Speaker 1: Comedy Saved Me.
Speaker 2: That's why I think I relate to my fans because
Speaker 2: I'm like them.
Speaker 3: I'm blue collar, working class.
Speaker 2: You know, you go in on my Facebook and you
Speaker 2: see I actually answer my fans, I read, I interact
Speaker 2: with my fans. It comes back to you when you
Speaker 2: look what out these people. I'm back on a school bus.
Speaker 1: I'm Lynn Hoffman, your host of the Comedy Saved Me podcast,
Speaker 1: the podcast where I get to talk to comedians and
Speaker 1: get the inside scoop on their inspiration, their creative process,
Speaker 1: and their view on why comedy saves us day in
Speaker 1: and day out. Comedy Saved Me takes you behind the
Speaker 1: scenes with the geniuses of laughter and helps us better
Speaker 1: understand just how powerful laughter is today. I am so
Speaker 1: lucky to have Vic Dibteto, the comedian known as the
Speaker 1: Donkey of comedy.
Speaker 3: Thank you.
Speaker 1: Vic is known for his great YouTube series And I
Speaker 1: know you've seen this Bread and Milk. And also I
Speaker 1: think everybody I know texted me the Bread and Milk
Speaker 1: YouTube from my entire life. My phone was completely blown up. Also,
Speaker 1: who wants coffee? And how long do I gotta wait? Vic?
Speaker 1: Welcome to Comedy Saved Me. I am so excited to
Speaker 1: have you.
Speaker 3: Oh, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2: I appreciate it, and I'm very excited to do this.
Speaker 3: Thank you.
Speaker 1: I'm so excited to have you here. How did comedy
Speaker 1: become your lifeline?
Speaker 2: Well, it started, you know, way back when I was
Speaker 2: a kid in school. I was the class clown. You know,
Speaker 2: I was quiet, funny. Remember the teacher turned to back.
Speaker 2: I would, you know, make animal noises? I imitate the teachers.
Speaker 2: Fast forward, there was a comedy club in Brooklyn called
Speaker 2: Pip's Comedy Club, and they had an amateur night there
Speaker 2: and my friend says, why didn't you give it a shot?
Speaker 3: And this is nineteen eighty nineteen eighty one.
Speaker 2: The first time I won on stage, Andrew Dice Clay
Speaker 2: was DMC that No, that's how long I'm doing this?
Speaker 1: Wow? So you that's amazing. So technically he open for
Speaker 1: you on your first night, say that.
Speaker 2: And just recently he contacted my management he requested to
Speaker 2: do a show with me, which I was here, this
Speaker 2: living legend wants to work with me. I mean we
Speaker 2: started together at Pips. We weren't buddies, but you know,
Speaker 2: we know of each other. And we took out two
Speaker 2: shows in Florida in like twenty four hours, and it
Speaker 2: was a great experience.
Speaker 1: I bet I would love to be in that audience
Speaker 1: and see you guys. Hopefully you come through here. Oh
Speaker 1: my god, wow?
Speaker 3: Where is here?
Speaker 1: Here is in the ass end of the Berkshire Mountains
Speaker 1: in Lichfield County, Okay.
Speaker 3: In Massachusetts.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, you come through.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I do the Chevalier Theater. Oh. I started many year.
Speaker 2: I did Nick's Comedy stop in Boston on Warrenton Street
Speaker 2: with Oh my god, Jay Moore and oh man.
Speaker 3: A lot of good memories in Boston. Yeah good.
Speaker 1: A lot of comedians came out of Boston. Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: Steve Sweeney and Stephen Right and Dennis Leary and I
Speaker 1: could continue.
Speaker 3: On Bill Burr and yeah, it goes on and on.
Speaker 1: Everybody. Where is the most unexpected place that you found comedy?
Speaker 3: Most unexpected? God?
Speaker 2: I would say, uh Man, Arizona. Why I didn't think
Speaker 2: I was a draw there?
Speaker 3: Yeah, so let's give it a shot. You know.
