Comedian Ryan Davis [RADIO INTERVIEW]

King of Comedy, Ryan Davis 

LASM x TDR: Did you grow up with that one thing called like when you were acting crazy, like midnight fever.

Ryan Davis: Midnight! No.

LASM x TDR: I heard about it’s like when you acted up. So that’s the Ryan we get.

Ryan Davis: I grew up the middle of seven kids from two strict parents.

LASM x TDR: Wow. Oh Wow.

Ryan Davis: If you up at midnight, you get in a left hook. Please man. We used to put towels under the doors so our parents couldn’t tell the lights was on. What are you, midnight fever? We were whispering. Anything, it was midnight quiet time. You know what I mean? We’re sneaking. Somebody’s knock out because my older siblings to sneak out. It goes through their girlfriend or boyfriend and we are up like…

LASM x TDR: What the cover?

Ryan Davis: Yeah, we, like, man’s come in. I got to jump in his bed and act like I’m him. You can’t have that many because they owed me one.

LASM x TDR: Secret. So Ryan, you’re currently on tour, right? Tell us about yourself. What do you got going on?

Ryan Davis: I’ve been touring for two years man. First tour, funnier in person tour. Second tour, kind of famous tour. It was great man. Over a hundred shows, over 70 cities last year. Last year we did Canada. It was great. I can’t lie. It’s just to go to different parts of the country and hundreds or a few thousand people there waiting on you just to meet you and seeing get down on stage around us. I would’ve never thought, I’m from like small city in North Carolina. You could’ve never told me that my life would be this and I would go…

LASM x TDR: Wow.

Ryan Davis: Yeah. So everyday I wake up, I’m happy. Like I am a static, you know what I mean? I’m never going back to being an illegal drug dealer. It was great. It was great. So, Pharmacist instead.

LASM x TDR: You did say legal.

Ryan Davis: Legally.

LASM x TDR: Like cocaine legally like weed? That go from 50 appealing son. Shout out to the dudes that can’t get up.

Ryan Davis: They will pay any amount of money. The funny part is those who can’t get up still use it. And they’re like, we’ll just take half a pill… It change a lot though. It’s just the audio put the cheat code.

LASM x TDR: Same ones in the hospital night because they can’t go by.

Ryan Davis: They’re like, what was your name mate. It wouldn’t go down, but boy. Next time I’m going to take a toilet paper…

LASM x TDR: I’ve heard of people who had to like put a shot to make you feel numb.

Ryan Davis: Oh absolutely.

LASM x TDR: It’s a good thing.

Ryan Davis: Because they shouldn’t have took it.

LASM x TDR: And that’s the problem.

Ryan Davis: And I feel bad. Because there’s like if you don’t have a prescription that means that you stole it from somebody. There’s somebody who really needs it.

LASM x TDR: That’s real. That’s true right there. I just want to see a Viagra commercial with that fat Joe song all the way up. Okay Journey. I have to see that. With the old guy with this incredible sound! Tricia and Journey, 2019, this is what you’re getting. Viagra with a, is our focus right now.

Ryan Davis: It’s the fact like nothing can stop me… nothing.

LASM x TDR: Except the needle.

Ryan Davis: They don’t tell that part. You tell that to a dude….

LASM x TDR: They’ll back it.

Ryan Davis: That’s a side effect. You’ve got to list that on the bottle. Hey man, if this go left, needles are coming.

LASM x TDR: Trip Digital Radio L.A Style magazine to Ryan Davis. Back to you Ryan, how did you get started? And then I’ll hand this to Peter.

Ryan Davis: To be completely honest with you. People thought I was funny my whole life, man. I never really thought being a comedian was something that was possible. I love comedy my whole life and I would always look at those people did it. Like they were superhuman. That’s my regular, you can’t do stuff like that. So I was never that person that looked at him and go, I can do that. I was like, they’re out of this world.

LASM x TDR: Who you’re looking at?

