Chris Gethard on Why He’s ‘Never Shut the Hell Up About Jersey’

Comedian Chris Gethard is a proud New Jersey native.

He's spent over 25 years crisscrossing the country for stand up gigs, runs the popular podcast Beautiful/Anonymous, had an off-Broadway show become an HBO special, and played guest roles on The Office and Broad City, among others, but he's never lost his connection to the Garden State.

"Even in the years I lived in New York, I never shut the hell up about Jersey," he said.

Gethard earned a cult following in Jersey with a comedy album titled Taylor Ham, Egg, And Cheese, his now-sunsetted New Jersey Is the World podcast, and an interviewee appearance in the documentary Class Action Park. His commitment to all-things-Jersey saw him play an eclectic mix of venues in the state, including Franny's Pizza in Highlands, famed hot dog joint Rutt's Hut in Clifton, and backyard and house shows.

Still, his breakout performance at the Jeff Ross-hosted Roast of New Jersey at the Count Basie Theatre in March wasn't a guarantee.

"I don't think anybody expected it from me. If you looked at that lineup, there were a bunch of killers on it and a bunch of them are people who are really well acquainted with roast culture and known as rougher-edged comics. I'm a little bit more known as like a thoughtful weirdo. The people who had heard of me thought it was cool for me to be included, but I don't think anybody thought that I was going to raise the bar," Gethard said.

But raise the bar he did, delivering a barnstorming set that NJ.com praised as one of the best of the evening. Gethard even needled host town Red Bank as the Montclair of Monmouth with the line, "You've got Rumson and Red Bank, sure, but stop acting like you're better than the rest of us. You’ve got Keansburg, too."

The Keansburg reference proved his Jersey credibility to those in the audience who might not know him, the comedian noted.

"That was like a match thrown on gasoline because they realized I actually know my s---. I've actually researched it," he said. "I understand that the bridges get locked up in between Ocean Grove and Asbury. And I understand what Asbury used to be versus what it is now. I've done the eating challenge on the pizza down at Pete and Elda's. If you tell me to make a left at the Evil Clown, I know what you're telling me."

Gethard received a standing ovation and, before he left the building, an offer for a headlining performance from the Count Basie team at The Vogel.

New Jersey Roots Taught Gethard to 'Take Big Swings'

The West Orange native credits New Jersey with shaping him as an artist. His cultural nourishment while growing up in the '80s and '90s included a steady diet of WFMU, Uncle Floyd, Weird NJ magazine, Kevin Smith movies, and punk rock shows in VFW and American Legion halls.

"Coming up in Jersey, you look around and you realize you have to take big swings, and that sometimes the people who take the biggest swings, even on weird ideas, are the ones we're most proud of growing up," Gethard said.

He further honed that DIY mentality while working at Weird NJ magazine in his 20s and observing the publication's founders and their bootstrap approach to sustaining the iconic brand. Gethard took those lessons and determined to bet on himself, following his creative instincts even if they didn't seem the most solid career play. This included launching The Chris Gethard Show on public access TV before it was picked up by Fusion. There was also his off-Broadway show Career Suicide, which explored alcoholism and depression -- not necessarily the easiest material to parlay into what became his HBO standup special of the same name.

'Where Else On Earth?': Gethard on Jersey's Range

Life in the Garden State also offered Gethard a breadth and depth of experience he might not have gotten otherwise. The way he opines about the wonder of New Jersey will make you puff your chest out and walk with a little more swagger, too.

"You could go to the Cowtown Rodeo, and you could also jump on a PATH train and be in the heart of Manhattan. And those are both very true to the New Jersey experience," he said. "You could also do both of those things and probably jump in the ocean in between, you know? Where else on earth are all those things happening where they're not super spread out?"

Beyond the geographical diversity, there's the sheer variety of people one encounters living in New Jersey that rounds out a person.

"I could go to a diner right now, and the person in one booth on one side of me might be a truck driver, and the person in the other booth might be a CEO, but guess what? Nobody gets to cut the line. It's a diner in New Jersey. And I think that diversity is very real," Gethard said. "I realized I grew up talking with more types of people than anyone else I know. I'm comfortable talking with every type of person, and it's not a buzzword, it's not a politicized thing, it's actually not even something to think that hard about."

Gethard performs at The Vogel in Red Bank on Friday, June 19 at 7PM. Tickets are available at thebasie.org.

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