Atlanta Stands Up

Photo Credit : Avidity Photography

Who knows a comic, and his/her stand-up, better than the other comics that they spend night after countless night getting on stage with? 

For this week’s Comic-On-Comic we asked Atlanta comedian Matt O’Meara a few questions about the comedy that his peer and friend Shalewa Sharpebrings to the comedy scene here in Atlanta. 

How would you describe Shalewa’s comedic style?

• I would say Shalewa’s comedic style is funny? It’s what most go for, she does it pretty well.

Do you think her personality reflects her stage persona?

• Yeah I guess. She’s not fake on stage if that’s what we’re saying.
  

Which of Shalewa’s jokes is your favorite; gets a laugh from you, no matter how many times you hear it?

• New favorite is the role playing one with a dude that had a diaper fetish. I’ll let you know later if I’m still laughing at it.
  

In the past year, how have you seen Shalewa grow as a comic?

• Shalewa has gotten a lot more comfortable on stage and it shows a lot in her pauses. She sits on them longer and makes the jokes “pop” more.
  

What do you personally admire about Shalewa as a comic?

• She’s black. I think that’s pretty cool. Also I like that she is super laid back and you never hear a bad thing about her from anyone around the scene.

Now that you have a comic insider’s perspective, take a look at this video of Shalewa Sharpe performing a set at the world famous Laughing Skull Lounge. 

    Photo Credit: Avidity Photography

Who knows a comic, and his/her stand-up, better than the other comics that they spend night after countless night getting on stage with? 

For this week’s Comic-On-Comic we asked Atlanta comedian Mike Kaiser a few questions about the comedy that his peer and friend Matt O’Meara brings to the comedy scene here in Atlanta. 

How would you describe Matt’s comedic style?

• I would describe Matt’s comedic style as defiant. He defies the audience’s expectations of what topics a comedian will cover and what their demeanor will be on stage. He pulls it off because his jokes are so well-written people can’t help but laugh (unless it’s the Funny Farm).

Do you think his personality reflects his stage persona?

• I don’t think that Matt’s stage persona reflects his real personality. He’s a much bigger dick off-stage. 
  

Which of Matt’s jokes is your favorite; gets a laugh from you, no matter how many times you hear it?

• My favorite joke right now is “Gluttony.” Fat people deserve to get abused by someone other than themselves once in a while. 
  

In the past year, how have you seen Matt grow as a comic?

• I’ve only been around for a little over a year, but in that time I’ve seen Matt figure out how to successfully present dark material to an audience. His writing has always been great, but it’s not easy to get the audience on board for jokes about rape, domestic violence, and 9/11. He’s figuring it out though and you can see that in the success he’s (deservedly) having on stage. 
  

What do you personally admire about Matt as a comic?

• More than anything, I admire Matt’s work ethic as a comic. He’s gets up whenever he can and is always writing new stuff. Being around Matt, I always feel challenged to keep pace with him and write more rape jokes.

Now that you have a comic insider’s perspective, take a look at this clip of Matt O’Meara performing “Baby Names” at the world famous Laughing Skull Lounge. 

Follow Matt O’Meara on Twitter!

Written By Comedian Joe Gallois

Here are 10 reasons why the song “Friday,” by Rebecca Black, isn’t as bad as people make it out to be:

1. She’s speaking the truth about Fridays. I don’t know anyone who isn’t looking forward to the weekend and getting down. It is like modern gospel in that regard.  

2. If you change the dance beat to crunchy guitars and bass, along with those same lyrics, you’ve got something that could’ve been on a recent Weezer album.    

3. People claim it’s dumb to sing about a subject matter as lame as Friday; well need I remind you of a band that wrote a song about hand holding? You might have heard of them, they were called THE BEATLES! I much prefer Friday to hand holding; want to know why? I’ve never caught a cold from a day of the week.  

4. Could be a great promotional tool for “TGI Fridays,” and in this economy every little bit helps. (Unrelated Note: I LOVE their pot stickers.)

5. She put ugly people in her video. For all of you who get upset about the media’s impossible portrayal of women, this video is for you; it should be praised for the awkwardness of two girls, with braces, wearing what I assume are bridesmaids dresses. 

6. Proves that auto-tune is still “in vogue.”  Is saying “in vogue” still “in vogue?”  

7. Everyone has to start somewhere. Aaron Carter had to sing about beating Shaq in a game of basketball and now look at him… I’m sorry, I meant look for him; whatever happened to him? 

8. The production value shows that you can apparently still make music videos while at the mall. I didn’t know those places were still around.  

9. She constantly mentions cars having front seats and back seats, which promotes carpooling as a viable transportation option; so there’s an environmental message to it. I also assume that all the cars in the video are hybrids.  

10. It may replace “Party In the USA,” by Miley Cyrus, as the song two dorky white adults, in their late 20s and 30s respectively, will sing at karaoke; ironically at the befuddlement of the people they came with …by no means am I referring to anyone in particular… NOT AT ALL.

So there you go. I encourage you to watch the video again, now that you have a different perspective on it.