Roman Spinale - Interview & Comedy Set Show #245

Roman Spinale is an emerging talent in the world of magic and comedy, whose perspective on Roman Spinelli's early start in these fields is one of admiration and respect. Influenced by his father's passion for classic comedy films and supported by a teacher at his Christian school, Spinale appreciates how Spinelli's childhood experiences have shaped his unique approach to entertainment. He particularly admires how Spinelli skillfully combines humor and magic, creating performances that captivate audiences of all ages. Spinale, who himself blends comedy with magic in his acts, sees Spinelli's approach as both inspiring and innovative, showcasing a dedication to the performing arts that continues to resonate with audiences across various platforms.

(00:00:59) "Child Prodigy Launches Magical Comedy Career"

(00:10:40) Magic Performance: The Power of Humor

(00:14:50) Seamless Transition from Magic to Comedy

(00:18:08) Magic Performance Transformation: Bridging Nerves to Charisma

(00:22:22) Balancing Comedy and Magic for Success

(00:29:55) "Witty Anecdotal Humor: Roman Spinelli's Stand-up"

(00:34:19) Magical Journey: From Childhood to Present

Transcript

R. Scott Edwards: 0:04

This is another episode of Standup Comedy. Your host and emcee 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 emcee, Scott Edwards. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the podcast. Boy, do we have a fun interview for you this week. This gentleman hails from Northern California. He's played clubs all over the country, out of Lincoln, California, which is just outside of Sacramento. Very talented comic. But the reason we're talking to him is he's not just a tremendous comic, he's a fantastic magician. So let's kind of get into it with him. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the show, Roman Spinelli. Roman, welcome to the podcast.

Roman Spinale: 0:59

Wow. Thank you, Scott. It's really a pleasure to be here talking with you.

R. Scott Edwards: 1:04

Well, this is so great because I knew that you had a magical career because I recently ran into you at a Spellbinders event, which is a literacy charity at Northern Nevada. You and I were both working for the Spellbinders organization, pulling off this festival that brings people to libraries, and you were doing magic there for a whole library full of kids and adults. But we also know each other because you're a standup comic. What a strange thing. You do both, right, Roman?

Roman Spinale: 1:39

That is correct. Yeah, I do. I do both stand up comedy and magic for what's been a lot a big part of my life at this point.

R. Scott Edwards: 1:47

Yeah, well, that's so different than the average standup comic. But so let's kind of dive into it a little bit. Take us back to where you got started in entertainment. Was it magic or comedy?

Roman Spinale: 2:00

You know, it's interesting because it was the answer. It's kind of both. But it's really. I think if I had to, it's interesting because I was doing magic first as far as, like an art form or something that I was practicing. But it was really comedy that inspired me to want to do anything performative. It was when I was really young. Some of my earliest memories are my dad playing for me, like, you know, like Laurel and Hardy and the Three Stooges. When I'm like, you know, two, three years old and, you know, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and I would watch all this stuff like, at a very young age. And, you know, I would just be so inspired. I'd be like, oh, my God, these guys are amazing. And so I was kind of interested in performing. I knew I liked what they were doing. And then when I was around four years old, I went to kindergarten. I ended up getting kicked out of my preschool early. Yeah, I was. It was. Apparently, I was disruptive to others. I believe so.

R. Scott Edwards: 2:58

The shy, quiet type.

Roman Spinale: 3:00

Yeah. Well, apparently during nap time, I would wake up the other kids because I wanted to talk and they wanted to sleep, which is already a sign that I was probably destined for a show business in some way. And so they went, all right, get this guy out of here. So I ended up going pretty early to elementary school. And I had a teacher who. It was strange. I went to a private Christian school in those days in the Bay Area where we lived, and it wasn't for any religious reason. It was just the closest school to my house. And my parents were like, well, this would be a good school. But through that, I had a teacher who. Very progressive, now that I think about it. But she loved magic and actually was a clown on the. On the weekends for birthday parties and.

R. Scott Edwards: 3:38

No way.

Roman Spinale: 3:39

Yeah.

R. Scott Edwards: 3:40

That's kind of cool. A teacher that can relate to kids on that many levels. You don't hear about that often. She was a professional clown on the weekends. That's awesome.

