Inthe world of contemporary stand-up there are few comedians as multi-talented as Reggie Watts. An internationally renowned vocal artist, beatboxer, musician and comic, Watts is a founding member of Jash.com (alongside Michael Cera, Sarah Silverman and Tim & Eric), a personal favourite of Conan O’Brien and Jack White, and a regular guest for television hosts like Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and John Oliver. Still, Watts is relaxed when he thinks back on the last 12 months.
“I’ve just been hanging out at home and travelling a little bit,” he says. “Most recently I’ve been on the road doing some shows for the Oddball Comedy Festival, which has been really great. I’ve just spent some time in Montana and I’m also working on some new video projects. I’m just taking things easy at the moment.”
Having performed at festivals such as Bonnaroo, SXSW and Bumbershoot, sold out headlining tours in the US and Europe and even received a standing ovation after speaking at the prestigious TED conference, Watts’ entirely improvised performances blur the lines between music and comedy, disorientating audiences as best he can.
“I don’t really ever have anything in mind for any particular gig,” he says of his pre-show preparation. “It’s generally just influenced by what’s happening to me at that point in time. I don’t know, there’s nothing that continually pops up repeatedly. I don’t really have a ‘go-to’, per se. I just try to show up on time, do a soundcheck and then go up onstage.”
Improvised comedy can be a dangerous vocation. “There were a lot of gigs that didn’t go so well in my early days, when I was first starting out and playing at places like Edinburgh. I didn’t really have that much of a show. They were still all fully improvised but I hadn’t been doing it for that long. The concept hadn’t been developed fully, so some people probably had to sit through some pretty terrible shit,” he laughs. “There were a lot of times when people would walk out when they’d had enough. But that was really just in the beginning.”
Does any single blunder onstage stick in his mind? “Oh man, there was this one show I did in Philadelphia. They have this ice hockey team called the Philadelphia Flyers, and I mean, I’m not a sports guy at all. They had just won some really important game or something so I went onstage and started talking about how stoked I was for their hockey team, but every time I referred to their team I accidentally called them the Philadelphia Lions. They really didn’t like that. They kept trying to correct me and I kept using the term ‘The Lions’. They hated it – they were really, really upset with me! It got pretty intense.”
Next month will see Watts return to Australian shores with his Hello Humans show, performing at the 2014 instalment of Just For Laughs Sydney alongside a series of headline dates around the nation. “I’m really just looking forward to having a good time and enjoying the country, catching up with some old friends and hopefully making some new ones,” he says. “That’s really it – I always really enjoy Australia, I’m looking forward to coming back.”
Hello Humans as part of Just For Laughs 2014 is atPlayhouse, Sydney Opera HousefromThursday October 16 to Sunday October 19, tickets online.
