Comedy Salad with Buddah #17 Scott Long

Scott working out an eye brow cramp.

Long live Scott Long!

The Indianapolis area is a great mecca for standup comedy, so why not check out a man who loves his job. That guy is none other than Scott Long. He originally hails from the corn fields of Iowa. I have never worked with Scott but came close once upon a time until the venue pulled standup comedy off the stage two weeks before I was to emcee Scott's show. Damn the luck. But I did manage to catch his act live at Mason City Limits a few years ago and was truly impressed. Scott Long has been heard on the "Bob and Tom Show" and ESPN radio. He spent several years as a writer for Frank Caliendo's FOX NFL Sunday pre game sketches. You didn't think Frank made all of those funnies by himself, did you? Scott even asked this comedian if he could borrow a line I wrote about Brett Favre when he was retiring...unretiring (I still to this day don't know if my joke was aired on FOX). And of course, Scott has been a veteran road comic for years. As usual, I fired six questions at Scott and anxiously awaited for him to shoot one back to me. So here is how it all went down...



BUDDAH: How long have you been a standup comic and take a wild guess as to how many shows you have performed as a headliner?



SCOTT: I started doing standup in 1992, right when the biz started going down the tube from TV over-saturation, been headlining since 1999. I guess that means I've headlined close to 2,000 shows. I've seen a lot of faces and I've rocked most of them. (I'm not quite as cocky as Bon Jovi)



BUDDAH: I know you have taught comedy classes in the past. Do you still do this and what teaching methods, writing exercises etc... would an up and coming comic learn when attending a Scott Long workshop?



SCOTT: I've taught comedy classes. Here's what I promise and I've delivered. I will make you a couple of years better on stage in regards to performing. When you start, most comics make the same mistakes time after time, stuff like bad body language, using the mic stand as a crutch, etc. These things make you look like an amateur. Your stage craft can make you look like you know what your doing, even if you don't. Writing exercises are trademarked and only learned from my class. I can't make you a professional touring comedian, but I can make you a lot better at communicating with people and getting to the point. This will help you with all facets of life.



BUDDAH: When you were working with Frank Caliendo on FOX NFL Sunday how was that grind different and did it have any new affect on your standup comedy during that time?



SCOTT: Writing for Frank Caliendo's FOX NFL Sunday sketches (and the past season with Rob Riggle) is using a whole different muscle than standup. It's more like writing stuff on social media, lots more topical and not really relevant for my standup. It was really frustrating at times during the first few years as I would submit so many jokes that I thought should have been used, but as time goes by you start learn that is just the way TV works. I'm proud of a lot of the sketches that I've added to, but ultimately it always came down to Frank Caliendo is an amazing talent and I've been really lucky to work with him.



BUDDAH: Who are a few of your favorite comics you have worked with over the years?



SCOTT: I haven't worked with a lot of great headliners because I started headlining pretty quickly. On some fronts this was probably a mistake because I didn't build friendships with bigger names and that hurt me in regards to larger opportunities. It's something to consider for comics who are pushing really hard to headline. I will say that Dan Cummins and Tommy Johnagin were comics that featured for me in the past that I think are great headliners now. I think David Crowe and Nick Griffin are the 2 best comics in America that are under the radar to too may people.



BUDDAH: How do you and your wife raise a family while caring for a special needs child, all while juggling your comedy career?



SCOTT: I'd love to answer you question about raising kids, especially a child with special needs, with the depth it deserves. Unfortunately, because of this exact reason, I don't have the time to do it. I would suggest just go to my scottcomedy.com blog and take a look at a couple pieces in the past I've done. Or come out to my 1 man show that I've written discussing life as a Good Dad, not a Great Dad. My site for this is itsanautismthing.com and features my beautiful girl Maddie, who loves to say Happy Monday.



BUDDAH: You are the frontman for a rock & roll band. What is your stage name and what is the name of your band?



SCOTT: Stage name: Stig Riffs. Band name: No Cover. This works on many levels. First, on the marquee people would walk in thinking there is no cover. Second, when people would come up to ask for a cover tune, it could be mentioned that the band is called No Cover for a reason. Only negative, it does sound like a bad 80's band that might have opened for the Outfield.



Okay, Scott's turn...Buddah, if you could do things over, what would you have done differently in your efforts to be a professional standup?



BUDDAH: There are a few answers here, but mainly I would try not to force myself to do a certain set list (which often ended up in me using that dreaded set list on stage...bad idea) on a given night and just let the jokes flow that were in my head at the time. This is a mistake I made for far too long that I care to mention, but once I got away from it the better I have performed. I also wish I had implemented more facial expressions sooner, which I have just recently started doing. They can often help sell a joke to your audience. Oh, and I have also learned that clean underwear helps people like you better. Rock on, Stig Riffs!



I loved the Bon Jovi reference. Catch Scott and his one man show at comedy clubs across the country. How dedicated is he at making people laugh? Scott has been touring North Dakota this week and is currently gearing up for a show in Bismark at Dakota Stage Ltd. as I type this. He also has a blog called Fly Over Comedy. Scott has two comedy CD's and two comedy DVD's. If that isn't enough he has also written a book of comedic essays for you literate types, titled "Dysfunctional Thoughts of a 21 Century Man".