Still remaining as part of Rodia’s Australian tour are shows at the Adelaide Town Hall on July 18 and Melbourne’s Palais Theatre on July 19, after which the American comic heads to New Zealand.
Rodia’s decision to tour the country comes in part thanks to requests made by members of his large social media following. “I was just getting asked by a lot of people [to come],” he explained, “I started creating a pretty decent fan base here in Australia and just wanted to take a shot and see how well I can do here.
“When the messages became pretty regular, I started looking at the demographic in Australia and how many fans I actually had here. We kept track of it, and it felt like a decent time to take a shot.”
For Rodia, it’s important to maintain a balance between the material the audience expects of him and the material he finds interesting. “I’ve got stories that are kind of classics that I have to use,” he admitted, “I’ll get killed if I don’t, my fans will come to the show and request them. But other than that … my shows are never identical.
“I actually laugh at how hard they still laugh at some of the things, knowing that they’ve heard it before,” he shared, “I guess it’s like music, you hear a song and then you go to a concert. It’s different when you hear that song live.”
Rodia’s career trajectory is becoming increasingly common. Nowadays, up-and-coming comedians are bypassing open mic nights, preferring instead to upload content directly onto social media and curate an audience.
“I started doing YouTube, Instagram and Facebook with my characters,” he recalled, “That’s where the Italian audience came from.
“I tried to stand up when I was 20. I remember I did an open mic in the city (New York). [But] I didn’t have the time to hit the city and do seven open mics a night and grind it out five days a week.
“I had a job at the time and then, all of a sudden, life catches up to you and the next thing you know, you kind of wake up and you’re married with a child and you’re like, ‘Alright, well now I’m kind of shot. I don’t have the time - I have a career now; I’m supporting a family.’”
Rodia’s first big break was completely unplanned. “I made the character (of ‘Uncle Vinny’) by accident,” he revealed, “I was just messing around, and I posted it and my sister calls me up. She’s like, ‘You have like 150,000 views on this video!’
“And at the time I had like 500 people following me, and they were all friends!”
Rodia finds that the new path of “making it” via social media isn’t always shown the respect he thinks it perhaps deserves. “I mean, I find that the old school guys kind of look down on guys like us a little bit,” he said, “There’s sort of an animosity. And I understand why, they didn’t have social media to rely on.”
At the same time, he feels there are many in the world of online comedy who struggle making the switch to the stage. “It’s a double-edged sword with social media,” he explained, “It’s an outlet to get your name out there, [but] problem is there’s so many guys and women trying it. Some of them don’t belong on stage.
“It’s a tough transition going from social media to a live stage. And I tell all these guys this: when you’re on social media, nobody’s paying to see you. So, the bar is low.
“And now [if] the same people that watched you for free are paying? Well, you have to give them a show. You can’t do the same things you’re doing online, and a lot of these guys don’t know how to make the transition. Anybody could sell out a show if they have the following, but … are you giving them a show?”
While much of Rodia’s comedy is influenced by his Italian upbringing (both his parents were born in the province of Avellino), he stresses that people don’t need to be Italian to come to the show and have a good time. “It’s kind of branched out where it relates and appeals to all different types of ethnicities and nationalities,” he shared.
Rodia spoke about his perspective on the different demographics who all consider themselves Italian, a topic which might be relatable and interesting to many in Australia. “You’ve got the Italians in Italy that kind of look down on Italian Americans,” he said, “‘Oh, you guys aren’t real Italians, you’re American,’” he quoted them saying.
“I’m like, ‘No, I’m American with Italian blood, Italian descent. My parents were born in Italy.’ So, you’ve got your Italian haters that claim I’m not really Italian because I don’t speak it 100 per cent fluently - I speak dialect.
“But at the same time, I look at somebody that’s fourth generation that thinks if they wear gold chains and they drench themselves with cologne, that’s the qualifications to be an Italian. But again, my comedy is different, it’s a little bit of the first generation, it’s a little bit of generic Italian, it’s a little bit of just everything. I’ll talk about my kids and my wife and married life, so there’s a little bit of something for everybody.”
So whether you’re fresh of the boat, have Italian parents or patriotically wear too much cologne, you might see some of your life in Rodia’s show.