Ryan Davis: Oh man. Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Oh my god, Chris Tucker. Chris Tucker and Bernie Mac are some of the funniest people ever lit. When was the last time you watched money talks? It makes no sense how funny that dude is. Friday, all of that stuff like you see stuff like that and you go, man, these people are just out of this world. So I never thought that. I never thought that I would one day be mentioned with people like that. So I was just in the comedy and then I watched, it was a 2013 I watched Kevin Hart’s, let me explain in theaters twice and he’s like crying cause he just sold out Madison Square Garden twice. And I’m like, I’m sitting there in the theater like, man, I’ve never even tried to do what it is that I love. And I want to give it a shot man. And two days later I got on stage for the first time, rocked. And I was bit by the bug. I was like, I’m putting everything into this. And I grind it. I quit my job. I had my own room at home I was booking. I was a booking agent and an opening act and I was the financier behind the whole thing. I was doing the whole thing. And then I was creating content, putting it on the Internet. Three years later, touring the country, doing my own shows.

LASM x TDR: Let’s give a strong jam on that. That’s a grind baby.

Ryan Davis: I didn’t have a car.

LASM x TDR: Wow. With no car.

Ryan Davis: On foot giving flyers out, putting them on people’s cars. They kicked me off the mall. No soliciting. I was like, cool. When you turn around. No solicitors here.

LASM x TDR: Exactly. I got to make my way.

Ryan Davis: It’s crazy.

LASM x TDR: Well. I got to tell you Ryan, like you are bringing fire and energy to this room, to this studio. And I’m so glad that you chose to pursue your dreams. With that being said, with everything that you were build and all of your grind, and everything that you were doing, the risk that you were taking, the faith moves that you were making, would you say that those were the things that kind of like laid the foundation to put you in a position to be in the realm or be having an opportunity like with HBO, Def Comedy Jam? What actually transitions you from your grinding? Like doing it all on your own to being put on platforms at that level?

Ryan Davis: It’s 100% of that. Every time you get on stage it’s a risk. You’ve got people coming out solely to judge you. They’re coming out, they come out with, you better be funny because that’s why they came out. That’s why they got dress. That’s why they got the babysitter. That’s why they bought the ticket.

LASM x TDR: Absolutely.

Ryan Davis: That all, like if you think for one second. You getting on stage and ain’t no pressure on you. You have lost your mind. You have lost your mind. You have pushed all the chips in the middle of the table. So you’re gambling every time, whether you’re gambling financially on yourself or in an artistic way mainly. And may like, I always wanted to be the best. I’m never got into this for money. I always was like, I want to be the best. I studied everybody. So when the opportunity for def comedy to come up and they were doing the tryouts, I knew that they, nothing was going to stop me from making it on that show. Nothing.

LASM x TDR: On core. That is a big bunch of star. I’m sorry, you are inspiring so many people right now, like students that I’ve worked with like your, what you’re sharing right now and the fact that you made the choice to do that, you are inspiring so many people that are getting ready to hear you. And I mean you’re telling a story. This is raw. This is uncut. This is 100. But I have to say like when you audition for like def comedy jam. So is def comedy jam first and then after def comedy jam, that’s when you had the opportunity with HBO?

Ryan Davis: Well, it was all Def. They were bringing back def comedy jam.

LASM x TDR: Def Comedy Jam was on it.

Ryan Davis: Yeah. It was all def comedy. They had, I mean they did Atlanta, Chicago, New York, L.A. They were looking for comics all over the country. I actually was in North Carolina. I wasn’t even living here yet. I flew out here, just to audition.

LASM x TDR: Right.

Ryan Davis: And I’d made up in my mind and come down here for nothing. So I did my set. Yeah, I got the call.

LASM x TDR: Ye-hey.

Ryan Davis: Yeah. And it was so funny. It was like joyous. And then in the other hand I was like, I know you all better call me. [laughs] ] I was there. I did good.

LASM x TDR: Yeah. I worked for this.

