Colin Dempsey

Today I am interviewing Colin Dempsey, a comedian born in Dublin, Ireland who has been doing comedy for over three years. To find out more about Colin, visit his website.


Why did you start doing stand-up comedy?

I had always been a fan of comedy ever since finding a tape of Billy Connolly's album, "A Pick of Billy Connolly," at home in an old suitcase. (Don't ask!) It was filled with wild stories and songs of his upbringing in Glasgow--terrifying hilarity that you could sing along with. Football violence, divorce and people shitting in your shoes. Everything a 10-year-old boy would love!

I grew up around funny people, especially my mother which may be why I like female comics so much. She is simply the funniest human being I have ever met. She tells me stories and I cry laughing, simple as that. Growing up in Dublin, humor is a necessity. It's used in everyday life. It's a measure of your intelligence. A person without humor will quickly find themselves left out, sidelined, ignored or even bullied.

Years after finding Billy Connolly's album I would attend the Laughter Lounge on Dublin's Eden Quay on the Liffey. For 12 pounds fifty pence you could see a motley crew of local and, on occasion, international comedians do their thing. The crowds were tough but the comics tougher, well, some of the time. During this period (my early twenties) I was secretly thinking to myself "I could do that." That was until I witnessed an English comedienne have a breakdown on stage after her vibrator and tuning fork routine not only failed, but caused the crowd to turn on her with such violence I have yet to see repeated. Her hands shook, face crumpled and lips quivered as she tried to sing a song about her sex toy. She ran from the stage through the crowd passing right by me with tears and mascara streaming down her face as the crowd jeered her. I remember thinking to my self "Who the fuck would want to be a comedian?" I was playing in a band at the time and remained so for years after.

About three years after moving to New York I went through a rough patch. I was unhappy and made a list of things that I really wanted to do but never tried. Stand-up was top of the list. So I did it. I wrote 30 pages of material, took the best two pages and just did it. The first time I killed, second time kinda killed, third time did okay and the fourth time I panicked when the microphone broke. The fifth time, bombed horribly. So bad in fact that to this day I still claim I had some sort of out of body experience as I remember hovering over myself not enjoying my set just as much as the crowd. After that show I became very humble and realized that there is only so far Irish charm can get you on the New York comedy circuit. I bought a notebook and for two years wrote down every gig and joke I ever did. The years of being a musician helped me a lot as I played in every hole in Dublin long before getting on stage in New York. Although after that night at the Laughter Lounge I never, NEVER, find someone bombing a pleasant experience. Even If the comic does suck. Anyway, a short answer to your question as to why I started stand up? It looked like fun, and it is.

How do you deal with hecklers?

The truth is I rarely get heckled. I have thought about this a bit and I think being Irish may have something to do with it, what exactly I don't know. I also am careful about what shows I do. I generally have people shout out stuff, thinking they are helping me. Only one time was I heckled in a nasty manner and I handled it badly because it was racial. I have a bit of a temper and I got angry on stage. It was a bad show and I didn't perform for three weeks afterward because of it. Again, it was once and I generally find New York audiences at best polite and fun, at worst silent and impatient. I haven't left the stage in tears just yet!

How do I deal with people talking during my set? Texting? Arguing over the check? Staring at me with blank looks? Generally being rude and discourteous? Well that's another thing all together!

How do you deal with rejection?

A bottle of gin and some furious masturbation! How can you deal with rejection? You just move on and hope the next gig is better. I got into comedy at an older age than most comics and had many years of rejection as a musician so I have developed my own way of coping. Generally I make an effigy of a generic, club-going punter, nail it to a large sheet of plywood, drag it down to Astoria park after hours, late at night and attack it with golf balls in a sock. I pray for critics, honestly I do, I pray. I go to a church, light a candle, get down on my knees and pray that they die a slow death in a fire.