Speaker 2: I basically worked from New England to Florida and I'll
Speaker 2: shoot out to Chicago. And he said, We're going to
Speaker 2: put you in Arizona. I'm like, yeah, yeah, sure, sure enough.
Speaker 2: I did the Arizona improv and I sold it out
Speaker 2: and I couldn't believe it. That's the beauty of the
Speaker 2: social media. And you have fans all over the country.
Speaker 2: But I don't think you're in a Senian boise Idaho now.
Speaker 1: But if it plays in Arizona, I guess yeah, Well, rev.
Speaker 2: Right, go there's there's all northern transplants.
Speaker 3: I go to Florida. Everybody's from New York and New Jersey.
Speaker 3: Rev Right.
Speaker 2: It's never native people of the state that I perform in.
Speaker 2: So transplants.
Speaker 1: You've been well tested amongst all the audiences. Are there
Speaker 1: any personal stories that you can share with us on
Speaker 1: how comedy came maybe to your rescue during perhaps a
Speaker 1: difficult time, as we all humans experience in life.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, I drove a garbage truck before I did comedy.
Speaker 2: I drove a garbage truck, dumb truck, cement truck. And
Speaker 2: my last job was a school bus. I drove a
Speaker 2: school bus for thirteen years, and I'd always thought that
Speaker 2: I'd been driving a school bus the rest of my life,
Speaker 2: and twenty thirteen it was like the perfect storm. I
Speaker 2: bred a milk went viral. I signed with a great manager,
Speaker 2: and Kevin James called me out of nowhere to put
Speaker 2: me in Molcop two, which I that's another guy who
Speaker 2: started with in Long Island. But we weren't buddies, but
Speaker 2: we knew of each other from work in a circuit.
Speaker 2: I almost hung up on him. I'm like, who is this.
Speaker 2: It's Kevin jen I'm like, who the Kevin James. I've
Speaker 2: been watching your videos and I do a character called
Speaker 2: Tony Gaga. I do all kinds of characters. It's the
Speaker 2: over the top of time.
Speaker 3: You got a guy.
Speaker 2: And that gave an idea for a character in More
Speaker 2: Cop two. Now I'm putting to it. I'm oh my god,
Speaker 2: this is Kevin Jane. I couldn't believe it. Any six
Speaker 2: weeks I'm in Vegas. He put me up in an
Speaker 2: apartment and it was a great experience.
Speaker 1: Really was tell me a movie and.
Speaker 2: I'm like, wow, I guess I'm not driving a school
Speaker 2: bus anymore.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 1: Now, did you go back and apologize to the kids
Speaker 1: that you weren't going to be there anymore? I bet
Speaker 1: they loved you.
Speaker 3: No, no, no no.
Speaker 2: But the manager of the company, he says, just go
Speaker 2: out because I need to time out, to go to
Speaker 2: the movie.
Speaker 3: He says, do what you gotta do. What are you
Speaker 3: doing here? Oh? Cool?
Speaker 2: You know, like Chad's commentary said, the saddest thing in
Speaker 2: life is wasted talent.
Speaker 1: Wow, that's that's an incredible story.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean when I drew up the garbage truck. See,
Speaker 2: I always balanced. I didn't pick up and go to
Speaker 2: LA for the break like I started with Kevin, James Romano,
Speaker 2: Chris Rock these guys, I give him credit. They made
Speaker 2: the truck, but I put my family first. I always balanced.
Speaker 2: And I once drove my garbage truck to Danger Fields
Speaker 2: in New York City and to get stage time, I
Speaker 2: asked the manager, if I pick up your garbage, can
Speaker 2: you give me stage time?
Speaker 3: No? And that's how.
Speaker 2: I broke into I went on stage in my garbage uniform.
Speaker 2: I threw the garbage in the truck, did my set,
Speaker 2: and finished my route. That's how I broke into Danger Fields.
Speaker 1: Wow, what an incredible story.
