Interview with Steve Rimmer

Steve Rimmer Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?

Steve Rimmer: Just a little over a year, I did my first gig January 2011.

Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?

Steve Rimmer: True tales from my own life with a few silly jokes thrown in to keep people interested.

Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?

Steve Rimmer: If Peter Kay and Lee Mack ran into each other at high speed that would make my ideal comic. I also love Mickey Flannigan, that is actually a very tricky question, I think I’ll leave it there.

Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?

Steve Rimmer: Absolutely, but I never believed that I would. To be honest I only booked my first gig because I was chatting to an ex-girlfriend and she said that “I thought you would be a “Stand Up Comedian” by now” I took this as an opportunity to try and get back in to her pants and told her I told her I was thinking of booking on to the open mic scene. This was just the push I needed, to be honest I think it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. My first gig (plug alert) was at Rudy’s Revenge, High Holborn, London I was made to feel really welcome by the Organisers and Audience, the moment I took the mic I knew this would become a massive part of my life, I gigged there several times and it was a very proud moment when they invited me back to HEADLINE to celebrate my first year in comedy.

Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?

Steve Rimmer: I can honestly say that I have never sat and written material, I draw from my own real life experiences (with a cheeky twist added), this is hard to believe if you have seen me perform but seriously this is my life!! I hear people talk of writers block but for me that would just be struggling to remember something that happened.

Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?

Steve Rimmer: Its a part-time hobby ….. Believe it or not, I am actually a Bomb Disposal Engineer and to be fair you need to have a scene of humour to be in this line of work. I got in to this job by been in the Army and that influences a lot of my material, I really have had some of the best times of my life in the worst places on this planet. I mean if you can still sit around and tell jokes when your mates foot has just “fallen off” and you manage to make him laugh then you have to be involved in the comedy world.

Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?

Steve Rimmer: Its the best feeling when one random member of the audience approaches you after the gig and says you were the best act of the night and they always seem to ask if I really am a Bomb Disposal Engineer (why doesn’t anyone ever believe me, just because I’ve dropped the mic a few times). Its very frustrating when you travel for two hours to get to a gig only to find the venue haven’t promoted the night and you end up performing to six other acts and two member of audience

Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?

Steve Rimmer: If I can, I like to arrive at a gig early as its good to see how the audience is filling the room because if it fills from the front I know that this audience really want to be in a comedy club and haven’t just had a flyer shoved in their hand. Its really quite simple, if they want to laugh and you make them laugh, everyone leaves happy.

Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?

Steve Rimmer: My material doesn’t really lend itself to heckling, I’ve been on the circuit for a just over a year and I don’t recall ever been heckled, maybe I have found the secret formula! Although at the end of one gig a very drunk guy said, “you weren’t necessarily the funniest but you very, very interesting, you don’t really dig bombs up, do you???…”

Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?

Steve Rimmer: Don’t take it too seriously just have fun, give it at least three months and if you don’t enjoy it, take some time out and reproach it with fresh eyes. Gig as much as you possibly can there are loads of good open mic venues around that are looking for fresh talent for instance (plug alert) TNT Comedy in London’s Kentish Town of which I am a regular MC. If someone ever made it big I would love to say that I introduced them on their first ever Open Mic night.