AC: The Steve Harvey Morning Show is broadcast on dozens of stations. What is it like going to work, knowing you’re going to reach that many people?

TM: You know, when you start thinking about it – I’m talking to 8-9 million people – and you start thinking about it, you start to panic. ‘Oh my god I’m talking to 8-9 million people!’ You go in with a relaxed mind. You’re not going in with notes, you’re not going in with index cards. You just gotta go in with your personality. I’m a wild and crazy guy, as long as I go in with that, I’m gonna do the job.

When we first started, I used to go in with all these notes. I’d go in with all this stuff. My backpack full of stuff and I’d jot it down. Steve was like ‘Why’d you bring all that shit? Why do you need all that shit for?’ I was like ‘Well I got this joke it would be really great.’ He was like ‘We don’t need that. You stay funny.’ I had to understand radio is spontaneous. Radio is about what’s happening in the moment. Theater of the mind. So you just gotta go with it.

AC: How did you get on the show?

TM: Steve Harvey is my uncle. I was out working with Luther Vandross ten plus years ago. We were doing concerts over in Europe. I came back home and Luther Vandross said ‘Hey I’m gonna take some down time and we’ll be back up in six months, I’ll write a new album and we’ll be back out on the road doing concerts.’  I decided to go to California. I reached out to this new manager, Rushion McDonald. He said ‘Why don’t you come up and get on the radio, hang out with us and talk smack with Steve like you guys always do? Come tomorrow like 5 or 530.’ I said no problem, we’re doing dinner? He said ‘No no no hang on. I mean 530 in the morning.’ I was like you got to be kidding me.

So I get out there, I go in for about a week and Steve and I are just dropping mad smack on the radio. And it became a hit. It’s this unc’ and nephew thing that just blows up and everyone likes it. They said hey, we want to do this all the time and I said hey, hang on, I work for Luther Vandross. So when Mr. Vandross decides we’re going back out on the road, I gotta go back out on the road. Truth of the matter is Mr. Vandross as you know, he got sick and we never went back out on the road. So actually I was given a job when I didn’t even know I needed a job. So that was the birth of me being on the radio with Steve and here we are ten years later and we’re still going strong.

AC: You’ve done scripted acting and improv on the radio. Which would you say is tougher?

TM: They both have challenges. Scripted you want to be as believable as possible. You want everybody watching you from the audience and say, ‘Wow, what a hell of an actor. He’s really got it down. He’s doing a great job.’ So it’s about your character.

I’m still a character so to speak on the radio show. But I’m coming from a different aspect. They both have their challenges. In this one I’m the loose cannon on the show. I’m the Barney Fife. I’m the trifling nephew who can’t do anything right. I gotta sell all of that. I gotta make you think I’m really that damn stupid. But I’m not. I’m the guy that has Shakespeare bouncing around in his head.

(In fact, during this interview, Miles rattled off not only a Shakespearean monologue, but also some lines from one of his biggest influences, Sidney Poitier.)

AC: Who are some of your biggest influences in comedy and acting?

TM: I think every comedian has Richard Pryor on their list. I like Bill Cosby. I like his cleanness. I like how he decided he wasn’t going to be a person that would use profanity and still deliver his message. Redd Foxx was just straight up triple-x, man. You look at Don Rickles. Don Rickles is funny. Lucille Ball — funny. It don’t get no better. Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett, oh my God. What are we talkin’ about? We’re talkin’ funny.

This will probably blow you away. Donald Sutherland I think is an awesome actor. He does not get the credit he deserves. Don Cheadle I think is a great actor. You ask anybody else they say they like Denzel, but I go way deeper. My greatest, to me, is Sidney Poitier. If you ask Denzel that ought to be his greatest too.

AC: You put out a CD last year called “Just My Thoughts” which featured your stand-up act. Are you looking to do more of that?

TM: Stand-up to me is fun to do. It’s not the ultimate goal. My background is theater. The ultimate goal is always film and television. If I could do 3 or 4 films a year, that would be one of my ultimate goals. I get phone calls because of who they hear on the radio. I get phone calls to do movies because of that. You get phone calls because of the popularity most of the time not ‘Oh shit he can really act.’ It doesn’t come out until someone gives me a role and says ‘Oh god, he nailed it.’ Yeah asshole, he’s a damn actor, he’s not just some dumb guy on the radio. If they’re calling because of the dumb guy on the radio, that must mean I’m really doing my job on the radio.

AC: Is your radio dynamic with Steve Harvey more of a working relationship or a personal bond?

