The Comedy Studio's Comic In Residence Interview - Dave McDonough

Dave McDonough is the April
Comic In Residence

Every month, The Comedy Studio picks a comedian to be the “Comic In Residence,” playing every show on the schedule. For April, the Studio has chosen a bit of a ringer in Dave McDonough, who starts his run tonight. McDonough won the Boston Comedy Festival’s competition in 2009 and has opened for Doug Stanhope and others. He’s got a deadpan style that has drawn natural comparisons to Steven Wright, but McDonough has more of a scatological bent.

The Marshfield native has always loved watching stand-up, and it came natural for him to transition from class clown to comedian. He says he likes to listen to Bill Burr, Louis CK, Rodney Dangerfield, and Don Rickles, a mix of edgier local comics and classic comedy idols. “Pretty much any comic who says whatever they want,” he says. “I like edgy comics. Not that you can’t be clean and funny it's just that I think it's more fun to be a jerk sometimes.”

I gave McDonough the usual Comic In Residence Questionnaire.

When did you start doing comedy?

I did my first show in 2000 then I quit until 2004. I quit because it was much harder than I thought it would be. I didn't realize how much work you had to put into it. I came back because I couldn't stop thinking about it and I thought I might be good if I put the time in. Also I lived far from the city at the time and that also dissuaded me a little.

How often have you played the Studio?

I play the studio fairly often, probably every other month or so.

What other clubs do you play?

I also play at Mottley's, Dicks Beantown Comedy Vault, and Nick’s Comedy Stop. My favorite club to perform at is the Studio because of the room itself and the audience and I'm not just kissing ass.



What local comedians have influenced you?

Tony Moschetto and Gary Gulman. I saw Gary before he did Last Comic Standing and you could just tell he was going to be big. He really made it look easy just a really good writer. And Tony was really dry and kind of out there, extremely clever and approachable. Watching him made me realize that being really dry and appearing like you don't care can sometimes draw the biggest laughs.

What's the average number of gigs you've played in a month before this?

I'm pretty lazy, so the most I've ever done before this is probably between fifteen and twenty.

How will you approach your time -- work on new stuff, refine older stuff, or a mix of both?

I plan on trying a lot of different sets, some new stuff, some clean stuff and some dirty stuff.

What do you expect to have gotten out of the experience when the month is over?

My timing and work ethic are two things I need to work on. If I develop some new jokes or tags then I'll be happy but I'm really just trying to get down what I have to a point where I can't screw it up.

Do you plan to make comedy a job, or is it something you do as a hobby?

I don't do stand up for a hobby, I take it very seriously so hopefully within the next few yrs I'll be doing it full time.

Lamont Price Brings the Fun to the Sweetwater Cafe

With Wednesday’s “March Madness” show at the Sweetwater Café, Lamont Price is coming up on his one-year anniversary for at the Boston venue. Price has booked shows there every couple of months since last April, taking a casual approach and putting comics he likes personally on the bill. It seems to be working. Price reports that he has had good crowds, and the Sweetwater already wants him to book another show for April.

“This show is strictly to have a good time,” says Price. “I don’t have any rules. Comics will ask me, what should I do? And I say do whatever you want to do. I don’t care what jokes you do, I’m not telling you what to do. There’s no rules here. Let’s just have some fun. If it stops being fun, them I’m going to stop doing it.”

Price will host a mostly local line-up with Mehran, Ed Dominguez (from Providence), Dave McDonough, Daniella Capolino, Sean Sullivan, and Ken Reid. All of the comics are people you will likely see on a bill with Price again at the Comedy Studio or other clubs around town. And while Price will sometimes book an out-of-town comic to network, he doesn’t think much about that aspect. When he says he’s in it for the laughs, he means it.

“Some shows, I’ve had guys I know from New York come down and do time, and I guess that helps me as far as getting booked, share and share alike,” he says. “I’ll go to New York and I’ll have spots because of that. I don’t know if it helps me that much. I just do it because it’s a fun idea. I don’t think it hurts me either. I do it on my terms.”

But don’t let Price’s laidback approach fool you. He has worked hard on his act and to make the most of his opportunities. He has booked more indie film work the past few years, including last year’s Face Dance, produced and directed by Martin writer and producer Topper Carew. “I want to do more,” says Price, “I want to do as much as I can. I’m doing a project coming up with Kevin Bright, the guy who created Friends, doing a little something with him. It’ll be good for my reel.”

Price was also among the handful of comedians who auditioned for Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival last week at the Comedy Studio (another audition was held at Mottley’s Comedy Club), and gives an honest assessment of what was a well-received set. “I think I did fine,” he says. “I don’t think I destroyed the room, but I thought I did well and I presented myself pretty well. As long as I was me onstage, that’s pretty much all I can ask for, really.”

Price has auditioned twice before, in ’04 and ’05, and not surprisingly, he is hopeful but won’t spend the next couple of months waiting by the phone for his call from Canada. He talked to Jeff Singer, and feels confident that he impressed, but that’s no guarantee he’ll get a sport. “He knows that I can murder, basically,” Price said of his post-show talk with Singer. “That’s obvious.We’ll just have to wait and see what they’re looking for.

March Madness at Sweetwater Café, 3 Boylston Pl, Boston. March 11 at 8PM. Price will also play ImprovBoston’s Standup Thursdays at 10PM Thursday and the Comedy Studio Friday and Saturday.

Random Notes

Mortified is back in Boston tonight, this time at Mottley’s Comedy Club. The show features people (sometimes comedians, sometimes civilians) telling embarrassing stories from their childhood. Show starts at 8PM… News from Eugene Mirman. Mirman looks to have a busy February. He’ll be touring in support of his new book, The Will to Whatevs: A Guide to Modern Life, which comes out February 10. He’ll be reading from the book, which Zach Galifianakis likens to “having a tiny Eugene riding on your shoulder and whispering his advice in your ear,” February 25 at Brookline Booksmith. Mirman is also back on Flight of the Conchords, which kicks of Season Two on HBO January 18th, and on a new live action series on Adult Swim called Delocated, in which he plays a Russian hitman and stand-up comedian. That premieres sometime in February… Erin Judge and Ailin Conant will bring their show, The Meaning of Wife, to the Comedy Studio February 2. The show is an exploration of marriage in both a modern and historical context (and, for Judge and Conant, in a personal contect). Proceeds from the Studio performance will benefit arts programs for children in Rwanda ... and Dan Crohn will bring Doug Stanhope to the Hard Rock Café May 15. Sean Sullivan will host, and Crohn and Dave McDonough will also perform.