Dan St. Paul Interview Show # 219

I had a chance to see standup comic Dan St. Paul (out of the S.F. Bay Area) perform live right before this interview; Dan St. Paul has been a successful Actor, comic, writer and more, for over 40 years. From being to part of the comedy team "Murphy-St. Paul" and opening concerts for Bands ("Ringo Starr" & "Chicago") to Corporate Events and One-Man Shows...Dan has done it all!
Good stories, and a funny set at the end, Listen, Laugh, & Share!

Dan St. Paul began his stand-up comedy career at the age of 29 after being inspired by a performance at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Initially an actor in Bay Area plays, he quickly transitioned into comedy, becoming known for his clean and humorous style. St. Paul believes that stand-up comedy offers a unique allure and financial fulfillment, but emphasizes the importance of mastering the trade and enduring tough times to succeed in the industry. His extensive experience, from corporate events to cruise ships and his acclaimed one-man show, underscores his commitment to connecting with audiences and finding diverse paths within the comedy landscape.

(00:01:03) Dan St. Paul: A Journey in Comedy

(00:04:20) From Teaching to Comedy: A Comedian's Journey

(00:07:10) Transitioning from Acting to Stand-Up Comedy

(00:19:37) Adaptable Stand-Up Comedy for All Ages

(00:23:02) "Dad's Stand-Up Comedy Tour: Parenting Humor"

(00:33:50) "Comedians Transitioning to TV and Commercial Writing"

(00:34:57) Comedic Writers: Diverse Paths to Success

Transcript

Announcer: 0:04

This is another episode of stand up comedy. Your host and Mc celebrating 40 plus years on the fringe of show business. Stories, interviews and comedy sets from the famous and not so famous. Here's your host and MC, Scott Edwards.

R. Scott Edwards: 0:22

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the podcast. We have a terrific stand up comic to interview today. He's out of the Bay area, but he's really worked all over, over the world. He's a very, very talented stand up comic. And what I like about him, he's clean and funny. He does corporate and cruises. He's got a one man show. He's done tons of tv. I know you'll enjoy him, but let me quit yak. And let's get into the conversation. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the show Dan St. Paul. Wow, the crowd is so excited.

Dan St.Paul: 1:03

They are. I'm so impressed that you got that many people into your house.

R. Scott Edwards: 1:07

It's incredible. Well, Dan, you and I have been swimming in the same waters for decades. We know a lot of the same people. We've. And I. I want to share with the audience. I'm so excited to be interviewing you. I just saw you at a fundraiser for our good mutual friend will durst, a very funny comic. And it was great to see how you work because we're both in the same age range. And stand up comedy has gone through so many changes since you and I got into the industry. But let's not get too ahead of ourselves. Can you tell the audience how you kind of got started in stand up? Because I know you got a little bit of a late start.

Dan St.Paul: 1:51

I was 29, I think when I started, I had already gotten a master's degree in special education. I taught for a couple of years. After my second year of teaching, I went on a little backpacking trip, and we ended up at the Ashland Shakespeare festival at Ashland, Oregon, Oregon Shakespeare festival. And I was watching a wonderful production of Midsummer Night's Dream. And the guy who's playing Nick bottom, you know, the guy who ends up with a donkey on his donkey head and all that, he was getting incredible laughs. And I just, it just, all of a sudden, a lightning bolt hit my head and it was, that's what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm supposed to be up there and in front of an audience, not in front of a classroom. And so that I went back home and I handed in my resignation and I went on the road to becoming an actor. I went to act. I started acting in plays around the Bay Area. I met a woman in a play who was very funny. And everybody in the dressing room was saying that we were together, tremendously funny. And I thought, wait a minute. I've always been a fan of Nichols and May and Stiller and Mira, and maybe we should do a comedy team thing, you know, I got some ideas.

R. Scott Edwards: 3:11

That was the funny comedian Sue Murphy, right?

Dan St.Paul: 3:14

That's right. So we wrote for about ten months and then decided to hit the stage at the famed Holy City zoo in San Francisco and killed. And we were just ecstatic because he did five minutes, and we didn't know if our stuff was funny or not. We'd never tried it in front of anybody. But we did a sketch, a couple of sketches, and so they went over great, and then they were called back to do seven minutes. The week after that, we did different material and totally ate it. Bomb.

R. Scott Edwards: 3:49

Well, that was at the famous holy city zoo, right?

Dan St.Paul: 3:52

That's correct.

R. Scott Edwards: 3:53

Yeah. That. That was interesting that you and sue did a sketch bit in a room that held maybe 24 people and had the stage the size of a postage stamp.

