JOE SCROCCA JR.
“I just wanted to do something that’s fun, that’s out of the ordinary, that’s a bit crazy, and why not stand-up comedy?”
That thought led 63-year-old Joe Scrocca Jr. onto the stage for the first time just seven months ago. Since then, his natural talent for storytelling and networking has helped him gain a lot of momentum in the comedy world.
Getting onstage and making people laugh wasn’t something Scrocca ever aspired to achieve. Because of his age, some people assume he is pursuing a lifelong dream, but that is far from the truth. He was an accountant and mortgage broker who just needed a change of pace.
“I lived a life of boring, being an accountant and a mortgage broker,” says Scrocca, who lives in Upper Township in Cape May County. “I didn’t even think about this. I literally was just dating too many crazy women and saying, ‘I need to do something else.’ ”
Without any prior experience, planning or practice, he did his first open mic at a biker bar in Toms River.
“They weren’t paying attention to me,” he says. “They kind of just were in a corner plotting their next crime, I guess, and that was cool with me as long as they weren’t going to tie me up behind a motorcycle and try to drive me up and down Hooper Avenue.”
He attributes his ability to spontaneously get onstage to his childhood at the Jersey Shore. He believes growing up in Jersey helped him develop a sense of urgency that assists him in shaking off nerves quickly.
“You grow up in Jersey, you have to have a thick skin from the day you’re born because otherwise you’re not going to survive,” he says. “People say, ‘You don’t even look nervous.’ I’m not nervous, and I think that has to do with how and where I grew up.”
Joe Scrocca Jr. performs at The Basement at Tommy’s in Bergenfield.
Born and raised in Wildwood, Scrocca had an unconventional upbringing at his parent’s restaurant, Wildwood Diner, which was torn down in 2006.
“This wasn’t anything out of the ordinary until you realize other people didn’t have such crazy things happening in their life, having these entertainers come in all the time: wrestlers, mobsters, radio personalities — everybody went through that place. It was a really special place.”
Now, diner stories such as an interaction between a waitress and André the Giant are material for Scrocca’s comedy set. His adult-oriented comedy mainly consists of life stories edited or exaggerated to fit the structure of a comedy show. Intent on learning more ways to expand his comedic style and presence on stage, he takes a family-friendly writing workshop and practices his bits with the help of his son.
“It’s addictive to get a laugh,” he says. “I don’t know what drug addiction is like, but I think that you feel a high when you’re on that stage.”
He says the comedy community led him to pursue this as more of a career than a hobby.
“What a loving and welcoming and helpful community our comedians are,” he says. “I never got a bad word or discouragement. Everybody was welcoming and encouraging, and it was a pleasant surprise because I had no idea what to expect.”
Using his entrepreneurial background, he has built numerous connections that have allowed him to book shows all over New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
“I’m just too stupid to know any better; I just keep calling people,” he says. “I think it’s my business background: being able to network with people, being able to be persistent without being a pain in the rear, that gets me into shows.”
This strategy helped him get a slot at The Church of Satire in Hanover, Pennsylvania — a comedy club that, according to him, is notoriously hard to get into.
So far, his favorite memory is a performance at Miss Ceily’s Blues in Turnersville because he made not only the audience but also his fellow comedians laugh.
“It’s a validation that makes me realize, ‘Maybe I am funny, maybe I am doing what I should have been doing for a long time.’ ”
Now, confident in his comedic skills, Scrocca is taking on another role in entertainment: show producer. He created the Sunday School of Comedy, a free comedy series, with each show featuring four touring comedians, at the Bagel Time Café in Wildwood from 10 a.m. to noon every Sunday. It started in July and will run through August.
He is also planning a Midwest tour this fall, with stops in Ohio, Michigan and Illinois.
Scrocca is glad he took that leap, and proud to call himself a professional comedian.
“I don’t think age should be a deterrent from trying something new and having fun,” he says.
For more on Joe Scrocca, visit facebook.com/joe.j.scrocca.9.
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