From The Comic's Comic

Episode #385

Irene Tu is a Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. After moving to Berkeley from Chicago, she quickly established herself in the Bay Area comedy scene. The San Francisco Chronicle singled her out as an “artist on the brink of fame,” while other outlets have named her to the lists of “Bay Area’s 11 Best Stand Up Comedians,” “Women to Watch” and “Comedians You Should and Will Know in 2019.” She has performed on Comedy Central, LOGO, Starz, and Viceland, and has opened on the road for comedians such as Patton Oswalt, Maria Bamford, and most recently, Taylor Tomlinson. Tu released her debut album in March 2022 via Blonde Medicine — We’re Done Now is a hilarious 15-track collection of stories about coming out and dating, observations about food, dictators, and diva cups, as well as morbid musings about surviving the apocalypse. Proving she can put up with anything, she sat down with me outside in the cold for a quick chat about her album and her career.

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Last Things First, congratulations on your debut comedy album! We’re Done Now is now done. It’s out.

Thank you. I appreciate it. Glad it’s finally out.

As I was listening to it, no spoilers, but you made me feel less guilty — for a long time, I’ve been thinking about chicken drumettes, the baby version of chicken wings and wondering if they actually come from baby chickens — but I feel a lot less guilty about it now. So thank you for that.

Yes, yes (laughs).

You’re from Chicago, went to school in Chicago, but then you transferred midway through, right? You went from Northwestern to Berkeley. And I’m curious to know how much of that move was 1) based on academics, 2) based on the LGBTQ+ community, 3) based on your burgeoning comedy career, and 4) just wanting to get away from your parents?

It was just really cold. Honestly, that I hated living in Evanston. We’re in New York right now. It’s the same weather. I hate this. It’s terrible. I always wanted to live in California, so I had to leave.

So how much comedy had you done at that point?

I started when I was in college. There was like a new stand-up group on campus. And I did like improv when I was in high school. Every weekend, I would go to The Second City and take classes. But yeah, it really had like nothing to do with comedy, going to Berkeley. I really wanted to go to Stanford. And I’ve been very on record about saying this. They’ve rejected me twice, and I’m still bitter about it. So.

So you moved to Berkeley, the Bay Area. How long into that did you restart or resume your young comedy career? Or how much of it was just wanting to get through Berkeley first? Did you divide your time? How’d that work?

Um, no, I pretty much started doing stand-up right after I moved. I kind of just researched where there were mics or shows or reached out to people that I knew so I spent half the time going to classes and then the other half doing stand-up, but by the end, I really didn’t really care about school. I just want to make sure I passed.

Now as the daughter of Asian immigrants from China. Historically, or stereotypically, we’re told that immigrants don’t like when their children go into the arts instead of something more American or respectable, even though comedy is perhaps the most American art form. How was that transition for you with your parents? Was that tougher or easier than coming out?

I kind of just do what I want. So I didn’t really consider it like I’m going to, you know, be nervous about telling them or whatever. I mean, I think their thing, and I think for most like Asian parents, it’s about money. Cuz you know, doing stand-up, you don’t make a lot of money unless you are famous. So for most of the time, you’re just struggling and they would not… Well, if you go to med school, you do the whole thing. You become a doctor, at minimum you make like a certain amount of money. And that’s like a good living, right? So it’s like, if you’re a doctor or a lawyer, that’s pretty good. But if you’re a comedian, so who knows so I don’t think it’s like they don’t really respect art. I think it’s just like a harder lifestyle. But I never really came out to them as like, Oh, I’m gonna do this like, blah, blah, blah. I kind of just did it.

How long did it take you before you could start earning a decent enough living in comedy to not have to worry about other jobs?

I kind of had a day job for a while after college. I worked in a bookstore. But when I started making actual amounts of money doing stand-up instead of what like a free drink or like $10, or literally losing money, is when I started doing colleges, and that was maybe 2016. I can’t remember what year exactly, but I did a couple of the NACA conferences and I booked a bunch of colleges. And then I was like, OK, I guess I am a stand-up now. And then I quit my job and was just doing that.