Dan St.Paul: 4:03

It was not, it was not a big room. Yeah, it was kind of a shotgun room, and you're, like, in the middle of the shotgun, and, you know, and so if you wanted to get everybody, you constantly had to swivel your head left and right so they could see you. Yeah. And that.

R. Scott Edwards: 4:20

Go ahead. I was just going to say you touched on a couple things that I wanted to mention. You were a trained teacher, certified teacher. You were already had a career in teaching, going much like other comics that we both know and made that switch from teaching to entertainment. There's Derek Leonard in our own area, the Bay area, but Jimmy Byrne, my favorite, Dennis Wolfberg. And these are all comics like you that, you know, what's interesting about teaching is it's kind of like being on stage. You're in front of a small audience. You have to capture them. You have to engage with them if you're gonna teach them. And there's a lot of similarities between those two career lines, but you weren't the first to transition from teaching to show business, but you did it in a different way. In fact, I didn't realize you were a trained actor, because for those that don't know, act in the Bay Area is a very strong theater company, does a lot of plays. They've been around for, you know, 40, 50 years at least.

Dan St.Paul: 5:30

At least.

R. Scott Edwards: 5:30

And if you went through both teaching, which is, you know, entertaining in a difficult situation while you're trying to teach, and then go into acting, which is really different, because there's no immediate audience interaction. You're up on stage doing lines that are part of a ensemble and much different than being a solo stand up comic. I think that latching on to Sue Murphy, who, by the way, tremendously funny comedian, but that had to be a good, if you don't mind me saying, crutch, to help you transition from being a teacher into stand up comedy. Am I kind of on the right stage there?

Dan St.Paul: 6:16

Yeah, very much so. You know, the fact that we were both actors could play characters and were entertaining in that respect. And, you know, most of the acting, most of the talking to the audience was merely in presenting the next sketch. So it wasn't a direct knock down the fourth wall stand up comedy per se. And that's where. That's where we, you know, after that second performance where we ate it, we figured out that it's more than just doing the lines of sketches. It's being able to bail out of a sketch that's not working. It's, you know, and how do you do that? You know, we didn't have any sketches to hold us up for sketches that didn't work. We just were. We just figured every sketch would work.

R. Scott Edwards: 7:10

That is interesting, because in a play, when you're on the boards doing somebody else's lines as an actor, there is no bailing out. You're just doing that character in that play and you go through it and. Thank you. Good night. In stand up comedy, it was interesting that you were doing skits, which was combining live stage with your almost solo act. Your duo act with an audience and the interacting with the audience in between the sketches gave you an opportunity to see what being a stand up is like. But it is really different than acting.

Dan St.Paul: 7:50

It is very. It is very different. And we, as we progressed, we did more of it. We did more of talking to the audience. And, you know, sue and I were together for, like, six and a half years. And I think what happened? Yeah, yeah, we started 81, and we went to, like, the middle of 87. I think what happened was that sue really enjoyed that part of the act, just, you know, talking to the audience and trying to get laughs that way, whereas I was much more. Let's stay with the narrative. You know, let's make these bits work. Let's find. Let's find brilliance and these. In this area of writing sketches, I was much big fan of Nichols and May, and so I really wanted to write classic bits where she was veering off a lot more, and that didn't work. You can't just stand back and let somebody start talking to the audience. What are you going to do if you're the team? Right. That kind of led to us splitting up and which was all for the better for both of us, but as all teams do eventually break up.

R. Scott Edwards: 9:03

But interesting about all that, Dan, is that you, both of you, were learning. I mean, I didn't know you were together six, seven years. That's a slow transition. But you did transition from being actors in a play to being stand ups, and it would gave you an opportunity. And I think the reason you like the written word is that there's a comfort zone there because you know what you're going to say and you, you've. You're hoping, you've crossed your fingers that it's going to be funny and you want to stick to the script, as they say. And what Sue Murphy was doing was reaching out and improving to try to keep it, the audience engaged and make it funnier. But the two of you were on a little bit different plane, which is interesting because I've interviewed Mack and Jamie several times. They're very good friends of mine. And I don't know if you've heard the story, but Jamie was the straight guy that would like to stick to a script, and it was Mac, right. Would go off an improv and it almost broke them up and they found a way to make it work and ended up being a team for 40 years. But the fact that you and sue had a chance to go through that grind not only helped you slowly develop into solo stand up comics, but in your case particularly, and I think for sue as well, you got into the discipline of writing, which is so important for a stand up comic, if you're not writing, you're not creating and performing, right?

