Billy Wayne Davis describes himself as the thinking-man’s hillbilly. If that’s the case, consider us a thinking man because we’re huge fans of his warm delivery and, of course, that unmistakable drawl. Billy hails from Nashville where he got his start, building up buzz before taking his comedy around the country and sharing the stage with some of the biggest names out there. Billy’s themes draw on relationships and Southern stereotypes. He turns the uber-PC mindset of Seattle (where he currently lives) on its head, with hilarious stories as a result. We recently chatted with Billy to talk about his new self-titled album, dealing with hecklers, and people’s redneck expectations.

Rooftop Comedy: You got your start in Nashville before making the move to Seattle. When and why did you head to the Northwest?

Billy Wayne Davis: It was 2006, when I met my now ex-wife and she got a radio job in Seattle and I’d never been west of Texas. We had just been dating and she said, “Do you want to move out here with me?” I thought it’d be perfect, because I’d seen a lot of people developed out there and it was just a totally different point of view than what I was getting in the South and I thought that would be better for my comedy than anything.

RC: What was it like to make the adjustment from the Nashville comedy scene to the one in Seattle?

BWD: The biggest adjustment is that there was a lot more rooms. So, that was an easy adjustment to make, because there’s so much stage time in Seattle compared with Nashville or cities in the South. There’s already an established comedy scene with a rich history. Nashville is tough because it’s a music town. So you get a lot of people, when you’re doing stand-up, saying, “Why don’t you have a guitar?”

RC: It’s funny you say that, because in other cities, indie music seems to go hand-in-hand with alternative comedy.

BWD: I hope it does. I think you’re right because the indie scene there, since I’ve left, has picked up and become much cooler. A lot of neat stuff is going on there and Zanies Comedy Club is in Nashville and it’s by far one of the very best clubs in the nation. So I was very spoiled to start there. You’re getting an “A” Room. A headliner is coming through every week, so you get to see the best in the country and the room is just amazing. When I started there, there was a lot of little rooms that kind of died out after a while. People got better and a lot of people left. So it kind of dwindled, but I think it’s starting to pick up. There’s some guys there doing some pretty cool stuff.

RC: Now that you’ve been settled in Seattle for a while, have you seen in trends or developments in the comedy scene there?

BWD: When I first got to Seattle, there were more comics just going one direction. “Well, I’m just an ‘alt-comic’. That’s all I want to do”. I never understood that. There’s so many different types of rooms and you can do all of them. Whereas now, everyone realizes you need to be able to go into any room and that’s just going to make you a better comic. Now, comics are like “I just want to be a comic and do as much as I can”. I think that’s better for comic in general.

RC: Are you thinking of moving out of Seattle?

BWD: I’m moving to LA very soon, but it’s taken me 9 years of doing comedy to get there. I didn’t want to rush it. I want to be ready, when I’m down there in that over-saturation, where you stand out and you’re ready to handle everything.

RC: What are you really looking forward to this year, comedy-wise?

BWD: Moving to LA—I’m pretty excited about that. Releasing this album. Barry Blakenship did the artwork. He went above and beyond what I expected. He’s super talented and I can’t mention him enough.

RC: Do you ever feel like people expect you to play up the redneck comedian persona?

BWD: Oh definitely. Once they hear my accent, they go to stereotypes and think of certain things. Once they hear what I’m actually talking about, they think, “Okay, he’s not going to do those kinds of jokes”. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with stuff like that. I think Jeff Foxworthy is one of the best comics ever. He’s just solid. He just found something that really, really worked and you can’t be mad at him for that, but people are. The first couple times I went to LA and someone in the industry saw me, I could tell they weren’t really listening to what I was saying. They just saw, “Oh, this is how we could sell him”. I’m like, “No, you can’t sell me like that”. I got a lot of cards saying “You got to contact the Blue Collar guys”, and I’m like “I don’t really do that”.

RC: Who were your favorite comics when you were growing up?