Did you have one of those, throw the books down literally, and go I’m out of here! I’m big time?

Oh, no. You’re making everything sound dramatic. None of it was dramatic. I just was like, I don’t think I need to work at this bookstore anymore. Because I get paid way more to do these colleges than to work at the store. So it’s like okay, I just quit.

Thank you for reminding me. Yeah, I just listened to your new album. And yeah, I should know because you joke at length about being rather vanilla. Being kind of a boring person in your life. So why would any of these things be kind of melodramatic, telenovela moments for you?

I mean, I’m sure it also could be, but I just don’t care. You know. That’s how I kind of move around my life and I was like, whatever, I just kind of go with the flow.

Is that also how like a show and a tour called “Man Haters” can be thing and not worry about how men might react to it?

Um, yeah. So I started this show in the Bay Area where it was all like women and queer comedians. I didn’t actually come up with the name of it. My co-host at the time, she came up with the name of it. And I, actually, was a little bit hesitant at first, where I’m like oh, this you know, it’s it is quite aggressive, but we thought it was such a funny name. And it’s just like something that people will call lesbians. They’ll say, ‘Oh, you guys are man haters.’ So you know, like a derogatory term. And we just thought it was so funny and catchy. So we used it, and we didn’t really get that much negative feedback from it. Only occasionally, when I think people didn’t get the reference or the jokes or like, ‘Oh, you guys hate men?! ‘Like, no, that’s just a tongue-in-cheek, funny name for the show. But yeah, I mean, I don’t know. People secretly could have hated it. I have no idea. But for the most part, I think the response was positive, or the people that we wanted to come to the show came to the show, so that was kind of the whole point.

Where were you doing that? Where was home base for the show?

That show was at a historic gay bar in Oakland called The White Horse. Yes, we did that show once every month for I don’t know, maybe three or four years.

And did you stop it because you decided to move to LA or?

Yeah. I mean, it could still come back at some point. We’ve talked about bringing it back or you know, having other comics run the show. So, you know, up in the air on that, but yeah, I moved away and then I was like, OK, well, I don’t live here anymore. So the show’s not happening. I also gave the show to two other people that were running it for a while, and then they also moved, so it kind of just slowly died its own death.

Speaking of hating men, which is what I’m doing, not you — the first time I remember seeing you was in Portland (Ore.), I went to the All Jane Festival in 2016. And the biggest thing I remember about that festival and that weekend, was that was the weekend that the Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape came out.

I forgot about that! Yeah, I don’t remember this at all. I barely remember that weekend.

And I was like, if there’s ever a man to hate, that’s the man. Although you know, he doesn’t make, thank God, make a list of favorite dictators.

You know, there’s still time. There’s still time.

Speaking of things in 2022, has Vladimir Putin moved up the charts?

I don’t know that’s also like, an older bit of mine. I only put it on the album because I was like, Oh, yeah! Because when I was putting it together, I was like, Oh, what are some jokes that I liked from before and I stopped telling? And I remembered I did that joke. I brought it back but I hadn’t done it in, like years.

That’s kind of the purpose of a debut album is to get all of the rich material you’ve developed over the course of a decade, right? And be like, I want to record this for posterity and have people know this is who Irene Tu is. How did you decide when it was time to move from the Bay Area to LA? Was there a moment or a person or an event that made you go OK, now I’m ready?

I think I started kind of just doing all the shows in town, where it felt like it was time to move and then I got a manager, so that kind of facilitated the move down.

And how did you get your representation?

My first manager saw me at Comedy Central’s Clusterfest, I think the first year they had it. And yeah, but I can’t remember if I was already moving down when that happened, or if I moved right after. So really bad about time. I have a terrible memory.

