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ONE OF THE funniest men to ever get high and talk to goats sat down and talked to the Clarion this past week. After the success of his classic characters such as goat boy and Joe Pesci on “Saturday Night Live,” and Brian the stoner in “Half Baked,” Jim Breuer is still in the business of making people laugh, and he’s really good at it. Here’s what he had to say about his new comedy tour and life in general.
Q: How is your new “Lighten Up” tour going?A: It’s sad that I get paid sometimes! I can’t even tell you how much fun this is. I’m bringing my band again, but in Denver I’m just bringing the guitarist. The rest of the tour’s been smashing. We’ve been hitting house of blues and stuff. We get a big mix in the crowd. We get a lot of rock guys, get a few stoners. Were touring on a bus and the band is everyone I grew up with.
Q: Is it a lot of the same material from “Hardcore”? (Bruer’s previous tour)A: No it’s all different. In fact from “Hardcore” I don’t do anything. The only thing that’s the same is the AC/DC doing the hokey pokey, but we added some other bands. We added System of a Down and Metallica. I do Metallica doing “If your happy and you know it clap your hands.”
Q: What song do you do?A: Oh, that I will not tell. W’ere still playing around with it. Every night it’s a different song we do from them.
Q: You are playing at Madison Square Garden with Dave Chappelle in a few days. How do you feel about that?A: I’m beyond stoked. It’s going to be good. I just saw Dave and he was like, “Man we gonna have a good time.”
Q: How is Chappelle doing?A: He’s doing good, he has a new show on Comedy Central coming out.
Q: You have a new show in the works at Comedy Central. How is that going?A: We’re gonna film the pilot in December. Hopefully it will get picked up. It’s a sketch show. Dave’s is a lot of outside of the studio documentary style; mine is going to be a lot of live audience, a lot of characters. It’s more sketchy and fast paced. It’s a really small cast, just my close friends and me. We control the whole thing, which is why we’re stoked. If it gets picked up it will start airing no later than February. Then that would be cool because Dave and I would go back to back, and we could go on tour together.
Q: Can we expect “Half Baked 2” anytime soon?A: There is one idea that Chappelle has, and if he really wants to do it, it’s brilliant. We would never do it for the sake of just doing it. It’s got to be far out there and top the first one. We are strong believers in let it be. A lot of people do sequels for the sake of cash, we don’t want to mess up that film by doing that. We might even do something together that’s completely different but just as powerful.
Q: How are the fans responding on the tour?A: Psycho! Holy cow! They responded much better than I thought they would. On this tour I do a lot of story telling and behind the scenes stuff. I have a new album out called “Smoke & Breu” and a lot of the material from that album is what I do on the tour. When you come to a live show you get to see a lot of stuff that I can’t do on television. Like the new bit “The Wizard,” which is basically about me as a teenager the first time I played around with drugs and I tripped on mescaline. I’m a little bit more raw live. I have more behind the scenes stories from SNL when I’m live.
Q: On the new DVD, “Hardcore” is there a lot of bonus material on it or is it just the show itself?A: I’m not sure, but there is another DVD called “Heavy Metal Comedy.” That thing is great. It has an hour of documentary of me just going on campuses, different cities, how I create bits, seeing me when I suck, when I’m cranky, when I’m high, I’m high at the zoo. That one is already out.
Q: On your new Web site you answer questions from your fans. What’s the most bizarre question you have received?A: I haven’t got any weird one’s yet. It’s mainly like what’s your favorite TV show, how did you meet your wife, do you like dogs or cats, boxers briefs, what’s your advice for aspiring comedians. Stuff like that.
Q: Do you enjoy answering the questions?A: I do man. I like talking to people. That’s why I enjoy touring. Head out and get to see you bananas.
Q: You have said your two favorite places to play are Tempe, Ariz. and Denver. What is so great about these two places?A: Arizona, Tempe, I just love it out there. I always have a great feeling and I have great shows. Now my all time favorite creative place is Denver. I don’t know why, I don’t know if it’s the air or what. The club, the Comedy Works, every time I’m there it’s like 30 minutes of improv. The greatest crowd I ever play in front of is at the comedy works. That’s my honest answer about the two of them, I have nothing against all the other clubs, but Comedy Works is where I’m most creative. Denver has great weather, the chicks are hot. It’s great.
Q: When you’re in Denver do you have time to do anything besides work?A: No not really, usually I just rent a car and drive up in the mountains and get stoned, just sit and stare at the wilderness. I’ll think about how far we have come as a society and how retarded we are. I think about how I just want to live like an Indian again, not have to pay for stuff.
Q: Do you ski?A: I ski ok. I tried snowboarding, and I was good. Then I broke my cocksick bone. So I ended up being a spectator.
Q: What bone did you break?A: I’d never heard of it either. It’s this little bone that covers the end of your spine, and I cracked it. I actually learned to ski out in the West where you guys are. Then you go back East and there’s like ice and glass, and I got my ass kicked. I broke it in Vermont.
Q: You have been on a lot of talk shows. Do you have a favorite one that you like to go on?A: Conan. Conan’s the best. He still has the spirit in him. He still is a fan. He still enjoys his job. You can tell he still enjoys it. I like people who enjoy what they do. Whether it’s a bad show or a good show he’s still giving it. It just seems as if everyone else is living off of something that used to be.
Q: You have had a busy fall, and you have two daughters, one a newborn. How do you manage your family life and your work?A: I don’t go more than six days without them. So I’ll hit the clubs without the band and I’ll have my family there. I don’t want to be that dad that needs to go make cash and leaves their kids home. If it came down to that I’d leave it all.
Q: How are your daughters doing? Last time we talked I know Kelsey had just been born.A: My oldest one is maybe three genes from a chimpanzee. She’s schizophrenic; she is nuts, bonkers, a daredevil. The youngest one she just hangs. She looks like me, she’s pudgy, she looks high, and she has big stoner looking eyes. I’ll also make videotapes of myself when I’m away and send it to them, and my wife will take pictures of them and send it to me. If I get really depressed I’ll just go out, get drunk and get in a fight.
Q: Do you have any advice for the students of DU?A: Keep your hammers dry.
Q: Would you like to elaborate at all?A: No, just keep your hammers dry, and learn life by living it. Stop reading!
Jim Breuer appears at Comedy Works this weekend with shows at 8 and 10 p.m. on Friday, 6:30, 8:30, and 10:30 p.m. on Saturday and 8:00 p.m. on Sunday.
