Sebastian Maniscalo tours the ‘Wild West’ with Vince Vaughn

Sebastian Maniscalo has been pursing his stand-up career for ten years now, and his role as the new “golden boy” of comedy has come through a lot of hard work and sacrifice.

Maniscalo has been on many late show programs but his recent role in the new documentary Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show has enabled Maniscalo’s star to grow.

Although Maniscalo did not get to enough time to explore the cities toured or get sleep on the bus, he still made it out the Houston Improv where he recommended people invite their friends to come over and eat some Entenmann’s crumble cake.

A humble Chicago native, Maniscalo was born to an Italian family which he uses as a main focus in his act. His jokes ranged from text messaging to a dog that walks like a human to a joke about showing his humanitarian side by partaking in the Adopt-A-Child program from the Salvation Army, which included him sponsoring Jesus for the holidays. He recently sat down with Trashwire’s Wil Chinchilla for an interview.

Wil: So Northern Illinois University was your college, how did that work out?
SM: I went to Northern Illinois at Dekalb. I went for a communications degree, but my original plan was to just get out of school. To tell you the truth, I wanted to quit after a year of college. I always knew I wanted to do standup. I wanted to leave school and pursue a career in comedy in Los Angeles, but my parents told me to get a degree before I could do any of that. Shortly after graduation, I left for Los Angeles to pursue my career in comedy. College was great because I was in a fraternity; I was actually president. The school I went to was like a commuter college, so I found a social life in a fraternity and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I made. It was good times.

Wil: You now have a Youtube account, what do you mean in regards to your statement, “Do me a favor and leave the home videos where they belong, in a drawer collecting dust”?
SM: What I mean is that Youtube is a good vehicle with people who are in the entertainment industry and are trying to get a web series to create some heat with that to eventually become a series on network television. A lot of the stuff on Youtube seems to be people’s home videos and all of a sudden these people are now considered entertainment. I mean one video where one couple had a wedding dance that they gained coverage all over the USA and now they are all over the news, on morning news shows, I think it’s just watered down entertainment.

Wil: In your act, you mention Faith the Dog [with no front legs]. Do people get offended by that?
SM: I have nothing against the dog, I just basically reenacted what I saw on TV. As far as the dog is concerned I got nothing bad to say; it is an inspirational story. I just reenacted how the dog walks around. I also have nothing to say about the owner, I am not being sued although I was proposed to receive a subpoena but I never received it.

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Wil: How did you get approached to do the film Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show?
SM: Vince Vaughn was a friend of a friend and he used to come down to see some comedy shows that his friend [Ahmed, who is also in the movie] used to be in. I was performing at a show Vince was at and Ahmed just made the introduction between me and Vince. We found out that we had a common background because I grew up in Chicago and he grew up in Chicago and we just saw each other a lot at the comedy clubs. We had a drink and he asks me if I can be in a bus tour across the country like a rock band that would bring stand up comedy and entertainment to parts of the country that really don’t get to see this kind of entertainment. The VVWWCS is a variety show of sorts, a 30 day 30 show tour from Los Angeles to Chicago. We documented it as a movie and it was picked up. Just to name some guys in the movie there’s John Faveru, Justin Long, and Peter Billingsly, who played “Ralphie” from A Christmas Story and is good friends with Vince.

Wil: Do you think that you can beat the ticket sales of this comedy movie compared to the Kings of Comedy tours?
SM: I just feel that, in the movie, there is a separation of stand-up from VVWWCS compared to other stand up movies like Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedian. This is a unique concept because the A-list actor took in four unknown comedians on the road, which you never really see nowadays. This is unique because this is a unique in depth view of comedians backstage, with their parents, and it’s really cool.

Wil: What was your favorite city to do stand-up?
SM: Las Vegas just because you get a good cross section of USA. Since you get everyone visiting from all over, you get a feel of how your material is playing throughout the country. The thing for me is, it’s another pinnacle of entertainment. Although it is very corporate it’s the place where entertainment is king. I love going back home to Chicago to perform in front of family and friends. I like the south too; the south is pretty cool. And Miami is another favorite place to perform.

Wil: I understand you’re gaining a ton of exposure, what do you want the end result to be?
SM: I would definitely like to get into film and television. I definitely want to go into that field, although my first love is stand-up comedy. I would definitely like to increase my following and keep headlining clubs, eventually making my stand-up career into an acting career. Hopefully, more opportunities come after the movie comes out. As far as I’m concerned, I love doing stand-up and some comedians say they hate the road, but I love it. There’s nothing like going to a different city, getting the flow of the city, going golfing during the day and then taking a rest. I don’t like golfing by myself, but I usually travel with other comedians and we all play together.

Wil: Who would you want to work with?
SM: Vince Vaughn was the guy who I looked up too and wanted to work with since I started comedy. I watched his comedy movies and always said I would definitely want to be part of what he is doing because his comedy resonates with me. I always thought, this guy really gets it. John Faveru is great to be around because he is very creative and he has great ideas. If I can do another movie with Vince Vaughn that would be great. It’s a dream come true because I grew up watching Swingers, and to think ten years later I would be in a movie with him… it’s crazy.

Wil: Not that long ago, you were still waiting tables? Is it surreal that you have your dream job?
SM: Yeah it’s kind of weird man because it has been ten years. It’s tough just like any entertainer, any person that is going into this business has to have another job to supplement their income while your pursing stuff. I kind of abruptly made a change from having two jobs to just doing stand-up and it’s great, its a dream come true, it’s all I ever wanted to do, make a living while doing what I love to do.

Sebastian Maniscalo will be huge in 2008. Watch out for his half-hour Comedy Central special airing now and his DVD Going Up, which is available through his website www.sebastianlive.com. Also, be sure to see Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show, out in theaters February 8.