David Spade admits "you can't get any mellower" than his delivery these days.
Gone are the days of bombing on stage as the new kid in a tie. His "Saturday Night Live" spotlight came and went. And now he adds to the been-there, done-that list — "No more Playmates. Those days are over."
After a DNA test named him the surprised father of Playboy pinup Jillian Grace's baby, the new dad spends most of his free time golfing and maintaining his stand-up skills. That's when he's not shooting his latest sitcom, "Rules of Engagement."
It's been 20 years since Spade busted into late-night living rooms as the snarky little twit who lampooned celebrities in the "Hollywood Minute" sketch on "SNL." He still looks back on it as one of the most competitive spurts in his career.
"I had so many people around me that were good, I kind of got overwhelmed," he remembers. "It was like skipping college ball and going from high school straight into the pros."
After graduating from "SNL," the phone never stopped ringing. He went on to star in the sitcom "Just Shoot Me!" and brainless '90s classics like "Tommy Boy" and "Joe Dirt."
Before he takes the stage for a night of stand-up May 20 at the Wells Fargo Center, the 45-year-old comic took time out to chat about a new animated series for TBS, stumbling upon his doppelganger, "Billy the Exterminator" and the art of bombing on stage:
Q: All I really want to know is how the animated "Joe Dirt" pilot is coming along.
A: That thing's slower than we thought. The pilot's the hardest part because you base it on the movie, but it's not exactly the movie. You need a way to build the ground floor so all the episodes come easily. Once you decide what characters are in the town, what Joe Dirt's doing there — where he works, where he lives — then you can write it.
Q: Then you can do "Joe Dirt Marries the Octomom" or "Joe Dirt Joins the Tea Party"?
A: "Joe Dirt for President." You're right — "Joe Dirt Goes to the Moon." Once we get the pilot done, then it's all that stuff. We have funny stories — he gets addicted to hand sanitizer like crack and all this crazy stuff happens.
Q: I have to admit, I just became one of your 10 billion followers on Twitter and I must know — what happens on June 8th? (On May 5, Spade posted "Everyones so into cinco de mayo. just wait till ocho de june-o.. i will be trashed. this ones too easy").
A: It's just a dumb, running-out-of-ideas joke. It's like doing a cartoon strip — "Oh, I gotta say something today? Oh (crap)."
Q: Do you still get that rush from stand-up that you got in the early days?
A: It still scares me. I still have to bring notes, so if I don't have my whole hour memorized I kinda jump around. Some of it may feel familiar, but I'm leaving out 15 minutes that I did last time. I try to rotate it around and sometimes I throw in some topical stuff, but the problem is I have Tiger (Woods) jokes, but after another month I'll get rid of them. That's why I don't get too political, because you can't really hold it forever. I hate when it changes in a week.
Q: Do you ever think, "I can get a little bit more mileage out of this joke" and then you get the big groan?
A: Sometimes I'll do field data off my other comedian buddies and they're like, "Dude, you can't talk about Billy Carter anymore. Even though he's a big goofball, Jimmy Carter's not president anymore." But I'm not really doing social commentary like Chris Rock, so if I just talk about Costco and my lame dad, at least those two things stay constant.
Q: What if you were still doing "Hollywood Minute" or the "Showbiz Show" — who do you think you'd have the most fun with today?
A: There are so many people that drive me up a wall. The Kardashian show is annoying. I mean the "E!" Channel is fertile ground. I thought "(Keeping Up With) The Kardashians" was bad until "Pretty Wild" came on and they're talking about the paparazzi madhouse and I have no idea who they are. On the treadmill yesterday, I was watching "Billy the Exterminator." I don't know what it is about the show, but the guy looks like Joe Dirt.
I'm watching and they're like, "He got a big ol' possum and he's gonna fight a snake!" I go, "I have no idea what's going on, but I'm watching it and it's mindless."
Q: How do you think your comedy has changed over the years?
A: I was going to say it hasn't, but that's not a good answer. I know in the beginning I was more eager and high energy. I saw tapes of me early on where I'm like, "Hi, everybody! What's going on? I was at the DMV today and it's crazy down there .
.
." I was super-trying hard and desperate. I used to wear a tie in the beginning. I have no idea what that was about. Q: Do you remember bombing on stage?A: Oh yeah. I still can have trouble, but it's not as bad. I used to eat it bad. After my first time on stage there was no reason for me to go on a second time. They were like, "You know what — maybe it's not for you."But I just really dug it and I don't get that passionate about many things. I would tape it and listen to it and try to break down why it's not working. I was actually funnier between the jokes. The jokes were lame and then I would mumble something about the joke and then I'd realize that's actually funnier because it was kind of real and off the cuff. I just got a calmer and drier delivery and, you know, we'll see. I don't know where it's going. You can't get any mellower, though. I'll hit a wall. At a certain point, it'll just fall apart.Bay Area freelancer John Beck writes about entertainment for The Press Democrat. You can reach him at 280-8014, john@sideshowvideo.com and follow on Twitter @becksay.
Q: Do you remember bombing on stage?
A: Oh yeah. I still can have trouble, but it's not as bad. I used to eat it bad. After my first time on stage there was no reason for me to go on a second time. They were like, "You know what — maybe it's not for you."
But I just really dug it and I don't get that passionate about many things. I would tape it and listen to it and try to break down why it's not working. I was actually funnier between the jokes. The jokes were lame and then I would mumble something about the joke and then I'd realize that's actually funnier because it was kind of real and off the cuff. I just got a calmer and drier delivery and, you know, we'll see. I don't know where it's going. You can't get any mellower, though. I'll hit a wall. At a certain point, it'll just fall apart.
Bay Area freelancer John Beck writes about entertainment for The Press Democrat. You can reach him at 280-8014, john@sideshowvideo.com and follow on Twitter @becksay.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: