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by tim molloy Jeff Richards puts things right out there. By the time I met him in late 2002, I had already heard lots of fun Jeff stories. There was the time he wandered a BART train in San Francisco, telling incredulous passengers about the soup of the day. And how he became a stand-up comedian, and then a cast member of Mad TV. And eventually how he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. I met Jeff because our mutual friend Pete was in town and told me to swing by Jeff's apartment. As I rode up in the elevator, I decided I wouldn't mention the SNL thing unless it came up naturally. "Hey," Jeff said as he answered the door. "Would this be good for Saturday Night Live?" And he went into a frighteningly good impersonation of President Bush. See? Putting things right out there. Jeff grew up in Walnut Creek but now lives in Los Angeles, where his standup act includes material about not only the president but also Ozzy Osbourne, Dr. Phil, and Drunk Girl -- a character he created by imitating a slurry, attention-starved girl who kept yelling at him during his standup act. Recently I talked with Jeff about his upcoming album, his life since leaving SNL, and his shows this week at Cobb's Comedy Club in San Francisco. Tim Molloy: When did you perform standup for the first time? How did it go? Jeff Richards: It was in a soup kitchen in Northern Ireland. I was half-drunk and half-cocked. I knew I could do impressions, but the cellar was dimly-lit and I had to use a potato to prop-out a microphone. Basically I was ass-raped. TM: So that means it went poorly? JR: No, I had a blast. Sore the next day, but a blast. Then I moved to North Carolina for college and met a comedian named Jon Reep, and he helped me get some stage time. I'd been up two or three times in the Bay Area and really wasn't into the coffee shop scene. At that time -- about '96 -- I was too shy to get up in the San Francisco clubs. I didn't have anything to say. I could be funny and fuck around, but I wasn't ready to just pop up and see what would happen. TM: So performing in North Carolina felt safer somehow? JR: Yeah, just me and the cows. TM: You're billing the San Francisco shows as "A Comedy Soldier Comes Home." What does that mean to you? JR: I'm from Walnut Creek and... yeah, I'm from Walnut Creek. Is that enough of an answer? Sorry. I think I'm lactating, as I haven't had my morning cup of Josephine Baker. TM: Is it easier to perform when you don't know anyone in the audience, or when you have some friends out there? JR: It's cool to see friends if they don't try and talk or "help me out." Because normally I would retaliate against hecklers, but if it's somebody I know it's harder to do that. I think it comes down to whether it's real energy or fake. Somebody I don't know or who I have never met yelling out, "Suck my lil' billowy balls," that's real and organic, and needless to say makes me very horny. TM: You've been on lots of big talk shows, including Conan O'Brien and Craig Kilborn. When you do those shows, do they pull you aside before you go onstage and ask what you want to talk about? JR: Yeah, for me it was the day before with Conan because I was replacing a fallout and I knew the bookers and runners so we talked it over on the phone. Conan is two floors below SNL so you can actually just go down the stairs and you're there. Magical television land. The day I went I did hair and makeup at SNL between rehersals and popped on there. It took 15 minutes. TM: Is that a rush, or terrifying? JR: It's everything. It's all so much to take in, but it's been like that for the last four years. Constantly blowing my mind. So somehow you get a little used to the fact that your mind might get blown again. TM: What would you like to do in the next four years? JR: Keep doing movies. I've shot one and two more are coming up. I love acting. It's really fun and I have so much to learn and I love that. And this comedy album. That's another reason I'm at Cobbs. TM: So material from the Cobb's shows will be on the album? JR: Well, the structure and most of the jokes will be, say 60 percent of the album. The rest will be sketches and songs and weird stuff. Fun stuff. I'll see what I like to do most and what works the best. TM: The people who come to the show -- will their minds be blown? JR: Only if they were expecting to get their green cards, 'cause I'm not bringing my green machine. And you can tell all the bitch-faces who their momma is. Or... no comment. Jeff Richards performs July 8-11 at Cobb's Comedy Club, 915 Columbus Ave., in San Francisco. You can learn more about him at tastyjeff.com. |
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