The BC Q&A: Bill Burr

Bill Burr says he’s happy. He should be. He’s got a new CD/DVD special, called Let It Go, coming out in August, he sold out two dates at the Comedy Connection Wilbur Theatre on Friday and added a third show for tonight, and he’s in the new Steve Carell/Tina Fey vehicle Date Night. He’s got his Monday Morning Podcast on which he gets to vent his spleen, had a short but successful tour o f the U.K., and he’s living in North Hollywood, a place he says he loves.

Not to worry, though. He’s not so happy that he’s lost his sarcastic edge. I spoke with him by phone last week about the new special, selling out his home town, and “Nature Boy” Ric Flair.

Coming from Boston and New York, was Los Angeles as big a change as the east coast versus west coast comedy bits would have you believe?

I lived out here for a little bit ten years ago. That was more of a culture shock because I wanted to live in New York at that time. But just, my career had taken me out here. And I ended up going back to New York. And I loved New York and everything. I stayed in New York just long enough where I still love the place and I didn’t get sick of it. It’s just one of those deals.

New York is awesome, but after a while, there’s something not natural about living with twenty floors above you and below you. You just feel crunched down after a while. You gotta get out of there. I like L.A., man. Even though the traffic is brutal, the people are a little flaky, there’s a lot more space out here. And I love the weather.

Do you still have anything like you had in New York, meeting the other comics at the Comedy Cellar?

Out here it’s the Comedy Store. The Comedy Store is the freak show. And I mean that in a good way. It’s a crazy place. I love it. The Improv is great for hanging out. The Laugh Factory. It just takes you a minute when you get out here to just sort of settle in and see who you’re going to hang out [with]. It’s like, moving to the other side of the country.

How tough are the crowds at the Comedy Store? I saw you there really working hard to win people over who seemed indifferent to every comic up there, including Dave Attell and Dov Davidov.

No, it can definitely be challenging. It’s not for the faint of heart. That’s kind of why I like it. I always end up in those comedy clubs where there’s a certain potion of comedians who just don’t work there because they think it’s too negative or too difficult or the crowds suck. I don’t know if it’s that Catholic upbringing where I have to punish myself, but I’ve always felt at home.

And I also saw the challenge of it. Oh, this is a tough room? Let me go in there and I gotta figure it out. The job that I have, there’s a lot of fear involved when you first start out and a lot of stuff you have to overcome. So I’ve always been of the mindset that, if you’re afraid of something, just jump in with both feet.

The rooms you were playing when you first started out in Boston had a similar reputation. Seems there were a lot of tough rooms here.

Oh yeah. Nick’s Comedy Stop was no joke. Back in the day, when they would paper that thing, and you had 400 people who thought they hit the lottery just because they got free tickets and couldn’t care less about the show? Kevin Knox used to go up there and slap them around, turn it into a show. And then you’d go up there and try to ride the wave that he crated.

Nick’s is celebrating 30 years this weekend with Don Gavin.

Wow. That’s unbelievable. I’m really happy that, even though it’s not the Nick’s that I knew, I’m really happy that it still exists. Most guys, the first place they started was either demolished or turned into a Forever 21, you know?

When did you get back from your tour of the U.K.?

It was really quick. It was like three one-nighters. I did London, Dublin, and Glasgow, Scotland. It was just awesome. An awesome, unbelievable experience, jus to go over there and see what worked. You know what reference worked and actually killed, and I didn’t have to change it over there? I made a reference to Ric Flair.

The wrestler Ric Flair?

Ric Flair is huge. I threw it out there just to see. It got this huge laugh. I was like, wow, I knew that guy was world famous, but that guy is famous famous. My girlfriend was over there, she was like, I can’t believe Ric Flair worked. I was like, yeah, he went to Japan I don’t know how many times. Those guys were travelling the world. It was awesome. I hope I meet him someday. I want to tell him that story, because he seems like just a great guy.

What’s the context for the reference?

I was talking about Tiger Woods, how they were trying to redo his public image. I was like, why are they doing that? He should just go out there and be the bad boy of golf. I said I’d go out there, I wouldn’t even be wearing a shirt. I’d go out there like Ric Flair. It goes on after that. People jus timmediately related to the joke. It got a huge laugh. Whereas other things, I talked about kickball in fourth grade and they didn’t know what that was so I had to switch that up. But Ric Flair is the man.

Was there a lot you had to change? I know people always fret about what might translate.

No, I tell stories about my life. I would think a guy like Dennis Miller would have a big problem. He has so many references to pop culture. I think it’s easier now with the Internet and YouTube, we’re becoming more like one whole nation. But they had something over there called – what the hell was it called? They had these two twins. Ah, Jesus, I can’t even remember their names. IT was like this American Idol thing, and there were these two kids who were really into Vanilla Ice, thought he was the shit, and they were twins, and they somehow combined their names. Whatever their names were, they took half of one name and half of the other and that’s the name that they went by. They’re sort of huge over there in Ireland.

Did you have time to write about what you discovered once you got there?

Ah, yeah, I made an ass of myself. I asked them in London if they had squirrels. I hadn’t seen any. Evidently, not only did they have them, they had red squirrels, and some idiot trying to impress women over there with his travels hundreds of years ago brought the gray ones that we have over here and they kicked the shit out of the red ones that they have, ‘cause they’re smaller squirrels. So now the red ones are protected. That’s what I learned during a show.

We’re even imperialistic in our animal husbandry.

Absolutely. Insurgent gray squirrels. If anybody deserves to be taken over, it’s England. A taste of their own medicine.

Especially by squirrels. That’s the first wave.

Exactly. You go subtle. You go subtle.

Once the red squirrels fall, you just push the rest of the country right over.

9/11. You just blame it on 9/11.

So you have the new CD and DVD coming out – when is that coming out?

We don’t have a release date yet. I’m guessing sometime in August is when it’s going to come out. And I’m also in that new hit movie, Date Night with Steve Carell and Tina Fey.

I saw that. I kept hoping you’d be the guy to kick down the door and shoot up the place in the end.

I did get to take Common down, though. You know?

Was that a fun shoot? They didn’t give you a lot to do as far as comedy.

Well, they were trying to do a thing where it was sort of serious, and the funniness mas more with Steve Carell and Tina Fey, and then those cops being dirty cops, they didn’t want them to be wacky dirty cops. That aspect of it was serious. So yeah, I had a couple of people say that. “I saw you, you were great, but you weren’t funny.” It’s the usual thing, “You’re a comedian, how come you didn’t have a lampshade on your head?” That’s not what the director wanted.

Would you want to do more stuff like that where you’re not necessarily in a comic role?

Dude, I would take anything that they want to give me. I’ve been taking all kinds of acting classes out here, and I really enjoy it. I’ve gotta tell you, comedy’s a lot harder. It’s like they say, it’s a lot harder than the dramatic stuff. I say that because, somebody might be messing up some drama stuff and it might take you a minute to figure it out, but when a joke bombs, it bombs, and everybody knows it.

It’s very hard in a dramatic thing, if the theater’s quiet and people are paying attention, it’s hard to tell, are they bored or are they actually riveted? Unless you turn the lights on and look at their faces. But if you’re watching a comedy, and it’s a packed theater and nobody’s laughing, it’s pretty obvious that it’s bombing.

It’s probably harder to diagnose comedy, as well. If there’s a problem with the delivery, you can’t necessarily just say, try it this way.

If you’re talking about testing it in front of an audience, for comedy, you have to do that. You have to see if stuff plays. That’s another thing, too. Me and two of my buddies, we wrote and shot a short film that we’re trying to get into short film festivals called Shooting Angles. I just saw the final copy of it, it looks great. So I’m hoping I’m going to get something out of that.

Is that the one you were talking about on the podcast?

