Somebody had to say it.

        That's how funnyman Drew Hastings explains his approach to comedy.

Drew Hastings

        “I say stuff that's very opinionated and it might be shocking to some people,” he says. “If everybody had the ability . . . to get up and rant in public, there'd be a lot of people like me.”

        Mr. Hastings returns to his hometown of Cincinnati this week for a four-night engagement at Go Bananas Comedy Club. He is on tour to promote his new album I'm Just Like You.

        The comedian has lived in Los Angeles for the past nine years. Besides the cheap cigarettes and lower gas prices, what he said he misses most about the Midwest is the civility.

        “The sun sets in Cincinnati,” he says. “In L.A. the sun gives up and drops into the ocean with a bitter hiss.”
       

Humor true to life

        Mr. Hastings describes his act as semi-autobiographical and says he gleans inspiration from his own disillusioning experience as a businessman. Until he was in his 30s, Mr. Hastings worked in a number of professions, including trucking and paper shredding.

IF YOU GO

Who: Comedian Drew Hastings    When: 8:30 p.m. Thursday-Sunday; 10:45 p.m. show Friday and Saturday.    Where: Go Bananas Comedy Club, 8410 Market Place, Montgomery    Tickets: Thursday $10, $5 with student I.D.; Friday $12; Saturday $14; Sunday $10, ladies $5.    Information: 984-9288, www.gobananascomedy.com

        “I shredded documents for all the big downtown business,” he says. “The only problem is I didn't shred them. That's kind of the basis for one of my shows.”

        “He's not for the stupid of stomach,” says Go Bananas general manager John Chung. “It's intriguing and witty with a touch of edge.”

        Mr. Hastings never intended to be a comic, but started performing at local clubs out of disgust.

        “I just got fed up with business, fed up with the corporate world,” he says. “I never felt I quite fit in and I wanted to do something creative with my life.”
       

On the tube

        Mr. Hastings cites two comedians as his main influences: Richard Pryor for his honesty and Woody Allen for his neuroses. He said he likes to rail against institutions in his act, telling stories about his unethical business experiences, and tackling such issues as advertising, television and the media.

        “If Procter & Gamble managed a comedy club act, that's what television is like,” Mr. Hastings says. “The networks play it so safe and innocuous and they're so market driven. They beat the funny out of their material. Then they wonder why they have to cancel shows left and right.”

        “I've also been thinking of taking on Clear Channel, but that would probably take me off the radio stations.”

        In spite of his feelings about the medium, Mr. Hastings says if he were offered his own television show he would not turn it down. In the past he has appeared on several sitcom pilots and made numerous appearances on HBO andThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

        “On the one hand you do want the success that goes with television,” he says. “But on the other hand, you don't want to sell out and do this crap, even if you are making $30,000 a show. Sometimes I think I'm happier working in the comedy clubs, even if it is a harder lifestyle. But if they (the television networks) called and offered a Drew Hastings Show, I wouldn't say no.”
       

Jack Freeman

        As a writer Mr. Hastings has created three one-man shows, the best known of which,The Business of Living, stars himself in the role of fictional motivational speaker Jack Freeman.

        “I've always been fascinated by success speakers, and I don't mean these new touchy-feely guys where success is about self-esteem and a good family,” he says. “I'm talking about the ones who said success is about a Cadillac and a big wad of cash. Success is about a blonde on your arm and getting a big check.”

        “He's the Tony Robbins of the hood,” Mr. Chung says.

        Freeman, Mr. Hastings says, is the dysfunctional success guy.

        “He was successful but on a very small scale,” he said. “He may not have the key to success but he knows how to pick the lock.”

        On his album I'm Just Like You, which was released earlier this month, Mr. Hastings touches on issues of identity and his place in society.

        “Over the last year, I've been working a lot thinking about who we are, about fitting in and not fitting in,” he says. “People said I'm so extreme, so different. I say no I'm just like you.”

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