Insomniac to Headliner: Nick Deez Talks Attell, Crowd Work, and Upcoming Show at Sandman Comedy Club

by | Mar 23, 2023 | COMEDY, COMMUNITY NEWS

Hello reader! I had the chance to catch up with a local favorite, Nick Deez. I first saw Nick when he hosted for Shane Gillis at Sandman Comedy Club a year or two ago and he immediately stood out. Since then, I’ve been following his journey closely. His passion for stand-up comedy is evident in his performances and he continues to make strides forward, from being a regular host for touring comics to now headlining his first show at Sandman Comedy Club on April 6th. Nick has put together a killer lineup of local talent for the show, and we talked about that, his recent guest spot on the Dave Attell show at the Funny Bone, and his upcoming crowd work special. Here’s our conversation:

Gabe: So, what’s going on? You’ve had some big stuff going on. I think it’s been a year since the last interview.

Nick: Yeah, it’s been much right around there. It’s been just about a year since we did the last interview and it’s been a wild year, man. You know, I just hit my five-year anniversary in stand-up in February and I’ve gone into this year super-hot. I’m super thankful and lucky to be able to do a lot of the stuff that I’ve done so far, man. It’s pretty killer.

Gabe: You’re based out of Virginia Beach mainly?

Nick: Yeah, for the most part. I’m just shy of Virginia Beach right now. I live North, so I’m like 10-15 minutes from Virginia Beach.

nick deez
photo courtesy of Nick Deez

Gabe: I know you’ve been actually traveling. You’re not just like a local; you’re a regional comic now.

Nick: Yeah. I guess I’ve kind of made that graduation out of just being a local guy to a regional guy, right?

Gabe: That’s a big step.

Nick: Yeah, man. The reach is real, I guess. I just did a show a week or so ago at a club in Baltimore called Deport Comedy Club, and they’re a super cool new club. The owner is this guy, Matt Hurley, he’s a super nice dude, man. My buddy Matt Pennington runs a showcase there, and they threw me on the show. I got to check out that club, so as of this year, that’s the furthest away from home that I’ve gotten to perform. At the tail end of 2022, I did the Philadelphia Punchline. I did a few other spots that were, you know, relatively decent drive from here. Things are going really well. The stretch is starting to happen where it’s not just an hour, hour and a half drive out here and there. I’m crossing state lines to get booked on some stuff, which feels really good.

nick deez
photo courtesy of Nick Deez

Gabe: Yeah, it’s been awesome to watch. I got to ask- we gotta talk about David Attell. You got a guest spot on one of his shows at the Funny Bone in Richmond. How’d you land that?

Nick: Alright, so I was on my way to a show that night and my buddy Jesse, who’s the general manager at the Richmond Funny Bone, hit me up that Friday night and was like, “Hey man, do you wanna do a guest spot on the David Attell show tonight or tomorrow or both?” And I was like, “Dude, honest answer: Yeah, I would love to,” I said, “but I’m about to go close out the show all the way out in the middle of nowhere” – I was out in Culpeper, Virginia – “and I’m on my way there now. I can’t, you know, back out now.” And I was booked to do Wabi Sabi the next night. I was just like, “Dude, yeah, I can do it tomorrow for sure.” I messaged Jason Klingman, who runs the show at Wabi Sabi, and I was like, “Hey man, I got good news and bad news.” And I was like, “Good news is I’m doing a spot on Dave Attell’s show. Bad news is I’m not gonna be able to make the show tomorrow.” And he was super cool about it, man. He was real understanding, which was great.

nick deez, Dave attel, Lucy Bonino, nick deez
Luis Katz, Lucy Bonino, Nick Deez & Dave Attell, photo courtesy of Nick Deez

Gabe: I can’t say I blame you. That was awesome seeing again you and Lucy [Bonino] there too. I saw the picture with all yall. You were cheesin.

Nick: I couldn’t help it because I grew up watching Insomniac. I remember watching Insomniac as a kid with my old man, and I just remember being like, ‘dude, this guy is nuts. Like, this guy’s hilarious. This show is wild’. It’s crazy. Fast forward to doing stand-up, and everybody just looks up to Attell. He’s a true comic’s comic. He’s definitely one of the best writers and one of the best comics working right now. In general, honestly, just having that opportunity to be able to go up on a show like that, you know, a sold-out show in front of three hundred or so people, it was nice and it felt really good. I was super happy to be a part of that.

Gabe: It was awesome. I remember you working on a thirty-minute special this past year. Has it been recorded yet?

Nick: Over the summer, I shot and recorded a crowd work album and special. The audio version is almost done and on its way out now. The special, which I also shot video of, is almost done too. I did a couple of things to make it not just a video of me on stage doing crowd work. There are other cool elements to the video that really morphed it into something way bigger. My buddy, Carlos, shot the whole thing and he’s an absolute beast. His Instagram is @greeen.mov and he’s one of the best video guys I’ve ever worked with. We hit it off and he convinced me to shoot a crowd work special. It started off as one idea, but it has become its own beast. I was super happy with that show and how it went down. I sold out a comedy club in Newport News and almost 150 people were there for the show. I did 48 minutes on stage of all crowd work. The audio is almost done and should be out shortly within the next couple of months at most.

Gabe: Does it have a name yet?

Nick: Yeah, it’s gonna be called Tell Me More, and that’s gonna be the same name for the audio and the video. So, it’s just gonna be called Tell Me More, and it’s a full crowd work album.

Gabe: Tell me about this show coming up at Sandman Comedy Club on April 6th.

Nick: Yeah, okay. I went up to Sandman recently and was talking to him about shows that he had coming up. He was like, ‘I’ve got Eddie Pepitone coming through here soon’. I made a comment about him doing a full weekend and he was like, ‘well, he’s just doing Friday and Saturday,’ and I was like, ‘oh, okay. Well, that’s still pretty cool. That’s four shows instead of just the one show that he did last year’. And he was like, ‘Yeah, but that leaves that Thursday open so I need something to fill that day’. And uh, he was like, ‘you wanna do that night?’ And I was like, ‘yeah, dude, I’d love to’. So, he was like, ‘Alright, well you get all the comics that you want for it. Get me a line-up as soon as you can and we’ll run with it’. And I was like, ‘Okay, cool’. And before I got a chance to say anything, he was just like, ‘I assume that you’ll be headlining it’. And I was like, ‘yeah, I mean, that’s, you know, that’s cool with me. I’m down’.

nick deez

Gabe: What’s the line-up looking like?

Nick: Yeah, it’s a super stacked line-up. I’ve got Tyler Bower hosting. Lucy Bonino and Devon Simmons are gonna co-feature. And then I’m gonna go up after them. And honestly, they’re like three of my favorite comics.

Mark your calendars, comedy fans! Get ready for a night of laughs cause on April 6th, the Sandman Comedy Club will be hosting an evening of killer local comedy. The lineup features Tyler Bower as the host, with Lucy Bonino and Devon Simmons co-featuring, and our guy Nick Deez as the headliner. And the best part? Tickets are only five dollars! Doors open at 6 pm and the show starts at 7:30, so be sure to arrive early for food and beverages.  Also, keep an eye out for Nick Deez’s new crowd work special, Tell Me More!

Follow Nick Deez @nickdeezcomedy
Tickets can be purchased at Sandman Comedy Club HERE

Gabriel Santamaria

Gabriel Santamaria

Band leader of The Flavor Project, Co Owner at La Cocina Studios, Cast Member on The Hustle Season podcast.




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