Roman Spinale: 3:50

Yeah. A clown. And also incorporated magic into the clowning. Yeah. Ms. Hugle at New Vistas Christian School in Contra Costa County. And she was great, but she taught this whole course, it was like an elective class, all about magic and how the art of magic. Because a lot of, you know, religious people, I think, generally depending how fundamentalist they are, believe, you know, anything resembling anything like magic or anything like that could be considered, you know, like, blasphemous. But she taught this whole course about how it's an art form and how it's actually really great and how it's not, you know, we don't need to be afraid of these things because it's, you know, there. And she taught tricks, and she would, you know, would hand out different tricks that we could all take home. And it was a really. It was kind of my first introduction into learning any kind of sleight of hand. And from then on, I was. I was blown away. And she directed my parents to a local magic shop in the Bay Area. And so by, you know, four or five, I was practicing magic, and that was like, a passion of mine.

R. Scott Edwards: 4:50

Wow. That's a young age, too.

Roman Spinale: 4:54

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, most people start pretty young, but that's really, like. That's about as young as I think you can be.

R. Scott Edwards: 4:59

It might be the youngest I've heard, and I've interviewed over 100 different entertainers. But I got to tell you, I grew up in Christian schools, and there was never an illusion class. And I think that exposing children to the arts and any of the arts, but in this case, magic. What a lucky treat for you and the rest of your classmates. And I think that you taking that as a foundation along with your personality and heading into show business now you're a very young age. At what point did you, let's say, do your first magic show or comedy show?

Roman Spinale: 5:38

So my first magic show would have been. So I was, yeah, I was working on magic really just, you know, for myself. And then when I was, I think in seventh grade, so I think I was around 12, maybe 13. 12 or 13. I ended up. My mom had a friend who was putting on this like city wide talent show for the city of Lincoln. At this point, we already moved up past Sacramento and from the Bay area. We now lived in Lincoln, California and there was a citywide talent show downtown. And her friend knew that I did magic and said, hey, could he close out the show and do like, you know, 15 minutes? And at that point, I had already, you know, been collecting different props from the magic shop and practicing and working on a routine, but I hadn't really had occasion to perform anything outside of like a family party or something. And so ironically, my first show was a headlining gig because I closed out the talent show and it went great. I had a great time. It was a really good experience. And that was kind of the moment where I went, okay, I want to do more of this.

R. Scott Edwards: 6:41

Yeah, it's your aha. Showbiz moment. We've talked about that a lot on the podcast where something kind of clicks when you hear the response of a live audience to something you've done, whether it's comedy or magic, it gives those endorphins. It feels so good. You want to do it again and again. But I got to tell you, and let's explain to the audience, Lincoln is not a big town. It's kind of a rural area northeast of Sacramento. And the fact that you were picked to close that show at just the tender age of 12 and you were able to do it shows a lot of proficiency towards magic and entertainment. Now, in the early. I've talked to many magicians. Did you start off doing straight magic or were you already adding some of the jokes?

Roman Spinale: 7:29

Well, it's interesting. I was already interested in comedy because it's interesting. So like I said, they were kind of happening at the same time because, yeah, the comedy, by the way, during this period of time, you know, after kindergarten, third grade, fourth grade, moving up through the years, my dad had also been exposing me to stand up comedy, to great stand up comedy over the years. And so it was kind of this thing that I was experiencing on two levels because I was exposed to magic, and anytime there was, like, a magic special, I watched that. But then over the years, my dad, anytime we'd be, like, in a car ride, he would be playing Don Rickles or Rodney Dangerfield. So by the time I was in third grade, I had Rodney Dangerfield's no Respect album memorized, and it was almost like my dad was trying to create a small comedian or something.

R. Scott Edwards: 8:17

What's so funny, Roman? And we should explain to the audience, you're young now. How old are you?

Roman Spinale: 8:22

I just turned 31.

R. Scott Edwards: 8:24

Yeah. I mean, you've been doing this already for more than half your life because you started so young. And I've talked to a lot of professional entertainers, and normally it's 16, 18. And then there's those like Rodney that didn't start until their 30s or 40s. But to get a start at such a young age is so different and exciting. It really gave you such a strong foundation because I'm sure that not only did you close and successfully do that talent show in Lincoln, but you've probably had a couple shows that didn't go that well, or a couple comedy sets where you bombed, because you have to kind of go through that to get better and better. And since I recently saw you and know how good you are, you've been through all the trials and tribulations of show business, right?

