Renowned comedian and best-selling author Jim Gaffigan is on the way to Sydney as part of The White Bread Tour. Coming off the back of his second wildly successful book,Food: A Love Story, Gaffigan will be bringing his passion for all things culinary to Just For Laughs this month. Speaking to the BRAG ahead of the shows, the comic confesses he never really intended to focus on his literal meal ticket for his material.
“There was nothing intentional about me talking about food,” Gaffigan says. “I do love that fact that it’s universal in that everyone eats it, except for a couple of actresses here and there.
“It’s more about writing things that I’m passionate about, and I’m passionate about rather mundane stuff, like food. I certainly didn’t set out to concentrate on food, I just think I’m kind of a glutton. There’s not a lot of people that are going to be put off by a topic such as food; it’s not very divisive, so I’m not really losing anyone in the audience.”
Despite the fact that food plays a large role in many of Gaffigan’s acts, it wasn’t the direct inspiration behind the name of The White Bread Tour.
“White bread has this connotation of being non-ethnic,” he explains. “When I moved to New York in the ’90s, all the comedians would be Italian, Jewish, half-Polish, and I was none of those things. I was from the middle of the country, so I was considered ‘white bread’. No-one really wanted to be considered ‘white bread’. It’s generic. It’s unfancy.”
The comedian’s Australian fans will be excited to hear they will be getting more of the Jim Gaffigan they know and adore on this tour. “If you look at my setlist it will look like a grocery store list,” he laughs. “I’m somebody who romanticises laziness and eating, and I’ve also been described as an off-beat observational guy.
“Hopefully it’s just funny. In the end, people who come to see my shows are driven by the substance of the material. They’re not there to see the outfit I’m going to wear or to see if I say something crazy.”
One of the most unique aspects of Gaffigan’s comedy is that his wife is involved in the writing process. “It’s so rare to write with someone for stand-up,” he explains. “I’ve worked with [my wife] for a while and it would be dishonest to say that we don’t write together. She comes up with great lines and topics, and I’m a very verbal guy so a lot of our writing is just sitting around once the kids are in bed and talking, so it’s very much a collaboration.”
Gaffigan is also known for his clean topics and wide vocabulary onstage, which is quite rare for a big-name 21st century comedian. However, he doesn’t feel it’s his defining attribute.
“I’m supposedly considered ‘clean’, but it’s not like I’m puritanical and don’t want Jesus to hear me curse. I curse in everyday life, but when I’m onstage I wouldn’t say certain things that I might say in another situation.
“My subject matter doesn’t really necessitate cursing. I’m not trying to shock people, and that’s not to say that some of my favourite comedians don’t do that. Also, I do long shows. I’m onstage for an hour, and early on you could have a great filthy joke, but how do you follow it? It’s not like you can then talk about blueberries. People would be like, ‘Wait a minute, go back to the oral sex joke.’”
Catch Jim Gaffigan at Just For Laughs 2014 atPlayhouse, Sydney Opera House fromWednesday October 15 to Friday October 17, tickets online.
