Seinfeld explains how comedy is like surfing
Also: Jerry on making stuff up vs. being personal.
European tour
May 5 - Paris - Kibele
May 6 - Brussels - Insecure & Dangereux
May 7 - Luxembourg - Carlitos Comedy Club
May 8 - Leuven - De Optimist
May 9 - Rotterdam - Comedy Club Haug
May 11 - Ghent - Amai Comedy Club
May 12 - Utrecht - Mad Cow Comedy
May 13 - Amsterdam - Craft Brewery De Prael
Also upcoming: Denver, Boulder, Arlington (VA), Victoria (BC), & more.
The purity of standup
Jerry Seinfeld interview in GQ. He offers up a surfing vs. standup analogy:
Stand-up is like you’re a cabinetmaker, and everybody needs a guy who’s good with wood.
There’s trees everywhere, but to make a nice table, it’s not so easy. So, the metaphor is that if you have good craft and craftsmanship, you’re kind of impervious to the whims of the industry. Audiences are now flocking to stand-up because it’s something you can’t fake. It’s like platform diving. You could say you’re a platform diver, but in two seconds we can see if you are or you aren’t. That’s what people like about stand-up. They can trust it. Everything else is fake…
Stand-up is this very pure experience. This is why I’m so addicted to it. The only other thing in life that I truly idolize is surfing. I watch a lot of Instagram surfing videos, and when somebody catches a great wave and they’re just sliding down it, it just hypnotizes me. That’s how it feels when you’re having a good set—like you’ve caught this gigantic energy and are just sliding down it…
Stand-up—and I really have to apologize for belaboring the surfing analogy—it’s always the ocean, but every wave is different.
Seinfeld on making stuff up vs. being personal:
I do this one bit about “I don’t have arguments with my wife. I don’t think things that are in conflict with my wife.” Now when I say those things, the audience knows that they can’t be true. But they don’t care. They don’t care, because they want to hear the joke. The great joy to me is: I’m making this up, but let me see if I can make it sound like it makes sense to me. That’s what comedy is to me. They know I’m lying from the first line, and they don’t care. I always say, I don’t want to hear amusing anecdotes from your journal. Tell me about something that couldn’t possibly have happened. That’s what I want to hear.
On getting real laughs:
I just think if you are a comedian and you want to survive, your only flotation device in the oceanic waters of show business is real laughs. When you’re young and cute and interesting and 23, or 33, a lot of things work. When you’re 53, if you want people to get in their car, and pay cash, and schlep into those seats…it’s harder. I would just caution the next generation, if you want to do this your whole life, which every comedian does, make sure you’re getting real laughs…I know a million comedians whose work dried up at 53. You’ve got to be ready for that. Make sure you’re working to be ready for that.
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More Seinfeld at Funny How:
