in separation proceedings. And that part is good in the sense that it’s determined and clear, I guess, I got my little apartment very close to them so the kids are with me a couple of days a week and on the weekends when I’m home. So you know, life is kinda moving well in that direction, I suppose. Although you know the Catholic in me is having a hard time seeing that as going in the right direction, but in my gut it’s the right direction, so all is good.

Ok, that sounds good, then.
Don’t ever go through a divorce if you feel like keeping your shit. Let’s put it that way.

Yeah, I’m going try not to. So far, so good.
Yeah, one marriage is probably the way to go in an ideal world.

So on your special, you say you’re getting divorced again. Were you married before?
Dylan, I’ve been married a whole shit load of times. I’m just not willing to talk about it all the time. I was in my 20s, who gives a fuck?

Are you kidding?
Well, I’m kidding about a whole lot of times, but I was married once before. I got married when I was 24. And that didn’t last very long at all.

So you’re not officially divorced yet, but you’re going through separation proceedings.
Right, it takes awhile to be official. You know, what God has brought together, you know, it takes man a long time to tear asunder. (coughs) Sorry, I’m getting emphysema from not smoking.

It sounds like you’re reasonably happy with the way things are going.
Yeah, it always depends on what mood I’m in. My moods shift rapidly. I feel more or less optimistic. I just woke up at 2 pm in Columbus, Ohio and it’s raining out. So I feel a little less optimistic than I might if I were some place else where it wasn’t raining. But I actually feel really good about things and everything is definitely moving in the right direction.

Jokes.com
Greg Giraldo – DVD Exclusive – Marsupial Sex
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Alright. I wanted to try to get a little deeper into your psyche, Greg Giraldo.
Oh really?

Yeah, I wanted to peel back the layers, if you will.
I see. OK.

You’ve had problems with alcohol, drugs and addiction. How are those things playing a role in your life now?
Oh, it’s been conquered. I will never struggle with any of the substances or the underlying emotional and psychological problems that lead to those substances ever again. It’s like I was born again. It’ s like God has shined his light of joy into my soul.

That’s a scoop.
Well, you know. It’s all going well. It’s a very complicated set of issues and there are a lot of different ways to unravel them. People do it in a lot of different ways but for right now it’s all going well. It’s an ongoing thing but it’s all OK.

So your album and DVD, Midlife Vices, which is a reference to said addictions, is out in stores and online. I feel like that’s always an exciting time for an artist. Does it mean anything to you that you have something new in stores and that people are able to get your new material or is it just another project for you?
It definitely does mean a lot to me, but I realize that I’m not one of those giddy types. I should be more excited about it. Here in Columbus, this is the first gig I’m doing where they sent the DVDs so it was the first time I’ve seen it. So I got to open the package for the first time. So I am very excited about it. On the other hand, I can’t worry about sales, and things like that, I just can’t control that and I try not to think about it too much. But I am real happy that to see that I’m starting to build some buzz. Because I’ve definitely been a little bit distracted on a lot of levels for the last year and I should have been putting out a lot more shit. But now that I’m on that sort of path I feel good about building more of a body of work. I said that like I’m some kind of fucking serious artist. My body of work, Dylan. I’m an artist.

You are an artist.
I’m starting to consider myself that, but I shouldn’t say things like ‘body of work’ without irony in it.

I think you’re allowed to.
Thank you.

You’ve done everything on Comedy Central imaginable except, up until now, the hour special. And I don’t know if that was, like, Comedy Central not having faith in you, or you just couldn’t get your shit together. Why did that take so long?
You know, actually an honest answer is I didn’t think about it that much. It’s not that I didn’t get my shit together and it’s not that Comedy Central wouldn’t have offered it to me. I changed management over the last couple years, and that’s had a huge impact on things. So now we’ve started focusing and setting goals. Before that I was sort of bouncing around and taking things as they came and that actually sort of re-enforced my own fucking weaknesses. I didn’t create a game plan. Things would come up and I’m not great at multi tasking, so maybe I’d be working on a pilot where in the mean time I should have been developing a lot more material for a special.

And the other thing is I’d write so much topical stuff that I’d have to throw away so much of it to film the hour. You need evergreen material that you could pitch to HBO or something. Whenever people would ask if I had an hour, I’d say I do but I’m not going to in three months because I have to get rid of all this other shit.

Are you happy with how comedy fans view your career at this point?
You know, I’m never fully happy about anything but yeah, I’ve gotta say in the last couple of years, I do seem to have a lot of fans that seem to really appreciate and like what I’m doing. I get a lot of emails and I see the crowds getting bigger in all the clubs and people seem to really be getting what I’m doing. So yeah, I am actually pretty happy with the way that’s going.

On the other hand, a lot of the following comes from the [Comedy Central] roasts and the roast is a very specific thing that my stand-up is not necessarily completely compatible with. Although I don’t think a lot of people come out because they love the roast and then end up hating my stand-up. So that’s a good thing. People who don’t know my stand-up seem to be enjoying it. So yeah, I guess I’m happy. When someone stops me in a small town in Minnesota and says, ‘Dude, you’re Greg Giraldo, how come you’re not doing more?’ I’m like, ‘You live here and you know who I am, obviously it’s not going that bad.’

Jokes.com
Greg Giraldo – Drinking
comedians.comedycentral.com

Yeah, I agree.
I’ll tell you one thing, I’m unmitigatingly happy and proud that 99.9 percent of the time when people stop me, or recognize me, they’re fans. Everyone that stops me has good things to say. it’s not like, ‘Oh hey, aren’t you on something?’ You know like, I could easily become famous for being cast in some piece of shit sitcom or something, and I’d have more to talk about on the roast but is that really the goal of this whole thing? I wish I’d put out more stuff over the years; there are a lot of things I wish had done differently, but for the most part I’m known for doing shit that I’m half proud of and that’s good enough.

Sometimes when I read interviews and things I’ve said, besides being annoyed at my fucking circular reasoning, I feel like they come across too negative as far as me talking about my crowds. That’s my own self-esteem issue where it’s like, you know, I have a hard time just accepting that these people are really excited to come and really excited to be there. I’m at a point now for the first time ever where I really am enjoying the audiences. I’m at a place where I’m like, ‘Fuck, man, these guys like what I’m doing, I’m giving them something that they enjoy, and this is good.’

That sounds like a healthy outlook.
Someone’s been talking to a therapist. That doctor is on to something.

Dude, I think everyone should be in therapy.
Yeah, everybody definitely should. The trick is to stay there and not to stop going when you start hearing things that make you uncomfortable.