Yeah. It came out really good. We did it for ten grand and shot it in three days. The acting in it is great, it’s really funny, and it looks awesome. I’m really, really proud of it, and I’m hoping it’s the first of many. It was me, Robert Kelly, and Joe DeRosa. We all came up with the story, Joe wrote it and directed it. We all produced the thing, put our money together. Lou Wallach came on board, from Comedy Central. We just got the final edit done, now we’re making copies, we’re trying to give it to everybody we can to move the careers along, as they say.

What’s the synopsis?

It’s one of those things I can’t tell you, because there’s a misdirection in the beginning that would give it away.

Are you going to do more with these characters, or do you want to do more short video in general?

I’m thinking it’s more the ideas. We’ve got another idea, something we’ve been kicking around. A couple of ideas, actually. There’s three of us, so we just sit there throwing out ideas. You throw an idea out there and it goes through the mulcher, and if it survives it, then we do it. And if not, we either try to add on to that idea or abandon it and move on to something else.

How would people keep tabs on that? Just listen to the podcast and watch your Web site?

And then Opie and Anthony. We had a lot of fun when we were shooting that. Jim Norton was joking around like he was upset he wasn’t asked to be in the film. And the reality was, we didn’t ask him because it was such a small part we didn’t want to insult him. It was classic Opie and Anthony, where they are somehow able to trash something and it actually ends up being positive and you get three days of great radio out of it. I know their listeners are aware of the movie. They did us a big favor by trashing us for not putting Jim in it.

Do you like doing the podcast? Is that something you’ve taken to?

Oh, yeah. I love doing it. And really, to be honest with you, it all came out of the idea to get my name out there and to hype my gigs, but another big part of it was, I remember when I had a day job and Mondays sucked. I hated going to work on Mondays. Actually, the reality was Tuesday was always more difficult than Monday, Monday I was such a zombie. I just figured give somebody something to look forward to on Mondays, if they enjoy it, just give somebody a laugh. People listen to it on their way to work, they listen to it in their cars, they listen to it when they work out, they download them. They listen to them on airplanes to get through flights.

It’s also one of those things where it’s a fun exercise for me a a comedian, where I get to talk about a lot of stuff I wouldn’t necessarily talk about onstage. A lot of topical stuff. I don’t waste my time too much with topical jokes, unless I’m building a new hour. Right now I’m putting together a new hour, so I need new jokes, so I’ll have more topical things.

But topical jokes, they’re almost like appetizers. It’s like, whatever, I’ll get some mozzarella sticks. It’s no big deal. But with the podcast, you don’t feel like you’re wasting your time on a comedy stage, where if you’re really putting together a great topical bit, by the time you’re going to do a special a year and a half later, you’re going to seem like a guy who hasn’t written any jokes.

So the material you’re working on now is different from the material you did last time you were in Boston?

Yeah. It’s pretty much all different. It’s gotta be. I haven’t been there sine February of last year. I’ve written a new hour since then. So it’s going to be all different.

Are you still trying to keep on track to do a special every year or year and a half?

No, no, it was every two years. I think I might wait three years this time. Hopefully I’ll have some major life changes. I got some brilliant advice one time where it was just like, if you don’t have anything to say, don’t say anything. In two years, if I feel I have something to say and I want to record it, I will. But I’m feeling like this next one’s going to be about three years.

Do you feel like you’re running out of things to say?

No. Christ, it’s not like I’m 70. No, I don’t feel like I’m running out of things to say, but it just feels like three years will be right for the next one. My life is really nice right now. It’s on an upswing. I’ll always have a new hour every year, but it’s like, I think two years is the quickest you can put it out and still have a memorable special.

Is it harder to write from a place of happiness?

Yeah, but when you have happiness, you have the fear of losing it. You just tap into that paranoia. It never ends. I just don’t ever feel, like when you said do you feel like you’re running out of things to say, it’s just like, Jesus, my problem is I can never shut up. I do a podcast where I babble for 50 minutes and I have no problem filling that 50 minutes. I don’t really repeat myself, either. It’s why I enjoy doing radio, it’s why I enjoy doing stand-up. Running my mouth is something I’m good at.

Does it mean more to you to have added more shows in Boston?

Well, considering most of the acts that come through town only do one night, those are big acts, the fact I was able to do two Fridays and one Thursday, that’s huge for me. It’s the stuff you dream about as a comedian. Man, what if I could do Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, a venue that big? That would be unbelievable. And just have a killer hour. And that’s what you need, too, man. You need a killer hour. That’s the perfect amount of time for people to see you. That’s the perfect amount of time where, if you do your job, they’ll leave wanting to come see you again.

The BC Q&A: Billy Connolly

Billy Connolly’s last shows in Boston, in 2007, were a revelation for audiences that hadn’t had a chance to see him in years. Rambling, profane, and hilarious, Connolly has a winning confidence onstage, truly allowing himself to go wherever his brain will take him. Connolly’s confidence isn’t steeped in knowing what comes next, it’s about not knowing and pushing forward anyway.

Connolly’s charisma and inventiveness have made him a legend in he U.K., where he regularly tops “best comic” readers polls, even though he has lived in the States for nearly twenty years (he’s lived in New York since 2008, and lived in L.A. before that). He’s been a pirate in the Muppets version of Treasure Island, a zombie in Fido, and faithful servant to the Queen in Mrs. Brown. He’s also been an action star in both the original Boondock Saints and the recent sequel, and he’ll be a Lilliputian in a new version of Gulliver’s Travels. And he was almost Doctor Who once.

If that’s not enough Connolly for you, you can even get his voice on your GPS device. Or you can go see him Friday at the Shubert Theatre.

I spoke with Connolly by phone last week, a conversation that was itself rambling, profane, and hilarious.

I see the Boston dates are the only ones on your schedule.

Yeah, we’re going to start doing little sporadic raids into the country instead of doing tours all the time. The next one up is Chicago after that. It’s a terrible problem getting dates. It takes you a year and a half to set up a tour, you know? This way you can grab two nights here and three nights there.

So you don’t think you’ll do a standard sort of tour…
Oh, I will again, but they just take so long to prepare. Meanwhile, you’re sitting spinning your thumbs wondering what to do next.

It looks like you have plenty of movie roles to fill in the time.

Yeah, yeah, I’ve been very lucky that way. Aye. And I’ve been drawing for a while, and I’ve just got news that there’s a gallery in London interested in doing an exhibition of my drawings. So I’m very pleased with myself.

Is that something you think you’d release as a book?

I don’t know. Really, because I’ve never done anything like this before. I can’t draw. I’m just [doing] abstract and strange things. I couldn’t draw a cat or a mouse or a bicycle or anything like that.

It’s an interesting thing to pursue – if you say of yourself, “I can’t draw,” what do you get out of it?

Yeah… there’s just something lurking in your brain, you just let it drive your hand. It’s very strange – it’s very pleasant.

You’ve said that sometimes you forget what you do for a living and it’ll only come back to you once you’re onstage.

I do that very often.

Is it something you’ve learned to combat? It seems it came at you again in 2008.

Yeah, it’s a weird thing that I have to trust myself that it’s always there. You know? Because there’s no way to check up on it. And the more nervous you get, the less you remember. It’s a terrifying set of circumstances.

I remember, at Astoria [Theatre] once, the promoter was in the back of the car, and my roadie was beside me in the front. And we were driving up to the gate in Queensland, and I said to the roadie, “How do I start?” And he said, well, you usually say such and such. I said, “Oh yeah. What do I usually say after that?” And he told me. I went, “Yeah, yeah. What was the punchline?” And he told me and I went, “Oh, yeah, of course!” The gig was hugely successful, and I came off and he said, “My god,” he said, “I was terrified. I thought you were mentally ill, asking your driver. Was that for my benefit?” I said, “No, I was being absolutely serious.” As I get nervous, I forget everything.

You should have your driver or your roadie up onstage with you.

