Send us a text Isaac Novak is a Seattle comedian and one of the founders of the Upper Left Comedy Festival, which had a successful first year in 2022. Novak started doing stand-up in 2012 and got tired of hearing people say, "Why isn't there a festival in Seattle?" He's a graphic designer, too. Novak runs a monthly show at Central Cinema, so if you're in Seattle, check it out. Follow Isaac Novak: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_isaacnovak/ Website: https://www.isaacisfunny.com/ Upper Left ...
Aug 12, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 145
Send us a text Rebecca Kaplan started doing stand-up back in 2014 when she was going to SUNY Purchase. A New York City native, Kaplan moved back to Brooklyn after school and has been able to carve a path in the scene. She was one of the Best of Fest winners at the Rubber City Comedy Festival in Akron, Ohio, and is going to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland in August. She also produces a show, Beanie Babe Comedy, at Young Ethels Brooklyn. Follow Rebecca Kaplan: Instagram: https://www.inst...
Aug 05, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 144
Send us a text Becky Wiggins started doing stand-up in Utica in early 2020, right before the world shut down. She kept busy during the pandemic and came out with a purpose -- to get on stage and stay there. Wiggins has worked at the Syracuse Funny Bone and Fat Katz Comedy Club and runs an open mic at Chris' Grub and Pub in Rome, her hometown. She's been able to find a job she loves as a realtor to allow herself to keep making people laugh. Just don't talk to her or look at her. Follow Becky Wigg...
Jul 29, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 143
Send us a text Yale Hollander did his first stand-up set in 1985 and his second in 2016. Things changed a bit between them. Hollander became a lawyer, which has served him well in the St. Louis comedy scene. He books shows in the area, including at the Gaslight Theater and works at the Helium Comedy Club. He also regularly submits to the New Yorker's caption contest -- much to the delight and disdain of his peers. Follow Yale Hollander: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yalehollander/ Twitter...
Jul 22, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 142
Send us a text Manny Santiago got his start in performance by juggling because, well, duh. He decided to step away from the juggling to dive into stand-up with his best friend, roommate and co-host of the A Boy and His Fridge podcast, Mike O'Donnell, and has become one of the best comedians in Harrisburg, Pa. Santiago also co-hosts The Falls Count Anywhere Podcast with Brandon Youngblood. Follow Manny Santiago: A Boy and His Fridge: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aboyandhisfridge/ The Fall...
Jul 15, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 141
Send us a text James Nghiem started doing stand-up in Oklahoma City, Okla., way back in 2007. Over the last 15 years, he's calmed down as a comedian and is able to find the joy in what he's doing. He's released two albums -- "That Lonely Beast" and "Lonelier Beast" -- on his label, Robot Saves City. He's also the drummer in The Nghiems, a band he started with his brother. They've got a new album in the works, too. He does it all. Follow James Nghiem: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pythagor...
Jul 08, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 140
Send us a text Jim Bryan grew up in Long Island and started doing stand-up in 2002 and moved to Las Vegas. He met his wife there and they moved to Hanover, Pa., to raise their kids, but he put stand-up to the side for a few years. He got back into it in 2015, then started the Den of Satire in 2017 and formally opened the Church of Satire -- in the same room -- a couple years later. It's now one of the best clubs in Pennsylvania, attracting comedians from all over and serving as a development cen...
Jul 01, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 139
Send us a text Avery Quinn started doing stand-up while he was a senior at Shippensburg University and found a good home in the Lancaster and Harrisburg comedy scenes. He ran the White Swan show in Lititz, Pa., before moving to Hartford, Conn., in late 2021. Quinn wrestled and played football in high school and does commercial acting. He's been drenched in Bud Light and cast as two serial killers. Follow Avery Quinn: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/averyquinn66/ Support the show...
Jun 24, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 138
Send us a text Lisa Rossi was doing a journalism fellowship at Stanford University when an improv comedian caught her attention and inspired her to get on stage. A journalism professor at the University of Maryland, Rossi did her first open mic in 2019 and has been doing stand-up and improv in Des Moines, Iowa, ever since. She began working through The Groundlings’ courses during the pandemic and has been able to add some of what she’s learned in improv to her stand-up skillset. She keeps hersel...
