SHECKY!: Seattle has always been a great comedy market and it's where you began your standup career. What was the Seattle scene like when you started?

I was just out of college in 1979, and I just started showing up at open mics. There were only four of us doing standup. The rest were folk singers and poets. My knowledge of standup was all from television, so I thought you did new material every show. I just wore a sportcoat and gushed adrenaline, but it drew a crowd.

SHECKY!: How did you go from being a Theater Arts major in college to a standup comic? What made you go up on stage for the first time?

A needy ego and a resentment. The professional acting schools declared me "too young" to be a comedy "character" actor in the MFA programs. That made me a bit angry, and pushed me into it.

SHECKY!: Did you find that your theatrical training gave you an advantage over the other open mikers?

Sure. I had a little technique, and a lot of focus. The other guys were working at Boeing. I think they were doing standup for free beer.

SHECKY!: Would you recommend that a comic move to Seattle or a similiarly-sized market for a time before making the "Big Move" to Los Angeles or New York?

If it means more stage time. When I found out I could work more in San Francisco, I moved there. San Francisco had four comedy clubs with open mics every night. It was also my first exposure to professionals. I started working out five nights per week, and watching "names" from Los Angeles every weekend. San Francisco was great for young comics. There was a mental health facility on every corner. I spent eight years and three therapists there.

SHECKY!: You won the Seattle Comedy Competition and were a finalist in the San Francisco Comedy Competition. What type of comic does best in a competition? What does it take to win? What type of comic stands out?

The hungriest people win. I was living out of my car and had to win. You have to rise above pressure, exercise discipline, and edit. Focus on the craft and your relationship to the audience. The people who win are usually aware of their character, giving an audience more than just jokes. Of course, it doesn't hurt to get a laugh every seven to ten seconds...

Competitions are pretty silly. It's a subjective art form and the idea of competing is ludicrous. They're mainly a promotional tool. Producers make all the money, and the crowds get a "smackdown," but we learn a lot and get more work.

SHECKY!: You appeared on Star Search eight times and even made it to the finals. Whom did you compete against and who beat you for the big cash prize?

Actually, everyone on Star Search competed against the spokesmodels, but I worked with a lot of funny guys. They put me with Jenny Jones in the finals. The sets were two minutes long. I asked the producer if I could wear a dress, but he said no. Jenny won the hundred thousand. My high point was when Miles Davis said he liked my clothes.

SHECKY!: How valuable is that type of weekly exposure?

Nobody in detox really cared, but it helped a lot in clubs. Women think you're rich and you get booked everywhere. You get an apartment in L.A., a manager, a few agents, and a publicist. Of course, every time Jenny goes on trial now, everybody sees me in a 1980's haircut...

SHECKY!: After Star Search you finally did make the move to L.A. Was it a difficult transition? What surprised you most about doing comedy in Los Angeles?

Professionally, Star Search made my L.A. move comfortable. Television is a religion in L.A., and it was a "first communion." Budd Friedman booked me into his Improvs. Mike Lacey booked me at the Comedy and Magic. The big surprise came when I had to follow great comedians. These clubs had a pretty star-studded lineup, and you followed everybody. I had to learn some command of a stage. It's necessary to be fully self-motivated. "Cute" would no longer fuel my segues.

The emotional transition into L.A. is always tough. We didn't have psychotropic drugs then, so friends were the only solution. Friends and sailing. They worked for me.

SHECKY!: Eventually, you appeared on all the cable shows and even became a regular on the Tonight Show. Have you always consciously been a TV comic?

I don't know what a "TV comic" is. Television is promotion. I did thirty-some cable spots and the 'Tonight Show' to promote 6 or 7,000 club dates.

SHECKY!: Have you seen the show Late Friday? What do you think of their strategy of insisting on booking "alternative" comics?

I doubt that television has much strategy beyond filling endless airtime cheaply; but it's great exercise for us. I haven't seen it, but I'm sure it's a good thing. The label, 'alternative comedy' used to make me twitch (In theater, the 'alternative' to comedy is tragedy). I was threatened by it because I'm a perfectionist. Today, I see it as new material, and if 'alternative' comedy means giving the audience access to our creative process, that's terrific and I'm glad there's an audience for it.

SHECKY!: Do you have any desire to go back to performing in the theater? Have you appeared in any plays since becoming a standup comic?

I was in a number of plays while doing standup in San Francisco. I would skip the curtain calls, and Durst would pick me up to go hit open mikes. Great times.

I would love to act again, if I could afford it. Standup and writing take a lot of time. It took me twenty years to learn something about standup, and great acting takes a similar commitment. I have very close friends who are great actors, and they don't pretend to know standup. I try to return the favor. People who can do both well are very talented.

SHECKY!: Your mother was a choreographer for the famed June Taylor Dancers. Did she ever work with the group that appeared on the Jackie Gleason Show? Did she ever get to meet any famous comedians?

Mom and Dad divorced when I was young, so I never really knew my mother. As far as I know, she worked with the touring company. My stepmother, however, enjoyed the show, and says she met Louis Nye once.

SHECKY!: What comics have influenced you the most?

Early on it was Johnny Carson, then Steve Martin and Garry Shandling. Brevity, soul, wit...

SHECKY!: Has there ever been a comic-- contemporary or otherwise-- that has ever helped you out in any special way?

Probably every comic I've met. I've even been helped by producers and club owners. I've always needed help. That's the key. It's always been a pretty tight community, in my experience. Mike Pritchard gave me my first apartment, Will and Debi Durst gave me dishes. Dana Carvey put me up in L.A, as did Bobby Slayton. The list is very long. Ritch Shydner, Mark Schiff, Mike Binder, Bob Nickman, Steve Mittleman... it all continues today. Jay Leno, Jim Brogan, Garry Shandling, Jeff Cesario, Tom Parks, Wayne Cotter, Pat Hazell...

These guys have helped me so much in the recent years that I can't say enough. I really haven't had that much to do with my career...

SHECKY!: Your most recent project is headwriters.com. Can you give us the who, what, when, where and why of headwriters.com?

I started Headwriters last year when I needed a creative jolt. I was writing for myself and others, and found myself running dry. The perfectionism inherent in my performing would stifle my creative writing. My most creative excitement came while hanging out backstage at the Comedy and Magic Club. The idea of helping other performers unlocks my self-consciousness. I kicked around the "private comedy staff" idea for a couple years, and found a process that works very well.

I study the client's character, attitude and direction. Then I locate seasoned comics with similar traits. I do a lot of homework on the topics, and then hire the staff for a session. We watch video of the client, and we play. Everybody comes back with pages of material, and I do a final edit. I give it to the client, and we go over delivery. Then we get it onstage and work it. It's a lot of work; but the whole comedy scene benefits creatively and financially.

Helping funny people has a big payoff. Excitement about great new material is contagious. It's a high knowing that crowds are laughing at your material in four or five cities. Right now, I'm excited about bringing fresh comedy to the corporate speaking circles. Making the business world human is a big challenge.

SHECKY!: Do you think it's important for comics to diversify?

Standup is already an extremely diverse art form. We write, edit, direct, and perform. Most of us are booking and promoting, too. I do standup regularly, but I specialize in writing comedy. Most folks seem to end up specializing.

SHECKY!: Will you always do standup or can you forsee a time when you will just concentrate on writing?

I'm having a ball writing, but I can't stop doing standup. That's my "spell-check."

SHECKY! can be found at www.sheckymagazine.com