Mickey D comedian

Mickey D – Pain is just an emotion

The audio interview of this transcript of comedian Mickey D is available here.


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Steve Davis: Comedian Mickey D, welcome to the Hard Knock-Knocks’ podcast.

Mickey D: Thanks very much for having me mate.

Steve Davis: I’ve got to get one thing sorted.

Mickey D: Yeah.

Steve Davis: Mick Dwyer, Mickey D, what do you prefer? I don’t want to upset you.

Mickey D: I don’t know. There’s a bit of a mix. I’m not going to go just draw a symbol like Prince did at that stage. Now look a mixed good, Mickey, it’s just when people just randomly call me Comedian Mickey D, when I’m not in a comedy club, it feels weird.

Steve Davis: Right.

Mickey D: Hey, Comedian Mickey D, how are you doing? So I’m just about to go for a run with you mate, I’m not going to do any jokes, but anything. I’m just happy to be here.

Steve Davis: Now talking of here, we normally try and record at your home or over the phone, but here we are in an OTR. Now for people around Australia, this is called On The Run. It’s a chain of service stations, and you love them don’t you?

Mickey D: I’m just gobsmacked every time I go into a new outlet, just imagine, do you remember how it’d feel when you’d go and visit your cousins in Melbourne, and you go to 7-11 back in the 80s? And you, “This is a new world.” It’s like they’ve found that world, taken us back there in a time machine, and just put more stuff, seriously look at maybe tourism [inaudible] Asia [inaudible] these people, because you’ve got everything. I’ve having my 40th.

Steve Davis: Yeah, you were saying.

Mickey D: Yeah, look, it started off as a joke onstage. I’d say, “OTR, On The Run, all-night service station. They’ve got everything. The one nearest my house has a gym upstairs, a Portuguese chicken shack out the back, a Subway. You’ve get your coffee. You get your [Boroso] fine meats. You get your … anything you want there, nappies, the whole lot.

Mickey D: I’m going to have my 40th there. You know what? If you listen to this, before November the 12th, 2019, do come. It’s a Tuesday night. We’re all going to have a bit of a flash mob.

Steve Davis: That is fantastic. And that one near you has got quite a bit of space out in the car park area too.

Mickey D: If it was an outdoor property concert we could probably get about 5,000 people out there, or have a mosh pit, see if we could block all five houses.

Steve Davis:                  Now is this something that is intrinsic in you, or is the thinking about doing your 40th there has that come from the comedy pathway and this is an extension of that? Where do we separate the Mick from the Mick taking the Mick?

Mickey D:                     Yeah, well, you know, I think it was … It’s a nice way to still celebrate my 40th, because I don’t want a party, as such, but I do want to mark the occasion, so I think this is the best of both worlds, to get everyone altogether in the same spot, to give the milestone a nod, but then celebrate it privately at another day down the track.

Mickey D: I think it started off as a joke, because I said, “It’d be a funny place to have your 21st,” and I thought, “Now, let’s see, let’s see if we can pull some people together and make it an occasion.”

Steve Davis:                  And if they don’t like it you will end up on the run yourself for the rest of your life.

Mickey D:                     Look, I can go too, that’s the thing. I’m pretty fast for a portly bloke.

Steve Davis:                  Actually yeah, we’re coming to that in just a moment.

Mickey D:                     Really?

Steve Davis:                  Let’s go right back though, first stepping onstage and doing some comedy in that mix was a [Royal] Comedy Event, you were 17, I’m told. You were broke, what got you interested in stepping onstage and doing what many people think is one of the most fear-inspiring things ever.

Mickey D:                     Yeah, it is. A lot of people do find talking to an audience terrifying. I grew up in pubs, so I was used to adults. I was used to being … I had to hold my ground, because the pub was on an army base, so I saw a lot of things early that I learned to …

Mickey D: I went to a lot of different schools, so the whole kind of … yeah, mom and dad were publicans, so we moved around quite a bit, so I learned how to project myself by making friends and making jokes, and then when it came end of high school I went straight onstage.

Mickey D: I worked at KFC, so I was as good as broke. Yeah, it was just before the [Royal] Comedy, 1998, I got a bit of stage time under my belt, and it all went on from there.

Steve Davis: What do you remember of stepping onstage for your first Raw Comedy Heat?

