Name: How Dave Attell Got Started In Comedy | Are You Garbage
Uploaded: 2024-11-07T13:01:04.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'How Dave Attell Got Started In Comedy | Are You Garbage' from Are You Garbage Clips on Comedy Buff. Published 2024-11-07. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'How Dave Attell Got Started In Comedy | Are You Garbage' from Are You Garbage Clips on Comedy Buff. Published 2024-11-07. Transcript available.

Well, I will say this, is that, you know, I've been doing comedy mostly, you
know, on the road because I'm a road comic, you know, club comic.
But I didn't think this comedy boom would go so long, you know.
I mean, when I started, it was kind of the comedy bust, you know, it was the
Dust Bowl times.
So it was really kind of, you know, it was kind of bleak.
Yeah.
And, you know, it was not a big deal.
But now I think it's off to the races.
Yeah, it's bigger than it's ever been.
It's crazy, yeah.
It is really big.
And I was stupid to put all that effort into juggling.
Because I figured it would be, well, it's the next art form that needs some
attention.
It's not the fire sticks we're going to take off.
Something fire sticks, maybe even ventriloquism might come back.
I don't know.
Uh-huh.
But, yeah, no, I've been doing it for a long time.
And, you know, you guys have seen what I do.
You know, it's just like dumb jokes, basically.
One of the best, baby.
Yeah, well, yeah.
Hey, well, thanks, man.
I appreciate it.
And, you know, in this world where everybody is a critic, you know, I, of
course, have to filter up a bit.
But back in the day, you know, in the roaring 90s, you know, pretty much
anything went.
Sure, yeah.
It was flawless.
It was a good time, you know.
And, you know, I could totally see why, you know, people are the way things are
now.
But it was definitely more fun back then.
Of course.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I understand it.
It was more raucous.
Raucous, bawdy, you know.
Dave, take us back a little bit further.
Mom and dad, brothers, sisters.
What are we talking about here?
Where in Long Island?
All of the pronouns are all in one house.
I'm from originally South Shore, Long Island.
And I grew up in a family business, which is, I don't know if you guys are into
bridal.
But my dad had a bridal shop.
I worked there.
Okay.
My mom worked there.
Wow.
At one point, all of my brothers worked there.
My grandpa worked there.
At one point, my grandpa worked for me because I was head of shipping and
receiving.
Okay.
And he worked for me.
So, well, at that point, he was in his 80s and I was 17.
So, it was really a weird thing.
And I sold shoes and tuxes, you know, for weddings and stuff like that.
And, you know, as a boy, of course, being close to all of that femininity.
Sure.
I mean, really, I'd fight the urge, you know, jumping teams.
But I was going to say, you know, at night, I would clean the store.
It was just me and the mannequins.
Oh, all right.
Fair enough.
At what age did you start working?
Was it young?
Oh, yeah.
Like around 16.
And your dad opened the store out there.
Yeah.
Okay.
Busy, I assume?
No, it actually fell apart when we lost our house.
So, it's like one of those stories.
Thanks for bringing that up, Fatty.
No, no.
I don't mind.
I don't mind getting into it.
The guy put everything he had into it.
And, you know, that's just sometimes how it goes.
But I will say one thing is that it did help me, like, learn to talk to people.
Sure.
You know, that kind of thing.
And, you know, having to deal with, you know, like these crazy brides, you know,
the bridezillas
and all that kind of stuff.
And also, the guys, like, you know, with the tuxes, like, you know, when it
would go out,
it would look totally different when it came back.
Sure.
You know, like covered in puke and other fluids.
Yeah, blood and stuff.
Oh, yeah.
We're talking what?
Early 80s?
When are you working there?
I would say early 80s.
And then, you know, then I went to college.
You know, I went to NYU.
Did you?
Did you really?
I didn't know that.
I just really wanted out of the house.
I was a terrible student, but.
What'd you major in?
Protesting.
Yeah, three majors back then.