Ryan Davis: I prepared for this. I had a great set man. And it was crazy because even when the show aired, I didn’t know what kind of response I was going to get. And I’m so used to being recognized for my content. You know what I mean? Because I have over a hundred viral videos or so. So it hasn’t, like for three years I haven’t gone a day without having to take a picture with somebody or being stopped me and recognized. And then it changed because like people was like, I know you. I’ll be like, oh you’ve seen my videos? They’re like, you make videos? I don’t know about that. I saw you on HBO. Alright. My Mom got to see me on TV about now.

LASM x TDR: That’s when you made it.

Ryan Davis: That’s the last thing our cable. My mom could all see me on TV.

LASM x TDR: Take it over Journey. I can’t… [Laughs]

Ryan Davis: My mom had the opportunity to see me on TV. That matters. It means the same.

LASM x TDR: It was too late. She fell asleep.

Ryan Davis: Right. The funny part is the day it debuted. I was in Nashville, Tennessee. It was December 23rd. I was in Nashville. I had a show. I have a two shows that night and they called me and they’re like, you coming to the club? I was like, not yet. I was like, we can start the show at 8:15, 8:30. But at eight o’clock I’m about to be on TV. I got to see this. I got to see this man. It was so important to me. I remember, I dieted before I went on TV because I wanted to lose weight. And then when I saw it I was like, Ooh, I look the same. I lost all the weight [Laughs 00:13:56] for no reason. I could’ve just eaten what I want to eat then.

LASM x TDR: No. Okay. Don’t start there. Let him talk.

Ryan Davis: Clearly put the weight right back on you doc.

LASM x TDR: TV makes you look bigger. It helped you.

Ryan Davis: It looked the same. I was like, why?

LASM x TDR: You wouldn’t look happier if you wouldn’t have lost weight.

Ryan Davis: I know. I lost weight in order to look like what I look like at real life three weeks ago. I was like, man. I mean, I can see the difference in the mirror and pictures definitely everything. And then I got on TV and it made me look exactly how I look a month earlier. I was like, thank you cameras for everything that you do.

LASM x TDR: So let me just jump into something a little different right now because, you’re funny boy.

Ryan Davis: I appreciate that. I appreciate that.

LASM x TDR: But I was thinking, I know it’s not all comedy with you because of some of the things that you do on your posts. And your political, you get out there and you talk about the climate, the environment, things that are going on. J Lo’s dress.

Ryan Davis: Oh Boy!

LASM x TDR: You got a deep balance. Definitely man. And I just wanted to know, is comedy where you want to step and stay or do you want spreading out to other genres? Do you want to start doing the news? What do you want to do, bro?

Ryan Davis: I feel like comedy fits all of that. For me, being funny is the gift but it’s not solely the gift. I’m still, as a comedian and somebody with a platform that reaches millions, it is my responsibility to speak on certain things. Especially, it was my responsibility to educate myself about it first before speaking of it. Have you really rock with me and you really a fan of mine or you really somebody who supports me and believes in me. Then you should expect me not to change. You should expect me to speak out on certain things. And I had children. I couldn’t look myself in the mirror and I couldn’t look at our kids every day. And if I see something that I think is wrong and I don’t speak on it because I’m scared of it.

LASM x TDR: Changing! Exactly.

Ryan Davis: Any, I can go back to slinging Viagra. It’s not like I was cool there. You know what I mean? I can go back. It’s nothing.

LASM x TDR: Keep to 100.

Ryan Davis: Yeah, it’s your responsibility now. It’s still my responsibility to be funny. But comedy to me is all encompassing. Whenever like all comedy ain’t the same. There’s some people who do props in their silly and do all this. I’m not silly. I kicked that real and then I make it funny. I make it so you can take it. You know what I mean?

LASM x TDR: Preach.

Ryan Davis: But the message is still going to be in there. I’m not going to forget the message. So I feel like with doing comedy I can still do all those things. I can still talk about politics and J Lo’s curves. I can get it in the same video.

LASM x TDR: Absolutely.

