We caught up with local comedian and compere of our September Live & Lyrical Sam Michael, to find out where he gets his inspiration from, how he got into comedy and how to get started as a stand-up yourself...
Find out where he gets his inspiration from, how he got into comedy and how to get started as a stand-up comic yourself...
Hi Sam! Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got into stand-up comedy? I first delved in to stand-up during my academic years at Cambridge University *cough* Anglia Ruskin *cough* comparing and doing one liners in-between musical acts on open mic nights. As for my background, I grew up in Newbury and am old enough to remember David Rendall, Nutty Nigel (his evil twin) Bar Cuba, Newbury Bypass protesters, Liquid and when the Kennet Centre actually had shops.
Where do you get your inspiration from for your material? It's a generic answer but everyday life I guess. My comedy would be categorised as 'observational' and that's probably down to the fact that I stick to the rule of 'write what you know'. Part of me would love to be a political commentator like Stewart Lee, a surrealist expert like Paul Foot or character comedian like Steve Coogan but at the end of the day I only know about being a childlike geek who's pushing 30 and should really know better than to spending his time building Star Wars Lego sets instead of a future! If I didn't joke about it, I'd probably just cry. Having said that I am behind with my Cloud City set... I must get back to that tonight.
What would you say to someone who is thinking about trying their hand at stand-up for the first time? Well if they were from Newbury I would tell them to come down to Live and Lyrical and give it a go, if not this month then definitely the next. I wanted to be a comedian from the age of 15 and there were no local open mics where I had the opportunity to do this. On a more general level, write what YOU think is funny and write for YOU only. Unless of course you're funnier than me, in which case - give up, give up now!
Do you think events like Live & Lyrical are important to the local community? Yes! As mentioned above, I would have loved an event like Live and Lyrical when I was a teenager. Of course the event is open to all ages and all levels of experience but the friendly atmosphere makes it the perfect place to perform for the first time if you haven't done so before! There's some real talent in and around Newbury from poets to musicians to comedians. There aren't any regular comedy nights in Newbury, nor is there a weekly open mic event so something like this is extremely important!
What do you get out of performing at events like these? Money and women... Nah, I really like seeing the up and coming talent. You never see anybody who isn't incredibly talented at Live and Lyrical and you never know what the future holds for them. 10 years down the line you could be saying "Ah, we saw he/she/them before they were famous!"
Where can we see you next, after the September Live & Lyrical and are there any other local performers/events you’d recommend our audiences catching? After this I'll be doing a few gigs throughout the south west; I'll be in Banbury taking part in the Gong Show on Sunday 9 October, Bristol Crofters Comedy Club on Sunday 30 October and I'll be Downstairs at the Kings Head in London for a very special show in December, among other bits and pieces. Before all that though, I'll be at Ace Space which is a BRILLIANT local open mic night which takes place on the first Friday of every month.
Follow me on Twitter @SamMichaelC
Catch Sam and some other great local acts at this month's Live & Lyrical on Thursday 29 September.
Image Credit: James Wadham