He frequently shares his sense of humour during his tours across different countries, has his own podcast called ‘Talkin’ Shit’ which often charts the top 10 comedy podcasts worldwide and hosts TV shows when he gets the chance.
But the success has taken a long time to build up, says American comedian Eddie Ifft.
“It takes time for comedy to become a viable profession. I’ve been doing stand-up comedy for 17 years to finally have a house on the beach, make a good living and get to travel around the world,” says Eddie, who was in the City to perform at the ‘Comedy Central Chuckle Festival’ recently.
His style is satirical humour and he calls himself ‘transgressive and subversive’, words he claims to have randomly looked up in the dictionary and decided to use to describe himself.
Recalling why he got into comedy in the first place, he says, “It would be the rate at which I got into trouble. I was always getting caught for something or the other at school and even with cops. I got fired from every job I had. And I found that there was one profession where you could make money talking about those things — stand-up comedy!”
So many years down the line, does he still get into trouble and use it as material for his sets? Eddie laughs and replies, “I’m married now and that’s the trouble I’m in. But not all of it is good for the routine. I try and keep an interesting perspective that’s different from that of other comedians. I have a weird take on marriage and on all my life experiences and that’s where I get my jokes from.”
As is often the case with comedians, he is sick of people expecting him to always be funny. “It was fun in the beginning but it got tiring after a while. The more secure I was with my profession, the less funny I realised I had to be when I was off the stage. I have to be funny on stage otherwise I’d just be a bad comedian. I’d be like a doctor who says ‘Nah, I don’t feel like practising medicine’,” he jokes.
“When I’m off stage, I turn it off for my family and friends. I don’t test out material on them but it starts from them. We’ll be having a conversation and if something funny happens, I write it down and tell myself to do that on stage,” adds Eddie.
Despite the culture shock he has experienced in India, the country, and Bangalore specifically, have exceeded his expectations. “I didn’t really expect anything from this trip. I heard that the crowds were good but they’re better than I even imagined. India’s a beautiful place and it’s different from anything I’ve ever experienced or seen in life,” he wraps up.