BUDDAH: Are there many mistakes and/or pet peeves you see newer comics do consistently on stage that they need to break to help get them to the next level?
EDDIE: We all make mistakes on stage...and that's ok. That's how we learn. It all comes with time. Stage Time! The more stage time we get...the more comfortable we get. The quicker we can get comfortable to being our true authentic selves onstage...the closer we are to being the best comic we can be. My only pet peeve would be when a comic, new or experienced, pisses away their stage time. if you are going to go down in flames...the least you can do is be compelling! Make em remember your name!
BUDDAH: How do you relax before taking the stage to do a show or is there such a thing?
EDDIE: I mostly drink a lot of water so that I am not dry...and pace a little. My body is filling up with adenaline. Then, I just try to pick which bit I open with. I am very rarely nervous or hyper for a gig...I've come to love it so much...but I do get a charge. I usually watch the comics before me and get a sense of the crowd. I take a deep breath before the host calls my name and go up and have fun, doing what I love to do. And many times they pay me for it!
BUDDAH: With many comedy clubs struggling in recent years and some even closing, do you see an upswing in attendance in the future?
EDDIE: I think everyone is struggling. And we need comedy clubs when times are good and especially when times are more complicated...like now. It runs in cycles. With the combination of the internet and a fear-based society, many more people are not leaving their homes unless they have to. They are staying home and watching "reality" television, judging other people's lives in their living room instead of getting out in public, living it up and screwing up their own lives. Pretty soon they'll get tired of that...and want some real live, delicious stand up comedy...and the clubs will fill up again.
BUDDAH: Do you have any advice when looking for the seasoned comedians out there on what you are looking for when booking comics for the 'Late Show With David Letterman"?
EDDIE: When I book comedians for anything, I book the comedian that is right for the gig. My favorite comedians are the people who are unique and have great material. Substance over style. Poised comics who have a real bravado, yet are not afraid to be vulnerable.
My advice to comedians is to do the comedy that you love best. The style you love and is the most authentic you. And if you are right for the gig...you will get it. And if the booker tells you you are not right for the gig...and you are still being the best that you can be...then fuck em...just like all the others...they'll have to see you on some other show you are perfect for!
BUDDAH: I know you have lost weight recently. Could you tell us what you have done to accomplish this feat and what have you discovered are some of the worst foods we all should avoid consuming?
EDDIE: I learned a lot about why there is such an epidemic of disease in this country. It is because of the lack of nutritional and real food. We are an obese country because we are malnourished. We rarely feed our bodies the real vitamins, minerals and nutrients that we need...and our bodies are craving them. The more we eat and don't satisfy what the body wants...the fatter and sicker we will get. The bad food is protected by the huge money it brings in. The good food is looked at as bland, has bad publicity and it is more expensive to obtain.
The truth is...we are addicted to fake sugar, salt and fat. Just like we are addicted to cigarettes, heroin and booze. It is a very hard nut to (quit) crack...because it is made so alluring through advertising. Once, I learned how to unlearn all the lies I had been "fed" my whole life... and I did a 90 day sugar fast...the weight just started to come off of me. And healthy, not gross and sallow like when you lose weight too quickly like with a lap band kind of surgery...or all wound up when you try to lose weight with pharmaceuticals. You will always gain that weight back. There are reasons that the diet business is a multi-billion dollar empire. Since I added real food, highly alkaline, that was mostly plant-based...and started juicing green vegetables my energy has gone through the roof and my skin has changed and my cholesterol cut in more in half.I no longer have sleep apnea and when I eat the food I eat...especially the desserts...I can taste real flavor and none of that chemical shit storm that is in the processed food and sodas we should all avoid. There is nothing good...not even a little bit about processed foods. Also there is nothing good about pasteurized dairy either. Remember that stuff about milk doing a body good and having all the calcium we need? Oops...it turned out not to be true. It prevents absorption, and leeches the calcium and zinc from our bones...and gives us osteoporosis. Oops!
BUDDAH: What are a few of your favorite sitcoms which no longer air on television?
EDDIE: The best sitcoms from my very young childhood that still stand up as being hilarious are "Mr. Ed", "My Favorite Martian" and "Green Acres." I love a lot of British sitcoms...and I miss "Father Ted" "The Royle Family" and "The (original) Office." Of course, I loved "Newhart", "Dick Van Dyke Show" and "Mary Tyler Moore Show!" So many great ones that are gone.
And now, one question from Eddie to Buddah: Do you remember the first laugh you got? Describe it to me...
BUDDAH: I often made my mom laugh at my antics as a kid, but I can mainly remember the first laugh I got from an unexpected audience. I was at a St. Louis Blues hockey game with a few buddies about 15 years ago. There was a vendor marching up and down the isles selling margaritas. He kept shouting out "Margarita!" After about 6-7 times he passed by agian and shouted "Margarita!" and I shouted back "she's not here!" The whole nose bleed section I was sitting in roared with laughter. It was that moment that I felt like maybe I should be doing standup comedy and it helped inspire me to start writing material.
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| Eddie and Dave mixing it up. |
Eddie Brill was a great interview and every comic should read this one. Look for him performing live soon at a city near you.
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| Eddie Brill |
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