JAKE SULLIVAN INTERVIEW

Jake Sullivan is a comedian from Sonoma County, CA. In this interview we talk all things comedy, Sonoma County comedy scene and much more!

What’s up pimp?!

What’s good sire!

Thanks for doing this my boy. Tell everybody who you are and what you do.

My name is Jake Sullivan I’m a 30 year old stand up comedian from Rohnert Park, California “The Friendly City”. I’m a Taurus and I enjoy long walks on the beach.

So I’ve known you for a long ass time now. You have been running bits on the boys since you were a kid. How did you get into comedy?

Yes I have haha. Well I grew up in a very big and funny family. My dad and mom were big SNL and Seinfeld fans through the 90’s so those were big influences early on cause that was always on in the house. Not a lot of 7 years old are watching Seinfeld before bed every night. Which was a show about a comedian and how he basically comes up with material. I had the best of Chris Farley and Dana Carvey growing up on VHS and would watch Farleys to laugh and then Dana Carveys basically just to try to copy every impression he did. There’s lost footage of a 11 year old me doing Regis Philbin, but I had it destroyed with the sex tape. Pretty much being the middle child and being obsessed with performers put me in the mindset of like “Oh, this can get me noticed in a different way.”

Yeah I was watching Batman at 7. How is comedy going for you right now? Tell me a little bit about where you are at in your career.

It’s going as well as it could be. I’m getting to the point where I’m getting booked on shows and getting opportunities I never really saw possible for me even at the local level. I would say I have a set of goals I want to reach for the next year still in the Bay Area and then I think if those goals are reached I’ll be taking my talents to South Beach (LA). Very exciting time I’d say.

That’s awesome man. What is the scene like in Sonoma County right now? Do you think you have to move somewhere like LA nowadays to really get the recognition? Also what would you say the breakthrough was that led to being booked more regularly?

The scene is actually pretty alive here. I do a lot of shows in San Fran and the East Bay which is fun but having a local club like Barrel Proof Lounge pop up in Santa Rosa really transformed things and brought a lot of talent and interest here. I think any time you rise to the top of your current local scene it’s time to find a bigger pool to swim in. I’m not saying I’m quite at the top by any means but I aspire to and when I am I’ll have to move on. The break through was just hard work man. Doing 5-6 sets a week even when I didn’t feel like it. Becoming obsessed with getting a joke right and having it work. Asking people you admire for honest feedback and listening without letting your ego take over. Writing, self critiquing, learning at every chance you can. Failure, failure, failure, getting sober helped too.

Getting sober is so hard man I give you mad props for that. What is your writing process like and how do you know when to trim that fat off jokes?

Well laughs per minute is a thing to be conscious of for sure. You’re there to entertain. Like for instance sometimes you have a great first sentence. I’ll give you a bad example. “If I see another ad for a pill that makes your dick hard, I’m gonna be… broke” now if you’re going into a story about limp dicks but your not getting the same size laugh as the first line you said to get in to that then maybe it’s time to start trimming, or just leave it as a one liner. But I don’t know, everyone is so different in their process. I try to just keep in mind that you don’t wanna waste anyone’s time. Make them laugh, make them like you, and go home.

That’s good insight, long setups can lose a crowd quick. So with writing do you just write for standup or do you write other stuff as well? I know you’ve always talked about writing a show.

Well lately I’ve been getting asked to do a lot of roast type things so I’ve been doing more of that but actually yes. Me and a good friend of mine Alice have written a couple variations of a show or possibly movie script centered around things like the local comedy scene or sobriety type of themes. It’s fucking hard writing that kind of stuff. I guess writing in general is just a grind but yeah we’re working on that.   

That’s awesome man. I’ve always wanted to see what you can make in those regards because your brain thinks in such a unique way. Do you ever experience stage fright? What was the confidence difference between being sober now and before? I gotta imagine that was a challenging transition.

Haha well short answer yes and yes. Long answer you always get nervous. I think for me the bigger the show the bigger the nerves. I’ve literally been about to go on and had my lower back lock up from nerves which I didn’t even know was possible till this year, but it is. Being drunk on stage is like a super power sometimes, but you don’t realize during the moment that you’re not in control and you’ll have no way to self edit or capture that magic later. Being sober and doing comedy took me about a whole year to get that control and feel like I’m driving this car and not just blacking out after my set. A good quote I heard about nerves was “Everyone gets butterflies, but the best can make them fly in formation”. I swear it’s not from a Pixar movie. But yeah it’s just about gaining that control over yourself and that’s taken me years to get just to a place I feel confident going on stage. The comfort I have on stage without drugs or alcohol took a lot longer to gain but can take me a lot further.

Great answer. What is it like bombing? I can only imagine how bad it can get sometimes? Do you have tools now to pull the crowd back when you can sense a bomb is about to drop?

Bombing is something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy hahaha. It hurts on a metaphysical level. Physically your ears get hot. You start sweating which is hilarious to see happen to another comic. It’s a humiliating out of body experience dude. I’m proud to say it’s been a long time since I’ve flat out bombed.  But I’ll tell you this, the ones that drive you crazier are the ones where you’re not bombing but you just don’t quite have them where you want them and it’s luke warm. I’ll go Howard Hughes on those tapes just watching over and over in the dark naked and drinking milk. I like to think I have a bag of tricks or can maybe hook them with crowd work. There’s always a button to push, like sometimes they like dirty stuff but you haven’t tried any, or they have heard enough dick and pussy jokes and want something else. What helped me kind of navigate that is being in the room and watching the comics before you and feeling the room and what they respond to. I used to never do that and I would pay for it. I’d just be outside vaping talking about how good I’m gonna do then go up and eat a dick. When I was 21 I bombed so hard I didn’t go back to standup for like 3 years it cut that deep.

