Episode 274
Beyond Laughter: The Singing Comedian's Journey
The salient point of this podcast episode revolves around the multifaceted nature of performance within the realm of comedy and music, particularly as articulated by Speaker B. The discussion highlights the inherent challenges and adaptations comedians have faced in the evolving landscape of entertainment, especially during the pandemic, which has necessitated a shift towards virtual performances. Speaker B elaborates on their aspirations to merge comedic talent with musical endeavors, expressing a desire to produce collaborative works that encompass both singing and humor. Additionally, the dialogue touches upon the nuances of performing live versus online, emphasizing the complexities of timing and audience interaction in a digital format. Ultimately, the episode provides an insightful exploration of the intersection between comedy and other artistic expressions, revealing the dynamic nature of performance art in contemporary society.
Takeaways:
- The integration of singing within comedy performances serves to surprise audiences, showcasing multifaceted talents.
- The pandemic has fostered closer relationships among comedians, enabling collaborative opportunities across borders.
- Adapting to online comedy has provided comedians with new skills and methods of engagement during performances.
- Comedians are challenged to constantly create new material to maintain audience interest and avoid repetition.
- The shift from live performances to virtual platforms has necessitated adjustments in timing and audience interaction.
- Successful comedians often blend prepared material with spontaneous improvisation to enhance their act's dynamism.
Transcript
I forgot actually that you did sing because the last big show I saw you at was in by the Sea.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, Queen Elizabeth.
Speaker A:He opened it with singing.
Speaker A:Yes, I remember correctly.
Speaker B:Funny, because a lot of people obviously just think I'm a comedian and Kenny, hold a note.
Speaker B:And he's always laughing at me because he's like, why don't they know you can sing?
Speaker B:You can't sing.
Speaker B:It's not like it's bad.
Speaker B:And you know, the real reason is I've always admired like Jamie Foxx who does it all.
Speaker B:He sings, he plays, and I think those are one of the greats.
Speaker B:And I think when you come out with a talent and then your audience sees another talent, they kind of go, whoa, when did he find time to do this?
Speaker B:So I do do that and put it as a part of my entertainment when I perform.
Speaker A:Would you.
Speaker A:Are you going to continue to do that forever singing a comedy?
Speaker B:I think it works.
Speaker B:And you know, I had aspirations of putting out like what they call a mixtape, you know what I mean?
Speaker B:Combinations with me and some artists that are singing that you would never think, you know what I mean?
Speaker B:I'd like to consider my.
Speaker B:A second tier singer, a first tier comedian.
Speaker B:And having that opportunity to do an album with people, add a little comedy in the snippets and do an album that has me singing songs with some of my favorite artists would be wicked.
Speaker B:Like even a Canadian version, I think would.
Speaker B:Because I know everybody in the industry, I think I could put together a nice album that would have everybody on it.
Speaker B:Maybe that's something I'll aspire to start working on.
Speaker A:I think you should.
Speaker A:I'd really like to hear that.
Speaker B:Yeah, it'd be cool.
Speaker C:Maybe have like Gilbert Godfrey doing backing vocals.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Or other comedians sitting with you.
Speaker B:Yes, other comedians.
Speaker B:And there's so many, like especially.
Speaker B:And I'm going to switch gears a little bit.
Speaker B:But this pandemic has allowed us to have a lot of more closer relationships with our American counterparts as comedians.
Speaker B:I've got to meet a lot of them, talk to a lot of them.
Speaker B:It just made it a more level playing field.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Because everybody used to think, oh, I'm killing right now.
Speaker B:I'm going on tour and I'm shutting down all these clubs so I don't have any time to take a call from a Canadian.
Speaker A:Right, right, right.
Speaker B:And now it's like, hey, what's up, man?
Speaker B:I ain't doing nothing, man.
Speaker B:You want me do show?
Speaker A:Yeah, I'll do two shows back to back.
Speaker B:Do back to back.
Speaker B:Y' all want to do.
