Eric Schwartz

Stop me if you’ve heard this one...

A comedian, a rapper, and a DJ walk into a club.

He puts on an amazing show.

Eric Schwartz (AKA Smooth-E) is so much talent wrapped into one explosive package. A quiet, humble man in person, Schwartz lets it fly when he hits the stage. He incorporates original songs, freestyle rapping, and dancing into his stand-up act. Schwartz is playful and fun—downright goofy at times—as he encourages the audience to dance and sing along.


Andrea Caspari and Eric Schwartz

Since DJing at 14 in his hometown of Thousand Oaks, Calif., Schwartz has come a long way. As an intern for a local radio station, he began writing comedy bits and playing with characters and voices for the legendary radio personality Dick Whittington, then moved on to playing dorm rooms for his friends and cruise ship talent shows with his family. In college he placed 2nd in the comedy competition, “Funniest Person in the Valley.” Since then, Schwartz has been featured on the Tonight Show, Showtime, and he’s currently the most watched comedian on MySpace with over 4 million views.


Eric Schwartz AKA "Smooth-E"

But it’s all in a day’s work, “Your best promotion is your show. The best promotion is the showcase of your (talents)…you’re an artist.”

After treating Stanford and Sons’ manager/comedian Michael Gomez, feature act Dustin Kaufman, and this emcee for a late-night bite at Denny’s, I trapped the fatigued comedian in my car to find out what advice he had for up and comers:


Gaining Momentum


AGR: What is propelling your career right now?

Eric Schwartz: It’s definitely got a lot to do with the Internet. I think more people know about me and have seen me online than have seen me live. The Internet has been amazing.

The first viral video that I had was an accident, a song called “Hanukkah Hey Ya.” (a parody of the Outkast song, “Hey Ya.”) Some kid decided he wanted to practice his flash animation skills. He just tucked it away in a dark corner of his website in a file list where nobody could really find it. But somebody did, and they started forwarding around the link. It got huge…millions of people saw it. Back then, there wasn’t as much content on the Web. It was making headlines…not only in the U.S. That was when I was like, ‘Wow. The power of [the Internet] is so great.’ That was the first one that broke huge (Winter 2004). (The next video, “Matzah” was animated by popular animation team Jib Jab) It went on the Tonight Show and got more millions of views.

AGR: How do [videos] gain popularity on the Internet?

Eric Schwartz: MySpace has become fans of my stuff. They know my stuff now just because I keep doing it and doing it. Pretty soon people latch onto you…they like what you do…that’s all that is. They’re waiting to receive it. They want to share it with their friends. That’s the cool thing about creative projects--people want to share them because it gives them a good feeling.

AGR: How do you get that talent out there?

Eric Schwartz: This is the basis of how [to] succeed in show business: Just put out a good product. That is the main thing…it has to start with a good product. Just keep doing videos and just learn from them. You don’t have to release all of them. Just do ‘em, even for an exercise.

AGR: What is the best tool for promotion?

Eric Schwartz: The best-selling tool that I have ever had is a good show.

Whether it’s on the Web or it’s onstage, when you have something that people like they’re going to tell other people. The club’s going to want to book you more. [They’re] going to want to feature you. It brings them people, which is what they want.


Write! Write! Write!


AGR: Is it more about ideas or just sitting down to write?

Eric Schwartz: I write every morning as soon as I get up. I try to write everyday. I do like three pages everyday [without stopping]…jokes [come] a lot of times just in conversation…that’s a great way…you know it works…or a situation happens…or you just notice something…

Schwartz recommends “The Artist’s Way,” by Julia Cameron. It’s a 12-week workbook that has helped his writing goals tremendously.


Focus on Yourself


AGR: Does it matter what everyone else is doing?

Eric Schwartz: Carlos Mencia told me something once. He said, “People are going to pass you on the way up and on the way down and it doesn’t matter. You just have to be focused on what you’re doing.” What does it matter what somebody else is doing? It doesn’t matter. We [spend time] comparing ourselves…it’s human nature…but if you really think about it…nothing that anybody else does really affects you. I see comedians do it all that time, “That person is stealing my joke!” or “I can’t do my dating joke because that person just did it!” But it’s all in your imagination! There’s a way you can do it because you’re a different person. Whatever circumstances you have in any given room...it’s like a puzzle. There’s a way to figure it out. I don’t think it’s ever impossible to figure it out. I’ve seen people tank when they didn’t need to tank, or do well when nobody expected them to.


