Matt Ward, left, and Joe Pettis have based their current tour on the 2004 documentary “The Comedians of Comedy.”
“No other ethnicity can call themselves the ‘racial slurs of comedy,’ ” says local comedian Matt Ward, creator of the “Crackers of Comedy” group. “All you can have is the Crackers of Comedy.”
On Feb. 23, Ward and Atlanta-based comic Joe Pettis will perform at Latitude 35 as part of their parody-titled stand-up comedy tour of the Southeast.
Ward, who is a touring comedian, did a “Crackers” tour in 2008 with another co-headliner (not Pettis). The tour was smaller and ended in Nashville with the duo auditioning for “Last Comic Standing.” Ward says he chose Pettis to join this show in part because of his “availability.”
“The only difference between myself and the bums living on the street is that people love me, so I always have a place to stay and food in my belly,” Pettis says. “Matt Ward knew about my situation and was nice enough to ask me to join him on the road. He offered free crackers during the entire trip, so I jumped on it.”
Despite the racial title, the tour has almost no focus on race. For the show at Latitude, the two will be joined by Knoxville comedian Grady Ray, who is biracial. “I threatened Matt with an affirmative action lawsuit,” Ray jokes. “I’ve sold out by joining a group called the ‘Crackers.’ The way I feel is there’s always a graham cracker. I kind of resemble (one).”
They also will be joined by local comedian J. LaLonde, who says, “I don’t even tell a racist joke in my set. ... I don’t know that any of (us) have race jokes,” but also says that no topics will be off limits.
Instead of race, there’s a different focus of the tour: venues.
“We’re doing a lot of rock clubs,” Ward explains. “We’re doing a lot of clubs that bands that would be at a similar status (to us would do). We’re really approaching it from more of a band angle. It’s given us the chance to perform in so many cities in so little time.”
The tour hits 13 cities in the Southeast, starting as the opening act for national touring comedian Doug Standhope in Chattanooga and wrapping through Charlottesville, Va., Lexington, Ky., Asheville, N.C., and Athens, Ga., as well as smaller spots like Boone, N.C., and Gaffney, S.C.
Much like the show at Latitude, the tour features stops at smaller nightlife venues where stand-up performances are in the minority, with no stops at major comedy club circuits.
The Crackers tour is inspired in part by a 2004 documentary called “The Comedians of Comedy,” wherein comics Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, Maria Bamford and Brian Posehn toured underground venues throughout the country.
“That’s where it all started,” Ward says of the film. “ ‘The Comedians of Comedy’ is the beginning of comedy by the people. Comedians of Comedy, Crackers of Comedy, it’s all kind of the same phrasing.”
The tour is directly connected to the film in that Joe Pettis is performing two shows with Posehn prior to the launch of the tour in Georgia.
The tour landed Knoxville’s Latitude in part because J. LaLonde performed with comedian Billy Wayne Davis on their Moonshine Revival comedy tour last year. “The guys at Latitude have been real open about using their venue for all sorts of stuff,” LaLonde says. “It’s a cool, intimate small venue.”
LaLonde says Knoxville should expect “uncalculated chaos” from the show.
“Also, I’m hoping I might find my father,” Pettis says about his goals for the tour. “I figure there’s a one and million chance he might show up to one of my shows. If that happens, I’m asking for 18 years’ worth of back child support.”
© 2011, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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