Mickey D: I remember being on directly after Craig Egan, right? Who was the best man at my wedding it turns out in the end.

Steve Davis: Oh, really?

Mickey D: Yeah, he’s a good bloke. I’d use him again.

Steve Davis: Yeah, okay. You’re not signalling anything there?

Mickey D: No, that was a joke I did at my reception. I think it just … It’s nice to know that joke carries on. It wasn’t just a topical joke, but no, Craig went on before me, back when he was doing standup, and did … I remember vividly. I was really nervous.

Mickey D: But then Craig went on and did a remix of Men In Black, which was a remix of Forget Sending Me Forget-Me-Nots, so it was a copy of a copy, but he did … It was the comic rap, here comes the comic rap, and I’m like, okay, so the music relaxed me. I like a bit of rap. And I thought okay, I think I can take it up a notch from there, and it relaxed me.

Steve Davis: Now that’s the mindset isn’t it? Because I saw you this week, you were MC-ing at the Runner Room, which is Craig’s room, and you stepped onstage, and you just looked the audience in the eye and there’s this lagged-ty sense of someone who’s gone out, almost ready for a street brawl, not with any violence, but just that game, stare it down, and just have fun, and just address them. Is that part of what helps you with your success in comedy?

Mickey D: Well, yah, you’ve got to get in the room. You can’t just be a … It’s the way I feel anyway. You’ve got to get in the room and be on the same page as the people. You’re there. You want to celebrate the same context, and you’ve got to create that as a team.

Mickey D: So personally, I … yeah, I like to pivot of something, whether what kind of energy it is, whether it is … It can be a brawling energy. It can be like I can rant happy as well, so we can try to rev people up, whatever it is to get us all bound together.

Mickey D: Yeah, but also you’ve got your ground and say and show them that yeah, I’ve got this. Then the audience needs to be assured that you’re capable. You’re in control, and at least you know, you haven’t been funny yet, but at least you know you will be at some stage.

Steve Davis: Yeah, Greg Fleet mentioned that in a previous chat we’ve had is they want to know that you’re confident within yourself. They don’t want someone up there who feels like they’re out of place. They want you to do well, and they feel on edge if you’re on edge.

Mickey D: Yeah, because it’s their night too, especially these days. It’s not a cheap night to come out to invest in any kind of evening, even a blockbuster film, you go out and go, “Ah, well Dwayne Johnson didn’t really bring it, and he’s wrecked my date night.”

Steve Davis: Yes.

Mickey D:                     You know? I said, “Well that’s a $100 million production,” but it doesn’t matter, because you’ve spent 80 bucks on a babysitter.

Steve Davis:                  Exactly.

Mickey D:                     So the added pressure, so you come out, you expect a good night, so as an audience, I can empathize that you want to know that your entertainers got jobs.

Steve Davis:                  Yeah, hey, that could be a way of dealing with heckling, just stuff your pockets full of babysitter coupons, and just throw them back at people who heckle you to balance the equation.

Mickey D:                     Yeah, I can give you a number of a babysitter that does it cheaper.

Steve Davis:                  Now you’ve traveled around a lot doing performing, which cities have the best sense of humor that you’ve visited?

Mickey D:                     Oh, that’s a tricky one, because I don’t know. It’s going to sound like I’m playing favorites here. You know what? I like Liverpool.

Steve Davis:                  All right.

Mickey D:                     Yeah, Liverpool and the northwest of England. It took me a while to crack it out there, because they’re perception of an Ozzie was a laid-back, laconic, kind of arg again type of look, but I was always the scousers, and the [Mancs 00:12:51], so Manchester and Liverpool, always hitting them a bit hard.

Mickey D:                     I was coming there and going, “How you going? You up for a big night?” And they’re like, “Oh, yeah mate. We’re here aren’t we? What’s wrong with you?” So one night I stumbled upon success by just being exhausted. I went out onstage after a big days drive, after a hard days training, after being a father from whatever time the kids got up that morning, and I come onstage, and my first line was an apologetic, “Ah, fuck.” That was my opening line.

Mickey D:                     I didn’t mean it, because it was just … I think the step onstage was the straw that broke my back. I was exhausted, and I just went, “Arg.” And they just laughed. I thought, “Okay.” So I kind of tapped into their vibe there, so once you get underneath the scousers, the [Liverpublians 00:13:43], you can really wind them up, but yeah, they will heckle.

