John Caparulo reminisces about Spokane and reveals how Coke and Bill Maher ripped him off

Leave it to a comic to come up with an amusing or quirky name for their child. April June May is the daughter of the late standup Ralphie May. John Caparulo’s daughter Madden is named after his favorite video game. It’s hardly surprising that the uncompromising humorist would pick a left-of-center moniker for his only child.

Caparulo, 45, who will perform Friday and Saturday at the Spokane Comedy Club, is unpredictable. The observational comic, who was part of “The Blue Collar Comedy Tour” and Vince Vaughn’s “Wild West Comedy Tour,” called from his Las Vegas home to talk about his upcoming shows.

Caparulo revealed how Coke and Bill Maher ripped him off, and he also reminisced about the homeless man he was hanging with in the Spokane Comedy Club green room the last time he was in town.

How difficult was it to not perform for such a long period of time last year?

It was strange. I went four months without performing at all. I have my own residency here in Vegas at Harrah’s. I was performing five nights a week. The pandemic took me out of my routine. When I go back to Spokane, I’ll address the pandemic. If you’re a comic and you don’t talk about the pandemic, you’re not doing your job. So, I will talk about the elephant in the room.

You’ve been doing “Uncapped” shows when you collect topics from the audience. What’s the oddest topic you’ve seen in the hat?

9/11.

You could have responded with Gilbert Gottfried’s classic, which he delivered in New York a few days after the tragedy. “I have to leave early tonight. I have a flight to L.A. I couldn’t get a direct flight. We have to make a stop at the Empire State Building.” When I interviewed Gottfried, I asked him if the joke was delivered too soon. “One guy yelled, ‘Too soon,’ ” Gottfried said. “I thought that meant that I didn’t take a long enough pause between the setup and the punch line.” Hilarious!

Gilbert did what he was supposed to do as a comic. He received all of this backlash, and it was ridiculous.

He received even more backlash when he made the tsunami joke in 2011. He lost his voiceover gig with AFLAC. I asked Gilbert if they knew they hired a comic when he scored the gig.

(Laughs) that’s exactly right. It reminds me of the corporate gigs I’ve had. They pay a lot of money to get my worst show. I tell them they can see me for $15 a ticket at a club, and they’ll see me at my funniest. I’m not a dirty comic, but I’ll drop some obscenities.

I ask at corporate gigs if I can do my normal set, and the guy hiring me will say, “Sure.” When I get there, everything changes. “Can you not drop the F-bombs because our boss is here?” some corporate guy will say. I don’t understand it, but I take their money.

That’s what it’s like for many comics when they sign on for a sitcom. The comics receive a deal and are told the network loves what they do. But things tend to change when the concept is bandied about.

No doubt. I remember early in my career, I got one of those (sitcom) deals. I did this bit about working at a golf course. I got a deal. But then some executive saw “School of Rock” and thought it would be a good idea if kids were part of the show. How does that work with a foul-mouthed guy on a golf course? It didn’t.

Your bit on Pepsi and Coke is hilarious. “Every time I go to a restaurant, ‘What would you like to drink?’ ” “Can I have a Coke?” “Hmmm, is Pepsi OK?” “Oh, is Canadian money OK?” What’s it like when you go to a restaurant, and they ask you what you would like to drink, and when you say Coke, they counter with, “Is Pepsi OK?”

I think, “Didn’t you hear my bit?” My wife is, like, “Here we go again,” whenever that happens at a restaurant.

What was most memorable after your Coke bit became popular?

That Coke actually stole my bit for a radio commercial!

Are you serious?

Yes! I was in a Burger King in Atlantic City, and a Coke Zero commercial came on. A guy asks a server for Coke Zero, and the server says, “Is Pepsi OK?” And he says, “Would it be OK if I paid you in yen?” They just changed the currency for the commercial!

Coke could have at least sent you some cases of product.

I would have settled for a 12-pack. I’ve always loved Coke.

Do you still drink Coke?

I drink sweet tea now since I’m trying to avoid carbonation, but I’m still fat.

Who else ripped you off?

Bill Maher ripped off a bit I did about deer hunting.

What was the joke?

It’s about how a friend said I should go deer hunting. It’ll change my life. It’s an amazing sport. I said for something to be called a sport, both teams should know that it’s a game. Maher ripped it off verbatim. One of his writers must have seen me at a club and gave him the joke. That drove me nuts since I was a lot younger when that happened.

How do you deal with being ripped off now?

I just keep creating. When I was younger, I felt so violated. When you come up with something good, it’s like a piece of gold. You develop it and you hone it, and you can’t help but get mad when someone steals your material, but that’s the business.

Your daughter’s name is Madden. Does it have anything to do with the iconic football coach turned broadcaster turned name of the legendary video game, “Madden”?

Yes. It’s my favorite game. When I wake up, I’m in the can playing “Madden” for two hours every morning.

You should give your daughter one of those telestrators Madden used during his broadcasting days.

That would be awesome! It would be sensory overload!

What’s it like being a parent?

It’s great. My daughter is 5. Every day, we watch cartoons and color, but that’s what I was going to do anyway.

When you think of Spokane, what enters your mind?

There was a homeless guy who came into the green room at the Spokane Comedy Club when I was there. I thought he worked there. He acted like he did. He was going through stuff. But then someone who did work there said, ‘Get out of here!” Until then, I thought he was going to open for me.