‘SNL’ stumble motivates Brooks Wheelan
By John Benson
AUSTINTOWN
After one season on what is the dream job for most comedians, last summer Brooks Wheelan tweeted “FIRED FROM NEW YORK, IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT!” to announce his departure from the iconic show.
“I don’t know, I still have a good relationship with that show; it’s just a weird place,” said Wheelan, calling from Los Angeles. “A lot of people get fired off it. I don’t really know how to comment on it super well.”
Similar to the recurring sketch involving celebrities who have hosted the Lorne Michael show numerous times (Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, Paul Simon and Alec Baldwin), there should be a bit involving former fired “Saturday Night Live” alumni (Chris Rock, Jay Mohr, et. al.) who went on to have comedy success.
Wheelan, who recently released his debut comedy album, “This is Cool, Right?,” is hoping he’ll qualify for the latter. In the meantime, he harbors no bitterness toward the show.
“Dude, it was like the most inspiring thing,” Wheelan said. “Nothing motivates you more than failure. And getting fired made me really want to take stand-up comedy to the next level, to really prove to myself that I was funny. At no point was I like, ‘Well it’s over.’ So I went on the road and made ‘This is Cool, Right?’”
Inspired by the likes of Mitch Hedberg, Wheelan said his new album is tantamount to a musical act’s first effort. Basically, the project is filled with material about growing up, with stories ranging from being a 5-year-old kid watching his dad kill a possum to moving to California to pursue comedy. The funnyman also talks about landing and losing the “Saturday Night Live” gig.
Now Wheelan, who makes his Youngstown area debut this weekend at The Comedy Cellar At Mojo’s in Austintown, said he’s already looking ahead to his sophomore comedy effort.
“The next album, what I’m talking about right now is being kind of an idiot who doesn’t know how to deal with this tiny amount of success I’m having,” Wheelan said. “Like, I don’t understand how you’re supposed to drink wine.
“Have you ever ordered a bottle of wine? It’s insane. It’s such a weird world that I didn’t come from, and so now every once in a while when I’m around it, it’s like, ‘This is so weird.’ It’s like being from Iowa and not knowing how to live in the real world.”
Speaking of being from Iowa, there’s an inherent connection between growing up in the Hawkeye State and the Buckeye State. Invariably, if you’ve ever lived on a coast, people often confuse the two four-lettered states.
Still, Wheelan feels Ohio is higher on the podunk, cow-tipping, all farmland perception totem pole.
“When I say I’m from Iowa, people say, ‘Ohio?’” Wheelan said. “And I’m like, ‘Sure.’ But I doubt it goes the other way. It’s like if someone says they’re from Ohio and then people say, ‘Iowa?’ You’re like, ‘No, there are a lot more electoral votes from where I come from.’”