The Bridgetown Tapes: An Interview with Kyle Kinane

While at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland, Bureau Director Jake Kroeger got to catch a word with some of the most talked about comedians at the festival.  Here, Kyle Kinane had just won another year of Nato Green’s comedy take on Iron Chef, “Iron Comic”, in which comedians write new material on the spot and compete against at each other.  The following is a transcript of their conversation as Kyle as congratulated by several fans and fellow comedians throughout the interview.

This is Bureau Director Jake Kroeger here at the 2011 Bridgetown Comedy Festival up in Portland Oregon in the Bagdad Theatre with Kyle Kinane who just defended his Iron Comic Title.  What are you going to do now Kyle?

Do you not know who you are when you record into your own iPhone?

No, I don’t.

It feels great [winning].  Feels good to keep the crown of the city.

Feels good taking Doug Benson to school at the end there?

Yeah, take that you successful comedian.  He still, clearly, had a nice, fun time.

That seemed to be one of your techniques in the Iron Comic competition, calling them out.  You called out Hannibal Buress at one point.

I was insulting him because he farted backstage.  He was going for a distraction and it worked.  I had to make a comment.  But, Iron Comic is a fun show to do with comedians that you like.  It’s just a fun time, no pressure.  I mean, it’s just a little pressure because it’s “write something right now” and that just makes me nervous and fills me with panic because I’m not an improviser, but it’s fun cause you’re with your friends.

That was another thing that I noticed about the Iron Comic competition that no one felt really bad…

(Enter San Francisco comedian Chris Garcia w/guitar who was hilarious throughout Bridgetown with his English language version of La Bamba)

Chris is going to serenade us.

Oh yeah, Chris Garcia is here everybody.

Garcia: Are you guys doing an interview?

Yeah, but I’m running it real loose.

Garcia: Cool.  I’m just tuning my guitar.

You were really funny by the way, singing in Spanish there.

Garcia: Thanks

(Exit Chris Garcia)

(Back to Kyle) You did Hell Yes Fest in Austin, but you are based in LA, and are now in the Bridgetown Comedy Festival here in Portland.  How are you liking Portland?

I’ve been here for every one [of the Bridgetown Festivals].  There goes Nato Green, founder of Iron Comic (Green walks by).  It’s great.  It’s always a blast  I’ve built a following here over the years… following? It’s like four people know who I am here as opposed to the “nobody” in another city.

Those four people clap quite loudly, Kyle.

They’re nice. They’re nice people.  It’s a great scene.  I mean, you’ve walked around.  You see that this is the perfect demographic for this type of comedy.

That was I was curious about because back in LA we get line-ups likes this with you and people like Hannibal Buress every night and it’s over-saturated, then you come here [Portland] and people are ready to willing to laugh.

It’s one of those crowds that where you know you could do the weirdest stuff.  They appreciate all this particular type of comedy.  It’s booked by Andy Wood who knows this city and knows what type of comedy and festival he wants to put forth and everybody comes here because they love it.  Everybody is happy to come this city.

Why?

Cause it’s great.  It’s a great city.  All the venues are close together.  All your friends are coming here, so it’s comedy summer camp.  All my friends are here. You’re here.  Everybody from LA.  Nick Rutherford, Moshe Kasher, all these guys, and people do lose their shit with strip clubs and free booze.  Because it’s all your friends and you’re all in a collective vacation where you get to do all these awesome shows and then go party with all your friends.

Yes.  Day 1 and 2 at Bridgetown was like that first day you get to college like after living at home for so long.

You over do it.

Yeah, you think “Yeah, we’re going to frat row, bro!” then wake up at 3 in the afternoon the next day.  What have been some highlights of the festival whether you’ve been performing or people you’ve seen?

I mean, all the shows; I got to do Kurt and Kristen’s, which was great.

Hot Tub was awesome!

(Kyle looks at Maria, one of the festival’s dedicated volunteers) See that? SEE THAT? Interview, guys.

Someone’s being kidnapped during this interview, apparently.  Not Kyle.

That’s Maria.  She needs to go somewhere.  See?  I know everybody here.

Yeah, Maria’s being kidnapped to Seattle.

(Kyle laughing) I like how it’s still going… 

Commitment.  I’m just going to transcribe all of this and a lot of it’s going to be deleted.

Is this getting written?

Yes, it’s getting written.

You’re going to write it out, but you still have to say this is Jake Kroeger of the Comedy Bureau into your own iPhone.

I need some self-affirmation sometimes.

That’s fascinating to me.

I pretty much hate myself most of the time.

