Jim Gaffigan on structuring a set
“The beginning (of your set) has to be a little autobiographical."
Great ep of We Might Be Drunk with Jim Gaffigan.
Some pearls from Gaffigan…
On going personal: “The beginning (of your set) has to be a little autobiographical. I believe that you have to give some intimacy. Because of reality shows, there is a certain price of entry. We live in such a voyeuristic and exhibitionist culture today.”
On the power of writing: “The process of writing allows you to be in the best position for when the joke arrives.”
On doing longer chunks: “One of the things I learned in doing the bacon jokes is if you go long enough on a topic, you can throw in a B or a C level joke in the middle of an A chunk and it gets longer and longer. A cute observation can slide in. There's a different purpose.”
On George Carlin speaking truth to power: “Some believe the problem of today is our truth-tellers of today are not challenging authority.”
P.S. Watch my new special BOLO…
…or listen to the album:
This is so helpful. Also helpful to hear that the same joke can sometimes kill and sometimes bomb based on placement (and maybe vibes).