Comedian Michael Ian Black

I first noticed Michael Ian Black while watching The State, the edgy sketch comedy show on MTV back in the mid-1990s. The show still enjoys a bit of a cult following and rumor has it (confirmed in our interview) that someday soon there will be a DVD release. It was wacky and outrageous — funny and different — and appealed perfectly to the grunge-loving teens and twenty-somethings back then. The State’s members have been friends since their college years in New York and have reformed in various combinations in the past 15 years to work on movies, comedy specials, TV shows and other projects together. Apart from State projects, Black has been the voice of the late Pets.com sock puppet, starred in NBC’s "Ed" as the quirky bowling alley manager Phil Stubbs, he’s a commercial pitchman for Sierra Mist soda and Black appears ad naseum on VH1′s I Love the 70s, 80s and 90s series offering his commentary on pop artifacts of the past three decades. Lately, he’s also been acting in, writing and directing movies — and now he’s finally found his way to the stand-up comedy stage. Michael Ian Black is currently on tour with fellow State alum Michael Showalter, but Black is all alone on his new (and first-ever) stand-up CD. It’s titled "I Am a Wonderful Man." By the way, some of the clips you’ll hear feature language that some listeners might find objectionable. Beware, but enjoy!

-Chad Campbell

Here’s a link to Michael’s website – to see more pictures, read his blog entries and check his tour dates.