Roman Spinale: 9:15

Yes, that's true. And I will say it's interesting because you're right. My experience doing that first public match performance, it was a great success. And I do feel like there's, like, a bit of beginner's luck that the universe gives you. It makes you go, oh, I can do this. And then it's almost like it gives you the first one for free. And then, yeah, you. And then it's like, okay, now you're gonna start for real. It's like, it gives you the little boost, and then you find out, oh, this isn't always gonna be so easy. And, you know, it's funny because my first comedy performance was actually at a talent show as well, a few years earlier when I was in third grade.

R. Scott Edwards: 9:53

You keep referenc. Third grade, second grade, fourth grade. I'm like, come on, man. You know, when are you an adult?

Roman Spinale: 10:00

I know, I know. It's really strange. But I should mention because at that point, a girl in my class said, you should do comedy. And I went, okay. And I was trying to write my own material and it didn't work. And my dad gave me a bunch of jokes. And so third grade was the first time I did stand up technically because of the talent show. And then seventh grade, I did magic. And at that point it was comedy with the magic. There were some jokes out there. And then. Yeah, by the time I got to high school is when I started hosting all of the shows, combining the comedy with the magic. I would be the emcee, which is fitting for this podcast. I was the host and emcee of all my major, all the big events at my Whitney High School in Rockland in the auditorium. Exactly.

R. Scott Edwards: 10:40

Which was great stand up comedy. Your host and mc, Roman Spinelli. It is. I've mentioned it several times. It's so true that when you're an emcee, it gives you the freedom to play with the audience. And because the audience isn't actually expecting to be quite as funny or quite as magical, let's say, as the regular acts, it lets you play and get away with things. But if you have magic and you have comedy in your hip pocket and you come out and you use that as an emcee, it can really help you hone your personality, hone your act and help you develop. I gotta say though, I think it's fascinating and people in the listening audience need to make note that it is always helpful to have a mentor or somebody that's kind of guiding you. And in this case, it was your father who was helping you lay the foundation towards a career and entertainment. But also, I thought it was fascinating how you mentioned that the universe gave you that beginner's luck, because I have heard a lot of comics say that they did an open mic or their friends pushed them up in front of the classroom or something and they did well. And as I mentioned to earlier, the endorphins hit, that magic hits and now you're hooked. And you want to recreate that feeling. And so you keep getting on stage and you keep trying, you keep improving. And that's how we formulate an act, whether it's magic or comedy. And the fact you're double trouble because you can do both and you could do them exclusive, each other or together. And I think that is really a challenge for you as an entertainer. But as a producer, I find people like you extremely valuable because you can put you in so many different situations. Congratulations and all that. So you've been all this childhood experience. Let's fast forward. I hate Using that term to age 18 or 20. And when you start hitting, you know, paid clubs, paid gigs, you know, how did that come about for you?

Roman Spinale: 12:50

Yeah, so like I said, you know, I was. High school was really when I started, you know, hosting those shows and then into college is when I went, okay, I really want to try and do this like in the, in the real world. And so I had been working on material for, I mean, years at this point, just trying to write and rewrite for standup. I mean, I should say when I was in high school, I did start. That's when I started getting professional corporate gigs, doing magic, doing walk around or some stage stuff. So the magic was something that I was actually able to make money at. Pretty early, around 14, 15 is when I started getting booked for shows first through like friends of Family and then through that I started getting other corporate bookings. And so that was really a great experience.

R. Scott Edwards: 13:33

Let's share with the audience, ladies and gentlemen, all the child labor laws out the window. He's a child hero.

Roman Spinale: 13:41

That's right. Yes.

R. Scott Edwards: 13:45

That's so great.

Roman Spinale: 13:48

That is actually funny. It occurred to me Charles Dickens could have written another book called David Copperfield about a child magician working right.

R. Scott Edwards: 13:57

Well, you know, it's interesting because in standup comedy, because of the nature of that art form, there's not a lot of paid performers at a young age, because just the nature of the art form itself that you have to kind of be 18 and over to hit the clubs and get enough stage time to improve yourself. Even if you're funny in school. It's not the same when you go to paid gigs. Whereas a lot of magicians start off not quite as young as you, but 10, 12, 14, doing kids shows and as you said, walk arounds or corporate. And so you have the opportunity to turn pro at a younger age. But let's also keep in mind that as a magician, you were always using comedy, right? That helped make you a successful magician.

