David Baker
written by Ken Carlson
“The accent cuts two ways,” says comedian David Baker. “Every one in stand-up says you need to have a distinctive voice, a character. The accent gives you that straight out of the gate. Probably out of a typical show, I’m the only one to have that. I’m never really struggling to say, ‘What’s my angle?’ But it limits you. There are certain perceptions that people have. You can’t come on and do jokes like someone with a Southern accent. Things differ. It gives you something but takes something away.”
Once a performer takes the stage, everything about them is judged. Like every other facet of life, people have preconceived notions of what to expect from others based on their appearance and age, their sex or race. It’s plays a big part in how they translate a message and comprehend the speaker’s point of view.
The same goes for accent. Once a speaker utters a word that sounds out of the ordinary, like Larry the Cable Guy vs Bobcat Goldthwait, Redd Foxx vs Lisa Lampanelli, it grabs the listener’s attention. Once that happens, the audience could be more likely to listen to the words being used, which in David’s case are spoken very patiently, properly, and Britishly [someone having the qualities of Cliff Richard].
“The crowd perceives you as an outsider,” says Baker, “who doesn’t really understand. It’s not like you’re from North Korea or Kazakhstan, but it’s kind of a Coming to America thing. It comes naturally and people expect you to come at it as a slight outsider, looking at the system from a different point of view, which in a sense is what all comedians do.”
“David Baker is great,” says comedian Susan Prekel, “because in addition to being funny, all of the jokes from his set work to give you a really clear sense of who he is.”
“David Baker’s British accent,” says Jan Smith, Talent Producer for The Ice House in Pasadena, CA “gives him an unusual credibility with his humor and acceptance by our audiences.”
“Well, I would basically tell you the same thing I told David,” says comedian and writer Frank Santopadre, “it’s refreshing to see a relatively new comic with the ability to develop and execute such strong and clever jokes. He seems to have a knack for it. I also thought he had impressive poise and polish for someone who hasn’t been at it very long.”
Mr. Baker claims to have grown up in England, his apparent disregard for Dr. Who not withstanding. He didn’t get into stand-up until he reached this country a few years ago. In that time he’s made sizable impressions here in New York, as well as at various clubs around the country.
Much of his act pokes fun at the differences between his homeland and new home here in the colonies. So when we recently sat down to talk, we took a look at where some of those differences come from.
“I have an accent in the UK,” says Baker, “that limits where I’m from geographically [Hampshire]. Here, it’s British. When an American comic goes to the UK, people may be a little more aware of what region he’s from, south vs north, because of the dominance of Hollywood movies. There are loads of British comics in the US, but not loads of American comics in the UK; some, but not many. A lot of what people write or think is society-specific. The US and UK are quite different in the histories of their society, their outlooks of the world.”
The role of comedian as an observer, to point out what is absurd, ridiculous, or strange in his surrounding, is a given. Adding to that the stance of newcomer can be both challenging, in order to click with the audience’s opinions correctly, or an advantage, to play on expectations and tease them in a clever reversal.
Winston Churchill said, “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” Maybe it’s fitting then that both Churchill & Baker came to this country to be heard for social commentary; Baker in comedy clubs telling clever quips, and Churchill who was recorded live in Fulton, Missouri at some college gig with his classic rant about drapes.
Naturally, any discussion on the difference between the US and UK can start at the top with our rulers. They have a queen and we don’t, for starters. They also don’t have the continual election process that has evolved here. “The UK switched Prime Ministers without an election,” Baker points out. “You vote for the party and the party chooses its leader.”
The way that leader is portrayed differs greatly between here and over there, whether it’s on a tv series, West Wing vs Yes, Minister or tv news. “It was fascinating me being here with the two year election cycle you have here,” says Baker, “Already, they’re gearing up for the mid-terms. Fund raising is the issue that impacts things. Money, the amount of sums that have to be raised is much greater here. The media in the UK is different also. There are government rules on broadcasting that dictate equal time for various parties, so while here you have FoxNews vs MSNBC, there that doesn’t exist. It’s difficult to compare because America’s the size of a continent. It’s vast and huge. There are huge differences between east coast liberals and midwest republicans, the differences between a guy that watches Glenn Beck and a guy who watches Keith Olberman. The UK is smaller so the differences aren’t as exaggerated. In fact, to go from London to New York isn’t hugely different. But the move from London to Wyoming on a dude ranch, it’s huge.”
