dc comedy spotlight justin schlegel

DC Comedy Spotlight: Justin Schlegel

Justin Schlegel is one of the very few comics in DC/MD that can say

"Yes, I am a professional comedian." In a town that continually asks

"what have you done for me lately?" Justin has learned to take every

opprotunity he can get. That type of fierce attitude has made him a

familar face in DC's sketch, stand-up, radio and television (as the

new local Toyota commerical spokesman) arenas. He has also has worked

with Brian Regan, Lisa Lampanelli, Kathleen Madigan and Dave Attell.

After you see him you won't be able to shake his image out of your

brain. Justin is an animal.

[Updated with interview. Click the jump!]

Justin has just finished up a lengthy tour of Yuk Yuk Comedy Clubs in

Canada this summer and continues to travel all over the country. When

he is in town you can catch him performed at various DC spots such as;

The Laughing Lizard, Riot Act Comedy Club[now closed], Cafe

Rendezvous, Cafe Soho, The Hyatt in Bethesda, Wiseacres, Baltimore

Comedy Factory, Arlington Cinema Draft House, The Comedy Spot, The DC

Improv and almost any open mic that pops up.

This Thursday, Dec. 13th, Justin will be performing at the Arlington

Cinema DraftHouse w/ Jon Mumma and Jay Hastings.

7:30pm

$10

Then you can catch them again at the Baltimore Comedy Factory Dec.

28th-29th.

Don't miss your opprotunity to see one of DC's most outrageous

comedians before another city sweeps him away!

Bonus Video: Deadwood Pancakes

Justin Schlegel Interview:

*When did you realize that you wanted to do comedy?

I have always known that I wanted to make people laugh. Making people

laugh (at work, at school, at home) always provided me with an instant

sense of "This person laughing accepts and likes me", and thats a

feeling that is hard to not want constantly. I realized I wanted to

make a LIFE of it while I was working in radio. I worked for various

radio stations for a few years (even shared a station with a one Larry

Poon!), and after awhile I began to write comedy for some morning

shows. After seeing how bad it was butchered to meet the standards and

practices of the station is was to be broadcast on, I started just

writing for myself, found some open mics, and let is slowly spiral

outward until I was making enough money to get by on.

*Who were some of your earliest influences?

Some of my earliest comedic influences make NO sense when I write them

down, but here goes...

JON CLEESE and SAM KINISON.

*What about them captivated you?

I loved the dry, backhanded, sarcastic wit of Jon Cleese, and all his

Python troupe-mates. He was SO sharp, and so cunning with his humor,

but at the same time, he was so willing to completely act like an ass

and be dumb (see "Silly Walk" as an example). I think every

"Alternative Comic" out there wants to be like Jon Cleese, but they

take themselves way too seriously to do so. That's what Cleese did

right, he never took himself seriously.

Kinison had an impact on me because it just seemed SO grown up to me,

and SO violently over the top. This guy put on a spectacle, that

regardless of what you felt about his material (which was VERY

confrontational), you HAD to pay attention to and find entertaining.

He blended the best parts of anger, humor, and rock-n-roll into one

balls to the wall event with every show, and whether or not you were

laughing, you DAMN sure were entertained.

*Where did you first perform?

Fraziers on the Avenue in Hamden, Baltimore. It's a greasy little

hipster shit box that has no real sound system, and ZERO interest in

ever doing comedy again.

*What was your first paid gig?

July 10, 2004. Jillians at Arundel Mills. I hosted for Sean Joxe, and

Doug Powell.

*Do you prefer to write on or off stage?

I just like to write, it doesn't matter where. If I come up with

something in my car, i'll jot it down. If I riff on stage, and it

hits, i'll write it down. My problem is, ideas don't come all that

naturally to me, so I write much less than I wish I did.

*Do you enjoy the process of writing?

I hate it. I get so frustrated by it. I see guys cranking out joke

after joke, week after week, show after show, and I get jealous (a

major problem of mine), and very frustrated. When something good DOES

come up in my mind, I am very excited, and can't wait to get it out,

but sadly, that is a rare occurance.

*What about performing live do you enjoy?

*Do you ever want to convey a message?

Never, I want to entertain. If you want to convey a message, write a

book.

*What's hacky to you?

I'm not going to go into specifics about material, because as long as

it's original, i'm for it. I do think that comics can have some hacky

habits though, such as:

-Giving YOURSELF a nickname. I'd rather laugh at someone named Esther

Gumpleman, that be tortured with shit material by "Mac Money dat Joke

Masta".

-Calling YOURSELF "controversial". Ever notice how ACTUAL

controversial comics, never intended to be?

-Calling a 3 show run a "tour". You're not Springsteen ass-hat.

...and fucking guitar acts. Unless you're Doug Powell, put down the

6-string, and tell a fucking joke.

*What is your day job?

Comedian full time. And JUST fucking barely.

*Where do you plan on moving next?

Some days LA, some days NYC, other days happy where i'm at. I'm too

all over the place mentally to say for sure. San Fran sures looks

nice.

*How do you feel about the comedy scene in DC?

Some days i'm very proud to be apart of it. I'm recently a transplant

to this area, having just moved from a comedically barren Baltimore

City. Though only 45 minutes apart, its meant the world to be closer

to friends, open mics, and opportunities that just weren't available

up north. There is a lot of great young talent around here that I want

to see do well, and that DESERVES to do well. Other days i'm

frustrated that the area has too many comics, not enough venues, and

some of the venues that we do have are run by people that either

FAILED at comedy (making them a shit judge of whats good and bad, and

put a chip on their now power-hungry shoulders), or have no idea what

makes a comedy show entertaining. (Hosts having 90 shit newbies ruin

what could be a good show, and then begging you, the feature or

headliner, to "Kick up the energy! I need you to save the show!").

*What would you change?

I'd want people in comedy around here to take a step back, and ask

themselves, "Am I in this for the long haul? Am I going to do what it

takes to make it OUTSIDE of DC?" ala Rory Scovel, Ryan Conner, Jared

Stern, and Danny Rouhier. I see some funny people around here that are

REMARKABLY talented, but will forever be making people laugh at open

mics, freebie shows, and local one-nighters because they don't have

the drive and hustle to move past this primordial ooze. DC is .0001%

of what is out there that needs to be seen and conquered, and if

you're just going to swim in the shallow waters of the open mic scene

your whole "career", get out of the pool, because there are other

people that need to do some laps. I'd rather see you support local

comedy, that use up stage time at an open mic just to prepare yourself

for another open mic...

*Who would you most like to kill, and bury the body of in a shallow

grave in the desert?

Dimitri Martin. He's a hipster, pretentious, too-cool-for-the-room

douche bag that is a white head on the rectum of comedy.

Posted by Jason Saenz at 3:36 PM