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Breaking Bread with Tom Papa

Episode 321 - Dan Docimo

30 Apr 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

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52.512 - 89.235 Tom Papa

Hey everybody, welcome to the show. Today we have a rising star comedian, I believe. They're very funny. They come out of the New York scene by way of Chicago. Yeah, you knew a lot of their friends. Very funny. I simply just saw Dan on Instagram, and they had such great jokes. I was like, can we just reach out? Because I feel like the podcast, as you know, we want to give –

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89.215 - 113.383 Tom Papa

Voices that a lot of people maybe don't really know yet that I find very funny. And let's give them a little bit of a platform. Dan is on tour. You can go to their social media and find all this stuff. We'll post it. But it's really nice when you find someone unique and it just really just makes you laugh. It doesn't get any better than that.

113.363 - 139.133 Tom Papa

So enjoy what I'm sure is going to be an introduction to the great comedy of Dan Dosimo. I really enjoyed the conversation and welcome them back anytime. Enjoy. It's breaking bread. Well, thanks for being here. It's nice to meet you. Yeah. Thanks for having me. Yeah. Nice to meet you too. Yeah. You're very funny. Thank you. It's the only reason you're here. So are you.

139.153 - 153.12 Tom Papa

I thought it was because I was cute. Well, that's just extra. It's never because I'm cute. That might get you into some rooms. It hasn't. No. But we'll see. You never know.

Chapter 2: What experiences shaped Dan Docimo's sense of humor in school?

153.441 - 182.518 Tom Papa

No, you're very funny. And I was just like, I just wanted to meet you. So I baked you bread. Thank you. This came out last night. We'll give it to you in a bag. Sweet. Yeah. Do you like bread? I do. Good. Nice. Yeah. Where do you do stand up mostly? You're here? You live here? No, I live in New York. You do? Yeah. Oh, so we just lucked out to get you here? Kind of. Oh, nice. I don't know.

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182.579 - 185.693 Tom Papa

I didn't know you were in New York. I don't know why I pictured you here.

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186.5 - 209.487 Dan Docimo

I don't know why you did either. Where do you play in New York? Sesh. Sesh? It's an amazing room. The Largo of the East Coast? Yeah, absolutely. It's the Ivy League of Chinatown is what they call it. No, it's an awesome room. I just moved to New York like less than a year ago. Damn. So, yeah.

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210.597 - 227.314 Dan Docimo

Yeah, I kind of have to like go on the road if I want somebody to pay me more than like 20 bucks to do a spot. So yeah, it's basically like sesh and then like a little thing here, a little thing there. And then still working on like the rest of the club scene there. Right. Oh, that's great.

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227.494 - 235.862 Tom Papa

How do you like New York? Where do you live in Brooklyn? Bed-Stuy? Bushwick. One of the places that used to be scary and now is cool kids.

236.095 - 262.01 Dan Docimo

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's, you know, it can still be scary if you're like me. What's the scariest part? You just find things to be scared about. Just the general fear without even leaving your apartment. The first of the month is pretty scary. Are you poor? No, I'm like pretend poor. That's good. Yeah. Yeah. You got some support. That's good. Yeah.

262.711 - 288.499 Dan Docimo

And then hopefully, I mean, I'm trying to like, I'm experimenting with trying to sell tickets. And so hopefully I'll be just fine. Yeah. Pretty soon. That's a thing. Here's the good news, is it never stops. That is good news. I was talking to Jeffrey Asmus about it, actually, because I've never had to market a tour. Yeah. So I was like, here's my plan, what do you think?

288.519 - 299.194 Dan Docimo

And he said, I mean, it's a pretty good plan. You just have to do it all the time for the rest of your life. Yeah, that's pretty much it. And he said, selling tickets is going to give us all ulcers one day.

299.174 - 323.585 Tom Papa

It's a thing. I mean, it never, you always have to, you always have to beat the drum and it's, yeah, it's relentless. Like we'll get through a weekend, I'll get through a weekend and be done and be like, okay, they sold well and whatever. And then before I'm even on the plane, Hey, can you post a video about the next thing? Can I just have two days of feeling like everything's all right?

