Meet Damian Turner: Comedian & Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Damian Turner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Damian, how does your business help the community?
I think for anyone working in comedy– or in any art form, for that matter– it can be difficult to make a case that your work does anything to really help anybody (especially in the presence of comics). There’s a certain level of self-indulgence in being a career artist or performer, and it can be pretty cringy to watch an entertainer get preachy to a paying audience, or a celebrity post a video of themselves singing “Imagine,” or saying “I take responsibility” in the name of #makingadifference, so I really try no to take myself too seriously. That being said, I do think art, at its best, plays a huge role in pushing culture forward by reflecting our social conventions back to us, and comedy can do that too, whether or not it’s “being political.” When I started making “Bad News with Bill Boehner” during the lockdown, I was really just trying to find a way to write material and have something to show every week while I couldn’t do standup, so I was really surprised when I started getting messages from people telling me it was the only source of news they could stand to watch (NOT my recommendation, by the way) or that it was helping them get through the pandemic in some way. I wasn’t ready for that, but it’s the best I can hope to do. I’m a comic so my first job is to make people laugh, and I hope to bring people levity and joy, but if I’m really on top of my game, hopefully I’m making them think a little differently too.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve always been the type of person to juggle numerous projects at once. Someone recently asked me what my dream job was and my answer was, “Donald Glover.” I’m really passionate about performing and producing just about any way I can, and it seems like every few years I discover another talent, so I think I’ve just kept trying different things out until something I loved stuck.

I pursued music my whole life before I started doing standup a few years ago, and I’ve been into film making since high school, and I think I’m happiest when I’m engaged in all of them. The project I’m most excited about and proud of right now is BAD NEWS with Bill Boehner, for that reason. I put everything I have into that show, and I make it by myself, which is a TON of work, but I get to incorporate all these different crafts into one and teach myself some new things, so it’s really rewarding.

I also use the show to do what my friend Joe Smith calls, “telling the truth with a capital ‘T,” which is an important concept to me, and a big part of what I love about comedy. There’s a similar ethos in the punk rock/alternative sub-culture I came up in, which I still carry a lot of with me in comedy. I think that sentiment informs a lot of what I do. Being a black, suburban, punk rocker tends to set you apart from others in a big way, if not alienate you, but there’s a lot of potential fuel there, and I think that’s a big part of what makes me unique. I think art can be a revolutionary act, under the right circumstances, so I tend to treat it that way.

Getting to where I am was and continues to be a difficult road, and I’ve learned a lot of little things along the way, but the big resounding truths for me have been: do what it takes to achieve your goals and don’t lie to yourself; stay true to your moral center because no opportunity gained is worth the loss of yourself; and never forget that the work itself is the point, and it’s completion the reward — everything else is just distraction.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
To break them in with a good breakfast I’m taking them to My Coffee Shop, a black owned breakfast spot in Decatur that feels like you’re at your Grandmom’s house. Of course we’ve got to hit Slutty Vegan so they can tell everyone back home to believe the hype. We’re definitely checking out videos old school style from Videodrome, and taking a walk through Little 5 points. On Monday night we’re going Rotknee Presents at Star Bar for one of the best standup shows in town, and if there’s a show at Variety Playhouse we wanna see that week we’re stopping there too, but maybe we’ll end up at Drunken Unicorn. While we’re in the neighborhood we’ll hang at the local for some drinks, and before the week’s over, I’ve got to ruin them forever with a trip to the Clermont Lounge.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Okay, I HAVE to shout out my Mom, because she’s always been my biggest fan and supported everything I’ve ever done, but for the purposes of this interview specifically I gotta give a shoutout to Bob Place. He welcomed me into the Atlanta comedy scene when I was unknown and untrained, gave me a job at the Laughing Skull, mentored me, put me in a class, and has been an incredible friend. I also have to shoutout Plug Chapman and Joe Smith, who always encourage me and push me to work harder and keep growing, along with more of you in the Atlanta comedy scene than I can name right now. Y’all know who you are.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/damianturner_/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/damianturner84

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/damianwturner

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO9AcCftTc27beo2cPCqpuA

Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-7PBHQHjie9J2lrae6-N9A

Image Credits
Blake Griffin Alyx Libby Punk Black Chantae Knight Cody Vondell Jason Jones