BWD: I’m fortunate enough that my parents were really into quality comedy—it’s what I like to call it. They liked people that were good. My dad was a Richard Pryor fan, so I grew up knowing about Richard Pryor. I actually named my son Pryor. He’s a huge influence. Jonathan Winters I loved. I didn’t really know about Bill Hicks until I started doing open mics and then you know you fall in love with him. Guys like [Doug] Stanhope, Ralphie May, and Louis CK and Dave Chapelle and Ron White—those are guys I was really influenced by.     

RC: You’ve become pretty adept at dealing with hecklers and you even included the drunken shouting of an audience member on your CD.

BWD: I hide my frustration on stage pretty well, because, people who know me can tell it really gets at me. But I don’t think it’s ever going to go away. It doesn’t matter what part of the country or if it’s a nice comedy club, there’s still some jack-hole who thinks, “I’m gonna level the show”. But I learned a long time ago that he just wasn’t handsome. If you give them enough rope, they’ll hang themselves. Then the audience will turn on them.

Billy produced this great short video to promote his album, co-starring two adorable Chows–err, exotic lion cubs. Nice work Billy!

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Billy Wayne Davis is now available on iTunes, Amazon, and Rooftop Comedy’s shop (where you can sample some tracks for free). Be sure to follow Billy on Twitter @BillyWayneDavis.

Posted: February 21st, 2012 under HOMEPAGE, Interview, News'n'stuff, rooftop comedy productions, Video.
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Tom Clark hails from Wisconsin originally, where he got his start performing at clubs all over the state and in the Chicago area. He then made the move to LA, where he’s been one very busy comedian ever since. On any given night you can find him performing all over the greater LA area, bringing his sharp, yet warm observational style. He also moonlights as part of a record-breaking improv team at iO West and has racked up some serious screen credits with Outsourced, The Closer, and others. We recently chatted with Tom about balancing stand-up with script writing and improv, taking inspiration from Big, and why he just has to meet Dave Foley.

Rooftop Comedy: You’re from Milwaukee originally. Is that where you got your comedy start?

Tom Clark: Yeah, definitely the Skyline [in Appleton, WI] and the Comedy Café in Milwaukee. The Comedy Club on State Street. Those three were my main clubs. Then there’s also Zanies down in Vernon Hills and St. Charles and Chicago. I had a day job for my first five years, so I was able to go to those clubs and drive back and go to work the next morning.

RC: You’ve also done quite a bit of improv work around LA. Do you still try to balance that with your stand-up shows?

TC: Yeah I’m in a group right now called Old Milwaukee, which is made up of guys I used to know in Milwaukee, that now live out here in LA. We perform twice a week at iO West. We’ve actually been the Cage Match champion for the past 66 weeks, which is a Cage Match record. So I still do it quite a bit and it’s something I really like. It sort of goes hand in hand with my stand-up because I incorporate a lot of improv in my stand-up.

RC: Have you ever dabbled in writing for scripted comedy?

TC: I actually wrote a pilot recently for the improv group I’m in and I’ve been, I guess they say, shopping it around or whatever. We’re giving it to people to read. It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted my sitcom to be about, so I did write that. But I have a hard time because sometimes you write something that’s good that’s original and they’re like, “Well, write a spec script”. I’d rather work on my own stuff. I write sketches. I’ve written a couple screenplays. I actually optioned one—a guy in Utah bought it. He was trying to make family-friendly oriented comedy and he’d liked what I had written.

RC: What was it about?

TC: It was in the spirit of Big. It was about a kid who gets hit in the head with a baseball and gets knocked out in the little league championship game and it costs the team the game and he wakes up 20 years later and finds out that as a result of losing the game, the fortunes of the whole town have changed. So he decides to put his whole team back together and challenge the rival town in order to garner everyone’s respect and everything. It was one of those things where we had actually written a few log lines for a company and it’s funny when you write a log line for something that doesn’t exist yet and then they’re like, “Oh yeah, this one is great”. Then you actually have to sit down and write it.

RC: With your recent acting credits, how did you get selected for the parts? 

TC: I auditioned for them. The Outsourced one was actually through Ken Kwapis, who directed the pilot of The Office and used to direct Larry Sanders and stuff like that. He had me in Outsourced and then when he was doing [Big Miracle], he called my agent and said, “Hey, I want to get Tom for this part”. It was really originally just a one-word part. Then, when they flew me out, they had written an additional two pages for the scene. The unfortunate part is that I went to the screening last week and they did cut my scene out. That was kind of a bummer. It’ll probably be on the DVD. The nice thing is Ken is working on two more shows. One of the shows he’s working on is Sarah Silverman’s new pilot. He’s also working on something with Tony Shalhoub and Greg Daniels, who helped create The Office. That could lead to some really great stuff. [Ken] is very nice. He actually emailed me to let me know that my scene got cut out. I don’t think a lot of directors would take the time to do that for the 77^th lead.

RC: Any big creative goals on your to-do list for the year?

TC: I do want to shoot my pilot. Regardless if anyone wants to buy the script, I think I just want to shoot that myself this year. It’s about a brewery in Milwaukee so I might even go back to Milwaukee and shoot it. That’s one of my goals. My other goal is sort of weird. Next weekend, I’m working in Salt Lake City at Trolley Square and at the other club in West Valley, Dave Foley is working. Everyone, when I started out, said I look like Dave Foley, so I think it’ll be funny to meet Dave Foley.

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Tom Clark will headline the Skyline Comedy Café in Appleton, Wisconsin April 5-7. Be sure to follow Tom on Twitter @TomClarkComedy. Tom’s album, Jokes I Have Written and Performed, is available through iTunes, Amazon, and Rooftop Comedy’s shop. You can also stream Tom’s album on Pandora and Grooveshark.

Posted: February 15th, 2012 under HOMEPAGE, Interview, rooftop comedy productions, Video.
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Happy Valentine’s Day from Rooftop Comedy! If you have a special someone out there, you’re probably scrambling what to do today. Should you buy that wine tasting Groupon? Is she allergic to tree nuts? Why won’t In N Out take reservations? Relax. Valentine’s Day shouldn’t be stressful. Sit back and enjoy some comedy from Rooftop. Have you watched our official Valentine’s Day playlist? Work can wait. Also, check out these Valentine-themed originals we produced for MSN. Enjoy and just think of all the discounted chocolate you can buy tomorrow at Walgreens.

First up, a video from SF-based comic Kellen Erskine. He has some sound advice on how to get through today (hint: cut back on the B&B’s). Click through to watch Kellen’s animation on Postbox.

Posted: February 14th, 2012 under HOMEPAGE, Video.
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The very funny Neal Brennan stopped by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Friday night. The Chapelle’s Show co-creator did a great set, covering relationship tips, the basis of Mother Teresa’s saintliness (hint: it’s in the soup), and the presidential election. Watch Neal’s full set after the jump and be sure to follow him on Twitter @nealbrennan.

Posted: February 13th, 2012 under HOMEPAGE, Late Night Television, Video.
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For many comics, a steady gig is the light at the end of a very long tunnel. A job as a TV host can be the final frontier, after countless club shows and hundreds of hours on the road. Not the case with Chris Fairbanks. After serving his time as a personality and writer on Fuel TV, he’s just getting started. Chris, a regular on the comedy fesitval and late night circuit, is starting a self-described “grassroots” initiative to re-energize his comedy pursuits. We recently chatted with Chris before his SF Sketchfest show to talk how speech impediments can be motivational (and hilarious), balancing skating with comedy, and why we shouldn’t expect his “cat video” to drop any time soon.

ROOFTOP: You’ve racked up some considerable festival creds at Montreal’s Just For Laughs, Aspen, SF Sketchfest among others. How do all of these events affect your style as a performer?

CHRIS FAIRBANKS: I think that when I first did festivals like Montreal, there used to be more of an expectation as far as what they would do for your career: trying to get management or trying to get someone to see you. But the game has changed so much now because of the internet and people being able to put themselves out there. They don’t really need festivals, which is bittersweet. I like that. So now, festivals have become the thing, like Sketchfest and even smaller ones like Bridgetown, where they’re just about having fun. There’s no pressure. I was so scared when I did Montreal in the past. Now the bad part is there isn’t necessarily industry watching you, but I don’t think you need festivals for that anymore, which is awesome. There are other people getting recognition because their YouTube video has a cat in it or something. They get exposure without paying their dues in stand-up and then they end up doing stand-up. There’s people I know that headline the Improv seven months after one of their videos got 4 million hits and they end up getting management and they’re thrown in a comedy club. So that’s the downside of the internet serving what festivals used to do.