Do Your Own Thing


AGR: What was a turning point in your stage performance?

Eric Schwartz: I [had] never mixed my comedy with my music…I’ve always had that show inside me…I thought to myself, “What would be the most fun I could have in my show?” That’s what I do now. I want to have a show where not only people are laughing, but they’re like grooving along with the music…it’s like a party…my show is almost like I am DJing but I’m doing comedy.

I want to keep surprising people. I love doing it! When I’m up there it’s just like so much fun. I’d rather do stand-up than [go to clubs]. I’m working and I’m getting paid to do it. It’s like the best! Just don’t feel limited with what you can do for stand-up. I think we build it up to be more difficult than it really is.

AGR: Is there a formula?

Eric Schwartz: No…everything’s going to work differently for different people…

My best times of success have been when I’m focused on putting out a good show.

The way to get ahead is to get your writing ahead and your performing ahead.


Live Your Dream


AGR: What advice do you have for up and coming comics?

Eric Schwartz: Don’t listen to comedians…listen to yourself the most. There’s a lot of stuff that people will tell you about what comedy is and isn’t…how you should be, but you know that you got into comedy to do a certain thing. Whatever that is, explore that. That is the dream that you’ve had. Go after that, and not somebody else’s dream.

The most important thing is to just do a good show. Do your job. The main thing that a lot of times we lose sight of is to be a comedian. It will get you so much further than getting friends on MySpace. I want to be a good comedian first. I don’t want to be a comedian who’s good at MySpace. Use it as the spreader of good work. Don’t spread yourself and not have anything to offer. People will advertise it for you.

Henry Welch

Do You...

Comedian Henry Welch took the stage at the Kansas City Improv April 17, 2007. Now hailing from Atlanta, GA, Welch had to follow 6 local comedians and win over the fatigued crowd. He did so with deft wit and by punctuating his jokes with unique phrases, such as, “Y’all ain’t ready for me!” Welch got his start in Birmingham, AL, where he began comedy in 1987. He began his full-time career in 1994, and now travels around the country each week, entertaining crowds in various cities such as Miami, Richmond, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Baltimore. This was Welch’s first time back to Kansas City since he performed about 6 years ago for a New Years party. Friendly and accommodating, Welch and I sat down in the Green Room so I could find out how he manages to energize new crowds yet remain so clean. (Inside tip: he performs as if the women in his family are in the audience!)

Henry Welch

New Kid in Town

Advice from the Green Room: How do you know how to get the crowd on your side when you’re new to the city?

Henry Welch: I try to do little clever stuff. It was a good crowd and I appreciated them.

My stuff is crazy in a unique and different way. I’m not intimidated. I like to be a little intelligent and have a lot of fun.

AGR: How do you prepare for a show in a different city?

Henry Welch: I read two different newspapers everyday so I know what’s going on in these cities. [I say], “I need to remember that when I get there.”

You want to make the people feel like they’re a part of it, too. You don’t want to come to these towns and make [them] think you’re better than the people. You want to make the people come and embrace you.

Clean Sweep

AGR: How important is it to be clean?

Henry Welch: You don’t have to be that dirty. Sometimes they think because it’s a black crowd we want to hear the N-word. They don’t want to hear that either. You don’t want to be like that.

I work churches and colleges and everywhere. I learned if I can be clean I can go anywhere.

It’s easy to be dirty--it’s hard to be clean…and I take that challenge. As a Black comedian they have that stigma—just nasty and raunchy—[but] I’m a very intelligent guy.

AGR: What’s your writing technique?

Henry Welch: I just read something and I can see the headline and I just take it from there. I used to write down a lot of stuff but now I’m at the point where I decided to keep it in my head because comics can’t steal it in my head.

AGR: How do you stay fresh and on your game?

Henry Welch: As a kid I used to read at my grandmother’s house…current events…

As a comic I feel like you’ve got to know what’s going on everyday. A lot of comics [are] stuck where they’re at. [No one] wants to book them because [they’re] cutting the same jokes.

As a comic, you’ve got to prove yourself every night. What I did tonight [doesn’t] mean [anything] tomorrow. To me being a comic is like being a porno star or boxer. You’ve got to come up with the work. They’re going to be expecting you to do the knock out…they expect you to be funny. It’s the most humbling experience.

