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Comedian Jim Breuer says Metallica will 'crush your face,' Louisville

For comedian Jim Breuer, funny business is his business and yet, he'll tell you he's never worked a day in his life.

Breuer rose to fame in the late '90s when he starred alongside Will Ferrell, David Spade, and Norm McDonald on NBC's Saturday Night Live, where his infamous "Goat Boy" impression was born. In 1998, he had a lead role opposite Dave Chapelle in the stoner classic film "Half Baked," which included cameos from Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, and Tommy Chong.

But he doesn't spend much time talking about that stuff these days. And please, don't ask him to do an impression. 

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Today, Breuer can be found making people laugh through his family-centered Comedy Central specials and his cross-country tours both solo and as the opening act for infamous heavy metal band Metallica.

His "Let’s Clear The Air” special from 2009 — one of the highest rated comedy specials in Comedy Central's history —  is popularly known as his “coming out party” as a dad, cleaning up his act and focusing on the fun and follies of family life.

Many of Breuer’s newer fans also know him from his stint on Sirius XM’s “The Howard Stern Show"  and he currently hosts a podcast called “The Jim Breuer Podcast,” which is available on iTunes and JimBreuer.com.

Oh, and did we mention he's a huge baseball fan and loves the Louisville Slugger Museum ? 

We got a chance to talk to him about his perspective on comedy, his upcoming show at Mercury Ballroom and the role he will play in Metallica's upcoming concert at the KFC Yum! Center.

Courier Journal: You've done shows in the past here in Louisville. Do you have any favorite things you did and what do you look forward to about coming back?

Breuer:  "Well, Kentucky itself. Louisville was one of the places on my first road trip and it's a sweet spot for me. We're talking 1990, 1991 maybe? I'd been part of this whole comedy caravan that was in Louisville. My father and his family were from Kentucky. The last time ... I believe it was one of the last places that I brought my father when I was still able to bring him on the road. So, it's got a little tug on my heart."

Courier Journal: Tell me a little on your show at the Mercury Ballroom the Thursday before you open for Metallica. What can we expect?

Breuer : "It's basically comedy and stories, a lot of well-rounded stories I've been putting together over the past year. Some of them are belly-laughing funny, and some of them are a lot deeper, probably than most people would go on many levels. Talking about finding the funny in mortality and dealing with it, and with this subject, I talk about my dad.

I don't do politics, I don't do news, I do very relatable things. It always fascinates me because a lot of people don't know what I do still. 'Oh, you're doing Saturday Night Live stuff still?' No. I don't even do impressions on stage. I don't do any of that stuff. I come in, I crush with storytelling, crush with standup, leave that place going, 'Who was that masked man?'"

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Courier Journal: You talked a little about how it's family related. How consistent does that stay from show-to-show?

Breuer:  "I change constantly throughout the years because I only talk about what I know. I don't try and talk about anything I don't know. All I know is where I'm at in life. Three daughters, 20, 17, 14, married 25-plus years, trying to deal with being in my 50s — there's plenty of material to pluck from there. It never ends."

Courier Journal: Let's talk Metallica and your relationship with them. They're obviously one of the most successful metal bands of all time. What has being on tour with them been like for you? 

Breuer : "Greatest gig I ever had ever. Ever. Ever. It's like traveling with the best film, best TV show; this is hands down the greatest gig ever. I'm a die-hard Metallica fan, I know the guys. Especially the way they travel, they don't work every single day so it's on, off, on, off, and being a comedian you're out on your own. It definitely gets lonely after a while.

Here, we take over an entire hotel — 13 tour buses dumping into a hotel. All Metallica crew is gonna be in Louisville by Thursday. Thursday afternoon is gonna be Metallica staff and crew hitting all those bars and restaurants in the streets of Louisville."

Courier Journal: How did that friendship with the band, and maybe just your love for that kind of music in general, spark what you do in comedy, what they do in heavy metal, and how that goes together?

Breuer: "We became friends in the '90s. I met [Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich] and we became friends, then I actually got really close with [vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield]  and our families grew up together and our kids grew up together.

