About Dan Schlissel!

About Dan

Dan Schlissel had an odd route to comedy; it came through Nebraska Punk rock. Born on the East Coast the son of a Holocaust survivor father and a Native Israeli mother into a strong Jewish community till the ripe age of 12 at which point his parents up and moved to the somewhat perplexing locale of Kearney Nebraska. A land of cows, corn, blue collars and red necks. It was on this cow patty laden soil that Dan stumbled into the world of Punk rock; an influence that would permeate through every aspect of Schlissel’s career. First as a pioneer or Midwestern punk and later as a Grammy winning comedy producer – while getting his Bachelor of Science in Physics at the University of Nebraska Lincoln he started the now famed -Ism/Ismist Recordings in his dorm room. Inspired by Sub Pop, Amphetamine Reptile, Discord, SST and Touch and Go. Ismist became an important pat of Midwestern indy rock releasing records from the likes of House of Large Sizes, Killdozer, and putting out the first recordings of the now multi-platinum favorite of Spencer’s Gifts employees: Slipknot. He also released the single Saddle Creek by Polecat which Bright Eye’s Connor Oberest named his label after.

In 1998 Schlissel moved to Minneapolis – falling in love with the city after a particularly rousing Bauhaus concert. Within a few months he met burgeoning stand up comedian Lewis Black whom Dan produced six records, including three that were nominated and one that won a Grammy (The Carnegie Hall Performance). Dan has gone on to produce and executive produce over a hundred standup records. He is an internationally recognized comedy expert producing not only for his own label but for other large labels as well as television and DVDs and Mexico’s very first Stand Up Comedy festival.