Wade Coggeshall
Some comedians, bolstered by family/friends/neighbors/co-workers telling them how funny they are, go to their first open-mic night and wing it, hoping what acquaintances find hilarious, this room of strangers will too.Dwight York, who will perform Dec. 10 at Woody's Landing, took a slightly different route.The Minneapolis factory worker did indeed frequent amateur nights, only not to try out material but observe others in action."I first went to watch comedy," the man whom Bob Kevoian of Bob and Tom fame recently called "George Carlin without the money," said. "I watched it for about six or nine months. I'd go to the show every week and started going to the open mics and watch."During this homework phase, York deciphered comic routines and mannerisms he wanted to avoid."The thing I didn't like were the comics who had blah, contrived setups and ridiculous segues," he said. "I thought let's get right to the joke, cut out the b.s. The other thing I didn't like were the comics who laughed at their own jokes. So when I would deliver a joke, I would deliver it deadpan. Because I kept a straight face, people thought I was kind of crazy, so I went with that character."Cutting out the fat left York with one-liner jokes, the bread-and-butter style of such legendary comedians as Steven Wright and Mitch Hedberg. It also meant he would have to write a lot more than the storytelling satirists.And so he wrote — a lot. In fact that's all he did for the first six months of pursuing his comedic side. "I was scared if I went up for that first open mic and didn't do well. I had a lot of material ready to go in case the stuff I used that first night didn't work."York's factory job entailed building windows on an assembly line. In between windows coming down the belt, York would jot down thoughts in a notebook he kept at his station. He also kept notebooks in his car and home, writing down anything that crossed his mind. A lot of it never makes his routine."I write about 20 jokes for every one that works," York said. "So if I have 20 jokes, that means I have 400 that aren't funny."It took York 15 years to put together enough one-liners for an hour show. He constantly has to write new ones to keep his performances fresh, particularly when he guests on Bob and Tom, a nationally-syndicated radio show."I still (write a lot), especially when I'm doing the Bob and Tom show because I repeat some of my jokes when I'm on there," York said. "They want you to hear their favorites, but every time I do the show I try to use a couple seconds of new material. That's 15-20 jokes every time I go on the show, and that's a lot of material."Having sharpened his act in the Twin Cities for seven years, beginning in 1989, York took his jokes on the road, finishing second at the Vail National Comedy Invitational in 1995 at Colorado. Officially becoming a traveling stand-up comedian in '96, York made his first Bob and Tom appearance in October 2000. One of his jokes, "I was homeless for a while — I didn't want anyone to know, so I slept in front of a Ticketmaster," proved to be a hit with Tom Griswold, and York has been a regular on the show since. He's among many who voice strong support for what those two radio personalities have done for the comedy world."There are both comedians and comedy clubs that wouldn't be in existence if it wasn't for that show," York, who rates his act an R for adult language and situations, said. "There's a lot of clubs in these Bob and Tom cities where people hear (comedians) on Bob and Tom and they'll come out to the shows. I think it's great for comedy."To illustrate the broad spectrum of York's humor, one of his jokes was published in the April 2002 Reader's Digest, under the Laughter: The Best Medicine department. On the other side, York published a collection of his writings titled "The Vile File — Jokes too Sick for the Stage," in December 1999. According to York, even in this age there are jokes too taboo to share in public."There are some jokes that people may find amusing, but there's no way I'd ever use them on stage," he said. "Something like, 'I ate a grapefruit this morning the size of a large tumor.' I mean that's just disgusting. But for some reason people like it. When I write jokes, I'm just writing stuff down — I don't censor it."When I say there are jokes too sick for the stage, yes there are, but a lot of the jokes in (the book) are just dirty and mean-spirited, and I tried them in my act and they don't work."Editor's Note: The Dec. 10 show will start at 9:30 p.m. at Woody's Landing, 1450 Darlington Ave., Crawfordsville. Nate Craig will be the opening performer. Tickets are $10 and available at Woody's Landing or by calling 364-9064.——On the Net:www.dwightyork.comwww.elitecomedyproductions.com
