I chatted with comedian Shayne Smith about his life in lockdown and his pretty rad body tattoos.
When did you know you wanted to be a comedian?
Honestly I feel like I knew at a really young age but I just didn’t understand that would even be a thing I could do. Until my early 20’s I was mostly just focused on my immediate situation and my family and friends. The future, dreams, change, things like that they didn’t occur to me till I was lucky enough to become more grounded and sit for a second and think ‘Oh hey I can do something with myself’. So comedy was the first thing that came to mind. Maybe it was always the dream and I just kind of tucked it away safe in the back of my mind while i did whatever it took to survive the first part of my life.
Who is your favorite comedian and why?
This is an INCREDIBLY tough question! It changes constantly. Right now the comics who have been killin me are Nate Barghatze, Rory Scovel, and Ms. Pat.
You have a lot of rad tattoos. Do you have a favorite?
::laughs:: the answer to that question is always changing but I gotta say I am a huge fan of the sword on my face (Narsil)
Have you ever been heckled?
Oh boy I have been! I started doing shows mostly in bars around the West and those people like to drink and they are not used to live entertainment ::laughs:: so plenty of encounters with people yelling out at me. My first album has a story where I get heckled and it’s 100% true. Since starting to headline though I have been incredibly fortunate to deal with very little heckling outside of the occasional drunk and maybe well meaning person.
How did you pass the time during lockdown?
I played an absolutely absurd amount of video games. I also painted a lot of warhammer models, which is the only thing you can do that’s dorkier than playing 60 hours of video games a week. I ran an ultra marathon and also destroyed what was otherwise an incredibly healthy romantic relationship. Ummm I grew my hair out a bit too. Honestly a somewhat productive year.
Are you pumped to get back on the road and perform stand up?
Incredibly excited. A bit nervous but after that first show I think I will have shaken it off.
What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done in life?
::laughs:: nice try FBI, I won’t be telling you that but I will say that I have done a few crazy things. Off the top of my head I am thinking of the time me and my friends found dynamite as teenagers and used it to blow up an old broken down car which ended up almost killing us. Turns out dynamite is incredibly powerful. Who could have known.
What are some pros and cons of life on the road going from city to city?
If you are traveling alone like I do most of the time it’s basically all cons outside of getting to have fun performing. When you bring someone with you though that’s a great time and is mostly pros. Not to get all lame but truly life is all about sharing adventures with people we care about.
Excited about your stand up date here in Baltimore?
I have never done stand up in Baltimore but beyond that I have never even BEEN IN BALTIMORE. So many people tell me the people there love to have a good time so I am so excited.
Shayne headlines Magooby’s Saturday, June 6th! Buy tix