Roman Spinale: 14:50

Oh, yes, absolutely. I mean, because to me, you know, so many comedians now, like a big popular thing is now crowd work comedians. You know, a lot of people see clips of comedians doing crowd work where they interact with the crowd. They don't have set material, they're just interacting. And it occurred to me, when I'm doing magic, you know, I never had like set, really a lot of set jokes. It was always based on the interaction that I would have whoever came up to help me with the trick and there would always be humor out of that, just based on the individuals and the scenarios. That would have. That would arrive out of the moment, and I would respond and react, and it was like great improvisational comedy training. And out of that, it occurred to me I had a lot of training in comedy just through performing magic. So by the time I finally went up to do my first open mic at Laughs Unlimited, in fact, it was Laughs Unlimited.

R. Scott Edwards: 15:43

Thank you. There's a plug.

Roman Spinale: 15:44

Yes, that's a plug. It was the first Tuesday of 2014. Tuesday night I went up, I brought my dad and a couple friends, and they sat in the audience to watch. And I'd been working on the material, but it occurred to me I was very comfortable up there because it was essentially what I've always been doing with the magic, except this time, I got rid of the props. It was essentially the same thing where a lot of guys go up and I think they're very nervous and they're just uncomfortable being in front of an audience. Whereas I had the great advantage of having done magic for years up to that point. So I was already very comfortable in front of a crowd. And the only thing I had to worry about was just thinking about my jokes. Everything else felt pretty natural as far as stage presence and pacing and timing. I mean, I was still, of course, nervous, but I was pretty much at ease a lot more than I think other people going up for the first time would have been. Because you're right, the magic didn't only give me a chance at working in front of a crowd, but also when it comes to comedic timing and improvisation and reacting and responding. And so I think all of those. All of those skills that I developed over the years of being a magician really translated when it was time to go up by myself and just do the jokes.

R. Scott Edwards: 17:00

Yeah, you really had a head start, a jump on everybody else that I'm sure that was working that open mic night. Just as a reference, open mics can be very challenging because to many people, they've not been on stage before, only a few times, and they're still kind of getting, as you said, the right term, comfortable on stage, which is so important. In fact, it's one of the main reasons I wrote my book, 20 Questions Answered about being a Standup Comic, available on Amazon. It touches the importance of practice getting on stage. Stage fright. There's a whole chapter on stage fright, but it's that experience of getting on stage over and over and over that turns a comic wannabe into a comic professional. And because of your magic career that started so young, and that the fact that you, thanks to your dad, Were already experiencing and sharing some comedy. That first open mic, I bet you were the best of the bunch. It went well, I'm assuming, you know, it really did.

Roman Spinale: 18:08

I can honestly say it went really well. I've even, you know, I have a recording of it, you know, and I watched it not long ago, and I was a little. I was almost nervous to watch it and, you know, because, of course, there's so many things you do differently. But I was watching it and I went, wow. And I don't even feel like I can take full credit for it. It was almost like there was just something in the air. It was a great crowd, which was great. And I think I had just the right amount of nervous energy that translated into, like, almost charisma or something, because I remember being really nervous. But because I had my jokes so well memorized, I was just able to focus on the crowd and kind of just connecting with the audience, and it was really comfortable.

R. Scott Edwards: 18:50

And even though you were nervous, what I. And I think what I were both saying is that you hit that stage with more confidence than the average open micr, and confidence in show business, especially in the beginning, is so important. Well, I'm so glad that went well. Let's fast forward again. You're over 30 now. So during your 20s, did you tend to lean towards magic, towards comedy, or is it kind of whatever gig came up, how do you manage that?

Roman Spinale: 19:24

You know, it's interesting. You know, for a long time, I was just doing magic, of course. And then when I got into comedy, I thought, okay, I really want to do comedy. But I never wanted to give up one for the other, because I love them both for different reasons and similar reasons. Yeah, it was a bit of a challenge because I did consciously decide I want to keep them separate because I knew that if I was to go up on stage and things aren't going well, I could pull out a deck of cards or something and get the crowd back. Because I think magic is more objective than comedy, because a crowd might think that's funny, that's not funny. But if you find their card, that is their card. It's like if you do the trick right, that's. It's almost. It's inarguable, like, oh, he got. He completed the trick the way it was supposed to be done. And magic just always kind of elicits this response. But I kind of went into it going, I really want to be able to stand on both of these legs separately before I even consider combining them. So for 10 years, I did Stand up comedy without ever incorporating the magic. Anytime I'd go into a comedy club or anything, I made sure no matter how bad it gets, I'm not going to fall on my stronger skill, which at that point was you didn't want.