Speaker 2: That's why I call myself the Donkey of comedy. I
Speaker 2: might not be the funniest or the most successful of
Speaker 2: the most wealthiest, but man, I'm sixty four and I'm
Speaker 2: still breaking my ass forty two years.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you do work. I say this almost every time
Speaker 1: I speak with a comedian. Is it is really true?
Speaker 1: And I don't think I've ever had one disagree with
Speaker 1: me that you really work the hardest in show business.
Speaker 1: I think outside of maybe like carnivals or a circus.
Speaker 1: Like you guys like you are? You do it all right?
Speaker 3: I'm sorry.
Speaker 2: When I drove the school bus, I was booked at
Speaker 2: the Borgata in Atlantic City. Now they booked you there.
Speaker 2: This is before I really hit. They booked you there
Speaker 2: five nights. So after the show, the other comics say,
Speaker 2: you want to go for a drink, let's hang out. No,
Speaker 2: I got to get in my car. Now, this is
Speaker 2: in Atlantic City. I lived in North Jersey. My route
Speaker 2: was in Staten Island. That I did that five nights
Speaker 2: in a row, going back, four hours sleep, going to
Speaker 2: Stanton Island doing my run, coming back back and forth
Speaker 2: and going on stage and doing a half hour on stage.
Speaker 3: And by Sunday I'm a zombie. And my wife's like,
Speaker 3: why are you so miserable? Right?
Speaker 1: What time do you get up in the morning for thirty? Yeah,
Speaker 1: oh that's early for a comedian.
Speaker 2: Well, I still get up for thirty because now I
Speaker 2: have a cat that sits on my b for thirty Yeah.
Speaker 1: Does he just sit on you waiting for you to
Speaker 1: get up and feed her?
Speaker 3: Yes? Or and if you twitch that's it.
Speaker 2: You can't tell. He thinks it's time to eat and
Speaker 2: you got to close your eyes. But sleep and cats.
Speaker 2: I love cats. They just mental patience.
Speaker 1: They certainly are. They do whatever they want and you're
Speaker 1: just there kind of at their pleasure.
Speaker 3: Yep.
Speaker 1: If you could have dinner with one of your comedy idols,
Speaker 1: well who would it be and where would it be?
Speaker 3: Gederal alive?
Speaker 1: Yeah, general alive yep.
Speaker 2: George Colin, hands down the king. He was my I
Speaker 2: had all his albums as a kid. I wish I
Speaker 2: never got the chance to meet him. I wish I
Speaker 2: could have met him. And it's funny. I got a
Speaker 2: text from his daughter about five years ago. He says,
Speaker 2: my father would have loved you. Oh wow, you remind
Speaker 2: me a lot of my father.
Speaker 3: I'm like, all right, stop stop it right dead. Ye oh,
Speaker 3: my your father's a legend.
Speaker 2: I mean because some of the the bits I do,
Speaker 2: and I do like a TikTok.
Speaker 3: Vic and I only do comedy I do. My videos
Speaker 3: are so diverse.
Speaker 2: I have characters, and you know, now, unfortunately the game
Speaker 2: has changed in comedy now. If you're an influencer and
Speaker 2: you have followers, they'll put you in a club. But
Speaker 2: then these guys go on stage and they got nothing.
Speaker 2: But it's all about filling up the seats. It's crazy,
Speaker 2: really comedy is you know, I grew up. I started
Speaker 2: in the eighties. You know, you had to work up.
Speaker 2: You had a MC, then you had to build up
Speaker 2: to be the opening.
Speaker 3: Then you had to.
Speaker 2: Finally beat the headliner. And the the eighties that was
Speaker 2: that was like the that was the great time to
Speaker 2: be a comic in the eighties. But you know, then
Speaker 2: the social media came along and I was lucky. Bread
Speaker 2: and Milk went viral. I saw I was getting fans,
Speaker 2: and I kept at it and I'm I've been posting
Speaker 2: videos every day since two thousand and nine.
