Lawrence.com

John Gibbons, GTA for KU, enjoys playing PC and old-school Nintendo, web programming, and sex ("Is sex a hobby? I try to do that as much as I can.")

What drives one to pursue stand-up comedy as a form of expression? A burning need to to assail the hypocrisies of modern life? Emotionally scarring experience with airline food? Extensive collection of props, nothing to do with them?

"Well, as long as I can remember, making people laugh was something that I always tried to do. I find humor to be the foundation for any relationship, no matter how insignificant it is. If you can make everyone from an acquaintance to your spouse laugh, then you got a life. But what really drove me to do stand-up was I wanted to do something that I would never get sick of that would bring enjoyment to myself and others. I think every nerd has a secret yearning to perform, they just never get the right combination of social skills, bathing, and confidence."

Who are some of your comedy idols?

"My work is very heavily modeled after Patton Oswalt's brand of stand-up. I wanted to avoid doing comedy with a capital 'C' where I start jokes with 'did you hear the one about...' or 'Who's been on an airplane with a baby in it?' All my material is derived from conversations with my friends, and, in a way, my goal is to share all my in-jokes-the jokes that end with 'I guess you had to be there'-with total strangers. Other large inspirations are Dave Chapelle and Brian Posehn. The series 'The Comedians of Comedy' and the film 'Comedian' are also inspirations-they make stand-up seem so much more tangible after witnessing real people struggle, fail, and even resent doing stand-up."

Is there a way to hone your skill as a stand-up that doesn't involve repeated, soul-raping flameouts in front of disinterested to hostile audiences?

"Well, if I had to play the role of 'Mickey' and train a new standup comic, the first thing I would tell them is, 'Stop thinking about doing it and just do it!' Doing stand-up for the first time is a lot like having sex for the first time-you're nervous, you think you know how you want it to go despite never doing it before, and no matter how drunk you get you still have to perform. But then after you do it once, you immediately know how to do it better, and the more you do the better you get. You can do it in more places, with different people, drunk, sober, day, night, for five minutes or two hours-it doesn't matter. Just do it, and you'll improve. It doesn't matter the audience or the venue, go perform. But a secret that has really helped me is: tape yourself. Watching yourself perform on stage is so f*cking hard to do; you cringe at every mistake, twitch, misstep, and stumble, but in the end you know right away how to do it better."

With the exception of City Hall, is there a comedy scene in Lawrence? How does one get exposure here?

"When I started last October, there was no stand-up at all. I would get funny looks when I told people I wanted to perform at open mic nights. Lawrence is a town that seems over-saturated with music and under-saturated with any other kind of performance. But, with a little warming up, most venues will at least let you perform once just out of morbid curiosity. But for newcomers, here's some easy steps to help get the word out about you:

1. Go to Office Depot and get some cheap business cards, about $15 for 1,000.

2. Record yourself and post the videos on the web, MySpace or your own domain. I made mine, johngibbonscomedy.com, for only $60 a year.

3. Just walk up and down Mass., go into each venue and ask if they'd like a pro-bono opener anytime soon. Performing is the best and easiest way to get exposure.

4. Contact me (jwgibbo@gmail.com) because I aim to make Comedy Nights a regular thing.

But seriously, what's the deal with women drivers? Am I right fellas, or am I right? (Feel free to use this as an opportunity to complain about the quality of most stand-up comedy, or how you go about writing material/what kind of material you prefer, or what indeed the deal is what women drivers, etc. etc.)

"Well, when I write material I do have a loose focus in mind. I believe that there is a brand of comedian waiting to exist, and if I end up being it, then rawk. That brand is the nerd raised with Nintendo and the internet. It's the brand of nerd that came after D&D. It's the nerd that can name every damn internet meme in Weezer's 'Pork and Beans' video. It's the nerd that works out just so he can pick a fight with frat boys that say Halo is 'teh best FPS evar!' Oh no no my friends, 'entire frat is babies.'

If I've lost you, don't worry. Give it enough time and you too will be Rick Rolling the hell out of each other."