Send us a text Ryan Manzo started doing stand-up two years ago in Scranton, Pa. He tried it once in college, but it didn't stick. It only took two traumatic moments to convince him to give it another shot. He's part of a younger group of comedians to give a boost to Scranton's growing comedy scene. He just started producing shows. He's got a monthly at Gino's Bistro in Throop, Pa. The next one is July 12. Follow Ryan Manzo: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanmanzocomedy/ TikTok: https://ww...
Jun 27, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 295
Send us a text Hunter Roberts is a stand-up comic, former wrestler and Disney enthusiast in Gate City, Va. He wrestled for a few years -- becoming a champion -- before making his second attempt at stand-up stick in 2012. Based out of Johnson City, Tenn., he travels all over the Midwest and has a hate-hate relationship with Cleveland. He's be at the Rubber City Comedy Festival in Akron, Ohio, from June 25-28. His car might be stolen, but he probably won't take a suplex after his set. Follow Hunte...
Jun 20, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 294
Send us a text Elizabeth Becz is a comedian in Brooklyn. She grew up in Rutherford, N.J., and picked up playing the piano in middle school. Her teacher, Doug, introduced her to stand-up and would later ignite a passion. After working in upstate New York for only about a year -- she started doing stand-up in the spring of 2024 -- her calendar is full. She's an excellent writer and is determined to not need her Master's degree in physics ever again. Follow Elizabeth Becz: Instagram: https://www.in...
Jun 13, 2025•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 293
Send us a text Matt Vita grew up playing in punk bands. He got a taste for comedy while doing humorous raps between bands at shows. Then about 10 years ago, he found an open mic. Since then, he's traveled all over the country telling jokes and founded the Vermont Comedy Festival with Collen Doyle. Vita splits his time between Brooklyn and Vermont, where he has a house. He's a full-time comic now and he only wants a little more success. Follow Matt Vita: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigda...
Jun 06, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 292
Send us a text Mike DiAlto started doing stand-up about 16 years ago after taking a class at the Comedy Cellar in New York City. He kept doing it in Philadelphia and has been running the mixed mic and comedy shows at John and Peter's in New Hope, Pa., for the last 14 years. He's bringing in Rich Vos for a show on Friday, June 13. He's got two kids -- that's enough for him -- so the material is writing itself. His first album, Live at John and Peter's, came out in 2019. Follow Mike DiAlto: Instag...
May 30, 2025•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 291
Send us a text Eric Basile started doing stand-up in Jamestown, N.Y., back in 2011. He moved to Buffalo in 2014 and has been there since. A film student at the University of Buffalo, Basile grew up on Saturday Night Live and sitcoms from the '70s, '80s and '90s. He's excellent joke writer and a very good joke teller. He works all over New York. Follow Eric Basile: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/genericbasile/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ericamicus Support the show...
May 23, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 290
Send us a text Matt Dundas started doing stand-up in a San Francisco laundromat in 2002 and then stopped. He started up again in Seattle, but stopped. It wasn't until he was in Washington, D.C., in 2013 that it stuck. He and his family are in Portland, Maine, now and he's loving it. He's getting plenty of stage time and a lot of work and released his first album, "From Away," on Nov. 1, 2024 -- just ahead of the election. The special came out on YouTube on May 5, 2025. He's super funny and will ...
May 16, 2025•1 hr 26 min•Season 1Ep. 289
Send us a text Sari Beliak is a really talented writer and comedian in Phoenix, Ariz. She took sketch classes at Second City in Los Angeles and began writing for The Hard Times and the Reductress before transitioning her comedy chops onto the stage. She's been doing stand-up for about nine years -- on top of writing for The Onion -- and just released her debut album, "Dead Dog Mom," which was No. 1 on iTunes, ahead of Christopher Titus, Weird Al and Jim Gaffigan. She recorded the album at the Al...
May 09, 2025•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 288
Send us a text Alice Duhon has a background in musical theater, but she transitioned to stand-up in Detroit at 29. She was taking a stand-up class and going through a divorce around the same time. She's spent the last two years working out material from Detroit to Denver. She'll be in Rochester, N.Y., on May 8 and May 10, doing a roast battle and a Don't Tell Comedy show. For the love of God, follow her on Instagram. Follow Alice Duhon: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alice.marie.rose/ TikT...
May 02, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 287
Send us a text Myles Weber started doing stand-up in Vallejo, Calif., right out of high school. He convinced 30 of his friends from school and the gym to watch his first open mic and he's been at it ever since. Over the last seven years, he's recorded two Dry Bar Comedy half-hours and two albums, and Comedy Dynamics bought his first special, Mr. Brightside. He's waiting for a streaming service buy his latest special, A '90s Kinda Love. He and his wife were about to separate, but the pandemic and...
