Just the Beginning: a Q&A with Jon Rhinehart
Jon Rhinehart isn’t just a stand up comic, he’s a stand up guy. In Laughs Out Loudly’s first Q&A, Rhinehart shares his experience as a budding comedian all while politely sidestepping the interviewer’s loquaciousness.
Laughing Out Loudly (LOL): Thanks for doing this, I really appreciate it!
Jon Rhinehart (JR): Yeah, of course.
LOL: So, you’re just getting off work right now, where do you work?
JR: I work for Santa Cruz Bicycles.
LOL: That’s rad. Santa Cruz is a great place, I went to college out there. So, where are you from originally?
JR: I’m from Southern California. I grew up in Granada Hills, but moved around. Moved back and forth between Santa Fe, New Mexico and California. Spent High School in San Clemente.
LOL: Cool, and what inspired you to do comedy? Did you see it growing up and want to join and start doing your own?
JR: I started in April of last year.
LOL: Oh, wow!
JR: Yeah, so I’m super new.
LOL: How are you liking it?
JR: I’m loving it. I could talk about it all night. I started doing comedy in Santa Cruz primarily because I wanted a creative outlet. I grew up loving comedy. My uncle was a writer for SNL, and it’s been a part of my life, pretty much since I was a small child. My dad had a great sense of humor — my whole family did. But, I’ve been listening to stand up since I was 13-years-old, and I’m 33 now. I always thought I’d be a musician, and the I realized one day that I’d been playing guitar for 18 years and had written zero songs. So, I started going to local comedy shows in Santa Cruz and thought ‘Wow, some of these people are really funny’ and, ‘Holy shit, I’m funnier than some of these people.’ I mean, I’ve had moments — and I think everyone, even people who don’t do comedy, everybody’s had a moment where somebody at a party has [told them], ‘Oh, you should be a comedian!’
LOL: (laughs) For sure, yeah.
JR: But, you know, I’ve had that moment a handful of times in my life. So, I went to maybe four shows in town, and just watched, and then I bought a notebook and I started writing. I’ve always enjoyed writing. When I was a kid I thought I’d be a Dungeons and Dragons, George R.R. Martin writer. But, sitting down and understanding the structure of a joke already, and having family stuff and personal experiences to pull from as a, you know, not being an 18-year-old — and not that 18-year-olds can’t get that…
LOL: No, I hear ya. I mean they say… what is that saying? Dark times plus time equals comedy? I’m butchering the quote…
JR: Tragedy plus time equals comedy. Yeah, and one of the primary reasons I started doing stand up comedy was Pete Holmes’ podcast.
LOL: Which one’s that?
JR: [It’s called] ‘You Made It Weird.’
LOL: Oh yeah, I’ve heard of that, yeah.
JR: I’m a hipster, so of course I started from the beginning. I went back to the first recording and it was mostly him just interviewing other comedians. And I started listening to their personal experiences and their stories and they were just talking and not trying to be funny. I realized ‘Oh, you just have to find a perspective on life that people laugh at and is relatable’
LOL: Yeah, that’s true. You can’t laugh at something if it’s not relatable or understandable to some degree. That’s funny, that’s why I wanted to do Q&As because that’s how Judd Apatow started. He was 15 or something and had a radio show and he called Jerry Seinfeld or Jerry Seinfeld’s agent, and they didn’t have the internet really back then, so the agent couldn’t Google who Judd Apatow was, this random 15-year-old kid. So, he got Seinfeld to come on the show. And, Jerry’s like, ‘Who’s this kid?’ or whatever, as the show’s happening. So, yeah, I just appreciate that sentiment of interviewing comics and liking to hear people talk about life and comedy.
So, are you primarily interested in stand up? I know there’s comedians who sort of dabble in improv, they do emceeing — but are you mostly into the comedy part?
JR: I’ve never done improv. It’s not something that doesn’t interest me, but I’ve just never done it. I did drama in high school and played MacBeth, Cyrano de Bergerac and Duke Orsino from Twelfth Night — that kind of stuff. And, I played guitar in a live band for a handful of years and so I’ve had stage experience, but I don’t do anything really except for stand up.
LOL: And that also sounds like it’s something that’s really your own. Like you said you’ve been part of shows, and been part of a band, but like you said you didn’t write music. Now you get to write your own comedy and create this thing that’s very individual.