You’re the one coordinating it…

(Maria walks over) Maria:  I’m part of the festival. This is going to be the part where you write in parentheses (cough)–

Kyle: Cough.

(doubled over laughing)

Maria: Yeah, [you’ll write] cough… Maria walks over and hugs Kyle goodbye and hugs you goodbye.  I am leaving.

(Maria hugs Kyle and me goodbye)

In parentheses, a bunch of unnecessary shit.

I’m saying good bye to my friends.

Oh yeah, that was the person who kept saying her shuttle was full to me.

Oh, was that her?

Yeah, she was saying her shuttle (Maria drove a shuttle for the festival) was full every time I asked to get a ride somewhere.

Well, I didn’t take the shuttle.  I walked all the way here.  Had to get the blood flowing.

You walked all the way here from Hotel 50 (the official hotel of Bridgetown 2011)?

Yeah, it’s far.

I did that the first day.  The problem was that I kept looking at this map that was out of proportion and thought, “Oh, that isn’t that far,” and I just kept walking.

It’s like 2 and ½ miles…

But, I took my time, stopped at a brewery, drank some beer…

There’s a lot of stuff to see.

Yeah, then accidentally eating a chocolate chip cookie with bacon in it.

Accident?  That’s not an accident.  Wait, are you a vegetarian?

I’m not a vegetarian.  It’s just that….

I thought you were about to say pot or something…

No, no, it was just that there wasn’t a label or anything so it looks like a chocolate chip cookie.

Another reason why this city’s great.  They’re creative with their food items.

Yeah, it was disgusting at first, but it got better the more that I ate it.  Then somebody else was there, distressed when they found meat in their cookie and I told them, “Keep eating it.”

That’s right, don’t ask questions [about chocolate chip bacon cookies].  This isn’t a city about asking questions.  Don’t ask questions, but know that you have to live with your decisions.

Anyways, Hot Tub with Kurt Braunholer and Kristen Schaal was awesome.  I was there.  

It was awesome.

You were great.  Was there anything else that was that great that you happen to catch?

I saw my show and I saw the storytelling show.

“This Is Not Happening”?

Yeah, “This Is Not Happening” that happened here [at the Bagdad Theater].

Who told your favorite story on that show?

I watched…

…Moshe Kasher?

I missed Moshe.  I saw Brendan McGowan and Mike Burns and saw those guys lose their shit.

Burns did almost have a meltdown, but it was funny.

Yeah, it was just Burns being Burns being great, but I missed Moshe, which everyone said was one of the most amazing shows and I missed it.  I’m a little pissed about that.  I haven’t seen Nick Rutherford at all this weekend.  Pete Holmes, I’ve seen…

Pete Holmes pulled it out.  Andy Dick did his thing [go 20 minutes over his time] and I talked to Pete earlier in the day and he was like, “I don’t want to follow Andy Dick.  I don’t want to follow Andy Dick.”  That was the one thing that he didn’t want to have happen on the show.  It happened and he pulled it out.

Of course he did, it’s Pete Holmes.

He crushed all day.  I saw him even at breakfast and he was doing crowd work and it was amazing.

It’s Pete.  The guy just makes me happy.  He is my anti-depressant.  It’s just like, “Oh, Pete’s here… everything’s good.”

It’s really amazing.  Did you catch Ari Shaffir open up in darkness? (Yes, Ari Shaffir started “This Is Not Happening” in complete darkness)

Yes, like they had just open the theater, like the first day of this theater.  It was dark, there was music, the curtains don’t close.

Did you think it was a moment of humanity when these 20 people put their flashlight apps on and lit him [Ari Shaffir] on stage?

It was nice.

I thought it was amazing that they wanted to see comedy so bad that they were going to hold lights so Ari could perform.

Yeah, that’s the kind of place this is.  Very nice people.

I wish we had more of that in LA, but I know it’s kind of impossible.

Ahh, it’s in there.  It’s just spread out.

That’s the problem Kyle.  People think LA is just Hollywood, East LA, and Santa Monica.  That’s it.

Fuck’em.

That’s right.  Fuck’em.

I like that people hate it [LA].  

Any final thoughts?  You just had your Comedy Central special…

Just a lot of road work and a lot of keeping my brains together so I don’t lose my shit being away from home all the time.

You’re great man.  I feel privileged talking to you.  I remember we were at Public House (a great weekly stand-up showcase in LA) and you were developing that bit about having a specific amount of money and you go through all these images like you needing your teeth worked on and you didn’t remember what a labyrinth was and you asked me.

Thanks, man.  I appreciate it.  Since that’s happened, it [that bit] has been on John Oliver and I got my teeth fixed.

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I feel so privileged.

You got history, Jake.