Yeah, I think a lot of the danger is like you get comfortable and then you start to forget why you were there in the first place, and if you don’t have a really vigilant therapist, you go there for an hour and talk about nothing that matters and you leave and nothing’s accomplished.
Yeah, luckily I’ve never gotten to that stage. There’s always plenty to talk about. It’s never gotten to where we’re like like ‘Oh shit. It looks like we’re all done with this.’ I just started with a new guy a couple months ago and he’s been great, but the first day I walk in it was sort of like ‘Fuck where do we begin?’

So you’ve seen different therapists. Do they know you from your act at all or do they have no idea who you are?
Some guys do, some guys don’t. I don’t know, they don’t really talk about it much. I try to go to guys that see a lot of entertainers or people like that. You don’t want some guy who’s just excited that he’s talking to someone on television or something. You’re paying them a lot of money, you don’t want to sit there and tell them what it was like to meet Joan Rivers.

Understood. Ah, what else did I want to ask you?
I don’t know. Dylan, you’re sound kind of tortured today.

I sound tortured?
Yeah, here’s a little interview strategy guidance. Start with some softball questions and then you kind of warm up into ‘So how are your children based on your alcoholism and drug addiction?’

That’s exactly what I do with people that I haven’t interviewed and I don’ t know how they’re going to react.
(laughs) I know.

I know what your comedy’s about. I can describe it to those who don’t in the intro of this thing. I’m definitely not going to ask you how you come up with jokes. ‘Oh, so you come up with an idea and you go on stage and you work it out, is that what you do?’
(laughs) You can ask me how I feel about puppies and sunshine.

I imagine you enjoy puppies.
I do like puppies but I know they’ll soon turn into a giant horrible dog. They’re just reminders of the fleeting state of cuteness.

Wow, that’s a pretty horrible way of…
Of enjoying a puppy? Yeah.

I know we kind of just jumped into talking about your addictions…
I’m kind of in a transitional stage of in terms of how frank I want to be with all that, which is perfectly ideal for your interview. I’m in the middle of this, between the divorce and my kids. My oldest son is nine now and that’s starting to be a factor. His friends watch shit and it’s hard in terms of material. What exactly do I want to do and say and how much of my personal life do I want out there? I’m not sure how I’m going to approach the whole thing. But that’s good, that’s part of life. We’re all growing.

Jokes.com
Greg Giraldo – Pride
comedians.comedycentral.com

One of the things I really liked about the special is that you kept in that interaction with the guy who was asleep in the audience dead center. Was there a lot of discussion about whether or not to keep that in?
I was shocked at how little resistance it got. I said we should keep it in. I just assumed they would never in a million years leave it in. Also, I didn’t know if it was funny or not. And I can’t really watch my stuff and be objective. I don’t edit any of the shit myself. If there’s something I hated, I’d tell my manager, who I really trust. I let him watch it all but I can’t be objective about it. Some comedians care so much about their shit that they’re like hyper controlling whereas I care so much about it that I can’t even tell. I’ve been wrong about things that are good or bad. I just can’t tell. So I let someone else fucking decide. And also I don’t want to get into any wars with Comedy Central about what to leave in and then lose control. So I didn’t really get into a lot of battles because we let them cut basically what they wanted. Because the reality is the special is an hour and 10 minutes and they’re cutting it to 42 minutes. So that I just assumed for sure that part was going, but my manager thought it was cool.

My attitude about the version that aired was ‘fuck it.’ Everything I did on stage I liked. I thought it was all good. And, weirdly enough, that’s the thing most people seem to be responding to. People loved it. I guess because it just looked weird for a special and people are subconsciously used to seeing a certain kind of tone and to see this kind of tone broken and it’s just spontaneous, I mean it was spontaneous, of course, but I was surprised at how much people were responding to it.

Before we started chatting, you said you had to get up and do your morning ritual shit. Tell me a little bit about, when you’re on the road. What goes on? you had shows last night, right?
Yeah, last night I had two shows.

So you go to bed after that or you hang out?
It all varies. I mean right now, I’m going to go to bed after the shows. But I mean I don’t go right to bed, I still stay up. Sometimes I have friends that travel with me, and we’ll hang out or do whatever. But last night was nothing particularly exciting, I guess I hadn’t been sleeping a lot. And sometimes by the time you go to sleep it’s three o’clock in the morning. Usually, when you go on the road, you get there the night before your first gig, then you have morning radio.

If the first show is Friday, for morning radio you’re getting up at six in the morning. So now you got 3 hours sleep and you’re doing radio all day. I take a nap, go back to do afternoon radio, go to the club to do two shows and you’re already sleep deprived. And then if you go out and go crazy, then of course that’s a whole other thing, Then Saturday you just kind of dick around. At this particular club there’s three shows. The show’s start at seven so I do shows from seven until one in the morning; it’s almost like having a real job. Which is fucking ridiculous. I didn’t get into this to labor away like a worker.

How do you do three shows in one night and not get bored of listening to yourself talk?
That’s the craft work part. That’s all professional shit; it’s not fun. When you’re doing three shows, that’s the night when you’re doing it to get paid. But I’m always mixing up the order. I’m always trying to find a new ways to put jokes between other jokes, and if you try dicking around like that, by the third show you don’t remember what jokes you’ve done, you don’t remember which audience members are still there from which show. You start making a reference to guys that aren’t there in the crowd. That guy in the hat? He must have been from the last show. Oh right, sorry. So it gets very confused.

I feel now when people are coming out, they generally know who I am, they’re fans, they ask you to do 40 minutes or 45 minutes, but you feel like you’ve got to do more. I rarely do less than an hour. So doing over three hours of talking really loud, it gets a little draining, But, you know, it’s good that the people are coming. This is the part where I’m supposed to say, ‘I’m just excited to be out there for the people.’ But sometimes you feel like for the third show you’re going on autopilot. Fuck it. Could I babble more?

Sure.
Give me more open-ended questions, so I can babble for four minutes and then give you the answer at the end of one sentence that I should have been able to give you at the beginning. God, am I a fucking babbling blowhard douche.

Do you see any effect on the number of people coming out to comedy shows on the road due to the recession?
I can’t tell. For me, it’s only changing for the better, but I can’t tell if it would be even better if the economy wasn’t a factor. I mean, the clubs are saying it is a factor. Some would say people don’t have a lot of extra money after the shows. I don’t know. For me, it’s been on an up swing so it’s going well. But I’ve got to assume that if the economy was booming that maybe I’d be drawing even more.

