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Friday, January 8, 2010

JOKERS:Rod-Man


Rodman is your typical country boy, talking to the crowd of thousands as if he’s telling his story only to you. Initially you will catch yourself laughing, but not sure if that was a punch line or his natural demeanor. That’s just his style, laid back and seemingly so conversational, you find yourself caught up in his world without realizing the show has started. He has appeared on HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, Starz and BET and he says he is just getting started.
Rodman got his start in 1995 at the Uptown Comedy Club in his hometown of Atlanta. Although he was a huge fan of Def Comedy Jam, even watching comics repeatedly couldn’t prepare him for the first time on stage. “I did ok my first time. I just remember doing a fishing joke and a joke about church collection plates not giving me my change back” he recalls. With years of performing under his belt, he says now his material is reflective of his personal experiences and observations. Rod has performed all over the country and get compliments and well wishes from fans, but he says the biggest compliment came from Eddie Murphy, who simply said “You got it”. Some comics purposely make a name for themselves talking about touchy subjects. Rodman goes in another direction; he doesn’t talk about religion or racism. “An appropriate nigga is ok, because niggas are still around”, he said with a half laugh. “Sometimes it’s ok to say it, but I won’t use it randomly.”


In Hollywood you’re lucky if you get 15 minutes of fame and you try to stretch that as long as you can. Many comics have 20 year careers and are very funny but most never gain Richard Pryor or Bill Cosby type of success. Rodman jokes “I am a house hold name, it just depends whose house.” He maintains clarity saying his goal is simply to be funny. He admits when he started comedy, his goal wasn’t to be a movie star, but simply the best stand-up comic possible. Although he lives in North Hollywood in many ways he is still far removed from Hollywood politics. With as many TV credits as his peers, Rodman stays out of the spotlight. He rarely goes out to LA parties and doesn’t frequent the LA comedy scene unless he is performing. He describes Hollywood as a catch-22, saying he likes the benefits of Hollywood, but doesn’t like that many people are in-genuine or superficial. “I have to do Hollywood stuff sometimes, but I try to go to places with as little of the bullshit as possible”, he admits. “If you’re involved in that everyday a little bit of that has to fall back on you”.

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