Category Archives: Interviews
Michigan’s Funniest Comedian – Mike Green
Mike Green is the funniest friend I have. And I feel so fortunate that I am able to call him my friend. Mike Green on stage is simply amazing. Mike Green off stage is just as amazing, but in an incredibly dark sort of way. Taking a road trip with Mike Green is like watching a marathon of the British Office. He shares these incredibly dark and personal stories that wind up ending in a laugh. That laugh serves as such a relief too! Sometimes he’ll tag the story with a side note that brings you right back down again. He’s engaging. He’s kind. He’s thoughtful. Between Mike Green and Bill Bushart, I consider myself lucky to have had these two guys who have been around a lot longer than I have to help guide me along the way both professionally and personally. I hope you like this interview I did with the great Mike Green.
One of my inspirations for wanting to create my website is yours. I remember when I was starting off in comedy, I went to your site and there were things to do there, like the quiz on how to be a comic.
I like my website. It’s become more of a hobby. Even if it’s just to make it look decent, I like to work on it at least once a week.
How do you manage your time?
I’m horrible at it. That’s my shortcoming in stand up, my ability to manage my career, have a family and do all that. This taught me to be organized and I just muddle through.
You’re easily my funniest friend, but do you think it’s that inability to be organized and manage things is the reason you’re not also my most famous friend?
I know exactly what you’re saying. I love Steve Iott and John Bowman. I think Heywood Banks is brilliant. When you see these guys and how hilarious they are, you have to wonder how come everyone doesn’t know how good they are? Why aren’t they super famous?
Read the rest of this entry
Nate Fridson: My Nemesis?
Nate Fridson is a guy who I’ve always been both amazed by and a bit jealous of on stage. It seems like right from the beginning, her had a clear and distinct voice and point of view. If the notion of cliques in the comedy world of outcasts is possible, it seemed like Nate was the head of the clique of the cool kids being Nate, Matt McClowery and Adam Sokol.
Recently it came to light that Nate is gearing up to head to New York to continue his growth in comedy. It was important for me to have my Marc Maron-esque interview with Nate before he left. For a long time, and more so in the past couple of years, I’ve felt like there was some sort of bad blood between the two of us. I don’t know where that stemmed from. I felt like he didn’t respect what I did on stage and maybe didn’t respect me as a person at all. I mentioned a few times to him that I really wanted to catch up before he moved. Well, we finally got the chance while standing in the alley behind Club Bart, the club where we first met.
Read the rest of this entry
Mike Lebovitz is a Comedian You Should Know
More often than not when a comedian stays in a condo as opposed to a hotel, it can be a nightmare. At least that’s what I’ve heard. I’ve stayed in condos a handful of times and with the exception of one experience, it’s always been a blast.
Most recently I was in Appleton, Wisconsin and staying with Chicago comedian Mike Lebovitz. We found out that we had a mutual connection in my sister-in-law. Mike is fantastic and we’ve stayed friends since that blizzardy week in America’s Dairyland. He’s also a part of the Chicago comedy scene’s super group Comedians You Should Know who had the number one comedy album on iTunes recently.
Mike came to town a couple weeks back to get is foot in the door of some of our clubs and afterward I decided to pick his brain about comedy and specifically his take on the Detroit scene. Enjoy.
Nerd Comic Rising Episode 13: Darnell Anderson
It’s a podcast Baker’s Dozen! And this episode is with the kick-ass Darnell Anderson. We talk about being black, comedy contests, and marathon masturbation sessions. Check out more great content at JeffreyConolly.com or email feedback to ncrpodcast@gmail.com
My interview with artist and all around cool chick Katie Cook!
One of the greatest things I’ve done as a comedian is the celebrity roast of Darth Vader. While we ended up raising money for a good cause, I also ended up becoming friends with some pretty awesome people in the Star Wars community. One of those friends is the great Katie Cook. She’s a staple of the convention circuit and her artwork has been used quite a bit by Lucasfilm.
Here’s what I think is particularly awesome. She’s local! Katie is a CCS graduate and has been out to see me perform. I was self conscious about having somewhat of a potty mouth on stage in front of her because her art is so adorable. Well, it turns out she’s not only heard an adult word or two in her life, but she’s been known to use them! I’m still hoping that she and her husband can get together with me and Christine sometime, because he’s pretty damn cool too!