Speaker 1: Wow, Well see that? I mean, would that be sort
Speaker 1: of your advice to give? I know we kind of
Speaker 1: got sidetracked on the dinner with George Carlin, but would
Speaker 1: that be our advice to give anyone who wanted to
Speaker 1: come up in comedy of how to sort of make it.
Speaker 2: Absolutely Cause the old days when you went on conson
Speaker 2: and he called you to the couch.
Speaker 3: That was it?
Speaker 2: Well like a made men. Now you could do Kimmel
Speaker 2: and fallon. It doesn't mean anything. It's all about, right,
Speaker 2: how many followers you have on the social media. So
Speaker 2: to my comics out there watching, you know, just start
Speaker 2: and just try to post every day at the same
Speaker 2: time and come up with original stuff.
Speaker 3: And unfortunately, I.
Speaker 2: Mean, now you just dance on TikTok and I'm old school.
Speaker 3: Don't don't get me started. I don't know what happened
Speaker 3: to originality.
Speaker 1: Man, it's oh, I want to get you started. Believe me,
Speaker 1: I want you, but I also want to get through
Speaker 1: this interview without completely melting down. I not grabbing my
Speaker 1: tissue or spitting out my coffee.
Speaker 2: Oh, he's asked my wife is he funny at home?
Speaker 2: She says no, He's a miserable bastard.
Speaker 1: Isn't that shape?
Speaker 3: I say it for the stage. That's that's the book payoff.
Speaker 1: What's the funniest thing that's happened to you recently?
Speaker 2: Recently? Well, I don't know if it's funny. Well, now
Speaker 2: it's funny. I did his show you hear Southside Johnny
Speaker 2: and the Asbury Jukes.
Speaker 1: New Jersey's on of course, yes.
Speaker 2: So his manager I forgot his I forgot his name.
Speaker 2: He's a big fan of mine, he calls my managers.
Speaker 2: Southside Johnny is performing outside at the Stone Pony in
Speaker 2: Asbury Park. It was this past summer. Four thousand people
Speaker 2: with Vic like to open for him. All he's got
Speaker 2: to do is ten minutes and bring him up like yeah, shit,
Speaker 2: yeah whoa. Because then I was at the hard Rock
Speaker 2: in Atlantic City.
Speaker 3: I figured let me I.
Speaker 2: Could plug that in front of four thousand people. I
Speaker 2: don't care.
Speaker 3: It was pro bono. I don't care. It's for the
Speaker 3: exposure and the experience.
Speaker 2: Outside Johnny and my kids are there, my wife is there,
Speaker 2: and I was all psyched. They go on stage, they
Speaker 2: introduced me. The guy messes up my name, of course,
Speaker 2: Vic the Benedetto. All right, whatever, I go on stage.
Speaker 2: I'm killing, crushing for ten minutes, and I was supposed
Speaker 2: to introduce outside Johnny and I see people the only
Speaker 2: thing behind me and clapping them.
Speaker 3: What's going on?
Speaker 2: I turn around and Southside Johnny's coming up to me
Speaker 2: and he whispers in my ear, get out of here,
Speaker 2: get out of here. What he grabs the mic and
Speaker 2: throws it behind the bend. I'm like, I walk off stage.
Speaker 2: I go to his manager. Is that part of his act?
Speaker 2: Was he serious?
Speaker 3: He says no, he doesn't like following comedians. So why
Speaker 3: the hell did you book me on this?
Speaker 2: You know, good thing? He whispered in my ear. I
Speaker 2: don't think the audience picked it up. What but if
Speaker 2: I ever bumped into that guy, if there's any Southside
Speaker 2: Johnny fans out there, look, I give the guy a credit.
Speaker 2: He's very talented, but that was very unprofessional what he did.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh. Yeah yeah, yeah, that's crazy. So what
Speaker 1: did you make of it comedically? Do you pull from
Speaker 1: that in your routines?
Speaker 3: Oh? Yeah, it just pissed me off even more.
Speaker 2: I had a good show and ticket sales for the
Speaker 2: hard rock and even and I meet people that were
Speaker 2: at that show, they said, what was up with Southside?
