It's a fascinating time for contemporary comedians. The old linear arrangement extending from clubs to cable specials to networks isn't the dominant voice in making America laugh anymore, but the hustle is still the same. So while performing at clubs throughout the country, comic Tom Segura expanded that hustle: He made his own playground.
He and his wife, comedian Christina Pazsitzky, established Your Mom's House, a podcast equally versed in net-based whimsy and earthy scatology that has grown consistently enough to snag both Roseanne and Gloria Estefan as guests. Segura has also done heaps of short films, as actor, writer, director (or sometimes all three) for Funny or Die. He's done radio shows and countless other podcasts, but the giant step up came in the form of two Netflix specials: this year's Mostly Stories and 2014's Completely Normal.
Before his three-night engagement at Zanies, Segura spoke with the Scene about the changing facets of comedy fame, outrage culture, his alternate career as DJ Dadmouth, and hot chicken.
How has Netflix helped change the game for comedians? It's easily the biggest unexpected game-changer of the last decade in the world of comedy. Nobody knew that streaming content would take off the way it did. It's shutting down the cable industry. I know people, obviously younger than me, that have never had cable as adults. And they never will. Netflix gives comics an amazing opportunity. You have millions of people that will possibly watch what you put out. The pressure is still on you to deliver, but they provide a massive audience.
It’s fascinating to see that you’re initially from Cincinnati. There’s something about comedians from cities that are known for really intense social, racial and cultural stratification — and it’s definitely something I would say is a commonality with your work and guys like Katt Williams and Geoff Tate — you make way more of an effort to reach out to all potential audiences. Do you have a particular philosophy when it comes to your audience? I would say that it isn’t deliberate, not as an ongoing conscious thought. I mean, I shouldn’t be given credit for making that effort, because I feel like it just happens naturally. It’s not a, “I have to make sure I reach out and discuss this and that,” type of thought. It’s organic for me and maybe for those guys too. I really just try to talk about what I find interesting and funny. Obviously it’s nice when it connects with a lot of different people. Maybe it comes from growing up around different types of people and wanting to share something with all of them. So on a subconscious level I’m trying to connect with them? That’s pretty deep, yo!
Have you run into Big Daddy Kane or Bruce Bruce since your material about them has been broadcast? Shortly after that special came out in 2014. That was one of the coolest things ever. My bit involves me yelling, "Sup, Kane!" to him in public, and I get up one morning and have a voicemail that starts with, "Sup, Tom, this is Big Daddy Kane." He was staying at my friend's house and called me. So surreal. I went over, met him. Super cool dude, and we've stayed in touch. We actually put out a shirt together. He got that going, not me. Bruce Bruce took over a year from when it came out to when he messaged me about it. He was so complimentary. Could not have been nicer. It was really satisfying to get the compliment from him just because he’s a comic.
If a restaurant named a sandwich after you, what would be on a Tom Segura? Steak, bacon, cheese, grilled onions. I don't know, man. I'm looking at this and I'm gonna die soon if I don't start eating other sandwiches.
Twenty-one years into the game, having lost ODB, would you say that the time has come where the Wu-tang Clan is something to fuck with? You never, ever want to fuck with the Wu. Ever. They got snipers and all types of goons in every city, man. Put that thought to rest.
Also, to steal a concept from Chris Rock, who are your Top Five MCs of all time? Top Five in no particular order: Biggie, Kane, Guru, Nas, Mos Def. You don't want to fuck with any of these guys. Not even the dead ones.
How do you find the time to tour as extensively as you do and still keep up a weekly podcast that requires as much pre- and postproduction as Your Mom's House does? Do you and Christina work on aspects of it while on the road and then put it all together just before recording? It really is a tremendous amount of work. We finally hired someone full time to help. So we have a producer, Blue Ban, who has taken on a lot of the pre- and post- responsibility. Doing the podcast is a full-time gig. And to think, we only do one episode a week. If we didn't do stand-up, we'd probably be doing more episodes a week, but we'd hire even more help. The workflow for it is pretty constant. You're either noting things that happen in your life to talk about or seeing a news story or someone sends a video with outrageous audio. We're constantly gathering all of it, filtering through it and putting together a show.
How long has it been since you watched Year of the Bull? I haven’t seen it now in a few years. I sort of miss it. I used to buy it as gifts for people, and I gave away so many copies of the DVD that now I don’t have it. So I’m going to repurchase it; thanks for reminding me. The best part of that movie is showing it to people who have played football. Because unless you played on that team, you’ve never seen anything like it.
Will you ever get tired of people tearfully shouting "bikes" at you? No. I've seen enough Behind the Music to appreciate when people love one of your "songs." And I have this sort of ideal amount of fame where it's never overwhelming. If I'm walking around, maybe a couple people do that, so it's kind of funny. At shows it gets a little more amped up, but it usually dies down unless someone is really drunk, which obviously still happens. But thankfully it's really manageable and fun.
How would you describe your relationship with the bear community? Really respectful. They admire from afar, and obviously I keep lifting weights and growing body hair. We're all definitely happy.
What would you say is your ideal breakfast? Three basted eggs with hash browns, well done. Bacon, well done. And a waffle. A little crispy on the waffle. God, I love breakfast.
When one of your friends or colleagues gets temporarily internet infamous for saying something awful, how do you metabolize that? Is it something that you respond to privately, or that you find a witty way to address in a tweet, or that you just let play out on its own unless asked directly? I would imagine it's a low-level stress headache that's just always there for most comedians. It's really more amusing to me than anything. I mean, how awful is awful? Most of what is said by a comic doesn't even register on the offensive meter for me, 'cause that's what I'm around all day. Comics are impulsive. We say things without thinking. That's how some of the funniest things are said, and also how offensive things are said. Most of what is said that's awful doesn't have awful intent. That's really the thing that comics understand about other comics saying awful things. The regular working world doesn't accept that, but comedians do. For a comic to say something that really affected me as awful it would have to be clear, deliberate, and reinforced by them. In that case, I'm happy to disavow them, but mostly I'm laughing at this nonsense of being offended.
What are your thoughts on spiders? I really don't like spiders, but the older I get the most I've fallen in love with animals. As long as the spider isn't in my bed, I'm not messing with it. But if you are a spider and you're reading this and you come into my bed, you better bring your eight legs to dance, bro, 'cause I'm swingin'.
What's next for you? I have a ton of touring planned out for the rest of the year, which I'm excited about, since my new hour is close to being finely tuned. It's always fun to tour when you have new stuff and there's excitement around what you're doing. I'm doing a pilot for TruTV that's a fully scripted show, and I couldn't be happier about that. I'm also really getting into DJ-ing, and I think I'll probably be really successful on a worldwide level within a year as a DJ. I'm also boxing a lot.
Have you ever had proper Nashville hot chicken before? If so, what are your thoughts and preferences? If not, do you plan to remedy this? I have not, and I regret it. This time I'm going in. I plan on eating and drinking as I've never done before on this trip.
Email arts@nashvillescene.com
