He’s known for drinking Kool-Aid with debris floating in it. His Speak and Spell talks to him at night. He’s been asked to put sweet and sour sauce on that special place. And he’s making two appearances at Syracuse University tonight.

Comedian Dane Cook will perform at Goldstein Auditorium, completing his second trip to SU in two years.

Cook will appear with friends and fellow stand-up comedians Jay Davis, Robert Kelly and Gary Gulman as part of his Tourgasm road tour. Tourgasm is currently being filmed for a possible series on Comedy Central or a DVD release.

Cook offered to come to SU free of charge to help promote his new CD, ‘Retaliation,’ which will be released this summer. He will hold two showings in Goldstein Auditorium at 7 and 10 p.m. The Daily Orange spoke to Cook on the phone yesterday about his current tour, the writing process and his skivvies of choice.

Q&A

Daily Orange: Why did you want to come to Syracuse again?

Dane Cook: Part of the reason why I was so pumped that SU was on Tourgasm is because people know I’ve pretty much hit SU every year for the last four or five years. I always try to do more for the more supportive schools. It was a no-brainer to come up there.

D.O.: What can we expect to see at the show?

D.C.: My new CD, ‘Retaliation,’ comes out this summer. It will be pretty much a 50-50 split of the new stuff on the disc and old stuff. I try to throw in some things I know people like to hear.

D.O.: Did you know Mitch Hedberg? What was he like?

D.C.: I knew Mitch more as an acquaintance. We met for the first time in ’95, and I had a real instant respect for him. I felt like he was doing something really different. Through the years we bumped into each other. I had a lot of respect for him because he built such a great fan base. The thing that was really hard for me was that I talked to him last year and said we should tour together because we had a lot of the same fans. I think (his death) is a loss for comedy. It just fucking sucks that this kid had to pass away.

D.O.: How do you write your jokes?

D.C.: I don’t really write jokes. I started in improv for the first few years. I used to write down things, but I’d lose interest in the material as I wrote. I realized I like being more free. I try to keep things in my memory. If it’s meant to come out in a show, then it does.

D.O.: How do you rehearse?

D.C.: I don’t rehearse it. I don’t really think of it at all until the show. If I see something that looks fun, I know the tricks and I know the formula. What I have learned and utilized you could say ‘Dude, do something about computers,’ and I’ll let it bump around in my cerebellum for awhile and once I get on stage I make it work. I’m a fan of guys like Johnny Carson. Even if a bit doesn’t connect, you’d rather see a person’s charm.

D.O.: Boxers or briefs?

D.C.: Ummmmmm …. Uhhhhhh …. briefs. Yeah, briefs.

D.O.: If you could tour with any other comedian, who would it be?

D.C.: Carlin. George Carlin. I think big. I dream big. I always said I wanted to play Carnegie Hall, and last year I did Carnegie Hall. I said if I could do a show with George Carlin, then I’d die a happy man. I’m just a gigantic, gigantic fan.

D.O.: Do you get asked to do the Kool-Aid joke a lot?

D.C.: Not really, not that often. The thing about my fans, everybody is so cool. It’s certainly well-known from the Comedy Central stuff and the CD, but it’s not requested specifically during shows.

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: Dane Cook, with special guests Robert Kelly, Jay Davis and Gary Gulman

WHEN: Tonight, 7 and 10

WHERE: Goldstein Auditorium

COST: Student tickets are sold out for both shows; public tickets can still be purchased for $23 each.

Published on April 17, 2005 at 12:00 pm