Thanks to Carolina Productions, USC students will have the opportunity to see an entirely unique performance — one that includes a blend of musical instruments and a hilarious comedy routine. On Friday, April 24, Bo Burnham will perform at the Koger Center at 8 p.m.
Ahead of his performance, The Daily Gamecock talked with him about his love for music, where his comedy style comes from and his thoughts on self promotion and the modern artist.
The Daily Gamecock: How do you implement a theater background and a performance mindset into your comedic acts?
Bo Burnham: Yeah, I mean, I’ve always loved theater and performance and all that stuff. And yeah, a lot of American acts — American comics and stuff — aren’t, you know — it’s very stripped down and not very theatrical. There’s a lot of European and Australian comedians who are very large and theatrical and sort of incorporate lighting cues and sound cues, so I was able to kind of jack it from them. But, yeah, I mean, you kind of incorporate however you want just because the only rule is you need to stand on stage and be funny, so as long as they’re laughing you can kind of do what you want. Easier said than done. [Laughs]
DG: Do you think of yourself as more of a comedian or a musician? Is this a hard question for you to answer?
BB: No, I mean, definitely comedian more than a musician. I think of myself more as a writer than a comedian. But definitely, definitely. Yeah, the music is secondary to the comedy — music is a container for the comedy, more for the writing. If I wasn’t doing this I would be writing. I wouldn’t be in a coffee shop trying to get my album out.
DG: Would you be writing books, or...?
BB: Yeah, I mean, I don’t know exactly, but I just think that’s probably what I would’ve fallen into. In one way or another I could’ve been writing what you’re writing or I could’ve been writing whatever. But that’s much more my passion — that feels like something I’m passionate about. Music feels like something I fell into. I love it — I’m just not naturally musically gifted at all.
DG: So, music is something you have to work hard at?
BB: Yeah, I mean, I’m good at math, so I know patterns, and I’m not bad with music. But I don’t have a great ear. Yeah, so it’s really just a container for the other stuff.
DG: What’s a question you wish an interviewer would ask you?
BB: Ooh — I don’t know, you’ve got good ones. I don’t really sit around wishing they’d ask me things. [Laughs]. You know I don’t do too many of stuff like this. I’m not one of those people who’s constantly complaining about the questions they get asked — just quit your job then, you loser. [Laughs]. If your biggest problem is the fact that questions in your interviews might be slightly redundant, you have one of the greatest lives in the world.
DG: What makes you laugh?
BB: You know, usually just joking with my friends or my family, that’s — I understand that I do a show, but even if I do the funniest show people have ever seen in their lives, that I’m not giving them the biggest laughs of even their week. I know that the hardest you’ve ever laughed is when your friend says something stupid that’s just classic them, or your mother does something weird. That takes some of the pressure off of me, you know, that I know in my life that the biggest laughs I get are not from comedy at all ... I think people get most of their comedy enjoyment from their immediate circle.
DG: Do you pull from your immediate circle of friends? Is a lot of your comedy inspired by your friends?
BB: No, zero percent. I would say very much no. But that’s the thing for me. That’s why I think my comedy goes in the other direction, since I know that joking around with your friends and family is going to fulfill you so much, you know, and make you laugh — I don’t try to pursue that. I feel like some comedians do. They try to pursue that type of comedy like “Hey, I’m your friend and we know each other.” Maybe I’ll joke about the celebrities that we all know so it feels like I’m joking about a friend of mine — a friend of “ours” — but I try to pursue the very other thing. [Laughs]. This is the type of comedy that you will absolutely not get from your friends and family, which is the big, sort of weird show, and I’ll leave the friendly laughter — which I admit is the deeper, more meaningful laughter — I’ll leave that to your actual friends and family.
Yeah, there’s something repulsive and kind of nauseating, that trying to — being a little ploying and then trying to make the audience feel like ... you know, I’m aware that I’m standing up on a stage. I’m above you, we’re all facing this way and [being] up here. Pretending like we’re all friends or that I’m some guy at a party has always been weird to me and hard to pretend.
DG: Have you ever thought of material and thought, “Damn I’m so funny — this is gold"?
