Bobby Slayton – Never Playing It Safe

The comedy world has always been, like most industries, dog eat dog. So I suppose that when you’re competing in that environment, it might help to be a pooch with some bite. Well, not only does this week’s featured comic interview have bite, but he also has the bark. Ladies and gentleman…”The Pit Bull of Comedy,” Bobby Slayton.

Now with a moniker like, “The Pit Bull of Comedy,” you may assume that Slayton’s day to day life is filled with danger and excitement. You might even picture him wearing leather threads on stage or backhanding old ladies for talking too loud. If that is your mental image of Slayton, get ready to have your mind blown.

“Ever since I was pegged with that nickname, people ask me if I own a Pit Bull,” he adds. “I’ve had a few different dogs over the years, but now I own, the love of my life, my Miniature Pincher, Gizmo.” “You couldn’t get a dog more gay than this,” he jokes. “This dog sleeps with me, between me and my wife.” Such sweet talk for such a mean guy.

“Every time I’m on the road I bring him a present, my wife doesn’t get jack shit,” he adds in his rapid machine gun manner, “My wife is like, ‘Why didn’t you bring anything home for me,’ and I’m like ‘I can’t go to Pet Smart and get you anything for four dollars that will make you shut up and lick my balls.” “That’s why dogs are man’s best friend,” he continues.

“Look.. that whole Pit Bull of Comedy thing came from Alex Bennet, who used to be on the radio in San Francisco,” Slayton explains. “He gave me the name back in the 70′s when radio and comedy started to mesh together and I brought in Robin Williams, Dana Carvey, Jeramy Cramer and Kevin Pollack, and one day I did this innocuous joke about McDonalds on the air, causing the station to lose a Fifty Thousand Dollar account with MCDonalds.” “After that happened, Bennet turns to me and says that I’m like a Pit Bull, because I bite the hand that feeds me,” Slayton jokes.

Slayton’s return to Sacramento comes after a bit of controversy, as he was attacked by a heckler at The Punch Line three years ago.

“Yeah some guy in the crowd was pissed off because I kept calling him gay,” he explains. “So he waited a year until I came back to Sacramento and he came up and punched me before I went on stage.” “I still went on and he was arrested, but it got pretty ugly.” “I’m surprised that hasn’t happen more often to me,” he laughs.

“I never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad to be playing Sacramento again,” said Slayton. “The crowds at The Punch Line have always been pretty good for the most part.”

“You know , when there’s a heckler in the crowd, I just picture spontaneous combustion, I just picture them blowing up and dying,” Slayton laughs. “Usually if someone shouts out some shit, they think they are helping.” “So I’ll just listen to what they’re yelling about and go from there,” he adds. “If they’re being an asshole, I’ll just go after them and they’ll usually shut up.” “But then I’ll just keep going at them all night.”

Despite the “Pit Bull” persona, Slayton explains that this time around he will be sticking closer to his material rather than going after the crowd, as he’s working on his SHOWTIME special due to tape later in November.

“My main goal is to be funny,” says Slayton, “I don’t really try to go down any other road.”"A lot of comics will try to be clean or try to be dirty, and I just want to be funny.”

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