Anybody that has been around the Seattle comedy scene knows the name Billy Wayne Davis. He’s a self-described hillbilly who has a distinctly intellectual aspect to his stand-up. His comedy is polished and smart. It is not what you (or Hollywood Agents) expect when you hear his distinct Southern accent. I’ve seen him perform numerous occasions and am always surprised at how well he handles himself and put hecklers in their place. I was fortunate enough recently to get to ask Billy Wayne Davis some questions.

—Michelle Leigh

Ps. Go see this amazing comedian now so that you can say “I saw that guy before!!” when he’s on the big screen and the small screen.

Totally Crushed Out: Okay, let’s get through the standard shit first. How long have you been working at your act? When did you have the realization that this is what you wanted to do for a career? How long did it take you to get to the point of financially surviving solely on your comedic wits?

Billy Wayne Davis: I have been working on my act for a little over 7 years. I knew this is what I wanted to do walking off stage after my first time. I went back to school and spent the rest of the semester figuring out how to tell my parents I was quitting school. It took me about a year and a half before I could survive solely on comedy, but I sustained a very bohemian lifestyle for a long time. Couch living in the Little Mexico part of Nashville for almost a year, eating free club food, strip club buffets, and drinking Miller High Life to make my hunger go away.

You are getting more and more attention these days; I mean look at the internet. You have more Facebook friends than Paul F. Tompkins. AND he has a Wikipedia page, probably self-written though. It’s safe to assume that you don’t have a day job anymore. What was your worst day job? What was your favorite quitting/getting fired experience?

My worst day job was working as a temp in the Dell Computer factory. I applied because I didn’t know there would be a drug test, and there was. I peed anyway because I was stoned, and thought at least I could talk about it onstage that night. I passed, started that Monday morning, and quit that Monday night. It was awful, doing the same thing over and over again. Everyone there acted like they were extras in Mike Judge’s Idiocracy. I didn’t come back, and will never own a Dell.

My favorite quitting experience was selling cars; I did it for 3 hours. I didn’t make it to lunch. The honesty they possessed about lying was oddly refreshing. It seemed like all the salesmen would have been preachers if they didn’t have to see the congregation more than once. After listening to the 7th story about fucking over another “sucker with a family,” I undid my tie and said I’m leaving, and they freaked. “You can’t leave until lunch! Put your tie back on! The owner will see you and you’re history!” I told them I’m not coming back, but if they sold enough cars to leave before closing, I’d be at Zanies opening for Bruce Bruce. I guess it was a slow day because none of them were at the show, not even THE black guy.

Why did you move to Seattle? It isn’t exactly a hotbed for comedy. It does seem like a playground though seeing as comedic geniuses like Scott Moran, David Cope and others in the Peoples Republic of Komedy have escaped to New York and LA. Do you see yourself moving elsewhere in the future? When you left the Midwest/South, did you forget that Chicago was right there, like RIGHT there, full of comedic potential?

I moved to Seattle because my girlfriend (wife now) got offered a radio gig here. I had never been west of Texas. I knew it was a good place for comedy, and Mitch Hedberg developed here, so why the fuck not, right? I think it’s a great city for comedy, it’s made me a lot better, and you can perceivably get onstage every night if you really want it. Not many cities outside NYC and LA can offer you that. As of now, my wife and I are trying to figure out which city would be best for us, but we both fucking adore NYC. I did think about Chicago, but it’s very improv driven, and I love stand up.


Your stand-up is very polished and intelligent. It is not exactly what people expect from somebody with such a strong Tennessee accent. The general population tends to expect a Larry the Cable type of guy. Did you ever contemplate adjusting your accent for a wider audience? Or was it just a “fuck ‘em all, this is me.”

It has always been “fuck ‘em all, this is me.” But it is something I have to overcome, most people do think Larry when they hear my voice, and don’t listen to what i’m saying. I didn’t get on a CMT stand up show because the VP at CMT thought, “I would offend the core audience of the network.” And every agent I talk to wants to put me in some blue collar type show that plays to what LA thinks is rural. It just tells me they don’t really listen to someone’s act, or have any idea that because someone lives in a small town they don’t know how to read or have the ability to think.

In your standup you talk about your wife, and sometimes her concentrated farts; do you find it hard to balance a life on the road with your family life?

It is hard to balance, but it can be done. My wife has a very demanding job as well, but we both knew it would be hard when we got into this relationship. Now, we have our son, Pryor Danger Davis, it has become harder than I ever imagined. But it does make me more focused, and a better time manager.

Do you have anything coming up in the near future that you’d like to talk about? (This is basically the comments section of the interview.)

I’ll be at the Moore Theatre on Saturday May 15th with Ralphie May. I’ll also be recording my audition set for Comedy Central Presents at the Parlor Live in late May. You can check on the date at www.billywaynedavis.com

Photo stolen from Billy Wayne Davis’ website.