Brian Posehn
by Jerilyn Cook
Standing at an intimidating 6'6'' with a face that he has often described as being "rape-y," comedian Brian Posehn hasn't completely shed his stoner, metal-enthusiast, comic-nerd shtick. He's the same self-deprecating, dick-joke loving comic that solidified his loyal, fellow nerd fetishist audience by encouraging them to fearlessly laugh with and at him. Whether you've seen him as one-half of the ambiguously gay and mundanely eccentric couple on The Sarah Silverman Program, or perhaps you've seen him perusing your local comic book store or lurking in a nearby alley, you probably already know that Brian Posehn is funny. Really funny in fact. But now with a family in tow and a newly valued clear head free of it's once familiar pot smoke haze, Brian Posehn is a full-fledged adult ... well, sort of.
You talk about dicks a lot. Why is that?
(laughs) Honestly, that's the stuff that makes me laugh. I don't write a joke unless it makes me laugh. I feel like I don't do dick jokes that you've heard a million times. I always try and have my take on it, coming at it from a goofy angle. I can go highbrow too, you know? I don't know. It's another obsession, I guess. I guess I'm a dick nerd.
I heard a rumor that you quit smoking pot. What's that about?
I've done it for a long time and I reached a point where I didn't want to be that guy anymore. It took more and more pot to get high and that kind of scared me, honestly. I've been clean for three months and that's going to be a new thing I talk about on stage. It was something I was thinking about for quite a while and first came up when my wife got pregnant and it became this dirty thing. I'm not young and honestly, it can get kind of depressing. I also just want to be healthier for my kid. I want to be more present. I feel like since quitting, I'm way more in the moment on stage, too. I've just noticed it all around the difference with being clear headed. I'm enjoying that.
How has marriage and becoming a father changed your sense of humor? Or has it?
I don't think it's changed my sense of humor but it's come into the act, for sure. My act is always a reflection of who I am at that time and what I'm going through. So, as I got married, I started writing jokes about my wife and once I had a kid, I started writing jokes about that experience. That's the way it will always work. If I have a cancer scare, I'm going to write about cancer. If I lose my mom, I'm going to write about losing my mom. My hope is that people can identify with it. Ten years ago I was the metal, jack-off joke comic but I feel like I'm more than that now.
I have a few rapid-fire questions to wrap things up.
Metal or comics?
I have to choose one? That's like Sophie's Choice. That's awful. I would say metal. I would miss comics. I would also ask you what universe I'm in that I'm forced to make that choice?
It's called Detroit, Brian. Moving on. Jar-Jar Binks or Miley Cyrus? Open interpretation.
Which one do I get to kill? Who's better, who's worse? I don't know. I would love to see them both fight in a steel cage match. No, you know what. I definitely hate Jar-Jar Binks more. Jar-Jar Binks ruined my childhood. He raped me. No, wait. Jar-Jar Binks held me down while George Lucas raped the Star Wars out of me.
KY Jelly or tears?
(laughs) That's really funny. (laughs) KY. KY you can get anywhere, the tears you really have to work at, you know? That's a funny question. | RDW
Brian Posehn• 7/9 • 7 p.m. & 10 p.m.• Magic Bag• 22920 Woodward Ave, Ferndale• themagicbag.com• $18 • 21+
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