Lance Bangs has become today’s go-to director for comedians filming their stand-up specials, road shows, showcases and documentaries. His credits since 2013 alone include directing Hannibal Buress, Marc Maron, Chelsea Peretti, Jen Kirkman, Kyle Kinane, John Hodgman and Bridget Everett. He followed Todd Barry on his Crowd Work Tour, hopped on the bus for Crash Test with Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel. Shepherded The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail on Comedy Central and The Greatest Event in Television History specials for Adult Swim. Now he’s behind the lens for Flophouse, the new stand-up showcase that goes inside the homes, garages and backyards shared by multiple comedians in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, New Orleans and Atlanta, which airs on the brand-new Viceland cable channel.

Bangs talks with me about his road from making music videos, to working with the Jackass crew, to comedians? He describes what it was like following the late Mitch Hedberg on his final stand-up tour, walking around rural Ohio with Dave Chappelle during the making of his “Block Party,” compares that with the unpredictability of Todd Barry’s tour documentary, and finding and working with new comedy jewels such as Clare O’Kane for Flophouse.

You can watch the debut episode of Flophouse March 3 on Viceland (or online now here).

So let’s get to it!