AGR: Where do you get your work ethic?

Henry Welch: I’ve got the old school mentality. I come from the era where you had to take 5 to 6 years to learn how to be a comedian. But some people have been doing comedy for two weeks and then they got thrown on BET—now you can’t tell them that. Some people got the break and what do they do with it?

You want longevity. I set the example. If you’re a headliner you’ve got to be able to follow whatever comes in front of you.

AGR: What advice do you have for an up and coming comic?

Henry Welch: You need to know that you’ve got to keep doing your stuff. When people tell you, “Don’t talk about this, don’t talk about that,” in so many words [they’re] telling you, “Don’t be funny in front of me.”

You’ve got to listen and do what you think is best. You’re a comic. You want to be funny. You want to do your best stuff.

A lot of times people think they’re giving you good advice, and they’re not.

Do "you". Always do you.

Do you. For real. That’s how it’s supposed to be. Do you.

Darren Carter

I first heard Darren Carter on the now defunct All Comedy Radio station. I had no idea what he looked like, but I had a picture in my head from the descriptions of himself in his jokes. He looked exactly like I imagined. He had such a silly style that had me laughing out loud in the car. When I heard he was coming to Kansas City, I had to meet him.


Darren Carter, the Party Starter.


Darren Carter

I met up with Darren before he took the stage at Stanford's Comedy Club in Kansas City. I just got off stage after finishing my set and saw him in the Green Room talking with the club owner and Andrea Caspari. Perfect timing. I wanted to know how he prepared for a show, and particularly his technique for 'winning' over a new crowd in a new city.


Andrea Caspari, Darren Carter, Brad Meehan

Darren is great at really pumping up the crowd. He comes out to his own theme song written by Kansas City rapper "Big Fluff Nickolantern." It takes him less than two seconds to get an entire room on his side and really involves the crowd throughout entire the show - something I haven't seen to that extent. As the music blasted from the speakers, he showed that this is his party and we were all invited.


Darren Carter "The Rooster" and Big Fluff Nickolantern

Taking the Stage

AGR: What are you doing right now? How are you preparing for your set? Do you have a set list you write out?

Darren Carter: For stuff that's really important, I'll write down a set list. On the road, I have a lot of material and it's all floating around in my head - I want to be able to grab on to this joke and that joke.

AGR: When do you work out new material?

Darren Carter: I usually just throw it in the mix. Sometimes I'll even open with new material. Seinfeld said, "Never open with new material." But on that last set, I did my first two minutes and got them on my side then tried [a new bit]. And it worked. That was all new. I've probably done it less than ten times.

AGR: When do you decide if it works of if you're going to throw it away?

Darren Carter: Most of the stuff I do works. But if it doesn't I'll put it away and bring it out later. Some stuff I'll throw away. But honestly, it either works really well or it will barely work. You have to believe in it.

I look back at jokes I wrote like five years ago and I think, "That's kind of funny." Then I'll deliver it. I'll bring it out and actually do it. But because I don't believe in it anymore, I can't sell it. It used to kill for me because I used to believe in it. Like some of your stuff, the stuff that you love, it may just kill now. But then five years, ten years from now you're going to be like, "This is not my big bit anymore." But someone that saw you tonight will remember that joke. And in 2017, they'll see you and they'll [quote the joke]. Then you'll think, "I should do that joke again." And you'll do it, but if you don't believe it's funny, it won't work any more.


Be Yourself

AGR: Are you 'yourself' on stage?

Darren Carter: Yes. I'm a heightened version of myself on stage. Obviously I don't walk around 'beat-boxing' or doing weird shit like that. Sometimes I do. I'm the type of comic that likes to joke around. Some comedians when they're not performing they're quiet, they're bitter, or they're angry. But they find a away to bring comedy out of that. I'm personally not like that. I like to go for the silly. I always like making people laugh - even if it's just one person.


Just Follow the Rules

The one thing I learned early on is that there are no rules in comedy. Some guys say 'don't yell.' Well, there are guys that yell: Dane Cook, Sam Kinnison. Some guys say 'don't do sketches'. Well, guess what? The first time you audition for SNL or another sketch show they're like , "Bring in three characters and you wear costumes." Some guys say, 'Don't use props.' But look how far some of the comics can go with props. There are really no rules.