In what cities do you draw bigger crowds?
Probably, San Francisco. I just did Ft. Lauderdale and all the shows were packed. All of them were sold out. I did Washington DC every and single show was sold out. Dallas. Actually, all the markets are going pretty well, come to think of it. Philadelphia. I should have said that. All the shows were sold out in Philly, it’s a particularly good market, I think.

Jokes.com
Greg Giraldo – 9/11 Bachelorettes
comedians.comedycentral.com

Do club owners complain about dwindling numbers?
These guys always want to downplay the good. Club owners are never going to tell you things are fucking great, like ‘I’m doing so well, next time we negotiate a contract be sure to ask for more money.’ They’ll always tell you things are bad. My gut sense is that the comedy industry, and the A clubs on the road, are doing well.

That’s kind of the sense I get as well but it’s always interesting to hear from somebody that’s out there.
Also, I think comedy is very hot right now and there’s a substantial number of name acts available. If you look at the schedule at the Improvs, it’s all famous people. I don’t remember it being that way a few years ago. There was like a couple big special event guys per year, and a lot of journeymen and headliners. Like, there’s not a single guy headlining at the DC Improv that you haven’t heard of. And that has to be helping their numbers.

It’s completely obvious to me that stand up is going to stop being a fringe form of live entertainment.
Yeah, I mean, beyond just stand up it’s like the whole idea of comedy as a cultural force is like very, very clear right now. The Daily Show and the Colbert Report, everyone wants to come up with their version of the Colbert Report and their version of the Daily Show. Even like CNN, Fox,all those guys, they’re putting comedy like Comedy-ish type of shows on there. The news is so bad you’re going to need somebody to present it in a relatively palatable kind of a way.

My concern from a straight stand-up perspective is that if that happens, stand up will become shitty and predictable. That might happen but I think that there’s enough sophistication at this point that comedy is not just comedy. Because in the late 80s these fuckers looked the same and all talked the same. It just got over-saturated and clubs started giving away tickets and it just killed things. It was fucking dead in the late 80s. So I’m a little concerned that might happen but I’m hoping that it won’t for me or for the people who already sort of built a following.

What are you doing with the rest of your day?
I’m thinking of maybe going and getting on one of these exercise machines that keep you from dying early. I haven’t exercised for awhile so I don’t know if today’s the big start, Dylan. You know, it’s rainy and who wants to leave the hotel?

What’s your gym routine like?
I just do Jazzercise, and two sets of dead lifts. That’s pretty much it.

The two extremes, huh?
Yeah, The thing about Jazzercising, I work out in a hotel gym so a lot of times I’m the only person there or a lot of times when there’s no official jazzercise class, it looks weird.

I bet.
But you know, I’m a maverick.

For more info, check out greggiraldo.com. Download Greg’s album Midlife Vices by clicking the image below.

Chris Rock: “I’m just trying to be funny.”

by Danny Lobell

Most would agree that Chris Rock is a living comedy legend. So, why does he have such a hard time believing it?

When you get a chance to sit down with one of stand-up comedy’s biggest names and most influential comics of all time, you take it– especially when you catch him outside of the roar of arena crowds. We recently chatted with Chris Rock at the Comedy Cellar in New York City, where he was working out new material.

Rock opened up about everything from how he writes jokes, his wife’s reaction to his material, to his place in the history of stand-up comedy and much more.

How has your idea of humor changed as you’ve grown—how has your writing changed?
I don’t know if the writing’s changed, you know. I’m older. I’ve got a wife, I’ve got kids, bills, you know. I have grown-man concerns, so you end up with grown-man jokes for the most part.

Your material’s changed over the years. I remember watching you in Evening at the Improv and you kinda did these jokes like, “I’m the black guy at the Van Halen Concert, I’m the black friend…” Now when I watch you it seems you have taken a different stance, like you did a joke about how you can’t trust any white people—like if Regis Philbin interviewed you, he might stab you in the neck with a pencil. So, how has race affected you in coming up in comedy?
I love Regis. I consider him a friend. I don’t know… I’m a comic, I’m black, I use it to my advantage. If I were a girl and had big tits, I’d talk about my tits from time to time. I don’t really think about it one way or another. Fat comics talk about being fat, skinny comics talk about being skinny, short comics talk about being short. Everybody uses what they’ve got, you know?

You’ve accomplished so much at this point. What keeps you motivated? What keeps you coming out to the Comedy Cellar and doing your stuff and writing new material?
I just don’t want to suck. I kind of like the spot I’m in. I like people thinking I’m good and I don’t want to let them down.

You’re one of the guys I love to watch as a comic. It’s a great opportunity to get to see a guy like you work out new material, and then see it once it’s polished on HBO. I think I once heard you say you “Chris Rock-ify it” when you bring it to the stage for a show.
Yeah, you amp up your writing

How often do you write?
Not that often, to tell you the truth. It’s like, I write a bunch of jokes at one time. Like literally a whole act in a day. I don’t write the whole act, but I kind of write all the topics.

You mean everything you want to write about, you take note of?
Yeah, and then I work it out for months at a time.

So when I write, I’ll be going through the day, I think of something and I’ll record it or text it to myself and then that night I’ll try to work it out on stage. Some guys, like I hear Jerry Seinfeld, will put aside an hour a day, and say, ‘This is time to write.’
I probably write every day, but it’s more of a re-writing. But the whole act is probably two days. But I’m always working on that act.

Do you write a lot on stage, like when you’re here at the Cellar?
Oh yeah, this is the only thing a club like this is for, is to experiment. You can’t go to the Garden and experiment.

When I spoke to Marc Maron, he said most of his writing on stage, he’ll have a thought and just keep talking about it and see what gets laughs. When I spoke to George Carlin, he said he won’t go on stage and say anything that wasn’t written beforehand. He said there’s no improvisation at all. How much of your stuff would you say is written on-stage and how much do you come with prepared?
I’d say 90 percent is written on-stage. The initial premise, when I bring it up, that’s written, but the rest of it is done onstage. Now, I hear it, and I’ll end up repeating how I said it funny before, but it’s all on-stage.

Do you feel that you have a goal as to where you want your material to be? And if so, will you reach that goal?
I’ve never really thought that hard about any of that. I mean I want all the specials to be good. And I realize that you have a body of work, and whatever you do is going to affect the next thing you do. And you don’t want to have any problems doing your next thing, so you work really hard on what you’re doing.

How much of what you do is about the joke and how much is about the message?
The message?

Like Lenny Bruce, for instance. He was sort of like—and Marc Maron is always trying to say something on stage. And you are too.
I’m just trying to be funny, man.

It’s all about the jokes?
I’m trying to be funny and not boring.