Mickey D:                     If they smell blood in the water, they’ll circle and bite, but at the same time, if you can throw a bridle on them, you can ride them up a hill.

Steve Davis:                  Wow, all right, now you’ve done, obviously, standup is what you do, you’ve done an eight-day course equal to SAS training and got into the top 10, from what I’m told. You’ve climbed to the Everest Base Camp. Of these three, which one’s more frightening, comedy, the equivalent, SAS, or the base camp of Everest?

Mickey D:                     Well base camp, look I could spend three months with you and get you ready to go to base camp.

Steve Davis:                  All right.

Mickey D:                     Anyone with minimum fitness could go there.

Steve Davis:                  I like how you looked at me when you said minimum fitness.

Mickey D:                     Look, I looked and winked, people who are listening at home, we’ve also got … Our next pecking order would be standup … standup’s fine. No it was definitely being in the firing line, not literally, but being trained by trained killers, cold, hard, special forces operators, and just realizing there is a next level of hardness.

Steve Davis:                  Wow.

Mickey D:                     Something that these people harness their own fear for motivation, so learning some tricks and mindsets from the special forces kind of made everything else, that was really tough in life, more palatable, so to speak. So it’s like, all right, this really hurts. This really frightens me. This really sucks.

Mickey D:                     I go, “I’ve been in worse situations than this, and just got through it.” It was the day the guy said, “Pain, whether it’s a factor, whether in your logical sense is it the truth or not, pain is just an emotion.”

Steve Davis:                  Wow.

Mickey D:                     Which whether neurologically it’s a fact or not, I don’t care, but what he’s saying is it’s a choice, whether you’re going to commit to it, are you going to let it stop you in your tracks or is it a momentary thing? Then so learning all this stuff was … People ask me well what was it like training with the SAS? And I’m like, “It was the best holiday I ever had.”

Steve Davis:                  Oh, what?

Mickey D:                     Not holiday like I’m kicking my heels up and getting a tan, and you know, in [Mabaya 00:16:19], but I mean a holiday, a break from the norm, an absolute sea change, and eye-opening, just to kick up the ice slash refresher I needed.

Steve Davis:                  I wonder if that’s what I saw on stage when I saw you MC? You know how at the beginning I mentioned there was this nuggety, obstinate, I’m here, and I’m just chill, what you were just explaining then of the SAS mindset, has that hardened do you think psychologically?

Mickey D:                     I guess so. Well look, there’s a guy, look him up, his name is Ant Middleton, he’s the chief commander. He’s the chief staff training officer in the SAS. So SAS [inaudible] Wins was the TV program I was on in the UK, and he … This guy’s now mega famous in the UK, and worked further abroad, because he’s training platform.

Mickey D:                     But his thing, he was the first, he’s known, and take the hashtag out, first man in, so his job in his squad would be the first man in through the doors of an insurgent’s property, and he’s talking about harnessing fear, so going out there and I guess breeching the audience, and you have to just you hit them hard.

Mickey D:                     I guess that’s definitely changed me. Look, if you come to one of my gigs, I don’t want to hurt you, well not in a painful way, but pain’s just an emotion.

Steve Davis:                  Oh, yeah, there you go.

Mickey D:                     A happy one hopefully.

Steve Davis:                  Yeah, talking of which, you’ve got two kids, am I right, a girl and a boy?

Mickey D:                     That’s right, yup.

Steve Davis:                  How much of your comedy sort of digs into that, revolves around being a responsible father and parenthood?

Mickey D:                     Yeah, I’ve got some … Look, they’ve totally changed my life. I love them to bits. They’re absolutely wonderful. My daughter, Grace, came along and saw my … I did an all-ages show in Edinboro in 2000 and … oh, god, when was it, maybe about 2015, so she came along and saw me as a five-and-a-half-year-old, and there’s material about here in the show, and she loved it.

Mickey D:                     I got halfway through the show and thought, “Oh, no, I threw my daughter under the bus here for cheap laughs,” and the only way I could sleep at night was those cheap laughs paid for her shoes, so you go okay, but now when she’s in the room, as I’m doing the material on the fly, I’m thinking hang on, will this damage her in the long run hearing her father make fun of her in front of a group of people?

