As part of We Own The Laughs.com’s Comedian of the Day, have a few laughs and get to know comedian Patrick Holbert. The Brooklyn, NY native shares some of his favorite moments in stand-up comedy and explains how he always owns the laughs.
Name: Patrick Holbert
Hometown: I grew up in Wallkill, NY (The hamlet of Wallkill, Not the Town of Wallkill. Big difference.) Currently living in Brooklyn, NYC and have been in the city for 22 years since graduating college.
Instagram/Twitter/Tik-Tok: @itspatrickholbert
Years in Comedy: 11
Haven’t we seen you somewhere before: My special, “Qualificiation” just came out and is available on all the platforms (Amazon, AppleTV, Google Play, Vimeo, YouTubeTV Store)
Comedic Influences: My favorite comics are Jackie Kashian, Laurie Kilmartin, Norm MacDonald, Joe List, Dave Attell, Jessica Kirson, Wendy Liebman, Maria Bamford, Harland Williams, Marc Maron, & Sean Patton
Favorite Comedy Album: Dave Attell “Skanks for the Memories”
Favorite Comedy Special: There are so many but a recent one that sticks out as something I could rewatch anytime, multiple times would be Sheng Wang “Sweet & Juicy”
Favorite Comedy Movie: Very Bad Things. My friends and I watched this dozens of times in high school. It’s such a dark comedy but it has so many hilarious moments. Daniel Stern’s unraveling is so good.
Favorite Comedy TV Show: Big City Greens or Bobs Burgers. I have a 5 year old and we’ve been watching these for a few years now as a nightly bedtime ritual. Big City Greens is basically a family friendly Simpsons. That and Bobs Burgers have so many great jokes in the dialogue, I’m amazed by their writers rooms and the voice actors bringing these characters to life.
Favorite Comedic Character: Chris Farley in The Chris Farley Show on SNL
Favorite City to Perform In: Binghamton, NY. This town is fresh on my mind because I just headlined a couple nights there last week. My buddies Mike Peters and Stephen Brown produce a bunch of rooms up there at wineries and breweries and other alternative spaces. Last summer Mike had me up to do a week of shows and I had so much fun. Those crowds love comedy and let you experiment and get weird. I’m not big on “writing on stage” but if there is one place where it would feel safe to do that, it’d be Binghamton for me.
Favorite Topics to Joke About: Mental Health, Family, Relationships & Sex
Favorite Type of Audience for a Comedy Show: People who aren’t trying to decode your jokes to figure out whether you’d agree with them off stage or not. You can tell when a crowd thinks too much. I like people who are just there to have a good time. I can handle political discourse and investigation, just not during my set.
Favorite Comedy Club: QED Astoria in Queens, NYC. I’ve gone to so many great shows there and I’ve performed on that stage hundreds of times over the last 11 years. I learned how to be a comic there.
How did you discover your passion for comedy:
I’m 44 so I remember when Comedy Central first started and they played Standup around the clock. Just montages of sets and bits shot in front of the iconic brick wall. I was like ten and I loved watching people being funny with just words on a mic. Then somehow a cassette of Andrew Dice Clay’s went viral amongst my friends and that killed me. Eventually I found George Carlin CD’s and books and also some Andy Kaufman documentaries on TV. Then when I was in high school, The Tom Green show came on MTV and I was obsessed with the idea of being an ass with a microphone. It seemed easy.
What do you remember most about your first time performing stand-up comedy:
The high hopes crashing down. I was 19 years old at an open mic in Times Square, NYC. It was the summer between Freshman and Sophomore year of college. I was living in Long Island, NY and commuting into Manhattan for an internship. I was working for VH1 and across from the office was a place called Hamburger Harry’s. It was a burger restaurant that had a sign in the window about comedy in the back. Gladys Simon had her open mic there. She’s this NY comedy institution. Anyway, the night I went, she spent a long time talking about how she discovered Jim Gaffigan and Zach Galifianakis in that room. So as the long lineup of comics started and people went up, I sat in the back fantasizing about being discovered. Well, three hours later, I still hadn’t been called up and most audience (other comics) had left. Finally, sometime around midnight I was called up and I did my “jokes” in front of Gladys, her cohost, and maybe one or two other people who were kind enough to stay. It was very bad. So instead of subjecting myself to that again, I decided I would join a band and get drunk for the next 9 years.
