Darrenfrost.com | The Official Website of Darren Frost

Stand-up comedians don’t get a lot of respect. After all, anyone can tell a joke, right? Not according to a new documentary series, which depicts these men and women as tribal warriors, fighting for respect in the face of constant rejection. 

“It’s not just ‘knock, knock, who’s there?'” says Darren Frost, a 16-year stand-up comedy veteran. “There is a lot more to it than that.” 

The 37-year-old, Toronto-based comedian is featured in Tribes of The 21st Century, a new three-part documentary series on Discovery Civilization that aims to demystify and explore the complicated and misunderstood world of today’s “tribes” or tight knit, shared communities that are defined by interests, occupations or habits. 

Written by journalist Allen Abel, the first episode examines the lives of stand-up comedians. Subsequent episodes look at body builders and bike couriers.

Like tribal groups of years past, each member has his own rank, and Frost is dubbed a “tribal warrior” for his years of hard travel to and from middle-of-nowhere towns, performing for heckling crowds, and paying his dues.

And the term ‘warrior’ is fitting for Frost, who is known for his aggressive and angry style of comedy. As a comedian with no limits, (he has garnered the nickname ‘Little Man Hate’), it’s easy to see why he feels he’s misunderstood. 

“I think everything is fair game, as long as you know what’s behind it,” he says. “I don’t think there is a topic that isn’t funny.”

Recently, Frost says he ran into problems with his audiences after making jokes about the Greyhound beheading, only one day after the incident.

“The majority of the crowd actually laughed, but one drunk guy got so upset and crazy, that he shoved the owner of the bar, he shoved his girlfriend and chastised the whole crowd,” recalls Frost.

But it’s the taboo topics like cancer, disabilities and joking about the health of his children (both who have congenital heart problems), that Frost says confuses audiences about his persona.

“My character is very defined, and it’s not ironic. I’m not alluding to ‘it’s just an act’. I’m not winking at the crowd between jokes. But I’m not like that in my daily life.”
 
His comedy is concerned with the hypocrisy he sees in the world. Not interested in doing the same old airplane food jokes, he says he tries to shock people into listening.

“You can’t go and talk about third world hunger or cancer or any hot button topic with a crowd that is dead. Crowds need to be awake to hear every word I’m saying to realize that I’m not just making fun of cancer; I’m making fun of something inside of cancer. There is a big difference.”

And it’s those differences and misconceptions that the documentary tries to shed some light on.

“[Tribes] does a good job of explaining the differences in stand-up. I hope viewers realize that it’s not easy, and it’s not a job that anyone can do,” he says. “I hope viewers are able to realize that it’s act; they should come to the club and leave their agenda behind and learn to take it as a joke first.”

Tribes of The 21st Century’s “Tribes of Comedy” airs on Discovery Civilization, September 4 at 9 p.m ET. “Tribes of Bodybuilders” airs September 11 at 9 p.m ET., and “Tribes of Bike Couriers” airs September 18 at 9 p.m ET.

and my new dvd made the top ten nasty/dirty cd/dvd’s of all time…..I am actually in the list twice

check it out

http://www.theseriouscomedysite.com/showreview.php?r_id=992

and i was mentioned in an article on violence in comedy ..here

http://postcitymagazines.com/2008-09/story_200809_ComicStripped.php