Did having representation and having shows that you were already getting booked onto that make moving to LA a lot easier in terms of just kind of settling into the scene? Because LA and New York are just so chock full of comedians. I’m sure the Bay Area is, too, but there’s a lot less stress and industry involved.

Um, no, I honestly don’t think it makes it easier. Because you’re just in a different city. There’s so many comedians, you don’t know what neighborhood you’re in. You don’t know what shows are happening. So I don’t think it really made a difference if I had a manager or not because he wasn’t really getting me on any shows. I feel like anytime that I’ve booked shows it’s mostly been from other comics, like comics like to book comics, they don’t really want to go through industry. I think it’s just easier or whatever. So yeah. The first year was hard. They always say like the first year is hard because you’re just in a new spot. You’re not getting any stage time. But now I feel better about it. So.

Well how much time are you actually spending in LA? You mentioned going on college tours and things like that. Were you on the road a lot more than you were actually in LA?

Um, I honestly can’t remember. I think I did try to be in LA sometimes I’d go back to the Bay and do some spots. And then I did do some colleges, but I don’t really remember how much time I was in LA. I just remembered it was tough. Yeah.

You’ve been recently on tour with Taylor Tomlinson. And you’ve been touring with a lot of famous comedians over the last few years. What have you learned from each of those headliners as you’ve done theaters with them?

Theaters? The main difference I think, and other comics have talked about this, with theaters and like club shows or bar shows or just smaller shows is the amount of time you have to wait for the laughter to hit. Because you do a club, you tell a joke people laugh right away, or they don’t laugh at all. But yeah, it’s pretty quick and immediate. But in a theater you don’t have to wait for the laugh to come to you. It’s like a rolling laugh. So I end up doing my jokes slower. And the stage is so much bigger. So I’m trying to learn how to take up more space in a theater, because, you know, in a comedy club, the stage is pretty small. You can’t walk around that much. You’d just be pacing back and forth a little bit. But on a theater, you can walk the whole length of the stage, you know. So I’m trying to figure out where I can add more movement to my jokes for to play better in a theater.

So that’s just logistically the art of being a stand-up comedian with a large crowd and presumably a lot of the times you’re performing for crowds who don’t even know who you are. What about what you’ve learned from the headliners you’ve toured with in terms of like, how to build a career? Or how to deal with the industry, how to deal with all of the the nuances of show business.

Um, I guess just like you do have to constantly be promoting yourself and kind of nobody’s going to do any of that stuff for you. Is, I think my biggest takeaway, is you kind of have to build your own brand and sell yourself, and not wait for the industry to come to you. That’s kind of I guess, my biggest takeaway from it.

You’ve been on plenty of media lists, and said least 2017 in terms of like, oh, Irene Tu is on the brink of fame, or Irene Tu is a comedian to watch. And now that we’re a few years removed from that, do you — a lot of comedians and performers and even people who aren’t in show business have this desire, this want to have everything immediately. How are you approaching it, at this point?

Um, well, I’m glad they’ve said that I was going to be on the brink of fame in 2017. And here I am still outside, doing a podcast to promote my album. So, really let the newspaper down that said that I was gonna make it real quick. But you know, I think it’s just as long as you’re having fun, it doesn’t really matter. Maybe originally got into comedy to be like, oh, I want to be famous. But now I don’t really care if I’m like mega famous. I think if I’m just doing fun, Joe’s having a good time, you know, trying my best, putting out the work that I want to put out. It’s kind of good enough for me, and maybe it’ll happen and maybe it won’t and who cares? We’re all gonna die. So doesn’t matter.

Right. That’s a good perspective to have. Because so many people will compare themselves with other people in their profession and go why does this person have what I don’t have? Or, you know, how come I haven’t gotten New Faces? Or how come I haven’t gotten a Netflix special? Or how come this or how come that? How do you maintain a level head?

