Telling jokes for 40-plus hours is no laughing matter.
That — with some breaks — is what Memphis standup comedian Benny Elbows plans to do between 6 a.m. April 25th through 10:15 p.m. April 26th at “40 + Hours of Stand-up” at the Hi Tone at 282-284 North Cleveland Street.
Elbows, 40, will try to break the current Guinness Book of World Records record, which belongs to a comedian who did 40 hours and eight minutes straight.
It’s not going to be easy.
“There are a lot of rules,” Elbows says. “I get a rest break. Every hour you perform, you get a five-minute break.”
But he can bank his breaks. So, Elbows plans to take a break every two or three hours and then take a couple of 30-minute naps on the second day. “I’m trying to use them judiciously and save enough up to get a nap or two.”
Another Guinness rule is that comedians must have at least 10 people in the audience at all times or they will be disqualified. Elbows has been in a “mad scramble” on social media trying “to raise awareness” about his upcoming comedy marathon.
He has to have witnesses to make sure at least 10 people are there. “They can’t be associated with me. Monday, I called a staffing agency to hire staff to come in and observe and fill out the log books required by Guinness.”
He’s allowed to repeat his material — “a joke or a bit” — every four hours. “And at the beginning of the last hour I’m going to try to record an album.”
Asked to describe his brand of humor, Elbows says, “I remember years ago someone talked to me after the show and they said, ‘I can’t tell if you’re a really smart dumb person or a really dumb smart person.’ I think that’s about it. I try to reach for interesting topics or things I think are interesting that no one else is talking about. But, sometimes, at the same time talking about me personally. And then it also ends up being pretty silly. I don’t take myself seriously. I’m out there trying to make people laugh.”
Elbows has a game plan. “I’m probably going to start off and immediately look at my notes. I imagine that happening. I’ll immediately forget all the material.”
He does know what his first joke will be. “My first joke I think I’m starting off with is a dick joke. I feel that’s appropriate. It’s the first joke I ever wrote: ‘I’m a tall guy. People always ask me everywhere I go the same three questions. I’ll go ahead and answer them. ‘I’m 6-10. I played basketball. And it’s a girthy three inches.’”
As for the rest of his material, Elbows says, “I have jokes that I have been fine tuning over the six-year course of me doing standup.”
He likes “doing new things” on stage. “And doing things in different ways. Like I would do improv and I would write sketches. I would write satirical news.”
Comedians don’t have to pigeonhole themselves. “There are so many ways to do it. So many avenues.”
The comedy marathon is “like a new challenge. But also a new opportunity. This is a whole new medium to try to do something new with.”
“One of the challenges is going to be keeping it interesting and coming up with new things to talk about. Of course, I’m going to try to keep it as diverse as possible. I want to keep people laughing through the 40 hours.”
But then there’s another Guinness rule. “Guinness thought of everything. The rule is there can’t be more than a minute silence.”
Elbows isn’t worried about that. “I was at an open mike the other night. I tried to see how long I could be silent. It felt forever, but I think it was five seconds. A minute is an eternity to be silent.”
This isn’t his first comedy marathon. He participated in similar Guinness world record events in Nashville. He was one of multiple comedians in 80-hour marathons. “Each year we beat the record by five minutes.”
A Memphis native, Elbows didn’t grow up cracking jokes for people. “I always had a problem with shyness. Being awkward. That’s who I was growing up.’
He was in high school when he realized he could be funny. A girl who sat next to him in class was his first audience. “I would say snide, sarcastic things behind the teacher’s back. I would make her laugh.”
He thought, “That’s cool. I didn’t know that was a thing.”
Performing standup is just a continuation of that high school experience. “It’s one of the things I really appreciate about standup. People say, ‘Oh, the audience was off tonight,’ or whatever. But you get instant feedback. You know immediately if what you said was funny or not. It’s a true assessment of what they feel about you and about what you’re saying.”
Elbow’s first standup comedy performance on stage was at the old P&H Cafe. “My friend, Mike, who was hosting, said, ‘Just go up. You know that joke you told me.’”
Elbows got up on stage and told his dick joke. “No one laughed.”
But Elbows was hooked. “One of the things I’ve learned is you can have great material, but you have to learn how to deliver it. There’s no substitute for getting on stage and getting the experience.”
Living in Memphis has helped him as a comedian, Elbows says. “Memphis is a very DIY city for a lot of the arts. And especially standup. It’s a place where, if you want to get something done, there’s a place for you to do it. You’ll find people who will work with you. Help you achieve what you want to do.”
Hi Tone owner Brian “Skinny” McCabe is one of those people, he says. When Elbows was a victim of a car jacking in 2018, McCabe, who he’s known for years, was “nice enough to provide a spot for a benefit show.”
Elbows decided to make an album during his Hi Tone marathon because the audio and video equipment are already going to be there. “I might as well get as much out of this as I possibly can and try to record an album. I like the novelty of it. You’re hearing a performance that maybe you would never hear anything like it again. You’re hearing someone who might be stream of consciousness.” And, Elbows adds, “I like the idea of exploring what happens to a comedian when they have to perform for 40 hours straight.”
Admission to “40 + Hours of Stand-up” is free, but people must register for the last hour when the album is being made. To register, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-40th-hour-a-world-record-and-stand-up-album-recording-tickets-1275432576169