Chapter 3: How did Dan Docimo get started in comedy?

420.459 - 447.621 Dan Docimo

And he happened to think that it was me. Nice. So she DMs me one day. And this is, I have no following whatsoever. I feature every once in a while at Zany's. And that's basically my, I hosted a late night Thursday open mic, Beer Belly open mic in Chicago, if you're ever in the market. Right. Basically, she just said, hey, do you have a manager? Blah, blah, blah. I said, no.

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448.903 - 474.325 Dan Docimo

You can do it if you want. And then she was the one who was like, you got to start posting. You have to post. And I was like, but I don't want to. I think social media is bad. It took her like a year to get me to, okay, I'm the worst client. And then I finally did it and started working really well. And I was like, ah, she's right. I don't know why I thought that I was going to be right.

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474.986 - 476.989 Dan Docimo

I don't know what my plan was.

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477.56 - 487.535 Tom Papa

Well, you kind of, yeah, you kind of, I mean, in the perfect world, people just show up and be like, they're really great.

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487.555 - 492.142 Dan Docimo

Because it's comedy. Yeah. Like people would just show up because they go, oh, a comedy show.

492.202 - 492.322 Unknown

Yeah.

492.342 - 523.788 Dan Docimo

And they would never have heard of me, but there'd be 600 of them. Right, exactly. Because they love comedy so much. Yeah. Yeah. So you started in Chicago. I started in South Bend, Indiana. South Bend. Mm-hmm. Did you go to Notre Dame? Yeah. Oh. Oh, Irish. Yeah. How was that? It was fine. It seemed cool. Yeah. I was in the glee club that ruled. Yes. And that's where I started. Baritone? Bass.

524.048 - 528.555 Dan Docimo

Bass. Yeah. Nice. Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Yeah.

528.695 - 528.795

Yeah.

Chapter 4: What is Dan's perspective on writing jokes and performing?

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665.918 - 695.432 Dan Docimo

It's a lot of fun. I was a goalie, and I was not very good at all. I did not have an illustrious career. I played kindergarten through senior year of high school. You did? The whole way? Yeah, and I was... Goalie the whole time? Yeah. And I never quite... You must have been pretty good. I was okay. I was, like, serviceable. I actually, like... Yeah, but I was not... I was not great.

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695.692 - 715.616 Dan Docimo

I maybe could have walked on in college because I was left-handed. So I could have walked on and been the eighth string goalie that they only like shoot on in practice when they're about to play a team with a left-handed goalie. So they could just sign up to be like hurt basically in practice and then hopefully get all the cool athlete gear.

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717.518 - 740.425 Dan Docimo

But I was like, I mean, compared to anyone who actually can like See a field in college That was terrible Yeah Yeah Did you When you were done Like did you You knew you were done At the end of Your season Senior year Yeah I had I had this one Like assistant coach Who

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740.843 - 770.817 Dan Docimo

asked me one time like he was like do you have anyone coming to watch you and I was like what do you mean he's like oh like from schools and I said uh oh I'm going to Notre Dame and he goes don't play lacrosse he was like you know because he was like I don't know some local like D3 program might be able to help you like get in and I was like no I don't thank you coach I'm done with lacrosse and he was basically like good I was hoping you were good at something

771.522 - 780.575 Tom Papa

Yeah, I played football my whole, from kindergarten to senior year. And when it was over, it was like, that's enough. Yeah. It's good.

780.895 - 795.856 Dan Docimo

Yeah, I did not. I would film a couple of lacrosse games in college. And I was not like, man, I wish I was. How much better were they when you would? Man, I wish I was getting hit right now.

796.417 - 796.517

Yeah.

797.408 - 798.71 Dan Docimo

At 100 miles an hour.

Chapter 5: How does Dan balance touring and social media engagement?

