Big City Redneck: You've been compared to Bill Hicks, David Cross, Lenny Bruce - the list is endless. Who are your comedic influences? (Note - you can't say strippers)
Doug Stanhope: My friends over the years. None of them are famous and most of em are funnier than anyone who ever stepped before a microphone. There are a lot of stand-ups I liked before I did it and most of them don't do much for you anymore once you know the tricks.
BCR: Why do you think the UK has always welcomed comedians of your acerbic bent more than the states?
DS: I never thought about it. And I don't know what 'acerbic' means. Regardless, any answer to this question other than "I don't know" would be bullshit.
BCR: Do you think Letterman, Jay Leno or any of those guys would ever let you do an uncensored show?
DS: Yes. So long as it wasn't on their shows.
BCR: Last year you mentioned in an interview that you were supposed to be doing a show for the discovery channel - you hitchhiking across America and hanging out with "the average American". Is this still on the go or has something else come up?
DS: That show failed miserably - as I knew it would - but it landed me in Bisbee, AZ. It's a small town on the Mexican border and not near anything else. I saw a house for sale and bought it without seeing the inside. That's where I am now - happily drunk and answering your questions. I trust you to take out the typos. My goal for the future is to enjoy my days.
BCR: I heard you went on Jerry Springer with a completely imaginary story. What was that story and did you get to fight anyone in drag?
DS: That story takes too long but it will be in the book if I can ever concentrate long enough to write it.
BCR: You've been wondering further and further into Political comedy over the last few years, leaving the inflatable sheep and cock-sucking cheerleaders (relatively) behind. Why the change?
DS: I've stuck my dick in about everything I can think of pooning. So I started looking around at how fucked up the world is and started talking about it. But I wouldn't call it political - just socially relevant. I don't really know shit about politics.
BCR: Do you have faith in America or should the American people all start trading truck spots with Mexican immigrants before the draft/secret people come knocking at their doors?
DS: I live on the border for a reason. Anytime a large majority has faith in a government, it's time to start burying cash in your backyard and looking for land where people have faith in themselves.
BCR: I hear you're running for president in '08, what are you're election promises to the "great American people"?
DS: I'll be offering the lowly people of America a chance to redeem themselves in my eyes and an exciting and unique way to throw away their vote. Check the website on July 4th.
BCR: Can you explain your theory on "why it's perfectly okay to shoot a pig in the face in certain circumstances"?
DS: That must have been something I wrote and don't remember. I'll assume it was funny and get another beer. Oh, maybe I was referring to police officers. Or it could have been an actual pig. I think not explaining could be funnier anyway.
BCR: You're girlfriend, musician and writer Amy "Bingo" Bingaman, was recently in a mental institution. What's your advice to people trying to help friends or lovers with mental diseases/problems?
DS: Help? Fuck, she helps me. She went through all that shit before I was with her and I can't say I would have had the capacity to hang through what she went through. My advice would be to call Rob. He was there for her the whole time. He's a good dude. So, please... call Rob.
BCR: Do you agree with the dosing up of people who have Bi-Polar or are there any other means of helping out?
DS: If you saw Bingo off her meds you'd agree that she needs to be doped up. But the mass medicating of people in this country for what appears to be simple emotions or even strong character traits is somewhat frightening. Despondency over the emptiness of the American Dream is not cause for treatment. Working at a job you hate, staying in a loveless relationship for the sake of the children, constantly having to swallow your stronger instincts in order to fit in are all things that will make you depressed and rightfully so. There's a difference between hearing voices in your head and the calling in your heart. The latter need not be medicated.
BCR: What are the collaborations you guy's are/have worked on?
DS: Staying sane, pretty much. She's a musician, which is as foreign to me as bathing. So I'm no help. I, on the other hand, am a self-centred prick, which she couldn't ever understand so she can't always stay in my conversations about myself. So mostly we just go about our own projects and meet for a drink afterwards.
BCR: Do you think being a little/allot fucked up helps with dick jokes/satire/commentary?
DS: If you're coming from a fuck-ups point of view, yes. And those viewpoints - or fuck-ups in general - are harder and harder to find which is sad because they give proper balance.
BCR: All your shows include something about drugs and you're known as something of a fully-fledged drunk. From laudanum-addled writers in the 17th century to acid-bent musicians from the 70s to anything-and-everything anybodies in the 90's, creative maestros have been driven by intoxicants. The benefits speak for themselves - what do you think is taking government legislation so long?
DS: Production. Governments are against anything that affects your output. But what is glaringly absent from your question is... this decade? Where are the known abusers of substance today? Will we look back on this decade as the time that all art was one-person shows about overcoming artistic originality with mood-stabilizers and anti-depressants?
BCR: Can you give us and then let us post the naked photos of you from "that bachelor party"? If you don't want us to post them, can we see them for ourselves anyway? Big City Redneck has a thing for cock.
DS: I'm sure they're out there somewhere. I certainly don't have them anymore. Shit, I can't even find my keys.
Doug Stanhope is touring the states now and will be coming to the UK for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Doug Stanhope official site
