Dave Attell isn't doing his late, lamented Comedy Central vehicle, Insomniac, anymore. But he wasn't just a wildly entertaining television figure hanging with characters drinking themselves into oblivion in front of a camera. Attell has been a comic since the late '80s and is now doing more stand-up on a national tour. In a recent phone interview, the sodden stand-up reveals how much he digs Cleveland and reminisces about his old show and how hard it is for him to relax. — Ed Condran

During prior interviews you've given Cleveland some serious props.

I always have a great time there. I remember doing [Insomniac] there so many years ago [2003]. I was there for the polka convention and visited some tattoo parlors that were great. I love Cleveland. It's a great drinking town.

Speaking of drinking, do you miss Insomniac?

If you mean the drinking aspect of it, well, when you get older, it's not a good idea to drink like you once did. The thing with Insomniac is that everybody wanted me to drink with them. I would get one shot or whatever after another. It's fun but it's not healthy to drink like that, especially when you're over 40. I did Insomniac and I had a lot of fun with it. I've moved on, and it's good.

But you bonded so well with second and third shifters on Insomniac. Were you like the guys on your show who worked offbeat jobs?

No. It's kind of embarrassing since I did some really unmanly jobs. I did things like temping and cleaned houses. I didn't do those jobs but I respect the people that came on the show. The third shifters who worked in a steel mill or worked in a sewage treatment plant. Then there were guys who worked on crime scenes. Some really interesting people with interesting jobs appeared on the show. You can run into some wild people at 4 a.m.

How long did it take you to find your voice or groove?

Somewhere around seven years. It's different for everyone in the world of comedy. Some comics find their voice right away and for others it takes awhile. I'm in the slower group. It took me at least three years to feel comfortable onstage. It took me the seven years to feel like I knew what I was doing.

Your HBO special, Captain Miserable, worked well. It was shot in a theater, but I always thought of you as a club comic.

There's no doubt that I'm a club comic. I've been doing clubs for over 20 years. I've done my share of theaters and we just decided to go that route. I love clubs because you can work the crowd. There's that energy that's harder to capture in a theater.

One of the drags of going to shows, music or comedy, is that people love to take cell phone photos or record shows. How much does that bother you as a performer?

I don't like it because the person is recording, they're not laughing. They're not giving you their undivided attention. I would rather have the crowd paying their undivided attention to what I'm doing. Any comic would but it's really annoying when the gadgets are out during a performance.

Do you have a hard time relaxing?

Yes, maybe that's why I'm up until six or seven in the morning. Sometimes, I just can't sleep. I have a hard time relaxing. That's why I smoke.

Speaking of smoking, you can't smoke in your beloved New York anymore or in many places in America. The non-smokers have won.

New York isn't the same now that you have to smoke outside or in my house. It's crazy how they have cracked down on smoking. Why would you do that when there are so many problems in the world and they're focusing on smoking. The non-smokers have gotten their way and it's terrible.

If you weren't a comic, what would you be doing?

That's hard to say since I haven't had to think about that. But I think being a locksmith would be cool. You set your own hours. You're above the law but you do your job for good, not evil. But that's just a dream since I'm not good with my hands. Luckily I have comedy. It's hard to imagine realistically what else I would do.

DAVE ATTELL: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 7, House of Blues, 308 Euclid Ave., 216.241.5555. Tickets: $27.50-$32.50.