Comic offers junk food for thought

When comedian Jim Gaffigan needs inspiration for his stand-up routine, he looks to the low end of American life.

Gaffigan loves to romanticize about lying on the sofa, eating unhealthy food like Hot Pockets and piles of bacon, or making a late-night Waffle House run.

He plays a stereotypical American - whiny and ultra-lazy - like few other comedians. That could be why so many Americans relate to Gaffigan.

"I'm an observational guy," Gaffigan said. "I like to take topics that are mundane or everyday and make them funny."

Food has played a prominent role in Gaffigan's routine for years. His 2003 album, The Last Supper, is mostly about two things: food and Jesus.

His three albums since then have all featured bits about food. Gaffigan's routine about Hot Pockets ("They should just come with a roll of toilet paper") quickly became one of his most famous.

When Gaffigan began writing material for his latest album and DVD, King Baby, he said he promised himself he wouldn't talk about food. Then he came up with a sketch about bacon.

"You want to know how good bacon is? To improve other food, they wrap bacon in it."

The act was too good for Gaffigan to resist.

"I didn't want to censor myself," Gaffigan said. "If it was funny, it was funny. If I was considered 'the food guy,' I didn't really care. You have no control over it."

Gaffigan caved and ended up putting tons of food-related material into King Baby. King Baby (the same title is used for the CD and DVD) was released in March.

With bacon fever sweeping across the country, inspiring thousands of bacon-themed products, now is a good time to be a bacon-loving comedian, Gaffigan said.

An Indiana native, Gaffigan, 43, lives in New York with his wife, Jeannie, and their three children. After the kids go to bed, Gaffigan and Jeannie sit down and toss around ideas for his routine.

They are working on a piece about narcissism and how demanding and spoiled people can be. Gaffigan also posts one-liners on his Twitter page, and sometimes he can build a sketch around them.

"For me, coming up with a new joke is just the best high you'll ever get," Gaffigan said. "It's amazing."

Gaffigan hesitates to use curse words or get too obscene in his routines. It wouldn't fit his "colloquial" style, he said. In turn, Gaffigan's audience is usually composed of a wide range of people.

Using common themes such as laziness and junk food has given him broad appeal.

"It's holding up a mirror to our culture," he said. "We all want to sit on the couch. We all want to eat these things that are going to kill us."