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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 A. Harris, NYC Comedy Journalist STAGE TIME The Magazine That Stands Up For Comedy |
So what I say at one point in my course is to “do something extra.” Produce a show.
Go out of town. I’ve driven all over the Eastern Seaboard to work because I want to work.
It depends on what your goals are. If your goals are to be a Premium Blend or a TV comic,
then you want to stay in the City. You want to work on your seven minutes. You want to work
on a style.
I wanted to be a comic. I had a good car. I wasn’t popular around these parts so I hit the
road. I’ve driven to Clarksville, TN, Atlanta and Tallahassee in a car. I’ve slept in car a few
times on the road because I didn’t want to spend $25 for a hotel because I wanted it and
I went where I could get it.
At the same time without realizing it, I was earning Al’s respect because he sees me going
out on the road and he hears me, I was down in Charlotte for The Comedy Zone. I was at
The Funny Bone in Pittsburgh. He knows what you’re doing and he respects that about
comics. I can only talk for him but I can’t talk for other owners. But I think there might be
a commonality there:
No one likes the “I’ve been doing it two years and where’s my spot” guy.
A nice end to this whole ramble is about two or three years ago, I was working at the
New York Comedy Club in Boca Raton. I was headlining and Al was there. It was like a
headlining audition. Al was going to watch me to see if I could do it. After the show, he
said, "When you first came along, I thought you were a nice guy. I thought you weren’t
funny at all. Now watching you, you’re a comic and you’re funny. You might even have
even minutes in there for TV."
It was a nice come around full circle but that’s a 15 year circle. And if you’re 27, 15 years
is like half your life.
How did you transition from your musical act to stand up?
It wasn’t a great transition because when I started I kept my guitar, doing mostly songs.
I got jealous of the comics without guitars because they could talk and get laughs quicker
than I could play guitar and get laughs.
When you do a song parody or original song, you have to set up two or three measures to
get to the funny part. You can get to a verbal joke much quicker. That’s why on the road,
I use parodies. People like parodies because when they hear the chords at the beginning
of the song, they recognize the song and they’re ready for the parody. With an original song,
it’s even tougher because you actually have to hold their hand and bring them to the funny
part.
I started putting more spoken word and less music in my act…If I do 45 minutes, I’d say
15 is guitar. I have a little at the beginning, a little in the middle and a little at the end.
That’s the great thing about stand up. You can work on it forever.
What is your writing process?
I would say I write onstage. I’m not the most disciplined guy. I don’t sit down everyday and
write like you probably should. I just try to have pen and paper with me at all times, so any
moment something pops in my head, I can just jot it down. That’s the most important thing
for me. At this point, I’ve learned to look for signals that tell me something is funny…
When does a comic finds his voice? I’ve heard five years, 10 years…
It’s really hard and I don’t think there is an actual number on it. Some people will never find
their voice. That’s a horrible thing to say.
No, that’s a different answer.
There are variables in comedy that we don’t talk about. It’s very weird. It’s a skill. I will never
be able to sculpt. I can play guitar. I can play the drums. I can tell jokes. I will never be able
sculpt. It is not a skill or a talent.
Go out of town. I’ve driven all over the Eastern Seaboard to work because I want to work.
It depends on what your goals are. If your goals are to be a Premium Blend or a TV comic,
then you want to stay in the City. You want to work on your seven minutes. You want to work
on a style.
I wanted to be a comic. I had a good car. I wasn’t popular around these parts so I hit the
road. I’ve driven to Clarksville, TN, Atlanta and Tallahassee in a car. I’ve slept in car a few
times on the road because I didn’t want to spend $25 for a hotel because I wanted it and
I went where I could get it.
At the same time without realizing it, I was earning Al’s respect because he sees me going
out on the road and he hears me, I was down in Charlotte for The Comedy Zone. I was at
The Funny Bone in Pittsburgh. He knows what you’re doing and he respects that about
comics. I can only talk for him but I can’t talk for other owners. But I think there might be
a commonality there:
No one likes the “I’ve been doing it two years and where’s my spot” guy.
A nice end to this whole ramble is about two or three years ago, I was working at the
New York Comedy Club in Boca Raton. I was headlining and Al was there. It was like a
headlining audition. Al was going to watch me to see if I could do it. After the show, he
said, "When you first came along, I thought you were a nice guy. I thought you weren’t
funny at all. Now watching you, you’re a comic and you’re funny. You might even have
even minutes in there for TV."
It was a nice come around full circle but that’s a 15 year circle. And if you’re 27, 15 years
is like half your life.
How did you transition from your musical act to stand up?
It wasn’t a great transition because when I started I kept my guitar, doing mostly songs.
I got jealous of the comics without guitars because they could talk and get laughs quicker
than I could play guitar and get laughs.
When you do a song parody or original song, you have to set up two or three measures to
get to the funny part. You can get to a verbal joke much quicker. That’s why on the road,
I use parodies. People like parodies because when they hear the chords at the beginning
of the song, they recognize the song and they’re ready for the parody. With an original song,
it’s even tougher because you actually have to hold their hand and bring them to the funny
part.
I started putting more spoken word and less music in my act…If I do 45 minutes, I’d say
15 is guitar. I have a little at the beginning, a little in the middle and a little at the end.
That’s the great thing about stand up. You can work on it forever.
What is your writing process?
I would say I write onstage. I’m not the most disciplined guy. I don’t sit down everyday and
write like you probably should. I just try to have pen and paper with me at all times, so any
moment something pops in my head, I can just jot it down. That’s the most important thing
for me. At this point, I’ve learned to look for signals that tell me something is funny…
When does a comic finds his voice? I’ve heard five years, 10 years…
It’s really hard and I don’t think there is an actual number on it. Some people will never find
their voice. That’s a horrible thing to say.
No, that’s a different answer.
There are variables in comedy that we don’t talk about. It’s very weird. It’s a skill. I will never
be able to sculpt. I can play guitar. I can play the drums. I can tell jokes. I will never be able
sculpt. It is not a skill or a talent.
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