Comedian Dave Attell is living the American Dream. The comedian and "Insomniac" host earns much of his income by way of carousing about various cities into the wee hours of the morning. "Insomniac," the Comedy Central show in which Attell's drunken hijinks add up to hilarity, has made him a household name. Now after partying his way across the country, Attell will grace Bloomington with his presence at 7:30 p.m. Sunday in an IU Auditorium performance. Recently, I had the opportunity to do a one-on-one phone interview with the man. Here's what resulted.
Alec Toombs: How drunk do you usually get on the show?\nDave Attell: I have a couple shots. I'm always able to finish the show ... that's the professional drunk in me. I can't call a timeout.\nAT: You released your debut comedy record, "Skanks for the Memories," about a year and a half ago. Any plans for a follow-up?\nDA: The only thing that's holding me back is the deal I made to do those. I'd probably put out a DVD before I put out another CD. People have been asking me, "Why don't you release a DVD with actual stand-up?"\nAT: So far as I understand it, "Insomniac" is a weekly series. Though, you're still releasing episodes periodically as hour-long specials. What cities are you planning on covering? Is there any chance you'd feature Bloomington?\nDA: I'd love to do some local ones, especially with cool events like the Indy 500. But we decided to go overseas for a bit. So, we went to Brazil, Tokyo and the next one that's coming out is from Germany, where we hung out with the troops.\nAT: What was that like?\nDA: Oh, it was great. We've been trying to work with the army or some military stuff for a long, long time, but they've been on the move with the war and everything. They really wouldn't let us in because they had so much stuff going on. Also, we're kind of a down and dirty show. Sometimes they don't want to be associated with my stuff. They were really cool to us. They let us do whatever was going on at the base. It's a 24-hour thing in the Army. They're out doing maneuvers and driving around in tanks. That was cool to see. It was something really different for us, and we really appreciated it.\nAT: What are the favorite and least favorite cities you've been to on the show?\nDA: I don't really have a least favorite because most of the cities I hit I'd already done doing stand-up. It's not like they're good or bad. For the show, it was easier if the city stayed open late, like Vegas or New Orleans -- where the drinking didn't cut off. The cities where the drinking stops at 1 o'clock or quarter to 1 were really difficult because we still had another five hours of night to do stuff. It's really hard without the boozing to jump around.\nAT: Tell me about your voice work in "Outlaw Golf 2" (out this week).\nDA: That was fun. It was a long thing, too. It took two days of saying, "Good shot," over and over and over. I didn't know these games were so intricate and involved. It's better than regular golf because you can do it nude and drunk and you don't get arrested or anything.\nAT: Are you into videogames or was this strictly about the paycheck?\nDA: I'm kind of in between apartments right now. Once I get my place settled down, I'm going to go get the Xbox and get on "Halo" and all the cool army games they have.\nAT: Do you have any advice for aspiring comedians?\nDA: Just start doing open mic, and you'll see. It'll all come to you. There's really no advice, and if anybody gives you advice they really don't know what they're talking about. Comedy's different for every person. \nAT: What should someone expect from your Bloomington show this weekend?\nDA: It will be a raw show -- edgy. I won't be shooting the "Insomniac" thing, but I'll probably be hanging out. If people see me at a bar or something like that and want a picture that's cool. I won't be doing that show, so I don't want to build up any false expectations. It will be dirty. It will be filthy. \n--Contact staff writer Alec Toombs at atoombs@indiana.edu.
