| StageTimeMag.com | Vol. 2 No. 1 |
Comedy news, interviews, reviews and essays
STAGE TIME | "The Comedian's Magazine"
| Cover Story |
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE FEATURES Festival Wrap Up: New York Underground Comedy Festival Hustle & Grow: STAGE TIME Celebrates 1st Anniversary Comic Resolutions 2007 Comic's Final Progress Report 2006 INTERVIEWS Brad Stine **NEW** Careers in Comedy: Ryan McCormick PR Manager COVER STORY Shang REVIEWS Angry Bob Comedy Jump Off Doug Powell Eric Schwartz James P. Connolly **NEW** Anatomy of a Joke "Racism Damnit!" Written and Performed by Shang |
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I would tell people when you come to the show, make sure you
tell them, even though I’m opening, that you’re coming to see
me. I would hang out flyers and tell people, “Be sure you let
them know you’re coming to see me.” I kept doing that and kept
doing that. So if the club keeps getting calls from people going,
“When’s Shang going to be there?” That perception, even though
I wasn’t the headliner, made them go, “Let’s see how Shang does
in the middle spot.” And I had been ready for the middle spot.
So were you ready to headline?
Yeah. I embraced it. Now that I headline, I still market the hell
out of myself. I send out email blasts; I started MySpace in
September and I have 32,000. Some shows, I would just eat it
because I was too edgy or too angry. I was too passionate about
what I was talking about and it came out as anger.
Sometimes, I would get mad at “black nights” because I don’t
want to be regular. It’s “nigger night.” I’m bigger than that. I
would mess up onstage. Or I would get heckled and I would be
too rough on the heckler and the crowd would turn on me or I
would be too preachy with the heckler.
tell them, even though I’m opening, that you’re coming to see
me. I would hang out flyers and tell people, “Be sure you let
them know you’re coming to see me.” I kept doing that and kept
doing that. So if the club keeps getting calls from people going,
“When’s Shang going to be there?” That perception, even though
I wasn’t the headliner, made them go, “Let’s see how Shang does
in the middle spot.” And I had been ready for the middle spot.
So were you ready to headline?
Yeah. I embraced it. Now that I headline, I still market the hell
out of myself. I send out email blasts; I started MySpace in
September and I have 32,000. Some shows, I would just eat it
because I was too edgy or too angry. I was too passionate about
what I was talking about and it came out as anger.
Sometimes, I would get mad at “black nights” because I don’t
want to be regular. It’s “nigger night.” I’m bigger than that. I
would mess up onstage. Or I would get heckled and I would be
too rough on the heckler and the crowd would turn on me or I
would be too preachy with the heckler.
How can you avoid being preachy?
I haven’t done that in years. But because somebody told me, “I think you’re funny as hell, but you’re
losing track. You’re too preachy. You have to get back to the funny.” At the end of the day, it’s comedy,
not lecture. It’s like you got 10 applause breaks and not but one laugh. Now, I know I can balance it. It
goes down much easier with people. That’s when Rick Overton told me that.
I watched comics like how they did their thing. I started studying a bit more. I watched Mort Sahl and how
pleasant he was onstage, even though he was calling government assholes. He was very pleasant when
he said it, but I also didn’t want to be that low-key.
What advice do you have for comics who want to try political comedy?
I started putting 15-20 minutes of bullshit in my act to make it more digestible for the masses that don’t
want to hear what’s going on in the world. Throw some dick jokes in there for these black crowds who, all
they want to hear: “Yo! Hardcore. Keep it real, son.” I hook them with that and rest of my act – 80 percent
is all political.
I would say to comics now: Make sure you network more because I didn’t network. I was just doing my act.
What were some of the obstacles you faced?
People wanted me to tone down. They wanted me to be more Bill Bellamy-ish. They wanted me to be the
playboy type dude, wear suits and say, “Hey Ladies…” If you want Bill Bellamy, then get Bill Bellamy. I
blew that deal. Maybe you shouldn’t call them names in a meeting. I just got irritated: “Did you just tell
me to be Bill Bellamy? Did you even see my act?”
I got fired from a tour because I was on a conscious comedy tour with Paul Mooney, D’Militant, the
Mooney twins and Dick Gregory. Dick Gregory didn’t do two of the dates and Old English sponsored the
tour on two of the dates.
There was a banner of Old English behind me at the top. I said, "Why am I doing a conscious comedy
tour that is sponsored by a liquor company?" in the middle of the show and apparently they didn’t
appreciate it. They fired me as soon as I came off the stage. After that, they put the word out that I was a
troublemaker, so some of the other tours wouldn’t put me on. That’s when I did Def Comedy Jam.
I haven’t done that in years. But because somebody told me, “I think you’re funny as hell, but you’re
losing track. You’re too preachy. You have to get back to the funny.” At the end of the day, it’s comedy,
not lecture. It’s like you got 10 applause breaks and not but one laugh. Now, I know I can balance it. It
goes down much easier with people. That’s when Rick Overton told me that.
I watched comics like how they did their thing. I started studying a bit more. I watched Mort Sahl and how
pleasant he was onstage, even though he was calling government assholes. He was very pleasant when
he said it, but I also didn’t want to be that low-key.
What advice do you have for comics who want to try political comedy?
I started putting 15-20 minutes of bullshit in my act to make it more digestible for the masses that don’t
want to hear what’s going on in the world. Throw some dick jokes in there for these black crowds who, all
they want to hear: “Yo! Hardcore. Keep it real, son.” I hook them with that and rest of my act – 80 percent
is all political.
I would say to comics now: Make sure you network more because I didn’t network. I was just doing my act.
What were some of the obstacles you faced?
People wanted me to tone down. They wanted me to be more Bill Bellamy-ish. They wanted me to be the
playboy type dude, wear suits and say, “Hey Ladies…” If you want Bill Bellamy, then get Bill Bellamy. I
blew that deal. Maybe you shouldn’t call them names in a meeting. I just got irritated: “Did you just tell
me to be Bill Bellamy? Did you even see my act?”
I got fired from a tour because I was on a conscious comedy tour with Paul Mooney, D’Militant, the
Mooney twins and Dick Gregory. Dick Gregory didn’t do two of the dates and Old English sponsored the
tour on two of the dates.
There was a banner of Old English behind me at the top. I said, "Why am I doing a conscious comedy
tour that is sponsored by a liquor company?" in the middle of the show and apparently they didn’t
appreciate it. They fired me as soon as I came off the stage. After that, they put the word out that I was a
troublemaker, so some of the other tours wouldn’t put me on. That’s when I did Def Comedy Jam.
SHANG - PAGE 3
