Jim Gaffigan is kinda like Radiohead.
OK, the comedian is not exactly sitting in the same boat or taking the same approach as the British music trendsetters, but Gaffigan is boldly moving his wares to an online-only forum.
This weekend, Gaffigan performs a series of shows at the Warner Theatre, one night of which will be recorded for a live standup special to be titled “Jim Gaffigan: Mr. Universe.” But instead of distributing the performance through traditional means such as a popular cable network or DVD, Gaffigan will release the show only through his own website this April for $5.
| Onstage |
| Jim Gaffigan |
| » Where: Warner Theatre, 513 13th St. NW |
| » When: Thursday through Saturday. |
| » Info: Performances for Friday and Saturday are sold out, but tickets remain for Thursday’s 7:30 p.m. show. $50 to $65; warnertheatredc.com. |
“There’s definitely a risk element,” said Gaffigan, 45. “I’m very lucky that I can tour and do standup. It’s not as if my wife and four children will starve. Yeah, there’s a risk. I think that people who go on stage and attempt to make strangers laugh aren’t frightened of a well-calculated risk. I think it’s worth a gamble.”
Recent events motivated and inspired Gaffigan to harness his own do-it-yourself ethos. A clean comedian, he ran into censorship not for crude language, but after mentioning some name brands in his routine during a televised benefit.
Late last year, popular comedian Louis C.K. self-released his latest standup special through his own website. Combining the frustration of the censorship from higher powers with the trailblazing of a contemporary comedian, Gaffigan chose to take the plunge.
“I didn’t want to deal with any censorship,” Gaffigan said. “I also felt that I was doing all this work and some of the money was coming to me, but most of it was going to these middlemen. I was really inspired by what Louis did. I saw that if you’re honest and make it really easy to buy and inexpensive, that people, if they like your stuff, will buy it. At least that’s what I’m hoping.”
Gaffigan is also donating $1 of each $5 purchase to the Bob Woodruff Foundation, which supports veterans and their families.
Gaffigan has made people laugh for the past 20 years with his wry commentary on topics such as bacon, Hot Pockets and Waffle House. He’s appeared in a number of movies (“Away We Go,” “It’s Kind of a Funny Story”) on Broadway (“That Championship Season”) and his last standup album was 2009’s “King Baby.”
He writes everything with his wife, Jeannie. With four children, Gaffigan works to balance his career and family life.
Gaffigan spent two years constructing “King Baby,” and three years on the upcoming “Jim Gaffigan: Mr. Universe.” Time will tell if it pays off.
“I really want it to be all A’s,” Gaffigan said of the material. “I’ve been working on this special longer than the last one.”
