Michael Regilio got his start in music at Marblehead High School (Class of 1990) playing in the band, Jane Road. At 27, he moved to Los Angeles where he found success as an indie-rock musician, recording several albums.
“I spent those years as a struggling musician, always with a day job to keep things afloat,” Regilio tells the Current.
But at age 44, ready for a change, Regilio says he did something “a little crazy.”
“It [music] just didn’t quite have the sparkle used to have and I’d always always loved comedy. I’d always been the class clown.” said Regilio.
“Alex Ouanes, one of my good friends, bought me a stand-up comedy class and I said ‘That’s very sweet of you’ but just my initial instinct was thank you, but no thank you. He already paid for it and said, ‘You’re going, I signed myself up, too, and I’ll be right next to you.’”
Regilio added: “We took the class together, and after two hours they said you have to write one minute of stand-up. I got up with my one minute of stand-up I had written over the course of two hours and I got my first laughs and I was 100% hooked.”
Ten years later, Regilio signed with Comedy Dynamics, one of the biggest comedy labels in the world. His debut special, “War Bar,” was produced by Jack Vaughn, a four-time Grammy Award winner who has produced specials for Jim Gaffigan, Dane Cook, Joe Rogan, Maria Bamford and others. The special is available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube and Google Play.
“To get on stage in front of a loving audience, I was lucky enough to do it at a place called Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles.” Regilio said.
Is Marblehead funny?
Regilio shares a lot from his youth in Marblehead in his comedy. Back in his teens, his favorite place to hangout was at Crocker Park for night swimming with friends.
His new screenplay, “Young Republicans,” is about the time the MHS Republican club took a chaperone-less trip to D.C. to see George Bush’s inauguration.
Regilio also has his own podcast, “Regilio vs. Everything,” where he speaks about current events in the world to ignite change.
“I just got an email yesterday from somebody that made me happy. They said ‘I was a happy person until I found your podcast, now I’m fuming mad at the world’. I was like ‘Good. That’s how you should be.’ There’s no point in being happy right now. You should be mad and doing something about it.” said Regilio.
“In 5 to 10 years, I’d love to have a daily outlet for my political and comedic rants, ideally through my podcast. But if HBO wants to hand me Bill Maher’s show, I’ll happily take it.” he added.
Regilio is the latest in a line of Marbleheaders — or people with Marblehead ties — who have made it in comedy.
There’s Rob Delaney, who graduated from MHS in 1995 and has starred in movies and TV shows. Seth Meyers and John Mulaney both have mothers who grew up in Marblehead.
To learn more about Regilio, check out his Instagram at michaelregilio.
