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Mike Merryfield ON THE MOVE

By Sarah Owen

Mike Merryfield is in St. Louis, pacing another hotel room floor, contemplating a career decision that’s taken him from Korea to the Caribbean, and last year kept him on the road 50 weeks.

He says he kind of wishes he could secure 10 weeks of shows at Skyline Comedy Cafe, but can't seem to finagle that deal.

“Nothing’s better than having to drive two minutes to a show,” says the Appleton-based comic, who returns to headline Skyline March 25 – 28 and whose relentless touring the last 10 years is really starting to pay off. His live DVD comes out this year; in 2008, Merryfield performed at the prestigious Riviera in Las Vegas; in 2006, HBO’s “The Comedy Festival.”

“The big thing now is I have a son. When it was just my wife, it was no big deal; her and I’d go a few days without seeing each other,” he says. “Which was a better for us; you don’t get sick of seeing each other.”

But it’s a perfect time to be in comedy. Though people hate on comics like Larry the Cable Guy and Dane Cook, Merryfield says their shot into the spotlight is huge for everyone, in demonstrating that the potential to make millions slinging jokes and punch lines is out there.

“Kevin James, Ray Romano, they got a show, but it’s been a long time since anybody got any kind of heat off of doing standup comedy,” he notes.

“Too bad the economy has taken a big crap before the big comedy boom.”

But recession has happened before, regardless of magnitude, and Merryfield’s confident that America wants a good laugh now more than ever. Especially looking to places like Skyline, which he says does an unmatchable job featuring the best comedy nowadays.

“I may be jaded because it’s my home club, but I started out at the Skyline,” he says. “And in the last 11, 12 years doing comedy, I honestly can say that the Skyline is the best comedy club I’ve ever worked.”

For one, he says nothing beats performing in front of an audience that knows what’s up.

“They sit there and enjoy the show; they don’t yell things at comedians like a jerk,” Merryfield says. “Every comic in the country talks about how great Skyline is; as far as reputation goes, it’s definitely top 10 in the country, easily.”

Looking forward to hitting the stage Wednesday through Saturday this week to see familiar faces and win over new fans, Merryfield wants newbies to know what they’re in store for. And that means forgetting any script-feeling, rehearsed set that’s as predictable as daytime TV.

Call him free-style, call him conversational. Just forget the one-liners. “More and more, I’m becoming a storyteller,” he says. “I don’t want to say I wing it…but I kind of do.”

With a laugh, he recalls a gig he just played in St. Louis. Another comedian waltzed up to Merryfield post-show, pulling him aside. “He said, ‘so much of what you did up there tonight was improv. How much of it was written?’” Merryfield says. “Just the fact that he couldn’t tell is a good thing.”

Fans can catch Merryfield live Wednesday through Saturday this week at Skyline Comedy Café, 1004 S. Olde Oneida St. in Appleton, and get a taste for other Skyline headliners right here each week.

Merryfield on MySpace

Videos

$6 Wed | $8 Thur | $8 Fri | $10 Sat

www.skylinecomedy.com | (920) 734-5653

Auggie Smith UNCENSORED
By Sarah Owen


Auggie Smith was on a roll. One-two punching a full house at Skyline Comedy Cafe during a short guest set, he was on rapid fire, hurling one politically incorrect and honest rant after another out into the crowd.

Then someone handed him a note.

“This was before cell phones and everything,” Auggie recalls. “They bring up this note saying a guy had to call home, and I make this big production about it … ‘I can’t believe they interrupted this show for a stupid note …’ Then we found out the guy’s son had been in Iraq and was paralyzed. I’m sure he was thinking,‘it was nice that the comic made fun of that, just for
me.’”

A local favorite, Auggie returns to Appleton this week to headline Skyline March 18 to 21.

Nearly 20 years after he first stepped on stage the day he
graduated high school (also before cell phones), Auggie’s innovative rants and willingness to spout about anything politically incorrect, pop-culture and current-event related have garnered him national appeal – and spots on shows like Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham, NBC’s Last Comic Standing and the famous Bob and Tom Show.

Before he hits Appleton this week, Skyline went Behind The Mic to bring you the comedy dirt:

Skyline: You’ve been to Skyline quite a few times over the years, so you must be pretty familiar with your Appleton crowds.

Auggie: Heck yeah … I’m very familiar with Skyline Comedy Café. My mama lived in Appleton, so I’d go see her when I was working the Midwest.

Skyline: Now, I know every comic has a different reason for getting into comedy. But one thing I’ve always thought must be cool is, you sort of get to get away with what kids do – you can say anything. Can you, or are there some things you stay away from?

Auggie: Well, the whole point of it is, comedy is extremely personal … If you had a parent who died in a drunk driving accident, you’re not going to think jokes about drunk driving
are very funny. But the rest of the crowd may. The whole thing about it is, as a comic you can say anything you want as long as it’s interesting and entertaining, and knowing you’re going to be upsetting some people if you’re talking about any topics that matter at all.

Skyline: Right.

Auggie: What I’d say to the crowd is, understand that the comic isn’t writing jokes just to upset you. He hasn’t researched your life and all the buttons to push with you … And another thing about it is, though, maybe 10 years ago the “responsive boo” seemed to come through the crowd.

