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Tragedy Plus Time takes us into the world of comedy in Toronto. With reviews of venues and shows as well as interviews and profiles with some of Toronto’s comics. Follow @TIAComedy |
Photo by Andrew Strapp
Chris Locke is a Torontonian stand-up comic who will be featured at JFL42, Toronto’s Comedy Festival. He was voted Best Stand-up of 2012 by NOW magazine. He has performed at countless festivals around North America, opened for Todd Barry, Hannibal Buress, Pete Holmes, Todd Glass, Neal Brennan, and toured with Kyle Kinane. I would describe his style as absurd, fun, and a bit surrealist.
JFL42 commences this Thursday, September 19th. Buy passes here. Check out Chris Locke’s performance schedule here.
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Is there anyone that you’re looking forward to watching at Just For Laughs?
A lot of shows, the whole festival’s freaking awesome. I think I’m doing one of Andy Kinder’s alternative shows again, which are the best. There’s this guy Brent Weinbach who I saw in Montreal this year, I really want to see how a full show of his would be. Bill Burr I really want to see. I love Kyle Kinane, John Mulaney. Sam Simmons, from Australia, who’s pretty insane. There’s a bunch.
You’re reasonably active on Twitter. Does that influence your comedy? Do bits ever start out as Tweets which you later develop? Or do you use it for promotional purposes, like promoting yourself just by being funny on there? Or is it just kind of its own thing that you do for fun?
I think you mentioned every reason I use it. Well, first of all I look at Twitter as a garbage dump for silly or stupid ideas that I probably can’t turn in to anything else. Like the other day I tweeted -
“Which one’s are dogs? Men?” “No, men are just men. Dogs are something else.” – Cat’s talking.
— Chris Locke (@chrislockefun) September 11, 2013
Where else would I put that? Also, why did I think of that? But if people respond to it then I like it beacuse I helps promote my sense of humor. So then every now and then I will tweet to promote a show that’s coming up that I’m excited about.
Is there anyone on Twitter that you like but isn’t really known for being funny outside of Twitter?
I would say, he’s already pretty successful as a humorist but not a stand-up, but Michael Kupperman. He makes these comics that are amazing. The thing that makes him different from other graphic artists is his sense of humor informs his art first, like his writing, and he’s a really good comic artist. His tweets are usually really good. I like absurd stuff like that. Sometimes you follow a lot of stand-up comedians and they’re not even really being funny on Twitter.
I’d say almost the majority.
Maybe the ones who are funny on Twitter are the ones who are still hungry.
Or maybe they don’t want to waste material?
Well, Andy Kindler is still funny on Twitter. So is Kyle Kinane; it has a tone to it that’s different to his stand-up. I like that too, when Twitter shows a comedian can be funny in a different vein.
I just ate at Big Smoke Burger. I remember you had a joke about sitting in the window there.
Big Smoke is one of my favorites. Everyone goes nuts for Burger Priest, but I would do Burger Priest second, maybe.
Someone just told me about how Burger Priest has a burger with two grilled cheese in place of a bun.
Yeah I heard about that. I don’t really feel like I need to try it, though.
It’s sort of like the equivalent of KFC’s Double Down.
Are you gonna try it?
I’m still debating it, I only heard about it a couple of days ago. I have to process that.
Take your time, man.
You recently did interviews for Just for Laughs with Marc Maron, Hannibal Buress – a bunch of people. So I wanted to ask: do prefer interviewing, or being interviewed?
I’d probably say interviewing, because every time I get interviewed myself I always think that I wasn’t funny enough and I was answering the questions too real, which is how I feel about this interview right now. Saying real answers feels kinda corny to me, but I always end up doing it anyway. What I like about interviewing people is I can pay attention to what they’re saying so I can get ready to ask them a question that they might not be expecting. I’m also just interested in what other people have to say. And also looking for opportunities to make jokes with those people.
I think it’s good though ’cause sometimes people can be too funny in interview situations.
Did you see my interview with Harland Williams?
Yes -
That was just a clip, but the real interview was like ten minutes long and he did not say one serious thing the whole time. I actually really liked it ’cause it gave my improv muscles a good work out ’cause I was matching him beat for beat, ’cause he was being super absurd non-stop. But yeah I guess it is sort of weird sometimes when you’re a fan of an artist and you’re trying to get to know them a bit more outside of their art, then in an interview they’re just being an enigma.
I remember an interview with him, I think it might have been with Adam Carolla, where he was trying to ask him personal questions and he just wouldn’t have it. It actually got awkward ’cause he was like, “I just don’t wanna talk about my family and that…”
The way he avoided answering anything real with me too was maybe awkward a little bit as well. I just played along though.
He must be a weirdo to live with, in his actual life, if he’s like that.
Maybe he’s ashamed of a weird way he eats a sandwich or something. He never wants that coming out. “I never want the world to know I eat a sandwich off my wife’s butt. And also I don’t eat at all.” It’s a weird detail he’s sensitive about. And the rest of us are like, “c’mon, Harland, it’s not that big a’deal, man, we don’t care about that. We respect you more for being honest.”
If someone were to search your name in YouTube, would you rather they click on your sketches or your stand-up?
Maybe sketches first. I like some of the stand-up clips but I never think they do justice to seeing me live.
Yeah that’s true.
I think the character stuff always does better online.
Do you have a favorite of the recent sketches you’ve made? Cool Judge, Meditation Man, Game of Thrones Bad Actor…
I really like playing Cool Judge, and I really like watching the Bad Actor. And I really like writing the Meditation Man. I feel like the Meditation Man is maybe a little too subtle for online. Cool Judge got a good response in Toronto.
Well, that’s everything I wanted to ask.
I hope I was funny enough…
It was a good balance between funny and informative!
Follow Chris Locke on Twitter @chrislockefun. Other info can be found here.