You've said that Bill Hicks is your favorite comic?
Hicks was relentless and dangerous, and he was one to experiment. He's overwhelming and awesome and hilarious, but also a little scary, and I was just aware that here was a comic who did what he did to the nth degree as hard as he could. You know, it's sad that he died so young because a 50-year-old Bill Hicks could have been an awesome thing, too. Probably still just coming into whatever he could have been. Same way with Jimi Hedrix.
I've always been inspired by Hicks. I'm not like Hicks and would never compare myself to him, but I was inspired by the fact that he took it as far as he possibly could, and he was on a mission to say to himself, "what do I want to say and how do I want to talk the people?" And one of the things he said was he treated the crowd like they were his friends, sort of a respect for the crowd's intelligence, and I certainly try to practice that.
That's profound.
I'm quoting Bill Hicks -- pretty easy to sound profound.
You cut your teeth in San Francisco?
Yeah I moved out there in the late '90s.
A lot of great comics have come out of San Fran? Why is it such a great place to grow up as a comic?
The history of modern stand-up goes through San Francisco. Lenny Bruce played San Francisco a lot, and it was the first city he got arrested in for obscenity. If you get arrested for obscenity in San Francisco, you are really obscene! San Francisco has always supported the arts, and stand-up comedy is something it has always supported. Mort Saal started out there. I think it has always been a place where you can do whatever you want to do, and because of that there's not one style of San Francisco comedy. The thing that resonates from all of us is that we all have our own unique voices. There are places where you see a comic and think, well that's obviously a comic from a certain city, but we don't have that. The crowds are so good and let us do what we want to do, and because of that we have voices. The San Francisco reputation follows you. Like I did a show in Edinburgh, Scotland and they billed me as "from San Francisco." That means something and I don't you can say that about all cities. It definitely has a national and international reputation.
You've said you were a pretty shy person? If I was doing an interview with you in seventh grade, who would I be talking to?
Seventh grade. I'm trying to think of where I lived in seventh grade. Probably Alabama. I mean, I am pretty shy. I kind of just sat back and watched everything. But I had funny things to say to my friends who were right next to me. I wasn't the class clown, but I was the guy who was cracking jokes for my group of friends. I wasn't trying to get the attention.
I'm still in a position where I don't really want the attention. I just want to be heard. I mean, being the center of attention comes with stand-up comedy. It's a part of it that I don't really need or think about. I don't think that necessarily makes me better. I think some of the best comics are the ones yelling. "I am here!" They want that center of attention. You think of someone like Chris Farley who was demanding the center of attention, and he was hilarious.
I think there's a thing where people think most comics are the class clowns and stage hogs, and that's not true with a lot of comics I know. A lot of comics are like, "No, I just like to tell jokes and this is the best way to tell jokes to people."
You're kind of getting this freedom fighter mentality but I get the idea that behind it all I get the idea you're a pretty happy nice guy?
That's the image I'm putting forth, "Happy nice guy."
No, certainly it's a lot to do, and I'm not complaining. I consider myself lucky to be where I am at but the only title I want to claim is comedian because if I claimed the title of freedom fighter, real freedom fighters will be like, "Hey dude, then we need you down here in the jungle, here's your gun." I know a lot of activists, and if I can make some of them laugh doing comedy that's great. But there are people out there doing real work, and I'm sort of just playing. Freedom fighting requires waking up way earlier then I wake up and going to bed way later that I go to bed, so I think I'll just stick with this comedy thing, and let the freedom fighters fight for freedom.
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