Dan St.Paul: 10:35

Correct. I think, you know what, the transition from writing sketches for two people into writing stand up for yourself, there comes a point where you move from writing a sketch, which is very presentational and almost like acting in that, you know, you're doing the sketch, you're not really talking. The audience is observing you doing a character or something else, as opposed to just listening to you talk, and it's more of a conversation and you're much more conversational. And I think that's a. The progression that I have made in the last 30 years or so, 30, 40 years from that is that I become much more of a self observational comedian in that I just talk about stuff that happens to me, and I trust that it's also happened to the audience. And much of comedy is just based on shared experiences and me reporting how I look at these experiences and finding the humorous in them. And so what I became after a while, I still love writing sketches and presentations and doing characters and all that kind of stuff. And it seeps itself into my act here and there. And I did a lot of radios and the Bob and Tom show a lot and did sketches on that show.

R. Scott Edwards: 12:04

But, well, Dan, that was the next thing I was going to bring up. The Bob and Tom show is a very popular, a nationally syndicated radio show that has opened its door to stand up comics like you and Tim Beador and others. And it gave you and Tim in particular, an opportunity to share your writing. Because when you're on radio, there's no acting, there's no active audience, there's no necessarily interacting with another person. It's much like a podcast where you're having to engage the audience with your writing with a story. And getting on Bob and Tom on a regular basis had to be a lot of fun for you because you like to write. You, you like doing, quote unquote, a script type scenario, and now you're doing it on nationally syndicated radio. Congratulations. That must have been a whole lot of fun.

Dan St.Paul: 13:02

It was a lot of fun. You know, I went on the show. We remember flying into Indianapolis is where the show comes from. And I had this baseball routine with the first baseball game ever played. And then I thought, as I was touching down in Indianapolis, who would have called that game? And I thought, Harry Carey, of course, he's the oldest sportscaster out there. And so I went on the bob and Tom show and I did the bit as Harry Carey and the bit just like took off. And I'm still making money off the bit, you know, from it being people listening to it online and stuff. And it just became famous. And there were a lot of spinoffs after that. But I was the Harry Carey guy. Whenever I go on Bob and Tom, I do something as Harry or for Harry and.

R. Scott Edwards: 13:56

Go ahead, you're going to have to share. What's Harry Carrey sound like these days?

Dan St.Paul: 14:01

Well, this is what, this is part of the. Hello, everybody. This is Harry Carey. Welcome to today's game between the Bethlehem Braves and the Jerusalem Giants. Kind of a sparse crowd here today as a plague of locusts has made it tough to get out to the ballpark.

R. Scott Edwards: 14:23

Well, I've heard about that bit. Of course, connecting with Bob and Tom and getting a chance to create a comedic gym like your baseball bit really had to be validating for you. Congratulations.

Dan St.Paul: 14:39

It was, it was crazy. It was really, it was really fun and they were a lot, a lot of fun to go on.

R. Scott Edwards: 14:44

Well, what was interesting is that now you've transitioned into a solo stand up comic, you've had so much success. I know that you've opened up in concert for people like Ringo Starr, Natalie Cole and even Chicago. And I've seen your performance. You're not really a high energy entertainer. You're more, Jerry Seinfeld is Jay Leno is where you're a monologist and not crazy with antics or props. So when you're opening up for a rock and roll band like Chicago, how did, did you find challenging getting the focus of the audience or were you just the meat before the show? I mean, I've heard, I've heard those rock and roll concerts could have been really tough.

Dan St.Paul: 15:31

Well, you know, it have to be age appropriate. You know, I'm not going to be opening up for, you know, Radiohead. You know, it's, it's, Chicago was, you know, my time when I was there into rock and roll in the seventies, sixties and seventies. You know, I was in my thirties, in my twenties and my thirties and, and so was the audience. The audience that was there was older. They were more like, you know, my age. And so my material resonated with them. And so I had a wonderful time. I ended up doing like 35 minutes, which they usually don't want you to do that long.

R. Scott Edwards: 16:10

Yeah, that's, that's, for those in the audience, that's a long time before a band normally 1015 minutes, you, it's kind of like a Vegas thing. You just hit them and go, you that much time. The audience and Chicago must have really appreciated your humor.

Dan St.Paul: 16:26

It was, it was a Kanakti harbor, and I, you probably are familiar with that venue. It was outdoors and it was, that.

R. Scott Edwards: 16:34

Can be tough for comedy.

