When Jim Breuer comes to town, check to see what type of entertainment the comic-vocalist will provide since he’s leading a double life. The “Saturday Night Live” alum is delivering comedy at some venues and hard rock with his band at other establishments.
“It’s utter madness but I’m loving it,” Breuer says, calling from his New Jersey home. “I’m pushing it as far as it will go. Nobody else is doing comedy and music simultaneously.”
Breuer, 49, who will render stand-up when he performs Saturday, Nov. 5, at the Fox Theater at Foxwoods Resort, and Thursday, Nov. 10, at the Ridgefield Playhouse, is amped up since he’s been passionate about both art forms since he was a kid coming of age in Long Island during the ’70s. Breuer was weaned on Richard Pryor, George Carlin and Judas Priest. The unholy trinity had a huge impact on the inventive Breuer.
“I grew up loving comedy and metal,” Breuer says. “Now I got both of them. I’m doing comedy and music, sometimes in one day.”
It’s not an exaggeration. In September Breuer played some festival concerts during the day and delivered comedy elsewhere in the evening. It was reminiscent of sports icon Deion Sanders, who played NFL football and MLB playoff baseball on some days during the ’90s.
“I remember when Deion played football and baseball the same day back in the day,” Breuer says. “That was so cool. I want to burn it at both ends like that. I have so much passion and energy. I’ve found what I enjoy most at this point in my life.”
Breuer, who still has that boyish enthusiasm at mid-life, will deliver relatable stand-up when he performs in Connecticut.
“What’s cool is that the people that came out to see me in their 20s are now older and have kids,” Breuer says. “They get where I’m coming from and I love it. They come out and laugh and now they bring their parents. Since I’ve changed my base has expanded. Before I might have had people up to 35 (years of age) come to the show but now I have people from 15 to 55 coming out. I get families because they all can connect with what I’m talking about. It’s like I’ve been in their living room. The reality is that our lives aren’t all that different.”
Two of Breuer’s three daughters are teenagers. “So my message is two-fold,” Breuer says. “Don’t get pregnant and don’t get addicted.”
That’s interesting since Breuer’s other project is about sex, drugs and rock and roll. “That’s ironic, isn’t it,” Breuer says. “But that’s how I feel as a parent. Don’t mess your life up.”
The tunes from Breuer’s album are feel-good hard rock with a dash of humor, which recalls Van Halen-era David Lee Roth. Humor is in short supply in a very serious contemporary rock world.
“That couldn’t be more true,” Breuer says. “Van Halen brought the heavy but with a smile on their face and that’s pretty much gone. I want to bring that back.’
Breuer does mix comedy and music with his material. A classic Breuer bit is about a metal fan’s inability to recognize that Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford is gay. With songs like “Hell Bent for Leather,” he’d ask, how couldn’t they figure it out?
After almost 30 years in show business, Breuer’s stories are consistently amusing. “It’s tough to know where to even start,” Breuer says, when thinking about the many anecdotes he’s dropped during shows.
One of Breuer’s best involves Jack Nicholson during his “Saturday Night Live” days.
“Some people are born with big noses,” Breuer says. “Some people are born with moles on their face. I look stoned all the time. When I was on an elevator with Jack Nicholson he turned to me, lifted up his shades and said, ‘You look the way I feel.’
“He basically told me he was stoned. I’ve lived with this my whole life. In junior high I was sent to the nurse’s office and I didn’t know why. My teacher sent me there twice threatening me that if I came to school in that condition he was going to ask for a urine sample, and I thought it was because I was being silly. I had no clue what pot was in the eighth grade.”
Even though Breuer is on the straight and narrow, his shows can still be out-of-control hilarious, and his performances are deeper than they’ve ever been before.
“I’ve just tapped into something and why not go further with it,” Breuer says. “I like this because I’m challenging myself and having the biggest blast of my career with it.”
JIM BREUER performs in two Connecticut shows: Saturday, Nov. 5, at 8 p.m. at the Fox Theater at Foxwoods Resort and Casino, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket. Tickets are $30, $45 and $60. 800-369-9663, foxwoods.com; and Nov. 10, at 8 p.m. at the Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge, Ridgefield. Tickets are $55. 203-438-5795. ridgefieldplayhouse.org.