RT: So we’re still waiting on that Chris Fairbanks’ cat video?

CF: Yeah, I got to get a cat video together. I have a cat, but he’s far from entertaining. He’s right here in front of me. If I had a camera right now, no one would watch me.

RT: Just in case, I’ll get a release form to you right away.

CF: For the cat. You got to take advantage of the cat.

RT: What are you looking forward to this year in your career?

CF: For the last year and a half, I was working on a TV show, writing, sitting at a desk—which I never wanted. In my whole life, I was doing everything I could to not have a job like our dads had. It’s kind of funny that that’s what stand-up led to. The show was a Fuel TV show that covered action sports and had me go out and interviewing athletes and actors and going to press junkets and writing a live variety interview show. That was an everyday job and then it got cancelled. I wasn’t doing stand-up for a living. I would do it around LA occasionally like a lot of comics here. It felt weird to not feel like a professional comic. I was doing it less. If you work 55 hours a week, I was getting real lazy. I would not do stand-up for a whole month. Now, I’m just looking forward to doing stand-up again, but it is nice to make regular income. I’m already missing that a lot, but it just feels better to be on stage. On the other side, having a bad set is the worst. It’s a weird love hate relationship, so I just want to get to where I’m usually having good sets. Then I’ll be happy, right?

RT: How did you get attracted to action sports?

CF: That was something I got into when I was fourteen. I’ve been skateboarding for some 20 years. That was already happening. It was kind of cool that it intersected with my comedy career. It’s neat when they all intertwine because, usually, stand-up is separate from skateboarding and so is my art. Right now, I’m trying to figure out how to do the comedy and art together. I guess I have to do a comic book or try to pitch a cartoon or something—which I’m actually working on right now. I have a meeting coming up and I’m totally unprepared.

RT: Just show up on a skateboard and you’ll be fine.

CF: Yeah, “Look at three things I do half-assed!” That’s the thing. For a long time I was doing stand-up and artwork for a living. I also had a regular thing with Thrasher. You stop and you wonder, “Should I commit 100% to this?” I’m not a super-motivated person that can live the professional life of barely one person, much less try and be a professional full-time artist. If you have your foot just part-way into a couple doors…

RT: On stage, you have these moments when you almost trip over your words. It comes across as wonderfully spontaneous and also gives the sense you’re really enjoying yourself up there.

CF: That’s where I think comics are actors also. Most of the time, I’m acting like something is happening right then or that there’s even a mistake so that I can have the freedom of riffing right then. If you do that and you do plan a few of those moments, then that allows you to do more truly improvised moments. It’s a 50/50 thing where some of them are planned and I know they’ll get a response, so then I’m free to riff on something else that’s happened—usually not with the audience, just with myself. People don’t heckle anymore, so I’m kind of heckling myself I guess. Some of them are planned and I’m pretending to say Champell’s Canky instead of Campbell’s Chunky, but it’s planned because it happened organically once. I learned that early. All these mistakes that would happen do happen because of my legitimate inability to speak. I have a messed up speech impediment. I used to have to suck on buttons on a string and they’d put a cage in the roof of my mouth to poke my tongue, so I would quit thrusting my tongue toward my teeth. I’ve always been real conscious of that.

RT: What else do you have coming up?

CF: I’m going to work the road a bit. I’m illustrating a children’s book with my sister.

RT: Is focusing on stand-up making you cut back on your other passions like skating?

CF: Totally—it’s just like with the art thing. Every time I go skating, I’m like “Why am I doing this?” It’s not even necessarily something that brings me joy. When I’m skateboarding, I’m just complaining, but I just can’t quit. Even though girls are like, “What? You’re 36? How old are you? You still skateboard?” That’s when I stop talking. I know that right now all I need to be doing is doing stand-up. My whole career, something comes from stand-up. That’s how I got the Fuel job. As long as you stay good at that, you don’t have to worry about any of this Hollywood crap.