Dan St.Paul: 16:36

It can, it can. But it was a beautiful night, and I looked, you know, at about 2025, I looked to the stage, right, and they were telling me, the guy was saying, you know, stretch it out for, for, you know, I guess Chicago wasn't ready to go on yet or, or whatever. Maybe, you know, maybe one of the trombone players hadn't made it to the green room yet.

R. Scott Edwards: 16:56

It's so funny because I'm a producer. I'm not a performer, but as a producer, there's been literally hundreds of times I've been on the side of the stage, you know, given the stretch sign or the cut sign. And what's interesting about stand up comedy is that amateurs don't understand that to be a professional, you have to have that self editing ability to go with what's best for the show. And the producer generally knows what's best. And so if I'm giving the cut sign, the comic has to be able to transition to his closing two minutes, because cut usually means less than five minutes. And if you're given the stretch sign, which is actually more difficult for a lot of people, sure, you have to create, you know, bring up older bits or start interacting with the audience or something.

Dan St.Paul: 17:55

Exactly.

R. Scott Edwards: 17:56

To fill that time to benefit the show. And I think it's interesting that with the show, with the band Chicago, that they actually wanted the opening act comic to do more time, which is really rare. And it sounds like you pulled it off in spades of.

Dan St.Paul: 18:13

It was wonderful. I mean, after the, you know, at the intermission, because of the intermission, before they come on, I sold, like, 37 cds that night. It was great.

R. Scott Edwards: 18:24

Oh, it was great.

Dan St.Paul: 18:26

Such a fun night. And plus I got to see Chicago, which, you know.

R. Scott Edwards: 18:29

Yeah, no small feat. Well, it's interesting because a lot of people, and again, I'm talking to my own audience, Dan, is they don't maybe understand that comics, they do okay, especially professionals for stage pay, but it is always the side hustle. So cds, dvd's, t shirts, bumper stickers, I've seen pretty much anything and everything created by merch to try to generate a little extra income. Now, what's interesting is you've been performing as a solo act for a long time, and you said something interesting earlier that I wanted to go back to, and you were, in the case of Chicago or Ringo Starr, Natalie Cole, these kind of shows you are relating to your audience. And I think that that's so important that you wouldn't want to go out in front of, you know, like you said, a reggae band with the same kind of material you might do for a sixties, seventies rock era band. I was just talking to Dennis Blair, and he opens up for Barry Manilow, you know.

Dan St.Paul: 19:37

Yeah.

R. Scott Edwards: 19:38

How old is that audience? And yet it totally fits with the material he's been doing for 30 years. So in your case, you converted all this material and success as a stand up comic, going from Murphy St. Paul to Dan St. Paul solo comic into creating kind of a one man show called what's funny after 60. And what's interesting is that you've taken that ability to talk about yourself and your age range and bring it to that audience with this one man show. Did. Was that a difficult transition, or was that, you know, fun for you?

Dan St.Paul: 20:20

Oh, it's. It was illuminating, enjoyful in the fact that I could go out and talk about what was going on in my life and have the audience totally relate to everything that I was talking about. That was kind of like a key to a wonderful paradise that, you know, people knew exactly what the show was about and the title of the show. So the people that came were age appropriate and were into everything that I said. And so I enjoy doing that show. I, to this day, I seek out that same audience, you know, whether it's on cruise ships or these big 55 plus communities that have wonderful multipurpose rooms or theaters or whatnot. And there's nothing better, not a better feeling for a comic to go out on stage and know that everybody there is going to relate to what you say.

R. Scott Edwards: 21:23

Yeah. And you took it. You said the right word there. Age appropriate. When you know your audience, it's so much easier to connect with them and know that the material you've written basically based on your own life and age time, age zone, uh, is something that they're going to relate to. Age appropriate is so important. The other thing that is interesting is when you're doing more of a one man show versus a straight stand, you know, 20 minutes stand up set, is that you're now combining your acting skills with your stand up skills. Correct, correct.

Dan St.Paul: 22:01

And there's also a multimedia aspect to it, and that I had slides that I moved along, and so that added to the spectacle and made it more theatrical. Yeah, it was fun doing a theater show and having people come who used to subscribers to that particular theater for that season and totally being delighted by what they were seeing and hearing. It's fun to walk out on stage in a theater, but it's also fun to walk on a stage, in a club, in a more intimate atmosphere and be able to play with the audience. You get a lot of opportunities to do that on a ship and in some of these communities now.

R. Scott Edwards: 22:47

Well, and you also. We kind of skipped over it, and I wanted to go back. You also had a little bit of experience with the one man show kind of format because you. Milt Abel and Tim Beador did the stand up dads tour.

