Lewis Black takes his rants on the road LOUD & ANGRY

October 8, 2013 at 12:00a.m.

A couple of years ago, comedian Louis CK changed the business model by releasing a new comedy special direct to fans as a download. The move proved successful with others following suit.

As for ranting funnyman Lewis Black, he took a different approach for his latest special “Old Yeller.” For years “The Daily Show” contributor, author and touring comedian dreamed of performing a nationally televised live stand-up special. However, his demographics – being slightly older than Louis CK’s fan base – proved problematic, which led to Black recently offering the live show not only online but also on pay-per-view.

“I didn’t know how else to get a live show on television,” said Black, calling from outside St. Louis. “I couldn’t do it through Showtime or HBO. I could do it possibly through Comedy Central, but I knew this was something I wanted to get it down quickly. That’s the reason why we ended up doing it this way. I can’t say that it is as successful as I would have liked it to be because I think people don’t normally do pay-per-view unless you’re watching wrestling or fights. But I was stuck. I didn’t want to put it just on the computer because I would lose 40 percent of my audience.”

Never one to shy away from a rant, Black, who plans on releasing the live special on DVD soon, is still dismayed by the lack of mainstream media attention not only given to the pay-per-view show but his career overall. Specifically, he’s perplexed by Rolling Stone magazine’s lack of interest in his comedy.

“I have no idea why,” Black said. “There’s a part of me that just wants to call Rolling Stone and say, ‘What did I do to you? How have I never been even considered for anything?’ Even when there was kind of a crest when ‘Back in Black’ was big and I was on every other week, Rolling Stone took no notice of it. It’s a stunning blow.”

Whatever the case, Black remains committed to the road, including a return to Northeast Ohio with a show Thursday at Stambaugh Auditorium. He said his current set includes roughly 20 minutes from “Old Yeller,” about a half hour of new material and then also some old jokes about legalizing marijuana and global warming that he feels are as relevant as ever.

Also, Black has added some crowd work into his set, which is of the digital variety. During intermission he scrolls through Twitter questions and comments that end up becoming a new third of his set every night.

“I like it because you’re getting an immediacy, finding out what’s on the mind of your audience,” Black said.

A former playwright who started stand-up in the ’80s, the loud and angry comic has released numerous DVDs over the years, as well as appeared as an actor in television and film. His next feature film is actually a voiceover gig for Pixar cartoon “Inside Out.” Not surprisingly, Black provides the angry voice of a 12-year-old.

If anyone can get spittle-flying irate with hilarious results, it’s Black. Still, does he feel pigeonholed by his angry persona?

“I’m fine with it,” Lewis said. “I think the good news is, you’re the angry rant guy. The bad news is, you’re the angry rant guy. So you have to live with it. The major networks don’t get it. I’m a bit more than that but that’s fine because I like doing it. Look, in the end I get to wander around the country getting to say what I want to say and that’s about as lucky as anybody can be.”