And Featuring ... Roger Mursick
Roger Mursick has been entertaining people for decades. His act has taken him all across the country, in a number of different roles -- he's been an opener for many high-profile musical and comedy acts, and he's also been a regular headliner in many rooms. The DC native was a part of the first ever shows at the DC Improv in the mid-'90s, and July 7-10 he returns to the Improv once again as a feature act. He took some time out to answer a few questions via e-mail from Dcstandup's Chris White.
You're from DC. Where exactly did you grow up?
I grew up in a myriad of foster homes around the Beltway. Seat Pleasant, Silver Spring, southern Maryland, DC, Takoma Park. It's amusing, sometimes a friend will say to me, "have you been to the new so and so over by the duh, duh, duh. ... I know, I know don't tell me, you used to live over there when you were a kid.” Maybe it's only funny to me and my friend.
A lot of people don't know you were on the bill for the first ever show at the DC Improv. Who was on the show and what was it like?
Yesss, I was on that bill wasn't I? Comedian Jimmy Tingle, a Boston act, was the headliner. The best thing about being on the bill at the "new" DC Improv was that finally there was a 'real' comedy club in DC to work. There hadn't been a genuine comedy venue in DC since the original Garvin's comedy club on upper Connecticut Ave. closed back in '82 (were you even walking yet?). It was nice to have a club with proper sound and lighting. If you go to the Kennedy Center they don't have speakers in the restrooms. They do at the Improv. You can do your business and not miss a punchline. And great audience sight lines -- every seat in the house at the Improv is a good seat. It all makes a difference.
OK, compare and contrast time – if the DC Improv is a great venue, what’s one of the worst you’ve seen?
I don't mean to be curt but (and as a stand-up yourself I'm sure you'll agree) any time you’re not getting a laugh becomes the worst place to be for a comic. I guess if I have to name a specific place it would be the Bayou in Georgetown (remember that place?). I spent a week there one evening. I was opening for Warren Zevon and he was over two hours late. I had maybe 35 minutes of material which I completed in six minutes (rough crowd, I wanna tell ya) and the management is telling me to stretch. I saw things take flight that night that had no aeronautical properties whatsoever. Ashtrays, bottles, Bic lighters, etc. Incidentally, that was the first time that I witnessed the singing act get heckled. Revenge is sweet.
I’ve seen your perform a number of times, and some of your best stuff (in my opinion, at least) is about married life. Why is that such a rich source of material for you?
Well, I guess for the obvious reason. I'm married. I really think the reason for that is that my wife and I are so different. I'm anal and uptight and always agitated and she is so not that way. I don't sit down and try to write married jokes. In fact, I don't really like hearing married jokes. I find them to be boring for the most part. But, and I hope you will agree, the married material that I use is clever and original and I think funnier than most that I've heard. I used to intentionally sit down and write that kind of material when I first started comedy; now I only use something if it makes me laugh. I don't bash my wife (maybe bash isn't the best adjective to use when speaking of relationships?) or make myself out to be above her in my attempt to get a joke out of a situation. I write about marriage because I've been married a long time. It's a big part of who I am.
Help out our young, starry-eyed readers: You mentioned how you and your wife are so different. Do you think it's important to have those differences to keep a relationship going over the years?
You know, I've only been married once so I can't really say. I do think that it would be very boring to have someone that mirrored oneself in too many areas. However, I find that just being married to someone of the opposite sex was a good jumping off point for myself.
In your career, you've toured as an opening act for some big-name musical acts -- Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Chicago. Ever get to party with the bands?
Partied? Short answer. No. However, I did get down with the Late, Great, Ray Charles one night. It was after the show and we were back at our hotel. Our rooms were next door to each other and I could here Ray talking but only Ray, there were no other voices so I assumed that he was on a phone call. I was curious to know if blind people used the lights at all, so I opened my door and went over to his door and got down on my hands and knees to have a peek under his door to see if the lights were on. His door was in direct line with the elevator and his business manager and the Rayettes stepped off of the elevator while I was having a peek. His manager barks out "Hey! What the hell are you doing?" I told him, he laughed and asked me "well, are they on?" Ray mentioned it the next night after the show. It was very embarrassing but funny as hell.
I don't call having a few alcoholic beverages after a show partying. It's not like I toured with (to quote Larry King) "The Motley Crue," and the time that I worked with the Mommas and the Poppas they happened to be on the wagon ... again. I have partied with the lesser name acts though. South Side Johnny, Edgar Winter and White Trash, etc. For the most part these groups have their families with them or they’re on some kind of 12 step program. The 'parties' that I have gone to after the gigs are back in a hotel suite, but the real party is taking place behind a third set of doors and I haven't been invited. But the big-name acts are business people and their party is about giving face time to the promoter, sponsors and radio personalities after the show. And then to bed.
But still, you partied with Edgar Winter! Is his hair as great in person as it seems on TV? Please tell me you had the same style when you were on the bill with him.
I opened for Edgar Winter and the White Trash at the Sylvan Theater in the ‘80s and I was a huge fan of his and his brother Johnny. They were very cool and I tried not to stare. I have to remind you, at the time I was but a dumb young comic on the scene and ill at ease everywhere and unschooled in manners and all of that. I did ask if he saw the world differently because of his eyes. I don't remember his reply. Yeah, his hair was pretty cool. The Winters and the whole band were really musicians and a cool bunch of dudes.
You were USMC, and I read in your bio that you know some karate as well. Is it a good feeling to have the combat training to kill a heckler in the parking lot when necessary?
I was a Marine, and yes, I have taken Karate. And unless I was attacked exactly like I was in Karate class I would be a dead man outside in the parking lot. I find the ole 'indian wrist burn' move to be the only defensive weapon in my arsenal that I could execute successfully.
You were also Merchant Marine. Uh, what IS that exactly?
A Merchant Marine is someone that sells fabric and other goods from his yacht. That’s what it sounds like, doesn't it? I dropped out of school (high) and that is where I headed off to. I was a US Merchant Seaman. I attended the merchant marine academy before enlisting in the USMC.
You mentioned you dropped out of high school -- or as I call it, living the dream. Was that a tough decision to make?
No. As I told you before, I was bounced around from one foster home to another and lived with different aunts and uncles at various times. I was waiting for the opportunity to get away and make my own decisions. So it wasn't difficult -- all of the shit afterwards was difficult.
Where did you end up as a marine?
I of course started out at Parris Island Marine Corps recruit depot, S.C. and then Camp Lejuene, Henderson Hall, Camp Geiger, etc. You probably don't know this if you haven't served in the service but the Marine Corp has "camps" and the Army has "bases" Just a bit of FYI. Army personnel are referred to as soldiers and Marines are call "marines" I don't know why I even brought that up. Any way...
Last question: With all these twists and turns, how did you eventually get into stand-up?
I hate telling this to another comic. I was invited to be in the audience by a friend who was going to play guitar at a Garvin’s Comedy Club. On open mic nights you could sing, tell jokes, do magic, etc. I went down to support my friend and watched the comics that were down from N.Y. for the weekend. I had never seen people do stand-up. I was totally blown away by it and came back a couple of weeks later and tried it myself. I was very bad for several years. The other would-be comics hated me because they interpreted my shyness as being aloof and arrogant, and the whole experience was horrible for several years, but I fucking loved trying to express myself in a funny way. And I still love trying and I'm on the verge of figuring it out. All I need is a few more weeks.
Roger Mursick is at the DC Improv July 7-10 (www.dcimprov.com). His personal Web site is rogermursick.com.