Oh, yeah. And I take notes and I never look at them, because they mean very little. It’s not like a diary. They’re just jottings, little dash jottings. So when you look at them, you get very, very little information. Or you get half a page of information, but you get on and talk for two hours. Half a page, a thing that says, “The army.” Thank you very much.

I remember we did a TV interview while you were here, and you pulled it out and read a few phrases and had no idea what the hell they meant.

[laughs] That’s right. I’ve got loads of those books. I actually like the books themselves, you know those wee notebooks you buy in bookshops, the wee black ones. Hemmingway used to use one. I forget what they’re called, but I’ve got loads of them tucked in pockets all over the place. They’re absolutely useless. To make anything of it you’d have to round all the notebooks up and put them together. My wife’ll publish them when I’m dead. I’ll do that for journalists. Sometimes I’ll just read out the list. I’ll take a list onstage and read out the stage, and it’s nothing like what I just did. I can’t explain it. I’ve never been able to explain it. It’s a kind of organic affair.

John Lennon said once that the Beatles would write lyrics just to see what the critics would make of them. Just to confuse tham and see how they would over-analyze them.

Oh, yeah. I remember. Because John, at the time, I was around at the time, and the Melody Maker, the weekly music newspaper, would come out on a Friday, but you could get it in London on a Thursday night around midnight, and John Lennon said, I love Thursday nights around midnight. I go down to Piccadilly and pick up a Melody Maker and see what my lyrics are about.

You should release some of those lists now to see what people make of them.

Yeah. Maybe we should make a poem of them, and a drawing. I don’t know.

It’d be a Lewis Carroll type of –

Oh, it’d be nothing as pretty as that. It’s a bit coarse. It’s kind of coarse, I think. But it’s good to look back. Sometimes I’ll read [something], my god. Sometimes you think you’re not moving along, you’ve been doing the same thing for a long time. Then you look at your lists, and you’re way beyond them. It’s kind of confusing. I’ve never really been in total control of it. And frankly, I don’t want to be. A lot of guys, you look at them and you can tell the stuff, they’ve written it. They didn’t think it up – well, they thought it up and wrote it down in a methodical way, and it’s got that written feel to it. I hate it when you’re watching a comedian and you think, he has said this a million times, these same lines.

I guess the trick is to write something and perform it as if you haven’t.

I’ve never written anything, it just happens. I’ve attempted to write it afterwards so as I might remember, but I’ve never gotten round to that either.

Do you get the feeling that what you’re doing is still rebellious, the way it was earlier on?

There’s a great deal of rebellion involved in it because there’s a great deal of rebellion in me. I’m still angry about everything, you know? I’m still angry about war, about politics, and the fact that we haven’t moved along as a species. I still get angry when I watch television and people are trying to justify being in Afghanistan and telling us it’s a corrupt regime. You’re sending your sons to defend a corrupt regime. That still makes me angry and rebellious.

How do joy and anger fit together?

If you’re relying on just the anger, you’re up a gum tree. You’ve had it. But then anger can become fun. It’s like, if you’re giving your children a lecture on how to behave and you fart in the middle of it, they won’t believe a word you say. It’s just one of those things. Everybody will fall about the room and nobody will give one shit about what you just said, no matter how important it was. Because comedy and vulgarity, like I deal in, is just like that. It takes its own stand.

You said something last time we spoke that’s stuck with me, about profanity not being cursing and not being swearing – it’s profanity or vulgarity, it’s not cursing or swearing.

A lot of people don’t know what language is, you know? To curse or swear you have to invoke gods. And I don’t. I don’t believe in them, so how can I invoke them? I’m neither cursing nor swearing. I’m merely being profane. And I don’t give a fuck what you think about it. If you don’t like it, go watch someone else. Go watch Jimmy Fallon and lose the fucking will to live.

Not a big fan?

Jesus. His next joke’ll be his first.

Were you surprised that Boondock Saints II finally got made?

No, I wasn’t. It had so much good will riding along for it from so many good people, you know? It just had to be done. And of course, it had that extraordinary drive by Duffy, by Troy Duffy. He’s just a driven man. If it didn’t happen, somebody would’ve got hurt. [laughs]

Is that kind of thing fun to play? The action roles?

It’s amazingly good to play, especially with a cast like that, where you’ve all done it before and you all know and like each other. And I can say with my hand on my heart there’s nobody in the movie I don’t like. I like them all and they all like me. We got on like a house on fire. And so we all met in Toronto to do the second one, it was like – well, I’ve never been to a school reunion, but I imagine that’s what they’re like. “Oh, good to see you! You look like you’ve lost weight.” All eating and laughing and getting on with it. And everybody was so together and knew their part so well.

Not only that, Troy had done amazing things. He had hired fans as extras. Dedicated fans who had been writing, and he said, “Do you want to be in it?” Shit, yeah. So they’d flown in from all over the place to be in it. Some of them had the actual tattoos and all that. So there was an extraordinary atmosphere about it. So they weren’t like regular extras. There was a different feel about the place.

That’s an unusual thing for a movie, would you say?

Yeah, well, often you’ll get extras that are kind of wooden. They’ve done it a million times and they’ve got kind of a ho-hum attitude to it. So even the extras were up to it. There was kind of a bright-eyed feel to it.

You’ve been named recently, yet again, Britain’s favorite comedian by AskJeeves.com and by Channel 4.

That’s right. I heard that last week. It means very little to me. You don’t even get a phone call. Do you know that? I get nothing. They don’t even phone me to tell me. If I want to know how I did I have to watch the program. Or people tell you in the street, “Oh, I see you’ve won.” “What? What have I won?”

But at the same time I’m… I’m a bit proud of it. Of course I am. But it’s also kind of a burden, and I do feel the weight of it. And it’s something that I never asked for. Like if you had to enter, I’d have never entered a competition like that. Because you can go to a bar and just see somebody being brilliant. He’s having a great night, he’s flying, he’s in the zone. And that night, he’s the best comedian in the world.

Do you get to see, in New York, there’s probably a lot more comedy that’s more accessible to you.

I tend not to. I sometimes go to Annabelle’s, but it’s very, very rare. And it’s usually to see someone I’ve no chance of stealing from.

Have you ever found yourself unwittingly –

Oh, many, many times. Because a year later it rumbles into your head and you think it’s your own.

Do people call you on it?

No, I’ve never been called on it, but it’s just dawned on me where I got it. Maybe I’ve been doing it two or three weeks and I’m like, shit! I remember where I got it now.

That’s got to be an immensely disappointing feeling.

Yeah. It is for a while, but there are so few things that are totally original. And this is the absolute truth, I can say this with my hand on my heart, and swear on my children’s lives, that I thought I’d said the most original thing ever. My wife was writing a book about me, and I’d said I don’t like going on holiday. I don’t like those kind of hotel holidays, because that’s my life – flying and going to hotels. And she said why don’t we go on a cruise? And I said, oh, you’re joking. And I swear this is true. I said to her, “It’s like jail with an option of drowning.” Right? It’s a prison with an option of drowning. And I thought it was really funny and so did she. And tra la la.

About a year later, I was reading something by Admiral Lord Nelson, and one of his guys had something almost identical. Fucking Lord Nelson! What was that, the 18th century, 19th century? Fucking hell! I didn’t know that was possible. Sometimes you think you’re being dead original and boom.

There’s also got to be some allowance for people who are outright stealing material. That’s not something I would think could be condoned.

Some people steal outright and it’s outrageous. It’s intellectual property, and it’s a crime. And I include people who tape you and stick it online. My material is none of their fucking business to do with what they wish. You can’t just take the workings of my brain and start putting them where you want to. That’s such an arrogance.

But there are other guys, and I won’t name names, who are often accused of stealing when they’re not stealers at all. They are comedy black holes, everything goes into their head and comes out a different shape. And I think you probably know who I’m talking about. He’s often accused of stealing, and he doesn’t. I don’t believe he’s ever stolen a word, consciously.

