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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 |
I was doing Opie & Anthony and then we got thrown off the air for the sex at St. Patrick’s. I was
depressed and suicidal. I loved doing it. It’s very rare that in this business that you find something
you love so much. This forced me to write again. And I built a whole new 45 minutes. It made me a
better comic. It made me a better writer. I wound up putting out two CDs. I did a lot of shit that I
probably wouldn’t have done, if radio had continued at that point. Tough Crowd was an invaluable,
great experience.
I enjoyed you on the show.
Thank you.
I liked that no matter what news topic was being discussed, you always gave more details about the story and still made it funny.
It is our job to be funny. I hate it when people go, “You know, I never liked it because it was always
degenerative when you guys [are] trashing each other.” And it’s like, "You fucking dummy, that’s what
the show is about. It’s about our relationship. These are my friends...What do you think we do?"
We shit all over each other. That’s all we do.
You want four pontificating assholes talking about the same thing? We talk about stuff, try to be
funny, try to give an opinion - and then smash each other. That’s what you do with your friends.
You’re abusive to each other…We’re all fucking damaged goods and that’s the way we talk to each
other. Those guys – they’re the most honest guys I know. They’re guys I trust implicitly. As brutal as
they are, they’re honest. They always tell me the truth…They give you respect when you’re doing well
but if you’re doing dogshit onstage, ohhh…
I was doing a fart joke. The joke was this awful hack joke about cutting a fart and having it follow you.
And I was acting out the part of the fart and I look at the door and I see Keith Robinson. I would have
been less embarrassed if he had caught me blowing somebody. I got my face smashed. I got a good
trashing for it. These guys are honest enough to tell you when you’re doing something horrendous.
And sometimes you don’t listen. You go, “I like that joke. You’re toxic. Fuck you.”
depressed and suicidal. I loved doing it. It’s very rare that in this business that you find something
you love so much. This forced me to write again. And I built a whole new 45 minutes. It made me a
better comic. It made me a better writer. I wound up putting out two CDs. I did a lot of shit that I
probably wouldn’t have done, if radio had continued at that point. Tough Crowd was an invaluable,
great experience.
I enjoyed you on the show.
Thank you.
I liked that no matter what news topic was being discussed, you always gave more details about the story and still made it funny.
It is our job to be funny. I hate it when people go, “You know, I never liked it because it was always
degenerative when you guys [are] trashing each other.” And it’s like, "You fucking dummy, that’s what
the show is about. It’s about our relationship. These are my friends...What do you think we do?"
We shit all over each other. That’s all we do.
You want four pontificating assholes talking about the same thing? We talk about stuff, try to be
funny, try to give an opinion - and then smash each other. That’s what you do with your friends.
You’re abusive to each other…We’re all fucking damaged goods and that’s the way we talk to each
other. Those guys – they’re the most honest guys I know. They’re guys I trust implicitly. As brutal as
they are, they’re honest. They always tell me the truth…They give you respect when you’re doing well
but if you’re doing dogshit onstage, ohhh…
I was doing a fart joke. The joke was this awful hack joke about cutting a fart and having it follow you.
And I was acting out the part of the fart and I look at the door and I see Keith Robinson. I would have
been less embarrassed if he had caught me blowing somebody. I got my face smashed. I got a good
trashing for it. These guys are honest enough to tell you when you’re doing something horrendous.
And sometimes you don’t listen. You go, “I like that joke. You’re toxic. Fuck you.”
How many shows do you perform in a year?
Not as many as I used to because I’m doing radio at
6AM. At least one a night. Usually, I average three on
Saturdays, two on Fridays…about ten shows a week.
I wanna say I do about 500 or 600 shows a year but
that’s nothing.
There were times when I was doing three shows on a
weeknight. I was doing seven shows on a Saturday.
I’m not driving back and forth anymore. Occasionally,
I’ll do that but radio – it takes so much out of your
energy.
What adjustments did you make for radio?
We’re on XM. We’re uncensored. I get up at 6:15am and we’re on the air from seven to seven and they play us all
day. The only thing you can’t do is libel. You gotta be
careful…It’s uncensored. I tend to address things as it is.
Not as many as I used to because I’m doing radio at
6AM. At least one a night. Usually, I average three on
Saturdays, two on Fridays…about ten shows a week.
I wanna say I do about 500 or 600 shows a year but
that’s nothing.
There were times when I was doing three shows on a
weeknight. I was doing seven shows on a Saturday.
I’m not driving back and forth anymore. Occasionally,
I’ll do that but radio – it takes so much out of your
energy.
What adjustments did you make for radio?
We’re on XM. We’re uncensored. I get up at 6:15am and we’re on the air from seven to seven and they play us all
day. The only thing you can’t do is libel. You gotta be
careful…It’s uncensored. I tend to address things as it is.
If I feel a certain way about it -- I talk about the way I feel. I’m a knee-jerk reactionary. Sometimes I’m right;
sometimes I’m wrong. I try to be honest about what my reaction is. That’s the problem a lot of comedians have -- people. They think they have to be right. No, you just have to be honest.
What effect did Last Comic Standing have on your career?
None! And I don’t mean that. You know what...that’s a lie! That’s an absolute lie. It got me The
Tonight Show. I originally signed with MTV to do pilots for them…I figured I would do well. I didn’t think
I would win. I knew I wouldn’t have won it. But I liked the idea of being – to be honest, a lot of the
comics are boring. I’d love to be in the house with them. [It’s] unscripted, on national television.
If you’re opinionated and to be unscripted on NBC, primetime. That’s a rare opportunity.