Speaker 2: You know, they were all on my side. They saw
Speaker 2: what an idiot he was. But that's it. A funny
Speaker 2: story was in Jersey years ago they got something called
Speaker 2: a Beefsteak. That's it's like a VFW or Elks club.
Speaker 2: It's mostly firemen and it's a beefsteak. Is they havocated
Speaker 2: and they served these little pieces of beef melted and
Speaker 2: butter on pieces of bread. Sounds good as they're eating.
Speaker 2: I'm on stage and these firemen it's like three. They're
Speaker 2: drunk out of their faces. They're throwing the meat and
Speaker 2: the bread at me. I'm doing my act totally oblivious.
Speaker 2: As I'm doing my act, I caught up two pieces
Speaker 2: of bread and steak and I made it. It's like
Speaker 2: the cottoon, remember the cartoons. What the ketchup is fine?
Speaker 2: I granted the two pieces of bread and I ate
Speaker 2: a sandwich as I'm doing my act. They gave me
Speaker 2: a standing ovation they did.
Speaker 1: That's pretty coordinated, considering you're also remembering your act in
Speaker 1: the head.
Speaker 2: So like the other time, Oh, another time I went
Speaker 2: on stage. I was late to a show. I was
Speaker 2: coming from the school bus company and I just it's
Speaker 2: on YouTube. I went on stage in my school bus
Speaker 2: company uniform with a change of clothes. I changed my
Speaker 2: clothes on stage as I was doing my act, not
Speaker 2: totally not even mentioning that I'm changing my I went
Speaker 2: down to my I'm shaving with the electric shave, putting.
Speaker 2: The leader went on and the crowd is it's one
Speaker 2: of the funniest. That would have to be the funniest
Speaker 2: set I ever had, and it killed standing ovation.
Speaker 1: Where can people find that on YouTube?
Speaker 2: Because on YouTube Calledto's Greatest set something like that.
Speaker 1: I will say, uh, and I would save this to
Speaker 1: the end of the podcast, but we're not quite there yet. However,
Speaker 1: if you're having a bad day or even a bad moment,
Speaker 1: and you go online and you type in vic dibiteto
Speaker 1: d I b I t E tt o, whooh, I
Speaker 1: did that right from my head. Uh. You just pick
Speaker 1: any clip, it doesn't matter if it's from today or
Speaker 1: thirteen years ago, and you will be feeling so much better.
Speaker 3: You know what.
Speaker 2: We need to laugh now more than ever, the way
Speaker 2: this world is going. I don't do politics. I just
Speaker 2: want to make people laugh or smile, just like Billy
Speaker 2: Joel said, to forget about life for a while.
Speaker 3: That's all.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Well, you got to do is type in vic D.
Speaker 2: You don't have to put the and everything fills in
Speaker 2: once you hit vic D, I'm like the first on
Speaker 2: the top. It's vict debatat than vic damone and.
Speaker 1: Oh you've got pulled with Google then or something because
Speaker 1: so now no one even has to spell your name.
Speaker 1: They just need to know it's vic D.
Speaker 2: But that's just that's well, my name is uh. You know,
Speaker 2: I'm not going to change my name. It's my name.
Speaker 2: I'm proud, it's my father. You know, it means something.
Speaker 2: Beteto is a town in Italy. D means from the
Speaker 2: providence of So I've been called the benedetto diabetes, geppetto
Speaker 2: the potato.
Speaker 1: Well, if you can't laugh at yourself, then who can
Speaker 1: you laugh at?
Speaker 3: Right?
Speaker 1: Exactly exactly, Well, speaking of that, how do you think
Speaker 1: humor helps people cope with difficult situations? What is it
Speaker 1: about humor and laughing?
Speaker 2: You know what the old saying is laugh that truly
Speaker 2: is the best medicine. It really is true. I got
Speaker 2: a private message from a soldier in Afghanistan. He says, Dude,
Speaker 2: I was about to put a gun in my mouth
Speaker 2: and I heard my guys next to me in the
Speaker 2: next barico. But listening to your videos, I just want
Speaker 2: to thank you for saving my life.