How would you describe your comedic style:
Autobiographical mostly. Revealing, vulnerable. I’m an exhibitionist at heart and this is the most legal way to do it, I guess.
Describe your process for comedic writing:
Lately it’s been stories that have happened to me that I try to punch up or present in a funny way. Sometimes I’ll just go do an open mic and talk something out for a while and then listen back to it, transcribe it, talk it out on the phone with a buddy… Then I go try it again but funnier and faster this time.
Describe the comedy scene in your area:
NYC is amazing. There are thousands of shows and open mics and dozens of clubs and so much opportunity for stage time. It’s kind of insane. And different boroughs and parts of town have different crowds with different sensibilities so you learn how to take the temperature of a room real quick.
How do you judge success in the world of comedy:
I work three jobs to make my life happen. So does my wife. I do video production, I work as a sober companion, and I perform comedy. If I could make my living just from comedy and filmmaking, I would feel successful. Everyone’s situation is different. I can totally see a career in comedy that I would call successful if I got to perform as much as I wanted, even if it didn’t pay much, if I had a good day job that could sustain the bills etc. But for me, I would feel successful as a comic if it was the main thing that was earning my living. With that said, my friend Katie Compa just recorded one of the best half hours I’ve ever seen and she claims that she has no desire to “make it” as a comic. She is happy to write and perform as much as she does (a handful of times a week) and every year or two, turn out a tight hour for herself. That is also success.
Who are some of your comedic peers that you enjoy watching perform or inspire you personally and professionally:
Katie Compa, Gastor Almonte, Freddy G, Casey James Salengo, Chris James, & Kristal Adams
What’s been your most memorable moment in comedy:
Bombing horribly in Jamaica. I got paid $1,200 to go down there and perform at a resort for a sober vacation company. The show was after the main speaker meeting of the weekend. I remember attending that meeting, which was in a gorgeous tent with perfect rows of chairs, thinking “Wow, good thing they got a proper set up for comedy.” And then the meeting started. This guy told his story of addiction and redemption and it had it all- International drug smuggling, sexual intrigue, and a raw, emotional message. Plus the guy was hilarious. He was killing. When he finished, I remember thinking, These people don’t need more comedy.
And that’s when they announced it: “Ok everyone, time to move into the buffet gazebo for the comedy show.” It’s 11pm at this point. Most in attendance are 60+ years old. They’re tired, they’re hot, but they really want their frozen mocktails. So we all traipse the 40 feet from the perfect performance tent to the dining area. There’s a mariachi band performing (“Aren’t we in Jamaica,” I thought) and the person who hired me said, “Ok go on up and just start.”
It went very very poorly. The ice machine was on 11, there were tropical birds swooping around the vaulted ceiling of the gazebo, and the people were sitting around thinking, “Didn’t we just see a comedy show?”
The worst part was that, back in 2018 when this happened, I was working on all this extremely personal stuff relating to how my addiction issues were intersecting with sexual stuff. A lot of that material was killing in NY on the shows I was on there, but in Jamaica, for this wellness-minded crowd, I think they were quite confused. So to not just bomb, but to bomb with extremely personal material, it was very uncomfortable.
The next morning I attended a 12-step meeting for loved ones of addicts. And a lady was sharing about their spouse dying from this disease. Everyone was crying. Afterward, the widow found me and said, “You must’ve really needed this today,” and hugged me.
What have you learned most from your failures in comedy:
Feelings are temporary. No one is cringing about the way something went as much as I am. It all passes and you just get up and try again.
How do people react toward you when they realize that you can make people laugh:
Everyone is or was or plans to be a standup comedian in NYC so it’s not that interesting or impressive here. For my work as a sober companion/recovery coach, I have had supervisors request that I lean into my sense of humor more often when working with clients. When I’m not on stage, I tend to be a little more shy so I think people are kind of disappointed. I get the old, “Wait… You’re a comedian?” question enough that it makes me second guess my career.
Describe building a career in stand-up comedy:
There are so many ways to try to make this happen. I attempted comedy at 19 years old, 30 years old, and then again finally for real at 32 years old. I was a grownup with professional experience by the time I started doing this daily. Within a few years of doing it, I was talking a lot about addiction and recovery on stage and getting big laughs by being honest and real. I was driving some friends to their college gigs and opening for them and they kept telling me to synthesize my material about alcoholism into a show for college students. They basically told me it would sell. So I did. Around 5 years in I started traveling the country to do this solo show on campuses. I share this example because sometimes we don’t get to choose how we earn a living from comedy. Sometimes we have to listen to the good advice of comics who have been doing it longer.
Before that I was hosting a movie review show that was syndicated around the world. I signed onto that project as a video editor but when one of the hosts quit, I said “hey I’ll go on camera.” So, I was producing, hosting, and editing these shoots for very little money but it felt good to be earning as an on-camera personality making jokes. The sad part of the story is that the guy who had this whole operation ran out of money and let me do $5,000 worth of work before telling me he couldn’t pay me. I had also brought in other friends to make the shows and they didn’t get paid.
I’m sharing that to say that you end up making all these crazy compromises and sacrifices to try to make a living doing this. I left a pretty lucrative career in TV production to do all this. I will probably regret it one day.
If you could change one thing in the world of comedy, what would it be:
The pay. I just got offered a gig to drive several hours to do a show for $100 and a meal. That would have been the same offer in 1995. Inflation hits every level and when you spend so much time traveling to gigs, it costs a lot to make a little.
Best advice you’ve ever received from a comedian:
This is a marathon, not a sprint. Take self-care seriously and have an inner circle you can talk to and be honest with about how you feel about other comics, clubs, the scene, etc.
If you were releasing a comedy special this week, what would it be called:
“A Clean 24”
This is a pun. My first special, “Qualification” is named after the 12-step speech you give at a meeting when you tell your story. You are delivering your “Qualification.” In this first special, I’m basically telling all the jokes I wrote around my alcoholism and subsequent recovery. It’s funny and emotional but also quite raunchy. There are a lot of dirty jokes in there.
I’d like to one day release an album that is “clean.” It’s a good challenge for comics to work clean and it’d be nice for my parents to hear me perform without saying something about my dick. “A Clean 24” is a catch phrase you hear around recovery rooms when someone says they haven’t drank or used during those 24 hours- “I had a clean 24.” I don’t know that I want to do another special or album solely focused on addiction or alcoholism but I just think it sounds cool.
Funniest encounter you’ve ever had with a celebrity:
I worked on a TV documentary thing about Kanye West.
Weirdest place you’ve ever performed any form of comedy:
When I was about two years into doing standup, I would use that website Backstage.com to find work. I did background “acting,” and various improv related jobs. One of these jobs was for an improv troupe who would put on kids’ birthday parties. In one of the scenarios, they would make the kid feel like a celebrity and the whole party was set up to be like a movie premiere. They would film scenes and a team would edit the footage together and the kids would all watch the movie at the end of the party.
My role was to be a gossip magazine reporter. I walked around with a fake paparazzo and we interviewed these kids and their parents and it was just all funny riffing and being silly. I had my legal pad and pen and I’m asking 9 year olds about their outfits and whether there was any on-set drama they could share.
At one point it’s time for me to engage the father of the birthday kid. He’s standing around enjoying the whole scene and looked a little lost. I went up to him and said, “Hello sir, I understand you’re a part of the management team? Can you tell me your greatest hope for your client’s project?”
