Eastern Carolina Style

“Whatever happens in that theater, let it stay in that theater.” -Tracy Morgan

On January 3, 2014 one of the most controversial comedic talents going today will arrive at Goodnight’s Raleigh for 5 shows. Tickets are available HERE.

Tracy Morgan, fresh off of the hit NBC sit-com, 30 Rock will bring his straight shooting and often brash style of comedy to give Raleigh a dose of “Funny, funny, funny, funny and then some more funny, funny, funny.”

While his choice of topics and takes on issues are always going to be the subject of scrutiny and, often, disdain. One thing cannot be ignored, Tracy Morgan will tell you exactly what is on his mind and pull no punches in getting his point across.

I had the distinct pleasure of getting that fact smashed into my face first hand recently… The carnage is below…

MAS – In just a couple weeks you are going to be performing 5 shows at Goodnight’s in Raleigh. What can we expect to see from you?

Tracy Morgan – Funny, funny, funny, funny and then some more funny, funny, funny.

MAS – Are we expecting some of the characters that we associate with you, impressions and that kind of thing?

Tracy Morgan – Nah, absolutely not! You are going to have some other characters that are based in my life. My sense of humor is based in reality. I have got people in my life that have touched my life and have steered my life in a direction that is hilarious to me. Those are the characters that I will be bringing to share with you guys.

If people want to see Brian Fellows that got to turn on the TV.I don’t walk around with a Brian Fellows suit; I don’t have no wardrobe, no makeup. I don’t do that. So all those characters that I presented to you on those TV shows, they stay on the TV shows. The characters that I have in my life, I bring and share them with you guys.

MAS – It is well known that you, as a young man, had to do some things coming up that a lot of people may not approve of in order to get by.

Tracy Morgan – I don’t even care about what people think about what I had to do. I was raised in Brooklyn; that is one thing we can’t control. Who we are born to and the environment we are born in. I’m a grown man now, I’m 45, and I’m not that person. That was 25 years ago.

MAS – Since you have been performing, which has been quite a while considering you started performing in the early 90s, you have had a bunch of highs and a very few lows. Which of your highs are you the most proud of?

Tracy Morgan – You gotta have the highs and the lows. You have to have the mountains and the valleys. There are no plains; you go through ups and downs. When you are on a heart machine in the hospital and that machine goes beep-beep and goes up and down, that’s life! That means I’m living. I’m going through it. When its flatlined, then it is flat lines, that means you compromised. My ups and my downs are because I don’t compromise. I keep it coming. I don’t control that line of funny, funny, funny, not funny. So that is what that is, I am going to do me.

I have to view my life as I see it. My ups are up, but I don’t let my ups get too up and my lows don’t get too low. I go through the same things that everybody in this country goes through. People just see me on TV and think that money and all that other stuff changes things, and it don’t.

MAS – I have done a bunch of these interviews in my life and you have to be the most “real” person I have talked to so far.

Tracy Morgan – That is why I love talking with you! Because you get it, you were relating and identifying with me. We all go through it. I just inject my sense of humor into it. I want to make folks not feel so bad. We have to add a little levity to things. If we don’t laugh about things, we are going to cry. I’m done crying man! I wanna rap about this crap, ain’t nobody happy! That’s why I’m here, to teach those who can’t say my name. That’s why He put me on this planet, to make everybody laugh. That’s my purpose. I don’t wanna hurt nobody. I just want to make this planet a little bit better than what it was when I got here.

MAS – You said in an interview that I read a while back that comedians have already earned their wings in heaven because they put smiles on people’s faces.

Tracy Morgan – That’s it man! I ain’t here to hurt nobody or nothing. I just want to make people laugh. When I leave this planet, I’m gonna be a shell of a man because I gave you everything I had.

I share my life! I’m sorry I’m not Seinfeld, sorry I’m not Ray Ramano but I didn’t grow up that way. I grew up in some hard shit. Sometimes because of social media people have their opinions. Sometimes your opinions don’t agree with me. If you don’t like my comedy, stay home and make it Blockbuster night. We’re just making fun! That is what Archie Bunker did! That’s what George Jefferson did! That’s what Richard Pryor did! That’s what George Carlin did! As long as I am doing comedy in the spirit those people that came before me, like Lucille Ball and Jackie Gleason, and the comedy gods are smiling down on me; I’m good. I know that my spirit is in the right place. I’m not mean-spirited with it; I’m just coming with my approach to stand-up. When I come to North Carolina, I’m coming in good spirit and I just want to make people laugh.

MAS – Something else that you do that I respect, you don’t have limits. If you have got something that you want to talk about or something that want to put into your show, you are going to do it.

Tracy Morgan – That’s because I can guarantee that I am not the only one going through it! If you got people that go out here and they burn their whole family up in their house because they think they are the only ones going through something. I’m on stage going, “Yo look, I got tax problems! Come and laugh at this. You ain’t the only one.” If I go out and do comedy “real”, then people are going to identify and relate me like, “I thought I was the only one with tax problems.” You aint! You ain’t the only one with money problems! You ain’t the only one with car problems! There are people like that all around the world!

MAS – For the future for you, looking towards what you have got coming, you just finished up one of the best shows that I have ever seen and you have got all this energy, all this drive to do new things and make life good for people. What have you got coming up?

Tracy Morgan – I got a new TV show, but more than that man. I’m just living life; I’m living it, everyday man. I don’t know what is up ahead of me, because tomorrow is not promised to anybody. I’m living for today and feeling good! You know, I could get a call from the IRS as soon as we get done! You know they always gonna be around this time of year! They always on me! They feel I short-changed them with bin Laden!

MAS – You keep doing what you are doing, you have got fans out here that are looking forward to your show. You bring whatever it is that you want to bring and you are going to make a lot of people laugh.

Tracy Morgan – The only thing that I ask, leave your camera phones at home and let’s just enjoy the show, whatever happens. Whatever happens in that theater, let it stay in that theater. People want to wonder, let them buy a ticket next time.