Russell Peters

0:08Russell about with MSN dot CA Russell Peters man. How you doing? Hey, I just washed my hands. Thank you I appreciate a little little clammy little clammy. So this is this is where you'll be Saturday. This is it This is the this is the big-time kids. Yeah, it's pretty impressive for venue though. Isn't it it is so it's very industrial looking I'm I'm surprised by the black and gray. Well, that'll change when you get in here with you with your big setup and everything Yeah, then it'll be brown black and gray So there's a crew around you all. I'll start with this because there's been a crew shooting you since I got here I recently signed a deal with Netflix where they get exclusive rights to my next special So as opposed to going to DVD first and then me selling it to networks

0:57It's going directly to Netflix and they thought it would be interesting to Document me Leading up to the special to the recording of the special so it's kind of like a 24-7 kind of thing where they Where they basically follow me in training until I get to the fight in training So talk about training talk about crafting an act. How does where does an act like this start? Well, the the the crummy part is they weren't there for the beginning of it like in January when I first well November I really just first starting in back on stage with no act with no act so you know One year ago exactly I had zero okay, and now we've got an hour and a half So where does it start you go to the laugh factory in LA or you play? Are you doing stuff for friends like how do you know? I would I think the first time back on stage was a shoot where was was in Arizona

1:44It was in Phoenix and stand up live and I literally had nothing So you just riffing on the crowd and all I could do is riff on the crowd But and taking stuff from what they say and yeah Things that people would say things that I would think of on the spot or what have you and And then I would take that and then I came to New York and did carolines for a week You know again just little things no I was doing I've had lining the week It was it was me meandering through You know going into survival mode, you know stand up is like boxing So you know when you're in a situation that's unfamiliar or dangerous for you You immediately go into survival mode and you you can throw a dangerous right-hand But it's not guaranteed I mean so it's that situation and now you know when I started touring with the show was in no in March

2:33And again, it was still so new with the actors only three months old at that point And it wasn't it wasn't polished already yet even but now it's it's in a good place It's very nice quite happy with it right now, right? And so this will be like the big test run the DVD you said you're gonna shoot it in we're gonna shoot the DVD in Australia and March in Australia. I like how you're going around the world to shoot these Yeah, well, that's the thing. I mean, you know Anybody can just go to one place and shoot it there every time but what's the point of that? Well, I noticed with the London the O2 gig a lot of it is British humor. You're catering to the crowd a lot Yeah, especially of that one and you know that was actually my least favorite effort that I've put out why I don't know I don't think I was in a mentally I wasn't in a good place. I was very distracted by life sure and

3:19later that's yeah and And and and now I'm back to being me so the act is right where I want it And it's I'm really happy with it and I can take pieces of it out and do it in different Areas and you know the last one I don't feel there was any one bit that I could be like I could do this somewhere if there was the audience was very They were great, but they were very Not as much of a mixed demographic that I'm usually I like performing for and that's because England has a huge South Asian population and you know and they came to represent for me. I'm not mad at that at all But as a comic I should have been better than I Should have been able to have gone in different directions with them which I didn't do and that's my fault

4:06So now I'm I'm back and I'm and I'm doing the act that I feel like doing your fault because From what I from what I read and gather it sets very improv You don't really know there's a lot of them, you know and it turns across that way too It's not scripted so I wonder about Australia are you gonna try and tailor things for them or is that just Australia's always been amazing with the audience is there like there's been I Did in two and a half hours one night in Australia But the funny thing is I did two and a half hours. It was a solid two and a half hours It was the odd like they were laughing from beginning to end and here's the ironic part They never gave me a standing ovation It was so mad about that. I was like I just did two and a half hours and not one of you could get up and go But I don't think culturally they do that but it's one of those things where he's like nothing not one person stood up

4:59But there but you know you have you have great sets in Australia. Yeah, well in great sets in America two things are really Everywhere. Yeah, they especially tie it back to the show. Yeah, absolutely. I see what you know Yeah, and you know and New York is that one city for me That in America where I feel like I tape every DVD and it would be you know the main I taped red, white and brown at Madison Square Garden That was one of my more memorable sets And New York is one of those cities that inspires you to do well, you know every time you're in New York and you're performing Every like I always hear in my head if I could make it there I'm like well, it's up to you. New York my opening act will be my buddy Ruben Paul and Paul for those who don't know He's a comedian friend of mine from LA. He's a

5:45see fit whoa he He's one of my one of my dear friends who he's actually the only person I've ever met in my 23 years of doing stand-up who can Help me get my set together Interest what do you mean by that? That's interesting? Um I don't know where that well. No, he'd be like have you sure have you thought about moving this to the it doesn't really Isn't so much right materially just kind of watch is what I do and goes Why don't you put this here and then that there and I think it'll flow better because there's sometimes you just get caught up in it and you Obviously you get a better perspective when from the outside And so he's always made me make these little shifts from put this here and put that there and it always made it better It's like a track listing for a band. This song is better here during a set. Yeah, he's almost like the