Speaker B:Yeah, man, I'll do that.
Speaker B:Dude, you do have time for that, because you are waiting on a $1,400 stimulus check.
Speaker B:You don't have a guy named Trudeau that's setting you 900 to $1,000 every two weeks.
Speaker B:Homies.
Speaker C:That's.
Speaker B:That's why you have time for me.
Speaker D:I love it, man.
Speaker A:Have you talked to a lot of other.
Speaker A:Because I know now other comedians in the US Are starting to go back and work.
Speaker A:Have you talked to any of them going back?
Speaker A:What is it like trying to go back in this environment?
Speaker A:I know it's not everywhere, but I know Texas.
Speaker B:No, there's a lot.
Speaker B:There's a lot of places that are opening back up in the United States to do comedy.
Speaker B:A lot of my friends, some of them are Canadian.
Speaker B:Like, tricks.
Speaker B:He lives in Vegas now.
Speaker B:My good friend Ron Jossel, he did a couple stints in Vegas, and he said, you know, the first three times, both of them have said it like they got on stage, it's working your rhythm back.
Speaker B:It's like going to that heavyweight fight and getting your face knocked in because you haven't been working out.
Speaker B:So it's been a change for them, and I think it'll be a change for us.
Speaker B:But I think the only difference is that they didn't do a lot of online comedy.
Speaker B:They were like, we're straight stage comedians.
Speaker C:And you do a lot of online.
Speaker B:Now I am living on online comedy.
Speaker B:It's come to a point now that I've adjusted.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I'm really good at it now.
Speaker B:Of course, when it started, everyone hated it, but it was the new normal.
Speaker B:It was corporately paying our bills, so we had to find that time and effort to do it.
Speaker B:And I think now I've never mastered it, but I'm quite one of the masters.
Speaker C:Well, what I was curious about with that is one, I listen to a lot of standup comedians talk in podcasts because I just find the job of a standup comedian, in a way, to be just above what other people do, because you just stand, especially in a world where we have iPhones.
Speaker C:You just stand on the stage and you talk and you captivate for hours.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker C:But I do remember having an issue when comedians.
Speaker C:Not an issue, but being like, when comedians would say, I played this theater, and I played that theater, and I was like, play.
Speaker C:You're not a musician.
Speaker C:But then I started to understand that we're the instrument.
Speaker C:They're playing people.
Speaker C:And a big part of that is timing, and you tell a joke and you quickly assess, like in a way that a regular person can't.
Speaker C:Who's laughing, who's not, which direction should I take it in?
Speaker C:And you make split second decisions on what to choose.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:How does that work online when there's as much as a two second delay.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:You're so used to telling the joke and then you know how long it takes before the joke lands or doesn't land.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker C:What do you.
Speaker C:Because even when we sat down before we set up the mics, you're like, I think there's a delay and we had to bring it down.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And that's just with your own voice.
Speaker C:So how do you play people online differently?
Speaker B:Phenomenal questions.
Speaker B:Again, you took the punches in the face the first three times.
Speaker B:Because I know my jokes.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I know the laugh line that it gives me.
Speaker B:I know when it's a tough crowd, it's going to be two seconds.
Speaker B:When it's a good crowd, it's going to be like 5, 6 seconds.
Speaker B:Which allows you a chance to get a drink and allows to do exactly what you said.
Speaker B:Every comedian's mind is like, it's like you're, you're, you're, you're watching an iPad or you're watching Netflix and you're flipping through what to watch.
Speaker B:That's what our brain is doing between jokes going, no, no, yes.
Speaker B:That's kind of good.
Speaker B:No filter transition, swing up.
Speaker B:And hey, you know what I like?
Speaker B:That's how it works for.
Speaker B:So when you say that rhythm and now you throw us on screen where there is no laughter or they got a zoom meeting that you're in and they've paused all the mics and you're waiting for those that are laughing.
Speaker B:Then you got those three faces that are just looking like, God said no one loves you anymore.
Speaker B:I want everyone to know that God doesn't love me anymore.
Speaker B:And you're looking at them going, that dude's not even gonna smile.
Speaker B:And it throws you off your timing.
Speaker B:So the first three shows were horrendous.
Speaker B:And then corporations didn't know what to do with their time.
Speaker B:They're like, okay, we have a day meeting and you have an hour and you're like, an hour.
Speaker B:An hour online is three hours in.
Speaker B:Real, like no if, ands or buts.
Speaker B:It's just like, what do I talk about?
Speaker B:And by the end of it, like, once I got the rhythm in, I knew what jokes were good.
Speaker B:I knew when I could take a commercial break, because I can add that in.
Speaker B:As a part of my comedy and just go, hey, you know what, guys?
Speaker B:We're gonna be right back after these messages.
Speaker B:And they're like, what messages?
Speaker B:And I play a track there that would have, like, a soundtrack of a commercial.
Speaker B:And I would do an infomercial commercial on high.
Speaker B:Are you suffering from sleepless nights?
Speaker B:Bloodshot eyes?
Speaker B:Instagram thunder keeps going and going.
Speaker B:Are you going through WhatsApp looking for two blue check marks?
Speaker B:So I memorized it all and they're all like, dude, he's going.
Speaker B:Like, he's going.
Speaker B:And I'd be like, well, you need to try.
Speaker B:You may be suffering from VF virtual feelings.
Speaker B:Virtual feelings affects every 1 in 10 people in this time of quarantine.
Speaker B:Like, I have it all memorized.
Speaker B:If you feel you're suffering from it, contact your doctor or physician immediately.
Speaker A:But that's brilliant.
Speaker B:Yeah, but it's the way I wrote it in to give myself a break.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker B:Because technically speaking, it's a three minute bit.
Speaker B:But because I know it, like Bible verses.
Speaker B:I know it.
Speaker B:It was a break for me.
Speaker B:So I know that the audience is, like, going nuts because they're like, how did he pull this?
Speaker B:And we now return to your regular schedule program.
Speaker B:And I'm like, can I get a drink of water?
Speaker B:And that drink of water can be 20 seconds because they're still like, how did this guy do it?
Speaker B:So it took a while for me to work out the pain pictures and pieces, but you're so right.
Speaker B:You had to get your timing.
Speaker B:It switches.
Speaker B:So how do we switch back?
Speaker B:Is why everybody who went back to the stage is having a little bit of trouble.
Speaker C:Are there things you're going to keep from the zoom days on stage?
Speaker B:Most definitely.
Speaker B:Because they're wonderful callbacks and now they become a piece of your set.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:Remember when we were growing up and we had those fun sticks and you'd, like, lick it and dip it in for powder.
Speaker B:That's going to be like.
Speaker B:Remember when we were in, like, Covid and we could do a show?
Speaker B:I had to do this bit.
Speaker B:Like, it's always gonna be in your repertoire.
Speaker B:And what's nice about that bit is it'll never end.
Speaker B:There will always be an infomercial with new drugs that make you have to go through all the side effects.
Speaker B:There will always be this.
Speaker B:This has been going on since we were kids.
Speaker B:So it is a bit that doesn't get stale.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker C:Fun fact.
Speaker C:Then we move on.
Speaker C:Did you know that only two countries in the world allow for pharmaceutical commercials?
Speaker C:America and New Zealand.
Speaker B:Really?
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker C:We don't have them anywhere else in the world.
Speaker C:American channels?
Speaker C:No.
Speaker C:Every other country's like, you can't advertise drugs.
Speaker C:Are you crazy?
Speaker A:It sounds crazy.
Speaker A:That's interesting.
Speaker B:Well, I'm.
Speaker B:Now that's a part of my set.
Speaker C:There you go.
Speaker B:I'm gonna take that information.
Speaker B:Please make sure you.
Speaker B:I'll be like, I am from Seden and we do drugs commerces all the time.
