that “I mix in politics” so I guess
that makes me a Cold Stone
Creamery comedian. But seri-
ously, I’ve been told I’m “an in-
tellectual comedian” way more
often than I’ve been told I’m a
political comedian. In shorter
7-10 minute sets, I barely do po-
litical jokes. But when it’s a lon-
ger 45-60 minute set, and the
audience first understands my
(Russian family) background and
where I’m at personally (mar-
ried) then I let them know what
I think about politics and the
world. Although I’d say most of
my political jokes are more “po-
litical philosophy” jokes than
“one side is great, the other side
is horrible” type jokes. As in,
instead of focusing on specific
politicians whose names nobody
will remember in a year or two,
I try to focus on the underlying
concept about America and the
world. That said, I still have a few
Trump jokes.
NJ STAGE - ISSUE 44
Comparisons to Russia is still
a big part of your set. With the
way the last 2 years have gone,
do you find audiences are more
interested in these jokes?
Yes, I’ve found audiences are
way more interested in my Rus-
sian stories now. Before they
thought I was just making this all
up. But now that Russians are in
the news, my stories don’t seem
so crazy.
You dig into some rather per-
sonal aspects in your set. What’s
the most embarrassing topic
you’ve ever included? Are there
ever aspects of your life that you
won’t include even if they’re
kind of funny?
The most embarrassing topic
was probably five or six years
back, I had a bit about a Sexually
Transmitted Disease (STD) scare.
(It turned out I did not have a
STD). The bit didn’t end up in
any of my albums though, not
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