Nearly 40 years on the comedy grind, and the comedy legend is still hungry to put out his best work
Sinbad is making his way back to the Northeast to lay down some stand-up, but he won’t have any material to share — at least that’s how he sees it.
Playing The Wilbur Theatre on Friday (May 24) and The Fox Theatre at Foxwoods on Saturday (May 25), the Michigan native is living in the moment, and he plans to bring you along for the ride, just has he always has. Never really one to work off of a setlist or consider his stage work “material,” Sinbad will be focusing on working through his thoughts of the day, and the two sets will be vastly different from each other.
That approach certainly keeps it fresh for the 62-year-old stand-up legend, who isn’t working toward putting material together for an album or special. But aside from the creative flame still burning within his mind that has kept him hungry after all these years, he knows he’d be ready to make it happen more than once if the opportunity to do a special came along. And he’s been able to maintain that drive with the help of a few key elements.
“A lot of it has to do with staying healthy,” Sinbad tells Vanyaland. “The next thing is to never get jaded. Looking at Netflix, you see how they’re putting out all these specials, but that’s not important. To me, what’s important is figuring out how I can get a special. The important thing is finding out how to stay relevant. You can lose your mind looking at everything else. Just look at LeBron James. He’s 34 years old, and he’s still a beast, because he put the time in to be a beast.”
While he cites King James for his work ethic, not many comics have paralleled the amount of work and dedication Sinbad has put into making himself the best he can be at his craft. Even after nearly 40 years in the game, he’s still hungry to be a better version of the comedian we’ve all already come to know and love, and he knows he’s not his only obstacle standing in the way of giving comedy crowds the best show they’ve ever seen.
“I’ve heard a lot of people say that your only competition is yourself. That’s bull crap,” says the comedy veteran. “You gotta beat somebody. I’ve never understood the whole idea of ‘you are your own competition’, because sometimes there’s a six-foot-nine dude trying to block your shot. It’s also wanting to be the best you can be. It’s about getting on that stage, and leaving people with an experience.”
Sinbad has enjoyed over three decades in entertainment, and he considers himself lucky to have a life that is free of drugs and alcohol, and in turn, free of the negative publicity and drama that runs rampant through Hollywood, which he feels go hand-in-hand.
He’s been able to stay out of negative spotlights, and has been able to focus all of his energy on doing what he does best. But even after all the movies, stand-up specials a number of TV shows, and a movie that doesn’t even exist that have catapulted him into stardom, the Air Force veteran feels that his best is still yet to come.
“The thing I want to do next is the thing I’ve been waiting for. I still don’t think I’ve done that signature thing yet,” says the Jingle All The Way actor. “Sure, I’ve done some movies, but I haven’t done that thing I do best yet. I’m still waiting for it, but I’m excited to do a Netflix special, and I’m working on putting something together right now for TV. The problem is, at this age and at this level, I don’t want to be on TV just to be on TV. I want to do something that’s cool. There’s no guarantee that it will last, but I at least have to try.”
SINBAD :: Friday, May 24 at The Wilbur, 246 Tremont St. in Boston, MA :: 7:30 p.m., $39, Advance tickets :: Saturday, May 25 at The Fox Theatre at Foxwoods, 7 CT-2 in Preston, CT :: 8 p.m., $51, Advance tickets