To me, humor has always played some role in things you do… Are there comedians you pay attention to? Do you watch or listen to that sort of stuff?

No, I don’t follow comedians.  That’s weird; I’m having a birthday party tonight, and the theme is comedy. Everyone’s supposed to come up with some jokes. 

But I don’t even--when I do that kind of stuff it’s more coming from that economy of, I like the idea of performing and doing something without many elements. And I like the idea of a rambling, kind of surreal monologue.  And so it slowly evolved into that.  Sometimes I’ll think beforehand, ‘Where am I?  I’m in Kansas city. What am I gonna say?’  Think of some stage patter or something.  And it kind of snowballs.  Or, ‘What if I just lie about what I was doing earlier before the show?’  

But, I don’t know, I guess I’m comfortable being on the mic or something anyway. I like the idea of somebody, especially somebody who maybe doesn’t know what the show is--this guy starts out playing some kind of droopy instrumental music, and they’re like, ‘Ok, I kind of get what’s going on here,’ and it sort of shifts slowly.  And the last 20 minutes he’s just telling this story about what he was doing in his backyard. I don’t know, I like something shifting like that.  Like an Incan art form. Same with the kind of genre thing.  ‘This is a western, I get it.’  Then you’re like, ‘Whoa, what the fuck’s going on here?’

Yeah, people may be more cooperative if the jumping off point is pretty immediate.

Do you feel like you’re reading the audience in those moments, or you’re just kind of doing your thing?  Are you seeing what’s happening out there and reacting?

Like anybody who’s performing, I’m probably perceiving it as it’s reflecting back onto me.  You feel this energy, this vibe, and you’re just kinda like, ‘Alright speed it up, let’s get this shit over with. The vibe is fucked here.’

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