David Spade discusses Instagram Stories, ‘Lights Out’ and returing to Aspen

With a successful career in film, TV, and even writing two books, comedian David Spade still manages to find time for his stand-up comedy. Returning to Aspen for his third consecutive year, Spade is set to headline Belly Up Aspen for two shows Thursday.

“I think I still do stand-up because it got me everywhere,” Spade said in a recent phone interview. “I do it because it’s hard and it’s good to be challenged by that and see if I can still keep up. The hard part is the travel on me but once you’re there and you drink 3 gallons of water in Aspen and get your oxygen tank, you’re fine.”

Spade has been especially busy lately with his new show “Lights Out.” The 30-minute late-night program, which premiered on Comedy Central last summer. is essentially a panel with Spade and various guests who break down the pop culture headlines of the day.

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“I’m generally an upbeat, happy person,” Spade said. “I’m generally up for bulls—ing or being light on my feet. I’m lucky I’m doing a show that’s fun and it’s in (Los Angeles). People like to watch the show because it looks like it’s just a fun bulls— session.”

Spade’s Instagram stories actually birthed the idea and the concept for “Lights Out.” Over time, Instagram stories have become a useful platform for Spade’s comedy. He takes ordinary things like leaf blowers, episodes of “The Bachelor” and items from the newspaper and makes them relatable and funny.

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Spade missed out on MySpace, so he particularly took a liking to Instagram. Fans, he noted, may have seen him in a movie that took three months to make and a year to come out. So, they haven’t seen him in anything in over a year.

“In between those times, I think of jokes every day,” Spade said. “There’s definitely a little audience on Instagram, like a cult following, and they like the stories.”

“The funny thing is, if I don’t do it for three days, it’s OK because I don’t get paid. It’s just like a free TV show,” he added. “I do it a lot more than I probably should, and I love it.”

Eventually, someone messaged Spade from a TV studio and asked, “Why don’t you turn this into a show for us?”

With this new show, there is a constant need for new content and new jokes. Asked about how he gets inspired and overcomes writer’s block, Spade responded: “It’s just basically a whole new way of living and using a new muscle. I used to peak at night because I did stand-up but now, I’m more nervous and energized at 2:30 in the afternoon because I get up and I know there’s a deadline.”

During Spade’s six-year span working on “Saturday Night Live,” he was known for being extremely snarky toward celebrities during the show’s “Weekend Update” segment. Since his time on “SNL,” Spade has grown significantly in popularity over the years and has actually becomes friends with people who he previously made jokes about.

“Overall, my policy is if you’re going to do something goofy or stupid, I get one free joke,” Spade said. “I’m not going to go out of my way to start hammering people. I don’t want to be mean. I like when the jokes are clever. We want this show to be on a long time and I don’t want it to be known as the mean show. It’s not a roast. Let’s just have fun and keep the jokes smart.”

Despite everything Spade has accomplished over the course of his career, he claims he still gets the most feedback about “Joe Dirt” and “Tommy Boy.” “I love ‘Joe Dirt,’” Spade said. “Growing up in Arizona, we knew these kind of dirtballs, walking around with no shirt on holding a gas can. I just said, ‘What’s that guy’s life like?’ Then we just wrote a whole thing about it. That might be my favorite thing I’ve ever done.”

Aside from Spade’s show on Comedy Central, fans can look out for his new movie coming out on Netflix called “The Wrong Missy,” expected to come out in mid-April.

“We did it right before the show started,” Spade said. “The last thing I could do and now I don’t know if I can do anything else because the show is so overwhelming. Look for it to come out. It’s a big R-rated comedy. It’s going to be great.”