Laughing it Off
Local comics come home as authors of a new humor book aiming to prove irony isn’t dead
by Drake Baer
“To have a free society, you have to be able to mock your leaders,” says Carl Kozlowzski, a Chicago-bred comic. The Second City alumnus is on tour to support his recent book -- Seize the Day Job: The Humor Book Al-Qaeda Almost Kept You from Reading, co-authored with Chicago fixture Tim Joyce -- and is coming home to Zanies June 9. The book is both a lampoon of self-help books and an unapologetic take on contemporary America. “In the ’90s, when I was really establishing myself as a road comic, I never would have imagined that the anus of America would close up so tight,” Joyce says.
Kozlowzski and Joyce rail against the self-consciousness of American culture, a place where comedy became taboo in the wake of 9/11. With a certain strand of Midwestern genuineness, Kozlowzski wants keep it honest. “In Chicago, it's kind of like the food,” he explains. “In L.A. everybody’s worried about being rail thin and in New York it’s kind of elitist food; here it’s like pizzas and burgers and whatever. It’s just goodtime stuff. That’s how I look at the comedy also. Basic, down to earth, show people a good time.”
Due to the pervasiveness of improv and the influence of Second City, comedy in the Windy City will always be character-driven, Joyce says. “Chicago comedy is bigger, louder and goofier, and almost exclusively for live audiences,” he says.
When Kozlowzski heads out to either coast, he finds himself toning down the energy. He can feel that energy again when he returns. The duo agreed that being funny in person is way different than in print. “[There’s] so much more freedom in print,” Joyce says. “In stand up you have to throw out a punchline, on average, every 15-20 seconds. If you take someone like David Sedaris, he doesn't have a belly-laugh every 35 words.”
In live comedy, a comic can’t get away with digressions, Kozlowzski says. In an essay, those digressions can be the best parts, he says, mixed with observations. Take, for example, a snippet from Seize the Day Job: “Hell, we live in Chicago, ‘the city that works.’ We say our girlfriends are ‘working it’ when they are being sassy or sexy. When we exercise, we ‘work out.’ And when we fight with our loved ones, we hope we can ‘work things out.’ We call streetwalkers ‘working girls,’ and trick ourselves into believing that the stripper in front of us is ‘working her way through college.’”
The book is full of satirical, off-kilter, yet heartfelt advice. “Like with [oral] storytelling, you have a slower build to a huge payoff,” Kozlowzski says.
Carl Kozlowzski and Tim Joyce bring Seize the Day Job to Zanies (1548 N. Wells, 312-337-4027) June 9
by Drake Baer
“To have a free society, you have to be able to mock your leaders,” says Carl Kozlowzski, a Chicago-bred comic. The Second City alumnus is on tour to support his recent book -- Seize the Day Job: The Humor Book Al-Qaeda Almost Kept You from Reading, co-authored with Chicago fixture Tim Joyce -- and is coming home to Zanies June 9. The book is both a lampoon of self-help books and an unapologetic take on contemporary America. “In the ’90s, when I was really establishing myself as a road comic, I never would have imagined that the anus of America would close up so tight,” Joyce says.
Kozlowzski and Joyce rail against the self-consciousness of American culture, a place where comedy became taboo in the wake of 9/11. With a certain strand of Midwestern genuineness, Kozlowzski wants keep it honest. “In Chicago, it's kind of like the food,” he explains. “In L.A. everybody’s worried about being rail thin and in New York it’s kind of elitist food; here it’s like pizzas and burgers and whatever. It’s just goodtime stuff. That’s how I look at the comedy also. Basic, down to earth, show people a good time.”
Due to the pervasiveness of improv and the influence of Second City, comedy in the Windy City will always be character-driven, Joyce says. “Chicago comedy is bigger, louder and goofier, and almost exclusively for live audiences,” he says.
When Kozlowzski heads out to either coast, he finds himself toning down the energy. He can feel that energy again when he returns. The duo agreed that being funny in person is way different than in print. “[There’s] so much more freedom in print,” Joyce says. “In stand up you have to throw out a punchline, on average, every 15-20 seconds. If you take someone like David Sedaris, he doesn't have a belly-laugh every 35 words.”
In live comedy, a comic can’t get away with digressions, Kozlowzski says. In an essay, those digressions can be the best parts, he says, mixed with observations. Take, for example, a snippet from Seize the Day Job: “Hell, we live in Chicago, ‘the city that works.’ We say our girlfriends are ‘working it’ when they are being sassy or sexy. When we exercise, we ‘work out.’ And when we fight with our loved ones, we hope we can ‘work things out.’ We call streetwalkers ‘working girls,’ and trick ourselves into believing that the stripper in front of us is ‘working her way through college.’”
The book is full of satirical, off-kilter, yet heartfelt advice. “Like with [oral] storytelling, you have a slower build to a huge payoff,” Kozlowzski says.
Carl Kozlowzski and Tim Joyce bring Seize the Day Job to Zanies (1548 N. Wells, 312-337-4027) June 9
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