John Early on why the music of his ‘Now More than Ever’ comedy special ‘changed the way I approach stand-up’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“Performing live feels so sacred,” reveals comedian John Early. For our recent webchat, he continues, “I was scared putting cameras on it would ruin it. The important thing to focus on was how to film it in a way that captured the liveness.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
In Early’s HBO Max special “Now More than Ever,” he is accompanied by a band. The comedy set is broken up by mockumentary clips of comic hanging with the band. He explains, “The person on stage is as close as you can get to who I actually am. Trying to keep the party going with a warmth that doesn’t match the psycho quality backstage. I trusted the viewer to understand the different layers.”
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On choosing this framing devise, Early says, “There are certain things that only work in the room. We had to embrace that was a live show and move on. We had to make a proper film which is why we turned to those rockumentaries.” He hopes that “because you keep entering the live performance, it creates this type of feeling that ‘I wish I had been there.’”
Early admits, “I always love the things that make the band laugh. They’ve heard the jokes before and have every right to be bored out of their minds. If I can make my long-suffering band members laugh, I’m in a good place.”
Early uses the band the perform cover songs throughout the special. Towards the end of the show he delivers stand-up to music that leads to a cover of Neil Young’s ‘After the Gold Rush.’ The comic admits, “It was the first time I had done underscoring to stand-up. It changed the way I approach stand-up. With the piano underneath, all the despair that is part of my cultural critique got to come out. It made my connection with the audience more specific. It’s so thrilling. It’s what cabaret artists figured out so long ago. I don’t know how I’ll ever go back.”
The comic reflects, “When we were editing the special, my beautiful directors were casually talking about that section and were like, ‘when you do the sermon.’ Both my parents are ministers. I had never thought about what I was doing as a sermon. I said, ‘oh my God, I’m making peace with my parents in a beautiful way.’ Not that there was never any conflict to bridge at all. But there was something very special.”
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