August 20, 2010

  • Kaz interviews an Almost Last Comic Standing...

    From Friday's Asbury Park Press...

    LAUGH OR GET OUT OF THE WAY
    Mike DeStefano pulls no punches on the way to laughs
    By Ed Kaz !
    Comedy Correspondent

    Mike DeStefano doesn’t pull back.  On hecklers:  “I tell them to shut up and if they didn’t I would threaten ‘em.” said the Bronx-born comic,  “Physically threaten ‘em with the mic stand or something.”  Brutal honesty is this Bronx-born comic’s stock in trade, and in his case, honesty begets comedy.  DeStefano took a unique path to comedy;  a former long-term drug user (fifteen years), he decided to get clean at age thirty and took a gig as a drug counselor.   When called upon to entertain at a convention, he discovered new addiction:  Laughter.  “The first time I got up I got one laugh,” recalled DeStefano, “and I thought if I can get one laugh I could get a thousand laughs.”   Thousands of laughs later, DeStefano found himself on national television this summer, landing in the top five on NBC’s Last Comic Standing.  On the final show he graciously thanked his voters and told the others to bleep off.   Like I said, brutal honesty.

    KAZ!:  Mike, has your crazy screaming success on Last Comic Standing affected you in any way?

    DESTEFANO:  It’s like night and day.  Before the show I was an unknown and runnin’ around the city and havin’ a little bit of success but then now I have national exposure so yeah, it’s a big deal and you know, a little crazy.

     KAZ!:    Why the heck would anyone want to be a comedian anyway?

    DESTEFANO:  I don’t know. I guess you realize you’re good at it and then you realize how rare a gift it is that you’re good at it and then you can’t really turn your back on it.

    KAZ!:  At what age did you realize you were funny?

    DESTEFANO:  Well I knew I was funny when I was a kid but then when I was like, thirty-three was when I started comedy, when I got off drugs.  So I started doing standup.

    KAZ!:  Were you funny when you were on drugs?

    DESTEFANO:  No. Not at all.

    KAZ!:  What’s the best gig you ever had?

    DESTEFANO:  The best gig I had was over at the Beacon Theatre where I opened for Dennis Leary.  They called me twenty-five minutes before the show, so they put me on at the last minute.  Someone else cancelled.  

    KAZ!:  So you didn’t have time to get nervous about it.

    DESTEFANO:  No.  I had to rush down there. I illegally parked my car with my groceries in it, ran inside and did ten minutes and it was amazing.

    KAZ!:  What's the number one misconception that people have of you?

    DESTEFANO:  I think a lot of times people misunderstand, I’m very complex, but I’m committed to every aspect of my personality.  So one day someone will see me being really kind and sweet and the next day…I could choke you or hug you, either way.  You know?  It’s really just up to how you treat me.  And people find that they don’t know what I am and that’s fine because I’m both of ‘em.  I’m all of it.

    KAZ!:  So how are you feeling toward me right now?

    DESTEFANO:  Oh great!  You’re fine, dude.  
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    Have a great weekend and please remember to laugh responsibly.

    Asburykaz@aol.com

     
    MIKE DESTEFANO
    Friday & Saturday
    Stress Factory Comedy Club
    90 Church St. New Brunswick
    Showtimes: Tonight and Saturday  8 & 10:30pm
    Tickets: $20
    (732)-545-4242
    www.stressfactory.com
    www.puppiesandheroin.com
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