Two for One Special

AGR: What's the one thing you learned where you thought, "I wish someone would have told me that"?

Darren Carter: Try to write your jokes both clean and dirty. Don't only have the dirty version. Because when opportunities come up to get on TV or radio and they're like, "What do you got?" 'Well, I can't do that bit, or that bit...I have nothing.' You want to have two different versions.

AGR: Do you think you even need the dirty version?

Darren Carter: Dirty does get you the big laugh, but you don' want to rely on it. My dirty isn't that dirty. You don't want to do it so filthy that people are like, "Eww".

You can' tell when the crowd doesn't 'give it up' like they should because you crossed the line a little bit. It's good to get right out of it and let them trust you again. You don't want to get to a point where they don't trust you.

AGR: How do you build trust?

Darren Carter: Just be confident, likable.


Attitude of Gratitude

Darren Carter: No matter where you're at. Be in the moment and give it your all. Even it you're in some crappy gig in Idaho, or wherever. You have to have an "attitude of gratitude". Look at these country stars or rock stars who have long careers. They're out there at meet-n-greets , and they embrace the fans. Even when I'm going to do some crappy AM radio, I get up and take a shower and get pumped up. I'm like, "Yeah! I'm going to rock this show!" I never want to get to a point where I'm like, "F*ck this. This means nothing. Who's listening anyway?"


On Advice

Darren Carter: Don't always listen to other comics all the time. This advice they're giving you - some of it's good, but some of it you have to weed out. Find out what's pertinent to you.

Drew Hastings

Drew Hastings is a master story teller and an even better interview. His 18+ years of experience provided so much insight into the various stages a comic must go through to reach that final stage, which he described as simply, 'the truth'.

"Great comedy comes from pain," he said. "What you most don't want people to know about you - your biggest fear - is the kind of stuff you should be talking about on stage..."

The truth.

Did you know I'm afraid of public restrooms? Neither did the 300+ people at Friday's show... until I told them. The truth. Baby steps.


Drew Hastings

Side note: 70's porn star Seka was in the audience that night.


Crowds

The second show Friday night was a smaller crowd. Compared to the first show you really had to work for the laugh.

Drew: The smaller crowd is, the more it let's you deal with being 'you'.

AGR: Are there 'bad' crowds?

Drew: I think that's a very dangerous place to go to ever start blaming the crowds. If you do that, then it's very easy to look over your own shortcomings and what you're doing.

AGR: Even if the material killed in the first show?

Drew: It doesn't matter. It's only good material if it kills 99.99% of the time.

AGR: How do you judge if it's really working? If at the first show every joke is getting applause and at the second show, the same jokes are getting little 'ha ha ha's'? How do you judge the material?

Drew: If it's a small crowd and they're drunk, or it's a small crowd and they're tired from working or whatever, then 'ha ha ha' may be the equivalent of 'killing' in the first show.


Adaptation

We discussed how audiences have evolved over the years.

AGR: How have you changed your act over the years to adapt to audiences?

Drew: I've tried not to. Woody Allen once said, "Don't go looking for your audience. Do what you do and let your audience find you." It's a longer journey that way.



Evolution

There's a lineage to it. When you start out you just want to be funny. You want to go on stage and be funny. And then you go into another phase a year or two or three down the road and that might be the 'too hip for the room' or the 'intellectual' stage. You go through that and hopefully that's a passing stage and you get out of it because you realize that's kind of pretentious and that isn't what it's really supposed to be. And then you go through a phase where you're trying to play to the comics in the back of the room. And you get out of that because you realize there's no future or money in that. And then you go to a phase where you do what what you think how the audience perceives you and you try to live up to that. And that's wrong. And then you go through a phase where you act like what you think a stand-up should act like. In other words, you go on stage and you act like what you think a stand-up comedian in your skin should act like. And that's not right. The next phase you do you realize that ultimately you want to be yourself on stage - which is very much easier said than done. So then you act like what you think you're like on stage. But you're not being you. You're acting like what you think is being you. And that's not really quite it. And ultimately if you survive and you stick around long enough and you evolve through the grief, you become yourself on stage - tweaked, maybe exaggerated - but 'yourself' on stage. There are exceptions to that, but I think that's roughly the path.

AGR: If a comic knew that the ultimate goal is to just 'be yourself', could you skip those middle phases?

