Being Funny

BO JOHNSON is interviewed by SURAJ SEHGAL about being a stand-up comedian, the humanity behind humor, and the nerves around how it will be received. He also reminds us why we need humor more than ever before.

- SURAJ SEHGAL

Q: What initially drew you to a career in stand-up? 

BJ: When I was in the seventh or eighth grade, the iTunes Store had just become a thing. They had all the old-in some cases not so old-Comedy Central half hours. I was mowing a lot of lawns and doing yard work at the time, and I spent almost all the money I made on music or comedy specials at the iTunes Store. I’ll never listen to it again.

The first comics I loved were Mitch Hedberg and Demetri Martin, who were both great non-sequitur one-liner comedians. I also loved humorous books like those of David Sedaris and Douglas Adams, who wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

I had been writing a little satire zine with two friends, but after college they lost interest. I was also frustrated by writing something that no one would read, so I wanted to find a medium where the engine was my own interest. Stand-up was perfect; even if at first it’s three-minute open mic sets, there are captive audiences, and they give immediate feedback on what sucks and what works. That was the start of it, right after graduating college. I was busing tables and starting to do stand-up.

Q: I’ve seen your stand-up routine twice, once in Atlanta and once in San Francisco. I noticed you have jokes you are comfortable with, and then you have your sheet of paper with new material you’re workshopping. What’s your creative process like for developing new material?

BJ: If I’m on the road, I’ll slip in a few new lines, or some newer material, into the main set. I’ll try to do five to ten minutes of new material on a headline show, and if it’s working consistently, I’ll move it into my regular set and see if it still holds up. If it does, then it has a more permanent home.