Paul Julmeus is a young rising comic coming out of Miami’s burgeoning comedy scene. His unique confessional story-telling style of comedy and off-beat timing will have you crawling in laughter while slowly trying to escape the grasp of his awkwardness. With his conversational delivery, he lets everyone in on his weird secrets and views on the world. His topics arrange from race, life, death and failed romance. He co-hosts one of Miami’s best stand-up showcases at Elwoods Gastropub. When he’s not doing stand-up he is doing improv at Just The Funny Theatre where he’s a part of the main cast. He also plays himself as one of the main characters for a web series called Open Mic Boys. He has hosted for Belushi’s Comedy Bar on several occasions and is a regular host for The Have-Nots Comedy shows.

 1. What motivated you to do stand-up comedy?

I tried it in college, because I saw my friend do it plus I was a class clown and this girl wanted to do a project about stand-up comedian so I did it to give her something to write about. I later did it again 4 years later in Miami because I felt that I could be good at it if I put effort into it.

2. Who are your favorite comics to watch?

My favorite local comics are John Vargas, John Gregory, Phillip Wigfall and Khalil Phillips. I also enjoy watching Andres Taboada, James Pate, Bill Burr, Maria Bamford, Richard Pryor & Chris Rock.

3. If you could hang out with anyone alive or dead; who would it be? And where would you take them?

Outkast; he’s my favorite rapper. I would take him to the Monday night open mic at Churchills & then I would get something to drink and chill with him.

4. Who would you want to play you in a movie?

Tyler James Williams (The star of Everybody hates Chris), because when he grows up he’s going to be the future of acting.

5. What don’t you like about stand-up comedy?

Driving a lot in order to perform and having to wait to perform at Open mics.

6. What types of food do you enjoy cooking when you have time to eat?

I make a pretty good Griot and I also make some great pancakes.

7. What is your goal with stand-up comedy?

To be able to live off it & to write or act on a TV show.

8. What is your advice to New Comics?

Don’t do stand-up.

9. Why should people check out “Just the Tip comedy show”?

All of the comics that I book that that show are very talented. The show is a fushion of art & comedy. Plus we bring alcohol for the audience members so they have fun & feel as if they are at a party.

10. What is it about you that makes you so awesome?

The fact that I don’t think that I am awesome.

Hailing from Western Pennsylvania, Dan arrived on the South Florida comedy scene in 2014 and has been treating audiences to his unique brand of clever, dry and occasionally dark humor ever since. Recently, Dan was named a Florida’s Funniest Semi-Finalist, hosted at Homefield Comedy Club and is a producer/host of Comedy Night at American Rock Bar.

1. What motivated you to do stand-up comedy?

I always enjoyed watching it. I even spent some time at the computer lab watching YouTube clips rather than going to class. I got my first taste of it at a Club at Penn State University called 2nd Floor Stand-up. It’s a weekly get together (similar to a meetup)…We would watch each other perform, critique each other & I eventually got on their monthly lineup.

2. Who are you favorite comics to watch.

My favorite local comics to watch are John Gregory, Tim Hanlon, John Hyne, Mike Atcherson and of course Minda Mo.

3. If you could hang out with anyone alive or dead; who would it be? And where would you take them?

JFK, I would take him to a helmet store and buy him a helmet so that he would get better protected when we go out to lunch.

4. Who would you want to play you in a movie?

Tim Robbins from the Shawshank Redemption, because he is tall and ruggedly handsome.

5. What don’t you like about stand-up comedy?

I don’t like waiting around…the anticipation of getting when I am going to get on stage. Especially when you are down on the list at the open mic.

6. What types of food do you enjoy cooking when you have time to eat?

Foods that I don’t have to cook.

7. How is the PA/Miami Comedy scene different?

There is a lot more down here however you have to be cleaner. I was able to get away with more racial, edgier and darker material up in Pennsylvania.

8. What is your advice to New Comics?

Don’t be afraid to look stupid, because it takes a while. Try a lot of stuff and find a girlfriend in comedy…it will help with the open mic wait time.

9. Why should people check out the American Rock Bar?

It is a great setup for stand-up since it’s closed off from the rest of the bar. We are able to recruit talent from both Orlando & Miami plus we have some solid acts coming in such as Myq Kaplan this Saturday night.

10. What is it about you that makes you so awesome?

There are so many things. There is too many to name (We couldn’t complete the answer to this question due to time constraints as Dan was about to go jet-ski paintball).

Tim Hanlon is a regular performer at the Improv Comedy Clubs and has performed  with comics such as Dom Irrera and Jeffery Ross. His clever social commentary, witty delivery and acclaimed joke writing  has earned him invitations to many national comedy festivals such as The Cleveland Comedy Festival, Laugh Fest and  The World Series of Comedy in Las Vegas. He recently finished in the top 10 in Florida’s Funniest Comedian. Over 300,000 people have listened to him as a regular co-host on The Wake Up Late With Dougie Show. Look for his taped TV debut on Fox TV’s Laughs.

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1. Why did you move to LA?