BB: Uh, no. [Laughs]. Yeah, no. Maybe things in the moment, but it doesn’t feel like that ever. It doesn’t feel like, you know — it’s just writing takes a lot of time and so when it happens or something works it doesn’t feel like, “Oh my God, I’m such a genius,” it feels like, “Well thank God I thought of that, potentially,” you know what I mean? It doesn’t feel like writing or telling jokes — it feels like mining. You know, I spent eight hours as a miner trying to find something. It’s not like “Oh look at me, I’m a savant I know exactly what’s funny,” it’s like “No, I was down here for eight hours — thank God I found something.”
DG: I’ve heard you comment on social media in several interviews, and you have a very distinct perspective on interacting with fans. Can you kind of elaborate on that?
BB: Yeah, I mean I’m not sure exactly what you’re referring to, but, I mean, yeah, I don’t know. I don’t think it’s that distinct, but I guess it goes back to the best friend thing. A lot of people that are way more famous than me and just sort of feel like the best way to maintain a career is to maintain a relationship with their fans, but I think it’s a complete waste of everyone’s time — including the fans’ time. I mean if you want to serve the people that like your stuff, you should just work on your stuff and make it better, and I think a huge problem for our generation is the fact that the people that should be creating interesting stuff for us are too busy trying to endear themselves to us with @ replies and direct messages when they should be writing and working and have something of value to give us.
DG: So, you think people are too focused on self-promotion?
BB: Yeah, but it’s a slicker way, which is like — self-promotion people kind of realize is kind of icky, but this is even the slicker version where it’s like ... “Let me spend all this time interacting with my fans.” Interacting with your fans? What? What are you talking about? What is that? I mean Jesus Christ, if John Lennon would have spent years replying to every fan letter he wouldn’t have written “Imagine.” [Laughs]. I mean it’s like I’m not saying don’t answer fan mail — that’s a d---ish thing to say — I’m just saying [that's] a much more selfish thing than people think. You know, people get so scared of losing it. I don’t know, I’m on the other side of this thing in every other relationship. Yeah, I create stuff on one side, but on every other side, and when I look at artists or musicians that I like, what I want for them is for them to keep making their things — to concentrate on making their things better. You know, it’s like a freakin’ mechanic calling every one of his clients and saying, “Thanks for being a client.” Like what are you doing?
DG: What if the audience doesn’t laugh at your set?
BB: That’s fine. You know, there are parts of the show that aren’t necessarily meant to be laughed at. [But] them not laughing is almost a — that’s sort of like an extreme that doesn’t happen ... There are shows where people are really diggin’ it and shows where people aren’t diggin’ it, you know? And you just sort of adjust to the feeling. You just try to remember why you wrote this and why you like performing it and just realize that there’s probably at least a few people out there who are enjoying it and do it for them. Don’t worry about the rest. But yeah, I mean it happens all the time, and you just gotta roll with it, you know. If you’re in a good place that doesn’t matter as much — you aren’t always measuring yourself by the laughs you’re getting. That isn’t the only form of currency.
DG: Do you ever worry about offending people?
BB: I mean yeah ... now I guess I do. You know I’m not like a — I’m not one of those comedians that thinks people shouldn’t be respected and doesn’t give a s--- about upsetting people. I mean, when I was younger I said some stuff that was offensive to me, not just because it was offensive, but because it was offensively easy and sort of pedestrian. But I was 16, so I wouldn’t expect much from me then. Yeah, I mean I don’t want to hurt people — I don’t want to bully people, you know. If people think it’s funny it shouldn’t matter, but some of the worst times in my life were being laughed at. I don’t want to be someone that makes someone feel laughed at for the wrong reasons. At the same time, I’m not gonna change my act just because someone doesn’t understand irony or something. I’m very — I’m sure that my new show isn’t offensive at all, you know. Some people would say sometimes because it either has strong language or deals with something strange, but I would say, “No, well, if you understood this joke, you would know that it isn’t offensive about making fun of this person” ... I feel like I can defend everything for them ... so, you get the gist of it. Yes and no. Like I am — I don’t want to offend — I don’t want to hurt people, but I also — I don’t care if my stuff is misunderstood.
DG: What’s the craziest thing that a fan has ever done at one of your shows?
BB: I had a guy in Atlanta climb on the stage who was drunk a couple months ago — that one came to mind. He was drunk with a ponytail, and he just slowly climbed on the stage and sat on my piano. That was a freaky moment.