That is hilarious. I’ve see you crush and I’ve seen you bomb and it’s rough watching your boy squirm. I could see how being observant is a huge factor. Do you ever work clean or do you pretty much get to do whatever you want?

I work clean if I absolutely have to and they’re paying for that. I can do it. I have a lot of family oriented stuff that works clean and that’s a good feeling honestly. I think any good comic should have at least a clean 10 minutes. Like even if you’re just changing all the fucks to shoots you should have a clean set in your pocket.

I love a good clean set that crushes. Sometimes it’s refreshing. Talk to me a little about where we are with PC culture right now. I feel like a lot of words are making their way back into everyday lexicon. Is it comedians who soften people up on these things? How do these PC trends work?

Well. Haha a lot of comics say whatever the fuck they want and that’s their right and some do it extremely well which I think is admirable. Personally I would say I want everyone to enjoy my set so I try to like taper my set to that. Off stage as I’m sure you’ve heard literally nothing is off limits. I always say if you’re not gonna be PC and go into that realm that shit better be funny first and sharp. Like it better be worth going there. In the beginning I was a lot more edgy, but over time I kind of realized that I wasn’t funny enough to go into some of that deep water. A lot of comics are also trying to get booked and if you have a dark set that could potentially turn away business you’re just simply not gonna get booked. So you kind of have to walk a line when you’re on the way up. Especially in this Bay Area scene. There’s definitely subjects I won’t tackle but then I’ll go see like Bill Burr and he’ll tackle them and turn them into a brilliant piece of gold and you’re like “Wow it is possible.”

Yes I’ve heard you say some despicable things in private but we won’t go there. How do you feel about instagram comedians? There is so much garbage out there but some very funny stuff. Where do skit comedians fall in the hierarchy? Or is funny, funny?

Hahah yes please don’t out me. I think that funny is funny pretty much. I think people like Druski or this girl Veronika_iscool who I like could very easily do stand up and maybe even do at this point cause they have such a big following. Like if you can get laughs on the internet with a sketch you could definitely do stand up too. I think if people laugh you’re to be respected regardless of the platform I guess. But yes there’s a lot of straight trash

Totally. How important is self promotion in comedy? I would imagine similar to music or art? Also how helpful are other comedians in the Sonoma County scene. I would imagine in a smaller area there are more people fighting for spots?

It’s kind of everything at this point. I could be doing much more and am trying to focus on that more and more. When it comes to other comedians like if people see that you keep coming back and continue to get better and get laughs on a regular basis they’re gonna respect you. They may not like you but they’ll respect you. Kind of like being at the skatepark in junior high. If you can skate you can skate. There’s a lot of people fighting for spots everywhere it’s important to just focus on getting better and stay out of any drama or bullshit. Don’t take sides in some petty beef and just try to be undeniable. If you get caught up in anything else besides getting better and killing then your craft will suffer in some way. Kill and be nice to everyone and you’ll get your chance and people will like working with you.

That’s good life advice in general. What has been your favorite set yet and why?

I did a set like right after the election and it was a daytime show which is always weird and just everything was hitting and it felt amazing. That’s my favorite set lately. My favorite all time was a Barrel Proof tuesday in like September and just everything was working That keeps you going.

That must be a great feeling. Do you feel like comedy is in a good place right now? How do you feel about streaming service specials? A lot has changed, do you think they hold the same weight specials used to?

Hmmm great question. I think specials are the overall goal for any comedian. Netflix definitely changed the game as far as bringing back specials. I think they hold the same weight. Maybe some are like a little long for audiences but hey if you’re killing you’re killing. Like the old days HBO had specials and that was strictly for like legends but Netflix has given people with less of an audience more chance to shine. Like Tom Segura said his first Netflix special changed his life basically which is still a thing.

What are some trends in comedy you are feeling right now and maybe some that you aren’t?

A lot of people are kind of shitting on clips of crowd work but personally I don’t feel that way. I like those because that’s such a huge gamble on stage and can be really fun to watch. I guess something I’m not feeling is maybe like everyone making their sets a political statement. It’s entertainment guys, let’s have fun I guess.

Yeah that gets under my skin a bit as well. Everyone is a political commenter now. So you have a day job outside of comedy how do you balance those together? I’m sure in comedy there are a lot of late nights.

Yeah it’s just that thing like if you’re gonna go there make sure it’s hilarious first. Honestly having a day job can be quite complicated at times. Life is about balance and I would say I have a pretty unorthodox sleep schedule consisting of like hour long power naps if I have a show after a long day of work to stay fresh. A good quote I heard about having a day job and doing stand up is “some days I’m just not that great at my job”. Hopefully my boss doesn’t see this.

I’m sure he won’t, but if he does you were just making shit up. See how that works. What are some goals you have for yourself in comedy? Maybe some short term and long term.

Short term get passed at every club in the Bay Area. Long term shiettt shoot a short special then maybe move to LA and get cast as store clerk number 3 on Young Sheldon.

Young Sheldon cast member and Silver Lake hang around Jake Sullivan ladies and gentlemen. Well man thanks a lot for doing this and I wish you best of luck. I’m gonna see you soon for sure and we will have some laughs. Anything you wanna plug brother? Fire away!

Yes sir I don’t know I have two shows coming up in January one at Barrel Proof on 1/3 and I have a show at Mac’s in Mill Valley on 1/14 also you can see me at Barrel Proof every Tuesday hosting a weekly show !! You’re the best man I love you and love everything you’re doing.

I love you too brother. Thanks again. 🔒

You can follow Jake @jakescomedy