JR: Yeah, well, the success of the show hinges almost entirely on you and you alone.
LOL: Yeah, and maybe how drunk the audience is or something (laughs).
JR: Yeah the audience is a huge component — And, well, maybe how drunk you are, you know. It’s kinda like when you play pool, or you go bowling. You hit that perfect number of beers and it’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m Maverick from — or whoever Tom Cruise was in that Pool Movie’.* But then sometimes you have too many beers and you go and listen to your set and you’re like ‘Ayayay…’ But, I’ve had rooms and had nights where the audience laughed hard, and then I’ve had the same jokes just fail the next night to a different audience.
LOL: Totally — and how do you deal with that? How do you deal with the non-laughter? Or those silences?
JR: Well, comics will say ‘Well, that joke didn’t work, maybe you’ll like this one!’ But that’s also kind of a hacky thing to do. As long as they’re not heckling you just sorta move on and tell the next joke. It’s when they’re saying mean things because your jokes aren’t working. And that’s because sometimes the comics are telling terrible jokes. I mean, we’re all a little delusional, but I definitely have a self-confidence from day one that has worked for me.
LOL: Well, that’s good. I feel like that’s not something all comedians have. Self-deprecation is part of some people’s sets.
JR: Well, I have plenty of self-worth issues, but I can at least go on stage and at least appear like I’m the most confident guy in the room while I’m doing my set.
LOL: (laughs) Totally, and also that can be good material, that insecurity and being confident in your insecurity in a way.
JR: Oh, for sure. You want to be vulnerable. I mean, it’s not necessary. There are comedians who aren’t vulnerable at all, but ultimately you want the audience to be on your side. A good way to do that is by making them feel sympathy for you or if they can relate to something you’ve gone through — or that’s wrong with you, or your flawed.
LOL: Yeah. I mean we all have that character flaw. It’s like the [Joseph]** Campbell flawed hero — you know, that one thing that keeps our characters and stories from succeeding without fail.
And, on that note of vulnerability and sensitivity — it seems like language and words these days are being more and more policed and the comedy scene is quickly evolving with the political climate. I’m wondering if you have thoughts on that. Have you ever run into trouble with this? Because, there’s one thing to have an echo in the room because your joke wasn’t funny and there’s another thing to have a joke just not be okay.
JR: It’s a really, super complex issue. I mean, growing and continued racism, anti-woman sentiments, and just general misogyny along with the accusations and things that have come out about [comedians] recently has definitely caused a stir. I’ve never experienced a negative reaction to my material because of what’s happening politically. I also tend not to write jokes that are racist, even ironically. I don’t think anything is off limits. I don’t think comedians should limit themselves on what they make jokes about, because I think that that’s the point — is to find light in the darkness. That’s certainly what it is for me. But, I think that people should be careful about the jokes they make given the political climate we’re in purely for the sake of maintaining a good show. Like, doing the rest of the comics a favor and the room that’s allowing free comedy to happen. I think that’s important. And, I think when you’re at the level that your on Netflix people are going to forgive you for saying a lot of things, you should say them. Does that make sense?
LOL: Yeah it does.
JR: Yeah, I mean, I’m a mama’s boy. I have a little sister, and I’m super not stoked when dudes at open mics make shitty jokes about the #MeToo movement — I’m like, ‘come on, guys.’ Write better material. And just racist jokes. I mean your not Anthony Jeselnik, just…don’t.
LOL: Yeah. And now moving to a less-heavy question…
JR: Yeah, it’s a loaded topic.
LOL: Yeah it is, and I wanted to engage in it for a moment at least, but yeah, moving on. What’s your favorite part of comedy and stand up?
JR: My very favorite part is getting a sense of self-satisfaction with work that I’m doing. It is literally the first time in my life that I have something to do and I have a purpose. Like I know that in ten years I’m still going to be doing comedy.
LOL: That’s funny, that was going to be my next question: where do you see yourself in one or five and, I guess, 10 years?
JR: In five years I definitely won’t be in Santa Cruz. That’s the plan. I mean realistically, five years, 10 years, is a reasonable expectation for making good money doing comedy. Doing stand up. If you write, and if you’re a writer for a show, or if you write for Buzzfeed, or The Onion or something like that — you can supplement your income doing comedy, but for me it’s all about the stand up. And I’m also super new, so it’s totally possible for a bunch of guys to like, hop in a van and make some money going across the country.
