{"id":87352,"date":"2019-05-13T10:25:37","date_gmt":"2019-05-13T14:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/zach-zimmerman-is-the-sweet-southern-comedy-shocker-weve-been-waiting-for-interview\/"},"modified":"2019-05-13T10:25:37","modified_gmt":"2019-05-13T14:25:37","slug":"zach-zimmerman-is-the-sweet-southern-comedy-shocker-weve-been-waiting-for-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/zach-zimmerman-is-the-sweet-southern-comedy-shocker-weve-been-waiting-for-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Zach Zimmerman Is the Sweet, Southern Comedy Shocker We\u2019ve Been Waiting For [INTERVIEW]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zach Zimmerman Is the Sweet, Southern Comedy Shocker We\u2019ve Been Waiting For [INTERVIEW]<\/b><\/p>\n

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The headline reads \u201cI\u2019m Queer, and I Love My Evangelical Mom.\u201d In the viral post<\/a>, comedian Zach Zimmerman details how, in an almost Love, Simon<\/em>-esque scene, he nearly came out to an audience of 30,000 during his college graduation. The only thing standing in his way: His Southern, conservative parents.<\/p>\n

Like everything Zimmerman does, the story is vulnerable, heartfelt and laugh-out-loud funny. The New York City-based comedian has crafted a career that deftly toes the line between \u201csweet Southern gay<\/a> moves to the big city\u201d relatability and whip-smart, iconoclast alt-comedy. From his Baptist upbringing to unsolicited butthole videos<\/a>, Zimmerman can seamlessly swing from sweet to shocking and back, all while leaving audiences gasping for air.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s certainly been a recipe for success. Zimmerman\u2019s album, Clean Comedy<\/em>, debuted in Billboard\u2019s top ten comedy albums and at No. 1 on iTunes. <\/p>\n

Between his nightly comedy gigs, appearing on Scruff\u2019s live<\/a> trivia gameshow Hosting<\/em> and preparing for the next performance of his show <\/a>100 People In a Room<\/a><\/em> (yes, it\u2019s inspired by the Gaga quote), we got Zimmerman to chat<\/a> with us about his work, his mother, his favorite chain restaurants and more.<\/p>\n

So, I\u2019ve read your recent piece<\/a> about you and your mom.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That was like seven months in the making. The first pitch was \u201cI Love My Homophobic Mom,\u201d and then I gradually had conversations with her where she doesn\u2019t identify as homophobic, even though she believes marriage is between a man<\/a> and a woman<\/a>, which some would argue is a rationalization of homophobia. Our relationship continues to evolve, even though she has not listened to the album and probably won\u2019t read this piece. It\u2019s funny how it keeps changing with each piece of art I make about it. So I\u2019m just hoping it\u2019s trending in the right direction.<\/p>\n

It feels like you found a way to navigate that relationship without compromising who you are and what you do. <\/strong><\/p>\n

It feels still like it could all fall apart at any moment. Like the wrong word could get said. It feels like you\u2019re navigating a field of landmines, and just through experience learn where they are. And you don\u2019t have any limbs left, because you\u2019ve already stepped on too many. But now you kind of slowly make your way through it and memorizing what the path is. Like \u2018Oh, this word is dangerous, let\u2019s avoid this word or this whole topic or category of things.\u2019 Some days you want a little drama, and you lean into it. Other days, I just want to be told \u2018I love you\u2019 from my mom; I\u2019m not going to bring up the clusterf*ck du jour from the Trump administration. A friend this weekend, a straight friend, made this comment that he was jealous of my relationship with my parents. His parents are progressive, he\u2019s progressive, but he commented on what seems like an intimacy we have about talking about bigger topics. That was surprising for me, because I think we have a difficult relationship, but because it\u2019s difficult we all have to work harder at it, which means that we haven\u2019t just been coasting. Maybe all this hard, hard, hard emotional labor is inspiring other people to have relationships with their family, and it\u2019s all not for naught. Because it\u2019s exhausting on the inside.<\/p>\n

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What was it about comedy specifically that spoke to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I did plays in high school, and then it was sort of improv in college that started to encourage me. Eventually, I got very bored with saying the words that people had written, and I got very interested in writing my own words as a way to figure out what I actually believed about the world. Because with improv you could get away with not having a fully-fledged set of beliefs. With stand-up when you sit down to write a joke, you have to actually know how you feel about things. That was not a thing I really knew for the longest time. Since I had such a huge identity switch in my life, from this Southern Baptist carnivore to a gay<\/a>, vegetarian atheist, I was still learning how to walk. I didn\u2019t yet know how I felt about the things I was holding on to that were helping me walk yet. Now, I know what I am. I\u2019m an out, queer, 30-year-old comedian with anxiety and depression and a tendency to catastrophize and a history of being attracted to men<\/a> that are withholding. This is how I feel about XYZ. I think that\u2019s maybe what drew it to me. It\u2019s an artform that helps you make sense of the world, rather than getting a script for a play and delving into that character, which gives a totally valid way to learn about the human experience. But I\u2019ve always been someone who \u2014 if we really want to go deep, deep down, Bobby \u2014 it\u2019s because my dad never let me talk at the dinner table very much. So he created a f*cking stand-up comedian. So, to all the fathers out there, let your kids talk and interact with them, or they\u2019ll become stand-ups, and we have plenty of those, I think.<\/p>\n

