Chuckles Comedy Club

Comedian Johnny Pizzi from Chuckles Comedy Club interviews Legendary Comic, Paul D'Angelo, who will be appearing at Chuckles 10/14 and 10/15
 
        As most of you all know Boston is the "Hotbed" for standup comedy.  Jay Leno, who is from right here in Andover, to Denis Leary and Lenny Clarke!  They are probably the most nationally know comedians from around here.  But, whoops, I forgot Steven Wright who lived down the road in Burlington.
 

We can’t talk about great comedians out of Boston without mention the great Paul D’Angelo!

 
Paul will be appearing this week at Johnny Pizzi's Chuckles Comedy Club inside the China Blossom. I'm not surprised, being from North Andover, you haven't heard of the Merrimack Valley's newest and best Comedy, produced by North Andover's very own Chris Flahive and Comedian Johnny Pizzi.

"I met Chris over 14 years ago and it always stuck with me what a great guy he was."  When this opportunity presented itself, who better to partner with, than Chris. We're now bringing in Boston's Best headliners on a weekly basis.  The great Lenny Clarke, who rarely plays comedy clubs and has never been here before, SOLD OUT 4 shows (2 in February and 2 in June).  Other greats like Steve Sweeney, Kenny Rogerson, Joe Yannetty, Tony V and others perform here regularly.  We want North Andover and surrounding towns to come by and see how amazing our shows are.  We’d LOVE your support.  Come laugh and forget your worries for a few hours!! 

We are also available for private parties, fundraisers, corporate functions, and any other way that we can help our community.  We want to be a part of this great community for a long time!  Partnering with China Blossom, the best restaurant in the Merrimack Valley was a no brainer and a great match giving you the Best Comedy and the Best Food in the area!

This coming week we have one of the best comics in the Country, Paul D’Angelo. I sat down with Paul and asked him these 10 questions about his comedy career and what came out was an amazing interview I hope you like it!!!!!!  

 How long have you been doing comedy and what inspired you to want to be a comic?

I have been doing stand-up comedy for over twenty years. My earliest influences were most definitely my late father, Jack, and my Uncle Vito, who were hilarious and animated joke and story tellers. I admired the way they could work a crowd and I wanted to be just like them. My dad would make sure that I watched all the great stand-up comics on the old Ed Sullivan show and I permanently “borrowed” my uncle’s Bill Cosby albums, which I listened to over and over again.

I was an Essex Country prosecutor when I started doing stand-up.  I began by going to see live comedy as a spectator but, after successfully “roasting” my best friend at his bachelor party and feeling the euphoria of making a room full of people belly-laugh, I decided to give it a shot.

 Being a very successful lawyer and Asst. D.A in Essex county, was it a "scary" decision to go full time as a comic and put the law aside?

I handled two full-time jobs for more than ten years, but committed myself to comedy three or four years after switching sides and working as a criminal defense attorney. Even though I was very successful at it and the job was equally challenging, I kind of went from being the “good guy” to the “bad guy,” so it was not as rewarding.

I was OK with my decision, but was definitely a struggle to justify my career change to my parents who, as you can imagine, did not always understand.

 You climbed the ladder quite quickly locally as a comedian, going from open-miker to headliner within months, did you feel that national stardom was soon to follow or be this easy?

Despite becoming a successful headliner after only a few months, anyone who thinks it was easy is not familiar with the circumstances. Because I had built a reputation as a good lawyer, I knew that I could not afford the luxury of going through the customary “lousy” stage of my comedy career. Otherwise, I would be pressured into giving up the stand-up and concentrating on the law.

As a consequence, I furiously compiled material for a year before I first took the stage and wasn’t really concerned about my presentation because, at that point, I had probably prosecuted about a hundred or so bench and jury trials.

If you want to be good at anything, it never comes easy, and I understood that nothing is guaranteed, so I never had unreasonable expectations. Because I had the simultaneous careers for more than ten years, I could only hit the road on my vacations or unpaid time, so it seriously restricted my national exposure until I moved to Hollywood in the mid-90’s, but that’s just the way it was.

You have written books, scripts, you are also an amazing artist, and play guitar… if you weren't doing comedy would you be doing any of the other things full time?

I love to draw and make music but I am realistic in realizing that my talents in those fields do not compare to the very best artists and musicians. I love to write, but I never desired to write for other people because I really love to perform. Stand-up is the one skill that I don’t have to make excuses for, so it was the right choice.

 You lived in Las Angeles for 6 years before you moved back to Boston. What did you learn while you were out there?

