It’s been over three years since we last checked in with the Midnight Swinger, when
the brash and blonde comedian headlined the sixth anniversary of Springfield’s Funny Bone Comedy Club back in September of 2005. Then he was peddling a new
self-produced DVD, Swingin’ thru America that followed the comic on a trail across the country from sold-out shows to
those less well attended, portraying from the Swinger’s perspective, “what it’s like being a touring comedian.”
Now he’s back in town, but this time it’s not to sell a DVD (though if you want to buy one…), but to film his latest video offering during another performance at Donnie B’s Funny Bone. It’ll be a top-notch process filmed in HD with a professional crew of three to four
cameras primed to capture all the outrageous comedy of the Midnight Swinger in
action.
“I love the room and the people here have always been good to me,” says the comic character known to his family and the IRS as David Scott. “And I wanted to say thank you for being such an amazing audience over the years.”
Scott was scheduled to perform on New Year’s Eve, record the 8 p.m. show and let the rowdy 10 p.m. routine pass on into
memory. He’ll continue shooting all weekend during the Friday and Saturday performances,
then edit the three nights into one show. It’ll be a first for the comedy club and could produce national exposure for the
popular weekend hangout. Already Scott reports interest in the not-yet-filmed
show from HBO, Comedy Central, and other television companies. After the final
product comes together he plans to shop it to various networks for possible
airtime in 2009.
“I’ve been working the last six months polishing and refining the show, adding new
material and working over older parts,” says Scott. “If it was possible to make my show better than it is, I did it.”
Since his last visit to Springfield, the Midnight Swinger has stayed busy
crisscrossing the country in a comedic caravan, making a living making people
laugh, while playing comedy clubs, corporate get-togethers, and other desirable
locations where a crazy cat like Scott can ply his trade. A huge highlight was
a comedy festival appearance on an HBO special in 2007.
A New York City native, Scott took the plunge into the exciting world of
professional comedy after graduating from college. With a
now-is-the-time-to-do-it attitude, he took off to make it hilariously well in
the land of the funny people. He gravitated toward the old-school Rat Pack
style and era of entertainment, plucked his stage name from a Mel Torme song,
and soon the Midnight Swinger was born. A spike-haired blonde, who dressed in
snazzy duds, walked with a swagger and talked with a snappy attitude took the
stage in comedy clubs and never left.
“My show is reminiscent of a ’60s Vegas act with music, dancing, impressions and crowd banter,” he says. “Comedy is an art form, a work in progress. I do my greatest hits and then try
out new bits, but it’s always fun, fun, fun.”
Even though Scott constantly evolves his show, fear not loyal fans. “Damn, I look good,” the maxim of the Midnight Swinger, remains front and center as the motto of our
humorous hero.
“Yeah, no matter what else I do I’ll still be using my battle cry,” he says. “What do you expect? Damn it, I do look good, you know.”
The Midnight Swinger will be looking good while doing two shows nightly at 7:30
and 9:30 at Donnie B’s Funny Bone Comedy Club of Springfield (2937 W. White Oak Dr., 217-391-5653),
Friday and Saturday, Jan. 3 and 4.
This article appears in Dec 25-31, 2008.
