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.