Mickey D:                     But she was proud. She was into it. And afterwards she gave me a big hug, and it was like, “Great,” so that’s awesome. So she’s seen [crosstalk] stuff.

Steve Davis:                  So now all bets are off.

Mickey D:                     Yeah, until she takes the stage or maybe our joke in the house is she’ll probably rebel and become an accountant or something like that.

Steve Davis:                  Right, yeah.

Mickey D:                     But she’s awesome. My son, he’s two and a half, he hasn’t seen any of my stuff yet, but he features in a lot of it, so they’re … What a sound stage. I do throw them under the bus for cheap laughs, but then I throw it out to the audience, but I have to, because if I just come out on stage and told you exactly how I felt, you’d just go, “Oh, he’s a nice bloke.” That’s nice, but that doesn’t make for an evening of comedy.

Steve Davis:                  So you’re exaggerating for comedic effect?

Mickey D:                     Yeah, oh, and totally being a belligerent, horrible asshole of a father for the sake of the joke, and then pull back, reveal, it’s just a joke.

Steve Davis:                  Strategically, or rather operationally, you mentioned before you did Royal, you’ve got a bit of stage time up. You must have done some open nights, open mikes or whatever, some of us, who’ve got kids, have trouble getting out, because every night you’re away, as a parent, you feel guilty. Well the good ones do. And so if someone’s starting in comedy, and they’ve got kids, what do you do? Is it a choice? Is it an either or or just bloody hard to make it-

Mickey D:                     No, ask yourself, do you want it? Then you just put it in. That’s what my wife and I do. We just tour the world. We’ve got two kids that aren’t missing out on anything. We still … What we don’t want them to miss out in is later down the track to have two parents who didn’t follow their potential, look at it that way.

Mickey D:                     So you put it in, and then you make it, the work, about making that happen, say yes, work it out afterwards, because if you’re following your path, you’re going to be a better you, and that will of course trickle down to being a better parent, I reckon.

Mickey D:                     So yeah, if you’re sitting there going, “Ah, I can’t. I don’t know if I can,” then you’re already wasting energy where you could have just said, “Yes,” and then started foaming around like a madman, “I need to get someone to cover the kids.” Because when you think about it, door to door, you go to do a gig, door to door, it’s like you could do it in 90 minutes.

Mickey D:                     If you ask someone who runs the gig, “What time does the show start? What time does it finish? Would you mind if I just came in and zipped out. I’ve got kids.” Everyone understands. It just comes down to the fact how much you want it, like anything in life really.

Steve Davis:                  Of course your wife’s a performer too. What’s the competition like at home? Are you competitive spirits?

Mickey D:                     Well, not as such, look, we’re really proud of each other and really congratulatory when we both have wins, because we are a team. Our stars of humor differ a little bit. This is interesting. I’ll run stuff on my wife, and all I need is a nod, nod of approval, that’ll work.

Mickey D:                     As most, when comedians are around material of other comedians, they just need a, “Yeah, that’ll work.” I’ll trust you. It’s not ready, but I trust that you’ll put the touches on it to make it fly. I’ll run something by my wife and she’ll just go flat out, “No.”

Mickey D:                     I’m like, “Arg, I know I can make that work,” but I’ve only tweaked … Recently, what it is, she’s like, “No,” because she doesn’t want the audience to think ill of me, because sometimes I try and throw the audience off, so can pivot off a misunderstanding or them not liking me.

Mickey D:                     Like I said, I’ll go on the back foot. I will put myself in negative territory to work back, and to create the humor, whereas my wife doesn’t want the audience to think I’m an asshole at any point, whereas I’ll happily exist as an asshole for half an hour if it gets us another holiday.

Steve Davis:                  Wow. So she’s looking at the long picture.

Mickey D:                     No, she’s looking at the right in the present.

Steve Davis:                  Oh, that’s true, yeah.

Mickey D:                     She doesn’t want anyone thinking of me as a jerk. While I’m thinking of the long picture, that’s just a little bit of momentary pain, that I’ll push through, and at the end there’ll be a review, “Ah, I’m only joking.” Because that’s the thing. I love people to … These are just jokes. I don’t really leave the kids in the car with the window cracked and the dog gets off its epilepsy medicine. We don’t even have a dog.

