COVID-19 shut down most of the stand-up stages Dougie Almeida haunted, but it also opened a window of opportunity for another of his interests.
Technology popularized during the pandemic – specifically the videoconferencing platform Zoom – caused him to re-think the manner in which he approached his Wake Up Late With Dougie podcast.
“With Zoom I can get any comic in the country to come on in and do it via Zoom, so it opened up the door to take the show to a different level.”
Like many comedic podcasts, Almeida’s is constantly evolving. Originally he invited up-and-coming local comics to his home studio to record what could become lengthy affairs.
With Zoom, Wake Up Late With Dougie has a more national feel.
A former winner of the Improv’s New Faces of Comedy competition who’s also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Almeida is now inviting touring comics to join him on the podcast.
His most recent edition features Al Ernst and Chris Johnson.
“Over the years if I’d seen talent in somebody, I’d say this person should come into the studio and exercise a different muscle as a comic,” Almeida said. “Getting in radio studio is much different than getting on a stage and doing stand-up comedy.”
Wake Up Late With Dougie is not about performance. It’s about personality.
Almeida books a couple of comics for each week’s podcast, then chooses odd topics plucked from current events.
It’s generally something out of the news that listeners may have heard about in passing, but weren’t really paying attention to. He then gets his guests talking.
“Basically hear how it sounds from the perspective of someone who’s demented, like a comic,” Almeida explained.
Almeida is performing live again and anticipates his podcast will continue to evolve.
“The podcast is almost like me riding my a bike with the chain coming off,” he said. “We get moving, things start going, and the chain comes off and we start slipping again. Then we get moving again. We’re hoping eventually this thing will catch.”
