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Comic Vecchione is still standing
By JOHN BENSON
Even though Youngstown native Mike Vecchione was cut earlier this month from the current season of “Last Comic Standing,” which airs at 9 p.m. Mondays on WFMJ Channel 21, the New York City comedian remains optimistic about his future.
“It was a great experience to go through to be under that pressure and be in an actual spotlight, but I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing,” said Vecchione, 37, calling from the Montreal Comedy Festival. “I work in all of the New York City clubs, and I’m just going to keep writing and getting better. At the end of the day, it’s a competition, and they’re casting a show. I’m not saying it’s totally invalid, but you have to realize they’re casting the show.
“So you can’t give it the full weight of your career, you can’t give it the full weight of your comedy. Even if I didn’t advance past round one, it would be a bummer, but I wouldn’t have quit comedy. Maybe next year if I do it I’ll advance farther. It’s all about getting exposure and getting your name out there more, so when you go out on the road, you can draw more people.”
Though Vecchione, who in the past appeared locally at the now-defunct Funny Farm Comedy Clubs, unsuccessfully auditioned a few years ago for “Last Comic Standing,” he believes there’s a reason why he made it to the semifinals this time out.
“I think they were looking for different things,” said Vecchione, a Penn State University graduate who worked as a special-education teacher in Philadelphia for years before moving to the Big Apple. “This year, it seems a lot more about the jokes and the comedy versus are you a character or are you wacky type thing. For me, it’s better how good the jokes are and not if you’re a wacky character-y type or do you have a certain look. So at the end of the day, I only made it this far because the judges are listening to the jokes.”
As far as the comics still alive on “Last Comic Standing,” Vecchione is pulling for his New York City friends Rachel Feinstein and Mike DeStefano. Looking ahead in his own career, the funnyman hopes to build on a recent appearance on Comedy Central’s “Russell Simmons Presents: Stand-Up at the El Rey” by eventually getting his own half-hour comedy special on the comedy network.
It’s been a long journey for Vecchione, who was born in Canfield with his family moving between Northeast Ohio and Florida a few times while growing up. Comedy was never in the cards until he found himself attending open-mic nights in Philadelphia. Eventually, people started laughing, and in 2003 he packed his things up and moved to New York City, where his comedy style fit in perfectly.
“I’m a joke writer,” Vecchione said. “I try to make my material as autobiographical as possible, but at the end of the day, it’s jokes. It’s not stories, just set up-punch with some personality. I’m not dry. Some guys just stand up and tell joke after joke in a monotone deadpan way. I tell the jokes with my personality behind them, but they’re still jokes. And my personality is sarcastic. Like quiet, sarcastic.”
Hmmm, you grew up in Northeast Ohio and you’re sarcastic?
“Yeah, Youngstown, baby,” Vecchione said, laughing. “It’s just my family. I came from a large Italian family in Youngstown, basically being the underdog. And now let’s face it, with LeBron being gone, I might be that city’s only hope.”
He added, “And that’s not saying very much.”
To keep up with Vecchione, visit www.mikevecchione.com.