Ryan Davis: But that’s your responsibility. And a lot of people don’t, but I say this, if you’re not educated on it, don’t speak on it. I’d rather you not say something then jump out there and you got millions of followers listening to you, and you saying something that makes absolutely no sense.I’d rather be wise.

LASM x TDR: I’m with you on that. I feel embarrassed for you when you do it.

Ryan Davis: Yeah.

LASM x TDR: Exactly.

Ryan Davis: That’s the one thing that’s weird about living out here because you always will run into one of them people. And they’re looking at you like, hey bro, did you. Just a mess. I ain’t do nothing but repeat what you said.

LASM x TDR: Got Him. One of the things that comes to mind, right? And it always go back to this question, its like that big leap. When you were doing pharmaceutical, essentially you were a pharmacist, right? Is that the technical term of what you were doing?

Ryan Davis: No man. I was, listen, like the pharmacy tech is the person who does all the work. All the work. And the pharmacist is paid to know everything. They go to school all those years to know what the pills do.I can give you any advice. I can not tell you, pharmacists go to school to tell you, yeah, don’t take that. That will give you a rash.

LASM x TDR: And you’re just like sh… Right. Exactly.

Ryan Davis: But that’s a little part that makes, that was always like, and I’m like, do you know, I was like I do but I can tell you though. There’s HIPPA laws, like you cannot, no.

LASM x TDR: What do you call that white mask? You just like that?

Ryan Davis: Yeah. A mind.

LASM x TDR: A mind. You were like a mind behind the counter. Like real though. They got, I mean, the laundry list of things as wrong with the drug. I mean, you couldn’t even give us one word of advice.

Ryan Davis: I have nothing. If you’re not so [Inaudible] This is the crazy part. I can even, It is said on a bottle, take two every day. Right. I can’t tell you that. If you say, how many am I supposed to take a day? And I’m like, man, I don’t know nothing about that Bro. It’s a doctor’s duty. It’s like you’re right in front of me. I know where I’m standing. But you gotta understand. [Laughs 00:20:00] There’s dude over here. There are laws against me saying not to.

LASM x TDR: It feels good to say no.

Ryan Davis: And that’s the crazy part…  But that’s when I realize how funny people are too because people don’t think the pharmacy tech knows anything. The pharmacy tech knows everything.

LASM x TDR: Absolutely.

Ryan Davis: Everything and everybody like, no, they don’t know Matt and logos. Only the pharmacist know. They think I’m just handing them the bag. I feel the prescription. I have everything.

LASM x TDR: I know what you got.

Ryan Davis: I know all about it. The pharmacist didn’t even look. They did nothing. The pharmacist double check my work. They looked at them. You got it right. Alright. And then we’ll do. That was one time this dude, I promise, it made me laugh so hard. This dude was buying Cialis, right!

LASM x TDR: What does that do?

Ryan David: It’s Viagra. It’s the same thing. It’s just different brand.

LASM x TDR: Tricia. I didn’t even know sis. I didn’t know either too.

Ryan Davis: It’s cool. Viagra blue pill Cialis is shaped like a triangle.

LASM: I’ve never been with anything that used it. I don’t know. Why should I have that.

Ryan Davis: There’s a commercial. Have you ever see the commercial of the guy smiling for no reason at the pool in the seashore. And they, you’d be like, what is this commercial about? Cialis. So. This dude, he was like, I don’t think this price is right. I was like, well, let me check it and he was like, you know what, I’m gonna just go ahead and pay it. Don’t worry about that.A dude rather pay over than have me know what it is. It’s okay man.

LASM x TDR: It’s like a drug deal.

Ryan Davis: Listen. If you come in and you feel like you got to pay too much for your herpes prescription, I already know.

LASM x TDR: Exactly.

Ryan Davis: You got it.

LASM x TDR: Since you found your calling, you did, right? So there had to be some times and within that that you fell on your face, which was up on that stage.

Ryan Davis: What!

LASM x TDR: You gotta tell me about something like that.