Some people, they just absorb it. They go to clubs all the time and perform all the time, and all the people they hear all go into their head and comes out as a mish-mash. I think that’s art itself. I think writers do that constantly. Novelists do it all the time.

Were you skeptical when you were asked to lend your voice to a satnav for Tom-Tom GPS?

Oh, I couldn’t wait. I couldn’t, because I had been doing a thing about it onstage. My Range Rover had a very posh woman [affects an upscale woman’s voice], “Talking like that, how do you do?” And she called roundabouts “traffic circles.” I was telling the audience about it, she goes, in a huff, if I take a wrong turn, she gives me the silent treatment. She won’t talk to me for half an hour. So I said, put me on, I’ll do one. And I did a spoof one onstage, you know. And I would say, “Turn right… I said right, ya prick.” And lo, out of the blue came the offer. John Cleese had done one.

Is the Gulliver’s Travels your in live action or animated?

It’s live. But it’s all green screen.

It’s interesting casting, making you a Lilliputian, considering your nickname is –
The Big Yin, yeah. Like the giant. What a nice guy.

The tallest Lilliputian.

[laughs] A giant dwarf. It was a kind of tiresome process, acting at a piece of plaster on a wall, or a mark or a laser dot on a wall. Talking to it. But it was made up by the fact that the cast were lovely and funny and everything, you know. And Jack’s such a lovely wee man to work with.

Do you think comedy audiences have changed much since you started?

Not as far as I can see. Although I don’t get as many hecklers as I used to, and I’m delighted to hear it. Earlier in my career, I used to get hecklers, shouting and bothering. They like to listen to what you’re going to say. They know you’re inventive and you’re going to build something. So I can only speak for myself, but I tend to get people who are there to see me because they like me. SO I can’t really judge on the broader audience the way a guy who does comedy clubs could tell you. He would be better to ask if the audiences are changing. Mine aren’t changing. They people who like me come to see me and we all have a great time.



Do you ever want to get back up on a club stage and do a smaller show?

No, I don’t, because I never did it. When I did the clubby stuff I was a folkie, I was a musician. I was in bands, and I was being funny between songs and stuff. And I have no desire to do that anymore. Although I did it Saturday with Steve Martin. We had a fantastic jam. Have you ever heard of a guy named Tony Trischka? He was there and Mark Johnson who invented this style called clawgrass. And a fiddler and a mandolin player, and a guitar and a bass player, out at Steve’s house. Oh, it was great.

Have you ever wanted to play music again?

Yes, I get the urge, but I don’t quite know what to do about it. I don’t want to be a musician again. I don’t want to be in bands. I don’t like the arena. I don’t want to go around to radio stations talking to fuckwits all my life. The music side of things is hell, talking to these music stations. These idiots who think they know what they’re talking about who couldn’t fucking play with themselves, you know?

What would it look like if you did it? It would be hard for you at this point to go onstage and just do a set of music without doing comedy.

I don’t know. I think I would be driven to make it funny. Well, Steve’s having a lovely time. Steve Martin’s out touring with a bluegrass band. And he manages perfectly. But I don’t know if I could. But over the years, I’ve been trying to work out a way of trying to put my banjo back in to my act. But I can’t find a place where I could stop talking and play. And I haven’t done that. As soon as I stop playing I start talking again.

Well maybe just bring it up with you, and whatever happens –

And just leave it on the floor or have it standing there, the way I used to. I don’t know. I really don’t know what to do about it. Then I start questioning why I’m doing it. Am I playing it just because I can, am I showing off? What am I doing here? What is the point? Should I write something funny for it or should I just play it nice. I don’t know what to do. I think too much about it. Sometimes you should stop thinking about it and do things.

Your childhood comes up often onstage. How do you find something new in topics you’ve covered to frequently?

It’s because they’re not huge chunks, really. Usually they’re just moments. They’re a story of a particular day or an event. The entire event I’m talking about didn’t take a day, and I’ve got 67 years worth.

I suppose if you tried to start at the beginning, all hell would break loose.

Bring on this huge, fat diary. “Then is was Tuesday, a rainy day if I remember. 1942.” [laughs]



Well, you are known for doing long stretches of material. You could probably beat your record for that pretty easily if you started out that way.

There’s a thing on YouTube, and if you look it up, it’s “Billy Connolly Wildebeest.” That was an ad-lib. On that night, I’ve only done it like three times, Wildebeest, and that night that’s on YouTube is I think the second time I ever did it. It was exactly the same as the first night, and it came in one piece. You might be amazed. It’s very long. Sometimes ad-libs come complete. Big Chunks.

Is there anything else you’re up to that I’ve missed?

Not at the moment, no. I’m having the time of my life just doing bugger all. Except I draw in the morning and I go for a cigar with my friends in the afternoon.

The BC Q&A: Myq Kaplan, CD release party at the Studio Saturday

It’s hard to get a straight answer out of Myq Kaplan. The former Boston comic, who moved to New York City in the summer of 2008, is a quick wit. And he jumps to misdirection and word play with a minimum of set-up, and has a knack for structure, which is evident in this e-mail interview.

More people will get to enjoy that wit this week, with the release of Kaplan’s debut national album, Vegan Mind Meld (he self-released his first album, Open Myq Night, recorded at Club Passim). He’ll celebrate the album tomorrow at the Comedy Studio. Also, tonight at 11:30PM, Comedy Central debut’s his half hour Comedy Central Presents special, adding to his Conan O’Brien and Live at Gotham TV credits.

I've heard a lot of the material on Vegan Mind Meld, but there are a lot of new tags for older material. Do you ever consider a joke "done”?

Short answer: Depends.
Medium answer: Not usually. Maybe I used to, but almost never anymore.
Long answer: Most of my jokes are created one step at a time, starting with an initial kernel of an idea, sometimes ending as a one-liner, but more often these days growing larger and larger, as tags and more ideas occur to me on stage or off. So, I might have thought some jokes WERE "done," but in performing them in different situations, sometimes they become UNdone (in the good way, not the falling apart way).
Sometimes, new experiences inform old ideas in a different light, and what was previously one short thought can lead into a longer one, or a story, or a multi-faceted something or other. In fact, I'll probably have an extra-long answer to this question long after it's too late.
(And I might edit out the phrase "multi-faceted something or other."
But feel free to leave this all for now. All part of the process.)

Did you get to preview the Comedy Central special much? Were you able to get everything in as you wanted it to be?

Short answer: Hopefully.
Medium answer: I have not previewed it.
Long answer: I have only seen the clips they put up on the website that everyone can see, and of those, I'm not sure which (if any) of them are actually IN the special or just being used for the web. That said, I was very happy with the taping, so I'll be happy as long as it's not 30 minutes of commercials.

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Boston has produced some fine comedians that work in a style similar to yours, in that quick, two or three lines style. Were you influenced by Don Gavin, Wendy Liebman, or any other local comics, stylistically?

Short answer: No.
Medium answer: Maybe.
Long answer: I love Don Gavin and Wendy Liebman, but I didn't know who they were when I started doing comedy. I've only seen Don Gavin live a handful of times, and I've only seen a few TV spots of Wendy's; I really appreciate what they do, and recognize that we have some stylistic things in common, but I believe that I gravitated towards what I do because it's what comes naturally to me. Obviously we are all influenced by everything around us (except for the hermit comedian, but no one knows who that is because I made him or her up...
or did I? If I did, why didn't I settle on one gender?), that can't be helped, but I mostly just aim to be influenced by myself. I enjoy the work of others, both those similar and those dissimilar to me. And thanks.

How was the transition from Boston to New York?