TM: It’s more of a working relationship. I think the most important thing he taught me was there’s no show without business. You have to have the business side. You have to know what you’re doing on the business side. That’s one of the most important parts I needed to know. I made some decision where I say ‘Oh god I shouldn’t have done that.’ And then he’ll come to me and say ‘Ok here’s what you did wrong.’ You get more sharp in knowing how to handle business. And that’s really what’s gonna make you more successful in the beginning. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t have this business thing down man, you’re gonna lose.

AC: Speaking of business, what do you have in the works for 2012?

TM: I got this special my manager is pushing me on. I do a lot of different characters. We put together this thing called ‘I Got People Inside My Head.’ It’s a special that would be me for about 30 minutes and I would be introducing my characters. So the same way that you see Eddie Murphy doing the Klumps and he’s in full makeup, the makeup is like that. Here’s a guy doing three or four people, but it’s all him.

I’m really excited about this prank phone call CD. It’s called ‘Church Folk Gotta Laugh Too.’ What I did this time is I created a theme and I pulled out all prank phone calls that I’ve done that have not been on any CD’s that are church related.

AC: Would you say the prank phone calls are your favorite part of the Steve Harvey Morning Show?

TM: These people are blown away by the prank phone calls. They love them. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite part. It’s what I’m known by radio wise. I’m known for so much, but I’m a guy who does these characters. More importantly it’s one of the killer spots on the radio. It’s one of our benchmarks so to speak that everybody likes it. The pranks are head over heels, they are the best things in the world.

For more comedy news and exclusive interviews visit our AmericasComedy Facebook fan page and follow us on Twitter @AmericasComedy!

Mike Birbiglia, who is among a short list of incredibly accomplished and current working comedians, stars opposite of Terry Gross, the host of NPR’s popular talk show Fresh Air. Not only does Birbiglia star but he also wrote and directed the film which was produced by This American Life’s Ira Glass

The film involves Birbigilia being interviewed by Gross duing her radio show. However, instead of calling it a day, Mike decides to tag along with Gross (much to her dismay). The movie, while incredibly short, is clever and wickedly funny as Mike discovers how incredibly similar Miss Gross is on and off the air.

Oh yeah, and guns are also involved. GUNS! ON NPR?!?! Insanity I know. So sit back relax and let Mike and Terry do what they do best. Terry will captivate and make you eager to listen, and Mike will make you feel incredibly awkward. Enjoy!

For more comedy news and exclusive interviews visit our AmericasComedy.Com Facebook fan page and follow us on Twitter @AmericasComedy!

The obviously offended Stern went on the say, “What a mistake. That dummy…You called Jay Leno? Jay Leno hasn’t done a good interview ever.” Stern has made his loathing for Leno no secret. In previous interviews he’s called him both “a crook” and “horrible.” Continuing his shock jock antics Stern also attacked Fallon’s musical guest, former Rolling Stone’s guitarist Mick Taylor. However, he later apologized via twitter.

Much of Stern’s hatred for Leno comes from the shock jocks close relationship to the Late Show’s David Letterman. As has been well documented, Letterman and Leno maintain one of the greatest television feuds of all-time. With that said, should Stern drop the hatchet, or do his outbursts about Leno make for great entertainment?

Check out the video below! You can catch Stern in action on season 7 of Americas Got Talent Mondays 8pm ET on NBC.

For more comedy news and exclusive interviews visit our AmericasComedy.Com Facebook fan page and follow us on Twitter @AmericasComedy!

Waters spoke with AmericasComedy.Com about his journey in comedy, the highs of his career, and what drives him to keep getting better.

What were those first couple years like in S.F.? You were trying to find your voice as a comedian?

Once I got there, I was like, you know, I’m in S.F., I’m in California, I’ve always wanted to be here. I’ve finally finished school. I can finally chill out a little bit…I can actually just enjoy myself’…and that’s all I did. I never went back to work. I basically decided I was going to have fun, I was going to party. And two years later, I’m climbing out of an 18 month hangover.

Wow. So you weren’t doing a lot of stand-up?

Well there was. There was. I lived in Berkeley for six months…I was able to perform every week. There was this place called the Brainwash. There was this place in Emeryville. I definitely got around and did shows. But I just wasn’t very focused. Which was kind of the idea of going out there – was kind of being focused and finding which way to go. That part didn’t work. I think the sense of humor in the bay is a lot more experimental. It’s a lot goofier, and therefore a lot more forgiving. It was definitely good for me to experience. I think New York is not a place I would advise people to start out doing comedy. It’s not easy to move up…I feel like New York comedy has this veneer of cool. This veneer of harshness to it. Kind of like a bunch of Dave Attell clones floating around. That’s just not my persona.

That’s interesting that you brought that up. After listening to your album I was trying to figure out ‘What’s this guys persona?’ More to the goofy side you think?