Steve Davis:                  Okay, bringing things around, writing process for you, for comedy, because you riff a lot on stage, does that mean you’re off scot free, you don’t have to do as much prep? Or do you have this disciplined backend to what you do when you’re cranking out and really at the mine, at the cold faced, working out new jokes? What’s inside your head?

Mickey D:                     A bit of both, like I’ll write a lot of stuff live, record it, play it back, especially when I’m on the cruise ships. You’ve got a lot of time to listen to one set after the other, so you’re tweaking stuff on the go, and you have several …

Mickey D:                     If you have two or three performances in the same night, if you’re really lucky if you’re getting in between gigs in a major city, or again two shows, one night on a cruise or many at a festival, you might tweak the same bit four times in the one evening to have it right for my late show, for example.

Mickey D:                     But as far as backend, back of house stuff goes, it’s usually just it could start as a little note in me phone, and then yeah, if I’m driving to a gig out loud in the car, if I need to get an accent or the timing of the delivery right, or if it’s automatic [inaudible] just to get the flow of it right or the speed.

Mickey D:                     But usually when it comes out, I’m reporting or regaling something, I just need to have the right kind of starting point. You know what I mean? If I’m ranting, or if I’m upset about something, I just pick the right tone and stick in character, and it usually comes out like I’m …

Mickey D:                     It’s like at a dinner party, and you’re in front of new people, let’s look at it that way, you need to get your point across, you need to read the table, much like you’re reading the room, so I want to try and tell this audience of a 100, 150 people, how I felt. I need to convey that effectively to all of them, so yeah, broadcasting essentially.

Steve Davis:                  And where can you test material without being on stage, is it dinner parties? You basically just use new people as fresh meat?

Mickey D:                     Kind of or mum and dad are pretty funny. I’ll just throw something in under the radar, because mom and dad don’t go, “Ah, you’re doing stuff.” They’ll just laugh. Whereas my wife will go, “Don’t do a bit on me,” your mates will be like, “Don’t do a bit on me.” I’ll go, “Fair enough.”

Mickey D:                     Oh, yeah, you’re work shopping. Look, no, where else can I do it? I suppose, so they kind of keep you in check, because they want the true you. They don’t want work you. Which the lines are very thin with a lot of us, because you want to have … It’s how we have fun, and stay upbeat, go into joke mode.

Mickey D:                     Whereas … but then a lot of comedians like being sarcastic and ripping the piss out of each other, that might be their [inaudible 00:26:06], but I’m a clown. I’m an idiot. I’m a dickhead. When my wife calls me dickhead, it’s lovingly, and …But yeah, it’s like I do have … Now Tony Clifton, I love … It’s Jim and Andy, when Jim Cary played Andy-

Steve Davis:                  Kaufman?

Mickey D:                     Andy Kaufman, Jim became Andy. It’s amazing. This documentary, I watch it every now and then, just to reaffirm my kind of ethos, that something that Jim said in there about how he just let go, didn’t go out there with any material, and just made his main thing just give of himself.

Mickey D:                     He’s the conduit to enjoyment, so whatever he’s doing is selfless and is like a 100% just out there, open for interpretation, just pure giving.

Steve Davis:                  Sort of ego parked at the door?

Mickey D:                     Yeah, it’s like you’re watching an experience. I love that, so that was one thing that gripped me about that, that piece of … Yeah, it’s amazing, right?

Steve Davis:                  There’s risk in that of course.

Mickey D:                     But that’s the thing, risk is if you’ve got nothing … What have you got to lose if you’ve let go of everything? That’s essentially he’s relinquished anything. So he’s essentially untouchable, which I like, and fearless, so then …

Mickey D:                     The other part I like about this docker is Tony Clifton. I’ve got a soft spot for this guy, so when I’m on the cruise ships, when I’m by myself, when I’m bored, especially if I don’t have a show for five days, and I’m a ghost, I’m just another … I’m a solo traveler on a cruise ship. I’ll go around for four or five days as a Scotsman.

Steve Davis:                  Ah, that’s priceless.

Mickey D:                     Because you could get away with a lot more as a Scotsman, you go, “Oh, let’s see, I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the food on this ship. I’ve been on the Norwegian Cruise Line about four or five times now, done [inaudible] crossings, but this was a [inaudible 00:28:21]. Where are you from big man?”

