Dane Cook once inhaled a line of Nesquik — in front of his mom. Whatever he says or does tomorrow in front of a crowd of college students is up for grabs.
If an “angel in jeans” walks up to you in an airport, glares at you and says, “Don’t get on the flight,” make sure it’s not Dane Cook.
With appearances on David Letterman’s and Jay Leno’s shows in addition to stints on Comedy Central Presents and Politically Incorrect, this comic is on the top of his game. He’s a funnyman who has no problem speaking openly about his love for the f-word or his hatred for the giant Kool-Aid mascot. It’s insane — yet brilliantly funny.
The film he directed, 8 Guys, is in sync with his sophomoric approach. The low-budget yet relatively entertaining feature is about eight guys fighting over an apartment the size of a “broom closet.”
Cook and his Tourgasm crew of miscreant comics, Jay Davis, Robert Kelly and Gary Gulman, are filming a documentary about their current cross-country college tour. They’re scheduled to hit the university’s Cole Field House tomorrow at 8 p.m. In a interview with The Diamondback yesterday, he talked about his life of comedy, his love of humor and his pursuit of happiness.
The Diamondback: Tourgasm is taking you from California to Massachusetts. It must be great to go from coast to coast.
Cook: Yeah, this tour has just been a whirlwind of emotions, you know? We’ve been up, we’ve been down, we’ve been injured. It’s a potpourri of emotions.
The Diamondback: A potpourri of emotions?
Cook: I think it sounds good, just not as well known as Tourgasm.
The Diamondback: Speaking of your tour, why go across America touring colleges?
Cook: I’ve been doing stand-up for 15 years and, you know, you go to the clubs, and it’s great. Everyone has a good time, lots of people around. But at a college, it’s an event. You know, I wanted to share that environment and the things that have been happening are just great.
The Diamondback: How is life on the road, by the way?
Cook: The pro side of it is I get to see the country, which I’ve never done before, and we get to play at schools and be with people. The con is that I’ve never been away from home for more than a month, never been away from my dog for more than a month. I have to constantly take care of my health, you know, if you’re coughing and hacking, you have to interact with other people when you’ve got a camera in your face. You know, you wake in the morning and you’re feeling crappy, or you’re trying to use the bathroom, or you’re eating a plate of food and there’s this camera stuck right in your face — it just opens up a whole new can of worms.
The Diamondback: How did you pull in Gary Gulman, Robert Kelly and Jay Davis?
Cook: What I wanted were guys at various stages of their career. Jay is hosting the Tourgasm’s documentary, and he’s still green and has to shut up to learn from the guys. Kelly’s on the radar and really a powerful performer. Gulman is more well known from Last Comic Standing and has been around for a while, so he’s at the point of just keeping a fan base. I have had a swelling of new fans just from my CDs, even without the TV shows and films. All of us can sell out 5,000 to 8,000 seats with [the tour].
The Diamondback: Going on tour in an awesome bus with four funny guys sounds like an amazing life.
Cook: To do what you love for a living and see the country all at once, I should never complain … but I do (laughs).
The Diamondback: I’ve seen your work on Comedy Central and was wondering about these practical jokes you talk about, like the one about telling people in the airport, “Don’t get on the flight.” Do you really do that?
Cook: Yes, I was in the airport with a friend of mine, and we walked by this guy sitting there and I go, “I have a really bad feeling about this flight,” and you know that guy is sitting there thinking, “Maybe I was meant to hear that.” But yeah, he looked really concerned.
The Diamondback: So are all your jokes based on real life? Do they really happen?
Cook: Everything comes from something. I pick up ideas based on what I’ve heard or seen, like there’s this joke about a guy getting hit by a car. That was actually based on something in the back of my mind that was, “Wouldn’t it be funny to watch someone get hit by a car?” Then I did actually see someone get hit by a car, and I was like, “Man, I have to write a joke about this.”
The Diamondback: Wow. Well, aside from doing stand-up, you’ve also done a short movie.
Cook: Yes, 8 Guys. I wanted to start learning the producing/directing aspect of it and get my feet wet in the business. It came together really well. I wish we would have had more budget and more time.
The Diamondback: Where did you get the idea for it?
Cook: A buddy of mine was living in this apartment with four other guys the size of a broom closet, and it smelled. So one day I said, “You all should do a contest,” and they were like, “Oh yeah? What contest?” and I suggest, “Let the phone ring, and whoever’s name is said on the machine, that person leaves by default.” It was a joke and didn’t really happen, but I went home and wrote the script, and it got some good laughs and that’s what it’s all about.
The Diamondback: You mentioned Johnny Carson. Are there any other comedians you admire?
Cook: Johnny would be my favorite favorite. He had this connection with the crowd that made him so good, and that’s what I try to do; just find a connection with the audience. But he has this connection where he’s talking to you, and that’s what I try to do. I try to have this spontaneous element of actuality and not a set formula. Bill Hicks, Eddie Murphy, all of them are great, and I just love the art of stand-up.
The Diamondback: But your style is so different. It’s great how you’re so animated. How did you come up with that?
Cook: I think [it] originated with my mom and dad. Mom is this physically silly, over-the-top goof, and my dad has this laid-back, sarcastic cocky swagger, so I combine the two elements. I use the English language to paint a verbal picture with the audience. With me, it’s real love for the stage.
The Diamondback: Do you get nervous?
Cook: Nervous? No, not nervous. Nervous energy. I more or less get the adrenaline pumping.
The Diamondback: I have to ask this because I’ve heard it in your stand-up. Did you really snort Nesquik?
Cook: Yes, yes absolutely. I did a line in front of my mom, and it gave me the worst headache of my life; I was probably about 11 or 12 years old.