932.763 - 934.846 Dan Docimo

Yeah, I was a weird kid.

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935.427 - 944.119 Tom Papa

Yeah, but once that unlocks, like once you find that, it's just... Yeah. This whole thing opens up. Was there anyone in your family that kind of led you or you just found it?

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944.399 - 949.526 Dan Docimo

Oh, yeah. My whole family is like comedy fans. Oh, yeah? And they're all funny.

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949.846 - 950.167 Tom Papa

Yeah?

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950.367 - 977.662 Dan Docimo

And I'm just the youngest one. Like, so I happen to be... the funniest just because I had to like keep up with all these like older people at a young age. So when I was in second grade, I was cracking jokes at like a fifth or sixth grade level just to be like, and my brother actually did stand up before I did. Uh, and he was really good. And part of me was like, I'm way funnier than that guy.

978.323 - 985.872 Dan Docimo

And now, and now he's like a, he's a college professor and I do this. Joke's on you.

986.132 - 987.654 Tom Papa

Yeah. Yeah, it really is.

987.694 - 1014.43 Dan Docimo

Every once in a while he's like, you know, I, I do sometimes think about what if I had stuck with it and I'm like, you're fine. You're doing just fine. Are they, is he into coming to watch you? Uh, yeah, he actually, um, Like the first time I... The first time I headlined Zany's in Chicago. Yeah. Which was like, you know, just huge. It was so cool. Yeah. And... He was, oh, I can't make it.

1014.49 - 1018.196 Dan Docimo

I wish I could be there, blah, blah, blah. And then he, like, surprised me by showing up.

Chapter 6: What insights does Dan share about fishing and family traditions?

1054.549 - 1065.365 Tom Papa

Yeah. And I can tell the other nephews are like, well, Uncle Tom does stand up. I think you should do stand up. Yeah. Because Russell kicks ass.

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1066.747 - 1068.169 Dan Docimo

Yeah.

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0

1068.269 - 1079.564 Dan Docimo

I know growing up, I used to look at my brother and be like, how can someone be that funny? Yeah. You know, like he was just the funniest person in the world. And now he's like, he's still pretty funny. Yeah.

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1079.604 - 1087.414 Tom Papa

Would you, would you do little sketch stuff or was there, was there YouTube stuff when you were coming? Like at what point?

1088.376 - 1111.828 Dan Docimo

I never did anything like that. Anytime I could get away with like being funny in a school project or something. Right. I would absolutely go that route. Yeah. You know, as opposed to like having to do it sincerely. So like any presentation I had to do, it was always like kind of funny. Right. Or at least it was trying to be. Yeah, yeah. And stuff like that.

1111.948 - 1133.012 Dan Docimo

And then if I ever, you know, if anyone was unwise enough to let me like speak at an event, it'd be kind of funny. Yeah. You know. But never actually like was... Like producing anything on any sort of consistent level. Yeah, yeah.

1133.272 - 1146.353 Tom Papa

It's so funny, like you telling... I mean, it is such an odd thing when you think about it that, like, say the teachers that are like, you know, we're going to do this project or something, like not knowing that what you're really thinking...

1146.333 - 1146.954 Dan Docimo

Yeah.

Chapter 7: How does Dan view his Catholic upbringing in relation to his comedy?

1285.882 - 1304.752 Dan Docimo

Yeah. And just banging my head against the wall. And then COVID shut everything down. The first show I ever got booked on was canceled because of COVID. Really? So that was like, yeah. Well, actually, technically the second show I ever got booked on. But yeah. It was the first like show worth doing that I ever got booked on.

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1304.792 - 1323.304 Dan Docimo

And basically it was, I don't know what day of the week it was or something, but it was that week. Right. And then they were like, sorry, everything's got to, everything's got to close for a year and a half. So I was like, ah, who would, why would they do this to me? This is how this pandemic is happening to me. And then,

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1324.516 - 1352.169 Dan Docimo

So, yeah, it was like a year and a half of doing weird Zoom comedy or whatever you could figure out to do outdoors. Yeah. And then... When things opened up again in like April 2021 in Chicago, it was kind of funny because at first there was like one mic on each night of the week. And so it would just be the entire scene would show up to this one place. And sometimes it'd be like an hour.

