Comedians Jeff Blanchard and Mike Baker
By Layne Anderson
The state of modern comedy is in something of a decline, being changed into something drastically different from its origins in the 5th century BC in Greece.Comedy was birthed at the same time as tragedy, to be performed during Greek religious celebrations—which being Dionysian included quite a bit of inebriation. As such, the art forms really are twins.
Originally, there were three evolutions in early comedy: Old, Middle and New. Old Comedy, the earliest form, was a rich blend of satire, physical farce and subtle wordplay. This was followed by Middle Comedy, which was a burlesque of heroes and divinities. Then came New Comedy, in which ordinary citizens were beset by ordinary problems.
Cleveland comedians Jeff Blanchard and Mike Baker take all three forms to heart, acknowledging, as Steve Martin once said, that “comedy is not pretty.”
Both were gearing up for Pandemonium III - Addicted to Love, a benefit for the Cleveland Public Theatre and Matthew Zone this coming Saturday, September 17. You can find out more about this event here. Blanchard and Baker were happy to “riff” on this and other topics when Cool Cleveland caught up with them recently for a casual chat.
Jeff Blanchard: Comedians are viewed as the bastard children of the theatrical world. In actuality, stand-ups are the New Vaudevillians. Not so long ago, comedy was bigger than drama. Think about it—who were the stars? Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, the Marx Brothers. People weren't watching drama. There is nothing to be ashamed of in being a comedian. It is its own art form. Many people seem to think it is a merely a stepping stone to getting a sitcom.
Stand-up IS the art form.
Mike Baker: If you want to be a musician, you can practice alone in your basement and become pretty good, long before you ever set foot on a stage. To do comedy, you have to put yourself out there, take the abuse, when all you've had to perform before is a mirror. You learn your craft doing it on the stage.
JB: Your cat is not going to tell you if you are funny.
MB: So there is no forgiveness, no practice. You learn from the doing. And audiences hate you if you are not funny—
JB: It's like learning to play baseball by having a major league pitcher firing 100 mph fastballs at you.
CC: It is easy to see that most sitcoms and the observational comedians like [Jerry] Seinfeld are practitioners of New Comedy, while people like Jon Stewart and Dennis Miller are definitely Middle Comics. Brecht himself thought that comedy was the preferred genre for political radicals... I would define [you] as the missing link between Old and Middle comedy, remembering Aristotle’s definition of comedy as “the painlessly ugly”, not dissimilar to their own tagline of “Brutal Comedy for a Brutal Age.” Not family entertainment as such. What made New Comedy take hold?
JB: We allowed it – that's the problem. Comedy was meant to be seen by adults in clubs. It was never intended to be something coming out of a box that the whole family could enjoy together. That is when the soul was pulled out of it. Redd Foxx, George Carlin, Richard Pryor – those were adult shows.
Comedy as performance art was deeply hurt by the success of the people in the 90's TV sitcom era. People like Tim Allen and Jerry Seinfeld created an impression that comedy shows were packaged, family-friendly fare—a series of witty retorts and observational humor.
This has degenerated to the current sad state of Last Comic Standing, which both Mike and Jeff have an obvious disdain for, stating simply that—
MB: Anyone can be funny for three minutes. Since when was comedy a competition?
CC: And then there is “Joke-e-oke”— a form of karoake in which wannabe comics can get up on stage and do the best bits of famous comedians, as they scroll across the prompter.
JB: No actor would get up and do set of great Malkovich monologues—
MB: But every comic will do Christopher Walken at the drop of a hat.
JB: But suddenly everyone thinks they can “do” stand-up.
What the comedians want to see is “Last Thespian Standing: The Battle of Soliloquies” with Patrick Stewart vs. Kenneth Branagh.
These working comedians have the utmost respect for the material, their work and for their audience. They love getting up in front of people and getting what they have to say out in the open. They have their own set of standards that they perform under. Their show definitely has a rough edge, but it is always based on a solid idea and tone. Their comedy is not “dark” – but it is certainly not mainstream.
They envision their job as a sort of factory, constantly working on a product, honing and refining, and then and only then, taking it out to the paying public.
They have no delusions of great success. Success for them is the joy they derive from working, and working together.
JB: Because I'm Mike's only friend...
Mainly, they just want to be good. They know they are funny, and so they don't feel any pressure to go out and BE funny. There is no trying in their acts. They are not joke comics. Mike is a monologist – a story guy with an agenda. Jeff is the master of the rambling rant.
CC: [What] about the craft of comedy writing.
JB: [Reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a joke, written on the back of a found scrap of paper.]
It is a primitive penciled flowchart, just lines, arrows and a scribbled word here and there. Mike's routines are written in full sentences on his computer. Nice and neat.
CC:' [It is] the inevitable question. Where do you get your material?
JB: [reaches for the local paper]
He feels that they will never run out of material – given the current state of the nation and the local political scene. If they are accused of being too political, Jeff emphatically states that if you are under 35 and unaware of the events taking place every day, you are an idiot.
They believe that they are delivering a public service for the meek, in that they voice the suppression felt by most people on a daily basis.
So, their show is cathartic. They will attack the sacred cows and show them for what they are, with no misgivings about hurting anyone's feelings. They take no prisoners. They feel they are saying what everyone should be saying.
CC: I would imagine that [you] don't get heckled much—
JB: Oh, hecklers are my meat. I love that interaction. But if you want to play with me, you should know what you are in for...
MB: My audience is usually too terrified to heckle.
CC: So, who are your favorite comics?
JB: Mike Baker, of course!
MB: Jeff... Foxworthy.
Feel the love.
Interview and photo by Cool Clevelander Layne Anderson mizlerATyahoo.com
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