Mike Merryfield

Comedian Mike Merryfield at home on the road
By Eric Klister
Post-Crescent staff writer December 15, 2005
Mike Merryfield has gone from being the doorman at the Skyline Comedy Cafe to performing in clubs across the country and entertaining military troops in Asia.
Good thing he enjoys being on the road. Aside from taking a week off in June to get married and an upcoming ski trip and honeymoon, Merryfield is pretty much always performing somewhere. He figures he was on the road for 49 weeks last year.
That has its ups and downs, but Merryfield takes it in stride. And besides, he loves his craft, to the point where he feels compelled to do it.
Merryfield will be back home in Appleton next week for a four-day run at the Skyline. He spoke to The Post-Crescent in advance of the shows.
Q: The last time I saw you was on the Hellgig America tour (back in May). I can really tell how your act has grown now compared to when I first saw you a few years ago. You were good back then but it seems like you're hitting your stride now. Do you feel that way with your comedy?
A: Yeah, I really feel like every comic looks for their voice and they try to figure out what they're trying to do on stage and who they're trying to be and I really feel like in the last year and half, two years, I've kind of found that. I've kind of found myself on stage and I'm at the point where I'm just about 100 percent confident on stage. And I think that's what you saw. In the last two years I've just been becoming a lot more confident. I've done it long enough to know that I know what I'm doing.
I guess I'm trying to be more conversational, to be more like I would be just standing in front of a group of friends, talking to them, and just trying to come off more real on stage.
Q: Was there a specific point where you realized, "OK, I've found myself," or has it just been a thing that's gradually developed?
A: To be honest with you, there was a changing point. I was lucky enough to work the Jokers Wild comedy club in the Bahamas. The crowds there are a little different because they're from all over the country, and they're from all over the world. So you have this incredibly diverse crowd in front of you. And I went at it the way I always go at it. I'd go up and just start throwing jokes at them and hope I would get them, and it didn't work the first couple of shows. I realized that I had to go up there and just be myself and kind of relate to everybody on a human level, and then they would completely be with me. So the first two minutes I would go up and I wouldn't even try to push jokes on them. I would just talk to them and ask where everyone's from, be more conversational and kind of get to know them before I try to shove my comedy down their throat, you know? And it seems to work, and I've been using that ever since.
I think people in a crowd … can tell that the comedian's doing jokes that he's done a million times. They can tell that the comedian's running a game on them. The comedian's doing an act. And I watch guys like Doug Stanhope, and I finally listened to Bill Hicks … and one of the things those two guys do, and they do really well, is when you watch them, you can't tell that they're telling a joke. It feels and sounds like the first time they've ever said that on stage. And that's what makes them likeable. People don't feel like they're having any kind of a scam run on them. They feel like, "This guy's really up here talking about stuff he cares about." So I've watched guys like that and I've kind of learned that, yeah, that's where I want to go. I want to be more myself on stage.
Q: How has marriage been for the comedy act? You getting material out of it?
A: Not really. I have a couple of little jokes about it but I don't really want to be that guy. Marriage has been talked about enough on stage. That's the other thing with comedy, is trying to find stuff that people haven't talked about already. There's only so many things in this world you can talk about and there's 2,000 comedians out there talking about them, so it's hard to stick out in the crowd.
The marriage part has been fine. She's always been my biggest supporter. We've been together for seven years, and I just finally married her. But when I'm on the road, people ask, "What does your wife think about you being on the road all the time?" I guess I've just been really blessed that she's my No. 1 fan, and she understands that this is what I do, it's my passion and I can't stop doing it. I turn into a grumpy person if I don't do this.
Plus, I think being away from each other really works better for us. I only see her three times a month, so I'm certainly not gonna be a jerk and get myself in trouble, because I only have three days in a month to hang out with her.