Dan St.Paul: 23:02

Correct.

R. Scott Edwards: 23:02

Which was very successful and for the audience. I'm good friends with both of these guys, Milt Abel and Tim Beador. Stand up dad's tour went across the nation, was very successful, and gave each of you an opportunity to share your stand up comedy. But also, you made it age appropriate. You had a theme, which is being a parent, and I should say you've. You've had a long, successful marriage with your bride, Kara. Beautiful young lady, and you have a son, and Milt has a couple kids. Tim. Yes, his daughter. And our generation going through the parenting aspect with kids as comics is different and at the same time, the same as everybody else. And you guys were able to find the funny, I call it, in being a parent. What was it like touring with Milt, Tim, and doing that?

Dan St.Paul: 24:00

And there was another guy, Kelly McDonald, also, who was a part of that show.

R. Scott Edwards: 24:03

I'm sorry, Kelly McDonald as well. Okay.

Dan St.Paul: 24:06

Yeah, it was. It was a gap. You know, we love each other's company. We're all still really good friends. We all live in different cities, but we still get together every now and then, and I. And we're always in contact with each other. Yeah. I mean, these are, you know, Tim and Milt especially. You know, we all came up together in the eighties, and so we often see each other as we were developing material and then hang out after a show. And we have a lot of similar interests, so we always dug each other's company. So it's great to find those guys who you're both kind of, like, on the same team, and it's great to hang and be with them and on the road, we had a blast.

R. Scott Edwards: 24:51

Yeah. And I think it was also had to be some camaraderie over the fact that you were all in the same age group and you were all going through that fun but sometimes challenging time of being a parent and being able to write material to what was happening in your lives then is something that, of course, the vast majority of the audience could relate to, especially, as you said, if it's an age appropriate audience. Did you enjoy writing specific material for that tour?

Dan St.Paul: 25:26

Sure. Why? In my case, we have one child who has mild Asperger's syndrome. So in my case, it was fun to try to take that. It can be difficult, you know, as a parent, trying to figure out, you know, why is my kid different and what can I do to help them, and then relating that to an audience and making. Trying to make that funny. Inevitably, after every show, I would be approached by a number of parents who said, I was so glad that you mentioned that, you know, we, too, have a child who's autistic or is handicapped in whatever way.

R. Scott Edwards: 26:10

Yeah. There's a family of special needs parents that if, for those out there that may have a special needs child, there's a huge support groups because you're not alone. There's so many people that are dealing with similar situations. And the fact that you were able to share that on stage and what an incredible opportunity, Dan. And I'm sure you made a difference and connected with a lot of audience members.

Dan St.Paul: 26:37

I think so. I, you know, from the reaction I got and the conversations I had, they were, they were so gratuitous. I mean, I mean, appreciative of what I was saying and that I could actually make it funny and bring some consciousness to it, which was great. And, you know, as a comedian, you know, you're always looking for sources of material and, you know, when you got a kid, stuff just, you know, it just materializes in front of you. You know, I was, I remember I took him to preschool his first day. He's three years old. The teacher, his name is Roy. And the teacher goes, Roy. Now, that's a name you don't hear every day. And he looked up at her and he said, nope, I hear it every day. And.

R. Scott Edwards: 27:27

Good for Roy.

Dan St.Paul: 27:29

Exactly.

R. Scott Edwards: 27:33

Well, I think interactions with children often write themselves, and I think it's so great that you and Milt Abel and Tim Beadora were able to bring that out with the audiences that you got to perform that for, as we said several times now. And I think one of the gifts you have, Dan, is that you've not been afraid to write to your age and to your audience. I just saw you on, just last night doing a special show for our good friend will durst, and you are, if you don't mind me, sharing, 72 now. And you bring material of that being over 65, being in the 70 range, which I'm right there with you, and bringing the comedic side of aging to the stage. And the audience loved it. You killed. You did a great job. And I think that that is one of the reasons that you're so successful. And we want to make sure the audience hears this. You're a very successful corporate comic. You do a lot of cruise lines and being clean and also being able to talk to a relatable, as we said, age appropriate audience. You've been able to find that funny in the writing that you do for your presentations. And I should say on a corporate level, you use your writing skills to bring the corporation you're performing for into your material. These are all things that make you a great success. Has that been challenging or just another level of fun for you?