Mickey D:                     I could never go up from a stranger and go, “So where are you from mate?” It’s not in me, but as Gary, I can go, “So big man, where are you from? I noticed you’re wearing Crocs. Did she buy them for you or is that a choice you made?” And then because I don’t drink anymore, Gary can’t drink, but then I’ll go and sing karaoke, or Gary-oke-

Steve Davis:                  As Gary.

Mickey D:                     As Gary, so that’s what the tip of the problem was, I got through to the semifinals on this cruise ship, but thankfully it was on the same night I was performing, so I couldn’t … I had to say sorry to the assistant cruise director, because ships that big, they didn’t know I was the feature comedian.

Mickey D:                     I said, “Sorry mate, look, I’m not really …” He goes, “What do you mean?” I’m like, “I’m the comedian.” He goes, “Ah, you’re a bastard,” so that’s what I do behind the scenes to work on accents, to work on bits and pieces there, so I’m working on …

Mickey D:                     What I do is I work a lot on my craft rather than chipping away in the salt mines on words or order of words. I work on the dude that’s delivering them, because if I’m sharp, I’m in good form, whatever I’m trying to argue fresh to every audience is different, whatever I’m trying to get across fresh each night is going to come across in its best way possible that evening.

Steve Davis:                  Wow, where are you performing in the coming months that we might be able to keep our eyes open for?

Mickey D:                     Yeah, sure, let’s see.

Steve Davis:                  Do we have to buy a liner, a cruise ticket to see you?

Mickey D:                     Yeah, you want to get on and see me on … is it the P&O Comedy Cruise out of Auckland. If there’s any Kiwis that listen, there’s the Kiwi Comedy Cruise, the Kiwi Comedy Cruise Festival on the Pacific Explorer. It’s going to be great, [inaudible 00:30:20], because I love the Kiwis.

Mickey D:                     Again, I’ll throw Australia under the bus to … because I know, we are American to them in a sense. We are the rednecks, the racists, the people that took that long for same-sex marriage, for wide Australia policy, homosexuality was only decriminalized in the late 70s, so we’re draconian in some Kiwi’s eyes.

Mickey D:                     So I go over there, I wish we could be a bit more like then in that sense, they don’t need to be loud to be proud.

Steve Davis:                  I heard someone say actually recently, on the ABC, was being interviewed, and they said, “The thing about … ” It was in relation to the book festival, the writer’s festival, in New Zealand, they know they are nothing on the face of the planet. They’re a blip, and so they’ve got freedom. Whereas in Australia, many of us think, “Oh, we’re Australia, [crosstalk 00:31:16]-“

Mickey D:                     Yeah, we’ve got to live up to-

Steve Davis:                  Yeah, and-

Mickey D:                     You’re only as good as your last bowl really aren’t you?

Steve Davis:                  Yeah, that’s right.

Mickey D:                     And there’s six per

and there’s 50 per game, so the Kiwis are just like that, so with that in mind, I’m on this Kiwi Comedy Festival Cruise, so we’re all stuck on a 2000-capacity ship, so I’ve named my comedy show, the people get to see in the guide, that’s in the cabin waiting for them, Comedian Mickey D’s Comedy Show on the Kiwi Comedy Cruise is called Trevor Chapel’s Apology.

Steve Davis:                  Oh, wow.

Mickey D:                     So whether … so hopefully they get an idea of who I am from that. South Australia’s sent me to say sorry.

Steve Davis:                  Have you ever been dangled off one of those liners in a life buoy? Because that might happen to you.

Mickey D:                     Look, I hope I’m carried off. There’s an Ozzie that gets it. Yeah, all right, so you catch me on the cruise ships. I’m doing the Sydney Comedy Store quite regularly. I’m up there, and the mike in hand, on the 18th of July, and doubling up with the Sydney Comedy Store, so plenty of stuff in Sydney.

Mickey D:                     There’s a great new project that my wife and I have teamed up on, her concept. It’s called Auntie Boo’s Variety Diner. Now she’s Auntie Boo. There’s circus. There’s burlesque. There’s cabaret. And then I’m the standup comedy fix, but I’m also the guy that sells the tickets for the meat raffle. Okay?

Steve Davis:                  I’ve seen this on your social media.

Mickey D:                     Yeah, so it’s an old-fashioned kind of … It’s a variety show without all the wank and pretense. It’s like come and just see a show. It’s working class, a meat raffle for fuck’s sake, get involved. So I go out and bust my gut selling raffle tickets for meat tray, awesome meat tray by the way.

