Big and tall tales

There’s nothing small about Big Jay Oakerson and his big wild stories

New York-via-Philly raunchy raconteur Big Jay Oakerson performed in Montreal last year, but don’t bother looking for any mention of it in the Just for Laughs archives. Oakerson took his filthiest collection of dick jokes on the road as part of the music-based, Korn-headlined Mayhem Fest, which included a stop at Montreal’s own Heavy MTL. The big galoot’s most inspired material comes from embarrassing tales from his past, so one would think shouting his tersest bits at metalheads and receiving a taste of the rock star lifestyle would have been a comedic gold-mine.

”I thought it would be wilder,” admits Oakerson, who refers to the experience as one of the calmest, albeit greatest, in his life. “Everything wild was more of the ho-hum variety, like wet t-shirt contests or afterparties. I never got lost in a foreign city, which is more what I’m interested in talking about. Getting a blowjob on a tour bus just doesn’t make for a great story.”

Instead, Oakerson will be digging into the dark recesses of his mental vault for his American Storyteller one-man show, bringing back his wildest occupational hazard tales from his time working chil­dren’s parties by day and chauffeuring strippers and escorts at night—for the same company. “Those stories are more drawn out than your average joke,” he says. “They’re so long that I was really excit­ed telling them the first few times, then I spent the next few weeks after that refining them, finding the best way to tell them. But eventually, if you tell them enough times within the same four walls to the same people—as I was in New York—there’s no point in bringing them back again until you hit the road and get re-invigorated.”

Oakerson isn’t just large in stature; his memory and courage could be considered commendably massive as well. His preference is to show up to gigs largely unprepared, using his interactions with the audience to naturally segue into his many debauched and mostly unembellished personal experiences. “I’ll let the audience lead me somewhere. A lot of times I’ll think of a story I’ve never told before, and right on the spot I’ll give it a shot. Once a story becomes material, it tends to get a little more robotic every time you tell it. It might be a very unpopular belief, but I’m more comfortable going on stage with no plan than having completely thought things out.”

He’s confident when it comes to engaging in funny repartee with audience members, or knocking them down a peg as he sees fit. Oakerson’s 13-year resume has seen him win over tough crowds, including his early days donning Fubu jerseys and pandering to black audiences at Philadelphia’s one comedy club under the men­torship of Keith Robinson. His upcoming Zoofest run at Café Cleopatra won’t be first instance performing in a strip club either, and as a guy who routinely talks about awkward sex stories in as frank a manner as possible, he’ll likely feel right at home at the Lower Main landmark. Mostly though, he’s looking forward to the creative freedom the one-man show will afford him.

“Many a middle-of-the-night phone call to my friends about being involved in some crazy, goofy story—it’s the only reason I’m able to do comedy. I don’t have a great imagination, I’m not a punchline kind of guy; I need to have an experience that will inspire me to go out and talk about it.” ■

JAY OAKERSON: THE AMERICAN STORYTELLER, JULY 26–29, 7:30 PM, CAFÉ CLEOPATRA (1230 ST-LAURENT), $15

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