Brett Forte is a Calgary comedian who can both keep it clean and lead us into the gutter. Currently on tour making Americans laugh, we caught up with him to find out more about his style, influences and what could be next.
How would you describe your comedy style?
Depends on the mission. Sometimes it’s a corporate gig for 200 dentists and sometimes it’s a dirty show for 200 far-right extremists.
I like to put the blazer on and try to satisfy the corporate types and then I also like putting on a Goldberg shirt and roasting The Real Housewives of The Trucker Convoy. Both are fun jobs.
Who are some of your influences?
Bill Burr likes to stick his dick in the beehive a bit and so do I. And then what I like about Eric Andre is he did a movie called Bad Trip where every scene had real, candid people in the scene and you see their real reactions in the moment. If you can catch something in the wild like that without scripting it, I think that’s peak entertainment. That’s how I shoot my segment called #StoriesThatMatter
Who was your favourite comedian growing up?
Man I just typed this whole long answer and then realized, it’s Mr. fuckin Bean. Bean kills. Bean’s pure act-out, no punchlines. That’s my kind of writing. No one’s talkin’ Bean these days.
Who is your favourite comedian now?
Mr. Bean
What is your pre-show ritual?
I like a coffee, preferably cappuccino. Maybe a little light dance. No sex.
What is your favourite place you have performed? Why?
I think it’s The Comedy Store in La Jolla. Those were the richest audiences I’ve ever been in front of and the culture difference was so fun. I asked how much wings cost in La Jolla and the crowd didn’t know what wings were. They were like “You mean the wing…to my home? The east wing of my villa?” They straight-up had a BENTLEY dealership next to a 7/11. Fun town, fun crowd and the room is built perfectly.
What is your favourite bit you have written and why were you proud of it?
I’m not gonna blow this one in a blog post. Come out and see me. It’s in the act. This one’s staying off the internet for a reason.
What is your favourite medium for listening or finding new comics/comedians?
I don’t know, I’m not really trying to find new comics…I’m trying to be a new comic. But on my travels, I do bump into some great people, so my medium is in person. I discover new comics by being at the back of the club…Where I whisper terrible things about them but when they get off stage I fist bump them and say “good set”.
Tell us a joke about your city.
I used to do this bit about Calgary getting a CSI unit called YYCSI. In hindsight, it may not be my finest work.
Do you have anything to promote right now?
Very soon I’m going to be releasing a documentary where I put a real scammer and serious criminal in jail by intercepting her plans and dedicating 6 months of my life to driving them into the ground. I have hoop dreams about being a Journalist who’s behind enemy lines and so far this is the closest I’ve come to true, undercover, hidden camera journalism.
Less importantly, with my other job, I got to do a show recently where Bam Margera sat in the front row and I got to do some crowd work with him. It’s on my YouTube. I’m writing this from Texas and I have a show here on April 21 in Dallas. Starting from the bottom up here in America. Come on out. I need it.
Where can we follow you?
Preferably home. Instagram if you must. And you can get your tickets here.
PAY IT FORWARD: Who is another local comic/comedian we should know about?
Adam Ruby. The other day, two girls came and sat in the front row with their big Stanley mugs on the table and Adam says, “Well we know who got cream pied last night. Each of you brought a 2L thermos to flush out the UTI. Unbelievable”. I’m still laughing about it.
Adam’s good but he’s stubborn, he’s anti-establishment and he doesn’t promote himself enough so you’re going to have to find him at whatever Legion he’s yelling at next.
