BB Spotlight - David Dempsey
BB Spotlights feature Edmonton individuals that intrigue, inspire, and interest us and will be published at the end of each month.
We have been talking for a while about what we would like to do for our blog to continue challenging ourselves in our photography but also in other areas of interest. We came up with a fun idea to feature a local artist or entrepreneur once a month by taking some fun photos and getting to know why they do what they do!
For our first local artist we chose David Dempsey. He was the perfect candidate, not only because his life and career is intriguing but he also happens to be Brianne’s fiancé. So in other words, access to this local personality wasn’t too difficult. We met with David at Parlour Italian Kitchen & Bar, which was chosen for the location of the interview for 3 reasons. 1) It’s gorgeous and the light is beautiful. 2) We’ve heard they make great pizza (and it was!). And 3) An inside scoop told us pizza is David’s favourite food.
Parlour Italian Kitchen & Bar opened about 6 months ago in Edmonton’s downtown core. We were drawn to the restaurant by its beaming marquee and large windows. The patio was full on what seemed to be the first day of summer, when we arrived for Happy Hour ‘Aperitivo’. All signature pizzas were only $10 and beer and wine on tap were $5 (Aprikats for both of us). The space is a loft design, with the dining room upstairs and the lounge, bar and kitchen on the main floor. They’ve brought the outside in, with matching brick walls, a marquee reading ‘EAT’ high above your head, and simple adornments like the red checkered picnic napkins. We shared the calamari, olives, and caesar salad with crispy pancetta to start, then the Knucklehead, Sonny Boy and The Wise Guy pizzas. Everything was delicious. The pizza was the neapolitan style we love, with well balanced, simple, and fresh ingredients on top. I believe the calamari was up for nomination for the best we’ve ever had.
Born in Dublin, raised in Australia, and living in Edmonton, comedian David Dempsey has no trouble fitting in. Finding friends and fans wherever he roams, David is charming onstage and a homebody off of it. David moved to Edmonton in 2009 and immersed himself in the local stand-up comedy scene. Back in Perth, he had dabbled in comedy for two years, becoming a Western Australian state finalist for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's RAW Comedy competition in 2006 in which he performed in front of 1, 400 people. The art of stand-up stuck with him and when he arrived in Edmonton, he decided to pursue it as a career. Five years later, you can now catch him at the Comic Strip, Yuk Yuk’s, and touring Western Canada with The Laugh Shop. He is a regular at the local open mics where comics are encouraged to try out their new material on supportive crowds.
You grew up in Ireland, what was that like?
Well, I was born in Ireland, we moved to Australia when I was 4, moved back to Ireland when I was 7, then moved back to Australia when I was 10 and lived there until moving to Canada when I was 23.
So from the memories you have in Ireland as a young boy, what do you remember?
I remember bits and pieces, lots of rain. I remember spending a lot of time at Granny and Granddad's, being a nuisance to them, bothering them, getting away with bloody murder. One thing that always sticks with me was playing sports. There was a big field in front of my house. The street I lived on looped around and all the houses were lined up around this one big field. We called it 'the green' and every kid in the neighbourhood used to go out and we'd play soccer and whatever. I've never lived in a place where I've done that since. Where all the kids in the neighbourhood used to just hang out.
At 7 years old, your family relocated to Perth for the final time. What did you like about living there?
Nicer weather, obviously. It seems like a weird thing for a kid to notice, but I did notice how it was nicer and would always be outside playing.
And what drew you to Canada?
I moved to Canada to be with my girlfriend who is originally from Edmonton.
She sounds amazing! What is she like?
She is ok sometimes. She's not bad, she has her moments. (Cheeky smile) She's worth moving continents for.
What do you like the most about living in Edmonton now?
Snowboarding jumps to mind. The city's also not too big, I never have lived in big cities but I've been to Hong Kong and, you know, bigger cities and I found I like a bit of a slower pace. There are downsides, obviously, but I find it's central to a lot and it works for my comedy.
Did you find you were always a comedian even as a young boy?
I was probably more of just a performer than necessarily a comedian. I was always kind of acting the fool in class and a chatterbox and doing things to entertain people. It was more that I just liked being the centre of attention than anything else.
What's the craziest thing you did in a classroom to get attention?
One time we had a substitute teacher. I always used to sit next to my best friend, Chris and I told him when the substitute called his name during roll call, he should stay quiet. When she did, I yelled out that he was dead. Then the teacher told me 'that's not funny', and I burst into tears so she felt really bad. Then I told her I was kidding and introduced my friend, Chris, beside me. She kicked me out of class so I had the period off because I just wandered around the school. I used to do that, I'd get kicked out of class if there was a substitute or certain teacher. They told me to stay outside and I'd just wander off to the canteen or hang out with other teachers if they didn't have a class.
What hobbies do you pursue other than comedy?
I've been getting back into golfing a little bit. I also like video games, I'm a big video game nerd. I like snowboarding in the winter.
How did you get into comedy?
The first time I did it was in Australia and it was just one of those things where a few people had asked if I've ever tried stand up and I had always been intrigued by it, I always thought it was kind of a cool concept. So I just contacted the local club and asked if I could come down and do a spot.
Where do you find your best material comes from? What inspires you?
I find the best material usually comes from the few hours after I've been onstage for a good show. Especially if I've done a longer set, I've just been in that joke telling mindset for so long, I don't have to gear into it to start writing, I'm just already there. And I should be better at it, but sitting down then with ideas I've already written or jokes I've already worked on, I find I'm in the right head space to work on it.
How do you feel just before going on stage?
Always a little nervous, which is good. I'd be worried if I wasn't. That's when I usually have bad or low energy sets, is when I'm not nervous or excited to go onstage. But I just like to think: I'm about to go on and make a bunch of people like me and laugh. Hopefully.
What’s the most memorable onstage moment you’ve had?
Two St. Patrick's Day's ago, I was doing a show at the comic strip at West Ed Mall, and there was a stag party there who had hired a little person to come around with them for the whole party. I was hosting and about half way through, they propped him up on the divider toward the back of the room and he started yelling at me so I started making jokes about him. I eventually offered him 20 bucks to come up on stage and yell, "Help, they're after my lucky charms!" So he ran through the crowd, did a cartwheel, a backflip, yelled it from the stage and ran off again. The crowd was going nuts and it was very weird.
Who are your favourite comedians?
I like comedians who can tell jokes or perform and do things in a way that I can't. Mitch Hedberg - super unique, crazy and weird. Jerrod Carmichael - he's awesome, super likable, clever, genuine comic. Sean Lecomber - he's a local guy who's so smart, the way he looks at things and the way he writes jokes and puts stuff together.
What is your dream as a comedian?
To just keep doing comedy. It sounds kind of boring but that's all I really want from it, to just be able to keep telling jokes and hopefully get better. Make people laugh.
What would your words of advice be for new comedians?
Listen to a lot of different advice from different comics on comedy, but always try to figure it out for yourself. Don't steal material.
Update!
I finally got our film developed and wanted to add these images to the post. These are taken with my Olympus OM-10, nothing fancy or special, but I just love how the images come out. Film makes us slow down and think about the shot before pressing the shutter. And developing film is like Christmas! You almost forget the shots you took until you see them again weeks later and even if they're not perfect, I am always pleasantly surprised. The more I shoot, the more I realize photography is about capturing a feeling, not creating that 'perfect' image.
Enjoy!
-Bri
