If you’re searching for a patriotic comedian for the Fourth of July, Steven Rogers is the perfect choice. Sharing a name with Marvel’s Captain America, there’s more to him than just a clever coincidence.
Roots of a Patriot
His family’s story is a traditional patriotic one, with ancestors immigrating from England and Italy. His mother’s great-grandparents came to America, while his grandmother on his father’s side came over as a baby. “I do have a picture of their Ellis Island entry, which is pretty cool,” he said. Many in Rogers’s family have served in the military, supporting the country that has provided those citizens and later generations with opportunity. His maternal grandfather served in World War II. He says his paternal grandfather was desperate to enlist but couldn’t because of vision issues. Rogers had an uncle in the Air Force and has several cousins in the military.
Rogers expresses his love of country differently—by bringing back a bit of Americana from the golden age of comedy: clean jokes without a political agenda. He recognizes that comedy can unite in a time of political polarization. Many late-night hosts take political stances that drive away half their potential audience. “This is one of the reasons I stay away from it in my act. Everyone’s passionate about the subject, and it can get heated. For me, it never goes in a direction that’s humorous at all.”
After high school, he attended community college and worked at a grocery store, which he says wasn’t remotely challenging. “Bored out of my mind? Absolutely.” But there was a silver lining to the job—two, actually: some free time and the realization that he wasn’t cut out for a typical 9-to-5 job. His sense of humor helped him get through it. “I would take the receipt paper from the register and write ideas on the paper. In any free moment, I was trying to think of jokes. And I think it was good for me to be bored.”
Once he chose his career path, he decided to keep the jokes clean.
“First of all, I was heavily inspired by late-night sets, which were all clean. And, I also like the challenge; it forces me to be more creative with restrictions on myself.”
Rogers believes that humor can be found anywhere, even during a medical test. “I got an MRI. That’s where you tell your doctor, ‘Hey, I’m worried I’m gonna die.’ Yeah, don’t worry. We have a machine that looks like a coffin.”
Starting out, he learned not only from other comedians, but also from audiences, not necessarily which jokes worked, but what his true style should be. “I like being silly and cartoonish, and it kind of naturally went that way. It seemed more like my voice. Anytime I strayed away from it in the beginning, the audience let me know pretty quickly—that’s not who you are.”
There was a lot of trial and error in his early performances. “In the beginning, you’re trying all these different hats on, voices. … Who am I? And the audience is super helpful in what they think you are and who you are. And together, we realized clean is my route.” He’s gotten lots of positive feedback on his style. “I have people come up and thank me after, for being clean, and I’m always happy that they’re happy. I like that they can be comfortable and relax and not have to worry if I’m gonna offend.”
A Holiday Tradition
As for the Fourth, you won’t find Steven Rogers on stage, nor many other comedians either. “Fourth of July is my favorite holiday. It’s one that I can always celebrate. … It’s one of the worst days to do stand up. Nobody wants to be indoors. So I can always celebrate guilt free.”
Now living in Queens, New York, he and other comedians have created a tradition.
“We’re from all over the country. We all moved to New York to be comedians. So we get together, go to a baseball game—usually the cheapest one. We do some sort of picnic or cookout, go to the game, and then we’re basically there for the fireworks at the end.”
In the future, Rogers anticipates reflecting on this time in his career and those Fourth of July gatherings with other comedians. “We’re just chasing our dream and doing the best we can, making all these friends along the way. So I love that day very much, and … I’m keeping those memories close.”
From July Issue, Volume VI
