Today is Wednesday February 22nd 8:30 a.m. and two friends decide to
get some breakfast and see what's new since we last spoke. The friends
are MC of ET6 and the other is Desi Johnson an up and coming comedian
from Mt. Vernon. We head to I-Hop on the premise of a story to be
featured on ET6Nation but we quickly lost site once we started
cracking jokes and playing around with the waitress who was serving
us. We finally got serious once we finished eating breakfast and I was
surprised to find out some of the things Desi was focused on. I knew
he was a funny dude from just watching him grow up and going to one
of his shows early in his career. To my surprise I found out just how
much being a comedian means to him and how serious he takes his art.
Desi lets me in on a secret that "it's easy to be the funniest person
at a cookout but that shit doesn't fly on stage, especially when you
have 50 people who paid money and are waiting to hear some funny
shit." Today I learned a self proclaimed "class clown" and "fool"
could be such a student of his craft. He was taken under the wing of a
few notable comedians such as Talent (also from Mt. Vernon) and Capone
who are seasoned veterans. A friendship he formed with Trev Houston
has helped Desi the most when it came to working on his
technique, delivery, showmanship and other issues when it came to
dealing with life on the road. Trev has been a mentor but also a big
brother to Desi. JB Smoove of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" fame is also one
of the legends in Stand-Up he follows and admires.
He tells me he's
impressed how JB is every comedians favorite comic and his routines
are fresh and well thought out, not to mention hilarious. I also
didn't realize how much hard work, commitment and dedication it took
to be a successful comedian. Desi also shed some light on his
technique of constantly repeating jokes and punch lines to make sure
its always a smooth transition to the next topic in his routine. It's
amazing that he's not intimidated by any comedy club or audience no
stage is off limits. He's performed from New York to California and
everywhere between sharpening his skills in different environments.
Nothing is taken for granted because there are thousands of comedianswho never materialized, but Desi has his hands in everything like
writing and other avenues not just stand up. Another big move in his
effort to diversify is joining the roster of FranklyRich Productions
which has plenty of projects coming out and a stable of artist in
every genre from Hip-Hop to Comedy.Television and films seem to be on
the horizon but until then watch out for him on stage. Desi Johnson is
definitely a problem to be reckoned with and I'm sure he'll put his
town back on the comedy map again!
You can follow Des on Twitter @Descomedy
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