Melbourne’s top stand-up comedians have hit the road. Their only international stop? Lion City, baby! Laura Dannen asks the questions

He sings, he tells jokes, he plays the piano, and he gets to do it full-time – not bad for a self-proclaimed skinny nerdy kid who’s well acquainted with the wedgie. Comedian Sammy J, 25, in town with the Melbourne Comedy Festival Roadshow, talks about what it’s like to ‘make a living being a dick’.

Have you ever been to Singapore?
Once, when I was about six years old; I have very hazy memories of a stopover on our way to the UK. I also have memories of a very hot zoo.

Do people ever ask you what you want to be when you grow up, or do you get respect for your career path?
I do pretty well. I actually have an interesting backstory – I studied to get a law degree, which I gave up to pursue comedy. That was a big decision to tell my parents and friends, but they’ve all been really supportive.

Were you heckled when you first started?
Absolutely. I’m a very skinny, nerdy-looking guy and I was singing songs on the piano, so it’s not the sexiest image. In Melbourne, the stand-up scene is mostly pubs and clubs, so you have reasonably drunk audience members giving you abuse. It’s a tough way to cut your teeth.

Is there a line you don’t cross when you do your stand-up? I’ve read that you’ve been called ‘charmingly revolting’.
[Laughs] That’s right. It’s interesting, you know – on stage I try to be quite charming, and I think I enjoy…lulling people into a certain sense of security and then flipping something around or saying something out of character, which is funnier and brings the contrast up.

I was going to say – a Singapore audience might be a little different from an Australian audience. Have you redesigned your routine with that in mind?
Well, when I was in Edinburgh last year [for his debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival], I was terrified of how Scottish audiences would react. But broadly speaking, I was pleased to learn that funny is funny wherever you are… I am hoping that, within reason, I can still be who I am and do my material and that the people will enjoy it… So what can you tell me about Singapore audiences, Laura? Have any tips?

Well, have you heard of a durian before?
A what? A durian? I don’t believe I have.

Okay, it’s a fruit that’s bigger than a rugby ball, and it’s knobby with bumps on it that are kind of hairy. And it’s not allowed on public transportation because of its smell – there’s actually a sign that outlaws it. I think it’s because it smells like a cross between mango and faeces.
[Laughs] And no chewing gum I understand, right?

Right. Different topic: can you describe your act? Twenty-five words. Go. Basically, I’m a skinny bastard who sings songs and tells jokes onstage. I’m the classic nerdy kid at school who needed something to stop getting wedgies, and I turned to comedy.

Did you really get wedgies in school?
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I was a bit of a bookworm, and I realised telling jokes made people laugh, and you became pretty cool because of that. And then I realised that telling jokes in a song meant you could get away with more – singing songs with a nice melody to it.

Good point. So what do you think is funnier: a potato or a mango?
Hmm, potato or a mango. That’s a fascinating one. I would say the potato, because the potato’s sort of a loser, while the mango’s so glamorous and cool and sexy… The potato’s a very tragic vegetable.

It does have famine associated with it.
Exactly!

Are there any topics you like covering in your shows, or new material you’ll be trying out?
I’ve been told recently that audiences watching me don’t come out remembering any jokes or topics I cover; [it’s] more about the time we spend together. What I mean by that is, I play such a character on the stage – it’s larger than life – and I do a lot of audience involvement and things like that. It’s more about the response from the audience than what I’m saying. I say some very silly things. I have one song called ‘The Backwards Song’, where I sing a song forward, and then I sing the entire thing backwards. That’s not really making a point, but it’s just really good fun.

Any advice for aspiring comedians? It’s kind of a rough scene in Singapore – one of the major clubs here just cancelled its comedy nights.
You just have to do what you find funny, and if you do what you find funny, you’re going to enjoy yourself. Even if the audience doesn’t enjoy it, you’re still going to have faith and get up again.

Any particularly bad shows you remember?
Yeah, um, terrible. I booked with a footy club in Melbourne about a year ago; I was asked to be the entertainer. And there are just all these huge, buff, muscly guys full of alcohol, and I got up and started singing my nerdy little piano ditties. And in comedy, silence is okay. Silence means you still have their attention. But [it’s bad] when people just start talking to each other and completely ignoring you, and the room just swelled to a crescendo of conversation while I was in the corner warbling away.

What do you do to recover from that? Chug a beer, eat a lot of ice cream? Personally, I drag my keyboard to the car and drive home wishing I had an office job. And the next day I get up and start it all over again.

Where do you hope to be in five years? Are you thinking beyond Australia?
Yeah. The UK is always the big beacon, bigger than Australia – you always want to get over there and make a big push. I guess in five years, I’d love to be working in television and still doing a lot of my performance… But hopefully still making a living by being a bit of a dick.

Last question: Where do babies come from?
Well, a man and a woman get very, very drunk and forget to use protection, and then often a baby will be born nine months later.

My parents never told me that story.
I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you.

The Melbourne Comedy Festival Roadshow rolls into town 23-26 Jul.