R. Scott Edwards: 20:42

To lean on your crutch. I mean, to be honest, a lot of comics are looking for a hook or a crutch or something they can depend on that might get them through the tough times. You were making a point of not leaning on magic so that you learned stand up comedy like everybody else through the road of hard knocks.

Roman Spinale: 21:03

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And you know, it was, it was definitely, it was definitely weird because I'm so used to, you know, you know, working in front of a crowd, doing magic for all those years. But yeah, but I'm actually really glad I did it. And I will say we were talking about stage fright. I do think one of the biggest things magic gave me was I got. All those years of stage fright were out of the way by the time I went on stage. And so it's interesting you mentioned that because I do attribute that's one thing that magic helped with a lot. So I had no stage fright. So I wasn't nervous about getting up there. It was just more, okay, now I have to go up there and do a different thing and try to win the crowd over with the thing I haven't been doing for, since I was 4 years old. But it ultimately was something. And by the way, I should point out, during this time I was still doing magic. You know, for two years I was a house magician at a nightclub in San Francisco where I was doing strolling walk around magic at a nightclub called Curio in the Mission District. So, you know, I would do that like on a Friday night and then on a Saturday night I might be on a comedy show, not doing any magic. So it was kind of weird. I felt like I had like dual lives or something. It was very strange. But ultimately, I think keeping the discipline separate allowed me to strengthen each of them to a greater degree than if I were to combine them.

R. Scott Edwards: 22:22

He's two, two entertainers in one. Well, I think that that takes a lot of discipline and I think that it's probably helped you become a better stand up comic. But it intrigues me that you were living two careers. It's so hard for so many people to find one career in the variety arts world for you to be able to professionally because you're getting paid doing both now to have those two different and basically try to keep them separate. Although we want to be clear, Roman, there's still a lot of comedy in your magic. Oh, yeah, absolutely right. So you're still being funny as a magician because I just saw you and you killed with the audience comedically and with your magic. But you also can do straight standup, which, again, as a producer, makes you very, very valuable. But let's break it down one more level if we could. Roman, in the last, let's say, decade, would you say that the majority of your income is paid comedy gigs or paid magic gigs, or do they kind of balance out?

Roman Spinale: 23:36

You know, it's really interesting because at this point I'm doing more performances doing comedy. I've really been focusing more on comedy. I still love magic, and I'll do it, you know, when it comes up, like we did during Spellbinders. That was a wonderful festival that I was very happy to be a part of. But I will say the majority of my time on stage these days has been devoted to stand up comedy. Although it's funny when you talk about income specifically, the irony is magic pays much more than standup combie does.

R. Scott Edwards: 24:12

I was waiting for you to get to that. I didn't want to kill the surprise because I know the truth. But, yeah, because you're a professional magician and you've been doing it so long, there's a lot more money and availability to gigs than there is standup. And even though there's a lot of local magicians in every town or state, they do tend to stay more localized. And you being able to travel with your comedy and do magic, I would think would make you more money. But for those listening, if you get into magic, you'll make more money faster.

Roman Spinale: 24:49

It's definitely true. I mean, it's interesting when I realized at one point, I mean, a lot of the time it's like, you know, what would they pay for magic? It seems exorbitant compared to comedy because. And it might also just because it seems like everybody's trying to do standup comedy and there's, you know, comparatively, magic is. It's not the kind of thing where anyone can just go up on a Saturday night and just. Or on a Tuesday night for an open mic and decide, I'm gonna try being a magician.

R. Scott Edwards: 25:14

Oh, no, you have to practice.

Roman Spinale: 25:15

You need to spend years before you. So it's also. It's also a much. It's a much tougher sort of point of entry by the time you can even attempt to do magic.

R. Scott Edwards: 25:26

Well, and then I would add that there's so many Bad comics. I mean, bad magicians don't stay around very long, but bad comics. I mean, there's a lot of people that try and do over open mics over and over and over, which, by the way, I support, because that's how you get better. But we both seen a lot of people that have tried comedy that probably shouldn't have.