No, film and television.
Okay.
And, you know, it's funny because, like, the cellar is right by there.
Yeah.
So, when I see these kids walking around in their bubble, you know,
and I was never like those kids because, you know,
once I went to go see stand-up, I really was like,
oh, man, this is so cool.
But I didn't think I could do it or I didn't think I was going to do it
or anything like that.
And then I kind of, like, jumped into it, like, open mic style.
And, you know, but the cellar was right there.
So, I would go see, like, Alan Havy and Colin Quinn.
There were so many, like, great legends of comedy
that were, like, working at that point.
But comedy itself was, like, kind of bleak.
And, you know, by the time I got into it,
it was pretty much death.
And I used to work at the old original improv in Midtown.
And that was run by Silver Saunders Friedman,
who was Bud Friedman's ex-wife.
And I'm sure the comedy fans out there know this,
but there was a divorce.
Bud went west.
And Silver kept the New York Club.
Yeah.
And Bud's Club went on to great success.
And the New York one was pretty much...
Turned into a pizza shop.
It flamed out.
It really flamed out.
But that's a place where I learned a lot about, like,
what not to do in comedy, pretty much,
where, like, you guys will get this,
where there's a lot of guys who were pretty much, you know,
waiting on a sitcom.
Sure.
So, they didn't put much work into their act.
So, I'd go up there, do the same set,
and then get drunk and high.
And I always said to myself,
since I work in the door,
I'm like, if I ever get that stage time,
I'm going to, like, do something new, you know?
So, that's what I always said to myself.
And I try and, like, live by that creed, I guess.
But that's where, like, I saw Bill Hicks for the first time
and all these different people.
And then, like, you know, back in the day,
like, there were clubs that you probably wouldn't realize,
but, like, Stand Up in New York was rocking.
I remember.
It took me years to get in there.
Yeah.
Years.
Yeah.
Even when we moved here,
that Stand Up in New York was the place to be.
Yeah, it was pop.
Right.
And now, you know, I don't know what it is now,
a paint store or something,
but it's still out there.
And what were some of the other ones there?
Like, the comedy store.
Like, you know, I never got in there.
You know, it took a long time to get in there.
I was working in the other club with Rick Newman.
I'm losing the name now because I'm old.
Catch.
Catch Rising Star, which was, like, another one.
That's where, like, Adam Sandler and all those guys would play.
And I would, you know, watch them.
And I was like, you know, this is so cool.
But at that point, all these clubs were slowly on the downtrend.
So I guess the one that you guys also would know is Caroline's.
Sure, of course.
This is how big Caroline's was.
So that was a big pop for me when I finally got to play all these clubs
and I was a regular.
But it was definitely a, you know,
it wasn't like a straight path to the middle.
Was this in college you started?
No, no, no.
After college.
After college.
And I had jobs.
And I thought I was going to join the Navy.
I was going to do a lot of different things.
But I never committed to comedy until, like, I'd say my late 20s, you know,
where it's like I did it every night.
I did every open mic you could.
I would go to work.
I lived in Brooklyn.
I would come back in the city.
I would, you know, do my open mics and then I'd go back.
So I was like one of those kind of things for years and years and years.
But I never thought this would be my job.
I thought, like, eventually I would have to, you know, get another job.
Of course.
And back then it was a different type of comedy.
You know, there was no spectrum.
There was just, you know, odd people.
And, you know, to be honest, it was a lot more fun.
I think that the guys that I started with, a lot of them went on to great
success.
Some of them are still doing comedy.
Some of them have moved on to movies and television and all that kind of stuff.
But at the very beginning of it, it was just like, you know, just trying to be
as funny as you can.
And like, yeah, sure, it's very political getting these clubs and all that kind
of stuff.
But the whole idea was like, I sucked for a long time.
So it was really cool that, like, I was able to do it kind of under the radar.
Not like now where people kind of like immediately their first set is right up
on TikTok.
You know.