You know what, my personality is goofy. Just when I’m hanging out, I’m pretty goofy and silly. But I really subscribe to this theory (from) Richard Pryor, there was a quote attributed to him where he said, ‘Most of what I say is to get the audience comfortable and feeling good so I can say the one or two things I want to say and they can accept it.’ So I talk about some serious things in my comedy, but they’re all within the guise of…they’re all dressed up really nicely so they can be consumed. Which I think is a good thing, because you want to say things in order for them to be received. If you want to make any progress.

You explain it really well. Because a lot of stuff about comedy, is people using humor to make a point, whether it’s about relationships, or society or whatever.

Yeah.

So there’s also that stereotype out there about comedians wanting people to like them. If that’s how you are I couldn’t tell from the album. Do you fit that stereotype?

Yeah…I do. I definitely do. I wish I could say no…I remember when I was very early into comedy, I was doing this open mic and I was very nervous, as I always was. And there was this guy doing an open mic and I don’t know who he was but he had some success, he did a couple TV spots or whatever. And he just had this fearlessness about him. And I remember thinking, ‘I can’t wait until I get any level of success. Because then I can lean upon that. And I don’t have to be so concerned about how each individual set goes. And I’ll be that much better.’ And that was my thought. And I didn’t realize that you find new fears. It’s like at each point I’m finding something that makes me horrified to go on stage. It’s like any (good) thing that happens, I have something to prove. Now that I’ve done Ferguson and Letterman, now I have something to prove. I want to validate those things.

Would you say that some of those fears were conquered when you won those comedy competitions?

It did. But the flip side is I find new things that I’m fearful of. It’s just like I need to show that I’m talented, and then after the competition I need to show that I deserved to win that competition.

So you sort of feel like the work you put in to win wasn’t enough to validate you? Now you have even more to prove?

Yeah. I don’t feel like doing anything and doing your job, for me, never validates having done it. Now I’m not saying that’s the way it should be. It’s very much not the way someone should live there lives, but that’s just the way I am…It’s not necessarily humility. I think it goes beyond that…some kind of deeper need for validation. I don’t know, when good things happen, I always feel I need to show that I deserved that to happen. And it’s very motivating…I can’t think of anything that will happen to me where I’ll be satisfied and will not work hard. Because at each point in time I’ve found something new to get me off my ass, and it’s mostly fear, but it is what it is.

That seems tough to be motivated by fear though, if that’s what motivates you. It seems like a tough thing to carry with you. Wouldn’t you want to be motivated by something other than fear? 

I would love to be motivated by something different. I think that’s why we read self-help books. Haha. Um, yeah, you’re totally right about that. You’re totally right.

Yeah I wasn’t necessarily trying to make a point, but comedians are very interesting and I appreciate how thoughtful you are…figuring yourself out and what drives you. 

Yeah, it comes with a lot of failure. Haha. It’s like how do I not wind up back in this ditch?

It’s interesting for you to say that it comes with a lot of failure. I mean, you got into Columbia, you’ve been on Letterman, you put out your album. But you still bring up your failures?

Yeah I’m like a football coach. As a football coach you win the game and your happy for like the night, and you get ready for the next game. But you lose a game  it just sticks with you for five or six days, until the next time you get to win. The failures always go much farther than the successes. Which is really kind of how I was raised, was to really focus on what you can do better and never be satisfied…because you’re always looking for the next thing. (That’s) what drove me to get to Columbia and graduate. And then in my mid 20′s, by the time I was in S.F. I realized that leaves no room for happiness. So I can’t actually enjoy anything. So that’s no good…I kind of had to step back from that a little bit. From time to time I look back on my career… if I never did any more standup, I could walk away and look at the stuff that I did, and say you know what – I think I can conclude I was pretty good. I think it was a good choice that I made to do standup. Which is validating, you know? They can never take away Letterman, they can never take away Ferguson or The Daily Line or “Tea with Tyson” or any of that stuff. And I’m proud of all that…I feel like I’ve done well.

Well I’m glad you brought up Tea with Tyson because I wanted to ask you, what’s the hardest part about interviewing Mike Tyson? Or what’s the scariest part? Because I’m always worried that the person interviewing Tyson is going to get punched in the face for saying the wrong thing. Haha.

To me the best comedy – and you can get away with being in your head in standup to a certain extent – but definitely with sketch or imrpov, it mostly works when your’re really present. But in order to be in the moment you can’t have any fears. you can’t be afraid of the guy you are working with and how he might react…so I’m sitting there interviewing him and I’m terrified ‘casue I dont want to piss him off and, you know, I’m trying to do comedy on top of that so it’s not like it can just be a straight interview…like I’m trying to have jokes. So I’m sitting there trying to make jokes and not piss him off..I finally at some point was just like ‘Ok, you’re just going to have to be really dry and try to do comedy without him knowing you’re doing comedy.’ And that’s how it came off.