Mickey D:                     It’s Frank and Silva from Vegas Poultry in the market, give us the poultry, and Alexi Service from [Conn’s] Fine Foods give us the other platter, great, great food.

Mickey D:                     So I’m selling the tickets, then I finally come on stage, and my wife’s big production at the Adelaide Cab Fringe. There’s about 200 people in the room, and I’ve said, “Good day.” And you hear the audience go, “Arg, it’s the meat guy.”

Steve Davis:                  Wow.

Mickey D:                     I’m like, “He, he.” I just had to laugh, because … and then you know what? I never get prima donna. I thought I’m going to … Okay, I’m going to push back here, and see if a bit of swagger gets me off the mark, because Ozzies don’t like anyone brow beating or tab thumping, well none of the good ones do anyways.

Mickey D:                     So I’m like, “Really, the meat guy. I’ve been nominated for the Adelaide Fringe Award four times. I’ve fucking won it twice. I’ve toured the world. I’ve done a gig up on Everest. I’ve done …” In the back of my head I’m going, “This better have a payoff mate. You sound like an asshole.”

Mickey D:                     Then I’m going, “Oh, just listen off my CV,” and then I’m going, “And all you recognize me for is the fucking meat guy. Well thank you very much and good night.”

Steve Davis:                  All right, how did that go down?

Mickey D:                     No, they laughed. I said, “Nah, I’m just joking. I need you love. I’m sorry. Oh, look, the meat’s pretty good isn’t it?” So it’s just that’s really exciting, so we’re doing more of those around local sports clubs and stuff.

Steve Davis:                  Maybe just two quick fire ones.

Mickey D:                     Yeah, go.

Steve Davis:                  Do we do comedy because we need the love? And is that dangerous?

Mickey D:                     Yes and no, we might do it because of the love, and you know what’s dangerous about that? But some people just do it because that’s the kind of beast they are. I’m a clown. It’s my gift, so I just keep at doing it, and I love it.

Steve Davis:                  Other one, you mentioned you throw Australia under the bus? I’ve noticed there’s a difference between some comedians. Some don’t mind punching down and having a go at the ones at the bottom. A lot just hate that, and they’ll only punch up.

Mickey D:                     Yup.

Steve Davis:                  Where do you sit on that?

Mickey D:                     I’m a clown. It’s me. I always lose. That way I can punch anyone, because in the end, I’m the one on the floor. It always comes back to me. I’m the idiot. I’m the clown. I’m … yeah.

Steve Davis:                  All right, now on that note, thank you. I have some great news. You’re going to be our headline act for the August, 2019 course of the Hard Knock-Knocks.

Mickey D:                     I can’t wait.

Steve Davis:                  Jerry [Messey’s] is the lead teacher. He likes you.

Mickey D:                     Yeah, Jerry’s awesome.

Steve Davis:                  Yeah, so it’s going to be a whole lot of fun. That’s August 25 to 29 at the Duke of Brunswick on Gilbert Street, so looking forward. It’s going to be a pleasure working with you. I hope lots of people come along.

Mickey D:                     Yeah, please.

Steve Davis:                  Thursday night’s your big night, but you’ll come and chat to the students on the Monday?

Mickey D:                     Totally.

Steve Davis:                  Final, where can people book you? If they really need some more Mick Dwyer in their life, where can they find you?

Mickey D:                     Yeah, just go to Mick and Boo present on Facebook. That’s where you can get me locally, or if you’ve got a big corporate inquiry, ring A-List Entertainment. That’s my big Sydney agents, ask for Karen.

Steve Davis:                  Okay, and just one disappointing thing, I hope you don’t mind me saying this.

Mickey D:                     Yeah.

Steve Davis:                  We’re sitting here, OTR Roadhouse, and we were hoping, because we haven’t asked permission, we were hoping to get tossed out, well you haven’t been.

Mickey D:                     I know, but I think … Oh, my car’s being towed. Does that count?

Steve Davis:                  Yeah, that counts, yeah. That’s beautiful. Okay, I’ll go out and get some video of that.

Mickey D:                     Oh, no.

Steve Davis:                  Thanks Mick.

Mickey D:                     Cheers.

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