the comic's comic

Louis Katz explains the love of BBW and marching bands on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Comedian Louis Katz made his late-night debut on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. and we learned about the nature of the term BBW, and also how high school marching bands aren't cool (and yet it's worked out for a member of The Roots!).

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Meet Me In New York: Louis Katz

What do they say about New York City: There are eight million stories, and sometimes it seems as though eight million of the people telling them think they're comedians? No, that's not it. It is a fact, though, that America's biggest city is also its biggest comedy mecca. Hollywood may be Hollywood, but New York City is where comedians are born funny, become funny or arrive to thrust their funny upon us. I think we should meet some of these people. This is a new recurring feature, a mini-profile of newcomers, up-and-comers and overcomers of New York's vibrant comedy scene. It's called Meet Me In New York.

Louis Katz (pictured below by Mindy Tucker) hit the daily double this week, releasing both a digital album via Comedy Central Records and his first half-hour Comedy Central Presents. I first got to see him live a couple of years ago when he came to New Jersey to film a set for HBO's Down and Dirty with Jim Norton. Doug Stanhope gives him a testimonial for his new CD. Katz also has a seal of approval from Dave Attell, and that should be good enough for you. And like Attell, Katz is a New Yorker now. Before you see him on your TV tonight and stay online to buy his album, let's get to know him!

Name: Louis Katz
Arrival date: April 2009
Arrived from: Los Angeles
When and where did you start performing comedy?  Summer of 2001 in San Francisco/Oakland CA 
What was your best credit before moving here? HBO's "Down & Dirty with Jim Norton"
Why did you pick NYC over LA or anywhere else? I was living in LA (my hometown) for about three and a half years before I moved to New York.  I was unhappy with the limited amount of stagetime I was getting, and when I tried pitching a show around, no one seemed to take me seriously because I was so unknown.  I thought maybe if I got some more heat doing stand-up, the industry might pay a little more attention to me.  So I decided to move to NY, the best place to live if you want to become a better comedian. 

How long did it take to get your first paid gig in NYC after moving here? I had already worked as a feature act a few times at Gotham before I moved here.

How is this scene better/same/worse than the scene you moved from? STAGETIME!!! There's soooo much stagetime in NY, and more often than not, it's quality stagetime, in front of real people and not just other, bitter comedians.  That being said, I'm not one of those people who thinks all LA comedians suck, because they don't.  There's a lot of money to be made there and that attracts some of the best comedians in the business.  One problem with the NY scene, and NY in general, is that people tend to be a bit close-minded, and have little if any awareness of the world outside of NY.  Comedians here seem to be somewhat oblivious to the larger entertainment industry, and for better or for worse, getting into bed with that industry is what's going to raise your profile enough to headline nationally.  Getting passed at a club or booked in the hot alt room of the moment isn't.

HBO gets "Down and Dirty with Jim Norton" this fall

This is an early review! HBO just taped four episodes of a new stand-up showcase, Down and Dirty with Jim Norton. It'll air this fall (update! debut is midnight Oct. 4, with other episodes premiering Oct. 11, 18, and 25) They taped two episodes last night and two tonight at the BergenPAC in Englewood, New Jersey. At last night's tapings, things got, well, down and dirty.

Al Jackson, who I'm watching on Last Comic Standing as I type this, deserves special honors for his work warming up these rowdy crowds. He got some serious laughs and comedy points during the intermission between shows (an intermission that didn't allow the crowd to move) with material about being a teacher and a story involving his first trip to Starbucks.

Fans literally lined up around the block in this suburban Jersey town for the shows, which Norton promoted on his MySpace and via the Opie & Anthony show. Did I mention the crowds were rowdy? Alrighty then. I still haven't gotten full confirmation from HBO on this, but the first night's shows sure seemed like a suburban, white, rock version of Def Comedy Jam. Norton hosts all four shows and does about five to six minutes upfront, and there's a special podium set up for Lemmy from the band Motorhead, who introduces Norton and contributed the theme song. The fans clearly were on board with Norton from the get-go, welcoming him with a standing ovation.

In the first show, Norton opened with a funny bit about our past and present New York governors and their sexual tendencies. Russ Meneve came out first, and when some guy in the audience shouted out during Meneve's first bit, I got more than a bit worried that this crowd wouldn't know how to behave at a TV taping. They settled down, though. And they laughed and laughed. They gave Meneve an applause break when he joked that his last four girlfriends had died in sailing accidents. They continued laughing throughout the night. Joe DeRosa, whom I first encountered opening for a rowdy audience waiting for Dave Chappelle, certainly held his own with an opening bit about what life really is like for comedians on the road. Ari Shaffir went next, though, and attempted to steal the show when he ended his set with a joke about being ready for a blowjob anytime, demonstrating such by dropping his pants and his underpants for a full frontal moment. A moment that continued when he stood like that, then walked away with his pants still down. Hours later, Shaffir told me he didn't warn the HBO folks about his Full Monty moment, because he figured a warning might only result in HBO telling him not to do it. Then again, it is HBO. Moreover, he didn't really give them any chance to edit around his penis. So to speak. Let's see Carlos Mencia try to steal that bit. Norton's retort? "He looks like me, if I was taller and had a clit." Jim Jeffries got introduced as a special guest and had a funny opener about getting a ride home from an audition, followed by his story about coming down with a case of penis cancer. Audience naturally loved him. But they gave a standing ovation welcome to the first show's headliner, Andrew Dice Clay. Yep. He had his leather jacket, giant belt buckle, sunglasses and cigarette. No nursery rhymes. Instead, some different ancient premises that boiled down to dick jokes, black dick jokes (Siegfried and LeRoy???) that resulted in his philosophical outlook on how black men are ruining us. Or something like that.

The second show last night couldn't help but seem tamer. Norton opened that show with a few quick jokes about breaking up with his girlfriend (somehow Facebook alerted this to me first?!) before launching into his extensive breakdown of a video that I have seen (thank you, Joe Rogan?) of a man dying in Washington state a few years ago after allowing a horse to have sex with him. Indeed. I did say this show seemed tamer, though, and that was because the first few acts weren't quite as aggressive, even if they were still raunchy. Louis Katz introduced his own sex move, the Vengeful Louis, and closed with reasons why premature ejaculation is not necessarily a bad thing. Kevin Shea, introduced as Korean-born, also informed the crowd that he was college roommates with one of the YouTube founders-turned-billionaires. Jason Rouse, Canadian, living in England, started with a topic DeRosa had covered earlier but took it in a different direction. Rouse's jokes weren't just filthy but also somewhat misguided. After one joke, Rouse even said, "I know I'm going to Hell for that joke. But f#@k it, it's warm, and I'll know people there." Patrice Oneal closed out the second show with 15 minutes about how he's gotten creepy as he's gotten older. It's funny because it's true. But also because he's really not that creepy.

They filmed two more episodes tonight, with headliners Bill Burr and Artie Lange, and a lineup that looks more subversive (wish I'd seen that!) and includes Anthony Jeselnik, Whitney Cummings, Andy Andrist, Sean Rouse, Geoff Keith, Jacob Sirof and Jim Florentine.