First things first: It’s “Rod Man,” not Rodman, as some mispronounce comedian Rod Thompson’s alias. “It’s Rod Man, first and last name,” he joked last week, speaking in a laid back Atlanta drawl that might remind some of Outkast’s Andre 3000. “Yeah, I’m a superhero of comedy.”
Rodman wasn’t a household name before he won the last season of NBC-TV’s “Last Comic Standing” but that may soon change. He has long been a staple of the national comedy circuit, known for his quirky, observational style and a unique, bewildered delivery. This month, he’s on the road in support of his new stand-up album, “That Good Funny, vol. 1,” and he’ll headline a three-night, f ive-show stand at Tacoma Comedy Club on Jan. 15, 16 and 17.
In anticipation, he took a few minutes to talk about what he's been working on since the show, his connection to that other Rodman; you know, the guy who may or may not have both Michael Jordan and Kim Jong-Un on speed dial. Then he explained why he's on the warpath about baby bjorns. Here's some of what he had to say.
Tacoma Weekly: Until I learned your real name I always assumed your last name was just Rodman. When did people start calling you “Rod Man?”
Rod Man: Since I started comedy (at Atlanta's) Uptown Comedy Club in ’95. That was the name I signed up to go onstage ‘cause I used to wear these jerseys onstage all the time. I had a Dennis Rodman jersey. I had a Deion Sanders jersey. I had a Braves jersey, a Greg Maddux jersey.
I just went with “Rod Man” ‘cause I was a fan of the Worm (Dennis Rodman's alias) at the time. He threw on a dress and he went crazy and started dying his hair and all that craziness; but when he was a Piston I was like, “Ah, he’s a hustler. I like that.”
TW: And you say you were a fan of the Worm.
Rod Man: Yeaaah, the North Korea Worm, I don’t mess with that Dennis Rodman. But back in the Pistons days (with) John Salley, Isaiah Thomas, that was cool. I had a ’91 Bulls jersey, too.
TW: Maybe they could send that Rodman to fix things over in North Korea.
Rodman: The hackin’ situation? I knew somethin’ was goin’ wrong when I seen him over there all the time. I said, “We gonna have problems with North Korea.” It’s only a matter of time ’til Kim Jong and them do somethin’. He was givin’ away American intel, I believe. He knew everybody’s passwords.
TW: It all starts with givin’ away the secret of the triangle offense, I guess.
Rodman: There you go.
TW: So I’ve seen you over the years, and you’ve got one of the more distinct deliveries in comedy. How did you develop your stage personae? Or maybe that’s just an exaggerated version of how you talk.
Rodman: I think it is an exaggerated version of how I talk. If I had a microphone with me all day long you’d be like, “Aw, he really talks like that.” (He laughs.)
TW: You kind of do.
Rodman: People always say, “Do you really talk like that?” I’m like, “Yeah, it’s my voice.”
I’ve always been kind of a storyteller, so I call my comedy “that good, funny conversational comedy.” It’s just like bein’ at a barbecue or a cookout, I’m just among strangers. I’m up there observing things we all know about, like the self checkout (lane.) That’s like a big bit for me now. You know, we’re all employees at the grocery store now.
TW: When did you first realize you were funny, and maybe you had a future onstage?
Rod Man: I was a funny kid. … It was always something I knew, (that) I wanted to perform. I used to try to write songs, but I couldn’t sing. So that did not go well, and I would tape ‘em on this little cassette tape. My mama was like, “You need to have yo ass onstage.”
I had seen Richard Pryor and George Carlin, Seinfeld and Bill Cosby and people on TV, but I didn’t know where to go locally to do it. Then ... I saw Chris Tucker on “Def Comedy Jam,” and he said he started in Atlanta. I started looking into Atlanta comedy clubs, and there was Uptown Comedy Club.
TW: That’s where you’re from, right?
Rod Man: Yes, yes, well hometown is Villa Rica, Georgia – the City of Gold. That’s a little further down the street, but I was raised in both of them – Atlanta and Villa Rica.
TW: How old were you when you got started?
Rod Man: I went to the comedy club ‘cause I wanted to impress my girlfriend at the time, so I went when I was like 18. They wouldn’t let me drink, but that was my hangout on a Tuesday night. So I watched before I went onstage. Then I think I started at 21 goin’ real hard.
TW: What was your standup like when you started out? Did you kind of gradually develop into what we see on TV?
Rod Man: I always look at it like my comedy is still a work in progress. I’m not a finished product; but yeah, I think startin’ out I was super, super nervous. I still get nerves now, but as I look at some early stuff I’m like, “Man, I don’t even know how people understood me, ‘cause I don’t know what I’m talkin’ about right now.” (He laughs.) I was funny early, though. I knew I had something different to offer. I knew my voice was a little different, so I just wanted to develop that.
TW: More recently, people watched you on “Last Comic Standing.” You’re a veteran but is there anything you learned or took away from that experience?
Rod Man: What I took away was that the business of comedy is more than just gettin’ onstage. It’s working different disciplines, like we did improv. We did sketches, so you had to learn to work with other comedians. We had to write every day, so it helped my writing a lot. So I’m sharper now. I don’t get to talk to Jay Leno every day or Howie Mandel, so it was a chance for me to see successful comedians at work, and what kind of wisdom and advice they have to offer us.
I started on the urban side, but I always knew my comedy would play anywhere. So being on that show I knew (exuberantly) “I’m in America’s living room.” I had to take out certain things that may not play because you’ve got standards and practices on TV. You might say this word instead of this word. It just made me sharper, man, and more appreciative of the art of comedy.
TW: What about your act that you’re bringing to Tacoma? What kind of stuff are you riffin’ on? And what can people expect if they’ve never seen you before?
Rod Man: Well, I like the word riff ‘cause my comedy is jazzy. I always try to see what’s goin’ on in the city first and then just go from there. But if you like me on TV, you’re gonna really like me live. Just whatever’s goin’ on in the world. We might talk about North Korea. We might talk about how all these men are goin’ around with the little baby bjorns on now, lookin’ like man kangaroos. Are you noticin’ this? Are you a father?
TW: No, I’m not. You won’t see me wearin’ one of those.
Rod Man: Yeah, I’m not understanding this whole thing. It’s gotten out of control, and we need to get this back under control. You’re not pregnant, and that baby can be carried in your arms.
TW: Just use your hands.
Rod Man: Yeah, use your hands! You ain’t gotta let ya baby dangle like that with his feet all out. I seen a dude in the urinal the other day with the baby all on the front, talkin’ to the baby. I was like, “If that baby knew what you were puttin’ it through right now, it would not be happy with you.”
TW: It would be offended.
Rod Man: It would be totally offended!
TW: What are you workin’ on, and what do you have comin’ up?
Rod Man: We’re workin’ on the hour DVD special. So you’ll see parts of that when I come there, just gettin’ ready to tape that for next year. And also, part of winning the show was a development deal, so we’re workin’ on bringin’ a sitcom to TV, in your livin’ room every week.
TW: Do you have a premise yet?
Rod Man: I can’t really speak on it; but, yeah, we have a premise. We’re meeting with people who can help me with that premise, and hopefully we’re moving that premise forward ‘cause everybody’s on board. **
Rod Man in concert
7:30 p.m. Jan. 15 to 17 and 10:30 p.m. Jan. 16 and 17
Tacoma Comedy Club, 933 Market St., Tacoma
Tickets are $15 to $20
http://www.tacomacomedyclub.com