We need the children of Indonesia and the Philippines to manufacture our freedom of choice.
I didn't know that people compared Bill Hicks and I but certainly I'm flattered if they do. I knew Bill a bit. We had dinner a couple of times and played guitar together once. I really tried to keep my distance from him professionally.
In the sixties and seventies you could probably name all the great comics. It was still special.
The demand for standup in the eighties was created by how easy it was to exploit 'comedians' and create very cheap television programming.
It may have lost its special-ness forever and the clubs might not being doing well but I think standup is in the best shape it has been in a long time.
When I was a bit older I had all of the George Carlin records, all of the Steve Martin records, all of the Cheech and Chong records and all of the Richard Pryor records.
I think seeing Pryor's first movie, Live In Concert, when I was in high school changed my life. Pryor really put the heart in darkness for me.
On some level any appearance on Television can be seen as a product endorsement.
As a performer you are being used to keep people watching so the commercial endorsements that support the network can be seen by as many people as possible.
It seems people are more willing to let other people control their minds now and recreational drug use doesn't seem to have that same renegade sense of adventure that it once did.
The Internet has usurped the collective unconscious and access to cosmic consciousness has become difficult and almost primitive.
