Windsor's gonna get a hurt, real bad
By Lindsey Rivait
Arts Editor
September 23, 2009
 It’s not often I interview someone after they’ve just failed their driver’s licence test. Brampton, Ont. native Russell Peters, now a resident of the state of Nevada, is not only celebrating 20 years in comedy, he’s also fighting with the DMV.
“I’ve been trying to get my Nevada driver’s licence today. And I fucking failed yesterday and today. But they ask you stupid questions that have nothing to do with driving,” explained Peters, who is no novice driver. He’s been on the road, legally, for 23 years.
He elaborates, “One of them was, ‘You can change lanes in an intersection, true or false?’ I’m like, ‘No, you can’t change lanes in an intersection.’ It’s like, ‘True, you can.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ That’s ridiculous,” said the frustrated comedian.
His 20th anniversary tour is the largest comedy tour in Canadian history, with over 120,000 Canadians buying tickets.
Peters is on the second part of his tour and has already performed sold out shows in Halifax, Calgary, Montreal, and two each in Toronto and Vancouver. The Montreal show was part of the Just for Laughs festival, the largest indoor comedy show in the festival’s history.
He has sold out arenas and theatres worldwide, from London to Sydney to Los Angeles. He was the first South Asian to sell out the Apollo Theatre and the first ever to sell out the Air Canada Centre in Toronto—twice. All this and more has been accomplished on his sheer talent and charm alone. No sitcoms, films, reality TV shows, or paparazzi drama needed here.
Peters will be in Windsor at the Windsor Family Credit Union Centre on Sept. 28. The show features a mix of some favourite bits and some all-new material. DJs and video screens will also be utilized.
While his clips are famous staples on YouTube, enjoying well over 35 million views, Peters has had trouble with bootleg videos being posted online. He now views the Internet as a double-edged sword.
“It’s good when you’re coming up, it’s good for getting known. But for stand-up, when you’re writing new material all the time and you have to keep it fresh for your shows, it doesn’t benefit you at all if it gets on the Internet,” he said.
Peters began his comedic career when he was 19. “It was one of those things where you just do it. I was a fan of comedy and figured I’d try,” he said.
For Peters, stand-up is not really a job—something we all wish we could say about our own work life. And the only downside he can think of isn’t really a downside at all for him. “And that’s just never really being able to stay in one place for longer than a few weeks. If that’s the worst problem you have, count your blessings,” he said.
Even after 20 years in the business, Peters has no plans for slowing down. “I’m going to keep on going until I can’t think of anything anymore. I’m going to mine it until the well runs dry,” he said.
In the next year, Peters is doing two films, one with Norman Jewison and another with Billy Crystal. “It’s all very exciting,” he added.
He’ll also continue touring extensively with his stand-up act. “I don’t think you can ever count out a comedian. Eddie Murphy, he’s the only one that retired and never came back. Well, him and Steve Martin. They just moved on to acting and forgot all about stand-up,” said Peters.
But Peters is still all about his stand-up work. His DVDs, the last two of which (Outsourced and Red, White, and Brown), sold more than 250,000 copies each, usually takes Peters two years to record and release.
While there are plans for more DVDs, Peters says he’ll take three years with the next one. The extra time will give him a chance to produce a sharper product for his fans.
“The last few have been okay, but if you look at the stuff I put out before that, it was a little bit more polished and that was because I had a lot more time to get it ready. That’s the way I’m going to approach this one,” he explained.
Beyond these plans, Peters says he doesn’t look too far ahead to the future. “Who plans their future really? I’ve never been a planner. I would like to marry my girlfriend, hopefully. If she’ll have me. Hopefully she can tolerate my bullshit,” he said.
Peters leaves us with some advice for aspiring comedians, advice which has served him well in his own career. “Do it because you want to make people laugh, don’t do it for any other reasons. Don’t do it to get rich, don’t do it to get famous, do it because you like to make people happy,” he said.
With that, Peters is gone, back to prepare for his third stint with Nevada’s DMV. Hopefully this time with better luck.
Catch Russell Peters at the Windsor Family Credit Union Centre, located at 8787 McHugh St., Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $54.
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