I have family out here & the winters out her are less brutal in NYC

2. What motivated you to do stand-up comedy?

I was a musician and my band fell apart. I went to an open mic with some friends. I thought that I was able to do this and I went out there to perform.

3. What type of comedians do you enjoy watching?

When I was a kid I enjoyed watching Eddie Murphy, Bobcat Goldwait, Steven Wright and Howie Mandell. I now enjoy watching Bill Burr, Nat Bargatze, Daniel Cohen, Brian Regan, Tom Segurra, Travis Allen, Darius Culpepper & John Hyne. I also think that Matt Bellak will breakout.

4. If you could hang out with anyone alive or dead; who would it be? And where would you take them? Jimi Hendrix; Thai food. He’s the greatest artist of all time and I think that he’ll enjoy eating Thai food.

5. Who would you want to play you in a movie?

Christopher Glover.

6. What don’t you like about stand-up comedy?

The level that I am at and that I couldn’t use my time efficiently. The other day I had to drive 6 hours to get 6 minutes of stage time. Comics that feel entitled to stuff. How comics point out at other comics because since he got this then I should get it as well. Also comics who go for the simple laugh by being hacky (Lacking originality).

7. What types of food do you enjoy cooking when you have time to eat?

Spinach Linguini, because I am good at making it.

8. How is the LA/Miami Comedy scene different?

There is more diversity in Miami than LA. In a typical LA sign up out of 20 people 17-18 of them are white guys in their mid 20’s. Not many female comics in LA. The spots are usually 3 minutes in LA where you are able to get more time in South Florida. It is easier to workout material in South Florida.

9. What is your advice to New Comics?

Be fearless (Don’t let fear dictate what to do on stage). Don’t worry about killing and how well you aren’t doing, be experimental and always write.

10. What is it about you that makes you so awesome?

A great girlfriend that keeps me in line. I am comfortable with myself. I am not a jealous person. I am not judgmental with other people. I am unique; I am happy with myself and I don’t try to become another person.

Carl Rimi is originally from Weston, Florida. He was a jock in high school, went to college in Nova and majored in Oceanography. He has performed on Cruise Ships. He consistently performs at the Improv and he had been seen on Comedy Central, CBS, the Las Vegas Comedy Festival. He is also an actor and obtained roles in “Love and Hostages”, “Smothered by Mothers” and “Evil Intentions”.

What motivated you to start doing stand-up comedy?

I initially tried out acting & modeling, but at 24 my friend backed out of an open mic at “Boca Nuts” so I ended up taking his place and performing a week later.

What type of comedians do you enjoy watching?

I don’t really watch comedy now, but when I was growing up I enjoyed watching underground/unknown comics.

If you can have anyone over for dinner (alive or dead) who would it be & what would you serve them?

I would have Elvis Presley over for dinner and would serve him a peanut butter & banana sandwich. Growing up I wanted to be the next Elvis Presley, an actor or a model, but since that wasn’t an option at that time I resorted to stand-up comedy.

Who would you want to play you in a movie?

Me, because I am a really good actor.

What don’t you like about comedy?

The politics of it. Sometimes it doesn’t matter if you are funny or not. It comes down to who you know & who the popular people are. Sometimes the club owners will book people that they like.

If I was a genie & I granted you 3 wishes; what would they be?

1) Take care of my family.

2) Make enough money to live off acting & comedy.

3) Stay healthy

On the occasion that you find time to eat; what types of food do you enjoy eating?

I eat healthy; mostly egg whites, chicken and salad.

Tell me more about your acting career?

Love & Hostages is my first big role in a featured film. I also obtained small roles in the film “Smothered by Mothers” and I have another role in “Evil Intentions”.

What advice would you give to new comics that are starting out?

Write as clean as possible & morph into your own voice. You won’t have a voice until around 5 years. It takes a lot of time to get good. You have to go in a 100% in order to have a shot. When I first started doing stand-up that was all that I thought about night and day. You will also most likely go broke starting out. I sacrificed my job as a bartender to take less money working days at a Cracker Barrel so that I was able to devote more time to doing stand-up at nights. Also don’t have a girlfriend until she thinks that you are very funny and is willing to go to all of your shows.

What is it about you that makes you so awesome?

I work hard & I am still working hard, because you always have to put the work in in order to get better.

Here is something that you don’t know about me. I was so girl crazy, desired to improve my coordination and wanted to get an athletic advantage that when I was in high school I enrolled in a ballet course….The class started out great. I felt as if I was in heaven being 1 guy with 12 women. Once my teacher told me there was going to be spring recital where I would be performing in front of roughly a thousand people in leotards and those pretty pink girly shoes I changed my tune quickly…or smartened up and dropped the course like a bad habit. On the plus side my locker for the rest of my senior year was in between two dancers.

I realize that a lot of people smoke weed. Especially 99.5% of the comedic population, but I am strongly against it. This is just an opinion, but I can’t stand the smell of it. It’s smell is so putrid that it makes rotten eggs smell like rose water. It also had a negative impact on a childhood friend. He was bright, personable and had the whole world ahead of him. Once he caved into smoking weed his grades plummeted, he became moody and he had about as much motivation as a rock (And I am not talking about the wrestler either). I also desire to be in control of my surroundings at all times and people that smoke up tend to get in a daze and lose control of reality. I have nothing against people that do this, but it’s not for me.