Yeah, that’s brilliant. That’s exactly how it came off. 

I was actually with him for two and a half hours. We did – I interviewed him for about ninety minutes. And they cut it up into four and a half minutes. And I asked about getting the footage…I’m sure there’s more stuff we could do (with it).

Another cool moment you had was on the Dave Letterman show. And the thing I noticed about that was he made a joke about how you were going to be performing in Brunswick, New Jersey. And he had the crowd rolling about that. Did it throw you off right before you came out or did you just sort of go with it?

No I was not even remotely paying attention. I just wanted to get up and get my first joke in. I was so nervous – I mean I’m always nervous. A friend of mine runs a show at a cafe in Silver Lake and there’s eight people, ten people in the crowd and I’m nervous. I’m always nervous. It’s a different kind of nervous…At some point you just got to play the game. You can obsess about what might happen…At some point it just becomes useless and can almost be harmful if you’re just going to think and think and think about it. You just go to play the game. So, the waiting is definitely the hardest part.

How has the reception been from your album, and are you working on another one?

Yeah, it’s actually been very, very good. The interesting thing about recording an album is when you record it, you want to include all the best stuff you’ve been working on at the time. And the catch 22 is that jokes get better. You know? So I already have extended jokes that I have on the album and made them into a whole other beast…And I’ve been traveling around a lot basically since we recorded the album back in August. I’ve been on the road. And I’ve actually got a lot of material just writing and being in different places. So I’ve got this idea about a travel album. That’d be pretty cool.

That would be. And I read on your website that you were in Salt Lake City. I bet you could definitely draw some humor out of being there.

Oh yeah, oh yeah. Salt Lake City was hilarious. I think the place I actually wrote most about was Seattle. I got a lot of stuff out of Seattle…Canada, going to Winnipeg and Vancouver. But then South Africa, I was there for two weeks in Novemeber and I probably wrote a half hour about being there.

What was it about South Africa that got you going?

It was just very funny. Like I wasn’t prepared for how many white people that were there. And I wasn’t prepared for how many Indian people that were there. There was really neat people in District Nine…I was there for a comedy festival so they had us stay at this five-star hotel and casino and the entire staff was black Africans and everyone staying there were white English businessmen. And then you have these Americans with jeans and a t-shirt…People asking me why am I not in uniform….I talk about a lot of racial stuff just in general and to go to a place that has a lot of baggage with that, and write about that, and have people to tell me that I got it right, it’s a very big fulfilling thing to have happen.

Yeah definitely. Well I’d love to interview you again sometime…I really appreciate you taking time to do this. 

Cool same here man.

To read more about Reese Waters check out his personal website reesewaters.com. You can follow him on Twitter @ReeseWaters. His album The Content of My Character is on sale at RooftopComedy.Com.

For more comedy news and exclusive interviews visit our AmericasComedy.Com Facebook fan page and follow us on Twitter @AmericasComedy!

When getting ready to portray her role as Vice President Selina Meyer in this highly anticipated series, the Emmy award winner says she watched a lot of C-SPAN.  The reason behind it? According to the Huffington Post,  ”She wanted to study how to answer questions in a public setting without really answering them.”

“Some politicians are better at it than others.  It’s a performance. Particularly these days. People don’t really answer questions. In this culture of sound bites and 24-hour news … people are careful about how they speak,” says Louis-Dreyfus.  In the series, Selina Meyer is an outspoken, powerful woman who quickly realizes that her role as Vice President wasn’t what she thought it would be.

“I love my character.  I love her narcissism, I love her rage, I love her ambition and I love the fact that she’s a political animal,” says Louis-Dreyfus. If you want to catch Louis-Dreyfus on VEEP tune in to HBO tonight at 10. Don’t miss it!

Check out Louis-Dreyfus on CNN here:

For more comedy news and exclusive interviews visit our AmericasComedy.com Facebook fan page and follow us on Twitter @AmericasComedy!

He edits together footage of already interviewed famous celebrities to create an over the top and funny interview. In his new show “Face to Face with Weird Al Yankovic,” which debuted on the Nerdist YouTube Channel on Tuesday,  Yankovic takes on top name celebrities like Denzel Washington (episode 1), Uma Thurman, and Nicolas Cage (episode 2).

New ten minute episodes of “Face to Face” will air every Tuesday along with podcasts and a blog. With a pre-established cult following, Yankovic is a big name for the fairly new YouTube channel, which will be releasing new shows such as “All-Star Celebrity Bowling with Chris Hardwick” and “Cute Things Exploding” in the upcoming months.

Enjoy!

For more comedy news and exclusive interviews visit our AmericasComedy.com Facebook fan page and follow us on Twitter @AmericasComedy!

