Perhaps you first encountered comedian Barry Rothbart doing stand up on Conan. Or maybe you spotted him popping up numerous times in Martin Scorsese's recent opus The Wolf of Wall Street. He's also got a new album, Streets of Fire, available via Itunes and elsewhere.
But perhaps you're not too cool and haven't stumbled across him yet at all. That could (and should) change this weekend, since Rothbart has two area shows: at the Riot Room in KC on Friday--details here--and at Pachamama's in LFK on Saturday with many of your favorite local openers--details here.
We recently asked Barry some questions about his stand-up and film work and he (sort of) answered them, so enjoy the interview and we'll see you at the show(s).
Chip: I just watched your performance on Conan and I think my favorite bit was the Liam Neeson/"particular set of skills" riff. What's your personal favorite bit that you do and why? And how much of your routine is dick and "shart" jokes, because that seems to be about 65% of Lawrence comedy right now.
Barry: The percentage of my routine that's dick jokes is the same percentage of my body that is dick: 40%!! I've got a big dick (or a small body)!!!
Richard: Who's your favorite (relatively) well-known comedian right now and why? And who is a comedian that our readers might NOT know about but should discover?
Barry: Bill Cosby. He's great. Besides that, I love Rory Scovel.
Chip: The Lawrence comedy scene is booming right now, and there's some good stuff going on, but some nights (like the recent Thanksgiving show) are about as awkward as you can imagine, with half the comics just riffing on a Shirley Temple movie playing in the background for some reason. Want to regale us with a tale about a particularly awful or awkward set?
Barry: Yes. Wait, no. Sorry, I stopped reading the question halfway through. What's Lawrence?
Richard: What advice would you give to Lawrence's struggling young comedians who are busting their asses several nights a week and wishing THEY were on Conan?
Barry: Get on Conan. You'll love it!
Chip: So you were in Scorsese's Wolf of Wall Street, a film which set a record for most uses of the word "fuck." What was your role in the film, which hour did you appear in (because that sumbitch is looong!), and how many times did you say "fuck?"
Barry: I am in eight scenes and never say 'fuck.' Although I said 'fuck' when they cut out the other scenes I was in. But that was while I was watching the movie, although Martin Scorsese was with me at the time taping my reaction to seeing the movie, so I guess you could say "once" if that situation counts.
Richard: Can you leave our lazy readers with a blurb on why it's imperative that they catch Barry Rothbart at the Riot Room in KC and/or Pachamama's in Lawrence this weekend? And, by the way, Lawrence is often referred to as LFK (Lawrence Fucking Kansas), if you want to work that into your set to please the locals.
Barry: Sorry, I won't work that into my set. Just being honest. And here's my blurb on why you should see me... http://www.imdb.com/
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