I learned that I could have failed just as well in only three years, rather than six. No, seriously, despite the fact that I was never given a “break” in show business while I was in Hollywood, the experience helped me develop significantly as a writer and a performer because the opportunity presented the creative “struggle” that most performers go through at the beginning of their career. L.A. was also a place where I could perform with many of the best known comics in the country, which motivated me to constantly improve my act. It also reinforced my belief that my stand-up was as good as any of those established acts. I can go there now as needed and I’m glad to be home.

 You are considered one of the toughest comics to follow on stage. What do you attribute this to?

Any successful comic has to necessarily start off with some God-given talent and personality, timing, character, sense of humor, etc. but, after that, it is all a matter of hard work, dedication and a commitment to continually improve.

 I try to maintain high standards for myself and I recognize a responsibility to give 100% at each performance. If I do my job like I’m supposed to, and another comic has trouble following me, it’s really not my concern.

 You wrote and filmed a pilot and starred  called "A Fine Mess" using all your close comedy friends as characters. If you got $500,000 to develop this show for a network, what would you do different? I thought the concept was great, personally!

I goal was to make a throw-back, “Honeymooners”-type sitcom that focused on the characters and good writing. I had some preliminary interest in Hollywood but, unfortunately, I produced the pilot just as the reality-TV phenomenon was introduced and the project was pushed aside.

I had an amazing director of photography, Albert Viator, who made the result look very professional, along with a fantastic group of actors, including comics Patty Ross, Frank Santorelli, and Bob Seibel, who are all good friends.

Since it was my first attempt at creating, writing, directing and producing a TV pilot, of course there are things I would do differently in hindsight but, overall, I accomplished what I intended. I just wish I could get the right people to see it!

If someone financed me, as you proposed, I would love to film another pilot for the “Murphy’s Law” sitcom that I created, which is based on my experiences as an assistant DA and defense attorney. I have some great concepts and really funny ideas that I could incorporate into the production.

 Give me a high and low in your comedy career, maybe your best or worse show.

It’s funny, but most comedians have a lot more anecdotes about horrible shows than great ones because they are harder to forget and usually make for the best stories.

I have a prosthetic leg thrown at me while I was on stage. I’ve had a wild melee break-out while I was performing at a frat house. I had to perform at a house party immediately following Bill Buckner’s error that cost the Sox the World Series and, as a result, endured numerous interruptions by frustrated audience members who would spontaneously scream out profanity during my act. Those are just a few examples.

Some of my most memorable moments were sharing a long limo ride with Dennis Miller; having the legendary Jackie Mason sit through my show; opening for performers such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Tom Jones; hanging out backstage with comics like Jay Leno and Gary Shandling; and just having old friends and acquaintances that I haven’t seen for a long time turn-up at my shows.

 You finally got a break and filmed your first Major network comedy special called "The Godfather's of Comedy" on Showtime. What are your thoughts and feelings on that? I know your dad would of been proud!

The movie got great feedback and reviews but, unfortunately, the management group that was promoting the follow-up tour dropped the ball and didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to turn the production into something bigger and perhaps launch my career to the next level.

I am proud of the production, though, and it gave me a unique chance to work with a group of great comics who also happen to be good friends.

 Finally what's next in the business? Is there still time for a breakout, national fame or are you happy right now? Have you achieved most of what you wanted to accomplish?

I am definitely not giving-up my efforts to reach a wider audience with my material. I have written a book entitled If I Only Had A Brain that consists of a collection of very funny routines, stories and anecdotes which are not typically included in my act. I am currently shopping it to literary agents and publishers.

I am also in the process of recording my 2nd live stand-up CD, entitled Welcome to Suck World, as a follow-up to my debut CD that was released earlier this year. I hope to get national airplay with these recordings and build a broader fan base through that exposure. If the extremely positive reactions of the diverse crowds I perform in front of in various parts of the country are any indication, it’s just a matter of getting my stuff out there.

 
Wow!!! Thank you Paul for being so interesting and candid! You have had such an amazing career and what's great is you’re not slowing down one bit.
 
I can see the passion is still there that drives you always to be the best. I'm so looking forward to working with you on Oct 14th with Mike Whitman and Jeff Koen, then on Oct. 15th You, Mike Whitman, and Middleton's very own Sal Votano, an up and coming rising star on the Boston Comedy Scene.
 
 Well there you've had it!  You'll be hearing and reading a lot more from me!!! I want YOU to support comedy at Chuckles!!!
 
Thanks for reading!  Until next time, this is Johnny Pizzi saying "We all need a little Chuckle in our lives!!!”