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Comedy With A Conscience
Mike Stanley is a man on a mission — a deep, lifelong abiding commitment to pushing boundaries, testing societal limits and mining for a treasure trove of yucks, wherever those elusive guffaws may dwell. A healthy portion of this mission is undertaken by his career as a tough, edgy stand-up comedian — the type perpetually seen with a cigarette dangling precariously from the corner of his mouth and a smirking, sidelong glance hovering just beneath the surface of his disposition. With comedy as his craft by practice and by trade, Stanley has spent the better part of his 32 years on the planet painstakingly honing and developing it, a challenge aided with no small significance by his Redford rearing and Detroit weaning.
“I think [Detroit influenced my comedy], yeah,” Stanley says. “I mean, it’s the origin of where I started, so definitely it’s who I am as a person — living down there in the grit of Detroit, which I love and miss. It absolutely influenced me, in a positive way — in a dark way, but in a positive way as well.”
Much of this positivity can be directly attributed to what Stanley has pegged as a fledgling Detroit comedy scene — a move to give Detroit long-deserved credence as a crucial stopping point on America’s comedy map. Prior to relocating to Chicago, where he currently works and lives, Stanley punched the clock at the Magic Stick downtown during the early millennial heyday of the White Stripes, the Von Bondies, the Dirtbombs and countless others who revolutionized the foundations of The D’s blues-tinged, garage rock-heavy scene. Bearing firsthand eyewitness testimony to this phenomenon has directly enabled him to identify the as-yet unexplored link between the cultural collective of the music scene and the often-overlooked comedy scene here in Detroit.
“I’ll go back to my home club, Joey’s Comedy Club, and I’ll see people I haven’t seen in 16 years — people I haven’t talked to from high school or whatever — or people that I worked with,” he says. “If you’re a friend of [the comedians], you want to help them out and you want to get them noticed. It all works together, because you might wind up blowing up. Anybody could wind up being the next big thing; they might wind up getting the things you couldn’t, and then they help you out.
As for his own particular brand of comedy, Stanley is nothing if not eager to circle in for the kill. Boasting a speciality in storytelling and anecdotal humor designed to not only push audiences outside of their comfort zone, but to eliminate said zone all together, his career has taken an upward turn as of late, including a DVD deal with Stand-Up Records and a ranking position on Comedy.com’s Top 10 list of the best Chicago comedians.
Even through the fog of accolades and seemingly looming fame, Stanley still pinpoints Detroit audiences as his favorite, and will be making his way back to The D for two dates: February 5th at the Belmont and February 6th at the Penalty Box in Livonia. The Belmont show is set to demonstrate that comedy, no matter the confines violated, can still be used to promote good deeds and social causes. Profits from the Belmont show will go to benefit Breanna Strange, an eight-year-old girl from South Lyon that suffers from dystonia, a destructive muscular disorder.
“I’m always willing to do benefits,” he says. “I’d actually like to do more; like, I’d like to do some stuff with the ASPCA, and the animal foundations and stuff like that. If it fits into my schedule, and I’m in town, then totally — I’m more than willing to help anybody out.” Comedy, your altruism suits you well. | RDW
Mike Stanley • 2/5, 10 p.m. • The Belmont, 10215 Joseph Campau, Hamtramck • 313.871.1966 • thebelmontbar.com • $5 for 21+, $7 for 18-20
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