Short answer: Fine.
Medium answer: Difficult at first.
Long answer: Fine and difficult at first. Starting comedy in a new city can often be a challenge, just finding out what places there are to perform, where to see good shows, how to get on shows, who to talk to, getting to know people, becoming a part of the community, etc.
Starting in Boston was great, because it's a decent-sized city with a number of clubs, other venues for standup, and a very welcoming and encouraging and manageably-sized community of working comics of all experience levels. Starting over in New York was more complicated at first, because there are so many clubs (some I haven't even been to yet), so many shows and bookers and venues that come and go, so many communities within the world of New York comedy. I had help a bit, from a few sources: 1) comedians I knew from Boston who were now living in New York and could help direct my efforts a bit, 2) bookers and comedians who were at least somewhat responsive to the fact that I had one TV credit by that point, and 3) not much else. I looked up open mics on the internet, did a lot of trial and error, made a lot of phone calls, hung out at a lot of places, and I'm still in a place where I have to work to get on at some clubs, some shows, which is fine. I like the work. And it's gotten easier, with a few fortunate happenings, a few more credits, a few more comedians and bookers learning who I am (and caring/thinking positively of me). It was definitely a chore at first, getting situated, but I feel very lucky that things went my way relatively quickly.
Extra-long answer: see my autobiography.

What shows do you frequent in New York?

Short answer: None.
Medium answer: Honestly, unlike Boston, where I might perform at the same venue once a week or more, in New York, there are so many shows and places to perform, that I don't necessarily end up any one place "frequently."
Long answer: That said, the club I perform most at is Caroline's.
They've been the most generous with stagetime and support, and I can't be more grateful. Comix is another club that I love, and that I perform at as often as possible. In the non-club scene, UCB's Whiplash show is wonderful, as is Moonwork, and Thursday nights at Kabin, Tell Your Friends at Lolita Bar, Bowery Poetry Club, and many more that I'm probably rude to be forgetting. Sorry!

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Anyone on the bill with you Saturday at the Studio you're especially looking forward to seeing?

Short answer: Yes.
Medium answer: Just kidding.
Long answer: I always love performing at the Studio, no matter who is on the show. I believe I know almost everyone on the show and think very fondly of them.

Any other Boston shows coming up soon?

Short answer: Yes.
Medium answer: Is this joke/concept getting old?
Long answer: I believe I will be performing with Greg Fitzsimmons on his annual BU Alumni show at Boston University's graduation weekend on May 14, and I will be opening for Bo Burnham's DVD taping at the House of Blues on May 21. Looking forward to both of those with great anticipation. But not as much as this Saturday at the Studio, maybe.
CD release!

The BC Q&A: Sam Walters returns to Boston with King Hell at Great Scott

I first met Sam Walters shortly after I moved to Boston and started covering comedy in 1998. He was part of a comedy group that included The Walsh Brothers, Kyria Abrahams, Val Kappa, Ben Joplin, Dan Sulman, and Tim McIntire, a bunch of regulars at The Comedy Studio, trying to do something a little different, and generally succeeding.

Walters was always a musician, as well, and when he moved to New York City several years back, he turned his attention to music. His band, King Hell, is making a rare appearance tonight at Great Scott as part of Rob Potylo’s Quiet Desperation Presents the 32nd Annual WBCN Rock n Roll Rumble, hosted by Niki Luparelli and Shawn Sixx.

I spoke with him by Facebook about the show yesterday.

Do you perform comedy anymore, or are you strictly staying with music now?

I'm not doing stand-up at the moment--my long suffering liver would up and quit if I started attending both comedy AND rock shows--but there's plenty of comedy in King Hell. I've got a two-horned anvil now... Christ, I've become the Carrot Top of metal.

Do you still get out to see comedy?

Not too often, though we played the Jerkus Circus earlier this month in Worcester, which was phenomenal. The hosts, the Steamy Bohemians, were as hilarious and deplorable as I remembered them... which isn't too clearly. Man, stand-up was a boozy time. I remember coming out of the Comedy Studio one night and thinking, "Damn, I'm drunk AGAIN." Thanks Jenkins...

What's the difference in dynamics between fronting a band and doing stand-up?

Stand-up, for me, was an intellectual exercise in crowd seduction; "intellectual", in my case, consisted of high-brow dick jokes (a genius concept). I was trying to solve the riddle of the audience, poking and prodding them 'til something clicked. Fronting a rock band is much more of a one-sided physical display; the audience comes to you. Some comics can bridge that gap though, like Kevin Knox (may he rest in peace, though he's probably not resting, wherever he is). That guy was a rock star. Ask Brian Longwell about his night at the Kowloon with Kevin and these twin sisters who... um, ask Brian. Don't let him leave out the part about the snakes.



For the uninitiated, how would you describe King Hell?

We're like Parliament meets Metallica (though, mercifully, without a band member in diapers). We're a funk-fueled, old-school metal band chock fulla melodic hooks and bawdy humor that, according to a recent review, will make you break out in a maniacal grin and new dance called "the fist pumping booty shake". Call it Berzerk Du Soleil.

Anyone you're looking forward to seeing again in Boston?

Certainly not Tim McIntire. Now that he's vegan, he won't take me fishing. Otherwise, being a metal front man, I'm entitled to say, "I love you all!!!"

Micah Sherman with Second City in Boston

Micah Sherman made a strong impression during his short time in Boston as a improv performer with Improv Asylum and a stand-up comedian, often working with Myq Kaplan at The Comedy Studio. He has since moved to New York City, but makes it back to Boston frequently (and Bostonians can always see him on YouTube in short videos he makes with Boston ex-pats Dan Hirshon and Joe List at FunnyCakesComedy).

This week through May 9, he'll be performing with the Second City stage show One If By Land, Late If By T at the BCA, sponsored by Improv Asylum (click here for tickets and times). We spoke in some sort of odd conference room set up at the Second City after party last week.

Part One:


Part Two:

The BC Q&A: Rich Ceisler

Boston comedy veteran Rich Ceisler headlines Mottley’s Comedy Club tonight and tomorrow, and then heads out to Tommy’s Comedy Lounge on Monday to help an old friend. Ceisler says he is eager to play Mottley’s, a room he has never played, and is happy to help out Tommy’s co-owner Frank Ahearn, who suffered a stroke in December. The Tommy’s show will help him pay the bills as he recovers. Ceisler’s relationship with Ahearn stretches back to the latter’s time at the Comedy Connection more than fifteen years ago.

I spoke with Ceisler about Mottley's and Ahearn by phone earlier this week.

How long have you known Frank?

When did he start with the Connection? It’s got to be ten or fifteen years, something like that. I knew him because, originally Paul Barclay was with the Connection and he wa I think originally hired by Paul Barclay. Always was a great guy, and a great friend, an advocate for the comedy scene. He was just like another peer. It’s different for a manager to be a peer and not a managing authority. He was great friends with Kevin Knox and things like that. He’s just a regular guy. The community, we’re strong with helping each other.

Have you spoken with him since he started recovering?

I have not been able to, because unfortunately, I’ve been traveling. I’ve been speaking to people regularly who speak to him like Paul Barclay and Paula Murphy and there’s this Web site that gives updates on him. I haven’t been able to speak to him yet, but I will, obviously at the benefit. Hopefully he’ll be at the benefit. If not, I’ll go down to where he’s going through rehab afterwards.

What was your reaction when you heard he’d had the stroke?

I was shocked. I was shocked. I had seen him not too long ago, before the stroke. I went to visit him at the restaurant he was managing over in Quincy. Fireflies. I knew tha the was working like a bastard at Fireflies. He was really, I mean, managing, but getting his hands dirty, delivering plates to the tables, setting up, just working really hard. I’m sure the job was three times as hard as running the Connection. I knew his stress level was high, but I was shocked when I heard, you know?

When did you hear about this benefit?