So who do you prefer to watch? A guy like Dangerfield or a guy like Bill Hicks?
I mean they’re both fun to watch. It depends on the mood. I’ve watched them both. I’ve watched them go on after one another. I’ve hung out with both of them.

Do you still watch a lot of comedy?
I just actually bought the George Carlin box set. I’ll watch it while I’m on tour. I watched Eddie Murphy Raw a couple nights ago on Bravo.

I love that special too. Let me talk about Eddie Murphy with you for a minute. Because, as the legend goes, Eddie Murphy saw you at the Strip. And you had said that the Strip would never put you up until Eddie Murphy came in and said, ‘What other black people work this club?’ And he said, Chris, over there. So pretty much, Eddie Murphy really helped you right?
Yeah, yeah. Early on, I got in Beverly Hills Cop 2. And you know, he’s been a friend… Mentor.

Continues to be?
Continues to be a friend.

So when you’re in the clubs, how often do you find yourself watching young comics?
Not very often. I come in, and pretty much get on as soon as I walk in. Every now and then I’ll watch, but it’s more to get a sense of timing. Sometimes you watch guys just to hear references, just to make sure you’re not sounding old. But I walk into the club, I go on, I’m on stage, and I get out of there.

How long did it take you to write your first hour?
I probably didn’t have to write an hour until I was 10 years in the business. I didn’t have the pressure of doing an hour for a long time. No one would let me middle even.

When did you start to feel like you were making headway as a comic in the business?
It’s weird, I got on Saturday Night Live, and I had an act that was good enough to get me on SNL, but I don’t think I made headway until after I was off the show. Then I started really thinking that I wasn’t gonna get famous, and wasn’t gonna do movies, so I’d have to make my living as a comedian. And then I kind of made some headway.

So what would you say was your greatest accomplishment as a comedian?
Getting on Saturday Night Live. Still, to this day. I don’t know, I mean, just getting laughs is an amazing accomplishment— whether it’s a million people watching it or just the people in the room.

I’ve interviewed your brother on my show about comedy. Is there a sense of pride that your brother does comedy too?
There’s a sense of pride that he’s good at it. I’ve seen him and he makes me laugh, so there’s a sense of pride there. It’s your brother. If he drove a cab, I’d be proud of him.

There’s a lot of comedy in your family. Sherrod Small’s a comic, he’s your cousin. Do you feel that your success has inspired people around you to do comedy or do you think it’s something that naturally would’ve happened anyway?
Oh, it probably wouldn’t have happened. Because growing up, we didn’t know about comedy clubs. It was such a foreign world to us. You know, any time there’s a good job, you say, ‘Hey, people are hiring down there.’ So that just happened with comedy.

How did you first get into comedy?
I just saw an ad in the paper, and went to audition night. Lucked out.

How much of it would you say is about getting attention?
I don’t know. I don’t know how much I like attention to tell you the truth. I like hanging out by myself, you know… I like getting laughs.

I’ve spoken to some of the younger comics that play here, and they say ‘Chris usually sits by himself. Not very approachable, so I never go up and say hello to him.’
I’m an old man to these guys. I didn’t go up to grown men either [Laughs]. That’s good. When I was a young comic, I didn’t walk up to Rodney, I didn’t walk up to Robin. I had to earn that. I had to get an act that got me attention. Those are the rules. And the person didn’t have to be famous— just really good.

You were never inspired to pick the brain of someone you admired?
You’d tell ‘em they had a good act, but it was different graduating classes. My class was Sandler, Colin Quinn, Mario Joyner, Jim Mendrinos. Even now if I’m around Eddie or Cosby, you know. I’m aware that I’m the youngster.

You still feel that sense of–
Totally. Totally.

You talk a lot on stage about your wife.
It’s the oldest joke in the world, guys complaining about their wives. ‘Take my wife, please.’

Right. You say that, but it’s a little different than ‘Take my wife, please.’
It’s no different than Kinison, or Hicks–

Well, Kinison was complaining about mostly exes. ‘She broke my heart,’ ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were a demon from hell?’ But you’re talking about a woman you’re actually married to. How does your wife feel about it?
She knows it’s not really about her. It’s more about marriage, which is a lot of marriages. I would never write a joke because something happened with her, just one person. That thing would have to happen with a lot of people to make it a joke, you know? If I said something that only happened with my wife and me, it wouldn’t be funny.

I don’t know about that.
‘My wife doesn’t have sex with me.’ If I was the only person going through that, no one would laugh at that.

Let’s say your wife did something crazy and ridiculous.
But I’ve never told a story about my wife doing something crazy and ridiculous. They’re all very vague things that most marriages go through.

Right. So your wife has never been like,’Hey, I wish you wouldn’t talk about this?’
I mean, she’s not really like, ‘Hey, tell more jokes,’ but–

You’ve got a cool wife. I’ve had girlfriends that have gotten upset over–
But you’re talking about them. I’m talking about marriage. You’re going, ‘My girlfriend—‘

You don’t say ‘My wife?’
Look at the transcript. [Laughs] ‘Marriage–Marriage is like,’ It’s never, ‘My wife.’ I’ve been with my wife 10 years.

Do you prefer married life to being single?
Yeah. I’m a married guy. I’m 42 years old. Am I gonna go to a club and sit in a booth?

Do you feel your place in comedy yet?
What place?

Well, you’re certainly one of the great comics. If you go to a comedy club in Arizona, or the Improv in LA, and walk in there’s a big picture of you on the wall, that must have an impact on you when you see it.
Eh, I’m popular. It can fade. We’ll see. It’s so early, I could still fuck it all up. I wouldn’t be the first guy.

You could still die without Cosby status?
Totally. I don’t have it now.

If you died tomorrow, you’re a legend, right?
I have no idea.

I think so. Especially if you die tragically because that adds a lot of prestige.
Let’s hope I don’t, for my kids’ sake.

So maybe that’s what drives you to keep coming out to the clubs, you want to reach the point where you feel you’ve secured a pace in American Comedy History, Although I would argue you already have.
I just want to be good. No alterior motive, I ain’t thinking about history or nothing. Just my next gig.

You write movies also. You just wrote I Think I Love My Wife. Do you enjoy writing more for movies or stand-up?
They’re both equally fun.

Do you write movies in the same way you’ll write your stand-up, with a skeleton and then–
Nah, nah. It’s easier to write stand-up than movie jokes. Movie jokes are easy, but the structure of a movie is a hard, hard thing.

But it’s something you enjoy doing?
Yeah, it’s not something I’m great at. I think I’m a better stand-up.