Roman Spinale: 25:51

Yeah, no, it's true. And, you know, I do think for a lot of the time, there's a lot of people who. And I think we've all seen it. I'm sure you know better than most at some point. It's not even really about. I think for a lot of guys, I've noticed, it's not even so much about getting better at the art of comedy as much as it is. This just becomes their kind of main social circle, and it just becomes like, well, that's where I'm. That's what I do on Tuesday nights, because those are the people I know, and that's what I do. But never actually even. Not even just improving. Not even changing the material that they do. It's amazing how many people just kind of. My uncle had a funny term for this, because my uncle's a musician, and it's the same thing in music. He said there's just these guys who they kind of hang around. They never change. It's almost like their whole goal is just to become king of the open mic. And I thought that's a perfect term. Like, hey, isn't that guy. Wasn't he doing the same joke 10 years ago? Yeah, yeah, that's the thing.

R. Scott Edwards: 26:47

Yeah, that's. That's Billy Joe Bob, our open mic regular, which you shouldn't be, Will tell you what, Roman, this is. It's a fascinating story. The fact that your father was such a big influence early on and that you got your start thanks to that wonderful teacher at the Christian school, but that you were able to turn it into a dual career in both comedy and magic. Ladies and gentlemen, if you're interested in booking Roman in any sort of gigs in Northern California or even west of the Mississippi, what's the best way to reach you, Roman?

Roman Spinale: 27:22

The best way to reach me would probably be through my website, Roman. Spinal Calm.

R. Scott Edwards: 27:28

That's Roman Spinal.com. let me spell it out for you. R O M A N Romans, like the normal way. But Spinal is S P I N A L E dot com. So, yeah, make sure you get a hold of Roman, spinal.com. he's available as a comic or a comic magician. You never actually did Just straight magic, right? You always had a little bit of humor and interaction with the audience.

Roman Spinale: 27:54

Yeah, that's right. I was all, yeah, no, I was never doing, like, serious magic. No, it's always. It's always been. And if you're interested, you can also see I always post clips on my Instagram too. I should mention that's another way you can kind of get an idea of what I do Instagram. At Romans Finale, I have some clips of my standup and some of my magic where you can get a sense. But yeah, no, comedy was always at the root of it. I always actually thought of the magic as kind of as sort of a way to even. Just a way to deliver comedy. You know, I thought of. I love the magic, but I always thought, to me, the humorous interaction and the laughter, that was really what was exciting for me.

R. Scott Edwards: 28:32

Well, and ladies and gentlemen, you don't have to go to his website because right after this interview, I'm going to play some stand up comedy by Roman. Roman, thanks so much for being on the podcast, but I'm going to take it one step farther and say both. Larry Wilson, who was the host of Spellbinders, this literacy charity in Northern Nevada, we were both so happy to have you be a part of Spellbinders, and you were so good with both the adults and the kids when we did our library shows. And that's the whole point of the program, is to get kids into libraries. And you were just terrific. It was great seeing your act. It was great interacting with you. Thank you so much for what you're doing for Larry and Spellbinders, but also in bringing your dual talents of magic and comedy to everybody. That just so appreciative. Thank you, sir.

Roman Spinale: 29:23

Oh, well, thank you. It's really been a great pleasure. And getting to feel like you're doing some good with it is just such a. It's such a joy and it really makes it feel, you know, very special. So I'm very. It's really my honor, so thank you.

R. Scott Edwards: 29:38

All right, ladies and gentlemen, we've heard his story. Now let's hear his comedy. Roman, thanks for being on the show.

Roman Spinale: 29:46

Thank you.

R. Scott Edwards: 29:47

Ladies and gentlemen, here's some standup comedy by Roman Spinelli. You kind of like cooking for a second. Oh, it's great. It's great to be here. My God, I'm so happy to be here with all of you. I'm glad you guys are here, especially just, you know, things have been so rough for some people. Things are a little rough for me. I. I actually had to move in with my parents. Yeah. 27 years ago. And Brad. Yeah, things have been rough for a while as it happens. Female probably just seemed to go on a really problem. No. So Kelly, my family, my family was Italian. Which school? Yeah, all right. But no, I liked it. The finding is I noticed when I tell people in Italian they, they immediately seem to go to like the stereotypes. You know, they seem to think of like the Godfather, like the Sopranos, which is not accurate because those are all east coast Italians. You know, my family, we're all west coast Italians. We're all in California. Which means my family doesn't really have any Tony Sopranos. It's mainly just a bunch of like Guy Fieri like that. Sorry. Yeah, just a bunch of laid back dudes usually enjoying some sort of stuff crust who enjoy watching Guy Fieri down to cybers. All though I thought we will. Yeah, it's good. No, that's not a problem. When you. Fact, my real problem is I don't get enough sleep. That seems to be my big problem. I'm up at weird hours. Like last night I was awake at like 3am watching TV and I actually saw an ad for a new sleeping and their opening line was do you wish you could have completely uninterrupted sleep? Which at first sounded pretty good, but then I started thinking about it. I was like, completely uninterrupted sleep, Isn't that just death? See, I was like, you know, I actually don't think I want that.