Those are the first, slow, deliberate words from a man wrapping up a breakneck week.  When we got a chance to talk, the 54-year-old stand-up comic/iTunes chart topper/writer/Opie and Anthony regular/Woodstock 99 host had just recorded the fifth installment of his new podcast My Wife Hates Me with life partner and fellow comedian Bonnie McFarlane.

“Who the fuck’s gonna listen to this crap?” asked Vos. “People listen to it.  It’s just me and her and I go ‘Who’s gonna listen to this?’  We talk for like an hour and 20 minutes and I go, ‘How empty is someone’s life that they’re gonna listen to me and her talking?’”

Vos knows a thing or two about emptiness.  Still Empty Inside is the title of his first album since 2001’s I’m Killing Here.  A lot has changed since then, including how he tracks his success.  When the album hit the top spot on the iTunes comedy chart, Vos snapped a photo of it and relished the triumph over dummy enthusiast Jeff Dunham for about a day or two.

“Who would buy the CD of a ventriloquist?  You would really have to be trustworthy.  Every 45 seconds during a CD someone is saying his lips are not moving.  I don’t know anything about Jeff Dunham.  Obviously I know his name and he’s a big act.  But Louis C.K. is number one now.  And I could see that.  He’s brilliant, funny, ok?  But if you’re beaten by a ventriloquist’s CD you’re going, ‘What happened to this country?’”

Vos has been dishing out a confrontational, raw, honest Jersey style of comedy for 28 years, the past 25 of which have been sober. (Cocaine was his drug of choice). It’s a daily struggle, one he says he needs to constantly work at to win.

“The real addiction is mental, obsession and compulsion,” explained Vos. “Eventually for anybody that gets sober that compulsion and obsession is lifted.  Some people will take longer than others.  Every now and then you think about it and go ‘Oh that would be nice.’  But it wouldn’t be nice because it would be a fuckin’ nightmare.”

You don’t have to be Dr. Drew to understand addiction is the misguided pursuit of filling a void.  After material ranging from Vegas to his daughter’s desire for a black baby, Vos touches on spiritual emptiness on the road, recovery, and being leered at by gay drug dealers in his youth.  Vos says the cover of  Still Empty Inside is a metaphor for the pursuit of happiness and failing.

“The picture on the cover is all kinds of stuff I’d buy in life.  You know, golf clubs, car, anything that you would buy to fill the empty void that lies in the bottom of your stomach. Instant gratification.  It’s the same as any addict,” Vos said.  ”I’d gotta go to Marshall’s and buy this and that to try to get it all.  I’d look at it, throw it on the floor, and lay in the fetal position and still cry because that’s not gonna fill the emptiness.”

It’s About Respect

Any of the bullet points on Vos’ quarter century in comedy would be enough for lesser comedians to say they’ve made it.  He’s done all the comedy specials.  He wrote for Chris Rock at the Oscars.  A million people on YouTube have watched him destroy a heckler while being the first white guy to perform on Def Comedy Jam.  There was the 100,000 deep crowd at Woodstock 99 and of course, Last Comic Standing.  All are nice, but it all boils down to respect for Vos.

“There was always a point where I go, ‘I want to quit,’” said Vos. “Comedy, and I guess any art form, you never really make it because you never stop.  You’re always striving to get ahead.  You’re always striving for a joke or finding a better voice.  You’re always striving to be better.  You have a sitcom?  That doesn’t mean you’ve made it.  To me, making it is when you have respect from your peers.  I know this sounds stupid and corny, but you know, there’s musician’s musicians, there’s comic’s comics.  If I’m with Colin or when I was hanging out with Patrice, I go, ‘These are real comics to me.’”

Vos counted Patrice O’Neal among his closest friends.  Though the loss is still fresh, Vos talked about his lasting relationship in comedy with Patrice and what the late comic would have thought about Still Empty Inside.

“He wouldn’t listen to it.  He’d throw it out the car window.  I wouldn’t expect him to listen to it,” the comic said. Vos says Patrice wouldn’t need to listen because he’d already know what he was getting.  Mutual respect and admiration were earned in the clubs of New York and on shows like Colin Quinn’s Tough Crowd.

“He’d stand in the back of the room and I’d watch him.  He’s the only one who got it.  We’d talk on the phone and he’d say stuff like, ‘You’re a funny motherfucker.’  And I knew he was funny.  I don’t have to listen to Patrice to know he’s one of the funniest people, was one of the funniest comics ever or around.  Just sitting at a table with Patrice, you know how fuckin’ funny he is.”

In addition to O’Neal and Quinn, Vos includes his wife Bonnie, comics Jim Norton, Joe DeRosa, Ralphie May and Bob Kelly among his crew of friends not just in comedy, but those he can rely on outside of the club as well.

