Holy shit, Bobby Slayton is a fast talker. When I called the 57-year-old New Yorker for an interview, he didn't answer the phone with a “hello.” Instead, it was “Ali fucking Lerman. God damn could your name be anymore Jewish?” Such a warm welcome and oddly enough totally expected from the hysterical “Pitbull of Comedy.” If you like a fan of pissed off rants on that veer on the edgy, poetic side, Slayton is your guy. He'll be driving through Irvine with a bus his typical bus-load of bratty, East Coast political incorrectness, headlining a show at the Irvine Improv from June 14th-17th.
OC Weekly (Ali Lerman): How is your new comedy special coming along? We're about due for a new one.
Bobby Slayton: I taped my last special in April and it came out well. I'm having a problem editing it because it came out an hour and twenty minutes and the networks want it at an hour. It's so hard to edit. It's like Abraham giving up one of his sons in the bible. It's very difficult.
Hey, I'm a Jew remember….
Oh yeah, well it's like deciding which son you're gonna kill then. So I don't know when it'll come out because I have to finish editing. The last one I did was a couple of years ago called, “Born to be Bobby,” and I did all these interviews and so many people would say to me, “Is your special going to be politically incorrect, racist, and sexist like your last one?” I didn't know that they meant it in a good way saying it was so evil. Like it was so racist, but it's great! It sounds like we hate your work, but it was great! So I watched it again the other night and they said it was so racist, sexist, evil, and I don't see where they get that part. I mean, I guess I can say if you are black, gay, Muslim, Jewish, Indian, Italian, Hispanic, or Asian you might have a problem. But for the regular people out there, I don't see why anyone would get pissed off!
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So are there any topics you won't touch?
Sometimes I wonder if people just say stuff for shock value but then
again, I like people like Gilbert Gottfried and Lisa Lampanelli that say
such outrageous shit. I find it really funny. It's not just funny, it's
really smart. As a comedian, there is no reason you can't joke about
cancer, rape, child molesting, AIDS, or the Holocaust as long as it's
funny. As a Jew I can tell you how hysterical Holocaust jokes can be.
Sometimes the fact that it is off limits makes it funnier you know? I
like to think you can be funny without censoring yourself. It's more
honest.
That's the kind of comedy I appreciate the most. And you're working on a book now too right?
Yeah, what I've been doing for the last four months is working on my
special, performing, and writing four or five nights a week. So I'm
exhausted!
What's the book about?
This book is fascinating.
It's not just because it's about me, but there's some really cool
experiences. So many comics have books. They're about parenthood, about
their fucking cat, about their stupid redneck family, or about how I
became a puppeteer…I don't care about that, I care about me. The fact
that I've been doing this for 35 years and there are very few comics
that are doing three hundred shows a year, who are 57 years old, and who
still write new material. I just keep forging on. I'm writing it on my
trusty iPad, the greatest thing ever invented by man. Better than pussy.
What is it, 500 bucks? You can get pussy for 500 bucks but you only get
to use it once.
Words to live by. What kind of music are you listening to on your iPad?
Well I cook every night and when I do I usually have on a lot of old
blues, the [Rolling] Stones, stuff like Elvis Costello, Ramones, there's so much.
Sometimes I throw on some heavy punk rock like Social Distortion who of
course are from Orange County, or some Green Day. And if that starts
getting too head bangy, I'll switch to Frank Sinatra or Lena Horne. The
Stones though, if people don't think they are the greatest band, I have
nothing to say. Well, unless they want to go with the Beatles. When
people start saying The Eagles are the best, that is different. The
Eagles? Go fuck yourself, you should die of cancer of the face you
asshole. Like people who say Journey is the greatest. Are you out of
your fucking mind?
Well in that case, I hate the Eagles! What do have in store for Irvine?
Irvine is great! You know that club is one of my favorites to play in
the country. I even hate to say that because other people will read
this so, let's just say it is one of my top three favorites. There will
definitely be new stuff from my new special that is not released. Go
check out my videos on YouTube so you know what you're getting into.
Get more of Bobby Slayton on his website www.BobbySlayton.com and follow him on Twitter @PitbullofComedy. Get your tickets to see him this weekend at the Irvine Improv by calling 949-854-5455 or by logging onto www.improv.com The Improv is located at 71 Fortune Drive Irvine, CA 92618.
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Ali Lerman knows much about comedy, basketball, and celebrating Wu-Tang Wednesday. She’s been writing for sixteen years and still calls her mom with grammatical questions.