Roman Spinale: 31:47

Really.

R. Scott Edwards: 31:48

I think I'd still prefer the occasional interruption. Maybe every eight or nine hours. Let's say, let's try for mostly an interopic sleep. How's that sound? I'll break the pill in half. It'll be good. I'm trying to be healthy. That's a big thing. I'm trying to be a healthy person. I've been exercising. I've started lifting weights recently. I yesterday actually I went to buy weights and I don't know if you've tried buying weights lately, but they're priced in a weird way. Like I was at Dick's Sporting goods. A single 20 pound dumbbell costs $35. That's a dollar 75 a pound. Which bothered me because from there I went to Sequoia to buy some bananas. Those only cost 60 cents a pound. I did the math and it turns out I can save a lot of money. Just uppie banass and it's a win win. Think about it. You save $23 and when you're done with your workout you can eat the waste. It's a perfect situation. It's like the who do you want? The workout. So I know the gym and the world offers that. You're not gonna be a bit missing here. Hey, great workout. Come toss those weights in your smoothie. Don't forget to stretch. But there I was, waist in hand. I was very excited to buy them until I got to the register. But I was standing there and that's when it occurred to me. I've been holding onto these weights for the last 20 minutes. I just walked around the entire store carrying these weights all by myself, no problem. So I thought, do I even meet them? I mean, kind of seems like if I could run off with the weights or maybe I'm strong enough. I don't know. Our guys decide. I'm really just trying to work out because I'm single now. That's a big thing. It's all superficial. I'm just trying to look good. So I'm trying to get out there, meet someone. In fact, this afternoon I went to the mall. A great place to meet women was walking around. I went into the Lego store. Not a great place to meet women, unless you're looking for someone made of plastic who's this small. You're in a lot. Yeah, but I was in the Lego store. I realized my favorite part of the Lego store is that all the employees have to wear these yellow aprons. We're not going to get good. Thank God they have the aprons because how else would you get all that Lego out of your shirt? Is a real prop. Oh, my God, not again. I wonder. Adopt. Why the aprons? What are they doing? Are they baking them fresh in house like it's the cheesecake that say, look what's happening. Okay, kids, don't touch those blues.

Roman Spinale: 34:17

They're hot out of the oven.

R. Scott Edwards: 34:19

You can touch the greens, but make sure you first put on your apret sit by your death d. I watched the Lego movie recently. I was not a fan. I. I don't know why. I. I think it's because I never about Legos growing up, I prefer other boys, which is the reason I'm still holding out for a Lincoln Lodge movie. I think that's going to be gone. Were those the best toy? They had everything, you know, a metal tin, pieces of wood, the name of our first assassinated president. What else could a child want for Christmas? You know, I'm sweating and I don't really. I never really cared about toys that much as a kid because I had other hobbies. I think that's really what comes down to. As a kid, I had other things I liked. Like, I was in the music and I love playing the piano. I was in the magic. In fact, that was my favorite thing. I loved learning magic tricks. And my goal was actually to grow up one day to become a magician. It's true. And it kind of worked out because it's still a hobby. And occasionally I'll even get hired to, like, perform magic at, like, parties or restaurants or wedding receptions, weirdly enough. Which weddings are weird. You think a groom wouldn't want that kind of competition yet you know they're in has good reason. You may have jumped. Like, I think she might. I don't know if you saw my act. It was her card. I don't know. Ladies and gentlemen, that was standup comic and magician Roman Spinelli. We hope you enjoyed that interview and a little bit of his comedy. He is available for work all over the west coast and it was just a treat to have him on the show and to have him help us entertain everybody at Spellbinders, a literacy charity up in Northern Nevada. All right, we'll be back next week with another great show. Thanks so much for joining us and we'll see you next time. Bye. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Standup Comedy. Your host and emcee. For information on the show merchandise and. Our sponsors or to send comments to. Scott, visit our website at www.standupyourhost and mc.com. look for more episodes soon and enjoy. The world of stand up comedy. Visit a comedy showroom near.