200,000 Facebook Friends Can't Be Wrong

Steve Hofstetter said Paris Hilton being famous shows us that nothing is truly important anymore. He has a reoccurring dream in which a press conference is being held and the human race is being rounded up, and someone will say, "oh, shiny!"\nThe head writer for college humor.com who hosts a show, "4 Quotas," on Sirius Satellite Radio, in addition to writing for ESPN and Maxim is hitting it big. His comedy album, "Cure for the Cable Guy," is enjoying 14 straight weeks on the comedy charts. And he has way more facebook friends than you.\nHe comes back to Bears Place for two Saturday gigs and one on Monday at the legendary Comedy Caravan. Hofstetter looks forward to his return to the spot of his first road gig and the first place to put his picture on the wall. Comedy Caravan at Bears place has a rich history, holding down a Guinness Book of World Record for longest running one-night comedy series since 1983. \n"It was my first road gig, and this is probably the 15th time I've performed here in four years. I absolutely love it."\nKnown as the "thinking man's comic," Hofstetter's is enjoying the success of his first album, which is making a statement about comedy's place in our culture. He attacks Larry the Cable Guy for "promoting ignorance that promotes the downward spiral our country is on."\nDan Whitney's character, Larry the Cable Guy of Blue Collar Comedy fame, upsets Hofstetter. Not because Whitney creates a fake persona, but because Whitney is unwilling to accept that it's just a persona. \n"Sacha Baron Cohen is Ali G, but he's still Sacha Baron Cohen," Hofstetter said, "He's not credited in other movies as Ali G." \nIt's important to Hofstetter that people research what they're interested in, so they can have an educated conversation. \n"Not everyone has to be into politics and religion, but you should at least know what you're talking about," he said. "If your political conversation includes the words Nascar, Jesus, or dill hole, it's not a political conversation." \nOn the surface Hofstetter's topics may come across as controversial, but he stresses looking beyond the surface of the words and focusing on the meanings. Though he may talk about taboo subjects like race and Terri Schiavo, he insists he's not as interested in shock value as he is in talking about things that need to be discussed.\n"In the short run, shock value sells, but in the long run truth works," he said. "I know people will be shocked by a Terri Schiavo joke, but I say it not to shock people, but because I fully believe in it."\nHofstetter said hate mail, riddled with spelling errors, floods his mail box by people who don't take the time to make sense of the words. Listeners hear volatile words and assume he's making insensitive jokes, but he said it's necessary to listen for the meaning. \n"If people understood the meanings of words there would be no such thing as light ranch dressing," he said.\nTelling a joke once or twice on stage, that you're not completely invested in, is OK with Hofstetter, but he said if you're going to tell a joke for a couple years, you better be prepared to stand by it.\n"I stand by almost everything I say, because I think before I speak, which is rare."\nTo avoid becoming stale, Hofstetter is constantly writing new material and is working up bits for a new album. Of his 45 minute set he likes to have about 20 minutes of new stuff. \n"I write all the time," he said. "If you want to hear the classics, get the CD."\nHofstetter's ungodly number of facebook and 400,000 myspace friends has attracted jealousy and he even had to get friends to help him accept all his friendship requests. \n"It's funny, because some schools are trying to ban it," Hofstetter said. "If anyone blames facebook for their problems, then they really don't understand their problems."\nLike most comics, Hofstetter had to build up his act over time, struggling through some early sets.\n"Everybody bombs, Everybody Bombs," Hofstetter said again with emphasis. "You only get better if you have a bad show."\nWith his CD still hot on the charts, it seems Hofstetter has been hitting way more than he misses lately. His set runs through a wide variety of subject. He said when he performs, "there is no subject that is taboo." He is excited about coming back to Bloomington to try out new material and maybe add a few facebook friends. \n"Bloomington is a bit of an oasis. It's always been wonderful to me," he said.