The Skegss’ Benny Reed Guide To Comedy

Words by Milo Cullen-Blakey. Photos by Kale Neville.

Everybody knows the Skegss are gonna keep making great music.

You just can’t deny how good catchy guitar rock makes you feel. They strip it back and give us exactly what we want: singing and dancing. We love the Skeggs, but does anyone know what they love? I asked Benny Reed what he could possibly be into other than music, and it turns out the answer is comedy. Not surprising, since he’s a pretty funny guy himself. Here, he speaks to me about what draws him to comedy and I badger him about whether he’d ever do some stand-up. And if you want to do your ears a favour, go check out their new single Out of My Head. You’ll be singing along by your second listen.

Why comedy?

I guess there’s a couple of answers to that but I would probably say there’s something beautiful in laughing about each other and what we are as a species. Comedy helps define all the different stereotypes of people and their traits, cultures, subcultures, whatever. Everyone can laugh at each other in a way where you’re not judging, more accepting the ‘that’s how it is’ of it all. It’s about letting yourself not be so serious about those things you typically would be.

You got a flavour you prefer, or are you pretty general?

There’s this style of comedy I really like, where somebody can state the obvious about everyday things or situations, which no one else has said out loud yet. You’re going, 'how didn’t anyone else think of that?' Carl Barron’s pretty good at it, picking at all the things we as Australians share. I can’t imagine whether or not it would translate well to other countries though since it’s very observational, but that’s what makes it special. People love to laugh at it cause they’re like 'that’s sick, I do that! Maybe I’m not that doughy!' It’s refreshing to hear if you’re dealing with some insecurity. 

When did you first discover comedy?

I remember in one of those stupid dude magazines back in the day, they’d sometimes come with DVDs. I remember putting one on that had a bunch of stand-up and it wasn’t that good, but there were definitely funny parts. It’s one of those things where you gotta have patience, cause the great bits are really gonna stick with you.

Do you feel like it’s had an impact on your music or performing?

Maybe, it’s hard to say. One concept I always thought about was even if their gig bombs, they look at it more like 'that was a shit night' than 'I’m bad'. I think it’s cool they don’t expect things to always be perfect. When I hear them talk about that, I don’t feel as rattled if I kook it on stage. You always got that chance to redeem yourself. On the lyric side of things though, I’ve always loved a bit of wordplay. For jokes, you got puns which are a bit cheesy, but they can be nailed if it’s a double entendre or something. I find it fascinating when you’re roped in with a decoy and then hit with the underlying meaning a couple seconds later. It pumps me up and lyrically it's a bit of a goal, whether or not people are even paying attention to that stuff. 

What’s your comedy set looking like, Benny?

I reckon I’d go mind blank. I don’t think I’d have a natural instinct for that sort of thing. There’s crew that are more funny with banter when having beers, but that doesn’t translate to getting on stage and reading a room. But I think that’s why it’s fascinating, because you have someone who grew up in the comedy club or the pub, and learnt the stereotypes of all the people who went there to zone out after work. Learning to read people is a craft that takes a lot of time, and it’s pretty rare that you’re gonna go up there and do good your first time. I like the idea of it though.

Any closing thoughts?

Yeah, the only presentation training you get at school are those mandatory speeches you do every year, which I reckon rattles kids more than helping them. Sometimes I’ll be like 'what if I do a random open mic night just so I can get better at presenting to people. Probably not though, definitely not my forte.