Paula called, Paula Murphy. She called me and then she sent out an e-mail saying she’s going to do a series of them on these Monday nights – who’s available what nights? So I immediately looked at my schedule, I was on a cruise at the time and said, “This Monday, I’m available. So me and Tony and Jim Dunn were the first to respond, and Tom Cotter. And then later on I guess she added Dan Gavin, Steve Sweeney, and Patty Ross.

It’s a high-powered show with a lot of people on it. I can’t imagine we’ll get to do more than ten minutes apiece.



How many of these benefits do you wind up doing for local causes each year?

I’d say about twenty a year.

Do you think that Boston’s unusual in that respect, that so many comedians donate their time?

I don’t think so. I know with Ray Garvey, they were doing benefits in L.A. and Vegas and New York. I think the comedy community I unusual in that we support our own, because we don’t have unions and things like that. So I think just the comedy industry is unusual. I don’t think Boston is that unusual. I think it goes back to the fact that we don’t have a union, we don’t have group insurance unless somebody’s married to somebody with medical family benefits. It’s been hard. We don’t have pensions. I think the combination of that has made everybody support each other.

Are you looking forward to playing Mottley’s this weekend?

Yeah. I’ve never played it. I only walked in once, and I love the set-up of the room. I never even saw a show there, I just walked in before a show and thought, oh my god, if this room fills up, what a great space this is, you know. So I am looking forward to it. Looking for a host, I asked Tim to recommend a comic, and he said, well, what kind of comic. I said as long as they’re a smarter comic, not super high energy and not real dirty, that would go well with my style. He suggested Jon Rineman. I do a lot of stuff with timing, and I don’t work at the typical Boston frenetic pace.

Is there something about the room in particular –

Yeah, it’s intimate. Really, when I walked in, it looked like the perfect room. I’m really curious. Hopefully it’ll fill out. It was set up by a comic. That makes it much better.

What do you think about all the different clubs? I think you’ve worked at every club in that area now.

When I was at Cheers, they were getting a different type of crowd. They were getting more tourists because they’re in Faneuil Hall. I don’t know what Mottley’s draws, but I don’t think they get as many tourists. I think that draws a little bit more on people from Boston. I believe. That’s what I was told. Cheers, because of the name, probably gets more tourists. Which is not bad, it’s just a different kind of crowd. Dick’s, who the hell knows what they get down there. And Nick’s is the worst. Nick’s is the only one I don’t enjoy, because they get this crowd of people who are really waiting for the disco to start. They’re the worst comedy crowd there, I think. For my kind of stuff, anyway.

Do you think the different clubs are set up well?

Yeah. Dick Doherty’s place is small, but it’s small enough that you can do a real experimental, intimate set. And then Mottley’s looks like the perfect room. I really have good things to say about most of the little rooms.

Do you feel like, with all of these little clubs, the scene is healthier, less healthy…

Well, look, it’s not going to be healthy for our pockets. The 80s is gone, when we would make 150 bucks a show and run from show to show and make a good amount of money. Now, the scene is good as far as working out material, but it’s not a lucrative scene, I’ll say that off the bat. That’s why everyone’s trying to do what I’ve been doing for the past fifteen years, twenty years, and play the cruise ships, because the scene is not a lucrative scene. And it was, it used to be.

Are the cruise ships an idea place for comedy?

No. They’re just more lucrative. Some of them , they’re building comedy room s in some of them. They’re getting better. But they just pay better. Pure and simple economics. You can’t have a house and a family and have four hundred dollar weekends, and that’s your week.

The BC Q&A: Chris Zito is the new "Slash"

When I spoke with Chris Zito last January, he was ready to quit stand-up comedy and concentrate on his morning drive gig at WODS. He had done a similar dance before, when he was working at 104.5 XLO, and radio came first. Of course, Zito found it impossible to quit altogether, and picked up a gig here and there.

On April 6, Zito Twittered, “I have a job with slashes again. Comedian/Actor/Writer. Need jokes?” WODS was tweaking its format, and Zito was out. Which means Zito will be back onstage again this Friday at Dick’s Beantown Comedy Vault. I caught up with him again by e-mail to see what he has planned.

Since we spoke for the blog about your retirement a couple of years ago, you have done a gig here and there, correct?

Yes, I didn't stay away very long. The format at WODS was new to me and a little more restrictive than what I'd done in the past. The stand up offers so much freedom. I've been having fun on stage.

What keeps you coming back to stand-up?

As I mentioned, it's the freedom. That's always been the thing with stand up. No boss. No meetings. I'm producer, director, writer, and star. Can't point the fingers and can't really complain about anyone else. Besides, I know my way around the schedule C pretty well. I don't mind being self employed. Plus, I have no marketable skills other than cracking wise.

What reason did WODS give you for letting you go from the morning show with Karen Blake?

Just more music intensive. Since they dropped the Oldies moniker they've been focusing on the music. It's really difficult to develop a new music identity and a new morning show at the same time. It's no one's fault. My boss, Jay Beau Jones, and I are friends. Hopefully we'll have a chance to work together again.

Is anyone safe on the radio anymore?

Beats me. Commercial radio is almost unrecognizable to people who go back as far as I do. Let me check my Magic Eight Ball app..."my sources say no."

Do you think you’ll look for more radio work or move back to stand-up full time?

I'm not ruling anything out. I'm not finding a ton of stand up work right now. My prediction is, I'll fill up my calendar for the fall and winter, then get another radio gig in a few months, and have to suffer with being out every night and getting up at 3:30 again! Summers are slow, and most comics book months in advance. I'll catch up. I may go on the road again a little too. Who knows?

Make no mistake though, I love radio. It still seems like magic to me. Hopefully that's where I'll land.

You posted on your Twitter that you have a job with slashes again. Are you doing any writing and acting?

I've reached out to the casting agency's in town and gotten a warm welcome back. As for writing, I've lost my excuse not to write new material for my act. So...a few new jokes. And I'm approached occasionally to write jokes for other people or punch things up. Also, talking to a couple of people about speaking engagements. I don't really even know what that means, but a couple of guys have told me for awhile I'd be good at it. Really? If you say so.

A little bonus, here's Chris Zito on Two Drink Minimum from 1993.

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Voting starts today for the National College Comedy Competition

The third edition of the National College Comedy Competition starts today, and at least four Boston area colleges -- Boston College, M.I.T., Emerson, and Tufts -- are competing. It’s an unusual competition, in that clips of the comics are posted on www.TBS.com, but the comics don’t compete as individuals. They compete as teams in brackets, March Madness style.

The first round of voting starts today and ends Monday. Teams will be cut down to a “Sweet Sixteen,” and another vote April 29-May 3 cuts it further to the “Elite Eight.” The “Final Four” will be determined by yet another online vote May 20-24.

The top four individual comedians, the ”MVP” of each team, will get the chance to perform with some bigger names at the TBS and Just For Laughs-sponsored Very Funny Festival in Chicago June 15-19. Rooftop comedy is sponsoring the Competition, as well.

Rooftop produced on-campus talent searches to find talent from different colleges and universities. The initial eight comics were chosen by audience votes, then narrowed to four by a combination of audience votes and the votes of professional judges. “Given the nature of college campus spirit, it makes for a much more robust competition to engage the entire school through a team competition rather than one individual at a particular school.,” says Jenn Stokes of Rooftop.

Although the winners won’t be on the televised shows, they may be featured on the TBS Web site. As someone who has covered comedy for years, I feel most comics are in a somewhat vulnerable point in their development in college, which makes a competition with possible national exposure a somewhat dicey proposition. Stokes disagrees. She says the NCCC “provides a platform to help promote their comedy, improve their craft and gain national exposure.”

