Bats, cats, pigs, and kangaroos

Dallas McLaughlin says his days in Bad Credit, a comedy hip-hop crew that rapped about cash and bling and thrived at local clubs from 2002 to 2008, led to his hook-up with the Aquabats TV show and with an upcoming Padres post-game show on Fox Sports San Diego.

“Bad Credit was a tough sell. It was so different,” McLaughlin tells the Reader. He and his ex–Bad Credit partner Matt Gourney created a Beastie Boys–like romp with their song “Bill Gates Owes Me Five Bucks” to create an over-the-top send-up about American greed.

“You had to put yourself out there and be prepared to have anything thrown back at you. It gave me the balls to get up onstage and trust that I could make people laugh. People looked at us as a joke. We were looking at it as a party.”

McLaughlin got the whole punk thing, but... “We weren’t just anarchist punk kids. We wanted to screw with people.”

Their local success led to them playing on tours with the Aquabats, the ska band that dressed like superheroes and just launched their second season of The Aquabtas! Super Show! June 1 on the Hub network. McLaughlin, 32, wrote all of the animated segments for the show for the upcoming season. (“It’s like Spy vs. Spy.”)

McLaughlin’s interaction with the Aquabats also helped him contribute music to Nickelodeon’s Yo Gabba Gabba, which was co-created by the Aquatbats’ Christian Jacobs.

“It’s the second most popular kids’ show in America,” says McLaughlin.

McLaughlin’s Bad Credit bombast led to him creating a stand-up act that now has him performing regularly in San Diego, L.A., and Vegas.

His spontaneous, sometimes saucy stand-up routine, however, doesn’t sound anything like his SeaWorld shows, where he hosts the sea lion and otter show.

“SeaWorld gives me a chance to say something funny in front of 2500 people. I also host a show with pets, where I deal with dogs, cats, pigs, kangaroos.”

McLaughlin says his contributions to Aquabats and Yo Gabba Gabba are not making him rich. “It’s not like the guy who created Law & Order.”

McLaughlin says the motivation he discovered while performing in Bad Credit has also helped him land his first TV gig, as the host of Off Base, which will air after every Padres game on Fox Sports San Diego. “It starts after the All-Star break. I’ll do a monologue and then we’ll have sketches and a panel and play games with the audience.”

Dallas McLaughlin appears June 24 at the Kensington Club.