Somewhere between peddling gourmet cake decorations and barfing on Comedy Central, Kyle Kinane became standup’s most beloved dirtbag. A native of the western suburb of Addison, the 39-year-old has earned plaudits for his take on life’s lowest lows, from drinking in the shower to cabbing to a Wendy’s drive-through. Ahead of taping his new as-yet-untitled network special at Metro on May 21, Kinane opens up about the influences that shaped him.
The Kids in the Hall
Growing up, everybody watched Saturday Night Live, while I was out getting into trouble. But Kids in the Hall was weird. It felt just a little bit dangerous. If your parents caught you watching it, they’d be like, “What is this?”
The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson
It wasn’t so much Carson, it was seeing standup as a format. Here was this grownup—an authority figure—acting silly. Where I grew up, everybody was too bogged down by work and stress to act goofy. To see an adult have fun was like, “How does that even exist?”
Steven Banks
He had this one-man show that was basically him calling into work sick and screwing around in his apartment. At Career Day, I never knew what I wanted to do, and here was this guy just making people laugh as his job. I thought, That’s what I do in class anyway!
Calvin and Hobbes
Hobbes would always challenge Calvin with a counterpoint. That’s one of the best writing techniques. If I’m getting writer’s block, I take one of my hard and fast beliefs and try to argue the opposite.
Mitch Hedberg
At the end of the [1990s] comedy boom, I couldn’t relate to most standup—it was just middle-aged guys talking about their wives. But Hedberg was this weirdo burnout with perfectly crafted one-liners like “I want to see a forklift lift up a crate of forks because it would be so damn literal.” [He showed me] that standup can be cool.
The Far Side
It was Mitch Hedberg in comic strip form: weird, single panel, and efficient.
Addison, Illinois
Nobody took themselves too seriously [where I grew up]. Life wasn’t great, but you accepted your lot, and if you were going to complain, it better have been funny. There’s an art to complaining.
His sister
When the whole family’s together, I make jokes just to make my sister laugh—specifically because my parents won’t get it. That taught me you don’t need to broadcast every joke. It can be for just a few people.
Things I Like About America by Poe Ballantine
It’s a book about a guy with a bunch of shit jobs trying to find his place in the world. It’s accepting in its bleakness. The way it’s written taught me about details—not every story has to end like a Die Hard movie.
The Lincoln Lodge
I got my start there in 1999, 2000, and met this group of outsiders—Kumail Nanjiani, Pete Holmes, Matt Braunger. They were just a bunch of smart, hilarious guys. We all challenged each other.