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Follow Chris on Twitter @chrisfairbanks. Chris’ album, Fairbanks!, is available through iTunes, Amazon, and the Rooftop store.

Posted: February 8th, 2012 under HOMEPAGE, Interview, rooftop comedy productions, Video.
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We’re proud to announce the start of this year’s Next Big Comic, a yearly competition we’re producing with CMT. The search is on this year as 12 very comics face off. Check out all the clips over on the CMT site and be sure to share your favorites. Show your support and you can vote as many times for as many comics as you wish. The comics with the most votes will advance each week and the four finalists will perform at the famous Stardome in Birmingham, Alabama. Who are these 12 contestants exactly? You’ve seen them headline clubs all over the country and they’re some of our favorite comics:

Andy Beningo

Shane Mauss

Steve Gillespie

Tom Simmons

Andy Pitz

Felicia Gillespie

Kelly Collette

Lance Weiss

Chris Pennie

Adam Norwest

Dave Stone

Tim Wilkins

Be sure to keep up with the action on Twitter (#NextBigComic) and spread the word! We want to know who you’re supporting. Next week, the eight comics with the most votes will move on and we’ll have new clips for you to consider.

Posted: February 6th, 2012 under contests, Cool stuff from Rooftop Comedy, HOMEPAGE, News'n'stuff, Video.
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Rooftop Comedy Productions is proud to welcome the newest member of the family: Chris Killian. Chris is a comic from the Nashville area, who spends his time touring clubs and college campuses, bringing his energetic mix of comedy and original songs (including “Bieber Fever”, pictured above). We recently chatted with Chris online to talk about his comedy heroes, Justin Bieber’s comedic chops, and why he’s still waiting to hear back from Jay-Z. Chris’ new album, The Not Black Album comes out tomorrow and we hope you’ll check it out.

How long have you been doing comedy?

Well I hate to brag, but you know that night we recorded the album? That was like my fourth time on stage I think. What is that—three months now? I dunno. My stand-up comedy career so far has just been a haze of drug and sex-induced bravado. Let’s just say two and a half years.

Who are your comedy idols?

Well if I don’t mention classics like the Carlins and the Pryors and the Hicks, comedy nerds might castrate me. Those guys, obviously, and really, I love anyone willing to take risks. Steve Martin is a genius. I know it sounds weird and cliché saying this because he died, but Greg Giraldo was my comedy hero. He was the first stand-up comic I ever watched live, and a few years later I got to open for him a few months before he died and the guy was just great. I still have text messages from him where we’re busting each other’s balls.

You hail from the Nashville area. What’s that comedy scene like?

It’s pretty rural. It’s a lot like LA except most of the guys are related. We love tractor jokes in Nashville.

You incorporate music into your act quite a lot and write original songs. Who do you identify as your equivalent in the music world?

I would hate to insult any musical legends by identifying them as equal to me. But probably John Lennon.

Who are your musical inspirations?

Inspired is probably a strong word. Let’s take Prince for example. I’m a HUGE Prince fan. What he really did was inspire me not to pursue real music because I’m just not that talented. Instead, artists like Prince and The Beatles and Tone Loc taught me that, like all great things, if I cut it down and make fun of it, I can pretend like it’s not that hard to do.

Have you always played music as part of your comedy?

The songs actually led me to stand-up comedy. Originally in college, I would just try to entertain my friends or pick up chicks, so I’d be like “Listen to this song I wrote about homeless people or statutory rape or necrophilia” and eventually, people would tell me I should try to perform those on stage. But from the get-go I knew I only wanted the music to be a small part to my show. The album actually has a lot more music than I usually perform. One reason is because I want the good songs I’ve written to have a longer shelf life so I don’t have to write more. But the MAIN reason is because I want the show to be diverse and break up the monotony a bit.

On the flip side, while we’re on the subject of music in comedy, I have ran into this elitist attitude from some stand-up comics, or purists, and there’s a certain backlash sometimes that comes from having music in my act. I have literally walked into clubs with a guitar and seen other comics roll their eyes and say something like, “Guitar comics are shitty. It’s just a crutch”. Well sure, I agree, some guitar comics are shitty and use it as a crutch. But just to assume that, without seeing them, because someone has a guitar, they’re automatically shitty, well that’s stupid. I know a lot of guys who don’t play music in their act who suck, but that doesn’t mean I think all monologists are terrible. I watch them before I judge.