Skyline: Ah, yes. Always love that.

Auggie: Yeah, and that is completely unacceptable in comedy. Laugh, or don’t laugh. But don’t boo. It morally judges the comic and everybody that laughs. It’s a visceral response, and people decided it was OK to do years ago. In takes of (George) Carlin and (Richard) Pryor back in the ’80s, no one did that. It’s not a response in comedy; I hate it. It’s one thing out of a crowd I will not tolerate.

Skyline: On a lighter note, for people who haven’t caught your show before, what are they in store for? What kind of stuff out there now is getting your attention?

Auggie: The fact that the whole world’s going to hell is something…But, there’s this show on National Geographic, the channel, called “Dogs With Jobs.” And I just think, that’s gotta be a fun show for unemployed America to come home and watch. Being laid off your job, coming home from competing with a hundred other people wanting the same job and seeing this, and going “at least dogs of America aren’t unemployed…”

Skyline: Nice. And in terms of comedy in general, what’s your impression of new comics coming out on the scene?

Auggie: Comedy is like a lot of art forms – it keeps getting better, keeps feeding on itself. Right now the stand-ups of America are the best they’ve ever been. If you look back at the legendary ones, and I don’t mean to blaspheme, for the time they were good. But there’s no way they would stack up today. I mean, if Bill Cosby got up and told a three-minute story with a punch at the end like he used to, the crowd would never stand it. So it just keeps getting better and better. It’s such a fun art form to watch now. Like Demetri Martin? He’s a god, he’s a genius. And there are a million of others like him. Brian Reagan has mass appeal. Nobody’s going to see him and not enjoy what he’s doing.

Skyline: Absolutely … Auggie, is there anything else you want people to know before you hit Skyline this week?

Auggie: I’ll tell you what happened. I started doing the Bob and Tom Show, which is very big in your area, five years ago. It changed my whole career. Going in and doing Skyline years before that, I got a little bit of a following. People who’d seen me, word of mouth. But ever since that show, it’s just changed dramatically for me … So get on out! I’m on the radio, but my live show is a bit more raw than that. I’ve always thought of myself as much more of a live act. Even on TV it doesn’t come off that well. Live – that’s what I’m good for.

Fans can catch Auggie Smith live Wednesday through Saturday this week at Skyline Comedy Café, 1004 Olde Oneida St. in Appleton, and get a taste for other Skyline headliners right here each week.

Auggie on MySpace

Videos

$6 Wed | $8 Thur | $10 Fri | $12 Sat

*SPECIAL EVENT – no coupons or passes accepted.

www.skylinecomedy.com | (920) 734-5653

Cash Levy off the cuff
By Sarah Owen, Skyline Comedy Cafe

For more than a decade Cash Levy has stirred a global comedy pot - from unique crowds of Quadulan islanders, who take up residence in energy-saving igloos, to more-than-amused U.S. troops in Afghanistan, amid acoustic bombing.

But the Los Angeles-based comedian says he’s got to mentally prepare for his trip to Appleton this week, where he hits Skyline Comedy Café March 11 to 14.

“How’s the weather up there?” he asks by phone late last week.

Levy’s never played to Fox Valley crowds before, but the comic – who fans might have caught on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, the Bob and Tom Show and Fox Sports, for starters – can’t wait to take the mic.

“I hear the crowds are great, that the club’s fantastic,” he says. “I have some friends that’ve worked there over the years that say ‘you’ve got to come in there; it’s one of the hidden treasures in terms of comedy around the country.”

Levy, who recently released comedy album “Tidbits,” is known for his clean, corporate-friendly approach and off-the-cuff improvisation at clubs and arenas round the world.

“I do like the corporate in terms of, a lot of times the crowds have never seen comedy before; they’re surprised that, ‘oh my God, I’m really laughing,’” he says. “But I love clubs, too, where you can cut loose, be a bit more creative, little bit more artistic.”

And a little more risqué.

Though most of his shows are clean compared to R-rated comics like Danny Bevins or Skyline’s next headliner Auggie Smith, Levy likes to stir up crowds in the club setting, a place ripe for comedy that typically comes with quality sound, lighting... “And the crowds are a bit more relaxed;it’s set up for comedy,” he says.

Levy is back from a recent trip to Afghanistan, loaded with stories and new material, grateful for an experience where his comedy could really do some good, he says. "It's amazing; the more dangerous an area you go into, the more they laugh," Levy notes.

The comic says he's continually amazed at how great crowds can be, whether it’s sticking to written material in front of 10,000 at an outdoor arena or weaving in and out of scripted sets in smaller venues.

A master at improv comedy, Levy says he actually prefers intimate venues like Skyline. “I do a lot of talking to the crowd; we call it ‘riffing,’” he says. “I like to play off the crowd, talk to them, and they end up making me laugh as much as I make them laugh sometimes.”

Fans can see Levy live at Skyline Comedy Cafe, 1004 Olde Oneida St. in Appleton, Wednesday through Saturday this week, and get a taste for other Skyline headliners right here each week.

Levy on MySpace

Videos

$6 Wed | $8 Thur | $8 Fri | $10 Sat

www.skylinecomedy.com | (920) 734-5653