Apr 25, 2025•1 hr 28 min•Season 1Ep. 286
Send us a text Josephine Rivera started doing stand-up about 2 1/2 years ago when she was 29. She moved from New York to Pensacola, Fla., for college and stayed put. She produces shows with Carson Tucker under Whippersnapper Comedy and they're working all over the Florida-Alabama border. She's trying to build a comedy career while protecting her cat from several potential murder charges. Follow Josephine Rivera: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joethephine/ Whippersnapper Comedy Instagram: h...
Apr 18, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 285
Send us a text Luke Thayer started doing stand-up in Indianapolis about 21 years ago. A year in, he and his wife, Abi Crutchfield, moved to New York City together, where they still live. He's been on Gotham Comedy Live, Fox, TruTV and The Food Network. He released his debut album, "Hopes + Dreams," in 2018 and his Dry Bar special came out in 2023. Go see him live. Even Mark Normand said he's funny. Follow Luke Thayer: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comedianluke/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok....
Apr 11, 2025•59 min•Season 1Ep. 284
Send us a text Jeremy Pryal started doing stand-up in Scranton when he was 17. He opted to stay out of the Marines and chase success in comedy. He spent eight years in Philadelphia before a bad set and the personal issues took him off course. Now married with a son and back in Scranton, he's back on stage and making people laugh again. Follow Jeremy Pryal: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremypryalcomic/ Support the show...
Apr 04, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 283
Send us a text Chris Dolan started doing stand-up at a comedy class at the Helium Comedy Club in Philadelphia when he was 46. He's been writing ever since. It's all thanks to his wife, who pushed him in the right direction. He's been able to find a home in the scene -- even it's as some comedians' "dad." He's been producing shows with Subourbon Comedy for the last six-plus years. They're bringing in Steven Rogers for a show at the Brothers Kershner Brewing Co., in Skippack, Pa., on Saturday, Mar...
Mar 28, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 282
Send us a text Bill Squire is one of Cleveland's best comedians and if he has his way, he always will be. He started doing stand-up in 2004 after leaving the Mormon religion. He spent 12 years working on The Alan Cox Show on WMMS in Cleveland. His latest special, "We're Getting Famous," is streaming on Amazon Prime now. He opens for Chad Daniels and headlines all over the country, and he co-hosts Cleveland America with OkPants and Tommi LC. Follow Bill Squire: Instagram: https://www.instagram.co...
Mar 21, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 281
Send us a text Dana Charitonchick studied biology at West Chester University and had a career as a scientist before jumping into stand-up when she was 30. She's four years in and has her footing in the Philadelphia scene. She's been able to keep those worlds separate, though it has played a role in her comedic style. She's been keeping busy on the sketch side, too. She's been writing and performing them and is releasing 12 sketches in March under Dana Jokes Around. She's running a stand-up show,...
Mar 14, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 280
Send us a text Kevin Andrews started doing stand-up in Buffalo when he was 33 years old. He's about two years in, but he's already produced shows and works pretty consistently. It's a good thing his mom said she'd be disappointed if he didn't give it a shot. He grew up watching sitcoms and wanted to create the laughs himself. Follow Kevin Andrews: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevin.andrews43/ Twitter: https://x.com/chevo43 BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/kevin-andrews.bsky.social YouTu...
Mar 07, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 279
Send us a text Dan Turco started doing stand-up about 11 years ago when he was 25. He moved around a lot as a kid, but went to Eastern Michigan for college and settled in Detroit, where he's made his home in the comedy community. He's in his third year working with the Motor City Comedy Festival, which goes from Sept. 17 to Sept. 21. They're taking submissions now. He runs shows at Supernatural Brewing in Livonia, Mich., and at DownTown Pourhouse Tavern in Plymouth, Mich. Follow Dan Turco: Motor...
Feb 28, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 278
Send us a text David Britton started doing stand-up at the Comedy Attic in Bloomington, Ind., about 13 years ago. He's in Schenectady, N.Y., now, where he's also acting, writing and directing. He produces comedy shows and gets on stage as much as he can. He wrotes for The Hard Times and works with Murder Cafe, a comedic-murder theater company in Rosendale, N.Y. He's got two albums, "History of the Universe" and "Possum Pals," a split with Megan Gilbert. Most important: He knows exactly what not ...
Feb 21, 2025•1 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 277
Send us a text Gerrit Elzinga fell in love with stand-up early and got onto his first stage at 15 years old. He's been telling jokes for almost 19 years, despite being only 33. He's the house emcee at Dr. Grin's Comedy Club in Grand Rapids, Mich., and is hoping to have his fourth album out this summer. He only spent a year in New York City, but it was long enough to grab an awkward moment with Jim Gaffigan. Also, he's got history with Dane Cook. But it's funny. Follow Gerrit Elzinga: Instagram: ...
