JUST FOR LAUGHS

Jeff Batts isn't afraid to test his comedy material on an unfamiliar, sometimes hostile crowd.

In fact, winning tough crowds over to his brand of humor has become Batts's specialty. "I told the booking agent, Bubba Sonders, I'd be good for this club because it's just getting started and might take some proven material to win the people over," said Batts, who did just that on one of Rutherford's Comedy Club On Tour nights recently.

After Batts spent nearly an hour's worth of his material on the crowd, he was met with applause, appreciative handshakes and back-slapping compliments.

"It helped having a local act precede me," said Batts, a native of Benton, Ill., who followed The Gopher Boys, a singing and joke-slinging duo from Jackson. "The Gopher Boys have their friends in the audience and they're good enough to get them warmed up for my material," said Batts, who has appeared on MTV and the Arts and Entertainment cable channels.

Batts, who has worked in much larger cities than Cape Girardeau for over five years, indicated the first month of a comedy concept can make or break a club's reputation. "If I go out there and die, I guarantee you the word will spread that this isn't good entertainment and the people who came tonight won't be back," he said. "Live comedy has been on the down side for some time, partly because there are some bad acts on television and partly because a lot of people have been trying to do the same thing. I'm hoping it will make its way back to what it was in the '80s."

Sandy Smith and Mary Haertling plan to be back in the near future. "I was here a few weeks ago and liked it, so I took my friend Mary here for her birthday," said Smith of Jonesboro,Ill. "You have a good act, some funny stuff," said Smith to Batts at the conclusion of the 90-minute show. "Come back and catch somebody else's act," suggested Batts, who indicated he will likely return to Rutherford's in a month or two. "You can't bring the same material back too soon or it just won't work," he said.

Batts is just one of several comedians from across the country who will take center stage Saturday night at Rutherford's in the Plaza Galleria in Cape. Sonders proved he can work in more than one phase of the business. Sonders drew several rounds of applause with his material.

Rutherford's owner Ron Mix indicated he was looking for something to lure new customers into his establishment on Saturday nights. "I wanted to offer something that maybe an older crowd could like yet still make it appealing to a young audience as well," said Mix. "I wanted to offer something for a date night.

"Our first night we drew 50 people, the second weekend we had 110 and the third around 130. Some of these people have never been in here before."

The 90-minute comedy show each Saturday begins at 8 p.m. and is followed by a Retro-Rock Dance Party from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The comedy club circuit works well for Batts, who just signed on with WQRL Radio of Benton, Ill., as the morning personality.

"I could work in bigger cities than Cape Girardeau or Evansville, Ind., but then I wouldn't be close to my 5-year-old son," said Batts. "I don't want him growing up in New York or Los Angeles. I want him to know what it's like to grow up in small town-America, where values are very much a way of life."

Batts uses the road experiences and moments of self-discovery while growing up in Benton, Ill., in his routine. "You build your material by what you've experienced and what others tell you about their lives," he explained. "I made fun of Marble Hill and Fruitland tonight, but I make sure that it's an innocent kind of humor. I like to go out and talk to the crowd and get them involved. After awhile they begin to think they're part of the routine."

As one comic at Rutherford's noted,"Hey, come on people. It's comedy. Sure, just read the sign. Comedy on Tour. So lighten up a little. Have some laughs on me."