What advice would you give young comics in the business?
If you want to be a comic, be a comic. Carlin said, ‘I’m not in show business I’m a comedian.’ So I try to think about it like that.

Our guest writer for this piece, comedian Danny Lobell (pictured to the right), is the host of the Danny Lobell Show. You can find more information at comicalradio.com, riseoftheradioshow.com and dannylobell.com.

Punchline Magazine celebrates anniversary with Lewis Black, Janeane Garofalo, DL Hughley, more

by Punchline Magazine

All Photos by Kevin Duffy.

On Oct. 13, we celebrated Punchline Magazine’s four years online as the go-to place for all things stand-up comedy. We did this by producing an amazing show with some of our favorite comics: By the end of the night, host Pete Dominick welcomed Robert Hawkins, Ted Alexandro, Christian Finnegan, Todd Barry, D.L. Hughley, Janeane Garofalo and Lewis Black to the stage at Comix in New York City. The show had sold out by Oct. 11. By that night, people were paying five bucks just to hang out at the bar to watch the show go down on the venue’s flat screen televisions. It was an amazing night filled with huge comedy stars, lots of laughs and cake… lots of cake. That said, we wanted to make sure all of our dedicated readers who couldn’t make it to the show, could at least check out some images from that night. Here goes. Enjoy!

Morgan Murphy: The evolution of a comedy mind

by Brendan McLaughlin

Former Jimmy Kimmel show writer and current scribe for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Morgan Murphy recently uprooted her life as a well-respected comedy upstart in the Los Angeles comedy scene to head to New York. But will the East Coast embrace her quirky sensibilities? Yes, they will. But read the story anyway.

After making a name for herself in comedy at a young age with a writing gig at The Jimmy Kimmel Show, Morgan Murphy became a staple of the LA comedy scene. She’s now tackling a new network gig: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, and a new scene: New York. And even though her material is evolving past her once trademark one liners, she still gets a charge out of writing a good joke. She spoke with Punchline Magazine recently from her office in Rockefeller Center.

You got noticed at a fairly young age. At what point were you able to do comedy full time, and what would you say your break was?
I started doing stand-up when I was 18, I guess the summer before my sophomore year in college. But, I never really started doing stand-up full time so much as I got writing work fairly soon out of school, so it was more like I was able to make a living for myself in comedy, and then I was able to do stand-up because people paid me to write jokes.

And then obviously for a long time, if you’re sort of stuck at a job, you can’t really hit the road that much. I would say that writing has definitely, financially at least, paved the way and more or less allowed me to do stand-up, if that makes sense.

When you say you got writing work straight out of college, are you referring to writing for The Jimmy Kimmel Show?
No. I was a waitress for like two weeks, but I actually wrote for this pilot in college for Scott Aukerman and B.J. Porter, who run Comedy Deathray in LA. They had this sketch pilot for Showtime, and just through my stand-up they hired me to write for that when I was a senior in college. It was sort of weird, a couple of my professors let me turn in that as my senior thesis.

But that was my first job. They hired me, Dan Mintz and B.J. Novak. So we worked on that together when we were more or less kids – I don’t know what qualifies as a kid anymore. And then I graduated, and a few months later I submitted a packet to Crank Yankers. I didn’t really know anyone there that well. But they called me in and I got that gig. And Kimmel produced that show, so I went from Crank Yankers to Kimmel and did that for a couple years.

You recently moved from LA to New York City to write for Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. How has that been in terms of stand-up? Have you had to re-establish yourself in a new scene?
Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean, I’m about nine months in here and I feel like I just now have some comfort level going into clubs and stuff, and there are some clubs I haven’t even ventured into. That whole starting over thing has been interesting. I mean I started in LA, and I’m not sure that’s the best place to start, but I started there, so any kind of ascent that I made was paced and in the same city. And I gradually got to know different people and grow as a comic. But coming out here, just in terms of booking and all the politics of that, was more or less starting from scratch. You have to humble yourself a little bit, but also accept that that’s the way it is. I don’t expect to land in town and have people throwing me up on stage.

I can’t help but think that seems kind of odd for someone who’s done T.V. and Patton Oswalt’s Comedians of Comedy DVD.
Yeah, but I think even if a bunch of comics know who you are, you know, I’m certainly not by any means a household name. Maybe there are a handful of college dorms, or a few kids who know who I am. But you know, especially in New York where there are a lot of clubs where the same people go up night after night, you have to humble yourself in the way of saying to bookers, ‘I’ll showcase, I don’t mind doing audition sets if that’s what you want from me.’ You just have to go in open minded and say, ‘Whatever the process is, I’ll stick to that,’ as opposed to being above it.

As a staff writer, what’s it like for you to write jokes for other people?
It’s funny, I’m in an office with a couple other people who are writing right now, and as I’m talking about myself my office mate just started gagging herself. But yeah, I think I’m the most popular person in the office here, definitely the funniest person here… (Laughs)

But in all honesty, I like writing for other people. I think some people who perform and write definitely get conflicted sometimes. I mean, that’s definitely how I am. If I’m sitting at a desk too long I want to perform more and vice versa. Although in New York it’s a little easier to work and then go do stand-up. There are just more spots. Now I’m just starting to have nights when I have more than one spot a night, which I like.

But with Kimmel, everybody did everything. There wasn’t a separate monologue staff, separate sketch staff… Kimmel, if anything, couldn’t have been a bigger learning experience. I was really thrust in there at – 22 I think I was – at the same time it was terrifying and also very exciting, obviously. But at Fallon I just write monologue jokes. Primarily at least – I’ll still pitch stuff. But my daily schedule is just joke, joke, joke, joke, which I love. I don’t know why, sometimes I try to figure that out, but I just love sitting down and writing jokes. You know, I don’t necessarily love having to know every story about, you know, the woman in Florida who locked her cat in a mailbox or something.

But you know, there’s always the challenge of having to find a new angle on jokes that are pretty well worn, as far as late night monologues go. For me just in general, there aren’t a lot of times that I’m happier than I am when I’m writing a joke that I’m proud of. You know it just comes to you and you go, that’s great. I don’t know why I can’t have the same feeling when I find a pair of shoes or something like that.

You were an intern at Late Night With Conan O’Brien at the same time as Jon Krasinski. Who was the more astute intern?
Well he was a script intern, if I remember correctly, I’ve sort of casually here and there run into him, and I was what they call a general intern. So I would say he was more astute because he had more specific duties, and they involved being around the writers. And I didn’t really have a specific job.

