CringeHumor

Joe Conte is a comedian’s comedian. Talk to anyone performing in the field around the Tri-State area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and many comedians will say, “Have you seen how Conte does it?”

The question is, “How does Conte do it?” He admits he has no idea and he is fine with that. He will just keep showing up and performing, but he will question himself and his own sanity and he even questions the intelligence of comedians who say, “Have you seen how Conte does it?”

But is it a wonder that Conte is held in the regard he is? For over a decade, he has been asking the questions, we would never dare ask, nor think of asking, such as “If a bulimic had Alzheimer’s, would they still be fat because they keep forgetting to throw up?”

And now Conte is asking such questions with his old internet radio partner, Kenny Michaels, and the two of them have re-launched The Conte and Kenny Show on Cringe Humor Radio every Monday starting at 7 p.m. Check out their site at http://www.theconteandkennyshow.com

Cringe Humor wanted to see what was in Conte’s head. We did and we had a nice long cry afterwards. We then got completely drunk and puked and then pulled ourselves together and we wrote up our exchange.

QUESTION: Okay, so when did you decide to pursue stand-up comedy?

JOE CONTE: I started in August of 1999 and and I have been pursuing it with a passion for almost 12 years.

These days, I primarily work with James DeBenedetto with J. & J.Comedy. He handles most of my bookings.

QUESTION: Now when most people get into comedy they attempt at some sort of catch phrase (ie. “Git-R-Done”), did you attempt to go down that road?

JOE CONTE: Many comedians will come up with a manufactured catch phrase and I did not try that. I tend to just wing it.

QUESTION: Why is that it seems you have comedians who stay in the stand-up world and you have others who attempt to have an acting career?

JOE CONTE: I think you have two schools of stand-up comedy. You have those who are into pure stand-up comedy and you have the other guys who are getting into comedy to become actors.

QUESTION: You have been successful pursuing your career in the first group, and what is the joke writing process like for you?

JOE CONTE: People ask me, “Where you get your comedy?” and I will either see something that may inspire me or I will say something that I like how it is phrased and that it’s how I write it out. The thing with that is that it is not like I can sit down on a random Thursday or designate times when I will write out the jokes. The jokes just come to me.

What I will do is bullet point subjects and the jokes will come to me on stage and sometimes it takes about five or six times of me saying them before they become real.

QUESTION: What surprised you the most about performing as continued to improve your act and stage presence?

JOE CONTE: Being a comedian is fascinating as it appears we are in control and we really are not. I would say 99 percent of the people see us go onstage and think “They know what they are doing” and we really do not.

I will say this, sometimes, when I get off stage after having performed, I will ask, “How the hell did I do that?”

QUESTION: It is amazing to sit in multiple audiences, and see the different personalities and different feels. Is there a general rule of thumb you have found with how to tailor your act?

JOE CONTE: To me performing for an audience is like driving a car. You have the same basic rules for all cars, such as the steering wheel and the transmission, but you, like you said, the audience will have a different feel just like a car will.

Some cars have bigger tires or electronic windows and you adjust yourself and your reactions to that car just like you would the audience. Some audiences want to be entertained and you perform your act and do the material, but others want to “be fucked with.”
Either way they want to be entertained, it is just a matter of shifting gears on how to do that.

QUESTION: Do you find you study your shows or audiences after the fact, the way a football coach will watch old films of his team?

JOE CONTE: I am not an intellectual, but I do think I am somewhat smart and I am able to watch what happens. I just can’t explain all the dynamics of how a show works. I mean I once performed in Old Bridge in a bar and the music was turned off and I heard this guy scream, “Who the fuck turned off the jukebox?” Yet, I still went on had a decent set.

I find I learn from experience and performing, and life, is a combination of experience working along with whatever talent and skills you have.

QUESTION: As was said, you career seems like it is going quite well.

JOE CONTE: I am at point in my career where I am in between begging for work and till being offered shows. But every so often I see comedians like Louis CK and Brian Regan I think, “I need to get better…a lot better!”

But the most shows I have been getting have been me closing out the night and I appreciate that because that gives me confidence and I keep on performing.

Check out Joe Conte’s web site here www.joeconte.com.

- Don Everett Smith Jr.
Freelance Comic Book Writer, Journalist and Author
Donsmith74.wordpress.com

Share This: Tweet This  |  Digg  |  Facebook