Feb 14, 2025•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 276
Send us a text Zach Russell started doing stand-up when he was 21 and a student at Boston College. He moved to New York City after school and has been working all over the city and the East Coast. He grew up in Annapolis, Md., where I interviewed his friends after lacrosse, baseball and soccer games. Zach co-hosts Overshadowed, a podcast that tells stories over siblings and spouses of famous people. He's also planning to have an album out in the spring or summer. Follow Zach Russell: Instagram: ...
Feb 07, 2025•1 hr 25 min•Season 1Ep. 275
Send us a text Zach Peterson has been doing stand-up for the last 17 years. He started in Omaha, Neb., and spent nine years in Chicago and one in Los Angeles before coming back home. He's 43 years old, but he can still play basketball and tell jokes, so he's happy. He's working on his third album. His special and second album, "A List of Wet Celebrities," came out in 2024. Follow Zach Peterson: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kingoftheriverpeterson/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kingofthe...
Jan 31, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 274
Send us a text Dan Shelly has been doing stand-up in the Allentown, Pa., are for the last 16 years. He started in 2008, a couple years after starting riffing with a friend, Adam Yenser. He's been bartending for most of his adult life and spent a couple years on the Eastern Shore in Maryland. He's back in Pennsylvania, though, and works consistently in the Lehigh Valley. Follow Dan Shelly: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sillysils_/ Support the show...
Jan 24, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 273
Send us a text Angel Penn is a really funny comedian in Silver Spring, Md. He's been doing stand-up in the Washington, D.C., area for the last six years. He used to run Spaghetti on the Beach, an open mic, and he's currently co-hosting the Try Out Comedy open mic at Eckington Hall on Thursdays. He's a big proponent of trying things on stage that he's afraid to do and he's developed into a versatile comedian and a talented storyteller. Follow Angel Penn: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angel...
Jan 17, 2025•1 hr 27 min•Season 1Ep. 272
Send us a text Ant Perez started doing stand-up in October 2020 in the Zoom days. He persevered and has flourished since getting onto a live stage. He's a regular feature at the clubs in the Virginia Beach, Va., area. A father of two boys, he was able to tour a lot of the country last year, working out material and growing as a comedian. He was also able to stay safe while a fight broke out in a Planet Fitness parking lot in Houston. Follow Ant Perez: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/antpere...
Jan 10, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 271
Send us a text Caleb Goldberg has only been in the Rochester comedy scene for a couple years. But he really started in high school. He won two national stand-up contests while chasing college scholarships, then chased improv while in college. He switched back to stand-up after graduation and has become a regular at the Comedy at the Carlson and is performing all over New York. Follow Caleb Goldberg: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calebjgoldberg.comedy/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@caleb...
Jan 03, 2025•1 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 270
Send us a text Aaron Rosen started doing improv back in 2013 and only tried stand-up a few times before going all-in on it in 2022. A teacher in Jersey City, N.J., he's a favorite among the students. He's a very talented impressionist, too, which helps. He's got Seth MacFarlane's resume down and can do several others -- Billy Porter, Owen Wilson, John Mulaney, Donald Trump and the Hormone Monster. He'll be at the Windsor Comedy Festival in Ontario, Canada, on Friday, Dec. 27 and is a regular at ...
Dec 27, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 269
Send us a text Juan Pantaleon grew up in the Albany area before moving to Florida following a break-up. He got into stand-up six years ago on the verge of a break-up. He's back in New York now -- he's got a different girlfriend -- and helping Albany keep developing its comedic chops. He's a regular at the Albany Funny Bone and the Comedy Works in Saratoga and does a weekly segment called the Albany Comedy Interview Corner with the Hudson Mohawk Magazine. Follow Juan Pantaleon: Instagram: https:/...
Dec 20, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 268
Send us a text Ryan Flaherty started doing stand-up in Scranton in 2018 and has become one of the most positive, driving presences in the scene. He didn't really take stand-up seriously until a house fire changed his perspective on his place in the scene. He started the Spacement open mic that got shut down because there were too many people, which created a fire hazard -- ironically. Now he's running a twice-monthly mic at Abide Coffeehouse in Wilkes-Barre. He's truly doing some good for the co...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 267
Send us a text Ralph Tetta started doing stand-up in 1988 and was an anchor in the Rochester, N.Y., comedy scene before hitting the road in 2001. He managed a comedy club and just got passed to do Carnival Cruises. He teaches a comedy class every year and co-hosts the $18 Podcast with his brother, Christopher Tetta. Follow Ralph Tetta: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yuksonme/ Twitter: https://x.com/RalphTetta TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ralphtetta8 Website: https://www.ralphtetta.com/ ...
Dec 06, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 266
