Pauly Shore brings a party and a new voice for his comedy to ‘Jam in the Van the Show’
When Pauly Shore says comedy is in his blood, he really means it. The comedian-actor was literally raised in the stand-up scene from the age of 4. “Comedy is just part of who I am,” Shore said during a recent interview at a West L.A. podcast studio. “Since my mom owned the Comedy Store, I was always there, even as a little kid. I would watch stand-ups perform their sets as a youngster in the sound booth away from the alcohol, and I knew a lot of comedians — some were like family to me.”
Born in 1968 to Sammy and Mitzi Shore in Beverly Hills, Shore was thrust into the comedic spotlight as an MTV personality in the late ’80s. He starred in several hit films in the early ’90s, including “Encino Man” and “In the Army Now.” He has kept a lower profile in recent years but remained active as a writer, director, producer, musician and touring comedian — and now, as a podcaster.
Shore is collaborating with L.A.-based comedy/podcasting company Jam in the Van, founded by Jake Cotler, on a series aptly titled “Jam in the Van the Show,” which premieres its second season on Tuesday
But this isn’t a typical free-format, conversational podcast like Joe Rogan’s or Adam Carolla’s. Of course things will flow freely, but Shore is bringing a modern twist to an old-school format, similar to his early interview style as a VJ on MTV.
“I like this structure, it’s simple,” Shore said during a late-August taping of the show that featured comedians Shapel Lacey and Frank Castillo, influencers The Old Gays and Billie Lee from “Vanderpump Rules.” ”Each show will have three guests. The first is a comic that I’m friends with. The second guest is an influencer, and the third guest is a band or musician,” Shore said.
Admitting he was not sure at first about having influencers as guests, Shore acknowledged the need to adapt to new business models to find success. “Having influencers goes a bit out of my comfort zone because I grew up before that time,” he said. “But that’s the business now. I mean, like The Old Gays, who have like 10 million followers. I don’t have millions of followers like that. This is where the business is now — Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook. I do have my social media pages that my fans follow and I promote my tours. It’s also a lot of me hanging out with my dog, Buster.”
Cotler, one of Jam in the Van’s founders, said he and Shore have been friends for about a year and did one season of “The Jam in the Van Show Hosted by Pauly Shore” beginning in June. Season 2 launches Tuesday with a totally different format.
“We originally thought of this as a podcast and had big guests like Gary Clark Jr., Danny Brown and Fred Durst, where we shot a bunch of live episodes at South by Southwest,” Cotler said. “But we soon realized that the world doesn’t need another traditional podcast, so we decided for Season 2’s format, we’ll have a comic, an influencer and a musical guest every show, and it’s been a great success so far.”
To date, guest influencers on the show have included Mitsy Sanderson, Rusty Featherstone and Brittany Furlan. Guest comedians include Jesse “Jetski” Johnson, Mat Edgar and Sandy Danto, and the musical lineup has featured the Palms, Starcrawler, Cisco Adler, Felly and Wild Child.
“I just want to have fun with this format and see where it goes,” Shore said after a taping of an episode that featured musical guest Corey Feldman. “At this point in my life, it’s about having fun and surrounding myself with good people. I care about these guys, and what they are doing at Jam in the Van has been cool.”
Shore is passionate and dedicated to pumping out new content for his show but says his true love is touring the country doing stand-up. That currently includes dates on his one-man show “Stick With the Dancing: Funny Stories From My Childhood.”
“My show is just what it’s called, I just tell all these wild, funny stories about my childhood,” says Shore. “Since I grew up in comedy, these are some legendary people I got to hang out with. But for my career in comedy, at some point in high school I took it seriously, because you have to be serious in this industry. You can’t ever have a mind-set that things will come to you, you have to put in work.
“I never want to stop playing comedy shows, or touring. I have a lot of people out there across America that love my style, and I still pinch myself all the time, when I sell out clubs. I think f—, why do these people wanna see me? It’s still crazy, but I could not be happier.”
Shore said that performing stand-up is a form of therapy for him. “Lots of comics and musicians have met early ends, so you know there’s a darker side to comedy for many,” he says. “But I avoided that, because I don’t have an addictive personality; I can stop drinking or partying. Mostly, I find myself sad and depressed more now than I was a kid, but that’s just because my parents died.”
Aside from his grief, Shore said he’s content focusing on his new show and comedy tour. “I still have my joys in life. Life is great. I’m a very humble dude. I don’t live a lavish lifestyle with a huge-ass mansion or an expensive car. I just love doing stand-up.”
Shore recently hosted a comedy night at the Jam in the Van Studios, called “Do You Want to Open for Pauly Shore?” Several up-and-coming L.A.-area comics competed for a chance to open for Shore on one of his tours of the Midwest. The show was taped and was released in September. “One of my big passions is giving back to my community, so I loved this show,” says Shore. “It was such a blast!”
After all these years, Shore says he’s flattered and grateful for fans of his films from the ’90s. “I love it that I have dedicated fans after all these years and some new ones — it’s remarkable,” he says. “ I meet a lot of them out on the road in Middle America, and it feels nice. One thing’s for sure, I will be out and about on the road till the end of the year, and I couldn’t have it any other way. I will be touring till I die.”
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