LOL: It’d be like touring for music. Have you done that before?
JR: No, I mean, I don’t own a car. I’m a bike-commuter, so I barely get out of Santa Cruz. I’ve been to San Francisco, Oakland. Three of us drove to Sacramento one night to do 10 minutes each in front of six people.
LOL: (laughs) That’s awesome.
JR: And then drove back to Santa Cruz the same night.
LOL: Yeah, but hey, when you’re doing what you love I guess it doesn’t matter how many people are there.
JR: I mean, it was a worthless endeavor but it’s also like, we had a fun trip in the car.
LOL: Totally.
JR: I mean, three comics sitting in a car chit-chatting is funny.
LOL: And that’s what I think, too, and what I just love about the comedy scene, especially in Santa Cruz when I was there. While it was about these individual people doing sets, it also felt like such an amazing community with camaraderie and support. And that sense of purpose was sort of evident in everybody and yet, at the same time, it was mutually shared and adored. It was cool to witness. It was definitely something I wanted to learn more about hence the want to do Q&As.
JR: Yeah, it’s a really lovely scene.
LOL: And now, what is your least favorite part about comedy?
JR: (laughs) The amount of time you get on stage.
LOL: Like, it’s short or long?
JR: Short. You get maybe five minutes if you’re lucky. Obviously, as you improve you get more time, but as a local…the people who produce shows will defer to people who’ve traveled, which makes perfect sense. But, somebody who travels from Oakland gets 10–15 minutes, and I’m here every fuckin’ week. But that is also totally understandable. So, not enough time onstage. That’s probably not a common least favorite thing. And then, not even heckling, but drunk — and/or sober people — who think that interacting with the show improves the show.
LOL: Yeah, especially if that’s not part of the comedian’s schtick. Like, there’s working the audience but then there’s interrupting.
JR: Right, well if the comedian brings you in — fair play. But there are a lot of people that think that yelling things — and I consider heckling to be a very different thing than just, ‘well, I’m participating, this’ll be fun…’. I’ve had friends I’ve sat down after the show and had to say, ‘Dude, don’t do that. You’re not enhancing anything.’ It’s like yelling ‘Free Bird!’ at a concert.
LOL: (Laughs) Yeah, for sure. And can you describe your best and/or worst set — whatever is your favorite story.
JR: My best set is a good story. Man, this is going to be a long recording.
LOL: It’s okay, I got time.
JR: My best set was the Monday after I had my head smashed into the concrete on Friday night, and broke my right hand and spent six hours in the ER. Then spent Sunday with a casted hand and a nasty, swollen-shut black eye with bloody stitches above my eyebrow, and went to see the Violent Femmes and Echo & The Bunnymen at the Mountain Winery. And then, Monday, went to The Poet [& the Patriot to do my set].
LOL: Word.
JR: [In the ER], I was doing material while they were stitching my forehead back together, because I had morphine for the first time. So, I felt pretty good.
LOL: (Laughs) Yeah, that would do it.
JR: I convinced the nurse to come to the comedy show, and he showed up, and I had all of this material about the injury and what I was saying at the hospital that I just wrote in two and a half days. And, because I looked so pathetic, and horrifying, just…everybody was on my side. And I killed.
LOL: I bet, that just works with it.
JR: There’s material that I wish I could repeat, but I can’t because I don’t look like that anymore. So, it doesn’t really work as much.
LOL: Yeah, that’s so interesting.
JR: And I don’t have a good worst set story yet. I need one.
LOL: I feel like that’s a really good sign, though. So far, anyway.
JR: I agree, I agree. But, I also know that I need to have at least one so I know what it feels like. Just as a growing experience.
LOL: Look at you being all humble.
JR: I’m working on it.
When he’s not coordinating international shipments for Santa Cruz Bicycles, or working on his humility, you can catch Jon at open mics in Santa Cruz on Sundays at the Blue Lounge at 9pm, Mondays at the Poet at 8pm, Tuesday at Bocci’s Cellar at 9pm, Wednesday at Rosie’s at 9pm, and Thursday at the Blue Lagoon at 8:30pm.
Find out more about Jon and the Santa Cruz comedy scene at www.standupsantacruz.com
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity
**In the actual interview I said “John Campbell” to which Jon politely said nothing even though I for sure said the wrong name.