“I go, ‘These are some funny dudes.’ And that’s what initially attracts certain comics to hang with certain comics,” said Vos, adding that, “Because you’re on the same type of wavelength or you have the same type of dysfunctional past or functional past.  I don’t know. Funniness is what attracted but what builds is the relationship. It’s friendship over time. I’m gay.  I really sound gay.”

He’d Do it Again

Vos has plenty of gigs lined up to support Still Empty Inside but no official tour in the works.  With the podcast, his recurring role on the Opie & Anthony Show and everything else in his life, there’s no need to grind like that.  Vos is long removed from the paying-your-dues ethos that is required of any comic who wants to do this for a living.

But there is one thing he’d do again.

“Of course I would do it, it’s network television. I wouldn’t turn down network television.”

Despite feeling that way now, Vos almost didn’t do Last Comic Standing.  When the first season of the NBC show came calling, the comedian had a lot on his plate.

“I was already doing Tough Crowd, Opie and Anthony, I almost turned it down,” the comic revealed. “I was like, ‘Well I’m not doing this,’ which would have been the biggest mistake ever.”

Vos says his season on Last Comic Standing was more a reality show.  While it featured some funny people (comedian Dat Phan won it all), it’s not the way most comics catch a break.

“The standup on the show, I didn’t really care about that as much, even though I did as much as I had to,” he says. “But I didn’t care because people aren’t going to remember.  They’re gonna remember the guy in the house who was ironing, or the guy who took a bath with the other guy.  That’s the kind of stuff that was great for Last Comic (Standing) because it was more of a reality show than a comedy competition.  Then it turned into a comedy competition without the reality behind it.”

You Can’t Be Funny in Rhode Island

“Being in LA and being in New York is going to make you a better comic.  Because that’s where the best comics are, in one place,” Vos said.

Last Comic Standing was nice.  There’s a chance you might get discovered on YouTube.  But Vos says the true way to grow and succeed is to go where the comics are – New York or Los Angeles.

“In Rhode Island there’s probably four great comics.  That’s it.  But when you move to New York or LA you really gotta step up your game,” explained Vos. “At least you get stage time because you’re competing with the best.  And you hang out.  That’s what helped make me a stronger comic was hanging with great comics.  When you’re hanging with Colin and Patrice and Norton you’ve got no choice but to get funny.”

When asked about rising comics people should keep an eye on, Vos mentions Nate Bargatze, who performed at this year’s Bonnaroo and recently won the New York Comedy Festival.  Vos also gave a shout-out to Mike Vecchione, who had a run on Last Comic Standing in 2010 while also racking up appearances on Comedy Central.

Vos doesn’t have one takeaway moment from 2011, besides maybe playing the San Francisco Golf Club.  Instead, like he’s done for 25 years, he’s just happy to make it another day.  Still Empty Inside is the name of his CD, but after talking with the man for more than 30 minutes, it’s clear there’s a lot flying around in his head.

“For half this interview I was having an anxiety attack,” Vos said, very seriously. “And I didn’t take any anxiety medicine so I got through the interview.  I hopped off a podcast, got in a car and it was very stressful because my wife wouldn’t shut up during the interview.  She was making fun of me.  I was trying to hold it together through an anxiety attack so I’d like to say on a 1 to 10 scale when you edit it I think it’s going to be at least an 8.”

I think I speak for everyone at AmericasComedy when I say it was all that and more.

You can download Still Empty Inside on iTunes here.  Do it so Rich can lord over a pile of shamed Jeff Dunham dummies one more time.

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The comedian regarded the case not as an issue of racism but rather pinpointing weapons as the main problem.  “Without a gun, I don’t see Mr. Zimmerman approaching Trayvon by himself,” said Cosby. “The power-of-the-gun mentality had him unafraid to confront someone. Even police call for backup in similar situations.”

Cosby also goes on to say, “I believe that when you tell me that you’re going to protect the neighborhood that I live in, I don’t want you to have a gun.  I want you to be able to see something, report it, and get out of the way, because you happen to be a part of the neighborhood. I don’t want you to get hurt. And I don’t want you to hurt anyone.”

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Building on recent on-air kerfuffles, Lampanelli, billed as “Comedy’s Lovable Queen of Mean,” said during a recent radio interview, “I actually would love to see [Dayana] giving birth. She’s a spic! She’s going to do it fucking soon, anyway. She’ll be knocked up before the end of the week.”

Dayana, a former Miss Universe from Venezuela, took a less fiery tone in response. The Huffington Post reports that Dayana wrote in an e-mail to that publication on Friday: “I understand that it’s Lisa’s job to make fun of people for a living… If poking fun at me can help her sell tickets to her shows, no problem, I am happy to help her put food on her table. However, when she uses racial slurs, she is not only targeting myself but degrading an entire Hispanic culture.”

