It's not about making everyone kind of like you; it's about finding the audience that's going to love you and playing to them.
That's what stand-up comedian Steve Hofstetter says he had to learn for his comedy to get to where it is today. And where he is today is sitting on the release of his book "Ginger Kid" -- a top five Amazon pick -- two Top 20-charting comedy albums (including one that hit No. 1 on iTunes comedy charts) and more than 100 million views on YouTube.
FAQ
Steve Hofstetter
WHEN — 8 p.m. today
WHERE — Bike Rack Brewing in Bentonville
COST — $20; only 14 tickets remain as of publication
INFO — 319-6593, stevehofstetter.com
"I think I was a better comic in 2008 than I was in 2010," Hofstetter admits. "And it's because when I first started, it was just like, 'I'm going to say whatever I think is funny.' And then as I started getting the chance to get gigs, I started playing to those crowds, and I started doing jokes that were more crowd-pleasers. And then I realized that [I wasn't] having fun."
After recognizing how miserable he was "dancing" for someone else, Hofstetter resolved to sit down and write out what he wanted to talk about, what is important to him, and then write jokes about those subjects. It completely changed his comedy, and now Hofstetter says his act evolves as new things happen to him or are going on around him that he feels he can't leave unaddressed.
The other major component of his comedy, though, is the crowd work. A brief look at Hofstetter's YouTube channel will show how much he interacts with the audience -- and how much audience members interact back. After a few of his clips putting a heckler in their place went viral, Hofstetter has become quite known for "dunking" on argumentative audience members, as the kids call it these days. It doesn't bother him, though, so don't expect Hofstetter to shy away from calling out even a small comment.
"My favorite quote is from Mark Twain: 'Travel is the enemy of prejudice,'" Hofstetter muses on the paraphrased version of the quote. "And I'm a Jewish kid from New York City who is actively looking forward to performing in Northwest Arkansas. And the reason for that is because I've traveled enough and I've met enough people to know that there are good and smart people everywhere. There are dumb and evil people everywhere. And I look forward to sorting them out."
-- Jocelyn Murphy
NAN What's Up on 09/28/2018