Ryan Davis: This is the thing about me too, man. I am supremely confident like, I put the work in. The reason I’m confident is because I put the working, I know whenever I get to a certain point but the thing with comedy is so subjective. So what’s funny the one person may be so stupid to another person. And I was still kind of young in the game. I’m still young in the game. I’m only five years in, you know what I mean? But I’ve been on stage every week for five years. It’s not a game for me, but it was early in the game. I went to a place and perform. I killed the guy who books the room was like, hey man, I want you to do our 17th anniversary man. We’re having, and he’s at the, comedy room that he’s done every month, but 17 years in Charlotte. I was like, man, of course I’m going to come do it. Whatever. I was so happy. I invited friends. I invited a girl, I had a crush. She would stay on front row. A bomb right in front of the dog. Bomb right in front of friends, family, everything bro. It was, oh, what? Like it was crazy. A dude was looking at me with his arms crossed, like he turned around. The doodle book me just to be on coats. He’s big time. He’s a big brother in the game. He did Comic View back in the day. All of that like…

LASM x TDR: Bomb comedy. A dude like, look to hear and it was like, Tito, get your man [Inaudible] I was looking for the light. Whenever you do a set, right. If I’m doing 20 minutes, I might tell them, hey, at 18 minutes give me a light so I’ll know the wrap up my set or whatever. Right? No. It was about 12 minutes and I was like, Tito, light! Hey flashlight bro, you got something for me. He was, I saw him in the back light. I don’t know what to tell you young man, like it was bad, but I came back and killed every time I had a showing that I didn’t feel like I did my best. I always go back and redeem myself. It is so important to me to exercise the demons. You can cannot, like when I take an L, I got to come back and get the w I cannot, I’m so competitive in life. But you don’t get here by accident. Everything you, I’ve been competing against myself forever, like I never, it’s never about anybody else.

Ryan Davis: You know what I mean? Whenever I did, whenever I bombed, every comedian on that show did well. And I never looked at, I never took it like, oh, I’m better than them. Why didn’t it work out? No. You did this. This is your L. You got to figure out how to do this again. The first time I did the Hollywood, I sold, the first time I did L.A, I sold out the Hollywood emperor. I was not happy with that performance. I was not in a, somebody who was a patron at that show at inbox me. It was like, I enjoy the show like that. And I was like, I can’t even fall you because I had a feeling myself that it was and what it was. And I came back and did all star weekend, all star weekend came. Me and Tiffany had this to the show at the Savoy or whatever. And then the next day I sold out the Hollywood emperor again. And I went back and killed it. And then my arm and my agent was like, man, this show was like, this is the best I’ve ever seen you on something. I know. I wasn’t going, I know. I don’t, I can’t you, if you hit your head against the wall and you come back and you have a chance to switch it up or fix the issues and you hit your head against the wall again, then you’re not doing enough to change things up. Man. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and hoping to get a different result. Like you can’t do that, man. You gotta put the work in and everything. Everything is a lesson. You know what I mean? That’s what L stands for. It’s not a loss. That’s a lesson. If you take it that way, then sky’s the limit. For real.

LASM x TDR: Let me tell you something. You sound like a man and I know you, to be a man from what we’re interviewing right now that has lots of wisdom, lots of experience. Do you ever, and you definitely have confidence without question. But that leads me to ask this question. Do you ever feel censored in a world that is consumed by cell phones and social media, like I know Trish was asking you about, and, and you made this amazing, you gave this amazing response when you said you feel it’s your responsibility to use the platform that you’ve been given via your gift to be able to help people. But do you ever feel censored about anything or uncomfortable about doing anything because of how everybody’s putting everything out there with their cell phones or social media?

Ryan Davis: There’ll always be respect boundaries, you know what I mean? That I won’t cross and that’s just being a good person. Yeah. You don’t talk about people’s kids and you don’t get to a point where, because like I’m, I have children myself, certain things that you say to me, it ain’t enough joking in the world. We, you got to see me. You got to see me now. I don’t care.

LASM x TDR: You done talking.