Speaker 3: I mean, come on, I get it all the time.
Speaker 2: When I go to I do meet and greets after
Speaker 2: my shows, I get people come up to me. You
Speaker 2: got me through COVID. You got me through my chemo sessions.
Speaker 2: You you know. And then people go to me, how
Speaker 2: come you don't have a Netflix special? How come you're
Speaker 2: not in the movies? And this is bad?
Speaker 3: What I do now?
Speaker 1: Well, people like to tell they get excited for you
Speaker 1: and they see you in bigger things, so they want
Speaker 1: to put you on that pedestal. I get that.
Speaker 3: I know what I mean. Well, but you're not like Sebastian.
Speaker 3: Look Sebastian, God bless them. You know. I'm happy for him.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I like to see good guys make it. There's different
Speaker 2: levels of success. I got a beautiful house, I got
Speaker 2: I got a nice call, wonderful family. I'm selling out
Speaker 2: theaters and comedy clubs.
Speaker 1: You're a handsome guy.
Speaker 3: Oh thank you.
Speaker 1: Come on, you got it all. You have it all.
Speaker 3: I appreciate.
Speaker 1: So it's a very special thing. While you're talking about that,
Speaker 1: how does what goes through your mind when you really
Speaker 1: connected with your audience like that and you realize that
Speaker 1: or they come up to you and tell you those things.
Speaker 1: How do you feel when that happens?
Speaker 2: It's you can't compare that to any standing ovation or
Speaker 2: sold out show.
Speaker 3: You can see it in their eyes.
Speaker 2: And when they when they come against you, when you
Speaker 2: you know, when they got there, you feel them. They're shaking,
Speaker 2: they're trembling. It's like and I almost feel like I'm
Speaker 2: just a regular guy. I don't think I'm a celebrity.
Speaker 2: And that's why I think I relate to my fans
Speaker 2: because I'm like them. I'm blue collar, working class.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: You go in on my Facebook and you see I
Speaker 2: actually answer my fans, I read, I interact with my fans.
Speaker 2: It comes back to you when you look without these people,
Speaker 2: I'm back on a school bus.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: I never take a day for granted. Seriously, I'm doing.
Speaker 2: It's forty two years. It still hasn't gotten old. I
Speaker 2: still get the butterflies before I go on stage.
Speaker 1: I love that. Vic di Bateto, you are an amazing person.
Speaker 1: Keep doing what you're doing. You're authentic as it comes,
Speaker 1: and that is truly what people want today is authenticity,
Speaker 1: and you are that with like an exclamation point or
Speaker 1: a few hundred exclamation points.
Speaker 3: Well, don't kid yourself. I got my haters too.
Speaker 1: Oh well, you know, but that's okay. Yeah, when you
Speaker 1: learn early on that there's always going to be people
Speaker 1: that don't like you. You know, it becomes a challenge
Speaker 1: to win them over, right, don't you just want to
Speaker 1: make those people laugh too?
Speaker 2: Well, it's the old it's the old how it's start thing.
Speaker 2: Remember that they said a lot of people are listening,
Speaker 2: but the haters are listening more than your regular fans
Speaker 2: because they want to see what you're going to say next.
Speaker 1: You're doing something right, Vic vict Boteto, thank you for
Speaker 1: being on comedy save me. This was like such a
Speaker 1: special occasion. And I'm not lying to you. I everyone
Speaker 1: I know sent me. Whenever there's a storm, my friends
Speaker 1: and I all tell each other, like quick, get the milk,
Speaker 1: get them. You know, we're doing one of your rants.
Speaker 1: It's so funny.
Speaker 3: Hopefully we don't know more storms.
Speaker 2: It's it's March too, and I don't I'd rather not
Speaker 2: have those views go up and have a nice winter.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's true, that's true.
Speaker 3: Thank you guys,