Humor of James Gregory Takes on the Funny Side of Serious

By Nicholas Hilbourn, Florence Morning News, S.C.

Jul. 31–James Gregory doesn’t tell jokes, he doesn’t do one-liners, doesn’t write political satire, and he doesn’t curse (at least not in mixed company).

But what Gregory does do is tell stories. He’s a front-porch humorist: a Foghorn Leghorn with soft a Southern drawl, wagging shirt tails and a grin as wide as a halved-watermelon.

He got his start in an Atlanta comedy club where, during an open mic night, his friends encouraged him to take the stage and tell some of the stories that kept them in stitches.

So he did.

That, dear reader, was in 1982, and for more than 25 years, Gregory has made a living off his stories.

“I just talk about life,” he said. “I think it’s one of the reasons I’ve been able to stay in business.”

EIGHT DAYS THIS WEEK

–Charleston artist Manning Williams will bring his abstract art to the Florence Museum beginning Aug. 5.

–The Moja West Festival featuring the works of African-American artists is being presented as part of the South Carolina Black Expo on Aug. 7-9.

–Barcelona duo the Pinker Tones release lastest CD “Wild Animals.”

Pick up 8 Days A Week in Friday’s edition of the Morning News.

The knack

For James Gregory, life is a hodge-podge of crazy relatives, health nuts, endangered rats and mundane day-to-day activities such as a trip to the supermarket or driving to work. Real life, he noted, is the funniest material.

Gregory’s knack is catching it at just the right time.

“Ninety percent of my comedy comes from what I’ve read, what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard,” he said, adding that the rest is just presentation.

The “funny” is not just in the content, but in how he approaches his audience. When he speaks to people, whether he has known them for 10 years or 10 minutes, he speaks to them as friends.

Familiarity is important to Gregory.

It’s essential to make an audience feel comfortable, he explained, because that’s when they’re willing to listen and that’s when they’re willing to “laugh (their) butt off and not feel embarrassed about it.”

It’s OK to be clean

Gregory is perfectly fine with being billed as a “clean” comedian. Actually, he said, he prefers it.

“It has nothing to do with morality,” he said. “(I just want) to have an uplifting show. I don’t do the kind of material that’s X-rated or sexual. I think that makes the audience uncomfortable.” He also noted that being billed as “clean” broadens his audience.

“You never hear of anyone not going to see a comedian because they’re clean,” he explained.

If the comedian is funny, he said, it doesn’t matter.

There’s no political jokes in his act, either, but that doesn’t mean his comedy is completely devoid of the talk of the nation.

“I don’t do current events per say,” he said, but “sometimes I’ll do social commentary, whether it be classroom violence or the spotted owl.”

Creating the connection

Creating a community just for the night, he explained, is necessary, particularly if the subject matter might be a bit sensitive for some. It makes it easier for him and the audience to relax if they feel a connection, he said.

“When I’m around people I know, I laugh a lot and talk a lot,” he said. The warmer the atmosphere, the more honest he can be with the crowd.

“I think an entertainer is more entertaining if he can go on stage and be himself,” he said, and that’s primarily the reason behind “going clean.”

“No. 1, (being a clean comedian), it was a comfort level,” he said. “I didn’t start out at that level, but I felt more comfortable (when I was) doing that kind of humor.”

The best Western Sizzlin in the country

When it comes to the Pee Dee, comfort and cuisine go hand-in-hand for Gregory.

“I always feel at home, naturally, when I’m in my part of the country,” he said. “When I leave Georgia for South Carolina, if that state line wasn’t there I wouldn’t know the difference.”

The Aug. 9 show will be his third trip to Florence.

“I love this area,” he said. “I always relate my stops to places to eat, (and) right near Florence Civic Center is Western Sizzlin. That is the best Western Sizzlin in the country. I have to lie down after I eat there.”

Gregory is fond of Florence, he said, as it reflects the good qualities found throughout the South.

“People in the Southeast are not the most well-spoken, (but they are) more polite, more laid back than anywhere else in the country,” he said. “I went to New York and I thought, ‘These people seem to be in a hurry to get nowhere.’”

Kind of like Amway …

Beside comedy shows, Gregory has released live DVDs and CDs as well as a book containing selections from his live act.

Despite having a lack of national exposure or a primetime comedy special, Gregory consistently draws crowds equal to those of many prominent, nationally-known comedians.

Name recognition is what differentiates him from other comedians, he noted.

“I’ve managed to keep a following without any TV exposure,” he said. “I tell people my career’s kind of like Amway. People come to see me and they tell their friends and those friends tell friends.”

The funny side of serious things

Comedy has been quite a surprise for Gregory, who did his first show in his mid-30s. Although he found success and happiness on the stand-up circuit, he confessed there are other things he would like to try.

“One of these days I’m going to write a book,” he said. “A real book — it’ll be both funny and serious.”

Being a good comedian, he explained, requires confronting both the funny and the unfunny.

“Comedians are not much different from anyone else,” he said. They’re just “trying to get through the day, trying to make sure all the bills are paid, trying to get a tank of gas.

“I think comedy, in its purest form, is supposed to make the audience see the funny side of even serious things,” Gregory said.

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Copyright (c) 2008, Florence Morning News, S.C.

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