Interview: Daniel Sloss
Hitting bigger and harder than ever with spots on Conan, supporting Dave Chapelle, and in the middle of an international tour, Scottish comedian Daniel Sloss spoke with Victoria Nangle.
Hi Daniel, how are you today?
I’m very well, thank you.
How are you finding it Stateside?
It’s great. I’m in Denver, Colorado, where marijuana and all of his mates are legal. You can just walk into a store, like an adult, and buy drugs. It’s the future. There’s no crime.
You’ve been touring this show a long while – and all over the globe. Do you have to be brutal with your material to make sure it’s understood by an international audience?
Nah, my material isn’t topical or political or anything. It’s about me and how much of a **** I am, and fortunately, I’m a **** no matter where I go.
So the material is pretty universal.
You can just walk into a store, like an adult, and buy drugs. It’s the future
It’s called NOW – with the tour starting last September, how current and ‘now’ is it by the time you get to Brighton in May?
It’s still about me, and I’ve never not been current. It starts an hour long when I premiere it at the Edinburgh Fringe and then as I tour it around the UK and Europe in the autumn, I tend to find new avenues to develop with some of the ideas, so it expands to around 90 minutes. Then for my London and New York seasons as well as for the Australian festivals I have to pare it back to 75 minutes so it’s usually a pretty tight show – I only get back from touring Oz at the start of May so that’s what I’ll be doing
in Brighton.
You recently supported Dave Chapelle in San Francisco – what did you take away most, from working with Chapelle, and from playing to his audience?
I was genuinely blown away by his performance. It was two shows, so I got to watch how he changed his style, jokes, delivery between the two and it was fascinating to watch. Just a real master at work.
You’ve also appeared on Conan an impressive eight times – with more of a profile Stateside, would you ever be tempted to stay in the States, maybe following the US career plan into movies?
No.
What are your plans for the next 12 months?
Write a new show, tour it around the world again, repeat.
And what would be your dream next 12 months professionally – presuming you have no need for rest or a personal life?
Exactly the same as the past eight years. That or get on Taskmaster. I ****ing love that show.
I enjoyed watching you on the Comedy Central week of ‘Comedy Roast Battles’. The format is well established across the Atlantic but is newer in the UK. Why do you think Brits have been more reluctant to embrace it?
Because Brits are too mean anyway. All British humour is making fun of each other and ourselves, we’re self deprecating. In America it’s like a novelty to insult someone. As a Scottish person with a Scottish family and British mates, every day of my ****ing life is a Roast Battle.
What do you miss most about home when you’re touring and travelling?
My friends and family.
Daniel Sloss: Now, Komedia, Friday 25 May, 6.30pm, £14/12
