Dane Cook
by Daniel Robert Epstein for SuicideGirls (http://suicidegirls.com/)

I’ve seen dozens maybe even hundreds of threads about comedians on SuicideGirls over the years and Dane Cook is the one that seems to inspire the most love and vitriol but I’m not sure why. Though when I got a chance to talk to Dane about Retaliation his new double disc comedy CD/DVD he seemed to have a pretty good handle on why that is.

Buy Retaliation

Daniel Robert Epstein: What’s going on today?

Dane Cook: I’m just talking to a lot of people about Retaliation.

DRE: Did you buy the other albums that debuted above you on SoundScan? Like Young Jeezy and Mariah Carey?

DC: Oh yeah, huge fan of the Young Jeezy. No [laughs] it’s a surreal thing to see your name next to huge names like Gwen Stefani and Mariah Carey. I never thought there’d be a day in my life where I could say I’m beating Michael Jackson on the charts. Pretty surreal, but at the same time, so real.

DRE: I only found out recently, after interviewing Robert Smigel, that comedy albums usually sell like shit.

DC: Yeah. Here’s what happened. The comedy albums, especially in the late 80’s all the way through the 90’s were really bad. I wanted there to be a resurgence in people coming back to the comedy album. I wanted to put a lot into the production of the live show itself and the packaging. The reason is, when I buy a band’s CD, I want great cover art, I want to see photos and I want to see that you took the time to care about my 20 dollars. So I came to the table with the goal was to put something together that we could really be proud of and give people something that’s worth their money. Now you’re seeing a comeback especially because there are some great guys out there. Mitch Hedberg, rest his soul, was another guy selling a lot of CDs cause he really put the time and energy into great shows.

DRE: It seems like you had to do a lot of the work yourself.

DC: Yeah I went to Comedy Central who I’ve worked with on both of these latest albums and said “I want to do a double album and I know you’re probably thinking I should break them up and sell them six months apart.” But I wanted to keep it priced at $18; put the bonus DVD on there and give people a lot of content. I’m really proud to say I fought for that. I put a lot of my own time and energy into creating the theme and the look of it, because if I don’t care, nobody will. I want the fans to pick it up and enjoy it and be like, “Wow, this is badass!”

DRE: What do you know about SuicideGirls?

DC: They’ve been big supporters of mine for many years. A lot of the girls from the site, even before I even knew what the site was, would email me and I would post their stuff on MySpace or my boards. I must say a shout-out, a thank you to SuicideGirls for being very vocal about my comedy and helping me spread my name out there.

DRE: You are the comedian most hotly debated on SuicideGirls.

DC: How so?

DRE: It’d be like “I don’t like him” and the next person would write “Well, I do and fuck you.” Every comedian obviously has his fans and his detractors but there seems to be something specific about you with internet fans.

DC: The one trait about most comics is that we kind of tend to be creatures of solitude. We don’t put a lot of time and effort into meet ‘n greets and things of that nature. I’m cut from a different cloth. I think the reason my fans are so front and center is because I put them there, because they put me where I am. So my fans might step up a little more because I’m in constant contact through my website. I think the reason people are debating me is because my fans are so excited to get more people into me so they might get in people’s faces more. I look at it like it’s all good, because even though there’s people out there going “Oh, I’m not into him”, or “I don’t think he’s funny” at least they’re talking about me. If you’re talking about me, you’re checking me out. If you’re not talking about me, you’ve never heard of me therefore you’d never know if I sucked or if I was any good, so I’ll take it.

Things really clicked for me when I had my first website and it was around the time that Napster was at its peak. So I took 20 of my clips from my first CD, I went on Napster and I put little tags at the end of every clip saying “Check out www.daneCook.com.” Then I would just leave my computer on 24/7 until enough people had my clips. It was at that point that I really solidified the way I was going to let myself spread, which was instead of street teams, I’m going to be an online street team. I’m hugely into the Internet and computers and using it to be a politician to try to shake as many hands as I can.

DRE: Do you write your material or do you riff on stage and then record?

DC: I was in improv and sketch comedy for four or five years, so I actually like to write on stage. I like to go up there with a nugget of an idea and kick it around, do a lot of improv with it and piece it together in front of a crowd. I don’t like it when you go up to see a band and it feels like it’s just nailed in. I really wanted my comedy to contain elements of that, so it’s very off the cuff.

DRE: What’s your improv background?