Dan St.Paul: 29:16

Just another level of fun. When I, when I moved back from, to San Francisco, from LA, I was in LA for eight years. I was there from 86 to 94. I moved back to the Bay Area because we had an earthquake and in LA in 94, very close to where we live, and we just decided that, you know, we now had a child, we wanted him to be closer to his grandparents. And so he was three, we moved back and I got involved with a group that wrote, performed at corporate events. And it was boom time in the mid nineties in the Bay Area, as far as high tech went, you know.

R. Scott Edwards: 29:56

The Internet was timing everything.

Dan St.Paul: 29:58

That's, that's what really tremendous amount of work available at conventions, conferences, incentives, sales conferences, all kinds of different events that wanted to entertain as well as be informative or sell. And so I did a lot of presenter jobs at different conferences on the trade show floor, you know, pitching for other different products and services and all bringing humor to it, writing presentations and then performing them, or just writing them and let somebody else perform them. We got together and we'd write these shows and mostly sketches. A lot of sketches.

R. Scott Edwards: 30:43

Oh, really?

Dan St.Paul: 30:44

Yeah, a lot of sketches. And if you're doing a sales conference and they're doing a show, so we did like an hour show, we might, we must have had at least five or six sketches all involved in there, and musical sketches. So you get to write songs, all kinds of stuff. Those few years for me, I mean, I was able to buy a house, you know, and buy things that I wasn't able to buy before. It was really a lot of fun. I mean, you know, the comedy clubs are fun, but, you know, they're paying now with the same, they paid back in the eighties, basically.

R. Scott Edwards: 31:18

I've heard they're paying a little less, but going probably going corporate and of course, getting cruises is a higher paying, straight stand up gig and you're doing the same set show after show and you've got 30 plus years experience of that. But doing corporates for those in the audience, listening audience can be a real cash cow because you're now interacting with some deep pocket companies that are looking for not only professionalism, it's got to be clean. And for somebody like you, Dan, you were able, you're such a prolific writer that you're able to write the company into your already successful material. And the fact that you connected with a group in LA was, again, kind of like connecting with Sue Murphy. You've had these stepping stones that took you through these various levels of success. What a great opportunity to find a new path to use your experience and knowledge in stand up comedy.

Dan St.Paul: 32:25

It was, it was, it was a great opportunity. You know, when I came back here, I was at, my friend was doing a trade show, and he said, come on down to Moscone center in San Francisco and watch me do what I do. Wow, that's cool. And then I watched him, and then he introduced me to the other guy who had a company. He and a partner had a company that wrote and performed at trade shows and corporate events. And so I got hooked up with them, and it was like, going to work. I get in my car, I go to San Rafael, and we sit there and write comedy all day. And then, yeah, and, you know, one of the guys was basically the salesman. He would go to these companies, and he would interview them and find out exactly what they wanted in their presentation and bring that information back. And then three of us would sit around and one of them at the computer and just bat around ideas and then just start writing stuff. And they were both, both the guys that ran the company are still really good friends of mine, and both very charming, engaging guys, you know, actors and writers. And so it was a great front for presenting yourself to a corporate client. You know, they trusted you because you were funny, charming, professional, and you could talk the talk, and you're coming in.

R. Scott Edwards: 33:50

As a really supportive company as opposed to an individual, you know, a stand up comic approaching a company directly isn't going to quite have the stature that a company that says, hey, we have a variety of comics. We can write to what your needs are. And I thought it was interesting, Dan, that you said that it became kind of a nine to five job, which is unusual in the comedy industry. However, a lot of our peers, especially down in Los Angeles, made the transition from stand up comedy to writers of shows and commercials.

Dan St.Paul: 34:28

Exactly.

R. Scott Edwards: 34:28

And stuff in Los Angeles. And one of the things that they've always told me in previous interviews is that as much as they missed the live stage work, they really like the idea. It's kind of funny because it goes against what they've done their whole life, but they like that nine to five going somewhere, working, writing, interacting with other comics, not necessarily having to entertain an audience and then being able to go home and have dinner with the wife.

Dan St.Paul: 34:57

Right, exactly. Oh, yeah. No, there's. There's a tremendous allure of that, you know, just another place where you can plow your tray and, and plus, you can do it with a bunch of other guys who are like you. And so you can have, you know, you can have a good time, you know, doing it as well. So, yeah, it's another facet, you know, of the entertainment industry that few people really consider as part of, you know, what an artist does, but it's there and it can be tremendously financially fulfilling. Writers. I never went to LA with the idea of becoming a writer on anything. I just wanted to become a performer. I know people who have and who have been very, very successful at it well.

