I have always thought of myself as a performer first and way down the line as a recording artist.
When I go see a performer, I don't go to criticize. I just go to be entertained. I don't go to give advice; I just go to enjoy.
That heightened dynamic can produce interesting, funny ideas that are phrased in ways that surprise even you, as the performer.
I did get good enough to get on HBO's Young Comedians Special, but I certainly wasn't the person who got launched off of HBO's Young Comedians Special. That would be Ray Romano that year. I had some semi-intelligent jokes, but when people would see me, they would think, "Oh, that's a good writer. " No one would ever have said, "Oh, that's a good performer. "
More than an actor, I am a performer. I'm a great believer
I'm a live performer and I love playing live.
Not everyone can be as successful a performer as myself, who gave 10 great performances the first time I ever did comedy, and then toiled in obscurity for years.
I knew I finally made it as a performer when I began hearing rumors that I was gay.
It was never the goal to be a solo performer. It was just something that made the most sense at the time.
Las Vegas and I both grew up together, and all of a sudden I was doing things that no performer had ever done before.
It was like Mama suddenly realized I was good, that she didn't have to apologize for me. It was the strangest feeling. One minute I was on stage with my mother, the next moment I was on stage with Judy Garland. One minute she smiled at me, and the next minute she was like the lioness that owned the stage and suddenly found somebody invading her territory. The killer instinct of a performer had come out in her.
You have to define how much of a cultural politician you are as a performer. There are times where I just want to remain a civilian.
I don't consider myself a stand-up comedian. I consider myself a performer; a comic as opposed to stand-up comedian. Stand-up comedians stand there and do their bits; I break every rule in creation. If there's a rule that can be broken in stand-up, I'll do it.
I have a respect for Elvis and my friendship. It ain't my business what he did in private. The only thing I want to know is, 'Was he my friend?', 'Did I enjoy him as a performer?', 'Did he give the world of entertainment something?' - and the answer is YES on all accounts. The other jazz just don't matter.
If any performer has quality in his voice he can almost always be helped to develop all the other necessary attributes.
To the general public, show business may just mean the artistic part, but the dollar and cents element is the reality every performer has to face.
When you define the audience, the performer becomes what the audience wants. Politicians do that all the time.
Every performer can get better. It's not about staying with what God gave you and doing nothing with it for the rest of your life.
I've always loved the rock & roll element to live shows, because whatever else I do, I'm basically a rockpop performer, and that's what I like.
If there's one big thing you can take from Amy Poehler as a performer, it's committing, full on.