The Boston area teams:

Boston College
• Julian Kiani
• John Scola
• Meg Show
• Michael Wolf

M.I.T.
• Michael Lin
• Jose Sepulveda
• Jason Strauss
• Morris Vanegas

Emerson College
• Keele Howard-Stone
• Daniel Rubinton
• Rachel Walls
• Blake Wexler

Tufts
• Brian Agler
• Ian Donovan
• Samuel McCauley
• Matthew Nazarian

Vegan comedy tonight at BU

What does vegan comedy sound like? If that question makes you curious, you can find your answers tonight at Boston University’s “Cracking Jokes, Not Yolks: A Vegan-Friendly Comedy Show.” The show is part of BU’s Earth Week 2010, and includes Tim McIntire, Rob Crean (of Anderson Comedy), and Sarah Heggan.

Turns out vegan comedy is pretty much like regular comedy, except it’s told by vegans, who often look like normal people. So it’s possibly meat-eaters have been watching vegan comedy for years without ever knowing it, laughing so hard they forget about hamburgers.

Here’s a taste:



The show starts at 7PM at BU Central, 775 Commonwealth Ave.

Cheech & Chong's tour doc, Hey Watch This, at the Brattle Saturday

In October of 2008, I got a backstage view of Cheech and Chong’s reunion tour, their first in twenty-five years. The pair had come to the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, bringing back characters and scenes from their movies and albums for an audience that included fans from the old days and kids that weren’t even born yet when Things Are Tough All Over came out in 1982 (you can read the piece here).

The natural chemistry was still there, and Chong did stand-up between bits and introduced sketches. They were loose and friendly, although when I asked each of them to sign Chong’s book, Cheech & Chong: The Unauthorized Autobiography, Cheech signed it, “To Nick, ‘Mentidor,’ Cheech 08.” The closest definitions I could find for “mentidor” on the Web were “liar” or someone who had committed a breach of trust. (Chong signed first and wrote, "Read and Weep!") So there’s still a nice, sly edge to their relationship.

Tomorrow at the Brattle, everyone gets that backstage view when Cheech and Chong’s Hey Watch This comes to the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square. The film documents the pair’s tour through 2008 and 2009. It’s a preview of sorts, since the film will be rolled out in a limited theatrical run, on DVD/Blu-Ray, on Video On Demand, and streaming through gaming systems on 4/20 (numbers of some importance to pot connoisseurs.

The movie was directed by Christian Charles, who also directed Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedian. Here’s the trailer:



This is also separate from Cheech & Chong’s Animated Movie, which still have no official release date attached. Although the trailer for that has been out since last year:

Sugar Dish organizes "Mad Tea Party" protest on Boston Common

If you show up to the Tea Party rally today on the Boston Common, or watch the news coverage, you may catch a glimpse of some local burlesque performers and comedians decked out in Alice in Wonderland garb. It’s not an homage to Lewis Carroll or even Tim Burton, it’s part of a "Mad Tea Parrty" counter protest organized by Sugar Dish (from Babes in Boinkland, a troupe that performs regularly with the Steamy Bohemians’ Jerkus Circus show).

Sugar Dish officially designates herself a “glam-o-crat” on her Facebook page, and while that’s a cagey term, she is, to be sure, not terribly Republican friendly. Or at the very least, not very Sarah Palin friendly. “When I heard Sarah Palin was coming to town to promote the Tea Party, I was immediately incensed,” she says. “First of all, it pisses me off that Boston's Tea Party has been appropriated for their cause.”

Being good at costumes and organizing, Sugar Dish got some friends together for a counter protest, inspired by cover art from left-leaning magazine The Nation picturing a “Mad Tea Party,” with an Alice in Wonderland theme. “I think the setting of the Mad Tea Party in Alice in Wonderland is a perfect setting for this campaign,” she says.” I would love to see an intelligently orchestrated creative anti-Tea Party campaign. The Mad Tea Party in Wonderland is all about nonsense, which I think the Tea Party Express is spewing right now.”

Tony V. and Steve Calechman at Tommy's

Last July, I wrote about Tony V. and Steve Calechman saving the world by answering audience questions at Mottley’s Comedy Club. Their aim tonight and tomorrow at Tommy’s Comedy Lounge is just to put on a good comedy show, with Tony V. headlining. But the two old friends have been known to take the stage together at times, and if you’re lucky, they’ll do it again this weekend.

Did they save the world last summer? Well, we’re still here, aren’t we?

The BC Q&A: Chelsea Handler

Chelsea Handler is at the top of her game right now. She has a popular talk show, Chelsea Lately, on the E! Network, a bestselling book in Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang (her third), and she’s playing theaters like the Wang in Boston, where she’ll be Saturday. She’s on the cover of the current Shape magazine, and was on the cover of Playboy last December. She's gotten into producing with Pretty Wild, a reality show starring Tess Taylor, Alexis Neiers and Gabriele Neiers.

There is even a stand-up tour spinoff, The Comedians of Chelsea Lately, which comes to the Comedy Connection Wilbur Theatre on June 11. (Handler also employs former Boston comic Jen Kirkman, both on camera and off, on the show).

But there are some things she doesn't have. She'd like a dolphin. And maybe a duet with Ludacris.

Handler’s latest book is another exploration into her, to put it mildly, eclectic life. She delves into her father’s poor status as a renter, her brother’s proclivity for nude swimming, her now ex-boyfriend’s search for snacks, and her own avoidance of the sun, and her childhood experience with “the feeling.” She also mentions a publication to which I frequently contribute, The Boston Globe.

Handler answered my questions by e-mail.

After having read your third book, I have to ask - is there anyone sane in your life? Everyone is either jumping in the ocean when they can't swim, obsessively searching for snacks for a helicopter ride, or crying inappropriately at romantic comedies.

I surround myself with ridiculous people so that i come out looking like the sanest one in the bunch. Besides, if I hooked up with people who didn't provide constant material in my life, what real use wood i have for them? None of them can cook.

Do you or your father still read the Boston Globe?

My father is so cheap, he doesn't read a paper unless he accidentally swipes it from one of his neighbors. If theirs is off their porch, he will go to one of my brother's or sister's homes to steal theirs.

Do you think you've exhausted your sex life in your writing? (I think you could be the slapstick Anias Nin).

Being newly single, there could be a whole new round of My Horizontal Life, but I haven't started collection research yet.

Do you think you'll ever get the dolphin you asked for in the book?

Oh, I'm gonna get that dolphin if it kills me.

Have you ever had someone quit over the office e-mail pranks? Is everyone suspicious of your e-mails now?

Everyone is not only in on the game, anyone who works in my office gets extra credit if they pull off a good email.

Does it amuse you when you wind up in the entertainment headlines with people like a certain goosestepping mistress, the same headlines you make fun of every day?

I find everything related to pop culture very amusing. Myself, included.

Is it intimidating or strange at all to be on the cover of magazines like Shape and Playboy?

It’s part of the whole factory, and anything that keeps me in tip-top shape is a good reminder for me to never let myself eat burgers two days in a row.

Do you feel that Chelsea Lately is the show you've always wanted it to be? I know after the first E! show, you wanted to do something a little different.

I love this show, this is my favorite book, right now everything I do seems to flow perfectly with how I wanted my life to turn out. Big and Loud.

Are you happy to see the comics on your show touring as The Comedians of Chelsea Lately now?

I am happy for any of the success of all the comedians on my show, and being able to put a tour together with them all has been a great testament to the quality of comics they all are.

How did you find Jen Kirkman for the show? She's got Boston roots.

She came in to interview as a writer, and I realized she had the perfect combination of being sane while also being insane. She's also one of the brightest in the office, which can also lead to being a little insane.

Do you have to keep your stand-up and the material you do on the show completely separate? Is a joke burned once you use it on the show?

Mostly, but there are always a few that can slide into stand-up or some of my stand-up that slides into the show. We have no major rules here, except, to show up late.



How do you approach the celebrity interview on your show? You seem to be a bit more forward with them than most hosts, as with the Justin Bieber interview.

That's what I do, and I like to give these guys who go from one press outlet to another a different experience. It's short, fast, and I like to get everyone going.