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1352.209 - 1363.469 Dan Docimo

It'd be like in the suburbs. And there's a 50-person list at this suburbs open mic. it was a weird time.

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1363.649 - 1376.54 Tom Papa

Comedians were so impressive to me during all of that. It was like just, you know, shows on rooftops, shows in parks, shows, whatever. Yeah. Just to, just to do it. Right.

1376.7 - 1401.972 Dan Docimo

It really was impressive. Yeah. And I've always been, I'm not a good like producer, uh, but I've been lucky enough to be friends with good producers the whole time I've been doing comedy. And so like I was doing, we did, uh, A show in South Bend out of the loading dock of a whiskey distillery where people would be... Sitting just in the parking lot in like folding chairs. Yeah.

1402.373 - 1424.52 Dan Docimo

We'd be like grilling on like a portable charcoal grill. It's like everyone's, you know, BYO getting, and we would just, the stage is the loading dock of this whiskey distillery and you're talking out into the parking lot. So great. And then after the show, we'd like chase each other around with Roman candles and stuff like that. Just, you know, having some good old fashioned Indiana fun. Yeah.

1425.261 - 1431.79 Dan Docimo

Uh, And yeah, it was just like, you know, it really is a cool community.

1431.931 - 1457.007 Tom Papa

It really is. Yeah. It really is. I just had, you know, Lunel? Do you know Lunel? I don't think so. She's a veteran comic. She was in Borat and all this stuff. And she's just really just funny. And, you know, I don't know how old she is now, like maybe early 60s, whatever. And just... She's so seasoned. Her whole life has been comedy.

Chapter 8: What challenges does Dan face as a comedian today?

1471.446 - 1487.944 Tom Papa

But just... just her as an example of what a comedian is, like this person who at a young age decides, I'm gonna go and just go down this separate path and then stay on that separate path your whole life. Yeah. Is such a unique, special thing.

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1489.466 - 1504.366 Dan Docimo

Yeah, I don't know anyone else who did it. Right, yeah. Or at least I don't know anyone else like from my hometown who did it. I'm gonna eat some of this. Do you like olive oil? I do. I like this saw.

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1505.988 - 1524.437 Tom Papa

I designed that. You did? Yeah, that's my bread product. I'm going to tell you, go one more slice. Oh, yeah? Because you got the heel, but it's going to be a little chewy for radio. You're going to get frustrated. We had that the other day, and it made me self-conscious that they didn't like it, but they just didn't want to chew loudly.

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1527.725 - 1536.335 Tom Papa

Yeah, and that cutting board, this is a company called Nambe. Yeah. And they're like, Tom, you do bread. There you go. There's napkins over there if you want.

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1537.116 - 1541.541 Dan Docimo

My dad would nerd out about this. He's a big woodworker. Oh, he is? Yeah.

1542.322 - 1553.395 Tom Papa

This looks like something that he would, like, make. Yeah, it's acacia wood. They do all this, even these. Look at that, Dad.

1553.999 - 1558.867 Dan Docimo

That's what the Ark of the Covenant was made out of. Acacia? Yeah, I don't know why I know that.

1559.508 - 1578.218 Tom Papa

But I happen to know that. Because you went to Notre Dame. Yeah, my uncle played football at Notre Dame. So I always kept an eye on it when I was in high school and that kind of thing. And of course, it's just a national thing. It did seem like a very cool place to go to school.

1579.295 - 1599.857 Dan Docimo

Yeah, it definitely was. Yeah. Did your family go there? Yeah, my mom went there. My brother went there. A few of my cousins went there. Yeah. Big Catholic family. A lot of my uncles went there. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. Yeah, a whole bunch of people in my family went there.

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