Now this is where it’s weird. I’m two years into doing standup, feeling like an ass for doing this job at 10am on a Saturday for fifty bucks, and the guy I’m now fake-interviewing is one of the top comedians on the planet. I grew up watching him. I don’t think I should say who it was, but let’s just say he is a pale ape of a man. He is a king of comedy and he was there to throw a birthday party for his baby. If standup comedy had a Mr. Universe, he would arguably be it.
He was so funny and such a great sport and had a witty response for every dumb question I pitched him. I scribbled doodles on my legal pad pretending like I was actually reporting. I never broke character and neither did he.
A Patrick Holbert Fun Fact:
I’ve always been a performer who needed to express myself. In high school I started a band so I could rap. I rapped at the talent show. I was not a good rapper or singer. But again in college I started another band. When I tried standup in college I discovered it was hard, so then I tried to be a guitar comedian. Then when I couldn’t write funny enough songs, I wrote more raps. So that’s why I started the band. On and on this went for years. I made a solo rap album in 2004. It was very bad. I put it on myspace. That whole time I could’ve just kept doing open mics and failing until it something clicked.
Where would you like your laughs to take you:
I’d love to work the road and shoot a special every couple years and make other docs along the way.
What would you tell a potential comedian if they ask you how they can own the laughs:
Be yourself? Try to genuinely connect with crowds? Kill no matter what? I have no idea, I’m still figuring this out.
What are your thoughts on the future of comedy:
One day we may need to wage a physical war against AI. It’s the only thing that is an actual threat to ruining comedy. There will always be “Woke” or right wing comedy, but neither of those can actually destroy good comedy. AI might be able to.
If you could write an episode for ONE classic TV sitcom, which show would it be:
It’s another day in San Francisco at the Full House and Danny Tanner falls off his bicycle and bonks his head. The result is that he loses all impulse control and can’t stop making dirty jokes. He does an open mic night and becomes the most famous dirty standup comedian in the world. And he lives forever.
If you could choose ONE comedy club and THREE comedians to perform with on your perfect comedy show, how would it go:
Oh man. I’m going to go meta on this one. I’d love to do a show with Phil Valentine, Tristan Smith, and Teresa DeGaetano. Tristan and Phil were my closest comedy buddies pre-pandemic and I miss them terribly and we’d need Teresa to give balance and to kill. She’s so fun to watch and hang out with. Life gets busy and it’s hard to maintain friendships. So I’d put this show together just to be with my friends.
What’s next for you:
I just released my debut special and I also produced and edited a feature length documentary that is out in theaters around the country. It’s a film about standup comedy and Joe List directed it. Getting to work with him on something of this scale was a dream. I’m proud of what we made and we are hoping people will go see it! It’s called Tom Dustin: Portrait of a Comedian.
Now that these two huge projects are done and out in the world, I plan to keep working on my act and run around performing it wherever they’ll let me. I’d love to headline my own weekends at clubs. I feature a fair amount for other people but I’m hoping I can start building a crowd now that my special is out.
Why should a person always laugh at life:
This is all an illusion and possibly a simulation. Look for the glitches and the coincidences and the synchronicities. They’re magic. Some stuff is just bleak. But that can be hilarious too. We live in a capitalistic society built to wear us down to the bone. We gotta slow down and have fun and laugh. Or else the billionaires win. Because of work and bills etc. it’s all designed to make unimportant stuff feel urgent. And the important stuff (art making, quality time with friends/family) don’t feel urgent. It’s made to keep us on our “grind.” That pace kills us. Laughing is fun and it takes connection with others to laugh. So, it’s an antidote to everything that is hell in this life.
Follow Patrick Holbert’s comedic journey on these social media websites:
Instagram/Twitter: Patrick Holbert
Youtube: Patrick Holbert
Personal Website: Patrick Holbert