What's your role on "Pretty Wild?"

I'm an executive producer, and trying to figure out where i'm going to donate my funds from this show, so that i can never be held responsible for the next thing they do.

Is there anything else you'd like to tackle in show business?

Hip-hop.

The BC Q&A: Erin Judge on The Dress-Up Show's one-year anniversary

Erin Judge and Bethany Van Delft celebrate their one-year anniversary of The Dress-Up Show tonight at Mottley’s with Ken Reid, Tom Dustin, Mehran, Jenny Z, and Tim McIntire. The concept is that comedians wear their fanciest duds, or, likely in the case of many comics, borrow some fancy dud to wear. The audience is encouraged to do the same, to create Boston’s funniest formal party.

Judge moved to New York City last year, but comes back to the city where she started her comedy career once a month for the show. She’ll also get back to her native Texas to play this summer.

Do you have anything special planned for the one-year anniversary?

As everyone knows, the one-year is the "paper anniversary." Both Bethany and I will incorporate paper into our outfits, plus we'll have special prizes for EVERYONE who comes to see the show. We'll also revisit some of our best moments from dress-up show history, including some of our favorite performer costumes.

How much have the comics indulged in dressing up? Have any been reluctant to dress up?

For me, the comics' reactions have been the absolute best part of doing this show. Everybody seems to enjoy kicking it up a notch. Ken Reid wore a Space Ghost costume the first time he performed; Dan Boulger rented a formal tux with coattails and a top hat. At our very first show, Mehran came in drag. It's been a fantastic time. A couple of comics along the way were reluctant because they thought "dress up" meant "wear a dress," and we had to explain that we just wanted them to wear something different from their usual on-stage attire. The comics who do the show all seem to love it.

How have audiences reacted? Do they generally dress up, too?

I've been impressed! Of course, the audience doesn't have to dress-up, but their outfits can win them prizes. Each week we draw a category for an audience prize -- best shirt, best bag, best shoes, etc. That element of the show really gets the audience involved. And we've had some really snazzy audience ensembles, especially from some of the bachelorette parties that have come our way. Even people who don't come particularly dressed up have a good shot at winning the prize, which is based on audience votes.

Does it affect the comedy at all?

I think it makes the performances particularly memorable! It sometimes takes comics out of their comfort zones, but usually I see them come into a really fun place as a result of the snazzy attire. I love watching the comics at our show. It's always a whole different level of performance.



What made you think of a dress-up show?

Well, I wanted to co-host a show with Bethany Van Delft, because she's fantastic, and we work really well together. A couple of years ago, I went to go see the "Sex and the City" movie, and I was just amazed by how everybody dressed up in their best cocktail outfits to go see that movie. We thought it would be a great idea to create a monthly show where people could wear their dress-up clothes in an informal setting, just like going to the movies.

Plus, Bethany and I both tend to work the "alternative comedy" scene, where comics tend to wear ripped up hoodies and legwarmers on their faces and stuff like that. We wanted to give them an unselfconscious setting where they could dress like the old-time comics always did, in suits and ties and dresses....and costumes too, if they so desire.

Are you looking forward to going home and playing Texas again this summer?

That'll be super fun. I'm psyched to perform in Austin at the LAF Festival, and it'll be very interesting to stay with my mother for several few weeks.

Do you think you'll keep doing the show for another year? How has it been coming up here for the show once a month?

I love doing the Dress-Up Show. We did one in New York, and it went extremely well. We're hoping to do a monthly show in Boston and a monthly show in New York. Bethany and I always bring something new to each show, but mostly the showcase format is what keeps it fresh. I think we can keep it growing and building for quite a while.

Backstage at the Women in Comedy Festival 3/26

This year’s Women in Comedy Festival was an unmitigated success. There were interesting acts in stand-up, sketch, improv, and storytelling, mostly full and sold out audiences, and a feeling that something creative and unusual was going on. I caught up with WIC co-founder Michelle Barbera, who also performed at the Festival, about how WIC had changed in its second year.

I also got a little history from Edie McClurg, whom you might remember from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, A Bug’s Life, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and countless other movies and films. She was performing in an improv group called the All Girl Revue with several other talented improv comics, including Jane Morris. I also spoke with Morris, co-founder of Second City’s ETC stage, the second stage of the legendary Chicago improv and sketch house.

More to come this week as I process the videos.

Michelle Barbera:


Edie McClurg:


Jane Morris:

Happy Easter. Have some soup.

And now a word from our sponsor, Soup Boots!



From local comedy writer Dave Metter.

Video: Danny Morsel, auctioneer

Chris Coxen is currently tearing up the comedy scene in London, but in his absence, he has posted a new Danny Morsel video, which reunites him with Nate Johnson (with whom he once partnered for Coxen and Johnson). Coxen has reported that his characters are going over well with English audiences, but he's still coming back later next month.

Until then, we have Danny Morsel as an auctioneer, and The War Doll as his bidder. A funny short, well shot by Matt Walczak.

ColorStruck tonight and tomorrow at Tommy's

Bethany Van Delft can hardly believe it. The little show she, Deb Farrar-Parkman, and Janet Cormier started with a handful of comics at The Comedy Studio in 2000 marks its eleventh year tonight. ColorStruck: The Women of Color in Comedy show officially enters its second decade when it kicks off its two-night stand at Tommy’s Comedy Lounge this evening.

“That's crazy,” says Van Delft. “I don't think we've taken the time to think about how long it's been. We've just been making sure that the show keeps going year after year. We might have to have an anniversary party.”



More than just an annual show, ColorStruck also books showcases at colleges and festivals, expanding its roster with new comics as others leave the fold. “I'm grateful that we've been able to withstand the tests of time so to speak,” says Farrar-Parkman. “We've lost a few along the way. Most of the originals have left comedy altogether and others who joined the group in later years, have moved to other cities and are actively pursuing careers in those venues.”

Alycia Cooper (BET’s Comic View, Last Comic Standing) is a new face at the show this year. Susan Alexander, founder of the Five Funny Females traveling show, performs in her second ColorStruck this year, as does Iranian comic Asie Mohtarez. “We're getting to bring in established acts we work with on the road from around the country, as well as talented new comics we meet along the way,” says Van Delft.



The show has helped create a community amongst women of color in comedy, but Van Delft says it has been important for audiences, too. “I think it's been more of an important experience for audiences,” she says, “to get to see an entire line-up of women comedians of color, all talented with unique voices and stories to tell. It's not something you really see in Boston or New England very often.”

Farrar-Parkman, an Emmy-winning producer, says ColorStruck has helped her as a stand-up comedian. “The festival has truly helped me to refine my career, hosting abilities, stage presence and ability to perform before truly diverse crowds from old to young and in between,” she says. “I'm doing a show at the Improv in LA on April 22nd and am fully aware that were it not for ColorStruck, I might not be at the performance level to do the LA scene.”

Here’s the line-up for each night. Bethany Van Delft hosts both nights.

Friday
Alycia Cooper
Deb Farrar Parkman
Janet Cormier
Shereen Kassam
Susan Alexander
Esther Ku

Saturday
Deb Farrar-Parkman
Janet Cormier
Asie Mohtarez
Susan Alexander
Sketch by Sheila Jackson
Alycia Cooper

Video: Shane Mauss's exit interview

By the time you read this, Shane Mauss's six-year stay in the Boston comedy scene will be over. The La Crosse, Wisconsin native left the Hub and headed for Austin last week after having found his voice here at clubs like The Comedy Studio, where I caught up with him for what was supposed to be his CD release party, if only the pressing plant actually pressed his CDs.

Mauss did go out on a strong note, releasing Jokes To Make My Parents Proud and his half-hour Comedy Central special in March. I spoke with him about his recent projects, his style of comedy, and leaving town (complete with fire engines and babies).