Fest Spotlight On Rob Cantrell

Have you been too lazy to go see live stand-up comedy? Crave it, but not enough to enough to put on pants?

Well maybe, just maybe, you've been waiting for one of those guys you've seen on TV to come to a theater near you. Well we have the guy for you. And we're going to give you three chances to see him with some other pretty awesome comics! Who could this be? It's none other than Rob Cantrell (hope the title above and the picture didn't give the surprise away)! That's right, DC raised, comic Rob Cantrell (Yep! He's the guy you saw on the "Last Comic Standing!").

When Can you See him? Try:

• Thursday April 6th, at 9 PM at with T Rexx (a one-two punch of comedy)
• Friday April 7th, at 9 PM in the LETTERMAN AUDITIONS: The Pros. You get to see Rob plus Vince Averill, Andy Campbell, Kevin Downey Jr., Al Goodwin, Andy Hendrickson, David Landau, TJ Miller, Vijai Nathan, T Rexx, Tony Woods & Dwight York
• Friday April 7th, at 11 PM with Andy Campbell (another killer comic with DC roots)

Check out the dccomedyfest site for location and ticket info!

We took a few moments to get some answers from Rob about himself, his start, and what we can expect to see at the fest. If you already aren't sold on coming to check him out at the fest, you will be! You will be!

dccf: What made you decide to head out to San Francisco to pursue stand-up comedy?

Rob: In 1999, I was twenty five years old living in an apartment in Glover Park in DC with a couple friends, I was three years out of college with a job placing Computer geeks with temp work. It was a rock n roll day dream gone wild. The truth was I was really bored with what I was doing, but it afforded me the ability to move out of my Mom’s house, drink heavily and to wear lots of business casual clothes with hamburger stains. I was creative and funny but I never really put it together where to start with Stand Up comedy. I majored in English at Denison University and I took a couple acting classes but nothing serious. Three years of a two hour commute on 495 was enough motivation to rethink my future career. I put together a plan. The last year I worked a ‘real job’, I moved back home to my Mom’s house on Capital Hill where I was born. I saved up 6,000 dollars, then quit my job and traveled all around Asia for six months. I never had time away from the US. I went to Thailand, Bali, Hong Kong, Cambodia and the Philippines, after that I ended back in the states on a friends coach in LA. I had another friend from college in San Francisco who had room for 375 a month for a limited time, so I moved right up there and started working at a sporting goods store during the day. At night I discovered the desperate world of open mike comedy. It took me two years but I worked my way up to getting paid at the club level. I never lived or really been ‘Out West’ till then. San Francisco is a funky town with plenty of music, art, culture and comedy. It was a great place to learn how to write a joke and far enough away from people that I know to see me completely bomb with that joke. I lived in San Francisco off and on for three and a half years. I always wanted to be Stand Up comic, it took me moving to California to start doing it.

dccf: What was the most fun part of doing “The LastComic Standing”?

Rob: Getting paid to be yourself and do stand up on national television during prime time, plus all the free cake.

dccf: Do you ever get confused for any of the other comics from “The Last Comic Standing”? If so, are there any that you consider to be a compliment, when compared to wanting to be confused for yourself?

Rob: No, Yes, No, Yes, Right there, stop, wait, who ate all my cake?

dccf: You have appeared all over, and have had chances to be seen via many different types of media. Which appearance do you consider to have been the most fun?

Rob: The most FUN!, remove money, is performing Stand Up comedy live!, being that free to express yourself is a blessing, getting that instant reaction of laughter is hard core fun, I love it!!; TV is great for the ego and a mind blowing experience but it can be stressful. Radio is a trip but it can be tricky as well, but there is nothing like the feeling of doing a great live show where everybody is loving it. I did a night at The Great American Music Hall, a classic old rockclub in San Francisco right after I was on Last Comic. I put a bunch of friends/peers on the show and we sold it out. The crowd was great, everybody killed and I think we got some shakes and steak sandwiches after the show. That was one of the most fun times I have had on stage, it is on my DVD that I sell on my website robcantrell.com. I like it simple.

dccf: You are originally from the DC area, what’s it like when you come home to perform? Do DC audiences treat you differently than when you are performing in other towns?

Rob: I love DC, the Redskins, Go-Go Music, the Metro and shady Hill staffers, what more do you need. The last time I played here, I was at the State Theater in Falls Church and it was packed with smart, cool, down to earth people from the DC area. I have family and friends around here. It feels like I am recharging my batteries when I come back home, plus my Mom still doesn’t mind washing my underwear.

dccf: In the most recent “What’s Happening…” section onyour web site you talk about songs you downloaded from iTunes. What kind of feed back do you get from your fans about your taste in music? Any surprising reactions?

Rob: It’s been good. A chick on myspace told me it should be in Time or Oprah magazine.

dccf: How do your parents describe your act to their friends?

Rob: My Mom sends my DVD to my older relatives and tells them to turn the volume all the way down. I understand, I set up one joke with the line “Pitbull raped my Grandma!”- this is not a true story- the words sound funny, I love pitbulls and Grandmas.

dccf: What is the strangest, but still nice, review youhave received from audience member after a show?

Rob: You were great, can I get a ride home.

dccf: For dccomedyfest audience members who haven’t been lucky enough to see you perform yet, what can they expect to see?

Rob: You, Me, Them, big stacks of Pancakes, 50 Exotic BellyDancers with tiny little cymbals on their fingers, reunited Dread Zeppelin or maybe just a man having the time of his life telling goofy jokes and funny stories about life.

dccf: Any thing you want us to make sure dccomedyfest blog readers know about you?

Rob: I do love cheese but not cheesy people.

Our thanks to Rob for answering our questions. As you can see his shows will be a treat! And maybe if you ask nicely, he'll give you a ride home after the show. If not, we are metro accessible. Do remember to put on some pants!