This year has proven to be a busy one for Dana Gould, but the stand-up comedy vet doesn’t intend on hitting the brakes just yet.
With just a handful of dates left in his stand-up tour this year, Gould makes a four-show homecoming stop at Laugh Boston this weekend (November 16 to 18), accompanied by Ken Reid, Valerie Tosi, and some brand new material.
Whether it comes in the form of the second season of his critically-acclaimed IFC series Stan Against Evil or his newest hour of recorded stand-up material in Mr. Funny Man, the Massachusetts native has certainly kept himself, as well as his audience, entertained. But Gould stresses that creating a new hour of material, or at least “an hour worth listening to” as he puts it, is a mentally draining process.
“Creating a really good hour of stand-up is the creative equivalent of writing a novel,” Gould recently tells Vanyaland. “But even with half hour or so of brand new material I’ve come up with since the album, there are some bits that I haven’t visited in a few years that I’m looking to bring back, and some bits from the album that I’m still going to work out… I try to mix it up enough so that there is enough material that you know, as well as new stuff to make it worth your while.”
Even with a successful show under his wing, the 53-year old isn’t quite ready to take a desk job, still seeing himself, nearly 40 years since he first grabbed the mic, as a stand-up at heart. With that being said, given his role as a father, Gould puts family first, and knows that it’s unrealistic to live out of a suitcase expecting to make a living in this day and age.
“The reality of my life, with raising children and living in Los Angeles, and not wanting to live out on the road, it’s not feasible to try and make a living as solely a stand-up comedian, traveling 50 weeks out of the year,” says the UMass Amherst alum. “I can tell you without hesitation that I make more money as a writer, but deep down, I’m still just a stand-up who got into writing.”
Jokingly the self-proclaimed “Pride of Hopedale, Massachusetts,” Gould is excited to be back in Boston this weekend. Not just because he gets to see his old friends, but because he considers Boston comedy crowds to be among the best in the country, describing them as “some of the smartest folks in the country, as well as some of the most sophisticated.”
Even with the years of road wear, jet lag, and hotel rooms, Dana Gould doesn’t intend to give up on stand-up, for the simple reason of not being bored with it yet.
“Stand-up only gets old if you get bored with it, and really, the only way that I could become bored with it, is if I stopped writing material. I have a very active brain, and I don’t ever want to stop writing material. You’re as bored as your oldest joke.”
DANA GOULD + SPECIAL GUESTS :: Thursday, November 16 to Saturday, November 18 at Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. in Boston, MA :: 8 p.m., $25 to $29 :: Laugh Boston event page and ticket links :: Facebook event page :: Featured Dana Gould photo by Mandee Johnson
Relax, lay down on the floor and take some "me" time catching up on Stan Against Evil. That way you'll be ready for TWO NEW Episodes coming this Wednesday!
Watch #StanAgainstEvil Evil Season 2 on the @IFC app athttps://t.co/bDqzS8d0Uh and Season 1 on @hulu #horror #comedy pic.twitter.com/I8JvcZltRr
— Dana Gould (@danagould) November 14, 2017