6:31He's a comic a very very funny comic too, but he's he's great at producing what I do the Rick Ruben of comedy He is them. He's my Rick Ruben Rick Ruben Paul apparently I talked to a lot of songwriters who say that getting the breakup sentiments out is cathartic and therapeutic for them Is it the same for you? I mean high publicized divorce, right? So yeah, I assume it's gonna show up to the act The divorce is in there the baby is in there. Yeah, well, I think I almost think comedians We almost self sabotage our personal life For this yeah, I I'm not saying it's done knowingly, but there's probably a subconscious thing that makes us do that Because if a comedian's happy, that's the worst place he could be It's sort of an ironic thing. Yeah, the happier we are

7:19The worse our show will be because what the hell we so happy about we're not here to spread joy We're you are yeah, we're spreading joy through our misery It's an interesting position before it is an interesting position because the more things you have going wrong in your personal life The more relatable you are to everyone else because everybody else has these problems And the you know if all you do is get up and talk about how successful you are And how great life is nobody wants to hear it. I don't want to hear it Is that easy for you to write those bits? I think when it happens naturally, it's easy to talk about and I'm not a guy who runs away from What's happening? I don't I don't hide behind the character. I am me So it's easy for me and it actually helps me a lot. You know when I say it out loud

8:05You don't write though from what I don't physically write down any never written a bit. See that I use I used to write my bits down Okay I in fact used to write it out word for word when I first done to in comedy. I would write down like if I said um I would write um Like I would literally write it out like word for word sound for sound And then I don't I don't know if I just got lazy I got lazy I'm acting like I don't know if I got natural if it's if it's not though at the same time Yeah, I mean for me, I think if it was written down then I would probably say it the exact same way And that's something I probably Discovered when I would write it down like that I would do it that same way every time And then there's no room for improvement or word economizing or anything. So It makes it more flexible and easier to to adjust to the crowd that's in front of you

8:56Absolutely Kim or what interview I was watching but you were talking about almost needing to do ethnic jokes because that's your thing people come to see them Right so you have to do it Is there a pressure for you to add that is that something you think or those jokes just come to you and you're just like well That's well They come to me and number one they come to me and then there is a bit of a pressure To maintain that flavor of comedy In that you know your fans are coming to hear a specific style of comedy And I don't need to make my whole act about that anymore, but it needs to be in there anymore That's so used to be used to well. I never felt like I had to it. Just it's just what I did That's what that's what you know as a comic as an artist you you you grow and you and you mean you you got to keep going too I mean that's not all I think about and there's I could do an entire set of not talking about any cultures or races

9:43And it would still be funny But would it separate me from the herd anymore? No, I would just blend in and that's not what I want to do I want to stand out and I need to do what is notoriously me hence the name of the tour notorious Is it anything with biggie as well or no it is with biggie hip-hop references It's biggies 15 year anniversary death anniversary I knew I was playing brooklyn And I was like that's it and biggie's my favorite emcee of all time. Is it sorry? Mel sorry a sorry craig sorry all the rappers and our friends with biggie was my guy without biggie You really I don't know what it was about biggie I just you know you look at biggie and and every he had everything stacked against him as far as success goes Especially at that time. He wasn't a good-looking fella

10:30He wasn't a spelt guy. He took it flipped it and made it him and I I don't know I I sort of felt like his Way of telling stories and the details he would tell him the story that would end up calling back later on in the stories There's songs we if you listen to the lyrics in in A lot of gender I got the suitcase in the center Yeah, it's on life after death anyway, he tells this detailed story About you know how he's gonna get the money from these people and I was gonna rob them and then when he walked But there's these little details that you have to pay attention to and that's the same thing in my comedy as I dropped little Lines that may or may not get caught But it's up to you to catch him and you're doing all this without writing it down

11:17So you're just hoping they come back later when you're often attention somewhere There's callbacks and then with me there's a lot of incidental callbacks I can't think of anyone else who's done this at your scale globally I'm i'm carland didn't get to that level Diddy No, I mean, you know, we live in a in a time at different time now though where You know global accessibility is at an all-time high I mean back then you really had to know what you were looking for Now you can stumble across things and be like, huh, I like that And that's what happened with me. I got lucky. I I I I popped at the right age Not my age. I meant the uh Digital age that we live in five quick questions before I let you go one word answers sure Which accent took you the longest to nail?

12:06Chinese Lenin or McCartney? Who? Lenin Neither Carlin or prior Carlin Bit your most proud of uh it would be a bit that I did about Uh, white people getting offended on behalf of other people And in one word Russell Peters Real