(upbeat music) - That's how girls from Staten Island talk.

They don't speak, they like sing words.

(audience laughs) They can't say, where are you going?

It's gotta be, where are you going?

(audience laughs) It's like a (censored) race car going around the racetrack.

Let's go to a vegan place.

(audience laughs) Oh.

- You were just watching this young man who does make a lot of people laugh.

I will disclose that I was one of them recently and we'll talk about that in a moment.

Eric D'Alessandro.

It says comedian here, but he's so much more than that.

He's a performer.

He's an artist.

He's talented.

You can check out him on social media sites all over the place.

It'll come.

Eric, how we doing, my friend?

- I'm great.

How are you, Steve?

- Great.

I saw you at Count Basie Theater in Red Bank recently, and you, as they say in your business, you killed.

This is part of our quote, "What's so Funny?"

series, and I gotta ask you outta the box.

You grew up in Staten Island, right?

- Yes, sir.

- What makes...

I grew up in Newark, New Jersey in a largely Italian American neighborhood, similar to yours.

I thought my neighborhood was insane and funny and mostly dysfunctional.

How about yours?

- Yeah, it's probably the same.

There's something, New Yorkers are just funny.

I don't know why.

I laugh at the accents.

I laugh at the obnoxiousness.

I laugh at the loudness.

It's, yeah.

Like, everyone that I knew was funny.

It wasn't just me, it was just everyone.

The guy at the deli, everyone was hilarious.

- Yeah, but here's the thing.

You talk about New Yorkers, and I have to make a distinction.

You were in Jersey when I saw you in New Jersey, down at the Jersey Shore Red Bank.

Are we in New Jersey, 'cause I know you guys look down on us, even if you're from Staten Island, you do as well across, you know... What's the biggest difference between New Yorkers and New Jerseyans from a comedic perspective?

Please.

- You know, if it wasn't for the Jersey Shore, I don't think that people outside of this area know what real New Jersey is because New Jersey, to me, it was always, like, weird.

Like, my cousin grew up in Manalapan and he would say "his town."

"Oh, that guy's from my town."

And I'm like, "Town?

He's from the neighborhood.

What are you talking about?"

So like, they played soccer.

They lived on like cul-de-sacs and had to, like, risk their lives crossing a major highway to get Wawa.

It was like a weird place.

But you're from like an actual city area?

- Oh, yeah.

It's called Brick City.

Trust me, there were no cul-de-sacs in Newark.

Brick City.

It was similar in Bensonhurst in Brooklyn.

You'd appreciate it.

- New Jersey is so weird.

- Yeah, New Jersey is so different.

It has all those areas.

- Okay, this is gonna be unfair to you, but I'm gonna do it anyway.

All right.

- Okay.

- You didn't come here to do a routine or any routines, but there are a couple that just resonated for me, and I believe they'll resonate for our audience.

Could you just help us on a couple things?

I told some things, I told my wife you said some things about men and women.

The power dynamic between men and women.

Could you share your perspective on that and how it's somewhat skewed in the eyes of many?

- Yeah, it's a very tricky thing because it... We want progress, right?

That's what I'm told.

As a society, we're supposed to have equality, we want progress.

And then the more I try to approach that with women, the more they're like, "Oh no, your opinions and feelings are invalid.

You're not allowed to have an opinion on the back splash.

You're not allowed to have an opinion on the couch.

We rule the world and you are just supposed to get the hotdog that fell on the floor and be thankful for it."

And I'm the first guy that's like, "Maybe I can not have the banana that was ran over by a truck and I can have a good one because maybe we are equals."

But that's actually not what women want.

They want to bully us and get away with it.

- Come on, Eric, you don't... Now there are women watching all over saying, "Why does Adubato have this other Italian guy on from Staten" You know, that's... You're joking, correct?

Or is it?

(chuckles) - Uh, sure.

You know what's funny is I'm very lucky.

My wife is the greatest.

She's the coolest and we don't have that dynamic, but I've noticed that like a lot of my friends are just like, "Oh, you know, I wanted to wear this for the wedding, but she said I wasn't allowed to."

And I was like, "Well, if you reversed that and you said that I said she wasn't allowed to wear something, I'd be on this show apologizing for my actions.

And I have learned my lesson and I will be donating to a charity of some sort or doing something I'm supposed to do."

- But you just triggered something, my friend.

One thing I wanna ask you, as much about your friends, you said, and I'm gonna ask you about cancel culture as well.

I don't wanna confuse things, but real quick on this, you said that many of your friends, when you go out to a club, not to a club, a bar or whatever, a lot of your friends who are married will say, "If I were single, could you just pick that up?"

Because my friends a lot older than your friends will say the same thing and I'm saying, "You're kidding me, right?"

Go ahead.

- Yeah, I think my friends aren't just single in their imagination.

They're also better looking, more successful, and can speak to women.

When they were single, I just remember them being like, "Let's just get drunk and not talk to anyone.

