When comedian Mike Cronin composed The Hipster Song to make fun of hipsters, he began to appreciate their qualities. I love a good cocktail, said Cronin. When I see a guy with a curly mustache, lighting an orange peel on fire, I know Im about to have the best Old Fashioned Ive ever had. Cronin will be in town Sunday for one night only when he headlines The Caravans post-St. Patricks Day show called the St. Vernons Day Comedy Party.
LEO: What was growing up in Cincinnati like? Mike Cronin: I didnt really love living in Cincinnati. Actually, I hated it. But I had really cool friends and a great school, so it wasnt terrible. I was the youngest, I have two older brothers. The middle one complains that I was spoiled. Really, my parents were older and just didnt care anymore. So I got away with a little more. They were just kind of phoning it in for a little bit.
Did you come from a funny home? My father had really bad anger issues. He still does. He just flips out irrationally over the smallest things. My mother taught us to respond to his outbursts by laughing at him. Hopefully, hed see how absurd hes being and wouldnt do it again. It never seemed to work.
Its odd that your mother used laughter to counter anger. Yeah, its not a far leap to see how I became a comedian. Also, both of my brothers were three-sport athletes, so I spent a lot of time alone. My parents would be gone to games or meets with their teams, and I pretty much sat at home and watched Comedy Central. I became obsessed with stand-up watching guys like Dave Chappelle, Zach Galifianakis and Dave Attell. I was memorizing the bits and repeating them to other people. Finally, my buddy was like, You know youve never said anything original that made someone laugh. Now, I have a stand-up career just to spite that guy.
Now that youre a comic, do you get intimidated watching someone at the top of their game like Chappelle? A little bit. But on one of those new specials, he did a joke almost word for word that I used to do. Its on my album, actually. Dont get me wrong, I dont think Dave Chappelle stole a joke from me. Dave Chappelle doesnt need anybodys help. I just thought it was cool that we thought of the same idea. It was kind of an honor.
Youre a drinker. Louisvillians are drinkers. Whats your funniest drunk story? Probably my DUI. Trust me, it was dumb I was stupid. Dont ever drink and drive. But I got pulled over. I didnt realize it at the time, but somehow I was driving on three wheels. There were tree branches in my grill. I lost a mirror. Somehow I lost a tire and was just driving on the rim. The cop pulled me over and was like, Do you know why I stopped you? I looked at him and said, Honestly, I have no idea. I had to pay court costs and the city back for road repairs. Im the only person who wrecked into the road itself.
Since its a St. Patricks Day show, whats the best part of St. Patricks Day? St. Patricks Day and New Years are the two days when people who dont drink try to be drinkers. Its so much fun to sit back and watch them epically fail at that. Someone is five drinks in, and theyre blackout drunk, throwing up on the beads theyre wearing around their neck. Im three or four in and like, Man, I dont even feel buzzed.
Youve had nearly 1,000,000 views on your video for The Hipster Song. What is the best thing about hipsters? The best is their food. They have amazing food. Oh, and drinks, too. I love a good cocktail. When I see a guy with a curly mustache lighting, an orange peel on fire, I know Im about to have the best Old Fashioned Ive ever had.
Would you consider yourself a hipster? I think its funny. When we did that video, and we were showing examples of all the different kinds of hipsters, it seems like it was all just research to show what we were going to wear for the next 10 years. It was like a self-fulfilling prophecy. I only wear flannel and hoodies anymore. Thats the one thing about hipsters they always look comfortable.