Hello Danny Lobell, so where ya from & where ya at, geographically speaking?
I’m from the cosmos and I’m feeling more at one with them than ever. That could also be interpreted as “New York” and “LA.”

When did you first realise you were, well, funny?
I made the doctor laugh as I was being delivered. Before he could even cut the umbilical cord I told him a really funny story about being in the womb. Had him rolling. He laughed so hard he almost forgot to cut me loose. Then I did 20 minutes of stand up in an incubator. It’s some of my best stuff. I wish I’d written it down.

Why stand-up comedy?
It’s a great format for painting pictures in people’s heads. I like making people laugh and bringing them joy. I also like comedians. They are some of my favourite kinds of people. They are usually misfits, messed up in some way, or even complete degenerates but they all have big hearts, lots of creativity, and don’t let a conversation get too boring for too long.

Upon which life-experiences do you draw your own comedy?
The ones that I find funny. You have so many experiences every single day and every single moment of your day is occupied with something. But at the end of the week how much do you actually remember? And of what you remember, how much of it makes you laugh? I try to isolate the funny parts of the week and when they compile, I tend to select the funniest ones of them. I then merge them together into a show.

What does Danny Lobell like to do when he’s not being funny?
I like to paint, write comic books, play with my dogs, watch TV with my wife, do repairs around the house, and cook.

You did rather well at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival, can you tell us about the experience?
Rather well? I was phenomenal! And that’s me being humble! I’ve been privileged enough to have done the Glasgow International Comedy Festival three times. I got some great write-ups in The Scotsman and The Daily Record. I got to be on BBC Scotland radio. I made some wonderful friends with whom I’m still very much in touch like the hilarious Raymond Mearns. In my opinion, he’s the funniest man living in Scotland right now. All the people who run the festival are terrific. Sarah Watson has a great eye for talent and makes everyone feel very at home when they do the festival. I even recorded an album at the festival the last time I was there in 2011 at The Stand in Glasgow. It’s probably my favourite comedy club in the world.

What is it about performing live you love the most?
It’s the only way I ever perform. I like doing everything live. I like eating live, sleeping live. In fact, being alive has really enhanced most of my life experiences.

You are bringing your show, Broke as a Joke, to the Fringe this August, can you tell us about it?
It’s a collection of stories, anecdotes, and jokes that revolve around my adventures that came out of being broke. It includes everything from odd jobs like selling light bulbs door to door and working for comedy legend Jackie Mason selling audio cassette tapes at his Broadway show. I also talk about failed business ideas like breeding hairless cats and selling eggs to hipsters. It’s got action and adventure in it, like when I pulled off a drop and run of a rooster with a former drug lord and returned a year-old piece of salmon with my dad to the store. The show is funny, exciting, heartfelt, and comes with a little advice I’ve learned along the way.

As a cross-cultural child, will we be seeing touches of each humour in your set?
Yes. I was raised with humour on both sides. I think New Yorkers and Glaswegians, both being very blue collar, depend heavily on comedy to get through life. I developed sharp comedic sensibilities having been raised by parents from these two great cities.

This will be your debut at the Fringe… what have you heard about it from other performers?
I’ve heard that it’s one of the most fun and challenging months of performing and I welcome both the fun and the challenge.

What does the rest of 2017 hold in store for Danny Lobell?
Wonderful wonderful things. Some of them are highly top secret, so secret in fact that I don’t even know about them. But I’m telling you they’re great. I heard a rumor that I’m going to win a llama farm in Peru while appearing on a local game show there. One of the llamas, unbeknownst to them before they signed it over to me, has very rare markings on its back. These markings make it very collectible on the llama message boards on the dark web. I will be offered an incredible sum of bit coin for this llama. We will have to meet up in person with the llama for its assessment before the transfer goes through.
When I get there, I will recognise two Serbian men. One of them bald, with eyebrows under his eyes instead of on top. And the other one looks pretty normal but has way too much sodium in his diet. He doesn’t even realise it but he’s at risk for all sorts of severe health problems. As they start looking over the llama, I remember where I’ve seen that normal looking Serbian guy. He was on PETA’s most wanted list for verbally abusing a red panda in 1999! I will know right there and then that I am NOT selling this llama off to these two guys.
I try to excuse us politely from the situation but they can tell something is up. As it becomes increasingly uncomfortable, we try to make a dash back to my two-door Mazda Miata convertible that I rented at the airport. But the two Serbians chase after us. It’s at that point that the llama and I put our backs together and start fighting these two guys as a llama-human-ninja team. We beat the crap out of them, jump into the Miata and drive away.
Just when I think there is no way I’m ever gonna be able to cash in on this llama farm thing, I find out that TMZ got ahold of the security footage and that the llama and I have gone viral. All kinds of offers start pouring in from Hollywood for an action buddy cop movie. We become a franchise and retire after making only five movies that gross more money collectively than all the super hero movies of the past decade combined. We buy a small island and live out the rest of our lives sipping mojitos and oatmeal puree (that’s what llamas like to drink) while watching the sun go down over the ocean.

If that doesn’t happen, then probably some more gigs.

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You can catch Danny in Edinburgh this Fringe
theSpace @ Jurys Inn Space Studio
Aug 4- 25  (16:05)