But to answer your question, yeah, pretty much.

Has Jay-Z formally welcomed you to the “The ______ Album” club?

Not formally, but he’s got like 101 problems now instead of 99, what with Beyoncé and Blue Ivy, so I’m sure it’s on his to-do list. I did get an e-mail from Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich welcoming me, but he’s usually a dick so I didn’t respond.

What are you looking forward to this year in your comedy career?

I am looking forward to the sales of this album sky-rocketing me and catapulting me into the comedy heavens. Realistically, I’m happy to have a busy year on the books and can hopefully just keep writing and performing.

You’re a proud Justin Bieber “belieber”. Do you think he has any comedy chops?

Yeah, I do. Actually, I just read earlier today that the Biebs just bought the rights to the movie FEAR, where Mark Wahlberg played a psychotic stalker. Remember? The article said Biebs wants to re-make that movie and play the Marky Mark character, which I find hilarious. If there’s one word that doesn’t describe Justin Bieber, it’s intimidating.

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Chris will headline Zanies Comedy Club in Nashville February 1-2 and Sidesplitters (Knoxville) on February 5. To see Chris’ full tour schedule, follow him on Facebook and Twitter. The Not Black Album will be available January 31 on iTunes, Amazon, and RooftopComedy.com.

Posted: January 30th, 2012 under HOMEPAGE, Interview, News'n'stuff, rooftop comedy productions.
Comments: 1

Check out our new series Crashing the Market, now showing on MSN. It’s a weekly send-up of all the business headlines and gossip you may have missed. From McDonald’s fumbles in social media to financial tycoons losing their knighthood, we’re here to help you laugh at the absurd world of business. Click through the link below to watch the first episode, featuring host Mariah Castle. Take a look and let us know what you think!

Crashing the Market – Episode 1

Posted: January 27th, 2012 under Cool stuff from Rooftop Comedy, HOMEPAGE, News'n'stuff, rooftop comedy productions, Video.
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The third annual Magners Comedy Festival is upon us! If you’re in the Boston area, you must check out these great comedy shows, starting tonight and going through Sunday. Marc Maron will be in town performing and recording a live episode of his WTF podcast. Colin Quinn will perform his popular one-man show, Long Story Short. Rounding out the packed weekend is a ton of stand-up shows, including the Comic Stand-Off. You voted on Facebook and now these 10 comics are heading to Boston to face off against each other:

Trenton Davis

Linda Aarons

Kat Radley

Will Noonan

Lance Weiss

Matt D

Erik Levi

Brian Mitchell

Sean Wilkinson

Raj Sivaraman

The semi-final rounds get underway tomorrow night at Nick’s Comedy Stop (TICKETS) and continue Friday night at Mottley’s (TICKETS). Local celebrity judges will decide who moves on to the final showdown at Nick’s Comedy Stop on Friday, Jan 27 (TICKETS). Come support these comics and treat yourself to what is sure to be a great weekend of comedy.

Semi-Final Round 1

Thursday, Jan 26, 8:30pm, Nick’s Comedy Stop

Semi-Final Round 2

Friday, Jan 27, 8pm, Mottley’s

Final Round

Saturday, Jan 28, 8:30pm, Nick’s Comedy Stop

Be sure to keep up with all the Magners Comedy action on Facebook and Twitter. Tickets for most shows are still available, but they’re going fast.

Posted: January 25th, 2012 under contests, HOMEPAGE, News'n'stuff, Shows.
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Dana Gould made a stop at Jimmy Kimmel Live and we’re awfully glad he did. Dana killed it with a great set, taking some time to muse on feathers as hair accessories and Stephen Hawking as an inspiration to schlubby Joe Shmoe’s everywhere–naturally. Definitely worth a few minutes of your afternoon. Be sure to follow Dana on Twitter (@DanaJGould) and see him live at SF Sketchfest and regular shows all around LA. Nice job Dana!

Posted: January 19th, 2012 under HOMEPAGE, Late Night Television, Shows, Video.
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