Comedic duo Keith and Kenny Lucas — known as The Lucas Brothers — were not always comedians. The 33-year-old twins, best known for their animated show “Lucas Bros Moving Co” and roles in the 2014 comedy sequel “22 Jump Street,” both formerly studied philosophy and law before deciding to pursue other passions.
Now, back on tour after their Netflix special, “The Lucas Bros: On Drugs,” and working alongside Judd Apatow on HBO’s “Crashing,” the Lucas Bros are meshing their past and present.
Scheduled to appear at the Once Ballroom in Somerville Wednesday night, the Lucas Bros explained how their stories and personal philosophies influence their comedy.
DFP: How would you describe your creative process?
Kenny: When it comes to stand-up or joke writing, I would say it’s very organized but also kind of chaotic. One person gets a germ of an idea, and we’ll discuss it with each other and try to beat it out so that we have some semblance of a joke before we try it out onstage.
When it comes to script writing, we’ll outline the entire story together, and then one person will write the first half and the other will write the second half, and then we’ll edit it together and then swap.
DFP: What is it like working as brothers?
Kenny: It’s helpful because you have someone to shoot ideas off of, and you have someone who you collaborate with, and you’re never really lonely. I think it takes a lot of the pressure off of the individual when you’re working with a partner.
Keith: I agree with everything Kenny said. Being able to have a partner means you get to share the responsibility. I get to brainstorm ideas with him and exchange jokes back and forth. It’s just a fun experience to be able to go through this whole moment with him.
DFP: Is there a theme for this tour?
Kenny: It’s about evolution, essentially. We really examine our history, how we started off very religious and then sort of lost our religion and grace to materialism and nihilism and went to the brink of serious depression, only to realize that there are larger ideals out there in the world that you can embrace.
I think that’s the key for us — how do you transition from being narcissitically materialistic to actually caring about the rest of the world and the environment and yourself, in particular?
DFP: Is it hard to take serious topics like this and turn them into jokes or is that your way of thinking through most things?
Kenny: It’s not hard, depending on your purpose. We’re not trying to persuade or convince anyone of our particular leanings, be it philosophical or political. I think that our approach is so light that people will be able to take it in and not feel as if we’re being too strident or preachy.
DFP: Is there any catalyst for your return to spirituality?
Kenny: Living in Hollywood and seeing the excessive nature of consumption and individuality and narcissism and greed and just being in the belly of the beast for almost three years and saying to myself, “I don’t want to live that sort of lifestyle.”
I became introverted and started turning back to philosophy, which I studied in college. One of the big things in philosophy is to constantly examine who you are and what your ethical system is. It’s a constant process of self-examination to become a better person.
Keith: We grew up as Baptist Christians, and as much as people dog on religion, it does help ground you spiritually. If we find a way to divorce spirituality from the institution of religion, that would be a dope thing.
DFP: Are you focusing on any specific social or political issues?
Kenny: We’re really trying to examine the metaphysical foundations of race and the war on drugs, and why there’s such a dichotomy in how we apply laws to people of color and how we apply laws to general society.
What does it say about the nature of our criminal justice system and law itself? Why does the system benefit certain groups of people at the expense of others? I think that’s a question that we’ve grappled with for a very long time.
DFP: What are your plans going forward?
Keith: After we film our next special, we have a lot of other projects in mind that we want to keep working on. We’re working on a movie with Judd Apatow — we’re writing that script and then we’re going to produce it.
We’re also working on several TV show ideas and a podcast. We also want to continue to grow spiritually. That’s the most important thing, for me at least. It’s a life project. How can I grow as a better person and be a more positive influence? That’s my goal.
Kenny: I just want to make money — I’m kidding! I share all of his goals, because we’re twins.