She's fine with it. She's got her own life so she doesn't mind that I'm on the road all the time. Either that or she's got a boyfriend and she's glad she gets to spend more time with hi - By Eric Klister Post-Crescent staff writer

Comedian Mike Merryfield at home on the road
By Eric Klister
Post-Crescent staff writer December 15, 2005
Mike Merryfield has gone from being the doorman at the Skyline Comedy Cafe to performing in clubs across the country and entertaining military troops in Asia.
Good thing he enjoys being on the road. Aside from taking a week off in June to get married and an upcoming ski trip and honeymoon, Merryfield is pretty much always performing somewhere. He figures he was on the road for 49 weeks last year.
That has its ups and downs, but Merryfield takes it in stride. And besides, he loves his craft, to the point where he feels compelled to do it.
Merryfield will be back home in Appleton next week for a four-day run at the Skyline. He spoke to The Post-Crescent in advance of the shows.
Q: The last time I saw you was on the Hellgig America tour (back in May). I can really tell how your act has grown now compared to when I first saw you a few years ago. You were good back then but it seems like you're hitting your stride now. Do you feel that way with your comedy?
A: Yeah, I really feel like every comic looks for their voice and they try to figure out what they're trying to do on stage and who they're trying to be and I really feel like in the last year and half, two years, I've kind of found that. I've kind of found myself on stage and I'm at the point where I'm just about 100 percent confident on stage. And I think that's what you saw. In the last two years I've just been becoming a lot more confident. I've done it long enough to know that I know what I'm doing.
I guess I'm trying to be more conversational, to be more like I would be just standing in front of a group of friends, talking to them, and just trying to come off more real on stage.
Q: Was there a specific point where you realized, "OK, I've found myself," or has it just been a thing that's gradually developed?
A: To be honest with you, there was a changing point. I was lucky enough to work the Jokers Wild comedy club in the Bahamas. The crowds there are a little different because they're from all over the country, and they're from all over the world. So you have this incredibly diverse crowd in front of you. And I went at it the way I always go at it. I'd go up and just start throwing jokes at them and hope I would get them, and it didn't work the first couple of shows. I realized that I had to go up there and just be myself and kind of relate to everybody on a human level, and then they would completely be with me. So the first two minutes I would go up and I wouldn't even try to push jokes on them. I would just talk to them and ask where everyone's from, be more conversational and kind of get to know them before I try to shove my comedy down their throat, you know? And it seems to work, and I've been using that ever since.
I think people in a crowd … can tell that the comedian's doing jokes that he's done a million times. They can tell that the comedian's running a game on them. The comedian's doing an act. And I watch guys like Doug Stanhope, and I finally listened to Bill Hicks … and one of the things those two guys do, and they do really well, is when you watch them, you can't tell that they're telling a joke. It feels and sounds like the first time they've ever said that on stage. And that's what makes them likeable. People don't feel like they're having any kind of a scam run on them. They feel like, "This guy's really up here talking about stuff he cares about." So I've watched guys like that and I've kind of learned that, yeah, that's where I want to go. I want to be more myself on stage.
Q: How has marriage been for the comedy act? You getting material out of it?
A: Not really. I have a couple of little jokes about it but I don't really want to be that guy. Marriage has been talked about enough on stage. That's the other thing with comedy, is trying to find stuff that people haven't talked about already. There's only so many things in this world you can talk about and there's 2,000 comedians out there talking about them, so it's hard to stick out in the crowd.
The marriage part has been fine. She's always been my biggest supporter. We've been together for seven years, and I just finally married her. But when I'm on the road, people ask, "What does your wife think about you being on the road all the time?" I guess I've just been really blessed that she's my No. 1 fan, and she understands that this is what I do, it's my passion and I can't stop doing it. I turn into a grumpy person if I don't do this.
Plus, I think being away from each other really works better for us. I only see her three times a month, so I'm certainly not gonna be a jerk and get myself in trouble, because I only have three days in a month to hang out with her.
She's fine with it. She's got her own life so she doesn't mind that I'm on the road all the time. Either that or she's got a boyfriend and she's glad she gets to spend more time with hi - By Eric Klister Post-Crescent staff writer