Ryan Davis: I was just joking. That’s great. But you’re going to step outside and we go home. You’re going to see about me. So I worked with them and respect boundaries. But at the end of the day, if it’s not outside of that, no. It’s, we’re the last truth tellers in the world. And if you allow yourself to be censored, you were doing yourself a disservice because, for real, you doing everybody at this service because, like there’s going to be people who never know what it’s like. who will never seen what it was like and if we get to a point. Because my thing is, what is equality exactly. You know what I mean? So you’re saying that I can’t talk about a certain group of people, but I can talk about other groups of people. How was that equal?

LASM x TDR: Right.

Ryan Davis: That’s what sensor it is. Censor like…

LASM x TDR: Just talking about that.

Ryan Davis: … No. You want, I am equal opportunity offender, alright! So yeah.

LASM x TDR: Yeah. Just relax.

Ryan Davis: Just relax. Right. You say, you ain’t said nothing about this group. Give it time. I’ll make my way around. Let me worry about it. Everybody is going to get these jokes. Don’t worry about it. Just give it a time. I’ll work my way. I am very fair. And you know what I mean? Like, I don’t like, my issue isn’t with groups. My issue was with stupidity. As long as you stay on the side of righteousness and intelligence, then you won’t have to hear nothing come from me. But as soon as you go on the other side, guess what? I mean your face. That’s just what it is. And then whenever you, so whenever you try to censor me, anybody that tries to censor me, I’m already assume that you’re not on the side of intelligence and you just, you’re trying to get offended. And anybody can be offended. It’s your right to be offended. By all means, get offended. And then go sit down somewhere. That’s what you do when you get, feel the way you feel, and then go sit down, write a letter. Go do something. Go do something that you’re going to do. But at the end of the day.

LASM x TDR: Write a letter.

Ryan Davis: … yeah, go write a letter,. Go write a letter to do whatever it is that you need to do. You make a poem. Write a new rap song. Do what she got to do. Paint a picture. Do some, turn it into an artistic expression. Turn it in some type of artistic expression and then get over yourself because you are not that important though.

LASM x TDR: But I’m not going to be censored. They saw my truth and fairness. That’s what you are saying.

Ryan Davis: I am so fair. I feel like I’m so fair. And there are seven billion people in the world, so many of them don’t agree with you so I’m not…

LASM x TDR: So, I now picture, as you’re saying…

Ryan Davis: …Go do something, turn it into something creativity…

LASM x TDR: But I’m going to tell you my truth and I won’t be censored.

Ryan Davis: … No. I can’t. I’m sorry.

LASM x TDR: So that kind of segues into my question. So you got a lot of viral videos that went out there. So what was it that connected with the people that you thought?

Ryan Davis: Was the fact that I didn’t care. That I was unapologetic truth teller. Like right now the biggest thing going on is like surviving R Kelly, right?

LASM x TDR: Right. Right now. And the government shutdown… But we got to we got to find out man. Where can everybody follow you and the continue the antics?

Ryan Davis: You can find me on social media. Ryan Davis on Facebook. You can just search Ryan Davis videos on Facebook and one of them will pop up, but you can find me on Ryan Davis comedy on Instagram and Twitter. And for any tour dates, any other information, anything you can find me on ryandaviscomedy.com. It’ll get you all information you need to know. And God, man, I appreciate you all.

LASM x TDR: We want to thanks you man. Thank you for coming out. But before we go… It’s like midnight fever. We woke you up and that’s what’s good. But before we go though, we’ve got, we always ask our guests the one simple question and we got to find out what this is to you. So we got to know what is your superpower?

Ryan Davis: My, Oh man, what is my superpower? My superpower is, this is hard. You know what I mean? My superpower is also my biggest like flaw too, man. And it’s my lack of emotion. My lack of emotion makes me able to be a truth teller all the time because I don’t get emotional about the subject. I literally keep it factual and to the chest on the same time. In the same token, you need to be, you need to have emotions. You know what I mean? Like I said, I got children and they need when they fall down or they got things that they’re dealing with, they need dad to be like there. I can’t be like, no, pick yourself up.