R. Scott Edwards: 35:44

And I think it just goes to what I've tried to share on this podcast for the last several years is that if you're a professional, especially if you're clean and you learn your trade, you go through the tough times that every comic goes through to learn how to do this challenging industry. There are so many paths that can take you to various careers and that could lead to success. And you've touched on so many from, you know, solo stand up to part of a team, to radio to opening up in concerts, shows. You've really, in doing all these writing and performing for corporates, you've really touched on so many ways to make a living and that's why you've been so successful. So, Dan St. Paul, what is going on now and what's next for you? Because I just saw you perform, you're still very, very funny. You have a great material for the age appropriate audience that we've now mentioned six times. What's really doing it for you? Let's say for the next year or so? What's exciting for you, let's take this.

Dan St.Paul: 36:59

Saturday, this Saturday, get on a plane and I fly to St. John's, Antigua in the Caribbean. I perform, I get on a ship, I perform for two nights, I get off St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and then I fly back home.

R. Scott Edwards: 37:16

Not a bad way to make a buck, huh?

Dan St.Paul: 37:18

Yeah, exactly. So I'll be doing a lot more of that. I got a couple of weeks coming in Alaska, which is always fun. And then outside of that, you know, professionally, nothing. Fantastic. Corporate gigs here and there and a few of these big retirement colonies. But I think the thing that I'm most looking forward with to is that in the middle of July, my wife and my son and I are going out to Cooperstown and going to attend the baseball hall of Fame induction ceremony.

R. Scott Edwards: 37:54

That is so cool.

Dan St.Paul: 37:56

Yeah. Yeah. So my son is huge into baseball and so it's so great to, you know, we're all going to go out there and have a good time. So I'm looking forward to that. And also, my niece is out there with their new baby, so we'll all of us be together. So that'll be really great. I want to relate to you one story that I'm sure you'll relate to. And. And your listeners might find interesting. And if I can.

R. Scott Edwards: 38:25

This is your show, Dan. Go for it.

Dan St.Paul: 38:27

Okay. All right. When my wife and I first started going out, I think the third or fourth date, I took her to the shoreline amphitheater here in the Bay area, and we went to see Steve Lawrence and Edie Gourmet. Now, we were probably the youngest people there.

R. Scott Edwards: 38:44

Exactly.

Dan St.Paul: 38:45

Yeah. Because we were both at that time. I was in my thirties and she was in her twenties, but we went to see Steve and Edie, and before they came on stage, there was an announcement. Stephen, Edie Gourmet would like to introduce Mister Dick Capri, ladies and gentlemen. And this guy bounds out on stage, he's got, like, a white leisure suit on, and he grabs the mic and he starts doing stand up. He's a comedian. He's opening for them. We didn't know there was a comedian opening for them. He wasn't on the bill or anything like that, as comedians usually aren't. But he goes up there and for, like, I don't know, somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes, he's doing material, you know, and he's. And I'm watching him and I'm going, this is really kind of cool, you know, since I had just started doing stand up and seeing this is something that you could do. And it was. It was. He didn't bowl me overdose, but the fact that he was there and doing it, you know, was great. And so 30 years later, I'm at the mountain winery here in the Bay Area. Beautiful venue, outdoor venue, and opening for Ringo Starr and his all star band.

R. Scott Edwards: 39:59

How cool.

Dan St.Paul: 40:00

And, yeah, and so I'm introduced and I go out on stage, and about three minutes into my act, and, you know, people are laughing, having a good time. And when I, in the back of my head, I say to myself, oh, my God, I'm Dick Capri.

R. Scott Edwards: 40:22

Well, opening up for Ringo Starr is a little different than Edie gourmet, but.

Dan St.Paul: 40:26

You know, true, true. But, you know, I mean, I'm the dick Capri of my time, right?

R. Scott Edwards: 40:34

Oh, that's a funny relevation or whatever it was.

Dan St.Paul: 40:37

It was. It was just to be on stage and realize that it just kind of made me smile in my brain.

R. Scott Edwards: 40:46

Congratulations on all your success, Dan. And ladies and gentlemen, as we always do in this podcast, I'm going to share a couple quick minutes of Dan St. Paul's material. But, Dan, you've had such a successful life and career in this industry called stand up. Thank you so much for sharing your story with the audience.

Dan St.Paul: 41:06

You're very, you're very welcome. And I do want to plug my podcast, which is called another funny thing about aging.

R. Scott Edwards: 41:15

Oh, shit. You know, I've listened to it, and I should have had that on my notes. Ladies and gentlemen, we're talking to another podcaster. What are the odds? Yeah, tell them about your podcast and where they can hear it.

