At first glance, Steve Sabo looks like your average resident.
Usually decked out in a pair of jeans, a humorous T-shirt and a cup of coffee, it’s almost impossible to fathom that such a normal man has opened shows for the likes of Chris Rock, Bob “Bobcat” Goldthwait and Jim Breuer.
But not impossible enough.
Sabo, known throughout the comedy community as, “The Caffeinated Voice of Reason,” realized his calling when he was a young boy.
“I collected comedy tapes as a kid and watched every special I could and I always admired comics, but I never knew how to become a comic,” Sabo said. “It’s kind of like, how do you become an astronaut? There’s no real answer to that.”
But Sabo did find an answer through a comedy competition in 1991 through the college he attended, University of Miami (Florida).
“I was a freshman and Cert’s College Comedy Competition was going on, so I decided I’d give it a shot,” he said. “I was scared to death but I did well enough to get the bug and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
During the past 15 years, Sabo has frequented clubs from Washington to Florida, and has even appeared on HBO and E! Television, but one of his biggest projects started on Sept. 11, 2001, when the inception of his own business, Inside Joke Productions, occurred
Inside Joke Productions was started because Sabo felt there needed to be a knowledgeable medium between a comedian and a venue.
“I started Inside Joke Productions because I thought there were a lot of comics that weren’t getting the respect that they deserved and too many people were booking comedy that really didn’t know what they were doing,” Sabo said. “So I figured the best person for the job would be someone who’s been in the trenches for years, and so I did it.”
And Sabo has set his goals on bringing nationally known comics to small towns like Bowling Green.
“I’m an Ohio boy through and through,” Sabo said. “I’m working on a project with the Easy Street Cafe, and I wanted to be around to see it work.”
But comedy is not an easy business to be involved in; it’s a very high-paced business that keeps Sabo on his feet at all times.
“It’s a very hard lifestyle, and that’s why I keep on doing it,” Sabo said. “We drive, on average, eight hours a day and I’m always in front of my computer screen or on my phone, answering e-mails and returning phone calls. There is no typical day in comedy.”
And Sabo has become a master of multi-tasking. Whether it’s taking business calls 3,000 miles away from home or doing his daily USA Today crossword puzzle while driving, Sabo would not choose a different path than the comedy business.
“I’ve never got the feeling for anything else that I’ve gotten from comedy. You just feel good about it, and you can be creative, and the immediacy of seeing the reactions of people’s faces – it’s an incredible rush, and that’s my drug.” Sabo said, who also said his worst days in comedy are better than his best days doing anything else.
Inside Joke Productions brings comedy to Bowling Green through Easy Street Cafe every Tuesday night.
Sabo thanks all of the sponsors that make the shows happen and encourages students to come out and see a show.
“It is the only place in Bowling Green where you can regularly get national comedy acts that have been on HBO and the ‘Tonight Show,'” Sabo said. “It’s a really good thing for the community.”
More information about Steve Sabo can be found on his Web site Stevesabo.com.
The Web site also contains audio from Sabo’s comedy CDs, including “Banned from Wichita,” a CD that was partially recorded in Bowling Green.