A new force in comedy aims to leave you breathless. “Comedy Without Reservations” is the brainchild of former Hobokenite Jim Dodge, who first honed his dry wit in the mile-square city.
Dodge and his three cohorts – Pat Breslin, J-L Cauvin, and Josh Kaufman – thought that it was time to shake up the rules of comedy clubs.
For those who are tired of comedy clubs that charge a two-drink minimum plus an expensive cover charge, Comedy Without Reservations is ready to set you free – literally!
This foursome performs their irreverent, but often-hilarious stand-up comedy in Hoboken and Manhattan. Their free monthly show at the Goldhawk is part of the Comedy Sundays series.
Four men, a new comedy show
The foursome initially met through work at New York comedy clubs like Caroline’s and Gotham Comedy Club, and through networking. According to Kaufman, in 2000, he and Dodge were both working together for a “low-paying office job.” A few years later in 2003, Breslin met up with the two on the circuit.
Although the four didn’t start talking about doing their own show until this past September, according to Breslin, the seeds were planted in 2003.
“We wanted to create our own show and change the world,” said Breslin.
“We wanted a show that we could run,” Dodge agreed, “where we control all the variables.”
Another stipulation of some of the bigger clubs is that you have to bring your friends to the show, which can include anything from 6 to 20 people.
“A lot of times for the big clubs, you worry about bringing friends,” said Breslin.
“And by the time that happens you are exhausted already,” Dodge added.
“I have a lot of friends, so I don’t worry about that,” said Cauvin.
A comedy dream
All four found comedy for very different reasons. Kaufman has the most experience in comedy. He started performing in 1999, although he says he actually always wanted to be a rapper.
Dodge, who has performed stand-up for the last six years, was initially inspired by the work of Kaufman. “I met Josh when he was sitting seven inches away from me,” said Dodge. “I saw a tape of his and said ‘I could do that.’ ”
Cauvin, who is a lawyer by day, initially tried stand-up as a way to deal with the stresses of law school. He found that performing was a really good outlet.
Breslin said that he always had stand-up in the back of his head. “It’s something I tried,” said Breslin, “and I’ve been amazing ever since.”
Breslin said that their group is similar to a dating relationship. “We’ve been going steady for six months,” joked Breslin.
Making it look easy
Although they all love what they do – sometimes working a crowd is work.
“You never know what the crowd is going to be like,” said Breslin. “So you plan for different crowds.”
Breslin said you might think certain jokes are universal, but they are not.
As comedians, they have to fight to stay cool under pressure. Sometimes a show can be flawless, but sometimes it’s going so badly, it hurts.
“I killed the first night I performed,” recalls Breslin. “Then for the second time, I brought all my friends and bombed.”
“So did I,” said Kaufman. “I killed the first time and bombed the next 27 times.”
They agreed that while audience response is what they are after, belligerent comments are not. “People think that because [we are] comics, they can voice their opinion,” said Kaufman. “Yet you wouldn’t at a Broadway show.”
Creating a voice
While there are certain standard jokes in stand-up, like dating bits or mass transit stories, most comedians strive to find their own voice.
“If you have been doing it for awhile, you have certain things that you know will work,” said Breslin. Breslin says that many seasoned comics will open strong and have a good closing joke.
“It’s like bread with shitty meat,” joked Cauvin.
They are looking for fresh ways to create a signature joke.
For Cauvin that means telling stories about his family. As a 6-foot-7, half Irish, half Haitian, he finds new ways to tell ethnic or tall jokes.
“I used to tell tall-guy jokes until J-L [Cauvin] came along,” said Dodge.
And although there is perhaps a lot of material for them to explore as a group, they wouldn’t consider sketch comedy.
“The only way I thought about it is that it would be really cool to be on ‘Saturday Night Live,'” said Breslin.
For now, the four are content with honing their skills as they work on their voices. Lucky for them, they seem to have found it.
Catch Comedy Without Reservations at their next performance at the Goldhawk on Sunday, April 22 at 8 p.m. For more information, visit: www.myspace.com/zeroreservations.