Dan St.Paul: 41:29

It's on Substack. I write essays on Substack. If you go to dancestpaul dot substack.com, you'll see I've got probably about 80 different essays there. Like 800 words. It's not too grueling. And they're all about being funny, all about being older for the most part. And then I've also converted a lot of them into a podcast. So go to Dancestpaul, Substack, or just google me and you'll find a link that'll take you there. Go to my website, dansaintpaulcomedy.com. there'll be a link there as well. And hopefully you will enjoy that stuff. It's all free.

R. Scott Edwards: 42:10

That's amazing. Well, ladies and gentlemen, go to dansaintpaulcomedy.com and find all the ways that this tremendous stand up comic can share his witness and comedy with you. Dan, it was so great to see you the other night. It's even more amazing to have you on the podcast. And I've already listened to a few of your shows. Ladies and gentlemen, be sure to check out his podcast. Dan, I know that you're still going to be out there. So people, if you're on a cruise or at a corporate or looking for a good, solid, clean entertainer, go to his website, dansaintpaulcomedy.com, because this guy is still working in the stages and rocking the audience, says, dan, thanks so much for being on the show.

Dan St.Paul: 42:55

Hey, thank you, Scott. Thanks for the vine.

R. Scott Edwards: 42:58

Ladies and gentlemen, here's a little stand up comedy by Dan St. Paul. Thanks again for listening and I know you'll enjoy this.

Announcer: 43:05

I will begin by letting you know that I shaved for you people tonight for a simple reason. I shaved because when you don't shave for a few days and you're 35, you look rugged, you look cool. When you don't shave for a few days and you're 65, you look like a drunk guy on the bus. I am watching my behavior at this age because you never know when you're gonna go. And I don't want my obituary to read, mildly successful comedian found dead on toilet playing candy crush. Cause I don't get up until I reach the next level, ladies and gentlemen. And you gotta watch what you say, too. As you get older, you lose your filter. I was doing a show in Florida, and the audiences there are a little bit older. They don't use Uber. They call an ambulance just in case. After the show, this woman comes up to me, she goes, oh, you were so funny. I couldn't believe it when you said you were 65. I said to my friend, he doesn't look 65. But now that I see you up close, you kind of do. But it's not just my group, the baby boomers who are getting up there. Generation X is 52 years old now, ladies and gentlemen. Remember them? The punk rockers they're getting. Just the other day I saw it, a guy wearing a mohawk toupee. I couldn't believe it. Tight black jeans, size 46 waistline, combat boots with velcro straps. Don't try to change your looks. That's a slippery slope. I have a friend of mine who. He wears a toupee. Bald is cool now, right? But no, he wears a toupee. He goes on vacation, leaves his toupee in his hotel room to go swim in. He comes back and it's gone. Never found it. Cost him $900. He wasn't happy with my reaction. Wow, what a bummer to lose your hair twice. I think as we get older, we should take time and look back at all the wonderful things that we've done and appreciate all that stuff, you know? For example, just last year, I celebrated 30 years of marriage. Thank you. Four incredible women and just one, my beautiful wife, Cara, who I love and fear. We have celebrated many moments together. Right now, we're celebrating a moment. Right now, right at this very moment, all four of our breasts are starting to. At the very same time, I live 15 minutes from Google headquarters. Yeah, think about that. Google, probably the most recognized word in the world right now, 15 minutes from my house. Imagine if Google were developed somewhere else, like, I don't know, New Jersey. Your search results would be totally different. You type in, where's the best place to buy an iPad? Pier twelve, midnight. Bring cash. My favorite thing on the Internet is Craigslist. Did you like that? I love it. Like America's classified. As you know, if you click on free, you can see people all around you who are just giving stuff away. You know, you can post stuff and get rid of it. If I'm not doing nothing, I post for fun. A laser printer plus urine stain mattress must take both.

R. Scott Edwards: 46:44

Well, that was Dan st. Paul live on stage. Man, what a fun interview this guy's done at all when it comes to stand up comedy and found so many different ways to make a living for him and his bride kara and their son, Roy. Just a fun interview to do. If you get a chance, check out dansaintpaulcomedy.com. a very talented stand up comic. We appreciate that he came on the show. Hey, thanks for listening. We'll be back next week with some straight stand up comedy. All right, bye.

Announcer: 47:15

We hope you enjoyed this episode of stand up comedy. Your host and Mc for information on the show, merchandise and our sponsors, or to send comments to scott, visit our website at www.standupyourhostandmc.com. look for more episodes soon and enjoy the world of stand up comedy. Visit a comedy showroom near you.

R. Scott Edwards: 47:41

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