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BACK ISSUES INTERVIEWS Stand-Up Comedians Jim Norton Robert Kelly Donnell Rawlings Brad Stine Tammy Pescatelli Leighann Lord George Sarris Nick DiPaolo Russ Meneve Shang and more By Tasha Harris, NYC Comedy Journalist STAGE TIME The Magazine That Stands Up For Comedy |
It’s been said that the comedy scene here has become cliquish and there’s snobbery?
What are your thoughts on that?
It is a little cliquey. It’s even cliquier than you think. Each club has their own favorite people.
So, if you’re not one of their favorite people, you might have an attitude towards them…
Of course, there are cliques like anything else. You’re going to hang out with people you like.
Is there snobbery? Yeah, there’s a little bit of snobbery as well. Sometimes the edgier
comedians are frowned upon and [perceived] to have to depend on profanity to do well, which
is actually inaccurate. Dave Attell and Jim Norton are both very edgy but are extremely funny.
They are more talented than anybody who could possibly even make a claim towards that.
It’s all tastes. It’s what you like. And the alternative comedy, that’s one of the semi-new words.
Nobody is even sure what it is. I don’t even know what it is. It’s more – I don’t want to bad
mouth anybody, not that I’m going to badmouth anybody – but that’s the kind of snobbery
kind of crowd that I think people – that the question I think you mean – this alternative comedy
crowd, I’m not sure what their deal is. If it’s funny, it’s funny. If it’s not, it’s not. It’s all a matter
of taste.
Some people think Carrot Top is funny and some people hate his guts. I met the guy at Aspen
Comedy Festival and he was one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He came up and introduced
himself to me. And another high-profile guy barely shook my hand.
I come in peace. I’m not a fan. Nobody’s higher; nobody’s lower. I treat Gypsy – if Gypsy
makes the article, I’ll really crack up – who is the homeless guy who lives on my block, I treat
Gypsy the same way I treat Michael Eisner when I seen him at the Beverly Hills Polo Lounge –
the same way.
I met Michael Eisner and I cracked a Jewish joke to him and my friend was like, “Are you out
of your mind? That’s Michael Eisner.” I’m like, “Is he laughing? My friend’s like, “Yeah, he’s
laughing.” [I said,] “Did he ask us to sit down and have coffee? He thought it was funny.”
[My friend] says, “You don’t talk like that to him.” I'm like, “Well, obviously you do talk to
him like that. So many people with their head up in their ass and he doesn’t need another
one. And I’m not going to be another one.”
I do my own thing. Most people take me the right way but as I’m told by a lot of people, the
higher up you go, the more you’re going to be disliked. Being a true a leader is assuming the
risk that you’re not going to be liked by a lot of people. I’m doing the best I can and I get it
done. I have no axe to grind with anybody. I come into the situation neutral and if my opinion
changes, it changes.
What advice do you have for comics submitting tapes to the festival?
Oh God! God help us. The quality of the tapes, most of them are horrendous. We request
tapes for stand-ups and they send us their two-minute clip of when they were on Law & Order
that we have to sit through.
When you have to sit through a hundred tapes in the night – sitting through a two-minute clip
of the guy, who is almost visible in the background of Law & Order as an extra, is a waste of
time. If you’re submitting as a stand up, submit stand up. Start the tape from the second you
get onstage.
Your name and contact information goes right on the exact tape or DVD, on the package and
the on actual tape because the tape is going to leave the package and go into the box.
It’s going to be separated and if it comes down to we can’t find the guy’s box, you’re done.
Your name and contact information goes right on the exact tape or DVD, on the package and
the on actual tape because the tape is going to leave the package and go into the box.
It’s going to be separated and if it comes down to we can’t find the guy’s box, you’re done.
I go to all industry seminars because I’m a consummate student…I learn things from open-
mikers to the head of ICM or William Morris Agency. One of the most popular things that comes
up at seminars, new comedians are completely delusional over where they stand in the
business. They are a zillion people out there who want to be a comedian.
What are your thoughts on that?
It is a little cliquey. It’s even cliquier than you think. Each club has their own favorite people.
So, if you’re not one of their favorite people, you might have an attitude towards them…
Of course, there are cliques like anything else. You’re going to hang out with people you like.
Is there snobbery? Yeah, there’s a little bit of snobbery as well. Sometimes the edgier
comedians are frowned upon and [perceived] to have to depend on profanity to do well, which
is actually inaccurate. Dave Attell and Jim Norton are both very edgy but are extremely funny.
They are more talented than anybody who could possibly even make a claim towards that.
It’s all tastes. It’s what you like. And the alternative comedy, that’s one of the semi-new words.
Nobody is even sure what it is. I don’t even know what it is. It’s more – I don’t want to bad
mouth anybody, not that I’m going to badmouth anybody – but that’s the kind of snobbery
kind of crowd that I think people – that the question I think you mean – this alternative comedy
crowd, I’m not sure what their deal is. If it’s funny, it’s funny. If it’s not, it’s not. It’s all a matter
of taste.
Some people think Carrot Top is funny and some people hate his guts. I met the guy at Aspen
Comedy Festival and he was one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He came up and introduced
himself to me. And another high-profile guy barely shook my hand.
I come in peace. I’m not a fan. Nobody’s higher; nobody’s lower. I treat Gypsy – if Gypsy
makes the article, I’ll really crack up – who is the homeless guy who lives on my block, I treat
Gypsy the same way I treat Michael Eisner when I seen him at the Beverly Hills Polo Lounge –
the same way.
I met Michael Eisner and I cracked a Jewish joke to him and my friend was like, “Are you out
of your mind? That’s Michael Eisner.” I’m like, “Is he laughing? My friend’s like, “Yeah, he’s
laughing.” [I said,] “Did he ask us to sit down and have coffee? He thought it was funny.”
[My friend] says, “You don’t talk like that to him.” I'm like, “Well, obviously you do talk to
him like that. So many people with their head up in their ass and he doesn’t need another
one. And I’m not going to be another one.”
I do my own thing. Most people take me the right way but as I’m told by a lot of people, the
higher up you go, the more you’re going to be disliked. Being a true a leader is assuming the
risk that you’re not going to be liked by a lot of people. I’m doing the best I can and I get it
done. I have no axe to grind with anybody. I come into the situation neutral and if my opinion
changes, it changes.
What advice do you have for comics submitting tapes to the festival?
Oh God! God help us. The quality of the tapes, most of them are horrendous. We request
tapes for stand-ups and they send us their two-minute clip of when they were on Law & Order
that we have to sit through.
When you have to sit through a hundred tapes in the night – sitting through a two-minute clip
of the guy, who is almost visible in the background of Law & Order as an extra, is a waste of
time. If you’re submitting as a stand up, submit stand up. Start the tape from the second you
get onstage.
Your name and contact information goes right on the exact tape or DVD, on the package and
the on actual tape because the tape is going to leave the package and go into the box.
It’s going to be separated and if it comes down to we can’t find the guy’s box, you’re done.
Your name and contact information goes right on the exact tape or DVD, on the package and
the on actual tape because the tape is going to leave the package and go into the box.
It’s going to be separated and if it comes down to we can’t find the guy’s box, you’re done.
I go to all industry seminars because I’m a consummate student…I learn things from open-
mikers to the head of ICM or William Morris Agency. One of the most popular things that comes
up at seminars, new comedians are completely delusional over where they stand in the
business. They are a zillion people out there who want to be a comedian.