David doesn’t come from a performing background. His quiet demeanor is unique in stand-up circles. He simply had an interest in comedy and liked telling jokes. “If you’re out to dinner with someone who’s complaining about what’s going on at work,” says Baker, “Everyone’s being empathetic and showing sympathy. I’m showing sympathy, but my mind is jumping ahead to the next joke. It’s almost like a mental reflex. I like thinking of clever jokes, not necessarily the joke that make the biggest laughs. I like the Seinfeld line, where he talks about pretending hotel bars of soap are normal-sized and his muscles are huge. It’s not a punch explosion. It’s a clever concept and that’s where my interest comes from.”
British comedy has typically been held in high regard in the states. Whether it’s influential sketch work from The Goon Show or Monty Python, performers like Eddie Izzard or Ricky Gervais, their work is almost always described with an eye toward wit and intelligence. Baker is quick to point out that the acts or shows that we import are the cream of the crop and not truly indicative of all the Brits see.
“People here love British comedy,” says Baker “Most people I’ve met, even professional comedians love British TV, like The Office. Some people seem to think the quality of programming is much higher on British television, that it’s more clever. You can say something here with a British accent and get away with stuff. Over there, the crap gets cancelled and you never see it here. I would say that American comedy is fantastic with a quality above what is produced in the UK, like Curb Your Enthusiasm. I can’t think of anything that good over there. There’s no British equivalent of The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. With The Colbert Report, you wouldn’t get it because there isn’t a Bill O’Reilly over there to work from. Here you have The Daily Show and Colbert and Conan, and Letterman. Every night they have professionally produced monologues of high quality, night in and night out. Over there you get some shows on once a week, a topical show with funny comments. But I think people here are overly harsh about their comedy so they give a free pass to British comedy.”
“Every British comedy has the guy at the bottom, not successful,” Baker continues. “You could take Curb into Britain because Larry David is suffering, but he’s suffering in a wealthy environment. British comedy doesn’t do that. The most popular soap operas in the US, like Dynasty or Dallas are about people who have a lot of money. The most popular ones in the UK are EastEnders or Coronation Street, people at the bottom. We get off, feel better by aspiring to what we could be by thinking, ‘Well, at least we’re not as bad off as the people in our soap operas.’”
“Funny is funny,” Baker says. “Some jokes work everywhere, but here, the stuff that plays into specific social dynamics is different. Race, for example, is a much bigger issue here than in the UK, because of its history in the US. In the UK, class is a much stronger issue. In the US, people who have money show it. People look up to that. In the UK, people play it down, try to be seen as Everyman. The person who’s successful and flashy won’t necessarily bring the public with you. Here, you have a different approach to it. So that’s why different jokes work. Music from the UK differs from US. Books take on a different tone. How often have you seen a movie made in the UK and thought that could never be made here: the plot to boobs and explosion ratio is all wrong.”
“My motivation (for performing) is I enjoy doing it,” says Baker. “I find it fun and interesting, but it probably plays at some psychological flaw I have. I’ve learned that some material works better than some places. The most different place (from cosmopolitan England or New York) I’ve been is North Dakota. I took that as a sign I’d made it. I did a show where they wanted a number of sex and drug jokes that I didn’t have. Consequently it would not be a good venue for me to go back to. People say audiences are the toughest in New York because everyone comes through here. In my experience, LA audiences are more relaxed, not as judgmental. But New York can be a good test for you. If you’ve got a bit that works across New York, with tourists and people who live there, then that’s a really good joke that will work elsewhere. You can take it to Minnesota or Arizona and it will work. That does not work the other way around.”
“Audiences in the UK have more heckling,” says Baker. “Here people are actively discouraged. Someone large will appear quickly is they continue to do it. In the UK, you can’t completely disrupt the show, but a bit of heckling is accepted and the audience wants to see how the comic deals with that. That’s partially how they judge him.”
“I lived there for 30 years. I’ve lived here for three,” says Baker, “You don’t have the same feel about a society in only three years. You miss the instinct of getting it. There are still things here I’m learning. I also find that’s refreshing. I like that I don’t know what the dynamics in Louisiana are because I’ve never been there. I miss going down to the pub because there are fewer pubs here than in the UK. It’s more of a bar culture. But here, I like the optimisim. I know it’s a cliché. Even now, in the biggest recession since who know when, people are still optimistic. They have that feeling of renewal, that we’ll get through this. Back home they tend to be more down.”
For more on David and to see where he’s performing,
visit www.dbcomedy.com.