Stand-Up Tuesdays is a weekly comedy spotlight written by the wonderfully talented Angie Frissore. Covering both known and unknown comics, Stand-up Tuesdays is your new source for all things funny.

This week, Angie puts a spotlight on Hari Kondabolu’s comedy career. If you or your comedy troupe would like to be featured on Stand-Up Tuesdays, please email utgjames@gmail.com.

Comedian Hari Kondabolu recently released his debut stand up album, Waiting for 2042, through Kill Rock Stars – the latest effort by the label to expand into the comedy arena – and is really hoping you’ll give it a good, thorough listen.

And why wouldn’t you? Kondabolu possesses a wonderful balance of nerd-chic and sociopolitical savvy that will not only have you laughing out loud, but it may even broaden your mind a bit. Normally put off slightly by overly political comedians, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Kondabolu doesn’t just shove his beliefs down your throat; instead, he addresses social issues in an easy-to-digest and hilarious manner. A perfect example of the comedian’s uber-sharp wit is the realization that, early on in Waiting for 2042, Kondabolu officially becomes the first comic ever to pull off a successful feminist dick joke. Bravo, good sir.

A writer and correspondent for the Chris Rock-produced “Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell”, Kondabolu’s debut effort clearly paints him as a seasoned performer who knows exactly what will work with his audience.

In honor of the album’s release (and his upcoming appearance in my hometown of Boston), I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Hari Kondabolu about Waiting for 2042.

UTG: Hi Hari, this is Angie from Under The Gun Review.

HK: Hey Angie, how are you? Thanks again for doing this. Thanks for the last piece you did, too, the last time I was at ImprovBoston, right?

UTG: I did, thanks for remembering that.

HK: Of course, I really appreciated it.

UTG: No problem! I have to say, I was laughing like a crazy person earlier, listening again to your ‘Weezer Broke My Heart‘ clip from the new album.

HK: (laughs) You know, Rivers Cuomo is following me on Twitter, which freaks me out.

UTG: Isn’t that the weirdest when that happens?

HK: I don’t know, is he taunting me? I don’t understand!

UTG: (laughs) Maybe he is taking everything you say to heart.

HK: Right…let’s hope so. It’s kind of shocking.

UTG: I myself was a big [Weezer] fan back in the day, in the early 90s.

HK: Oh yeah.

UTG: I was actually just offered an interview with Soul Asylum, who came out around the same time. It says an awful lot that the bands we liked as teenagers are still around. So congratulations on the new CD.

HK: Thank you so much!
UTG: What made you decide to sign on with Kill Rock Stars to put the album out?

HK: Of course, I knew their music; I knew Elliot Smith, Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney and all that good stuff, so I knew it was a cool, easy label that’s awesome. It’s out of the Pacific Northwest, and I lived in Seattle for two years and have a lot of ties there. So that just seemed to make sense. I was looking at other labels – I already knew I was recording the album; I had already booked the place; I already had someone to do sound and all that. It was really a matter of what was going to make the most sense and expose my stuff to the broadest range of people and new people. When I was going my mailing list, I saw that Portia of Kill Rock Stars was on there, who is the head of KRS. I was kind of shocked that she was on my mailing list – that’s amazing – so I reached out. I guess they were fans of mine at Kill Rock Stars, and they were talking about making a record with me. So I told them I’m already recording an album, I just need someone to get it out, and that seemed that would work as I was already interested. I spoke to Portia, who said that a lot of the stuff that Kill Rock Stars put out early in their existence was very politically-minded. And it’s something they don’t do as much, and not by choice, it’s just kind of how it goes. they have less of that kind of reputation and they want to go back to that. Comedy has the ability to be so blunt, to say really hard things in interesting way, and my material certainly does that – so they felt I was a good fit. And hearing that, hearing about the legacy of Kill Rock Stars and the idea that I was going to be a part of that was really exciting. So I signed up.

UTG: Great, and you’re in pretty good company. Kurt Braunohler put his album out through Kill Rock Stars.

HK: Yeah, Kurt was the first ever comedy record on that label, and I know Cameron Esposito is recording hers with Kill Rock Stars, too. There’s been other waves of putting out stuff on indie labels – SubPop did that for awhile as well. It’s always interesting, and I feel its an interesting thing, and a lot of it is also the hope that more people find your stuff than before. I certainly could have put it out myself on another label, and I think it would have done fine, but to me the goal was to try to get this to as many new people as possible, and I think this will do that.

UTG: Absolutely, I mean, I sort of take for granted how much I’m immersed in stand up, and it still surprises me that the general public isn’t as aware.

HK: Oh, yeah.

UTG: So I think with these rock labels coming out and sort of expanding, I think that that’s wonderful.

HK: And it creates, potentially, a like-minded audience – an increase in a like-minded audience, like folks who would have liked you if they found you, but they just haven’t found you. That’s why you still have people heckling on the regular; that’s why you have people going to shows not knowing who they’re seeing and having no sense of what comedy is supposed to be other than the one comedian they saw on TV. Late night spots, or whatever – these short things; they’re fine samples but they’re not actually how an hour works. There’s a lot of different things to it, so this leads to that, especially in the album format – I think the album format, you’re actually listening to it from beginning to end, which was my intention. I know most people nowadays are going to find things on Spotify or Pandora, or any number of radio sites. You hear things in bits and pieces – this was built with the intention of it being listened to in the order that I presented it in, that I felt would be to the most enjoyment because there’s a lot of hidden things within – pieces that weave other things together. This is all part of the goal of increasing attention spans, or at least keeping them at bay so I can have an audience, and I’m all for it.

UTG: That’s awesome, because I always say a good comedy special or CD should be like that old-timey, 1940s radio programming where you’re doing nothing else, you’re just so engrossed in what you’re listening to.

HK: It’s hard. I feel like most of that seems to happen nowadays in cars. It happens while you’re doing other things – you’re washing the dishes, you’re hanging out…it’s casual. When they mastered the album they were thinking about if it works in a car. You have to think about all of these other ways comedy is consumed now. With podcasts, people listen to those on long car trips as well. To me, wherever you’re going to listen to it, I’m hoping that you’re able to finish the whole thing, because it makes more sense. And some of the stuff for me, too, is that I’m better with context – when you get a sense of who I am, you get a sense of the audience, of the vibe of the room at the time. There’s a reason it feels the way it feels. It’s not cut up with commercials, it doesn’t have other comics cutting in and out, it’s just you spending an hour with the performer.

UTG: Exactly, I mean, you wouldn’t go to a comedy club to hear a joke or two and then leave, maybe like you would with a band. If you’re not that familiar with a band, you might go and check out one or two songs, but you’re really missing out on the whole experience doing that with comedy.

HK: Exactly.

Do yourself a favor this week and set aside an hour to take in the comedic joy that is Hari Kondabolu’s Waiting for 2042. It’s a highly enjoyable experience that just might leave you a little bit smarter afterwards.

Grade: A-

• Author
• Recent Posts

Angie Frissore

Latest posts by Angie Frissore (see all)

• STAND-UP TUESDAYS: Ari Shaffir - January 13, 2015
• STAND-UP WEDNESDAYS: Robert Kelly (Interview) - January 7, 2015
• STAND-UP TUESDAYS: Best of 2014 - December 30, 2014