DUSTY SLAY

BY DANNY BROWNING

Fresh off his hilarious Netflix special, Dusty Slay will be making his debut at The Victory in Evansville on January 24. News4U’s comedy guru, Danny Browning, caught up with him to discuss his upcoming performance, the joys of sobriety, and depressing comedy condos.

Q: What can fans expect from your upcoming show at The Victory? How will this performance differ from your Netflix special or any previous shows they may have seen?

Dusty:

Well, I like to tell people that my show is relatively clean. It’s mostly clean. I always say “relatively” because, you know, I do comedy for adults, so there is some adult content. But it’s mostly a show you can bring your aunt or grandmother to, and no one’s going to be offended. It’s a good time.

What makes it different from the Netflix special? Well, it’s going to be all different stuff, so it’ll be an entirely new hour. Some people have even said they like my new hour better than the Netflix special.

Q: When it comes to writing a new hour, how much time did it take you? I once spoke to Jim Norton, and he mentioned it took him about 16 months. What’s your process, and how long did it take you to compile that much new material?

Dusty:

Well, the process for my next hour feels a bit different, but when I recorded my Netflix special, I already had an hour and a half of material that I really liked. That gave me a head start—I rolled into the next hour with about 30 minutes of solid material already.

I recorded the special in May, and it came out in January, so that’s about seven months. By January, I was already performing an entirely new hour. It wasn’t necessarily where it needed to be yet, but it’s a much better hour than it was then. But I did have a full new hour within seven months.

Q. Let’s talk about fatherhood. I’m the father of a 14-year-old, and as a comedian myself, I’ve definitely had to navigate that worklife balance. How has becoming a father recently changed your perspective on life, and how has it inspired your comedy?

Dusty:

I don’t know that fatherhood has inspired a ton of material because a lot of my comedy is about making fun of things—and myself— and I don’t want to make fun of my kids. That said, I’ve got a bit on YouTube about the children’s book Ten Little Monkeys. I have a little chunk on Humpty Dumpty, and I’m working on one now about Pinocchio. It’s like, I’m reading these books to my kids, and even though I’ve read them before, I’m analyzing and breaking down these children’s books in the same way I break down country songs. In that sense, there is some inspiration from my kids.

As far as balancing work and life, I have a great team that doesn’t force me to be out here working all the time. I’m doing more theaters now, so I can hit more cities in less time. For example, the weekend I’m in Evansville, I’m also doing another spot in Indiana. Normally, to get that many people, I’d have to do five shows at a club. Now, I can do two shows in two different cities, cover more ground, and work less. I want to be working because that’s how I’m able to write a new hour, but on the other hand, I like hanging out with my family.

Q: The first time I hit the road after my daughter was born, I found myself sitting alone in a comedy condo down in Tampa, agonizing over being away from her and counting the minutes until I could go back home.

Dusty:

I’ve been in that condo. That was the old Side Splitters condo, and yeah, it was a sad place to find yourself—even without a family.

Q: Speaking of sitting alone in depressing comedy condos, let’s talk about alcoholism for a moment. I read that you quit drinking in 2012, which was a pivotal moment in your career. How has sobriety positively influenced both your career and creativity?

Dusty:

As far as my career goes, I was just such a bad binge drinker. You know, it was fun, and everyone was having a good time, but I didn’t have an off switch. I’d just keep going, and eventually, things would turn dark, and I’d end up ruining relationships. If I had kept drinking, I don’t think I ever would’ve made it this far. I would’ve done so many stupid things. Thankfully, I got most of my really drunk, stupid moments out of the way when I was younger. Creatively, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly how sobriety has helped, but I quit drinking in 2012. Back then, I was already a comic doing well in the local scene, but all my jokes were about drinking. They were funny, sure, but they weren’t true to me anymore after I quit. I had to come up with new material, which pushed me to be more creative.

Not being drunk has also made me more aware—I’m always paying attention. When I’m performing now, I’m not drunk, so I remember the jokes I’ve told. If I riff a joke on stage, I actually remember it later. Sobriety helped clear my mind, and that’s exactly what I needed.

Q: Well, it certainly worked out for you. I read that you performed at the Grand Ole

Opry. Tell me about that experience—what was it like, and how did it compare to the very first time you ever did a stand-up set?

Dusty:

At this point, I’ve performed at the Grand Ole Opry about 30 times, and I love it. It’s exciting every single time. I’m a lifelong country fan, and every time I step on that stage, I’m still amazed that I get to be there. It’s hard to compare it to the first time I ever did stand-up because that was so long ago, but I will say this: the feeling I had after my first Opry performance was very similar to how I felt after doing The Tonight Show for the first time. The only difference was that after the Opry, I got to just hop in my car and drive home.

There’s something really special about wanting to do something big—like The Tonight Show or the Opry—and then actually getting to do it and having it go well. That feeling is irreplaceable.

And it ties into another thing about not drinking. I had a musician friend once tell me, “A lot of people like to have a drink or two before a show to calm their nerves, but I’ve found that without the nerves, I don’t get that euphoric feeling when it’s all over.

So I don’t like to kill the nerves.” I think that’s so true.

The first time I did The Tonight Show and the Opry, I was so nervous—just incredibly nervous—but then it went great, and the feeling afterward was absolutely amazing.

Q: I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me today. I’ll wrap things up with this: If you were performing stand-up for aliens visiting Earth for the first time, what would your opening joke be?

Dusty:

Oh man, that’s a great question. Honestly, I don’t know what they’d understand, so I think a good weather joke might be a safe bet. I’ve got a joke right now about dry heat versus heat in the South, and I’d probably go with that.

But then again, I’ve also got a hotel joke about stealing lamps from hotels that works almost every time—though I’m not sure how much aliens would know about hotels. It’s a tough question! I think I’d stick with something weather-related—or maybe an animal joke.

Q: Before we wrap up, is there anything I didn’t ask that you’d like to share with the people reading this?

Dusty:

I like to tell people that I have an hour of stand-up on YouTube, plus other clips, and I also have an hour on Netflix. You can check out both of those, and when you come to the show, you’ll still get a whole new hour of material. You’ll get a taste of what I do, and then when you see me live, it’ll be similar in style but with all new material.