The Young Man Who Opened for Will Oldham in Louisville

Jacob Otting is a young undiscovered comedian whom I hereby discover in this blog post. When he sent me a private YouTube link of his act opening for Bonnie Prince Billy (aka Will Oldham, aka Palace Brothers, et al), I was so delighted and amazed that I felt compelled to email him some boldface questions demanding more information. The video, and Jacob’s responses, follow.

—Andrew Leland

Where was this video filmed? What was the occasion?

This was at the Clifton Center in Louisville KY. I was opening for Bonnie Prince Billy. This was very exciting for me, because he is my favorite. And because the Clifton Center is a beautiful old theater, the old elementary school auditorium kind with the basketball hoops right there on stage, behind the curtains.

How did you get this gig?

I work at a place called Nancies’ Bagel Grounds in Louisville, and one of the Nancies there, the pride of Nancies everywhere, got me this gig. Bonnie Prince Bagel is a regular, so this one time Nancy told him I was in Massachusetts doing my comedy, which I was. A few weeks later he came in and I was there. Then he asked me, Open Sesame! I guess he liked me because I’m always sweetly nervous around him, and because one time I made a pretty good joke about the mixed berry smoothie I was making for him.

Who shot this video? 

My girlfriend. 

What’s your girlfriend’s response to your using her as fodder? Holding the camera, she sounds like she’s enjoying herself, but did you two need to have a conversation beforehand? 

I always wanted to be funny, but I really kicked it into high gear after I met my girlfriend. Well, even before I met her, after I read her book and before I wrote her a letter in which I conveyed to her how funny I knew she was, and in which letter I tried to be funny, too. So it was always right there in front of us when we started dating (long distance). The Importance of Being Funny was suspended between us like a banner, and together we pulled it taut. Using her as fodder for my act was just a prolonged flirtation, I think. Because the story of how we met is both funny and romantic and full of tangential opportunities, at one point I started to skip it and tell people that we met on JDate. She’s Catholic. Her brother improved on my joke, saying we met on freewallpapers.com. That’s funny, but not because she’s Catholic. But actually I still think my joke is funnier, and better, because some people actually do meet on JDate, and it’s not a joke to them. They get married. 

Are you in your act talking about a symbolic or “literary” girlfriend, as opposed to the one who’s filming you?

Unless it’s a mean joke, I’m probably talking about my real girlfriend. If it’s mean, I’m probably talking about all my ex-girlfriends, of which there are funny. Being funny about your real girlfriend is sweet, even (especially!) when you’re saying things like “When I’m with my girlfriend I like to stay cupped at all times.”

Have you ever done a performance like this before?

My last performance before this one was at the easily identifiable Flying Object (google it) in Hadley, Massachusetts. When I perform like this it’s called the Comedy Act Not to Laugh At. Don’t ask, don’t tell. I grew up doing it for my family, my mom and dad and brother. And then, a little over two years ago, after I met my girlfriend (duh), I decided to go public.

Have you read Lydia Davis’s “A Mown Lawn”? Is this a tribute? 

I just now read it and loved it. I’m gonna say yes. I wish I was as scary as Lydia Davis. When I perform, I want to be scary/sweet. Scary/sweet, that’s sort of my combo. But I mostly fail at scary, and this is what makes me so sweet.

What other precedents or sources inform a performance like this? 

Mowing the lawn is a real inspiration. My girlfriend likes to watch me mow, that’s how the funny stuff started. I felt the need to show off while I was mowing. It got to be pretty dangerous! Hence, “Some of the things I do with my mower are too dangerous to be awesome.” My girlfriend (obvs) is an inspiration. She straight-up wrote the line about Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. My older brother taught me how to be funny. Now I’m taller and funnier and older than my brother! James Tate had the biggest earliest lastingest impact on the way that I write. 

It’s hard to tell what’s happening during the beginning of the “raffle portion of the entertainment.” Can you explain it? Also, what happens at the end?

I was turning the crank of my raffle drum (“a little too zealously,” my dad said) and it broke apart and spewed ping pong balls all over the place, but I was too quick! And at the end of the show I pull a tube of lipstick on a long string from the hollow of a church and apply it to my lips before making my true love statement. The church stayed on stage for the duration of the Bonnie show.