I somehow managed to remain coherent enough after my day job to have a conversation with Mike Lawrence. He is coming down to DC this Friday to be the headliner for Cool Dudes Hanging Out at the Velvet Lounge starting at 7:00 and ending at 10:00. Mike, 28, is originally from Florida near Ft. Lauderdale and has been living in New York for the past four years.
His first experience with comedy was watching his mother perform when he was growing up. They both make people laugh, but from different parts of the heart. I asked him what makes his comedy different and he said that she is the light and he is the dark. “I’m a lot sadder and angrier and she’s a lot happier.” His first time expressing himself through the mike was with poetry, but he transitioned to comedy, because all he cared about when he read his poems were the parts when people laughed. “I think my goal is to do this on a bigger level. I like what I do I want to do it more. My heart is really into live performing. Stand-up is great. It’s you getting paid to be yourself, which is awesome. I’m a nerdy kind of uncomfortable guy with anger issues and I get to be that for money. That’s awesome.”
This week has two legendary performances of his that I think you should be aware of. Not only will this Friday be the first performance he has ever done in the nation’s capital, but also this Thursday he is making his television debut on John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show on Comedy Central. Oliver approached Mike after he performed one night and offered him the opportunity to be on his show. Mike recorded his set in January, on his birthday. When you see him on TV this week know, that he probably had some cake afterwards. I like to think so anyway. Birthday without cake is like a birth without the baby.
Anyway, Mike has never been to D.C. but he is presently collaborating with a comic from the area. Formerly-of-DC comic Jake Young is a good friend of Mike’s and they have a podcast on iTunes called Nerd of Mouth. Now you have three different mediums to consume his comedy. What else can I say? There was something else that he told me. Oh yeah. Mike is a non drinker yet comedy has taken him to places filled with yes-drinkers. “Comedy has taken me to every single bar I would have never been otherwise. I’m a non drinker in a bar every night.” He will be in a bar yet again this Friday, and if you wish to join please bring $5 and make your way to The Velvet Lounge.
