The Aggressive Comedian
Loud and confrontational, aggressive comedians run on pure confidence. They are so sure of themselves and their opinions that they actually intimidate the audience into laughing at them. Some comedians have been very successful with this style. Don Rickles, Andrew Dice Clay, Sam Kinison, Dane Cook, Lisa Lampanelli, and Carlos Mencia have all benefited from this commando, take-no-prisoners approach to comedy.
The original aggressive comedian, and one of the funniest is Don Rickles, who recently scored a big hit in the 2007 film Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project. One of the most successful comedians of recent times is Dane Cook, whose 2006 DVD Dane Cook: Vicious Circle shows his comedy rock star status.
Some comedians who adopt this style do it very well; they have a strong, confident persona on stage backed up by great jokes and routines. Others only have a loud voice, a big ego, and nothing else. Many comedy club owners place a premium on this type of act, and it will fill the seats for the short term. For the long term, it's the acts with jokes that have the potential to build a loyal following.
When you are developing your material and your stage persona, remember that there is a big difference between loud and funny. Anyone can be loud and dirty, but it's a lot harder to be genuinely funny. It's up to you to come up with material that isn't just noise.
This type of act can also be really dirty, substituting vulgar words for jokes with crowds that don't know the difference. Having this type of act can help you get work and fast money, but in terms of building a successful career, it will be much more difficult to make it onto television and into the premium comedy clubs.
