As Steve Hofstetter tells it, he started posting on YouTube to get better known as a writer. That was in 2006, four years after he graduated college. He was working as a Sports Illustrated columnist and had published two books of sarcasm about college life.
By then he’d also stumbled into standup comedy. He said it “was like being thrown into the ocean and finding out you’ve been a fish the whole time.”
Hostetter’s first YouTube videos documented his hilarious shade on hecklers. The clips blew up into the recognition he sought, and then some. His channel has attracted almost 800,000 subscribers and more than 210 million views. He’s also drawn more than 800,000 Facebook followers and impressive numbers of fans in all the other socials, including fringier communities in Patreon, Mastodon, Discord and others we may never have heard of.
Most of his profiles have click-throughs to free album downloads. His was the first “pay-what-you-will” offer for a record. The Cameo site offers a personalized video for $74.
Hofstetter’s fifth (of six) albums of standup comedy, “Pick Your Battles” reached No. 1 on iTunes’ comedy charts. Meanwhile he’s published three more books, and just this year released an hour-long special, “The Recipe.” filmed in his grammar school theater in Queens. It’s a master class in comedy set construction. He comically walks us right up to the edge of cliff after cliff on the way to a satisfying pinnacle of an ending.
“I blew up because of digital,” Hofstetter said. “That’s something that has changed, being able to reach directly to the audience. Social media is allowing people to get to know artists in a way that they never could before.
“One of the things that (has changed) is the ability to perform to a certain niche. You don’t need to appeal to the masses anymore. My audience is politically progressive people or people willing to hear the viewpoint of someone who’s politically progressive. And that’s the only audience I need.”
We talked about how even the character of comedy itself seems to have evolved over the last few years. Popular comedy feels more conversational, now, but it’s also more about diversity. Comedians, and audience members both feel more comfortable about their differences.
“In a way, our differences are what make us the same,” Hofstetter said, “because being able to recognize that we each have our own challenges is the most human thing we can do.
“I enjoy a lot of different genres of (comedy),” he said, referencing Mitch Hedberg and Jerry Seinfeld, specifically. “The comedy I enjoy all has in common that it’s someone’s truth, whatever that truth might be.
“I got into comedy to say something,” Hofstetter said. “I think the comedian who only goes for the laugh is like the teacher who teaches towards standardized testing. It’s the bare, bare minimum of your job.”
What Hofstetter got into comedy to say were things he felt people need to hear, but that others have trouble saying. “I try to approach every joke I write from a place of compassion. I grew up in a very progressive household. We’re Jewish. I had a Christian foster brother, and my sister is adopted and she’s Black. Growing up in that environment really taught me about inclusion.”
Not everyone can comically connect the dots between the hilarity of comedy and the thoughtfulness of inclusion, but Hofstetter’s family life was rich in both. He said that arguments in his family often dissolved into laughter. “It’s kind of hard to stay angry when everyone around you is laughing.”
Hofstetter said his older brother and sister were “hilarious” and he worked hard to keep up with them. His parents weren’t funny in the same way, but his dad had a great sense of humor that the kids used to their advantage. “He knew what was funny,” Hofstetter said of him. “So, he raised us listening to a lot of comedy. He very much appreciated a good joke and making him laugh kept us from getting in trouble.”
That youthful instinct – “You don’t get in trouble if you’re funny enough” – is the engine of Hofstetter’s 2023 special, “The Recipe.” Listen for its echoes throughout Hofstetter’s set at 191 Toole.
Steve Hofstetter, 7 p.m. Thursday, May 11, 191 Toole, 191 E. Toole Avenue, 191toole.com, $28
The Force is With Unscrewed Theater
In case you missed it, Thursday is May the Fourth Be with You. Unscrewed will celebrate with a rare Thursday show at 7:30 p.m. But there will be more power and magic in the appearance of Laura and Rick Hall for performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Her role as music director and accompanist for “Whose Line Is It Anyway” has given her a worldwide reputation for groundbreaking musical improv. She and her improviser/actor husband, Rick, will give a musical improv workshop at Unscrewed on Saturday. All details, reservations and tickets are at unscrewedtheater.org.
Comedy Elsewhere This Week
Chucklehead’s, 41 Brewery Avenue, Bisbee, chuckleheadsaz.com, $10, 7 p.m. Friday, May 5, Chicano Power Comedy presents “It’s Not Mexican Independence Day” headlining Lola Hernandez and featuring Tony Bruhn, Jesus Otamendi
El Jefe Cat Lounge, 3025 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 141, eljefecatlounge.com/reservations, $18, 7 p.m. Friday, May 5, “Cinco de Meowo” comedy featuring Purrsilla Furrnandez, Meow Urban, Iona Hoya, Kyle Verville, Morgan Kuehn, Maddie Shuman, Sara Sometimes
Laff’s Comedy Caffe, 2900 E. Broadway Boulevard, laffstucson.com, $15, $20 preferred seating, 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Friday, May 5, and 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, May 6, Robert Mac, see last week’s Laughing Stock for details about how this local boy became a national hit.
The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress Street, screeningroomdowntown.com, $10, 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 9, Daniel Eachus of Comedy Central’s “Up Next,” co-writes a new Kevin Hart-produced series
Tucson Improv Movement/TIM Comedy Theatre, 414 E. Ninth Street, tucsonimprov.com, $7 each show, $10 for both shows, same night, free jam and open mic. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 4, “Harold Eta” and “Shatfan;” 8:30 p.m. Open Mic.; 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 5, Improv Jam; 7:30 p.m. “The Soapbox;” 9 p.m. Stand Up Showcase; 11 a.m. Saturday, May 6, “Pretendy Time” for kids; 7:30 p.m. “Carcajadas” improv in Spanglish; 9 p.m. “Fourth Avenue Confessions”
Unscrewed Theater, 4500 E. Speedway Boulevard, unscrewedtheatre.org, $8, live or remote, $5 kids. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 4, “May the Farce Be with You;” 7: 30 p.m. Friday, May 5, From the Top with Laura Hall; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 6, Musical Improv with Rick and Laura Hall; 9 p.m. The Backyard Improv Playground (pay what you will.)
