Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael D’Angelo.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started doing stand up comedy in Las Vegas. Dive bar opens mics and the like. My first open mic, a little bar called Meatheads. (no longer exists) I was so nervous I almost pissed myself but after the first set I was hooked. Spent a few years in the dives. Sticky bars and smoke-filled rooms to get 5 minutes in front of a crowd of video poker players.
I’m a workaholic. One day I’m hustling in NorCal doing door to door sales in the summer. Sleeping in my car, eating canned ravioli, getting doors slammed in my face, trying to save to buy a house. One particularly rough day I was sitting in my front seat chowing down on some ravioli and it hit me. Fuck man I work real hard. What if I put all this hustle into something I actually like. I started my car, drove back to Vegas and started doing stand up full time. At this time it had been about 2 1/2 years since I first got onstage. So I take about a year burning through my savings just trying to get as much stage time as possible.
Then one weekend I went to LA.
I got to see Theo Von in the OR at The Comedy Store. I couldn’t breathe I was laughing so hard. I started watching these amazing comics perform for these crowds that were there to see comedy. No smoke, no video poker machines. It was crazy, the idea that as soon as you walk onto that stage, you immediately have everyone’s attention. There were so many amazing comedians I had never heard of and so many great rooms. I knew I had to move. I knew I didn’t want ten roommates. Been there done that. Rent on my own is fucking ridiculous, so I said I’m going to LA and I’m living in my car; have been for two years. It’s great. It’s perfect for me, I save a shitload of money, it keeps me focused and it’s turned me into a minimalist. Which is the way to go, especially in a city where material items can brainwash you. I save a lot of money working five jobs and paying no rent in LA. In fact, right at this moment I’m sitting in an Airbnb paid through September 1st in Edinburgh Scotland.
When I came back to Vegas from NorCal, I made a vision board. (cute, I know) One of the things on that board was a giant crowd at The Fringe Festival in Edinburgh. I fuckin made it. I’m opening 65 shows in 25 days. I’m coming back next year and I’m running my own show.
So when I first got to L.A.-
I wasn’t getting stage time. And I’m glad because four great things happened.
1. I started paying to do mics and I immediately had a realization, I could keep paying five bucks to get up or I could buy my own speaker, mic, mic stand, xlr and stool and I could go down to the beach and busk. I did and still do. It’s given me these little muscles that I didn’t have before. It’s great, I can go set up and do as much time as I want whenever I want and every time I go down there I always meet great people and my email list gets a little bit bigger.
2. I started doing Improv and taking workshops of all kinds. I love it because it hurts. Every morning that I have a class, I roll around in my backseat and bitch and moan because I know it’s gonna be hard and uncomfortable.
I always leave class feeling great with a breakthrough or new point of view. It throws me out of the comfort zone, helps me bomb better and I’ve learned to work with others on stage.
3. When I was in Vegas visiting L.A., I came down on Wednesday once to do 4 minutes on a little unknown, independent show called Comedy Chow. It was upstairs in the Hooters on Hollywood Blvd. I met the guy who runs the show Stephen Holleman. I knew right away that I wanted to help this show in any way I could. The room was sick: Low ceiling and tight seating. I told Stephen that first night that anytime I was in LA on a Wednesday I would help him. Here we are almost three years later and that show has moved venues twice since. We have never left Hollywood Blvd. Always piggybacking off local restaurants. Right now we are at Dave And Busters in the Hollywood/Highland Shopping Center. The room is very nice, we have a crew of about seven guys that help produce the show every single Wednesday. We took Comedy Chow on its first tour this year and it was amazing. Loaded a van with ten comics and two cameramen and set out for Nevada and Arizona.
Everywhere we went, we sold out. It was so cool getting to see the guys on our crew get in front of real crowds out of town and crush. Comedy Chow is like our gym. It’s where we spar every week. We’re like a fight club working out in a dark basement. You don’t really get to watch each other too much because we all have a duty to keep the show running. We run it all light, sound, the door. We also bus and serve – all of it. We get a crazy wide variety of crowds because we pull people off Hollywood Blvd. So it’s always a workout. Then we went on the road and it turns out everybody on the crew even the new guys could scrap. Made me damn proud to be apart of the team. I thought I was coming to LA to grow as a comedian but Comedy Chow has also helped me grow as a person and as a leader. It’s a fucking miracle to get a group of guys that come from different walks of life to show up every week and work together to produce a kick-ass show. It’s Crazy. I’ve really come to understand what it means when someone says
“Lead by example.” My work ethic has been emulated by all and it’s dope. It’s kind of like having a little cult or a militia. It’s work for sure and it’s made me the guy I am right now.
4. Last year, in search of more stage time, I sent out over 400 letters to Marines all over the world. A call to action- “Hey I’m a Marine, I’m a comedian and I would love to come perform for you guys, just say when and where. I’ll make it happen at no cost to the Marine Corps.”
A few units got back to me and it’s been snowballing. Had my first show last year on Cinco De Mayo. I did 45 minutes for 250 Marines on Camp Pendleton. They treated me like I was fucking Dave Chappelle. It was great to say the least. I’ve been getting more and more shows by word of mouth. What’s real cool is that I get to tap unknown comics on the shoulder that I like watching perform and say ”Yo, you wanna get in a van, and go do a show for a few hundred Marines on Friday?” It’s crazy! If someone would have said that to me I would have shit my pants in delight. And now I’m the dude setting it up. Now here I am filing my paperwork to turn The Rapid Fire Comedy Tour into a 501c3 nonprofit. I’m gonna make it my full-time job to do shows for Marines all over the world. Dude, crazy right?!
Lastly, I will mention that four days after I moved to LA I got hired as a door guy at the Hollywood Improv. Why mention this last. Well, because I can’t leave it out. I didn’t know when I applied that The Improv is not a development club like The Comedy Store. They had no intentions of developing comedians who worked there. Bummer I know. But that’s how their corporate structure is set up and it is what it is. So for two years, I worked there. Brought my hustle to the table and became that guy that made all the other door guys look complacent. But unfortunately I never got fed with stage time. And I’m grateful for that because it pushed me to go out and work at my own shit. I leaned heavy into busking, Comedy Chow and I started the Rapid Fire Tour and I don’t know if those things would be what they are if I was getting time at the Improv. Just this year there has been a change at The Improv. They are creating a development program for people who work there and it’s great. I usually get to host late night every week and I fucking love it. And you know what, I’m glad it took two years because I’ve been marinating.
That’s my story for now..
Has it been a smooth road?
Fuck no. People who aren’t comedians are making decisions that influence your career because they are on a power trip. Then there’s the flip side- learning to play the game and shutting your mouth by keeping your own ego in check. It’s a real kick in the nuts, everyday. Plus sleeping in your car in the summer is a real bummer.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
My current focus is getting Rapid Fire Comedy Tour filed as a 501c3 then spending time everyday to find sponsors. What you should also know about me is that I’m also a writer. Short stories and sketches. Think Robot Chicken on Adult Swim. I’m looking for animators to create my own short form animated show!
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
LA is amazing. Beautiful weather and fruit stands, it’s like Mexico except you can’t pay the cops.
The worst thing about LA is the weather is so good that it’s keeping me from moving to New York.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @32StitchesCo or @RapidFireComedyTour
Image Credit:
Troy Conrad, Patrick Lee, Brendan Minto
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here
