Comedian and podcaster Dave Chappelle joins Jemele to discuss his new stand-up comedy show, Change My Minds, and his upcoming fall tour with comedian and friend of the show, Amy Poehler.
00:00:15.000you Well, we always take a break in the summer.
00:00:21.000I say break because we work for most of it.
00:00:23.000It's usually to update things like software, hardware in the studio, and we've been fortunate enough to expand the space.
00:00:29.000This time a whole bunch of new office space, new hires, which has been far from easy with the shortages for everything from steel to lumber.
00:00:40.000But aside from that, taking Dave With me on this big fall tour that we're doing is... I mean, it's something I've never done before.
00:00:49.000You know, venues that are four, five, six thousand seats and... I mean, I'm incredibly grateful.
00:00:57.000I never, ever want to take it for granted.
00:01:01.000But you also realize that when you do places this size, You see it with a lot of people on air.
00:01:11.000It's very easy for it to go to your head.
00:01:15.000And really, that can be the death of you.
00:01:20.000It's incredible to see all the people to whom this means so much.
00:01:29.000But for comedy, in a venue that size, sometimes it's tough to know exactly what really works.
00:01:38.000So on the break, I thought it was really important to, you know, kind of go back to my roots and perform a bunch of shows in smaller venues.
00:01:48.000Just because it's more conversational, you know, you're right up close with people and you get to see what really works.
00:01:58.000I love how you were all offended and then clapped.
00:02:08.000You know while there's no doubt that like doing six shows on a weekend you know an hour and a half each is is exhausting but it's it's also I mean in some ways you prefer it because you get to connect with people directly I mean the people who are Sitting there at the front tables, for example, they're probably 20 or 30 feet closer than the next closest people in one of these theaters or half arenas.
00:02:35.000And it allows you to go back and forth a little more and create something really special.
00:03:23.000Just rising up like Dune... Freedom Pill!
00:03:29.000And you know, everyone has their thing, so I certainly never want to complain.
00:03:33.000I just always find myself incredibly grateful.
00:03:35.000But this last year has been a tough one.
00:03:38.000I didn't really have the time that I needed to recover from that surgery.
00:03:41.000I was in and out of the hospital because of the complications.
00:03:47.000In balancing what I need to be doing health-wise with the show that we do every day, along with, you know, being on the road doing Change My Minds, and then of course these big venues where we'll be doing, you know, really just pure stand-up.
00:04:05.000It's a tough balancing act, but it really is one, it's a challenge I'm looking forward to, and my aim is I think everyone here, our aim is, and I'm really excited to show people something they've never seen before.