Joe Avati (born 1974) is an
Italian-Australian
Italian Australians ( it, Italiani Australiani) are Australians with Italian ancestry. Italian Australians constitute the sixth largest ancestry group in Australia, and one of the largest groups in the global Italian diaspora. At the 2021 ce ...
comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing
Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...
who is popular among Italian and descendant of Italians from his native
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, as well as in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, where he has performed on several occasions.
Early life
Born in 1974, Avati is the son of a banquet hall owner and was considered a "quiet" child. He grew up in
Five Dock
Five Dock is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Five Dock is located 10 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay.
Location
Fi ...
,
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Australia. His parents are from
Calabria
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, Italy and some of his shows are performed in the
Calabrese dialect, in English with or without a Calabrese accent.
Avati studied food science at university in Sydney, graduating second in his year. He entered the restaurant business following university, developing ice cream flavours while working on his stand-up material on the side.
Comedic style
Avati's
observational brand of comedy have earned him comparisons to
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a Jerry Seinfeld (character), semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he ...
, and in promotions he is referred to as "the Italian Seinfeld". His observations are drawn from the life around his Italian family, particularly his experiences growing up. The characters and traits that Avati mentions seem to be universal in Italian families, which is why audiences familiar with this cultures are able to identify with him.
[ He does not use profanity or controversial material in his work.]
Career
Avati began performing as a stand-up comedian in 1995.[ Avati kicked off his career by releasing a tape entitled "]Livin' la Dole-Cheque Vita
''True & Livin'' is a studio album by Zion I. It was released by Live Up Records in 2005.
Critical reception
Kabir Hamid of '' Chicago Reader'' described the album as "soulful hip-hop that favors acoustic sounds over electronics, thoughtfulness o ...
" in late 1999. He also released ''Live and Unpluggato
Live may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film
* ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film
*'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD)
Music
*Live (band), American alternative rock band
* List of albums ...
'' in late 2000 which was placed on the internet as a downloadable MP3
MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...
. This album went on to become the number one selling comedy album in Canada for 18 months.[ Avati attributes his initial success to ]Napster
Napster was a peer-to-peer file sharing application. It originally launched on June 1, 1999, with an emphasis on digital audio file distribution. Audio songs shared on the service were typically encoded in the MP3 format. It was founded by Shawn ...
after he uploaded one of his routines to the download service.[
The stage show - IL DAGO - a "boy band" parody act was produced by Avati and toured to major cities and regional centers around Australia from April 2007 until December 2009. IL Dago starred Avati, ]George Kapiniaris
George Kapiniaris is an Australian stage, television and film actor and comedian. He is of Greek descent and is best known for his role in popular sitcom ''Acropolis Now'' and composed the series' theme song.
Professional background
Theatre ...
, Simon Palomares
Simon Palomares is a German-born Australian comedian and actor of Spanish descent. He is best known for his character as cafe manager Ricardo "Ricky" Martinez in ''Acropolis Now''.
Biography
Simon Palomares was born in Dusseldorf, Germany. Hi ...
and Nish Selvadurai
Nishan "Nish" Selvadurai (born 10 September 1978) is an Australian comedian of Sri Lankan descent, living in Brisbane.
Career
Nish first performed stand-up in 2004. In 2005, he won the Queensland State Final of the FHM Cougar Rum Search for A ...
. The show won the "Most Outstanding Club Performers of the Year" and "Best Comedy Act of 2007" at the 10th Annual Australian Club Entertainment Awards.
Avati began a national Canadian Tour in April 2008 followed by an extended tour of the award-winning IL DAGO show throughout that same year.[ In 2009, Avati joined presenter Dr. ]Renee Lim
Renee Li-Yen Lim (born ) is an Australian actress, television presenter and medical doctor. She is best known for her roles as Constable Jung Lim in ''East West 101'', Mae in ''Please Like Me'' and her recurring role as Vivienne Hart in '' Th ...
on the Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World ...
(SBS) TV series ''Food Investigators''.[ As of 2012, Avati was one of Australia's largest comic exports and the number one selling bilingual comedian in the world. By that year, he had joined a touring comic group called "Comicus Erectus".][
]
Discography
* ''Live and Unpluggato'' (1999)
* ''Livin' la Dole-Cheque Vita'' (2000)
* ''Best of Joe Avati Live''
* ''An Evening in Montreal''
* ''Laughing at Myself''
DVDs
* ''Vivo!''
* ''Live in Canada''
* ''Joe Avati Live''
* ''Back Home and Live'' (2006)
* ''The Best of Joe Avati Live 2000–2007''
* ''Comicus Erectus''
* ''il Dago Live at the Metro''
* ''Live in London''
* ''20th Anniversary Special''
* ''The Greatest Hits''
References
External links
*
MySpace website
YouTube Channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avati, Joe
Australian people of Italian descent
Australian people of Calabrian descent
Living people
1974 births
Australian male comedians