Hispanic bloggers and commenters on various blogs and news sites have vigorously rejected Lampanelli’s comments, calling her everything from “a jealous ogre” to “disgusting” and an “idiot.” She does have her defenders, with one Huffington Post commenter pointing out that Hispanic comedians use race in a similarly explosive way, and asking, “Apparently we can dish it out but when the jokes (sic) on us; we cry for the whole world to hear.”

Lampanelli has spent years telling risque jokes and joyfully celebrating/exploiting racial and social stereotypes. The comic has built fame and a sizeable fanbase with her caustic material, and has become a regular on several editions of Comedy Central’s celebrity roasts.

Check out some stand-up from Lampanelli here, courtesy of YouTube:

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When I saw Jeselnik perform in Los Angeles in November, I knew I had to snag an interview. I got the chance to ask him about his persona, his experience on the roasts, and his future endeavors.

So you moved from New York to LA recently. Any reason in particular?

Nothing huge. I mean, I have some work to do out here, but it was mostly that I was just never in New York anymore. I was always on the road, and I thought that if I’m gonna be on the road constantly, I might as well be in LA.

Makes sense. You know, I’ve always been curious: how did you create your onstage persona? Was there one a-ha moment, or was it more of a gradual evolution?

A little bit of both. I would say there was a series of a-ha moments. I just got up onstage as much as possible, and after doing it for a long time I started noticing patterns. I was pretty nervous and deadpan at first, and it kind of evolved into where people think I’m a jerk so let me see if I can go with that. And then let’s see how far they let me take it. You know, how much I can get away with. It just kept evolving.

Even when you didn’t have this established persona, were you always a one-liner type of comic, or did you have routines and bits?

You know, I always liked jokes. I started out telling more stories but they did have jokes in them. I was always about the jokes. That was sort of the big eureka moment for me: [realizing] how much I wanted to come up with great jokes. Even if the story led to a joke, it was that joke that was all I wanted. And I started gravitating toward the darker sense of humor, and then as I did stand-up and figured out what I liked and didn’t like, I just kept coming back to the dark stuff. It kind of created more of a line for everyone, and added more tension to the joke itself.

I’ve heard a few comedians say that they want to see where the comedian is onstage—what the connection is between who he is onstage and off. What is that connection for you, if there is one? Are there any similarities between you as a person and who you are onstage?

Maybe a little bit. You know, I think it’s just how I approach the job. I kind of think of my comedy as bringing a gun to knife fight. There’s a certain level of professionalism that I bring to it that would be part of me, but not my own personality, I don’t think.

Do you view your style of comedy as being more difficult or equally difficult compared to a more typical, routine-oriented style?

I think it’s just as difficult. I think it’s different problems. Somebody might just go out and talk about themselves, and the audience doesn’t like them. And they’re kind of screwed, whereas I can get away with, ‘I’m presenting these to you as jokes, and you can get onboard or jump off the train and then get back on’ I don’t think either one is more difficult. I just think each presents a different set of problems.

I’d like to talk about the roasts for a little bit. What was it like to suddenly be viewed by the masses when you did your first one?

It was great. It was a dream come true. I’d wanted to be on a roast before I even wanted to do stand-up comedy. I remember seeing those roasts and thinking, ‘Oh my God, that looks like the most fun thing in the world.’ And it really is. Getting to do the Trump one was great. I mean, I even got to write for the David Hasselhoff one, which was great. Just sitting in a room with a bunch of guys where we’re all good at this. Just throwing out the meanest stuff you can say was really fun—even more fun than doing it, I think.

Other than fantastic exposure and earning a paycheck, is there something you enjoy about the roasts more than normal stand-up?

In a way, yes, because it’s disposable. You just do these jokes once. Maybe I try them out at a couple clubs or something, but you really just write for this event and then it’s done. You don’t have to worry about this again, whereas your act is just constantly evolving. You’re doing it all the time, and in the back of your head you’re thinking, ‘How many times have people heard these jokes?’ You’re always trying to turn it over, so there’s something very satisfying about knowing you’re writing these jokes and you can get away with a lot at these roasts. And it’s kind of like the Superbowl of comedy, I feel like: It’s just one big game, and then you’re done with it. You don’t have to do any of that stuff again.

That’s a really cool perspective. Are you censored at all when you do the roasts? Do they make you run your jokes by people beforehand?

