Accidental comedian on fire on tour

Many comedians knew from a young age they wanted to make people laugh and worked hard to get their name out there.

But New South Wales-based comedian Dane Simpson simply fell into the comedy game by chance.

“I was cruising around with comedian Kevin Kropinyeri, he was on a tour and I was helping him out with all the audio equipment,” he said.

“We were doing a tour of outback NSW and they’re such long trips, so I was spinning a yarn to him about my dad and the silly things he gets up to.

“Kevin said ‘you should get out and tell that story before the show tonight’ and he physically pushed me out on stage.”

Just over a year later Simpson is back on the road with Kropinyeri and Brisbane comedian Matt Ford, visiting rural towns around Australia as part of the Aboriginal Comedy All-Stars Show.

“It’s a great, hilarious show with a really good Aboriginal flavour to it, which makes it unique,” Simpson said.

“I like to tell a few yarns about where I come from, it’s just a collection of stories that my silly family and friends have done over the years.”

Simpson is no stranger to the entertainment lifestyle, having worked as a DJ since he was 15 and running a comedy club in Wagga Wagga.

He also plays in a band with his dad and is constantly uploading his own short sketches to his Facebook page.

“Entertainment has always been in my family,” Simpson said

“Some of my earliest memories of my Nan was she used to play her walking stick like a trumpet for me, just to have a laugh.”

Despite performing on stage countless times as a musician, Simpson said he was surprised at how tough the switch from music to comedy was.

“I thought it’d be an easy transition but it’s a bit of a big leap,” he said.

“When you sing a song people don’t pay much attention to the lyrics, you can just muck it up a little bit and it doesn’t matter.

“Whereas comedy, people are paying attention to every syllable that you are pronouncing, it’s a little bit more pressure.”

Simpson has been using his time on the road to soak up as many tips and tricks about performing comedy as he can, but Aboriginal comedian Shiralee Hood’s words of wisdom struck a chord. “She has this saying, ‘you’re always going to have butterflies in your stomach before every show, but it’s about teaching them to fly in formation’,” Simpson said.

“It’s so perfect, yeah you get nervous before every single show because we care and we want to put on a really good show.

“It’s about making that nervous energy work for you.”

The Aboriginal Comedy All-Stars Show will roll into Geraldton this Thursday at Queens Park Theatre.