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Bobcat Goldthwait is keeping it fresh by staying away from the greatest hits

Photo Credit: Mindy Tucker

While the word “punk” has often been used to describe the creative aura of Bobcat Goldthwait over the course of his illustrious career, the living comedy legend is of the feeling that his latest project is a bit more “jazz” this time around.

Serving up what he considers to be something of “a pu-pu platter” of his life both inside and out of comedy, his newest stand-up album Soldier For Christ, which dropped on April 26, brings Goldthwait’s alt and upfront perspective into the present. Especially since it’s been 12 years separating this release from his last stand-up album, Goldthwait is excited just to be back in the thick of the creative process behind putting a new hour together for recording.

In between finishing up scripts and other projects, the long-respected comedian made a habit of getting up on stage at Chicago’s Lincoln Lodge after his Midwest migration from Los Angeles, and in the midst of consciously steering clear from leaning on “greatest hits” material in favor of brand new stuff, Goldthwait realize just how much fun he was having doing the stand-up thing again in this capacity, and wanted to capture that same feeling on the record.

“It’s really exciting to get back to making stuff because you want to and not because there was pressure or because I just figured I could do the album and get paid,” Goldthwait tells Vanyaland. “I also did the album because Eugene [Mirman] reached out to tell me he was starting a new record label with Sub Pop, and asked if I wanted to be on it. I love the things I do to be creative versus the things I’ve done before just for the pay day or whatever. I just love the idea of getting back to my roots, and going up on stage because I like going up on stage.”

Another shining aspect of the project was that team-up with Eugene Mirman and his new Pretty Good Friends comedy record label. Not only for the fact that the label is the brainchild of one of comedy’s most innovative minds, but Goldthwait was also blown away by the level of professionalism and dedication Mirman and his team had to not only making sure the project felt uniquely Bobcat, but also to delivering a stellar final result.

Sure, the famous “Firetruck” bit, which has effectively become Goldthwait’s “Freebird” at this point, may have been the icing on the cake had he included it on the album, but he remains happy and grateful for the level of insight and feedback Mirman & Co. offered along the way.

“I knew I would have support. Not just from Eugene, but also from his partner Julie [Smith Clem], and it’s great because other times when I’ve done albums or specials, at times it felt like I was on my own,” says Goldthwait. “But they were actually weighing and talking about how people might know a certain bit too well to put on the record, or how I should add something that I hadn’t thought about adding. It was the first time where I’ve done a recording and good people were giving me good advice and genuinely working with me, instead of just telling me I have complete freedom to do whatever I want.”

As someone who considers himself to be “a VHS comedian in a TikTok world,” Goldthwait is in awe of how the comedy landscape has changed even just since he last released an album, let alone since he started in the industry. Although, he’s not super sure about the sub genres that have cropped up over the last few decades.

“A lot in the world of comedy has changed, and it’s great. There’s no longer gatekeepers, like when I was first starting out, you could either get on The Tonight Show or Letterman, or maybe SNL, and that was the only way to break nationally,” says Goldthwait. “But now, people build a huge audience directly, and that’s kind of cool. I also see comedy getting chopped up into different things, and it’s a little weird to see things broken up into ‘edge lord comedy’ or ‘alt comedy.’ It’s strange that comedy isn’t just comedy anymore.”

For Goldthwait, the current goal has been to connect with a younger audience, without the risk of pandering and coming across like the living embodiment of that “Steve Buscemi with a skateboard” meme.

“The reason I kept going on stage at The Lincoln Lodge was because it was like going to a gym, where I could work to get to a place where I could kind of just tap into stories and things you would only get out of me if we were sitting around at dinner,” says Goldthwait. “After the recording, I did a few of these stories, and perhaps I did them better afterwards, but I actually like them coming out of me the way they did, flaws and all.”

Although the live stand-up on the album is a delight to hear, what comes at the end of the album in the form of unearthed recordings of a 15-year old Goldthwait and longtime friend Tom Kenny belting out silly acoustic songs adds an entirely different level meaning to the release.

Before a “Bromance” was even a thing, and even longer before Police Academy or SpongeBob SquarePants were even a thought, the Syracuse natives unconsciously defined the term in their creative and personal connection. Although Kenny was supposedly cautious about the recordings seeing the light of day on the album, Goldthwait followed through on his consistent role as the instigator of the pair and convinced Kenny that it would be fun to bring them out for a spin.

“I think Tom was kind of nervous about them at first, but after I played the songs for him, he really enjoyed them, and we just thought it was weird because we weren’t even doing song parodies,” says Goldthwait. “I mean, of course it’s silly stuff, but we were coming up with original stuff, and it’s strange that even then, we thought it was important.”

After more than 50 years of friendship, that bond and creative telepathy still exist strongly between the pair, and Goldthwait is quick to acknowledge just how influential Kenny has been to him as both a comic and person.

“Whenever I’m out in LA, I stay at the pineapple under the sea with Tom Kenny, and it dawned on me the other day that he and I have never been out of words for each other,” says Goldthwait. “When we see each other, we always have something to talk about and we talk until we fall asleep. That’s the kind of friend that you just have a million things to say to, and he will always be that friend to me. If I’m any good as a comedian, the reason is because I grew up with Tom. You don’t become a better tennis player by playing the game with people who are less talented than you, and I really feel like I rise up to try and match him, because he is just too fast and witty.”

In some ways, Goldthwait can see this project as his version of how someone his age may look back on their life and write a book. But make no mistake, he’s not interested in being a “nostalgia” act. While he’s not here to talk shit about artists who are in that realm, the ability to still get up on stage and offer new thoughts, perspectives and stories is keeping it fun and exciting for him.

“My favorite part of doing this was when the stories that I hadn’t told on stage, and stories that I hadn’t even imagined telling came back to me,” says Goldthwait. “The goal, and hopefully we achieved it, was to capture what it would feel like to sit in a small club and watch me riff versus seeing me on the road at a chain quality comedy club doing greatest hits.”