You were on the couch?
Yeah I just sort of waited for things. But then they asked if anyone wanted to help organize slides and photos, and I did, and I kind of locked myself in a room for a while and did that. And that ended up being actually really beneficial because then this guy Chris Deluca, who was a comic and a writer as well, he was doing stand-up shows around here. Not Caroline’s and stuff like that but shows at bars with Eddie Pepitone and Christian Finnegan and Tammy Vernekoff and all these people I met because I went to Chris Deluca’s shows.

Just to watch some comedy shows at bars. You know I wasn’t familiar with anything in comedy other than what was on TV, before people got famous. I didn’t know there were shows in bars and bookstores or whatever. So that was actually kind of invaluable. Just from organizing pictures and getting to know this guy I met people that I still know to this day, and some UCB folks. And I did my first spot that summer in front of like three people in the Gershwin Hotel.

They used to do a nice show there that I think Craig Baldo or Finnegan had something to do with. But I did a set in front of this guy Eric Kirchberger, Johnny Spanish, and like one other person in the front room that looked like a shitty middle school cafeteria or something. And I just read some notes off a piece of paper, and I got off stage and was like, ‘That’s it, I guess that’s my first. That’s number one…’ Then when I got back to LA I started doing more sets, bet technically the first one was out here.

Most of the sets I’ve seen of yours, online and on the Comedians of Comedy DVD, are from a couple years ago. I saw you more recently at a bar and your newer material was definitely different. How would you say your style has evolved over the past couple years?
It’s embarrassing to sort of deconstruct your stuff sometimes out loud, when I find myself going like, ‘You know, I’m in a really transitional place right now…’ But I kind of feel like I am. You know, when I started doing stand-up I was not a performer by any means, and I just loved jokes so I did one liners pretty much entirely for like seven or eight years. And then, I don’t know, I partially got kind of bored of myself. And I think as you get older you get a handle on your own life enough that you’re able to talk about it and have it be funny, as opposed to exploiting it and have it be funny?

And I just started talking about kind of personal things on stage, not really intending to tell stories, but finding jokes in those stories. But a lot of stuff I started talking about was stuff I thought was embarrassing or too personal. And I’d considered talking about it years ago but I didn’t think I was at a place where I was smart enough or mature enough to be able to do it without seeming like A) I was just using the stage as a therapist’s office, and also I didn’t think stuff was funny yet. I think you have to process shit before it gets funny.

So now, I think the stuff I’ve started to talk about recently in the context of like, relationships and reasons I’m kind of fucked up in that regard… You know part of that seems kind of cliché, and I was jumping to do that stuff in that regard. But I think the combination of getting bored with my old stuff and wanting to be more honest on stage. Although it also I think coincided with becoming less focused on doing something that was commercially viable. Which is interesting, how I became honest on stage when I stopped really thinking about it as a means to money or a TV show or something. Not that that was always my goal, but I just thought, ‘I don’t know, I’m just gonna do what I wanna do.’

You’ve performed with Aimee Mann at her yearly Christmas extravaganzas (See also, the video she did with Mann below). Did working with her, a very serious songwriter, lead you to become deeper and more confessional onstage?
Well, Aimee is like my best friend, and to be very honest, when we’re together, I’m probably the most juvenile. We’re like two children. Which I think is funny because she’s like, this unbelievably gifted songwriter, very poignant, but our favorite bits are like, pointing to something and pointing to it, and going like, ‘See that?’ And catching the other person and being like, ‘That’s you.’ Like that’s the height of comedy in our lives. And doing the show with her, I just did this stupid character. It couldn’t have been less highbrow.

I did a rapping Chanukah Fairy in a white unitard and a blue tutu. And I think if it wasn’t her tour, there’s no way I would have had the balls to do anything like that at all. I really respect sketch people because I just don’t have that ability to just kind of throw myself out there. But I think because I was with friends, and got to hide behind this ridiculous character, I could do it. So yeah there was no confessional stuff. I was a drunk, rapping Chanukah fairy, and then last year, pregnant with Jesus’ baby.

Under the “albums” section on your myspace page, you say, ‘One of these days.’ Should we take that seriously?
It has said one of these days for a long time. You know, that’s actually kind of the next goal. I recorded an album at Largo in ‘06 I believe, and it was a great night. Patton did a set and Aimee sang and Jonathan Ames read some stuff, and then I did this hour set. I just listened to it too much and got overly critical of myself, and just ultimately decided to not put it out. I think I regret that. Listening to it now, it’s who I was then. That being said, that’s definitely the next goal. The next goal beyond just doing spots in New York and working everything out is to get the last eight or nine years out there and recorded. Not for financial purposes, but almost just to burn it and put it behind me.

Like what Jerry Seinfeld did with I’m Tellin’ Ya For The Last Time?
I guess that seems a bit aggressive. With some people, I might be telling them for the first time. But you know, there’s a lot of material that I don’t really do anymore, and I think it would be kind of a shame to not have some record of it. It’s just a way to archive it. And people seem to like CDs, and downloading CDs and what not. So that seems like the way to go, right? Or maybe a VHS tape of all audio?

Morgan is opening for Patton Oswalt at Town Hall on Nov. 7. Click here for tickets. Check out her myspace or official site at morganmurphy.net for more info.

Elizabeth Beckwith: Dysfunction is funny again

by Emma Kat Richardson

The natural kinship between comedy and therapy is almost always acknowledged, but never directly explored by either comedians or the fans who fund treatment for their neuroses. Enter Elizabeth Beckwith, a long-time vet of the stand-up stage who, on Oct. 6, released her first book, Raising the Perfect Child Through Guilt and Manipulation.

A native of the neuroses capital of the world, Las Vegas, Beckwith has appeared as a guest on Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Late Late Show, and was honored as one of Variety magazine’s “Ten Comics to Watch” in 2001. Behind the scenes, she’s proved the mightiness of the pen by scoring a TV writing deal with Twentieth Century Fox. And, of course, there’s the book. Checking in with Punchline Magazine, Beckwith waxes nostalgic about childhood traumas, the cute nerd niche, and white chick neuroticism at its finest.

Obviously, Raising The Perfect Child Through Guilt and Manipulation isn’t really a parenting book, but would you like the parents that do read it to take some advice away? Have you, as a parent, heeded your own wisdom?
Yes, in the midst of my jack-assery, I think I accidentally stumbled upon some great, old-school parenting secrets. When I reflected back on my upbringing, it occurred to me that my parents never really forbade us from doing anything. There was never any “laying down the law,” with them. They basically just gave us tons of support and encouragement and rather than telling us we weren’t allowed to do things, they pointed out all of the assholes who did do terrible things.

