Real Talk
Bill Maher gets real about more than just politics when he takes his comedy on the road.
But Maher is taking it back to basics – a man, a mic, and a stage. He took some time out to speak with Deluxe 920 Magazine about the upcoming election, what we can do to change the world, and hitting the road again.
Get ready, because Bill Maher is about to get real…
The Times, They Are a Changing
Deluxe 920: Some comedians seem to take forever to come up with new material, but every week, there you are – dropping jokes off the top of your head like it’s nothing. Are you that good, or do the politicians and government folk make it that easy?
Bill Maher: Well, we’re living in a very comedyfriendly era now for politics and social issues. The election, for one, is awfully interesting. It’s certainly different than any election we’ve had before. It’s been well documented in the news that people are paying attention to the election in a way that they never have before. I mean, they put the debates on NBC and ABC, and they won the night in the ratings. That never happened in my lifetime!
D920: So do you think any of that is the 18-35 year old demographic? That’s a group that was so apathetic in the past two elections…
BM: Well you always can have a say – you just need to get your ass out to the voting booth. It’s always been available.
D920: Well yeah, but we haven’t. Do you think that apathetic attitude is changing for that group of voters?
BM: Yeah, I do sense that. You see it when you see an Obama rally, or a Hillary Clinton rally.
D920: You’re a politically astute guy – why do you think that is?
BM: I think two things are happening. One, people at any age just can’t afford to be apathetic anymore. They can’t afford to vote for the guy that they want to have a beer with. I keep telling my audience, “You can’t vote barbecue this year.” You have to vote the issues, and I think people are really starting to get that. In other elections, they could afford to be more complacent, and kids were very cynical about politics. But after George Bush, I think people really have come to understand that no – it really does make a difference when you elect a retard president. Talking in Real Time
D920: You’ve had such an eclectic and dynamic guest list of people on your show – are there any guests that have surprised you? You know, funnier than you expected, or smarter than you had expected?
BM: There aren’t a lot of surprises on [“Real Time with Bill Maher”]. They’re all supposed to be really, really smart people. Even the celebrity guests are very well-read, though we don’t have nearly as many celebs. The ones that are there are there because they are extremely well-versed. Now occasionally someone disappoints you and makes you think “Wow, he’s not very bright,” but in general, I think we do pretty well with making sure the people on the show can talk intelligently about things. And I really don’t want the guests to funny – that’s not their job. It’s like a band – the bass player shouldn’t try to play the drums.
D920: Yeah, it never turns out well when someone who isn’t funny comes on and tries to be the jokester.
BM: The secret to making good conversation I think is having people just be who they are. It’s when people try to be funny and they’re not, that’s not a win. Politicians do that all the time – they try to be funny, and we go “Oh just shut the f_ck up and say what you mean already!”
D920: Everyone seems to be pretty fair game with you on your show and in your act. Is there one that you particularly enjoy ripping on the most?
BM: Oh I have (laughs) – I don’t know that I’m PICKING on them really, am I? I think we’ve all gotten an awful lot of mileage out of the president. I mean, he is the worst president ever – though for comedians he’s probably the best president ever.
D920: What about with all of the recent scandals? Any favs?
BM: Elliot Spitzer, Larry Craig, and now this guy from Staten Island who had a second family? All I can say is, at least when the Democrats have a scandal, they’re f_cking women. I mean, the Republican scandals! First we have Mark Foley is text messenging little boys, Reverend Ted Haggard, Larry Craig – I haven’t seen this many self-loathing fairies since I left the Catholic church.
D920: And the hypocrisy is kind of the best part…
BM: Astounding hypocrisy. I mean you’re on Capitol Hill voting against gay rights and then you’re caught in a bathroom trying to get some? It’s pretty astounding.
D920: When your show’s on hiatus, do you ever curse your time off when something REALLY good happens that would make good material? Like when a scandal hits and you’re stuck not being able to talk about it?
BM: (Laughs) Yeah, ALL the time… A Stand-Up Guy
D920: So you’re going back to your roots on the stand-up circuit for awhile, right?
BM: Yeah I love stand-up. It’s my favorite thing to do. And I have a whole new act, so you don’t have to worry that I would ever come to town and do the jokes from the HBO special. To me, it’s the purest – me and the audience. No clocks, no commercials, no guests, no skits. It’s just telling the raw truth and doing it in a very passionate way. I want people to come away thinking, “Wow, this really different than what he does on TV. He’s really out there to bust our gut.” It’s a pleasure for me.
D920: So this is your summer vacation? The stuff you are looking forward to?
BM: Absolutely! I mean the traveling piece is a drag and sometimes you think “Ugh, why am I doing this?” but then you step on stage and you know why you do it.
D920: Do you kind of free-for-all on politicians regardless of their party to keep it even?
BM: I go after whoever is more wrong – period. In the last ten years, it’s certainly been the Republicans. They’ve been in power and their philosophy of governance is bankrupt and they should be called on it. But that certainly doesn’t exempt the Democrats. Really, it’s whoever is f_ cking up.
D920: Do you try to localize the jokes? Like will you have any Wisconsin specialties?
BM: If something calls for it, yeah. But the crowd that comes to see me wants to hear the big picture – the point of view, a philosophy about this country and this world. I think it’s a symbiotic relationship. I need them because I feel like wherever I go, the people who think like I do come out of the woodwork. So it’s a bit of a revival meeting when I come into town. And I’m excited for it.
Want to see Bill Maher live? Check him out when he comes to Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee on Thursday, July 24th.
Tickets onsale at Ticketmaster outlets.