When this came about, I think Lars said it best, 'Bands open up for us, and no one shows up for the bands. It's a bummer for them, it's a bummer for us. Now, we want to do something that's kind of a crowd experience thing in filling the arena, trying to get them in and get them excited. You don't have to be funny, just be creative.'

I said alright ... I got this, I'm a Metallica fan. I'm just going to imagine me sitting in the audience and what I would want to see from some guy coming out there. The energy of the metal is what I've always loved and the energy I do on stage with standup, I mean, I'm not Metallica, but I've always extremely attracted and driven by that energy and the thought-provoking lyrics and drive. That's an attitude every standup show I go in. I go in to crush your face... and I think maybe that's why I'm so attracted to bands like Metallica. They're coming to crush your face, and they're going to. I watch it night after night, still don't get tired of it. As a matter of fact, when they're on, you'll see me on the floor."

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Courier Journal: What do you do to open?

Breuer:  "I kinda feel the crowd out. Sometimes I'm up there a half hour, sometimes more, sometimes a little less. Once I hit about 8 p.m., I take a camera and I go backstage with a live camera, look for the band, touring the backstage, start messing with the crowd a little bit. We do game shows where I pull people out of the audience and put them on stage. I created this, which seems to be hands down the most popular thing, I created a heavy metal sing-a-long with all the best metal anthems. The crowd, they go crazy with that.

It's like [Judas] Priest and Ozzy [Osbourne] and AC/DC, they go bonkers. It's awesome. Every 10-15 minutes there's something going on to keep you engaged and keep the energy up."

Courier Journal: You've been with the band for a while now on tour. What's the most interesting experience you've had through this?

Breuer:  "Well, two. One is, I'm always fascinated who shows up. The Foo Fighters came one night. Slipknot crew was there. They always get really interesting guys because they all still look up to them. Onstage, I crashed a wedding. Right next door was a wedding. I told the crowd, 'How about I bring the bride and groom out here?'

The place cheered me on. I went in, I grabbed the bride and groom and I brought them on the Metallica stage. I made the whole arena sing and dance to [Abba's] 'Dancing Queen' for 30 seconds while they had their first dance. That was freaking cool."

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Courier Journal: I know one of your more famous portrayals on SNL was the "Goat Boy." I was wondering if maybe you've heard of Louisville's Pope Lick Goat Man? It's actually more of a monster character than yours.

Breuer:  "Is that what you guys have got? Like New Jersey has the [Jersey] Devil? I'm glad you told me about it, I'm gonna have to touch upon that at the show."

Courier Journal: What do you think would happen if the two goat men met?

Breuer:  "I think my goat man would hands down win that battle, and we would end up hanging out. Maybe I'll find him and I'll bring him to karaoke on Friday night."

OK, let's talk about this: Jim Breuer says 'Goat Boy' could beat the Pope Lick Monster

Reach  Courier Journal  intern Caleb Wiegandt at [email protected].

Jim Breuer Live

WHAT: Jim Breuer Live. With over 20 years of stand-up comedy experience, Jim Breuer remains one of today’s top entertainers and continues to win over audiences with his off-the-wall humor and lovable personality. 

WHERE: Mercury Ballroom, 611 S. 4th St., Louisville 

WHEN : Thursday, March 7. Doors at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m. 

COST: Tickets start at $29.50. 

MORE INFORMATION: mercuryballroom.com  

Metallica WorldWired Tour 2019

WHAT:  Metallica’s WorldWired Tour will get rolling with the Light It Up pre-show party hosted by comedian Jim Breuer. 

WHERE: KFC Yum! Center, 1 Arena Plaza

WHEN: Saturday, March 9. Doors 6 p.m., show 7:30 p.m. 

COST: Prices varies.

MORE INFORMATION:  kfcyumcenter.com

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Jim Breuer Talks About His First Tour in 15 Years and Fans Who Still Do ‘Goat Boy’ at Him

"The stories never end. That's what life is: experiences and stories. I have a lifetime of them and they still keep piling up." — Jim Breuer tweet this

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