Drew: No. It's an evolution. Some people get it. Some people partially get it. Some people it takes 16, 18 years to get. Some people it takes 8.


Writing and Performance

AGR: What's more important? The words to be funny or the performance to be the funny part?

Drew: I want to say the words. I would tend to say the words but you have to have words along with the attitude, the performance, the look - everything. That's your way of 'italicizing' your personality, in a way.



Reaching out

AGR: If you could give one piece of advice to an up-and-coming comedian, what would it be?

Drew: Rick Reynolds said, "Only the truth is funny." Think about that. That makes a lot of sense. Comedy comes from pain. What you most don't want people to know about you - your biggest fear - is the kind of stuff you should be talking about on stage. It's hard to do. But once you can do that you can do anything.

Theo Von

You remember Theo Von from MTV's Road Rules and Real World/Road Rules Challenges. He has been in the comedy scene for about 4 years and has had some early successes including appearances on NBC's "Last Comic Standing" and on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.



I was opening for Theo and Drew Hastings at the Improv. Andrea stopped by the club before her show on the other side of town. Theo had just hurt his back and was layed-out on the couch waiting for the Vicadin to kick in. So we just lounged around the Green Room and talked about his comedy journey.



Theo had an interesting approach to comedy. It was more of a personal goal for him to just try it, reach a certain stage in his career, then move onto something else - leaving comedy behind. At one point in the interview I asked if it was possible to just walk away from comedy...




Getting Started


AGR: How did you get started in comedy?

Theo Von: It’s just something I wanted to do. I don’t watch that many comics. I don’t like getting their thoughts stuck in my head.

AGR: How has your persona as a reality star helped in comedy?

Theo Von: I feel like in some ways [Road Rules Season 9] helped out…so, there’s nothing I can do about that. I planned on being a comic before…at least trying it…it just happened in that order.

AGR: How different are you on stage than you are in person?

Theo Von: I think I’m a lot more talkative and fun on stage than I am in real life. It’s probably a personality I would be happier being.

AGR: What’s your aim on stage?

Theo Von: I think my whole goal in the beginning of comedy was I just want to sell the idea that I’m a likable guy. That’s one of the things people always told me. That’s my goal, to have people feel like we got to kind of hang out for a little while—“We had a good time with that guy!”


Make Me Laugh


AGR: How do you create a joke?

Theo Von: Just getting up on stage. After awhile you start to know when something will kind of work or when it won’t.

AGR: How do you know what to keep and what to discard?

Theo Von: One, of course, what they laugh at. And two, what you laugh at, I'm learning. You have to keep some of that, too. Even if they don't laugh.

AGR: You keep stuff even if it doesn't make the crowd laugh?

Theo Von: Right, otherwise it gets boring. Some of the stuff you say for them but the other stuff you have to say for you.


Phone a Friend


AGR: Do you write?

Theo Von: I don't really "write". I usually just put down things I think about before I go to bed or I'll write them down when I wake up in the morning. I leave myself messages on my phone all day - like three or four a day.

AGR: Ideas or full jokes with punchlines?

Theo Von: Just ideas.

AGR: How do you hash them out?

Theo Von: I usually just throw them in as maybe a one-liner to see how they even adapt to the idea. Half I keep and try.

AGR: How important is working clean?

Theo Von: I like to try to keep jokes clean, but…I try to not write any more [wiener] jokes if I can help it…but sometimes you have to do some because people laugh at ‘em.

AGR: What advice would you give to up-and-coming comics?

Theo Von: Do your own thing. How would you ever get to new levels if you didn’t do your own thing?

Advice from the Green Room

A couple of months ago I was working with comedian Robert Hawkins at the Kansas City Improv. After one of the shows he said, 'If you really want to make it big in comedy you have to get more personal with the material. Dig deep, no matter how painful the truth is. That's when the best material will come out. Then you will stand out as a comedian.'

Great advice. I think he's right. Any one can write an 'airline peanut' joke, but only I can write about my life, my experiences. "Life" is what people will relate to.

I am fortunate to work with some of the biggest names in comedy. I began to wonder what other advice these comedians could offer to up-and-coming comics like myself. So my friend, comedian Andrea Caspari, and I decided to interview these comics Gonzo-style before, during, between, and after shows asking them how they prepare, how they write, how they know what's funny and what's not funny, etc. My hope is that by reading these interviews you will find at least one piece of advice that will help take you to the next level.