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I love the way you talk about chain restaurants on the album. From coming out at an Olive Garden to your mom\u2019s work at Red Lobster, they\u2019re something of a motif to the album. What is it about these fast-casual chain restaurants that speaks to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I, like a lot of people I imagine in suburban areas, just grew up on those chain restaurants. My mom was a Red Lobster server, so I would go there as a kid. She got a discount at Olive Garden, so I would go there for every birthday. We would go there after church. Before I knew any better about local spots or red sauce Italian restaurants with Yelp reviews, I was just being carted to these chain restaurants \u2026 Some part of it is nostalgia, and then you experience it ironically as an adult. Like \u2018Oh, I ate this before I knew better, and now I know better, and I\u2019m going to go back and do it nostalgically.\u2019 When my mom visited, we went to see Waitress<\/em> the musical, which she loved, because she\u2019s a waitress. Afterward, we went to the Olive Garden in Times Square, we had a competent meal, and it was spacious and comfortable. It\u2019s always going to be tied up in this childhood nostalgia and now this ironic enjoyment. Also, while I was there, I was like I kind just want to come back and sit in the Times Square Olive Garden as a subversive way of subverting the ironic fascination, too. I guess it\u2019s similar to my relationship with my mom. There are many sides to it, and it morphs and changes depending on the action. Am I making fun of Olive Garden when I go to Olive Garden? There\u2019s a joy to it, there\u2019s a childhood joy to these chain restaurants. Then there\u2019s the joy of being in on the joke, like no one really likes this place, or it\u2019s like kitsch or clich\u00e9.<\/p>\n

I think there\u2019s something almost inherently queer about them. They\u2019re campy! The decor in Applebee\u2019s could be a Boxers or Rockbar. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Even the birthday song from Olive Garden, which I can sing from memory, that\u2019s total queer camp. At the comedy show, I asked my mom if that was the most gay<\/a> people she\u2019s ever seen before. She was like, \u201cNo there were like nine of them at Red Lobster!\u201d There\u2019s a long history of actors waiting tables, there\u2019s something queer about working at certain restaurants \u2026 We need to reclaim the chain restaurants.<\/p>\n

Oh my god, Zach, are we opening a restaurant?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Laughs<\/em><\/p>\n

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I love the part of the album when you go on a random date with an audience member. Has that bit ever ended in actual romance?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m about to go to dinner with Mark from the album once we get off the phone.<\/p>\n

Really?!<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve become buds. We decided we\u2019re going to get married one day, but neither of us want to get married right now. So we\u2019re just kind of killing time. I will say, in Edinburgh, I had a lot more sex<\/a> than I planned to, because people see you opening up on stage, and they feel like they know you really well. I tend to sincerely flirt with the person. Maybe it\u2019s why groupies sleep with a rock star after a show. No long-term relationships have come from it.<\/p>\n

I almost want to hear more about the short-term relationships. That\u2019s what the readers are here for, honey.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a little cutie in Edinburgh whose company I enjoyed. And a drag queen who ghosted me. At the album recording, the guy<\/a> I flirted with\u2019s husband has become a huge advocate of me and my career \u2026 I\u2019m still looking for the one. Right now I\u2019m so career-focused, it feels like any bit of energy I could put toward romantic relationships is wasted on career. I\u2019m sure that just means I\u2019m going to burn out in six months and die alone with my resume in my hand.<\/p>\n

What would your advice be for the next generation of baby gays<\/a> finding their voice and realizing it might not sound like what their parents wanted?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a little nugget I\u2019ve only ever given in person in the moment, but it\u2019s being shared. It popped into my head while I was drinking iced coffee with a little whisky in it, and I had just gotten my fingernails painted. I don\u2019t claim it, but it\u2019s a piece of wisdom:<\/p>\n

You haven\u2019t been waiting for the world to realize your greatness. The world has been waiting for you to realize your greatness.<\/p>\n

That little phrase slipped into my noggin and there by a god I don\u2019t believe in, it helped me realize you have to look inward and make choices with yourself and have a belief in yourself. That\u2019s when people\u2019s heads will turn, and they will notice you and take you seriously. <\/p>\n

And get some good headshots.<\/p>\n

Zach Zimmerman\u2019s debut album<\/em> Clean Comedy is available now<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Zach Zimmerman Is the Sweet, Southern Comedy Shocker We\u2019ve Been Waiting For [INTERVIEW]<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad Gay News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Zach Zimmerman Is the Sweet, Southern Comedy Shocker We’ve Been Waiting For [INTERVIEW]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n