Speaker A:Like what?
Speaker C:I'm just gonna write that down and I'll fact check after this Better man.
Speaker B:Cuz I don't need somebody to come up on me.
Speaker B:And here's the commercials that I start in about 10 drugs.
Speaker A:It'll be one of those YouTube ones where you have it and then the person comes in and breaks it down while you're selling.
Speaker C:It was for sure true at some point.
Speaker C:I haven't checked in a while.
Speaker B:I hate this studio, man.
Speaker B:I would just go out the guy.
Speaker B:I would be like, well, look at you.
Speaker B:The only loser that walks around with your own commercial on in your phone.
Speaker C:I'll tell you guys what the listeners.
Speaker C:If the.
Speaker C:If that's not true, then I will pop in and say it wasn't true right now.
Speaker C:Yeah, but if it was true, then I won't say anything.
Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker B:So now you have to be at every show I do.
Speaker C:When I do that, put a marker down.
Speaker B:We're good.
Speaker B:There we go.
Speaker D:Replacing Betsy.
Speaker D:True or not true?
Speaker B:What's that?
Speaker A:It's true.
Speaker D:You think it's true?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:What do you think?
Speaker D:Well, I thought it was true too.
Speaker A:But you're questioning everything now.
Speaker C:It was true when I learned it, but I don't double check.
Speaker D:Things change.
Speaker B:I'll say it anyway.
Speaker B:Everybody in the audience.
Speaker A:Won't be the first fact that I just made up.
Speaker B:Oh, I have a bag of those.
Speaker A:86 of all facts are wrong.
Speaker D:Convincing with his delivery though.
Speaker D:Yeah, this is.
Speaker D:This is interesting.
Speaker D:We got the comedy, we got the today's wizard.
Speaker C:I don't know what to call you.
Speaker B:He's got the kazoo thing.
Speaker B:I am kazoo or I am Oz Vap.
Speaker C:Oh yeah, here's another.
Speaker C:Just a kazoo that I pretend every time I inhale it goes.
Speaker C:You know, I'm going to fact check right now.
Speaker C:We're not.
Speaker C:You guys keep talking, I'll listen.
Speaker B:Yeah, give me what's up?
Speaker B:What's next?
Speaker C:Do you write sets?
Speaker D:Yeah, there you go.
Speaker B:Do I write sets?
Speaker A:Yeah, like.
Speaker A:Cause you're so naturally funny.
Speaker A:Is it.
Speaker A:Just give me a mic and let me Be funny or do you actually sit down and write?
Speaker A:Write bits.
Speaker B:All right, so we're gonna go back to the times when we were open.
Speaker B:Comedians have a lot of joke sets, like, I like to tend to be.
Speaker B:Not like Jerry Seinfeld, who officially writes an hour every day, regardless of whether he's performing or not, which is absolutely nuts.
Speaker B:And when he writes for an hour, it's not that he has an hour of material, but he writes for an.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:The average comedian that's touring, I would say, has to have a new hour set every year.
Speaker A:Yeah, it seems to be the standard.
Speaker B:So you write a new set every year and you run from that set.
Speaker B:Some comedians, I'm not gonna say are whack, but they just don't get out enough and they write one set for five years.
Speaker B:I don't even understand how that can happen then.
Speaker B:You're hearing a whole set for so many years.
Speaker A:But that used to be the standard.
Speaker B:No, that was the standard.
Speaker B:And you know what's funny?
Speaker B:I'm going to tell you where I get critiqued like that.
Speaker B:My shelf life for a lot of my jokes wasn't long because I was performing them in front of larger audiences that were then bigger than the average comedy club with 100, 150 people.
Speaker B:Like, I never did a comedy club outside of Yuk Yuk's Nubian Night.
Speaker B:I've never done, like, open mics.
Speaker B:So all of my comedy was being seen by a church of 400 people.
Speaker B:Do you know what I mean?