They do, and it’s funny because they’ll tell me—and they do it pretty last minute—I mean, I had a bunch of rape jokes for Mike Tyson, and they said, ‘You can’t do those. We promised Mike there’d be no mention of rape.’ So I’m like, ‘That sucks, but I understand.’ So there’s a little bit like that. Some people have a rule like you can’t make fun of their daughter. It usually doesn’t come into play for me. But then the day of, they’ll say, ‘Can you change Down’s Syndrome to Amniocentesis? Can you not say rape here? Can you do this?’ I’ve seen a couple people handle this in different ways. Some people just say OK and do it anyway. I just say, ‘If you gotta bleep it, then bleep it.’ If it’s funny, they will find a way to get it in there. They will use it. Even if a joke tanks, they might use it because they like parts of it. I’ve definitely had all those things happen to me.

That’s great that you seem to have found a way around it.

Yeah, I mean if you wanna bleep it, great. If a joke doesn’t work, great. But I’m not gonna have a less funny version of something go up on TV because you guys are pussies.

One thing I was curious about: Lisa Lampanelli was on WTF with Marc Maron, and she said that when she heard you were going to be on the Trump roast, she was actually scared. I was wondering if you knew about that or heard about that and, if so, what your reaction was?

I had heard about it later. I heard about it probably the same you did: on Maron’s podcast. I was extremely flattered. I always wondered about her, and how she—one of the hardest things to do on these roasts is to laugh when some dumb fuck is making a terrible joke. I don’t mean terrible like when they’re hurting you; I mean it’s just a bad joke. Not a good joke, and it’s being delivered by somebody that has nothing to do with comedy. And you have to laugh your face off. So I didn’t believe her that she thought all these fucking jokes about her being fat were funny. When I did the roast, I didn’t attack her. But I thought it would be funny because everyone says the same things about her to not tell a fat joke. Like, how great would that be? And then to skip someone at the roast, that would be a hilarious thing to do because it looks like you’re being that much meaner. And I had set it up that way. Right before I got to Lisa, I was killing everybody. I’ll never forget the look on her face: it was anticipation, like “Yeah? Let’s here it.” And then total relief when I didn’t make fun of her. But yeah, I thought that was great. I think it’s interesting that these people are kind of scared of me, you know, the same way I’m sure they were scared of Greg Giraldo, the same way they were scared of Whitney Cummings. They think we’re gonna kill them, and I think it’s all in their head. I think we’re not nearly as mean as they think we’re gonna be. I think the power of the roast is just worrying what they’re gonna say.

You’re not the first comedian to have an alter ego of sorts—I know Andrew Dice Clay was a strong influence for you. That said, do you think aspiring comedians might take your lead? That they, too, might start creating these absurdist personas? Can you see yourself as a trendsetter?

I’ve kinda thought about it. I mean, I’m happy to ruin a generation of comedians. [Laughs] That’s not something that worries me. I always love when people say that Richard Pryor ruined comedians because everyone wanted to be like him. I think a lot of people tried to be like [Mitch] Hedberg and failed, and I think the people who—maybe trying to adopt a persona isn’t a bad thing. I think it’s definitely creative. But comedy is kind of like evolution in that things are gonna change and people are gonna copy things, but they kinda die out. You know, no one who really ripped off Hedberg really made it. People who try to act like me or try to take too much from me—it doesn’t suit them. It’s a facsimile. It’s not something really original. But if someone comes up with something crazy original, I’m all for it. But I can’t see my stuff influencing people more than, say, Brent Weinbach. I think you just kinda have to steal a little bit from everybody. I hope I influence people, but I don’t know about people just adopting a persona. I think if I influence someone, it would be to be a jerk.

Are you close to a new album?

Yes. I’ve got about a new 45-50 minutes that I’ve been doing—just turning over everything from Shakespeare. But I think I’m going to do an hour special sometime in May or the spring, and then put out an album with the special.

Would the special be on Comedy Central?

Yeah, I’m 99% sure. There are still some details to be worked out, but I think it’ll be Comedy Central.

I had read online that you had a TV deal with Comedy Central. Is this special what that report was referring to, or do you have another show in development with them?

It’s like a package thing. I get to do one more roast now. I got a development deal that I’ve been working on. That’s one of the reasons I came out to LA. And then the hour special. We’ll see what comes through. I mean, these things come and go, and who knows, I might do it with someone else.

Are there any details you can give me about the development deal?

Right now, we’re pitching it as kind of my version of a talk show, where the host wouldn’t have to be so damn likable. And it’d basically talk about the day’s events but through my persona.

Would it be sort of a Larry Sanders thing or something completely different?

I’ve kinda talked about it as if the devil had a talk show.

Jeselnik will be performing at the Helium Club in Philadelphia, Dec. 28-31. You can follow him on Twitter @AnthonyJeslelnik. For more information on what Jeselnik has been up to and when he’ll be performing near you, visit his own webpage at www.anthonyjeselnik.com.  

For more comedy news and exclusive interviews visit our AmericasComedy Facebook fan page and follow us on Twitter @AmericasComedy!