D.J. Lewis acknowledges his voice sounds like an “old beat-up banjo” with a heavy, Chickamauga-grown twang, and he describes his comedy as “gutterbilly.”
“Out here [in Los Angeles], they label you real quick and call you a redneck,” he says. “To me, those are rich folks. They got boats and big trucks and shop at Wal-Mart. We shop at the 99-cent store. They call me the Northwest Georgia gutterbilly.”
But it is exactly those qualities that Comedy Catch co-owner Michael Alfano says make Lewis “unique,” and that give him a better-than fighting chance to make it in a very competitive business. It’s also what helps him make an instant connection with comedians like Josh Wolf, who last month asked Lewis to be on “The Josh Wolf Show,” which airs Thursday through Sunday at 11 p.m. on CMT.
Appearing on Episode Seven of “The Josh Wolf Show” were, from left, Wolf (on the ground), and comedians D.J. Lewis from Chickamauga, Sarah Tiana from Calhoun, Ga., and April Richardson from Atlanta.Several weeks ago, Lewis, 35, moved to Los Angeles and auditioned at CMT. Wolf remembered meeting him at the Comedy Catch and asked Lewis to come on the show, which Lewis describes as a countrified version of “Chelsea Lately,” where Wolf was a regular guest and contributor prior to getting his own show.
“Josh remembered me from Chattanooga and he thought I was funny enough to take a chance on,” Lewis says. “I have a different kind of humor, I guess, that’s not the same ol’ same ol’.”
During his June 20 appearance on Wolf’s show, they talked about things like Taco Bell considering selling alcohol at its stores and funny YouTube videos that were trending.
“There was one of a guy trying to steal an AK-47 from a gun shop,” Lewis says. “We talked about it being some new kinda crutches.
Lewis – who says “I’ve actually only been funny since 2011 but I started in 2009” – enjoyed the Wolf-show experience, but he says TV is different than doing standup.
“It was a live audience, and it was fun. It was different and I’m not used to that kind of thing. It was neat to see how comedy relates in that atmosphere. The timing thing when you are having a conversation is different and there is definitely an art to it. Like in radio, you can’t have dead air and you have to be very careful not to start talking over somebody’s joke.”
Lewis will make another appearance on the show on Saturday. He will also make a return appearance on July 30 at the Comedy Catch, where he spent many hours watching and observing.
“He’s actually a second-generation comedian at the club,” Alfano says. “His dad, Don, was a house emcee and featured act for many years.”
Alfano says he could tell early on that Lewis had something special.
“I can’t really compare him to anyone else. He’s Southern but not redneck. He calls it ‘gutterbilly,’ which is a higher-class term for ‘white trash,’ I suppose. He looks like a truck driver sometimes and sometimes he has this rockabilly look with his Elvis sideburns, tattoos and denim vest.
D.J. Lewis, second from left, appeared with two other Southern comics — Sara Tiana from Calhoun, Ga., and April Richardson from Atlanta — on a recent episode of “The Josh Wolf Show.”“I think he’ll find success because he is unique and you need to be. You can’t be another Larry the Cable Guy or Ron White.”
Alfano says Lewis manages to discuss issues of the day without offending or attacking people on a personal level. He’s also impressed with Lewis’ quick-study ability.
“It’s amazing to me how fast he learned, and how quickly he can take a joke that morning and have it crafted and ready to go on stage that night. Even seasoned comedians need time to get it right and work a joke out.”
One of the bits Lewis did during an early Comedy Catch routine was about owning up to being a really bad person. The type of guy who can know about wars, death and famine and doesn’t care a lick, “but let my cable go out for about five seconds” during a key moment of “Tombstone,” and it gets real, real quick.
Lewis says if he does hit it big in comedy, the reason for his rise can be traced to one thing. One person really. Alfano.
“I listened to Michael. Michael will tell you I was a mess the first time on stage. He gave me a lot of advice because he saw something in me. He’d say stop doing this and that and I listened.”
The biggest thing Alfano advised was to slow down and find his own voice, Lewis says.
“I already talk like an old beat-up banjo with more twang than I know what to do with, so I have to slow down.
“Also, when you first start doing it, you don’t really know who you are as a person. You don’t have too much to say. You just have jokes and then you grow up and get a voice. That deep-down part inside of you to say what you want to say. Don’t pretend to be something you are not and say what you want to say.”
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.