Like many of us, stand-up comics go through the balancing act of chasing a creative dream while also paying the bills, seeking that moment when the ambition becomes the day job. For Ian Karmel, that struggle is still ongoing, even after his 2013 move to LA, and even when his employer is The Late Late Show with James Corden.
“Nobody wants to hear you complain about it,” Karmel says, speaking from his home in Los Angeles, “but it kind of sucks in a way to be on the way to your dream of being a full-time stand-up who people see in every city and then being sidetracked by this amazing opportunity that is dream-adjacent.”
To his credit, Karmel admits that it sounds ridiculous to gripe about a well-paying job in television that’s somewhat keeping him from solely concentrating on his stage work. But it’s also not something you’ll hear from most comedians. As funny as he is, Karmel is equally brutally honest about his life and career, which should come as no surprise to readers of his Everything as Fuck column in the Mercury.