Mixing his candid foul-mouthed cocktail of "ambiguously gay" gaffs with moonshine testosterone, party boy Nick Swardson has risen to heights most stand-ups comics will never know.
Tuesday marked the release of Swardson's debut album, Party, which features fourteen tracks of stand-up comedy, as well as a pair of Adam Sandler-esque skits.
"Every stand-up wants to get to the point where they're doing stand-up for their own fans," Swardson said. "Now they know my movies, my material, it's just the best. I feel in my element now."
The 31-year-old man-child's shallow discography comes as quite the surprise. Since 2001, Swardson has racked up two Comedy Central specials, screenplays and acting credits for laugh fest films Grandma's Boy, The Benchwarmers and Malibu's Most Wanted, topping it off with his beloved role as a wild homosexual prostitute on TV's Reno: 911.
"I have been trying to put out this CD for a while. But I'm such a crazy perfectionist. I was always real uptight about it," Swardson said. "It's kind of embarrassing all of my contemporaries have (released) like four CDs and a laserdisc."
Party's aura of long-time coming allows the comedian to finally release much of the material from his Comedy Central Presents specials on audio CD. The package also contains a live stand-up DVD.
While Swardson's material on Party is profane and risqu?(c) and riddled with sexual content, he's not concerned about the ears of the easily offended.
"I don't really worry about hyper-sensitivity," Swardson said. "If you don't give the word the power, it doesn't have the power."
The album's first track, a skit entitled "Black Out Morning," sets the tone for the binge-drinking comedy that's to follow. And although it seems Swardson must surely have been awarded "drunkest guy at the party" numerous times, as of late the veteran drinker has begun to control himself.
"I have actually mellowed out to vodka, vodka on the rocks. I'm obviously susceptible to any kind of shot. I used to do whisky and all the other stuff. It just got me so wild - like shirt off, old lady in a headlock," Swardson said. "When I'm drunk, I'm the world's greatest cat burglar."
Swardson's comedic influences range from Woody Allen to Charlie Chapman, Caddyshack to The Jerk. On stage, Swardson refrains from doing characters, never going out of his way to be something he's not.
"Everything I am on stage is true to what I am," Swardson said. "I never sat down and really wrote. It was always just stuff I would do walking down the street, and it would just pop into my head. It's a scary way of doing things because it's like 'what if a joke never pops into my head again?'"
In terms of cinematic credits, Swardson is in production for You Don't Mess With Zohan alongside Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow, to be released in 2008. Next year, Swardson will start shooting for Happy Hour, "an R-Rated drinking comedy."
As a simultaneous writer and actor, Swardson has the unique ability to foresee the direction of his portrayed characters.
"I have the fortunate circumstance of being part of the creative process in roles. I prepare immediately when I start working on the script," Swardson said. "Grandma's Boy was more in my own voice, sarcastic. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry was more like Adam Sandler talking me into wearing a butterfly costume."
Swardson credits Sandler as his "mentor and friend," however it seems unlikely that Swardson will follow his companion down the more serious path Sandler has enjoyed lately.
"I started in dramatic stuff, but do I see myself as the lead in Full Metal Jacket? I don't know if I could do that," Swardson said.
The admitted "comedy freak" almost gives the impression that he wouldn't be able to contain himself.
"I remember seeing the wig Sandler wore in Reign Over Me - and that was a pretty serious role - and thinking it was the same as the one he wore in The Wedding Singer."
Swardson has never performed in Buffalo, but he has plenty of interest in coming to the Queen City.
"I'm playing Halo on Xbox LIVE with this crew of dudes from Upstate New York so I'm thinking about coming to visit. I would go to Buffalo - not in the winter, but I'd go," Swardson said after congratulating the city for the Bills' win over the Ravens this past Sunday.
"That was a big one for you guys," Swardson said.
Whether or not the gentle comedy giant makes his way through Western New York, Party should be an automatic purchase for anyone who has watched this talent rise through the comedy ranks.
