It’s our biggest and most technologically advanced interview thus far! WMMS 100.7′s new afternoon show co-host, Chad Zumock, one of Clevelands most popular stand-up comics, was kind enough to be our first recorded phone interview, and several days later, now that I’ve gotten past the shock of hearing my own voice, here it is:

60: So to start, where do you live, L.A. or Cleveland?

Chad Zumock: “Yeah, I need to update my site a bit. I lived in L.A. for about a year and a half, moved back in 2007, I went back and forth quite a bit back then anyhow. In fact, before I got the job at WMMF, I was going back out there to live, but this kinda fell in my lap. I’ve never considered myself a radio guy, even though I was part of National Lampoon radio on XM, but now I’m employed by Clear Channel.”

60: Was there a moment you knew you wanted to be a comedian?

CZ: “In 2004 or 2005 I was living in Hollywood, my girlfriend had just dumped me, I had only been out there about two weeks, and I had moved out there for her. I knew no one, so I would go to the Hollywood Improv and get drunk and watch comics like Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Harlan Williams, Jeff Ross and Sarah Silverman take the stage, one by one. That’s how I coped with breaking up with her, and I realized, it’s such a powerful thing to be up there with just the microphone and lights, making people laugh. So one day I went to an open mike and I haven’t stopped since.”

60: Was there a moment you regretted that decision?

CZ: “Every time I took the stage! Yeah, every single time I took the stage for a while there I thought, ‘you shouldn’t have done that.’ I don’t get scared anymore, though. The road is what’s tough, you get lonely. I remember I was in Fort Wayne, Indiana one night, and I didn’t have a very good set. So I went to a bar by myself afterwards, thinking, ‘oh my god I gotta come back here tomorrow,’ I just wanna go home. Everybody thinks it’s the best job in the world, and it can be, at times, but theres a lot of lows, too. That’s the sad part. Of course, there’s worse jobs, digging ditches, pouring concrete, that kind of stuff.”

60: Are there comedians you really look up to?

CZ: “Yeah, I’m influenced by a lot of people. In particular, there’s a comedian out of L.A. named Sam Tripoli, he’s really well respected in that comedy scene, not really nationally known, but just a machne gun on stage. Nick Swartson is a huge influence on me, not just cause he’s such a good guy, but also as a comedian.”

60: Thanks for your time, we’re really looking forward to this show..

CZ: “Yeah, they assembed a pretty good cast of characters. A lot of the Cleveland comedians, we’re all pretty good friends outside of comedy. Mike Polk, Ryan Dalton, we’ve known each other since high school, so it’s easy to put a good show together. ”


I AM THE RABBIT!!

Chad Zumock | MySpace Video

Chad Zumock, with Ryan Dalton, Jim Tews, Mike Baker and Mike Polk, in “A Night of Stand-Up Comedy” presented by the Independent Newspaper, this Wednesday, January 27th at Beachland Ballroom.

Chad’s album, “Accomplishing Nothing,” can also be found on his site or through iTunes.