Comedian Trevor Smith
Trevor Smith is a pretty fantastic comedian and he works hard at it. In fact, he’s been working hard at perfecting his craft for a long time now. He started as a comedian on the other side of the state performing in clubs, bars and cutting his teeth in colleges. Recently he’s moved to the Detroit area and is already making a pretty big impact.
Instantly likable on stage, it’s hard not to like Trevor off stage too. He’s not only a genuinely good guy, but he’s also a super fan of the craft of comedy. Also, a talented artist, Trevor first flew into my radar when he sent me the caricature I use on this site and for just about every piece of marketing I create.
My interview with Marc Maron!
They say you should never meet your heroes. I’ve found that to be untrue. When I was 18, I met and became friends with Dave Brockie, better known as Oderus Urungus lead singer of Gwar. He took me under his wing for a few years and helped direct me onto my journey as a professional entertainer.
As an adult, my hero is Marc Maron. He’s a master of his craft and a truly unique voice. He’s said in the past that young comics tell him that they want to be “real” and he responds by telling them to work on being funny first. Marc is both real and really funny.
My interview with Mike Bobbitt!
Mike Bobbitt is arguably one of the funniest, if not the funniest comedian working in Detroit. In his eight years in the business he’s already performed in numerous comedy festivals and worked with some of the biggest names in the business.
The remarkable thing about Mike Bobbitt is that he’s able to walk the fine line between speaking to a very specific crowd while maintaining a level of accessibility to the masses.
Mike currently wrapped production on the television show that he and his wife wrote. I had a chance to talk to him while he was in Madison, Wisconsin.
Mike, let me start by saying you look really handsome.
Thank you!
You manage to be both cute and cuddly and ruggedly handsome at the same time. That’s quite a feat.
I appreciate that, but this is already starting off a little weird.
Mark Ridley: King of the Comedy Castle
Here’s my first interaction with Mark Ridley. My tenth show was the open mic at the Comedy Castle in March of the year I started. I didn’t get back on stage again there until eight months later. For months and months I was convinced I did something to upset Mark and that was why I wasn’t invited back. Finally in November I built up the courage to talk to him face to face. I told him my concern. He laughed and showed me the humongous list of people who call in every week to go on stage. He assured me that I was fine and then he put me on stage again that following week. From day one for me, Mark Ridley has been a class act!
Over the years he’s done so many things for me. He let me and photographer Trever Long shoot my most recent headshots inside the Castle. My Desperate Houseguys performed there a handful of times for special events. Last month we shot the opening sequence of Deadpan there with a full cast and crew along with thirty extras! Most importantly, he’s been a friend and a mentor. Mark is a straight shooter. It was a pleasure sitting down with him and talk about the business and the Laugh Detroit Comedy Festival which kicks off tomorrow with David Alan Grier.
Bill Bushart
Every comedian in Michigan knows who Bill Bushart is. He is the Godfather of our comedy scene. He’s mentored either officially or unofficially just about every one of us at one point in time or another. Not only is he a phenomenal comedian who takes charge of a room like no other, he’s also the Marketing Director at Joey’s Comedy Club in Livonia. There are two vastly different sides to Bill’s persona. There’s the on stage Pitbull who owns a comedy show and then there’s the St. Bernard who will make sure you are safe on your journey.
Photo by Trever Long
Off stage, Bill is the person I try to model myself after. When a newer guy comments that I’m considered one of the nicer people in the scene, I merely tell them that I’m just returning the favor that Bill did for me. And honestly, I wasn’t always this nice. I’d shit on newer guys and Bill would call me on it reminding me that he remembers when I sucked. Bill not only is a great comedian, but also a great human.
I sat down with Bill before one of the shows at Joey’s Comedy Club. If you only know him from his act, this look into the man behind “Uncle Billy” may surprise you. Now go pick up your hair.
Mike Stanley
Mike and I take a walk down memory lane and discuss how things were different when we started and how things are currently in the open mic scene in Chicago. I think there’s a lot of really good information here particularly to the newer guys doing comedy. So I hope you enjoy and pick up something useful.
Without any huge credits, Mike Stanley has managed to become an “event” comic. When he comes to town, his loyal fan base often times sells out shows. I’ve been friends with Mike since his start in comedy and one thing he had from the very beginning was a ridiculously strong work ethic. He was always constantly writing and perfecting his craft. Years later, Mike’s work ethic has carried over to the business side of things. He’s a master of self promotion and is still continuously working on new creative endeavors in addition to his rock solid stand up.
