| Interviews |
| Terms | FAQ | Staff | About Us | Contact Us ©2005-2007 STAGE TIME - The Magazine That Stands Up For Comedy. All rights reserved. |
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 |
How many fans do you have from Opie & Anthony?
I don’t know yet. They have probably four and a half million subscriptions now and they’re predicting
almost six [million] by the end of the year. I don’t know how many listen to Opie & Anthony. I don’t
know if they can track that. I do know that the head of programming is very happy…so we’re real
happy.
I see it with my email. I usually have between 850 and 1000 emails about a day.
Which comedians inspire you?
Now?
Yes.
Colin. I hate to say that…but he’s a great comic and he’s always writing. He never takes the easy road
ever. [George] Carlin is the best working comedian. [Richard] Pryor is the greatest...but Carlin is now
the best active comedian. I enjoy Dave Attell [and] Chappelle. They’re great comedians.
But I really don’t watch comics…
What is the toughest audience you’ve ever had?
A black crowd in East Orange, New Jersey during the “Rodney King” days.
What happened?
They didn’t boo. They were just very disinterested. It wasn’t a physically-threatening feeling. It was an
isolated, uncomfortable feeling. There was tension in the room. Bill Bellamy was hosting. It was years
ago.
Was this after the verdict or -
No, after the actual beating I think.
What are your thoughts on the notion that you have to be miserable to be funny?
My actions dictate that I believe it. But I know it’s probably not true. I think most people become
funny because they’re miserable. I know there’s exceptions, you know Seinfeld with his “alright.”
To me, being truly funny is a need that you develop. That’s why classically beautiful women and
classically beautiful men are very rarely funny to me because they didn’t need that in high school.
They got accepted by being here.
But when you’re mediocre – look at the biggest comedians. Richard Pryor is good-looking, but his
mother is a prostitute. He had an abysmal upbringing. Eddie Murphy, on the other hand, had a very
healthy upbringing with his family…and was a massive success; however, I never found him to be
funny like Pryor. I recognize he is a talented guy but I also recognize that most of what he does is
kinda reminded me of Richard and what he does. To me, you don’t have to, but most guys that I’ve
met who are funny, truly funny have some kind of misery.
I don’t know how to keep it...I don’t know. I have my sex addiction. I’m a recovering alcohol addict
since I was 18, so I mean-
You have an addiction?
Oh my God! Are you kidding? Every comic I know does.
You’re not still paying for it, are you?
Ah…No. ;) And then put semi-colon and half a parenthesis. That’s the wink, right? No, I wouldn’t do
that — $500 in the last two days.
Obsession is a thought for which logic has no power. I know that. It didn’t matter. Half the times I’m
jackin’ off, I’m not horny...
You gotta have some kind of vice, right?
Yes. Seinfeld has Porches. Don’t tell me that’s not a vice.
I don’t know yet. They have probably four and a half million subscriptions now and they’re predicting
almost six [million] by the end of the year. I don’t know how many listen to Opie & Anthony. I don’t
know if they can track that. I do know that the head of programming is very happy…so we’re real
happy.
I see it with my email. I usually have between 850 and 1000 emails about a day.
Which comedians inspire you?
Now?
Yes.
Colin. I hate to say that…but he’s a great comic and he’s always writing. He never takes the easy road
ever. [George] Carlin is the best working comedian. [Richard] Pryor is the greatest...but Carlin is now
the best active comedian. I enjoy Dave Attell [and] Chappelle. They’re great comedians.
But I really don’t watch comics…
What is the toughest audience you’ve ever had?
A black crowd in East Orange, New Jersey during the “Rodney King” days.
What happened?
They didn’t boo. They were just very disinterested. It wasn’t a physically-threatening feeling. It was an
isolated, uncomfortable feeling. There was tension in the room. Bill Bellamy was hosting. It was years
ago.
Was this after the verdict or -
No, after the actual beating I think.
What are your thoughts on the notion that you have to be miserable to be funny?
My actions dictate that I believe it. But I know it’s probably not true. I think most people become
funny because they’re miserable. I know there’s exceptions, you know Seinfeld with his “alright.”
To me, being truly funny is a need that you develop. That’s why classically beautiful women and
classically beautiful men are very rarely funny to me because they didn’t need that in high school.
They got accepted by being here.
But when you’re mediocre – look at the biggest comedians. Richard Pryor is good-looking, but his
mother is a prostitute. He had an abysmal upbringing. Eddie Murphy, on the other hand, had a very
healthy upbringing with his family…and was a massive success; however, I never found him to be
funny like Pryor. I recognize he is a talented guy but I also recognize that most of what he does is
kinda reminded me of Richard and what he does. To me, you don’t have to, but most guys that I’ve
met who are funny, truly funny have some kind of misery.
I don’t know how to keep it...I don’t know. I have my sex addiction. I’m a recovering alcohol addict
since I was 18, so I mean-
You have an addiction?
Oh my God! Are you kidding? Every comic I know does.
You’re not still paying for it, are you?
Ah…No. ;) And then put semi-colon and half a parenthesis. That’s the wink, right? No, I wouldn’t do
that — $500 in the last two days.
Obsession is a thought for which logic has no power. I know that. It didn’t matter. Half the times I’m
jackin’ off, I’m not horny...
You gotta have some kind of vice, right?
Yes. Seinfeld has Porches. Don’t tell me that’s not a vice.