Um, I mean, again, I would like to get New Faces. So whenever this comes out, I’m still haven’t been a New Face. You know, I will take it. I’ll take a Netflix special, you know, whatever. I’m not saying hey, I don’t want this! But I still want it. No, I just you do, you do end up comparing yourself I think to people who maybe start at the same time as you or like, you know, friends of mine are always like, we’re always like, Oh, what are you doing? Like, you know, just trying to be like, Oh, I should be doing more. And I think that’s a good motivation. But if you’re constantly comparing yourself, I think you just are making yourself miserable. You know, it’s just not fun. And, you know, I’m very happy for my friends when they get stuff, so you know, I don’t know. I just like, I’ve never really felt that much peer pressure. Like, even when I was a kid, people were like, Oh, don’t you feel like you have to look a certain way or do a certain thing? I was like, not really, you know, I grew up on cartoons. So I just wanted to look like a sponge. Yeah.

So you have managed to put out your your debut comedy album in the pandemic. Was that something that when everything sort of shutting down in 2020 that you thought to yourself, well, if I’m ever going to do an album, I better do it now?

Oh, I don’t think it was a rush like that. I just wanted to do an album when we could do full capacity because I was going to do it at my home club. The Punchline in San Francisco. And you know, when clubs started opening up, they would do like what, quarter capacity half capacity, and I was like, well the audio just won’t sound as good for that. And some people did like outdoor comedy specials and they you know, they looked cool and stuff. For me, I just wanted like a classic like comedy album where it’s like you do the job and you hear the laugh from the crowd and it’s like a full show. So as long as I was able to do it, full capacity. It was fine with me. I wasn’t like in a rush or anything.

And you recorded it with Blonde Medicine who are Bay Area people.

Yeah. Dominic (Del Bene) actually used to work at Rooftop (Comedy) and he watched one of my very first sets when I was in college, because they used to have that comedy competition. I used to wear like a button-down shirt and suspenders and a bow tie. So he watched one of those first sets.

I can’t understand why you abandoned that look. I mean that’s a classic look.

I mean the hair at the time, my hair at the time was not the best. Looking back. But I could bring that look back at some point. Not the exact clothes I was wearing at the time, you know, it was like what H&M or something? I’d want like a nicer maybe shirt and nicer suspenders nicer bow tie.

So how important is it for you personally and professionally to now have an album with your name on it that you can find in the store or on streaming platforms?

Hey, if you want to support me. Please buy the album because, you know, comics get paid absolutely nothing for streaming. But yeah, I wanted to put something out there at some point where, you know, you go up onstage. People are like, how do you want me to bring you up? And I’m like, I don’t know. Now I can be like, I have an album. Just to point to something that I have, that if people like my comedy, they can listen to more of it. I ideally wanted to have a special before I did an album. I didn’t want to put out an album, but when Blonde medicine was like, do you want to do an album? I was like yeah, you know, they may never give a special so why not? Why don’t I just do these jokes that I don’t even really do as much anymore. I did a couple of new jokes on the album just to keep it fun for me, but yeah, just so I have something out there.

So then what is next? Do you have specific goals for yourself? Now that you have the album under your belt? Is there a five-year plan? Is there a game plan? What is next for Irene Tu?

Well I love to keep my cards close to my vest, or chest. What’s the idiom?

I think either is applicable.

OK, well, I love to not show all my cards. So you know, I won’t tell you everything. But I would love to you know put out a proper one-hour special at some point. So that would be the goal. And you know other stuff that I can’t tell you otherwise it may get ruined? Who knows? Oh, and also, I would love to have a food-related project at some point because I love food. So if anyone wants me to do something with food, lemme know.

Podcasts, web series, television series, or film

Doesn’t matter

Make it happen. Well, obviously, hopefully you’ll be doing podcasts indoors again. But thank you for doing a podcast with me outside in the cold. The cold, spring-like weather of New York City. This was not planned. But you know, life is full of surprises. So Irene Tu, thank you so much for doing this.

Thanks for having me, and get my album! It’s called We’re Done Now.

And we are done now.