Dean Poling
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA —
For years, people told Mike Albanese he was a funny guy. Laughs that often accompanied his comments confirmed this observation.
So, the 2006 Valdosta State University marketing graduate moved to Orlando, joined a band, left a band, set his sights on stand-up comedy, moved to Atlanta for its comedy scene, and now makes a living touring as a comedian.
On Thursday evening, Sept. 2, Albanese returns to his old stomping grounds of Valdosta for two shows. He’s joined by headliner Bob Place and a handful of other comedians for a show at VSU followed by a second gig at the Bleu Pub.
Yet making the leap to stand-up did not come easily.
“I always wanted to do it,” Albanese says in a phone interview with The Times. “I’ve always heard I’m funny, but I didn’t want to be that guy who gets up on stage and ruins everything funny he’s ever done.”
During his early attempts at stand-up, he didn’t tell anyone. “I was embarrassed by it,” he says. “I didn’t want anyone to know.”
As a comedian, he’s also endured some tough audiences. He recalls shows when he bombed. On the phone, he turns some of these experiences into funny stories.
“There were times on stage when I thought I should just give this up and get a sales job.”
There was the time a band dropped out of a music festival. The promoter asked Albanese and another comedian to fill the time.
“We jump on stage. Hey, we’re comedians,” Albanese says. “Everyone starts leaving. Five-hundred people. Everyone but about 10 went outside for a smoke break. So, it wasn’t just that 500 people didn’t laugh. We emptied the room. It was brutal.”
Things have gotten better, he says, immediately adding, “Now, I’ll probably come back to town and suck ...”
Self-deprecation is a big part of Albanese’s act partly because he’s a big guy. Imagine a linebacker taking the stage to tell jokes. At 6-foot-6, 290 pounds that’s the immediate impression Albanese makes on stage.
He doesn’t think his appearance intimidates anyone. The man some call Big Mike often hears he’s more like a teddy bear than a grizzly bear. Still, some of his humor revolves around living large in a shrinking world.
Intimidation was supposed to be part of his job working as a bouncer several years ago at Charley O’Corley’s in Remerton. Even dealing with trouble makers, he often applied humor to situations first rather than employing physical force.
“I tried staying as hands off as I could,” Albanese says. “I was a college student first. The last thing I wanted was trouble.”
Now, Albanese spends his time touring college campuses and college towns, bringing stand-up comedy to students. He is part of a Spike TV pilot set in various college towns. He asks college students questions as part of the program.
Even with a potential TV deal and making comedy his career, Albanese won’t go as far as saying his stand-up dreams have come true.
“I’d say I’m living the dream,” he says. “The dream will have come true when I can pay more bills.”
SHOWTIME
Mike Albanese, headline Bob Plate, and other comedians perform two Sept. 2 Valdosta shows.
— 7 p.m. Thursday, VSU University Center, off North Patterson Street.
— 10 p.m. Thursday, Bleu Pub, 116 W. Hill Ave. Cover charge at the door.
