Though he still considers himself a stand-up comedian by trade, Greg Behrendt is probably best known as the co-author, along with Liz Tuccillo, of the book He’s Just Not That Into You. That project grew, in part, out of his work as a consultant on the TV series Sex and the City. The success of the book — which was adapted into a star-studded film — led to his own talk show that wound up being nearly nothing like what he had envisioned. In retrospect, he refers to it as “spikey-haired Ricki Lake.”
But there’s more to Behrendt than a wildly successful self-help book and short-lived daytime chat show. He’s a pioneering podcaster and musician, on top of being a husband and father. Last year he was diagnosed with cancer, but after three rounds of chemotherapy, it’s in remission, and he’s never been busier.
CityBeat: A lot of people don’t realize that you and Dave Anthony were on the ground floor of podcasting with Walking the Room. Is the show ever coming back?
Greg Behrendt: Walking the Room was great. I’m very proud of it. It was a really interesting part of my life, but not one I want to revisit. But I’m glad it’s on audio for my daughters to dig up later on and just be entirely disappointed in their dad.
CB: Your new podcast, Greg Behrendt and his Flying White Falcon Podcast, is a bit different. What prompted you to do a live show?
GB: That’s sort of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants thing. Somebody gave me an hour to fill at The Improv and that’s what I decided to do with it. I’m still trying to figure out what that show is. I’m doing another podcast with the old lead singer of Thelonious Monster (Bob Forrest) — who is Dr. Drew’s partner in Celebrity Rehab — called Just Keep Them Alive, which is about raising kids.
CB: Do you get to spend a lot of time with your family given all of the projects you’re involved in?
GB: Most comics get that first couple of days of the week to be home all the time. And I spend quite a lot of time with them. If I’m not onstage somewhere, I’m with my family. I don’t have, or really need, much of a social life. I prefer their company to everyone else’s. I’m a bit of a recluse when I come home. I’m really just involved in whatever my girls are doing, or whatever my wife is doing. My wife and I are still writing. We have a book coming out in May called How to Keep Your Marriage from Sucking.
CB: You don’t seem to be as engaged in social media. Why is that?
GB: Recently I just stopped going on any of it. I have them for promotional purposes, but I find they don’t even work well for that anymore. There’s just so much, and it’s an echo chamber of your own taste sometimes. I just got off and wondered what kind of art I would create if I were less plugged in and more aware of my natural environment. It’s been so far so good.
CB: So are you feeling more connected with the real world?
GB: After being sick last year, I realized I wasn’t thinking about my Facebook page. I was worried about spending time with people that I love and being in the world more. I just wanted to be part of the human experience a little bit more. I think there’s a kind of connection with the Internet, but there’s kind of a danger in it as well. The news cycle is so fast and people are missing important facts — it gets to be unhealthy. We become less thoughtful and we’re on to the next thing.
CB: Is your surf instrumental band The Reigning Monarchs still active?
GB: Yes, we’re working on a record. Our drummer, Blair (Sinta), has been out on the road with Idina Menzel, and Mike (Eisenstein) is putting Letters to Cleo back together. We have recorded and are literally waiting for Mike to finish mixing it and putting it together. I don’t really care about having records, though, I just want to play in front of people.
CB: Are you into contemporary music at all?
GB: I usually end up liking a song four years later. I’ll say to my daughters, “Hey, I really like this alt-J song,” and they’ll say, “It’s four years old!” My wife and my girls are way more into it than I am.
GREG BEHRENDT performs Thursday-Sunday at Funny Bone Liberty. More info: liberty.funnybone.com.
This article appears in Mar 23-30, 2016.