Speaker B:So when you told a joke to 400 people and they told everybody at their church, he's coming to my church, you're going to get a lot of the same things.
Speaker B:And then, for example, material that you do at church is only material that you could do at church.
Speaker B:And that only goes so far.
Speaker B:So I'd get a lot of churches, be like, are you going to do the thing?
Speaker B:You're going to write something new?
Speaker B:And I'm like, dude, there's so many jokes I can write about.
Speaker B:King Nebuchadnezzar.
Speaker B:There's really one joke with that.
Speaker B:Shadrach, Me, Jack, and Abomigos.
Speaker B:So give me another Nebuchadnezzar, though.
Speaker B:How about Neil?
Speaker A:Neil.
Speaker B:So it was harder to write for churches because my church hour is just my church hour.
Speaker B:That one is going on forever.
Speaker C:Jerry's had the same hour for, like, 30 years.
Speaker B:Jerry Seinfeld, Yeah.
Speaker B:But he has so much material that he doesn't use.
Speaker C:So weird.
Speaker C:Like, he keeps talking about writing and writing and writing.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker C:He has the same hour.
Speaker B:Well, a lot of people do that.
Speaker B:I find a lot of comedians, like, I'm not going to say their names to put them on pause, but I've been on tour with some of them, and they're like.
Speaker B:I'm like, come on, let's go get some food.
Speaker B:Nope, I'm writing.
Speaker B:I'm writing.
Speaker B:And then we go to the show together, and I'm like, this is the same set from, like, 10 years.
Speaker B:But you gotta remember, as comedians, it's the only thing that we wish we could do that musicians can do.
Speaker B:And I'm gonna tell you what it is.
Speaker B:The one thing that comedians wish they could do that musicians do is bang out their greatest hits.
Speaker C:This is going somewhere else.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, when I said banging, this guy's braided something else.
Speaker B:We need to have you psychiatrically assessed.
Speaker B:But, yeah, because you can't go and have the police on tour and not hear one of those.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And Roxanne, he can't.
Speaker B:No one wants to hear your new stuff, but comedy is the absolute opposite.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:And we wish we could just, like, kill you with the greatest hits.
Speaker B:And it always bothered me when a lot of people are like, hey, you did that joke last time.
Speaker B:And I go, well, when you heard it the first time, how did that feel for you?
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Because I'd like this next person to feel like how you felt.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:And some writing is brilliant brilliance.
Speaker B:There's some jokes that I believe I have that are just brilliant, and because of the shelf life, I have to put them down.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:So that aspect kind of hurts.
Speaker B:But, hey, it is what it is with writing.
Speaker B:But yes, as you said, I do write set lists for events.
Speaker B:I'll write, like, 10 bits that.
Speaker B:That I'll put in 10 bits from this chart of jokes that I have.
Speaker D:Okay?
Speaker B:And then I'll go on the show, and what I'll do after I perform is I'll come back and I'll be like, did I do 10 out of 10?
Speaker B:9 out of 10?
Speaker B:8 out of 10.
Speaker B:But even though it's there on paper, you.
Speaker B:Your brain sees it, but when you're in the flow, you just kind of grab what you grab.
Speaker B:And every favorite.
Speaker B:Every comedian or every person's favorite comedian draws from situations that are right off the bat.
Speaker B:Everyone wants to see a touch of freestyle.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:So you gotta have room for that in your act to be like, what is that?
Speaker B:You know?
Speaker B:And every comedian, every audience, I find, likes to hear a comedian kind of, like, assess themselves.
Speaker B:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker B:I didn't see that happening.
Speaker B:When we do kind of fake it sometimes, right?
Speaker B:It isn't happening.
Speaker B:Like, I've done jokes where I'm like, I know my callback is going to be me faking.
Speaker B:Like, I never thought it was there.
Speaker B:It's the magic that happens.
Speaker B:And you kind of let everybody go, wow.
Speaker B:They're like, wow, how did he do that?
Speaker B:But it's kind of method.
