'So Much Shit Happens When You’re Dicking Around Backstage'

Last year, Scott Dooley wowed audiences around the country with his stand-up comedy titled Debut. Last week, Dools released a DVD of the experience, but it’s not your standard live-show-in-front-of-a-packed-out theatre kind of film. “I wanted to capture that feeling of being on the road and being on tour – so much shit happens when you’re dicking around backstage, like after the gig when everyone’s hammered drunk and just being horrible, I wanted to film that so I could try to bribe my friends when they try to become politicians, like ‘Hey, I’ve got footage of you, buddy.’ My grandmother, little Granny Dool, at the very end of the movie, gives me tips, because I live in the States now, on how not to be mugged when I’m walking around New York, and that’s from an 87-year old woman who’s lived in Melbourne her whole life; it’s amazing.”

"So much shit happens when you’re dicking around backstage, like after the gig when everyone’s hammered drunk and just being horrible."

The DVD should be a blast, but Dooley’s new show, Eva, which he’ll be showcasing on the comedy circuit this year, takes a bit of a darker turn. “It was going to be a break-up show and about dating and living in New York, and then the more I was writing, the more I found myself becoming incredibly honest with myself and what kind of person I was. It’s a really personal show... I’d just broken up with someone after eight years, and I went to a place where I’d never had a winter in my life and it was literally the coldest winter New York had ever seen, so I was a bit mopey and just walking around listening to Smith Street Band records and just being sad. It was a bit of an adjustment and I’m really glad I did it, and I think I’m a smilier person now because of it.”

Dooley started off his gig at triple j as a ‘work experience kid’, working his way up to joining Linda Marigliano for the afternoon drive program on weekdays from the beginning of 2008. He served that timeslot until his departure from the station at the end of 2009. It may have been a number of years since, but much of what he learnt there has worked its way into his routine. “The thing that radio taught me really well, especially triple j, is the idea of word economy – you don’t want to hear a radio presenter waffling, unless it’s kind of their act, and that’s the thing that radio really helped in terms of my stand-up because I feel that I’m quite concise as opposed to wandering around.”

And what does he think about Taylor Swift sneaking her way into the countdown? “I was explaining to my girlfriend the other day, I wouldn’t be able to hum her song, but I saw this video where she sent out care packages to her fans. I hope she doesn’t beat the [Hilltop] Hoods... but anyone after the squad is fine. I would love to hear that ID, like ‘Hey, I’m Taylor Swift, you’re listening to triple j.’ That’d be amazing.”