By doing this they created an environment where we felt like we had all the freedom in the world, but at the same time, we lived in fear of being like all the assholes that my parents were so clearly disgusted by. So we usually did the right thing. I think that’s a style of parenting that most modern parents are terrified of, but I think the simplicity of it is pretty genius, and I wouldn’t mind ushering that mentality back in.

I try my best to heed my own crazy advice. It is tough because the book is really based on how I was raised, and this style of doing things came naturally to my parents. It was just who they were. I have to try a little harder to make it seem natural. But I’m getting there. I am constantly asking myself, ‘What would my mother do in this situation?’ Usually the answer involves pointing out how disgusting other people are.

Like when we see litter at the park, I make sure to tell my kids, ‘How disgusting! What kind of pigs left this here? What the hell’s the matter with people?’ At times my comments may seem a bit antiquated, since I am channeling my mother, but that’s okay, I stand behind them. I am trying to change the world, one ‘floozy’ at a time!

(original air date: Dec. 17, 2001)

Why do you think stories of childhood dysfunction are inherently funny?
Childhood is a time of such heightened emotions. Every little incident feels like it’s either the greatest thing in the world or a total, earth-shattering nightmare. At least, for me it was that way. I can remember coming home from first grade, throwing myself on my bed in a dramatic heap and weeping because the boy I liked had the name of a different girl painted on his face on Carnival Day.

It was like, ‘Why go on? What’s the point of all this?’ I was six. I think it’s easy for a lot of people to get emotionally invested in stories of awkward childhood experiences because there is a part of us that always remembers what those moments felt like, and the distance of years has proven the once painful memories to be hilarious.

As a stand-up comedian, what is your ultimate goal?
Other than the love and adoration of countless strangers? Hmm. I would like to do shows where the majority of the audience has come to see me, not just a comedy show that I happen to be on. Isn’t that what we all kind of want? I mean, don’t get me wrong, winning people over is fun, but an audience full of people who are already in love with my sensibility would be nice.

Do you see yourself as having a role to play in the emerging genre of smart, nerdy female comedians? (Like Tina Fey and Jessi Klein).
Is this because you’ve seen me in my glasses? I would be honored to have a role in that lineage, I’ve never really thought about it in those terms. I love smart, nerdy comics, male or female.

Is personal neuroticism really the best tool at the fingertips of any good comedian?
Only the ones who are actually neurotic. Manufactured neuroses makes me uncomfortable. I love to watch someone on stage with honest neuroses, because the thrill of live comedy is all the more thrilling when someone might self-destruct at any moment and that tension is fueling their performance in a really honest way.

Plus, I can relate to neurotic people, so I tend to find them funny. I have always been a huge fan of Richard Lewis, and he is brilliant at using his neuroses in a way that is honest and hilarious. But, some of my favorite comics aren’t ones who I think of as “neurotic.” I don’t think of Bill Cosby, or Chris Rock, or Jerry Seinfeld as neurotic (at least in the broadest sense of the word), and they seem to be doing just fine with their hilarity. So, I guess to answer you question, if you’ve got it, use it, but don’t force it if you don’t.

To buy Elizabeth’s book, click the image below.

For more info on Elizabeth and to check out her book tour dates, visit her official site at elizabethbeckwith.com.

Greg Proops: Elsewhere

by John Delery

The Great White Snark, Greg Proops, seizes pop culture in his jaw and punctures suck-up politicans, effed-up celebs and clueless civilians on Elsewhere, his furiously funny new CD from A Special Thing Records.

Sit back from your CD player when listening to avoid being sprayed by the torrent of words and images that Proops unleashes to express his anger, frustration and bemusement with the likes of Britney, Lindsay, the Olsen twins, Hillary, Barack and the most nefarious people of all: non-Californians. (Gasp here!)

Instead of sketching simple gags, Proops creates sarcastic and often bombastic 3-D word paintings that explode with details. Jokes from the equal parts raging comedian and vocabulary volcano erupt with uncommon comedy words (abstruse, pusillanimous, prehensile, to name three) and unconventional references to Kepler’s laws of planetary motion and Australopithecus, an early human stage, without sounding snooty, not to mention pedantic. (Touché, Proops!)

His biting comments leave teeth marks on his prey: “They’re not really Olsen twins; they’re more like Troll-sen twins. They work as actors and designers, but really they should be guarding a bridge, don’t you think, and asking questions.”

Actually, Proops conducts his routine, often building smart observations to crescendos of hilarity.

To download Proops’ album, just click the image below.

Tig Notaro: Purveyor of fine comedy

by Emma Kat Richardson

The Sarah Silverman Program’s Tig Notaro has been no stranger to some of the hipper comedy festivals in the past few years. But this month, she shuffles away from her West Coast base and debuts her own mightily stacked fest in our nation’s capital.

If her name isn’t quite water cooler worthy yet, it should, at the very least, be more than just a little memorable. Amid a sea of Jens and Brads and Danes, Tig Notaro stands out boldly, not only for her unusual moniker, but also thanks in no small part to her appearances on The Sarah Silverman Program and a hugely sardonic stand-up style. Next year, Tig fans will be able to catch her as Joan Jett’s mother in an upcoming biopic about 70s punk femmes The Runaways.

But it isn’t just her work in front of the camera and the mic that has made Notaro a comedy hurricane. From October 22-25, the Bentzen Ball, a comedy fest — featuring the likes of Sarah Silverman, Patton Oswalt, Reggie Watts, Todd Barry and many more — set to conquer the hallowed earth of Washington, DC, will be kicking off for an inauguration of its own. The Ball just happens to be Notaro’s brainchild.

Checking in with Punchline Magazine, the woman called Tig discusses the locational ADD of her childhood, how she makes each show special, and how she supports the troops in a manner as unique as the woman herself.

Can you tell me a little bit about the Bentzen Ball? What prompted you to establish it?
Well, I did the DC comedy festival last year. I had a really great time, so when I checked to see if the festival was going to be going on again this year and they said no, then something came over me. I’ve always been kind of interested in producing a comedy festival, and I thought about places like Austin and Denver or something, but I went with DC because there’s a website there called BrightestYoungThings.com, and when I did the DC festival last year they interviewed me. They’re a very hands-on website that’s involved in the arts and culture, music/comedy world; they know every event that’s going on, and they produce events, so I just thought I’d partner with these guys.

When they interviewed me, we really clicked – we were friends who hung out around town, and they brought me out to DC for their inauguration party. So, when [I found out that] the DC festival wasn’t coming back, I ran it by them and said, “Hey, what do you think about starting this festival?” They’re such comedy fans over there that they immediately came on to co-produce it with me.