Mike and I sat down at the Comedy Castle and talked about his work ethic, the differences between Chicago and Detroit comedy as well as the hardships of the business.
Shooting the Shit with Filmmaker John Anton
I’ve been friends with filmmaker John Anton since I was in high school. Back then he wasn’t the movie guy, he was the owner of the legendary punk rock/heavy metal club Blondies. I’ve stayed friends with John for over twenty years and one thing has always been consistent, he’s a class act. Over the past ten or so years he’s been working hard on the ambitious film Guns, Drugs and Dirty Money. It’s a movie that features a cast of well over 100 parts and action sequence after action sequence that rivals the stuff you see in big blockbuster movies like Stallone’s Expendables.
I had a chance to sit down with John in his office at the Token Lounge while we were filming my television show Deadpan. Always the generous friend, John was letting us film a large chunk of our show in his club without asking for anything in return. He’s a guy I’m proud to call my friend. I’m equally proud of him because Guns, Drugs and Dirty Money has finally come out and has already generated a lot of buzz.
Maz Jobrani: The Prince of Persia
Maz Jobrani has done it all. While you may not know his name, you probably recognize his face. In addition to being one of the nation’s premiere comedians, he’s also one of the founders of the Axis of Evil comedy tour, and has been in numerous films, sharing the screen with Ice Cube in Friday After Next, Nicole Kidman in The Interpreter and Jennifer Garner in 13 Going on 30. Maz first flew onto Christine and my radar in the amazing, but unfortunately short lived television series Better Off Ted as the scene stealing Dr. Bhamba.
I had the pleasure of working with him at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase recently. Sharing the bill with comedians Kvon and Amer Zahr, Maz sold out two back to back shows on a Sunday night. Between shows Christine and I were able to sit down and pick Maz and Amer’s brains about finding your fan base, auditioning for acting roles, the hurdles of television and speaking for your people.
Arsenic Lullaby Creator, Douglas Paszkiewicz
I’ve been fortunate enough over the years to become friends with some of my favorite creators of art. I spent the formative years of my adulthood hanging out in a Richmond, Virginia factory painting foam penguins with Gwar. Most recently I not only got to become friends with Arsenic Lullaby creator Douglas Paszkiewicz, but he invited me to do voices on the animated version of his work.
Arsenic Lullaby is a book I’ve been reading long before I was a comedian. I’m fairly certain I discovered it right near the beginning when I wandered into Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, Michigan asking for something dark and void of superheroes. I was hooked and picked up every thing I could find ever since.
Many have tried to explain Arsenic Lullaby, few have succeeded. I’m not even going to try. Saying it’s an intensely dark Far Side doesn’t do it justice. Like South Park, the brilliance of Doug’s work is that on the surface it’s brutal and hilarious. Just beneath the surface, it’s brutal, hilarious and quite a smart, satirical commentary. I wish one day I can become half the writer that Douglas is.
I was fortunate enough to sit down with him outside Milwaukee at a comedy club a couple of months ago. The club owner just finished yelling at me because he was upset about the playful tongue in cheek ribbing I gave his club. Douglas and I kick things off reminiscing about his start in show business on comedy stages not too far from where we conducted this interview.
Chatting with Landau
Me and Dave at the Deadpan Benefit Show in 2010
I spent a good chunk of the past couple of years traveling around as far south as Florida and as far west as Oregon with my friend and fellow comedian Dave Landau. Dave has been one of those bright stars in the Detroit comedy scene who started shining a light on the rest of us when he gained national exposure on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham and two seasons of NBC’s Last Comic Standing.
Dave and I sat down together in a hotel in Brookfield, Wisconsin during a week that started with the audience taking an intermission to smoke crystal meth in the parking lot and ended later ended with us not being able to get into our hotel rooms because the owner of the comedy club either forgot or assumed we would just be driving eight hours home after having performed three shows all day long for him.
I’ve traveled with a lot of comedians, but Dave has consistently been my favorite. We share the same incredibly dark sense of humor and through working with him so much and wanting to see if I could make him laugh, I started bringing more and more of that to the stage. We’ve battled personal demons together. We’ve changed more than a couple flat tires…all on my car unfortunately. I feel like we did a tour of duty together and when our discussions weren’t horrifically dark and not fit for human ears, they were informative about our chosen trade. I wanted to make sure I got the chance to share some of Dave’s words with the rest of you.
Off the Mike 