We'll just fall asleep and call it a good night."

And I'm like, "I don't know what you think happened when you got married.

All of a sudden you have these magical powers to be irresistible to women," but they're delusional.

And I wish that more men would just be more, yeah, more humble about the fact that you should be grateful that anyone decided to live with you.

- I feel the same way about some of my friends.

Hey, how about this, cancel culture?

You did a lot on politics and you don't do politics per se, but you talk about how absurd our, how we view our differences and how polarized we are and how we demonize others as it relates to, "Hey, there are people who want others to be canceled."

How does that play out in the world of comedy?

I know that's complex and political, but help us on that, Eric.

- Yeah, I don't really, I don't get into, like, the weeds with that.

It's more of like a broad thing of like, yes, cancel culture is crazy.

If you want someone to lose their livelihood for making a mistake, that's the opposite of progress.

That's like, I don't get that at all.

But at the same time, people also mask cancel culture to spew crazy things.

You know, they'll say, everybody's so sensitive these days, and then say something incredibly, like, inappropriate and blame it, like, on cancel... Well, it's like, "No.

That's just you being racist or homophobic or something.

It's not cancel culture's fault that you're insane."

And then on the other end it's like, well, "I just made a joke.

I wasn't trying to hurt anybody's feelings" And I don't think you should be homeless because of that.

I think that that's...

Both extremes are just, that's where I fall.

I try to be in the middle and that's not going well either, I've noticed.

- You know, what I read about you is that growing up you were moved very much by comedians like Eddie Murphy, but also Dave Chappelle.

Is Chappelle a big impact on you?

- Oh my God, he is...

Absolutely.

Yes.

- Give us more on Chappelle and why, what resonated for you and why some may not appreciate how great he really is.

Please.

- I think a lot of people need to watch Dave Chappelle from the beginning of his career to now and see the trajectory because he is just an absolute genius.

Maybe, I know some people aren't, like, so into what he's done recently 'cause he's gotten more divisive, but, like, if you watched him grow, and my friends and I were obsessed with him from a very young age when he was in, you know, "Half Baked" and "Blue Streak" and then "The Chappelle Show."

And his standup is just incredible.

Like, for what it's worth, "Killing Them Softly."

He even had like a comedy half hour on Comedy Central, like in Aspen or Colorado years ago.

He's just... Yeah, I could talk about him for, for hours.

He just, he's the...

I don't even know what to say.

He just is... His commentary is what I would like mine to be, which is fair, logical, not one sided.

It's just like making fun of the extremes on this side, making fun of the extremes on this side and then also just being really hysterical at the same time.

- Growing up in Staten Island, again, you talked about what was so funny and your friends were funny, the neighborhood was funny, everybody was funny.

But for you, you've made an extraordinary career out of this and you're as a very young man that your potential is pretty exciting for those of us who have become fans.

When did you know that comedy would be your professional life?

And it's not just comedy.

You check out Eric's website and you'll see all kinds of things that he does.

They're not just quote "comedy."

He's an artist.

He performs.

He does impressions.

He does all kinds of things.

When did you know that this art form would be yours?

- I don't remember a day when I didn't love just playing around with my friends and my sister.

We would do skits in my basement.

We'd pretend we'd make commercials and we always...

I'm a very musical family.

My mom was very passionate about the piano.

We sang in like the church choir and we just loved to play around.

My brothers, my sister, my friends, we were all just into, at being at someone's house making skits.

And I never didn't want to do this.

I don't remember a day when I discovered it.

It wasn't like this, "Oh aha, I'll do this."

It was just as clear as the sun is there.

I love to just play around with my friends.

And that's kind of what I've always wanted to do is just, like, never feel like I had a job.

Just be having fun like I was doing as a kid and I do that now.

I'll get paid to do like an Instagram post for a company and I'll get to write it, direct it, and all that stuff.

And I say to my wife, "Like, this is exactly what I wanted to do when I was seven.

This is so cool."

So yeah, I'm just really grateful that the internet came along and made different avenues for people to find ways to make a living off of it.

- And you make a lot of people laugh in the process and bring joy, and I cannot thank you enough.

Part of our series "What's so Funny?"

I know what's so funny.

Eric D'Alessandro's funny.

Eric, I cannot thank you enough and wish you all the best.

- Oh my God, thank you so much, Steve, and I'm glad you had a good time at the show.

Thank you for coming.

- Best time.

That's a funny guy.

We'll see you next time.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato has been a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by Veolia, The New Jersey Education Association.

Wells Fargo.

PSE&G, The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

The Russell Berrie Foundation.

The Fidelco Group.

Prudential Financial.

And by Englewood Health.

Promotional support provided by CIANJ, and Commerce Magazine.

And by Northjersey.com and Local IQ.

(Sounds of Water) - (Narrator) Most people don'’t think of where there water comes from.

But we do.

Veolia, more than water.

Resourcing the world.