What are some of your hopes and expectations for it?
Well, I hope it’s a gigantic success. I’d love for it to continue going yearly. We’re going to be donating a portion of all proceeds to the Walter Reed Army Hospital. I’ve been invited, in the past, to go to the Middle East and perform for the troops, and I’m very hesitant to do that. I’m very scared to fly that long and then be in that kind of situation, and there are a lot of comedians on this festival [lineup] that are thrilled that they get to contribute to the troops without having to go over there.

It’s a really great opportunity over here to be able to do something. I know personally I’ve not gone because I am a chicken. We’re even considering doing a live show at the hospital if we get the okay from Walter Reed’s side.

We’re also really hoping to make the festival in general all about the comedians, so that it’s not just a festival where you show up and do your shows and then disperse separately to bars and restaurants. We’re organizing activities for the comedians for during the day and after the shows. Just the whole feel [of the festival] is very much about the comedy community.

Do you see a future for yourself as a comedy promoter and a festival organizer?
With [Bentzen] – I don’t see myself getting out of stand-up and just becoming a producer and everything. I like producing – I like putting things together, but I’m not going to leave comedy and start producing county fairs or anything.

What do you think that you bring to the modern comedy landscape that no one else does?
Oh my gosh, I wasn’t ready for this one. What do I bring to the modern landscape? Gosh, I guess… you got me. [Laughs]. You totally got me. I mean, I feel like my stuff is different and interesting, but I also don’t think I’m… oh gosh, you got me.

Well, I read a review that called you the ‘most unique voice in comedy today.’ Would you agree with that assessment?
Well, I love that somebody would think that. I can’t say I would come off the street to see myself perform before I would go see somebody like Maria Bamford perform. I don’t know – I think that I’m good at writing jokes, but I also think that I have a strength in interacting with the audience, and I definitely feel like none of my shows are the same. I feel like that, I guess, is pretty… unique? I don’t know.

So you don’t really repeat material?
No, I do. I do repeat material. Like, I’ll write jokes, and those will get thrown into the mix for a while; I’ll use old, just-trying-stuff-out kind of material, but I’ll also have an interaction with the audience to lull them through my jokes, that makes it to where it’s not like you’re seeing the exact same show every time.

Where does your comedic voice come from?
I think that my thoughts are always so that I’m listening to something or looking at something from every angle, and so I analyze and break things down a lot. That tends to show up in my jokes a lot, and I think it’s very much a part of my personality. Offstage, it’s how I think and feel. On other levels, my comedic voice came also from my mother – she’s a very funny person – and yeah. Do you know what I mean?

So you don’t really have an onstage persona, per se? Who you are onstage is who you are in life.
Yeah. I mean, you’re not going to meet me offstage and be like, ‘Oh, that was weird. Where did the Tig character go?’

The Sarah Silverman Program
Tig
www.comedycentral.com

Speaking of the Tig character, what’s the story behind your nickname?
My brother made it up. He couldn’t pronounce my real name, so it’s not like I started doing stand-up and I named myself Tig.

What is your real name? I haven’t been able to find it on the Internet anywhere. Do you not share it?
Yeah, it’s not anything that I blab to everybody. I mean, I guess you can say it’s Carl.

Does your southern-fried upbringing factor into your comedy at all, and did it influence your decision to become a comedian?
I’m sure, yeah. There are so many people in my family – there are some bizarre characters. I lived in Mississippi, Texas, Colorado, New Jersey; I moved around a bit, so I wasn’t just solely living in Mississippi. I think moving around in general and meeting people – it’s like now, even touring as an adult and a comedian, you get such a better perspective on life and people. People can live in Los Angeles or New York and think that’s what this country is – that’s what the world is – and it’s just not at all. But yeah: I think growing up in Mississippi, Texas, New Jersey, all of it added to my comedy.

What do you think are some of your greatest successes so far as a stand-up comic?
Well, I enjoy that this is what I do for a living, and I’m really thankful that I’m not still doing only open mics. I think having the opportunity to be regularly on The Sarah Silverman Program has been a really great success in my career: it certainly wasn’t based on being some great actor. It was based on just being a really great friend of Sarah’s.

I think just having the opportunity to do stand-up as a full-time job and getting to be on the show with Sarah is really great. Even though I didn’t set out to do acting, I enjoy that my stand-up has moved me into that direction. At any moment, stand-up gets a little tiring here and there, and when that happens, there’s the acting part, which is brand new to me in a way that’s completely foreign.

Do you see yourself ever moving away from stand-up and pursuing acting full time?
No. Absolutely not.

What’s been your favorite moment from your comedy career so far?
My favorite moment from my comedy career. I would have to say that there’s been a handful of theater shows I’ve done in front of a few thousand people. It’s so fun: being alone, in the darkness, with a spotlight. You know that there’s a few thousand people out there, but you can’t see them. You go out, tell your first joke, and then when the wave of laughter comes in, you go from not being able to see them to the loudest laughter I’ve ever heard, with anything I’ve ever said. It’s a pretty great feeling.

Is there any moment from your career that you wish you could do over, or do differently?
I mean, there’s business-type things. I am absolutely happy and thrilled with my representation right now. I settled for different representation in the past, and I just wish I would have been more persistent about, ‘Oh, this doesn’t feel right; maybe I should move on.’

But I don’t have any huge regrets about things I’ve done. I feel like things have unfolded nicely. Like I said, I’m glad I’m not doing open mics 11 years later. I’m also glad I’m not somebody who exploded out of nowhere. I just like for things to progress naturally, and I feel that my career has progressed naturally. I don’t think that I’ve ever had a huge, overnight success moment; I’ve never had a moment where I haven’t worked in a long time. I’ve always consistently moved forward and moved up.

What long-term goals have you set for yourself that you hope to accomplish?
Well, I would love to be able to get rid of paper clutter on my desk. That’s been a real pain. In comedy, I haven’t worked as a writer yet, but I would like to start working as a writer. I don’t want to get out of stand-up, but I would like to start writing for other people. I feel that I’m now consistently working as a stand-up and as an actor. I’d like to work here and there as a writer, maybe on something of mine, or on somebody else’s show that I enjoy.

I have a writing partner, and he and I have been putting together a writing packet, so that’s something that I would really enjoy doing, I think, or at least trying out— writing, and getting my paper clutter down.

What goal I have accomplished is I told myself I was going to make sure I flossed my teeth every day and take a vitamin, and I’ve totally stayed on top of it. It started in February. For the record, since this is an interview, I want the facts to be straight, so if you could, jot down that in February I started flossing my teeth every day and taking a vitamin.

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