Written by Joseph Santiago

It was prime time on a Saturday night at the New York Comedy Club at the East Village location. We met up with Stand up Comedian Eagle Witt to learn more about him and talk a little about stand up comedy.

What other jobs did you do before starting stand up comedy? I worked at the Barclays Center as an usher.

How did you know you wanted to be a comedian? My friends just always told me I should do it. At some point, I listened.

If you weren’t doing comedy, what would you be doing? I would be homeless. read more

By Joseph Santiago

Shane Torres is a stand-up comedian and writer. We met up with him at the New York Comedy Club in the East Village.

You might have seen Comedy Central Presents, This week on Comedy Cellar or on Conan O’Brien. He has also performed at Montreal “Just For Laughs” New Faces back in 2012.

He’s one of the top upcoming comedians here in the city. Shane is a regular performer at The Comedy Cellar in Greenwich Village, New York Comedy Clubs, and Stand UP NY.  read more

Written by: Joseph Santiago

Comedian Pete Holmes is getting ready to start his 3rd season on HBO’s the Crashing. Pete launched his stand up special on HBO called Dirty Clean and recently became a father with his wife. His life is looking pretty darn good at the moment.   But, Pete used to be down on his luck as used to have to crash on friends couches. Pete was trying to make it as a stand-up comedian in New York City.  

On the show, you will see him crash on the couches of some famous comedians such as Artie Lange’s couch, T.J. Miller and Sarah Silverman to name a few read more

Written by: Joseph Santiago

Stand UP Comedian William Stephenson he has passed away.

He was only 62 years ago.

With sadness in our hearts, and shocking news is true: I was hanging out with him last month at the Comedy Cellar. He always had a big smile and always greeted me with warmness.

I  found out the details of his death from one of our former writers Bryan Murray on his Facebook profile. He wrote this.

“Just over three years ago I wrote a hand full of articles for Joseph Santiago. I was given the opportunity to interview comedians as a comedy fan. Will was there for the first time Jessica and I ever saw the live comedy in New York at the Comedy Cellar. read more

Written by: Joseph Santiago

Curious about the life of a comedian? Here are 12 questions we asked Tamer Kattan, here in New York at the Comedy Cellar to get some insights from this top comedian.

1. What other jobs did you do before starting stand up comedy?
– In college, I worked as Donatello, the Ninja Turtle for supermarket openings, kids bday parties, and things. The place was called Barbies Balloon Boutique. The craziest job I ever had. If you’re into MILF’s dressing up as a Ninja Turtle is the next best thing to having a mini-van with spinner rims. Soccer moms go crazy for turtles. read more

Written by: Joseph Santiago

We met up with the Harvard Graduate turned professional stand up comedian Harrison Greenbaum neighborhood of Greenwich Village. He was getting ready to perform at the Mecca of comedy The Comedy Cellar.

What other jobs did Harrison Greenbaum do before starting stand up comedy?

I’ve been doing magic since I was a kid, so I was making money as a magician at birthdays and bar mitzvahs since I was around 12.  (Always weird when the bar mitzvah magician is the same age as the kids he’s entertaining!)  In high school, I even spent a summer as a restaurant magician, doing magic every Saturday at a Mexican restaurant in Long Island called Pancho’s (which is still there!). read more

Written by: Joseph Santiago

Interview: We Sat down with Gregg Rogell at The Comedy Cellar in New York to Talk About How It All Started.

What other jobs did Gregg Rogell  do before starting stand up comedy?

I worked at a corrugated box factory, In Far Rockaway for four years, loading skids on the back of trucks before I did Stand Up Comedy.

How long have you been doing stand up comedy?

I started working professionally in the early nineties.

When did you know you wanted to be a stand-up comedian?

I was watching “evening at the improv with some friends and I thought the comics were pretty bad. I told my friends if they could get on TV, so could i. On a dare, I did an open mic night and it went pretty well. I continued to do weekly sets. Six months later I won “the funniest person on Long Island”  contest and used the credits to get paid work. I was able to make a living at it pretty quickly. read more

Written by: Joseph Santiago

It was your typical night at The Comedy Cellar, a sold our performance. Which is easily one of the best comedy clubs in the world. The Comedy Cellar is located in the heart of Greenwich Village in New York City.  It was a cold freezing night here in NYC. However, we decided to enjoy a night of laughs to warm up our soul.

We reach out to Danny Cohen one of our favorite comedians who was performing that night and pick his brain about life as a stand-up comedian in New York City. read more

Written by: Joseph Santiago

What do you wish someone had told you about show business before you entered it?
How little it paid, even in NYC.

What was your process in developing this special?
I don’t have one. Thanks for rubbing it in. I have 3 CD’s though for sale on LennyMarcus.com.

Do you think your stand-up has changed a lot over the years?
Yes it has gotten better, smarter and I’ve gotten a lot better on stage.

What happens if they don’t laugh?
Just go on to the next joke. read more

Written by: Joseph Santiago

Interview with William Stephenson

As a first time writer for this website, I found it appropriate and best way to kick off my inaugural post was with one of the people I’ve come to realize was there for one of my wife’s and I’s first experience at live comedy in New York City. It really is one of those moments that stick, that giddy and excited feeling someone gets as a child opening a present. That was my experience tugging on my wife’s jacket upstairs of the Comedy Cellar before their late show on a week night. Looking behind me at all the comedians that I recognized at “The Table” and looking up at the closed circuit television to see Chris Rock finishing up a set. I don’t remember every performer that night, but the MC for the evening definitely stuck. It was someone with this truly amazing energy, that of a ball busting family member. Taking shots at the audience while still remaining relatable. That was William Stephenson. It was really an honor to get to chat with him for a while, a true veteran in the New York City stand up community while remaining truly humble and doing it truly for the love of stand up and performing

My wife and I got to check out the show Saturday January 9th at Broadway Comedy Club where he closed out a great show with Chris Murphy as the MC, Russ Menev, Wali Collins, Tommy Gooch, Jerry Shack, and finally Will. Afterwards, we got a chance to step outside and have a conversation with Will where we found out this was only his second time performing at this club and has been a while performing outside of hosting.

We’ve seen you multiple times hosting in the city, where did you start and was it hosting? read more