SAMY AMEZIANE AKA THE COUNT OF BOUDERBALA THE ‘STAND UP’ GUY FROM SAINT DENIS WILL CONQUER NEW YORK CITY COMEDY CLUBS THIS COMING MAY
‘The Count in New York’ – sounds like a book title – so is ‘the Count of the Poor’ in New York comedy clubs to claim his lands in America? What do you like about performing in America?
What I like in American comedy clubs is the variety of stand-up comedians and the healthy competition between them. A lot of them have so much talent. And it’s always interesting when you perform with great comedians like the Bad Boys of Comedy, the Def Jam Comedy or the Chapelle Show.
In New York, I’m very impressed by the biggest comedy clubs like the Times Square Comedy Club, the Comedy Cellar, the Gotham Comedy Club but also small and less famous ones that are very good, especially in the less touristed areas like the Cafe Lou in The Bronx, the Moca Lounge in Harlem or some comedy clubs in Brooklyn.
Which is the most challenging public, the French or the American?
Both are good, but the Americans are more participatory because they already have the Stand-up comedy culture. In France, stand-up comedy is kind of “new” thing and when you go to see a comedy show, you’re not used to answering comedians when they ask you questions for example. In the US, the crowd is used to this.
Afterwards, the French public is harder than the American, it’s more “all right, I’ll sit down and you make me laugh!” But it’s a good challenge too!
In New York it’s funny because since I have a French accent, people will listen to you more than an American comedian. So, they’re more interested in what you’re saying.
What it like in New York City for a French import like you?
I don’t want to be a “cliché” but I love the atmosphere of New York: the streets, the quick steps of people in the streets, the women, the workers. I also love its restaurants, its parties and the fact that in one day you can connect with so many people. People are very open minded in New York due to all the waves of immigrations and this melting pot of a City.
Where do you hang out?
New York is such a great city that every area has its own charm. I love Harlem, hanging around the 125th Street, around the Apollo Theater.
I like Spanish Harlem too. I used to live there in front of Central Park, where I used to run every morning. Afterwards, I really liked the Village, because a lot of great comedy clubs are based there.
I also love Brooklyn, especially Williamsburg, I used to stay on Bedford Avenue, a very special neighborhood, an artistic and imaginative one!
How do New York women treat you?
I’ve traveled a lot around the world and I thought that Paris was THE city of beautiful women… That’s what I thought before I came to New York.
The City is a place of such diverse peoples and the mix between them that you discover wonderful faces that you’ve never seen before! Women in New York are very beautiful, but in general, in night clubs, Americans girls are very touchy. They come to you, they grind you and at the end of the night, they tell you “thank you very much, was nice meeting you, have a good night!” They leave and you get so upset… French girls are different… When they grind you, they won’t let you leave alone… THEY’RE MORE PRAGMATIC…
BY EVE THEROND
