Demetri Martin talks being 'The Joke Machine' ahead of Oct. 14 McCallum Theatre show

Comedian Demetri Martin is known for writing sketches, satirical cartoons and humorous songs. But his career started the same way as other comedians — telling jokes. That's why his current tour is titled "The Joke Machine."

During a recent interview ahead of his Oct. 14 show at the McCallum Theatre, Martin explained the name behind the tour.

"My first love is jokes," Martin said during a recent interview. "I thought, 'I should have some title based on that feeling.' Something about being a machinist pumping them out seems funny to me. That led me to some fun tour art. I'm still here doing it and pumping them out."

Martin said fans can expect to hear banter about "basic stuff" like food, owning pets and his family. But there's some visual art in the show and the musical instruments will come out too.

"It's a lot of random ideas like I've always done, which I enjoy because there's an efficiency and a surprise to a show that doesn't have too many segways," Martin said. "When I try to describe it, it sounds like a boring, weird and generic form of comedy, but I think there's a specificity in the perspective. I'm trying to be more autobiographical without boring people, so maybe that's a little bit of an evolution. It's mostly whatever floats into my head to see if I can twist it into something funny."

But there is a subject he's reluctant take on: Politics. He described himself as an "irrelevant voice in that domain."

"I can write jokes about politics but it never inspires me," Martin said. "Back when I was starting, (political jokes) had such a short shelf life, and that seems to have gotten shorter. Everything has accelerated and it's so incendiary, polarized and loaded. It takes a particular kind of person doing comedy to want to play into that realm because the rewards aren't as great as the risks."

When asked about his thoughts on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike (editor's note: the interview took place before WGA agreed to a tentative deal with the studios on Sept. 24) he alluded to an increase in comedians who are also actors going back on tour or taking it to podcasts, adding that the field was "more crowded" because of the simultaneous strikes for actors and writers shutting down the industry.

"I have a renewed appreciation for the ability to do live shows because of the pandemic and because of the strikes," Martin said. "I have a stand-up special coming out in November on Netflix and I'm almost done editing it. I'm going to shoot a follow-up in the spring and I'm touring leading up to that."

Applying the deadpan style to acting

As a stand-up comedian, Martin is known for delivering humorous one-liners while appearing stoic. His style is similar to comedian Steven Wright, who he discovered during the '80s while attending high school and lists as his main influence, along with "The Far Side" cartoonist Gary Larson. His on-stage style is often reflected through the characters he plays in films.

Martin described an "illusion of control" for stand-up comics when switching gears into acting.

"With acting, you know there are all these other things that have to fall into place and so many variables, even if you're writing and producing your own stuff, which is hard enough. When you're not, then you're subject to the casting process, people remembering you or wanting you."

Martin's deadpan style and comedic persona comes out in all of his roles, even in the Cartoon Network animated series "We Bare Bears" and its spin-off "We Baby Bears" as the voice of Ice Bear, which he describes as a "unique experience." The popular series also had a 2020 film adaptation, "We Bare Bears: The Movie."

"It's fun because my character kind of says the least, and now even in ("We Baby Bears"), I'm the narrator and still not saying much. But I go for the sessions where they record me and because I have so few lines, I'm doing multiple episodes in one go," Martin said. "It's been a surprise bonus because I've had children come up to me at my kids' school and ask, 'Is it true you're Ice Bear?' Second graders, young kids who aren't into show business, celebrity or anything like that. It's funny to have that experience where they say 'Wow, you're Ice Bear!'"

In 2016, Martin directed, wrote, produced and starred in the film "Dean" opposite Kevin Kline. The film was semi autobiographical about Martin's experiences of losing his father to kidney cancer when he was 20. Even though it was well-received, it had mixed financial success and did not recoup its small budget. Still, Martin considered the experience "validating."

"I put so much work into it," Martin said. "It's a treat when I talk to anyone who found it because I did put my heart into it and tried hard to evolve just to show something else. My fantasy is to do more stuff like that as I get older and it doesn't have to be on camera. If I act, fine, but also just telling stories, writing and directing"

After turning 50 in May, Martin said he would also like to write more books following his 2011 collection of essays and drawings, "This Is a Book," and 2017 short story collection "19 1/2 Stories." But he would also like to spend more time at home and described fatherhood as "humbling."

"I want to be involved and be as much of a caregiver as my wife is. We're partners and we split that. It's not like 'Oh, I'm going to go do my career, thanks for taking care of the kids,'" Martin said. "I foresee my kids getting older and not wanting to hang out with me as much. If I can stay afloat for a while, hopefully I get another chance to do bigger projects."

If you go

What: Demetri Martin stand-up comedy show

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14

Where: McCallum Theatre, 73-000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert

How much: $35 to $85

More information: mccallumtheatre.com

Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Demetri Martin talks 'The Joke Machine' ahead of McCallum Theatre show