Hannibal Buress refuses to go ice-skating. The comedian/Saturday Night Live writer meets me at Rockefeller Center but won’t join me on the skating rink. The cafes are packed with tourists, so we sit on the steps outside 30 Rock. Like many comedians, Buress is more serious than expected. He won’t discuss the highly criticized episode hosted by Mad Men‘s January Jones, but he’s happy to chat about his day job, doing stand-up and how celebrities party until 7:30 a.m. (Not much happens at that hour, but you can write the drugs off on your taxes.)
You moved to New York a year ago from Chicago?
From Chicago, yeah.
What do you think of New York?
It’s cool. I like it. I mean I moved here to try and get a job and for more opportunities in comedy. I wouldn’t live in New York if I wasn’t doing comedy because I like to have space and stuff. I would probably live in Chicago or like, Austin, Texas. Somewhere to have space and drive around. But New York is fine. It’s a fun spot.
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How’s your new day job? Most comics would kill to write for SNL.
It’s nice. It’s a day job. It’s very different. I have to go somewhere everyday.
Is this your first substantial job?
Yeah, it’s my first substantial, regular job. It’s definitely an adjustment though — to be there everyday when I’m used to just playing video games until it’s time to go do comedy. So that’s what it was like. Doing comedy at 8 or 9 p.m. and, during the day, video games and the internet. A mixture of those and telephone calls.
But yeah, it’s definitely a switch and I’m learning a lot ’cause I really didn’t write sketch before I did this job. I’m learning how to write and how to write for the show because what’s funny to you might not be funny for the show. And also learning stuff like what would work production-wise. Like I wrote this sketch and I wrote like 90% of it and I was excited about it and I showed it to the head writer and he was like, “I like this. . .but this is crazy." It was like, five different sets! (Laughs.) Like with extras and all this other stuff. So you kinda gotta think about all that when you write stuff, like something that’s easy to shoot.
You’ve been on the show since the beginning of the season.
Yes, I started work at the end of August. August 31st.
Do you get to go to fun parties now?
The first party is usually like, a dinner thing. It’s more subdued, and then the second party is usually at a bar that goes ’till like, 7:00 a.m. I stayed out ’til 7:30 a.m. this past Saturday. And there was no reason for that. I just kind of did it to do it. I’m like, "What happens at this time?" Nothing. Nothing worth noting at all.
They make you do a bunch of drugs now that you work at SNL?
(Laughs.) No, drugs are optional, as they always were. They are tax-deductible.
You guys got a lot of shit for the January Jones episode. (Silence.)
Or . . . did you not?
(Laughs.) Noooooo comment.
Fair enough, fair enough. Do you want to be performing one day?
I don’t know if I would want to be a full-on cast member, but I would want to do like, good stuff. Maybe have a couple lines somewhere every other week. Not to the point where I have to, you know, worry about being on all the time, but just to have a couple of lines and maybe do a "Weekend Update" feature. So that would be nice, but I wouldn’t want the pressure of being on camera all the time. But I would want to have the fun of it. Yeah, it’d be nice.
You hosted a few Heeb Storytelling events. How did that come about? Because you love the Jews?
I did one show in Chicago at the Spertus Center, and then I was asked to do one out here. Yeah, it’s a fun hosting experience.
Tell me about your night at the Knitting Factory. How’s that going?
It’s going well. We’ve been getting nice crowds. It started because I did the grand opening of the Knitting Factory with the band Les Savy Fav. The Knitting Factory people asked me to put on a show, so I agreed to because it’s a block and a half from my house. (Laughs.)
And you curate the night?
Yeah, I do all that.
How do you find everyone?
I’ve been doing it for a while, so I know a decent amount of comedians. Comedians email me to try and get on the show. Comedians show up to try and get on the show. It’s not that hard. I could probably book a different show of four comedians for the whole year. There’s so many comedians in New York.
Catch "Hannibal Buress Presents. . ." this Sunday night at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, NY with Wyatt Cenac (Daily Show Correspondent), Anthony Jeselnik (Late Show with Jimmy Fallon), Jamie Kilstein, Derek Gaines (TV One’s Who’s Got Jokes) and Josh Fadem (30 Rock). Free.
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