Dave Attell doesn't mind if you want to buy him a drink. The balding, hard-drinking stand-up comic will even do a shot with you, chat for a bit or even share a smoke.
Just don't call him a sellout and then try to pawn your demo tape off on him.
"This one guy was telling me what an asshole I was, and that I'm a sellout, and then he hands me his demo tape," says Attell during a recent phone interview. "You got to listen to this guy, he thinks I'm an asshole ... that's kind of outrageous."
Such encounters are commonplace for the 38-year-old Attell, who became a hero to millions of college kids and creatures of the night since his alcohol-fueled, after-hours travelogue show "Insomniac" debuted on Comedy Central in 2001.
The show, based around Attell's brand of raunchy, self-deprecating shtick he'd developed since his stand-up career began in 1987, followed the comic as he sampled nightlife in cities nationwide. In addition to interacting with night crawlers and downing drinks in countless watering holes, Attell rode along with different third-shift workers as they did everything from mining coal to mopping up the "stained" floor of an adult bookstore.
This spirit of buffoonery and ingratiating humor is what Attell will unleash upon the Valley this weekend when he plays the Dodge Theater along with fellow Comedy Central regular Lewis Black.
Despite a hit show, Attell is unassuming about his success and enjoys it when he's recognized in public.
"I'm not famous by the way, I'm not rich, I'm not banging incredible models or anything like that," he says. "People do come up to me in the bars and they want to drink with me, which is cool. I think they want to tell people they bought me a drink, that's all it is. I kind of feel used, like a cheap hooker."
While this recognition hasn't resulted in any sexual favors from groupies, Attell enjoys the interaction.
'Comedy Central Live starring Dave Attell and Lewis Black' at the Dodge Theater, 400 W. Washington St. in Phoenix on Saturday, Nov. 22, 8 p.m. Tickets are $26.50-$39.50 and are available through Ticketmaster (480) 784-4444 or the Dodge Theater Box Office (602)379-2888.
"The cool drunks are the one's that say 'Hey man, cool show' and then they go back to their own sad world of drinking," he says. "The college drunks are the one's who want to turn it into a party, and they ask me where the cameras are, and I say I'm not working that night, and they get all upset."
This modesty extends to his latest tour, which includes performances in large venues like the Dodge Theater - a big change from the smaller comedy clubs whre he built his reputation.
Despite being backed by Comedy Central and Clear Channel, Attell says the tour is being done on a shoestring budget, with "no tour bus, no hoes, no posses."
The comic is getting some perks, however: "We did get a veggie plate though, which is a sign of making it, I think. My rider is this: three packs of cigarettes, a bottle of Jäger and a Bible."
Since starting his stand-up career in the mid-'80s while studying communications at NYU, Attell developed a style in which he often lures in his audiences with low-key setups followed by shocking punch lines. Usually he places himself in situations involving everything from masturbation to pedophilia.
"I really don't talk about actually fucking a child. I mean, I'll talk about how I look like a pedophile because people think I do look like one," Attell says. "I had one joke about the priests where the kids can't keep their mouths shut, but that was just because that was in the news every day."
With such subject matter seeming decidedly tame in this post-South Park era, Attell says he feels he has to constantly update his act to remain fresh.
"I don't think I'm particularly shocking ... but I guess with how politically correct things are, people do find it shocking," Attell says. "The times keep changing on you. Even if something is kind of risky-funny today, by tomorrow it's like way too politically incorrect to talk about. You got to always be kind of juggling around."
At the same time, he says that joking about topical or political topics, such as the war in Iraq, isn't really his forte.
"I don't see anything humorous about that right now, I mean I feel for them. Maybe once we catch Saddam Hussein then I can really go at it," Attell says. "It's really hard to joke about those kinds of things, but some things you can joke about right away, like Siegfried and Roy. So it's wins and losses everywhere."
Attell says he plans to continue touring now that he's finished regular filming of "Insomniac," save for an occasional special centered around "big events" like the Super Bowl or the Indy 500.
Other than that, Attell doesn't have any comedy albums planned in the near future (such as his recent CD Skanks for the Memories). He also brought along a camera crew on the tour to record footage for a possible concert movie.
He adds that he would like to make an occasional guest appearance on certain television shows, such as Six Feet Under ("as the person who dies at the beginning") or Law & Order (playing "a juror who flips out and takes the jury hostage"). At the same time, he won't be disappointed if he doesn't land those gigs.
"I mean, I'm not an actor. That kind of stuff is nice, but I'm not crying over it," he says. "You know, it's not disappointing 'cause I'm not on 7th Heaven or something."
Reach the reporter at benjamin.leatherman@asu.edu.
