STAND-UP TUESDAYS: Derek Sheen

November 13th, 2012

Angie Frissore

Stand-Up Tuesdays is a weekly comedy spotlight written by the wonderfully talented Angie Frissore. Covering both known and unknown comics, Stand-up Tuesdays is your new source for all things funny.

This week, Angie puts a spotlight on Derek Sheen. If you or your comedy troupe would like to be featured on Stand-Up Tuesdays, please email utgjames@gmail.com.

On October 30^th, Rooftop Comedy released the debut album from comedian Derek Sheen entitled Holy Drivel, featuring forty-five minutes of unabashedly honest tales of some of the horrors Sheen’s done, seen and had happen to him.

Recorded live at the Comedy Underground in Seattle, Sheen recorded his album to a packed house over 3 nights in the same venue he’d been attending since he was 13 years old. Twenty-nine years later, Derek has his debut album in the can and, in addition to a significant recording venue, he has enlisted the talented Mark Allender for graphic design on the album, portraying Derek as a blue-skinned horned demon whipping his microphone over his head.

Holy Drivel starts out somewhat slowly, with Sheen pointing out the differences between life in Seattle versus Portland and making basic, general observations about southern life. Sheen almost seems uncertain of his audience’s reaction, lingering on certain jokes for perhaps a little too long in an effort to win over the crowd (particularly when Sheen, quite literally, rattles off the complete recipe for making biscuits). It’s not until about fifteen to twenty minutes into Sheen’s performance that he manages to find his footing, creating an energy that he’s able to maintain for the remainder of the show.

Sheen likes the power of a good story, and delights in sharing all of his vulnerabilities: whether it’s his weight, his fears of sex, death, flying or children. At one point, Sheen addresses the wakeup call that every overweight guy faces – the moment when you realize you’re just too fat to make sexual intercourse work logistically: “I got cock-blocked by my own body, do you know how bad that is?”

Sheen also takes the time to offer some delightful advice on how to make better people: “Don’t make a shitty person. If you feel right now like you’re making a shitty person, fix it; either with a pillow, or just drive the station wagon into the lake. Fix it. We don’t need any more shitty people.”

In addition to his stand-up efforts, Sheen played a robot in an awesome sci-fi film called “Steel of Fire Warriors 2010 A.D.” and was the voice of E.T. in the hardcore gay porn/animated short “E.T. 2: Dark Territory”, which he co-wrote with animator Mark Allender. Lindy West, contributor to the popular Jezebel blog, has called him a “Human Hug.”

While it took me a few tracks to warm up to Sheen, once I did I was in for a comedic treat. Whether it’s calling a friend’s baby a hilariously awkward name by mistake, or why he loves gay men’s yard sales, Sheen’s debut album comes out strong in the end. Of course, it could be that he simply had me at one particular (and astute) observation: “If you wear your blue tooth outside of the car, go fuck yourself.”

Derek Sheen’s Holy Drivel is available today via Rooftop Comedy on iTunes and also to stream on Pandora and Spotify. Pick up your copy today!