Always Funny: Guy Seidel

It’s Always Funny in Salt Lake City is back after a busy birthday week (I got shoes, #s 46 & 47), to chat it up with the hilarious Guy Seidel.  

Guy is a talented musician, comedian and get more likes and comments on a Facebook post about homeless people than I did when my kids were born.  Yeah… so what… I am jealous.

We cover a trio of C-named topics of cats, Cage and comedy.

He headlines this weekend at Wiseguys Trolley Square.  You probably should go because if you don’t… starving kids and supermodels.

Describe yourself in 10 words or less?

Music, bikes, comedy, ball-buster, bachelor, good dude

If you could become a cat lady, how many cats would you have and what are their names?

I already am, i have one cat named Cooter, any more than one and your house smells like shit.

What are you true feelings about Nicholas Cage?

I liked him in Raising Arizona, Fun Fact: his son’s stepfather is Shagrath of Death Metal band Dimmu Borgir.

Who do you hate more, Suburu owners or guys with curly mustaches? Please explain.

Mustaches for sure, I actually want a Subaru. Curly mustaches are the mullets of today, its all hip and ironic now but you’re gonna look at old pictures and feel like an ass.

Why did you start doing stand up comedy?

I was a musician for years and always had that as an outlet, after that faded a bit, I had to find something.  I was always funny (every cliche comic answer) so I decided I would try an open mic

Who are your biggest inspirations in comedy?

My biggest inspiration was probably Mitch Hedberg and I hate to say it, Rodney Carrington, at that time, he was really funny to me as I was kind of a country boy.  I started YouTubing Mitch around the time he died and just loved everything he did.

How long have you been doing comedy?

Next month will be 6 years, I thought I’d have a sitcom by now…no luck.

Who has been the biggest help for you in your comedy career?

Marcus, he put me on my first shows, first road trip, first everything.  I used to get a lot of shit because he helped me so much and people thought I was kissing his ass, not the case, we just became good friends and our styles work well together on a show.

You have a very unique show that you do with Marcus.  Please describe the idea behind it and how it came to be.

Marcus and I have done a lot of road gigs and one day we talked about him doing musical impression because he was a singer long before he was an impressionist or comic, so we fused together these karaoke tracks and made these medleys, I have a knowledge of music so I kind of directed which songs go where and what keys they are in etc.  He performed that show one night at Trolley Square and it BOMBED!! the backing tracks just didn’t work and the energy wasn’t there, you were just watching a guy do karaoke, SO he suggested I learn these songs on acoustic guitar and I thought “no way” It was too much to tackle and I am not THAT good of a guitar player but we started one by one and I surprised myself and learned about 90 songs that I never thought I could play, I am a metal and blues guy, I never had to play jazz chords or turn a synthesizer-heavy song into an acoustic guitar piece but I put my fingers to work and made it happen.

You are a crowd work master.  What advice would you give to a comic who is looking to integrate crowd work into their act?

Crowd work is a double-edged sword, it is fun and I enjoy doing it but sometimes it does’t hit.  It takes a long time to be decent at because when you first start, you’re not onstage for very long and ya dont have time to mess around.  If you are already a good comedian with written jokes, then play with the crowd if ya want, don’t rely on crowd stuff because sometimes there just aren’t biting fish in the crowd.
Unless you’re Jimmy Pardo… He is a genius with it and I can’t imagine he has ever failed at it.

How did being a musical performer in a band prepare you for doing stand up comedy?

I think being in a band helped, i was already kind of comfortable onstage.  I used to have a mic onstage, not to sing but to talk to the crowd and essentially do crowd work between songs.  Our singer could sing his ass off but had a hard time talking to the crowd.

Besides Wiseguys, what other places have you gotten to headline or feature at? What has been your favorite? Why? 

I have headlined all over the place, not saying that as bragging but I’ve done road work and headlined a lot of shitty bars and Eagles Lounges. I have featured in Vegas, done sets at The Improv and Parlor in Hollywood but I am a ways away form headlining The Improv. My favorite place to headline is a bar in Rock Springs called Johnny Macs, sounds crazy but those crowds are insane and I have never not done well there.

How many indi.com Facebook statuses did you post to secure your victory for the Comedy Blitz competition? What would you like to say to the people you thoroughly defeated?

I have no idea how many posts I made on the indi contest, too goddamn many, that was a pain in the ass and if I had to do it over again, I’d make 500 bucks another way,  That was a cash-grab, I have a lot of Facebook friends and they voted, it was in no way a reflection of me as a comic. I wanted the prize.

What has been the biggest accomplishment of your comedy career to this point?

My charity shows at Christmas time, they keep getting bigger and bigger. Raised a ton of money last year and helped around a hundred families.

What was one joke that you have told that has stood out the most?

I used to have a GREAT Nickelback joke before Nickelback jokes were cool (hipster) It never failed BUT as Nickelback became the token band to shit on, the joke became predictable and lost its power.

What do you think of the Utah Comedy Scene?

I like how it is growing, there seems to be a stage to get on somewhere every night.  On the flip side of that, that can create a slew of shitty comics that call themselves comedians and then people see that and think thats what comedy is.  Open mics are fine if they are labeled as such, but I have seen cats “headline” bars when they aren’t even ready to showcase.  I am gonna get a lot of shit for this answer but I like a hard-work system, go to L.A. and try to get on at The Store or The Laugh Factory, you can’t unless you’re funny and have proven just that.  Also I liked the old Mo’s on Sundays but haven’t been to the new one yet.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I would like to have something under my belt, a TV credit or something. I wouldn’t mind moving to L.A. eventually but I am really comfortable here and not in a hurry to go down there full time. Someday.

What is the thing happening in the comedy scene that you are really excited about?

I am not sure what I am excited about, I kind of do my thing and try to help funny comedians.  There is some good news supposedly going down this summer that I am not at liberty to talk about just yet though

Who is bringing their A Game to the comedy scene in Salt Lake City right now?

Jackson Banks is on his way to wiping his ass with us all.  He has a weirdness about him that isn’t forced or fake, he is just funny.

What is your favorite part about performing comedy in Utah?

I am kind of the anti-Utah, I don’t say that as I am some rebel but I think sometimes people are refreshed to see some metalhead idiot tellin’ it how it is.  I do well with beer-drinkin, blue-collar crowds because I am just that and can relate to them way better than some tea-sippin liberal, yoga instructor.

What shows do you have coming up?

This Friday and Saturday I will be headlining Wiseguys Trolley Square at 7:30 and 9:30.  get tickets at wiseguyscomedy.com

Poster courtesy of Wiseguys Comedy and Dylan Mazziotti

How can people connect with you?

People can find me on Facebook or Twitter by my name OR you can go to my website www.laughatguy.com and add me from there.