I ended up wanting to be a clean comic as I welcome the challenge of being able generate a laugh without having to curse or use sexuality and my jokes are tailored towards an intelligent crowd that is fluent in sarcasm. I especially enjoy watching one liner comics, because long winded stories put me to sleep. At first I wasn’t actively seeking to become a comedian. Rather it happened organically. I always enjoyed watching comedy (Especially movies with Jim Carrey and Will Ferrell in them) and in my teens every time that I was in a movie theater I would watch movies where the actor had a cerebral, witty and sarcastic type of humor. My favorite actor was Vince Vaughn. Vince already knew that he was funny and he didn’t have to force it. It amazed me how he was able to get a laugh without trying. When I first moved down to Miami I was lonely, had trouble meeting women and I wanted to sharpen my fast thinking skills so I ended up trying out an Improv group in Plantation called “Got You Laughing” led by Kim Clark. That instantly got me hooked to Improv and afterwards I tried out Gerald Owen’s Improv comedy workshops in North Miami. Doing Improv was fun, but I still felt that I was missing something from my life. My friend Teresa in Toastmasters encouraged me to try out for a humorous speech contest, but I didn’t think that I was that funny. I finally took the plunge, because I thought that “You know what I will try it out; what is the worst that could happen”. The worst that could happen was that I ended up advancing in the third level (Division) level of the contest and I placed 2^nd. At that point I was still cynical of my abilities to make people laugh thinking that Theresa paid the hundreds of people in the audience to laugh at my punchlines. There was a point where I was also working a job as a server and I noticed that I started developing lines that I was able to use to instantly make my customers laugh and women started paying more attention to me which caused me to get more as a tip and to develop a small following of regulars. At that point I realized that I needed to take the plunge and dive into comedy.

Hello,

My name is Fasil. By day I work at a Medical school and at night when the lights go out I morph into super comic. Nevermind, just comic (Supercomic was bitten by a radioactive Jerry Seinfeld. I’m not sure I’m quite ready for that. Plus, me in spandex? Nooo.)

The reason that I am doing this is so that I can connect with you. I will be putting out a new piece of content everyday for the next 20 days. Feel free to sign up on my email list in the contact section of my webpage (http://ineedfasil.com/contact) if you are interested in getting these updates.

I tend to be competitive by nature so when I first started competing in comedy contests it was all about winning and if I lost it would be the end of the world to me. A couple of weeks ago my friend Eric taught me that the real purpose of competing in a contest is to get your face out there and try out different rooms. I also learned that doing a comedy contest is a great way to network with other comics, get feedback from judges on how you can improve your act and it gives club owners/bookers an opportunity to see you perform.

The key to winning a contest is to be relaxed and enjoy your moment on stage. Contests also motivate you to workout (Write and hit up open mics) more to refine your act, make your jokes more punchier and to shorten the set ups.

Not all contests are going to be fair (Some will award winners by a certain look or the amount of people that you bring) and that is ok also. At the first season of “Last Comic Standing” Ralphie May placed 2nd yet he was clearly the funnier comic than whoever won it. He ended up getting more fans from the exposure which resulted in him blowing up and becoming more popular while no one even knows what the first place winner is up to.

Competing in a contest benefitted me, because someone saw my act, liked it and referred me to a booker which ended up getting me more work. So if I am competing in a contest and I am not winning or placing then I wouldn’t compare myself to the other winners (Since I have no control over how they perform) rather I would focus on my act to see if it’s getting funnier. If you keep recording your contest set, watch your past performance and keep improving than you are bound to place and eventually win. The way that I am now taking these contests is as a networking, learning experience and of course I want to win (Which person in the right mind doesn’t), but if you don’t win it’s not the end of the world, because the end goal of comedy is to become funnier!

A lot of times experienced comics will ask me why am I teaching a comedy class when I had been in the scene for 2 years. My answer is that life is more than just about myself getting stage time. My mentor was moving to Tampa and she wanted someone to take over her workshop. The true key to happiness is to help others and by teaching the comedy class it forces me to write more (Obviously the funnier I am; the better people will feel about taking my class), I can also make the mistakes in advance so that I am able to teach others what to avoid.

Another benefit of teaching the comedy class is that it’s at a reasonable price, people learn how to workout their humorous muscle and they also improve their stage presence/public speaking skills. This workshop also benefits other comics as it gives them more stage time in front of a diverse crowd in addition when they evaluate the newer comics they develop a critical thinking skill while helps them write better and give feedback more constructively.

My past teachers both Forrest Shaw and Nery Saenz both won the Miami Ultimate Comedian contest which led me to believe teaching others helps you become funnier.

The people taking the workshop have fun, because they are learning and being entertained. I benefit, because I am developing skills (Teaching, promoting and recruiting) that are essential to a growth of a comic. Overall, I was happy to be given the opportunity to lead a workshop, I enjoy watching the smiles on my students faces after they tell a very funny joke and I am looking forward to doing this for as long as possible.