DC: I started in a troupe in 1990 called Al and the Monkeys and we were together for about four and a half years. We did sketch, music and improv. It was just a mess. We were just four young guys just wanting to be on stage and working it out. We played anywhere we could, at colleges, bars, clubs, laundromats. With my favorite comics I used to watch growing up, I liked to feel like something was happening for me up onstage. I kind of absorbed that through being in the group and put it into my own solo performance.

DRE: Since you’re keeping the CD price down, do you survive mostly on the touring?

DC: Yeah I’ve always done a lot of touring and my website has been very successful in the past, as far as merchandise and t-shirts. When you get into comedy industry, everybody knows it’s not very lucrative but in the last few years it’s changed for me, because I do have a solid cult fan base that provides me an opportunity to make a great living. So knock on wood, I’m a comic that’s benefiting and able to make a few shekels in this hard world.

DRE: I’ve heard that most comedy groupies are kind of gross.

DC: I get groupies from all walks of life. You don’t think that there’s going to even be such a thing as a comedy groupie, but surprisingly there’s a lot. They’re men, women, old, young. Certain emails I get are so insane, that if the FBI walked in and saw some of the things some people are sending me, they’d probably arrest me. But there are some really hot chicks that are into comedy. They’ve always said comedy’s an aphrodisiac. On the road all these years, I’ve always found that some of the most beautiful women in the world are lonely because of the fact that they’re so hot, nobody approaches them. So if you can make one of those girls laugh, it’s a great thing. Definitely over the years I’ve been a fortunate guy to have some really hot groupies at my shows.

DRE: You also produced Retaliation. What does that mean exactly for a comedy album?

DC: From the moment it comes to fruition, I’m putting the material together and I’m not running it by anybody. I recorded the show in Boston and I work with a great company there. We recorded seven shows and instantly started playing them back to make notes. As far as the set you want to keep it pretty tight, not too long or short. Then I just went into the edit bay with a really excellent composer and editor. We basically just sat and pieced together what we could to make it the best experience for a listener. From the moment I think of the show to the day you buy it, I’ve been in the room with everything you’re hearing and seeing.

DRE: Being that you’re from an improv background you like things to be a little spontaneous so how is it sitting there and producing?

DC: Well I don’t often listen to my own performances. In fact, I don’t tape my sets. I don’t make notes of my sets. I haven’t actually written down anything material-wise. I haven’t written jokes in about seven or eight years. It’s a little warped, but I like to keep it all in my head. My best material has always come from never having written it down and letting it try to come out naturally within the confines of a great audience. That being said, it’s tough to sit there sometimes, because you know you that improvised it, so you’re sitting there going, “Oh, I should have said this”, or “I could’ve said that.” So it’s a little bit tough, but it’s also rewarding, because you’re hearing the crowd respond to it.

DRE: Who are the other comedians you hang with?

DC: I’m great friends with Patrice O’Neil. I don’t get to hang with him a lot, because he’s in New York and I’m in LA, but when he comes into town I see him at the clubs. I’m in clubs almost every night. I still love to get up there at least six days a week. Comics are vampires. We love to just hang with each other at night and shoot the shit.

DRE: Even though you do some acting, it doesn’t seem like you generate movie roles for yourself.

DC: I’m actually going to be shooting a pilot based on my standup this month.

DRE: Who’s your executive producer?

DC: Jay Kogen [of The Simpsons]. Jay is an amazing guy and when we met we clicked instantly. We put it together, we wrote a great show and Sony is putting up the money.

DRE: Is it a three-camera show?

DC: No, it’s one-camera.

DRE: What’s the scenario?

DC: It’s called Cooked and it’s pretty simple. It’s just based on my standup. It’s kind of taking things you’re hearing on the CD and making those situations come to life episodically.

DRE: Are you going to be bleeping stuff, like Arrested Development?

DC: I’m certainly not a prime time 8:30 guy, so I’m not watering anything down. I’d like to keep it at a level like Fox, Comedy Central, Showtime, HBO. It’s going to be as close to what you would hear on my CD as we can. The first episode involves me seeing a guy get hit by a car and just bragging about it all day. Of course it’ll backfire when I bump into the brother of the guy who got hit.

DRE: Who else is in the pilot with you?

DC: Right now, the lead cast is just me, my best friend and another friend played by Liz Vassey [Captain Liberty from the live action The Tick].

DRE: Are you an official writer on the show also?

DC: Yeah, it’s going to be a created by me and Jay.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

SG Username: AndersWolleck

web address: http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/Dane+Cook/