Unique perspective helps Seattle comedian Derek Sheen stand out
If there’s one thing Seattle comedian Derek Sheen likes more than ranting about what he sees around him, it’s ranting about himself.
“My material is a mix of being enraged at myself and also projecting my rage at other things,” said Sheen, performing Friday (Jan. 6) in Olympia at Breaking Sad, a monthly comedy showcase that started in November at the 4th Ave Tavern.
Both onstage and in a phone interview, though, he comes across as much more relaxed than rage-filled. He seems to be waxing philosophical, whether his topic is America’s diversity, marijuana or vegan strip clubs.
“When Sheen’s at his best … he’s firing everything off with nuanced diction and rhythmical precision,” comedy critic Daniel Berkowitz wrote in a review for The Spit Take. “He develops a Carlin-esque pace to his speech that only serves to amplify the already high level of laughs.”
Sheen has performed at numerous comedy festivals and is soon to film his own special for the online comedy subscription service Seeso.
He recorded his fourth album, due out next year, at Olympia’s Vomity comedy open mic, which happens at 9 p.m. Wednesdays at Le Voyeur.
“I love going to Olympia,” he said. “It has a rising comedy scene.”
Sheen spends much of each year touring nationally, including regular tours with Brian Posehn. He’s also toured with Janeane Garofalo, Patton Oswalt and Rory Scovel.
Sheen’s unusual worldview sets him apart, said Chase Roper, Breaking Sad’s host and producer.
“Comedy needs to surprise me, and I never know where he’s going when he’s on stage,” Roper said. “It’s refreshing.
“He has unique perspective on life, which is not what I usually hear from bearded comedians, and there are a lot of them,” added Roper, who has a beard himself.
Actually, there are so many bearded comedians that Sheen recently shaved.
“My grandfather will occasionally tune in to ‘Conan,’ ” he explained. “He doesn’t know how these things work, and he thinks I’ll randomly show up on TV. He would call my mom once a month and say, ‘I saw Derek.’ She’d look to see who was on, and it would be a fat dude with a beard. He couldn’t tell us apart.”
His mom asked him to get rid of the beard, he said.
“She said, ‘I don’t ask for a lot, but your grandfather is going to have a heart attack, and also you look like everyone else.’ ”
Mom was right, he admitted. “Every time I do a show, there are like three fat, bearded dudes.
“So now I’ve shaved, and I’m a fat, nonbearded dude.”
Derek Sheen at Breaking Sad
What: The self-deprecating Seattle comedian headlines this month at the comedy showcase hosted by Olympia’s Chase Roper. Also performing are Levi Manis of Seattle, Jeff Taylor of Tacoma, and Sean Keyran and Nicole Ash Bailey, both of Olympia.
When: 9 p.m. Friday (Jan. 6). Breaking Sad takes place the first Friday of each month.
Where: 4th Ave Tavern, 210 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia.
Tickets: $10.
Information: facebook.com/breakingsadshowcase, eventbrite.com or derektime.com.
Watch: See Sheen’s performance at the House of Blues in San Diego at bit.ly/2iBW1uu.
Sheen on …
Politics: “A lot my friends are telling me, ‘Don’t worry. When things like this happen, music and comedy get so much better. You’re going to have so much material because of this election,’ and my answer is, ‘Cool. Name one German comedian.’ Anyone remember the alt-comedy boom of 1943? I don’t.”
Portland: “A gentleman rode by me on 1920s bicycle with one of the big wheels in the front and the tiny wheels in the back, twiddling his mustache, and handed me a sample of an artisanal fruit that he had been growing and I’m like, ‘This is Portland.’ ”
Biscuits and gravy: “It’s an unconstituted biscuit on top of a constituted biscuit. It’s two ----in’ biscuits in one biscuit.”
This story was originally published January 3, 2017 at 4:00 AM with the headline "Unique perspective helps Seattle comedian Derek Sheen stand out."