Jun 17, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 137
Send us a text Spencer Thomas is a really funny comedian traveling around North Dakota. After spending a few years in Los Angeles, working in post production, Thomas returned him to help take care of his mother. He quit drinking, got a college degree, met his wife and has established himself as a go-to comedian for hire. Following the pandemic, he dropped Dobson and switched to performing under Spencer Thomas and added a guitar to the mix. He's got stories about doing stand-up at prisons and pro...
Jun 10, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 136
Send us a text Steve Wrigley started doing stand-up when he was 17 years old as a way to impress high school girls. He traveled all over New Zealand, working his way onto TV and into a good living before coming to the United States in 2014. Now married with two kids, Wrigley is settled in Alfred, N.Y., and works all over the state -- wherever he can get in front of a microphone. He's got big plans for local comedy and is ready to put doing stand-up on an airplane -- yes, an airplane -- behind hi...
Jun 03, 2022•1 hr 28 min•Season 1Ep. 135
Send us a text Brandon Vincent Jackson is one of the most talented comedians in Delaware. An adjunct professor at the University of Delaware, teaching English as a second language, Jackson started doing stand-up in Philadelphia in the winter of 2013-2014. He spent time in New York City before the pandemic and moved home to wait it out. Jackson found a new way to approach stand-up and turned it into his debut album, English for Criminals, which comes out on Friday, May 27. He's also working on a ...
May 27, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 134
Send us a text Ashley Pontius is a super funny comedian who grew up near Hagerstown, Md., and performs all over the DMV area. She got her start in stand-up by lying about how she knew Myq Kaplan and then worked semi-illegally for Stephen Colbert’s Campaign for Truthiness. Over the last decade, she’s established herself as one of the best up-and-coming comedians in the Mid-Atlantic. She’s a regular just about everywhere from Harrisburg to Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Virginia and co-hosts a p...
May 20, 2022•1 hr 25 min•Season 1Ep. 133
Send us a text Raised in thenBrooklyn, N.Y., Darryl Charles went to school for engineering before starting his comedy career in Philadelphia. He realized he was kind of good at that and moved down I-95 to Baltimore. His debut album, Black Gentrifier, debuted at No. 3 on iTunes at the beginning of 2020 and he's almost got another hour done. Darryl co-hosts the podcast: DTF: The Darryl and Timaree Funhour. He's also got a great story about his first guest spot in front of his proud girlfriend -- n...
May 13, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 132
Send us a text Helen Keaney is a comedian in Florida and host at the Home Shopping Network. She started doing stand-up in New York City after moving there at 19. She picked up momentum quickly, taking over for Dave Attell at a show at the Boston Comedy Club and working her way onto Comedy Central, VH1 and A&E's Evening at the Improv. Keaney toured as a member of the "3 Blonde Moms" for four years before going off on her own. She's been a host at the Home Shopping Network since 2008. She'll b...
May 06, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 131
Send us a text Mark Riccadonna grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, but got his start in stand-up while working the door in a New York City club. His comedian friends bet him he couldn't get on stage in 2002 and he hasn't gotten off. He went to school to become and actor and he's doing that, too, along with directing. Riccadonna moved to Ambler, Pa., but he's staying just as busy. He's got a podcast called Drinks, Jokes and Storytelling and will be featuring at the Rubber City Comedy Festival in Akron, ...
Apr 29, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 130
Send us a text Karen Rontowski wanted to get out of Massachusetts, so she took a job as a cigarette girl in Las Vegas and it changed her life. She's been doing stand-up for the last 30 years, performing on The Late Show with David Letterman, Comics Unleashed, Live at Gotham, Comedy Central and Mysteries of the Unexplained and has a Dry Bar Comedy special. She left Los Angeles to visit her parents in Utica, N.Y., and is getting acquainted with the different comedy scenes. Rontowski makes her livi...
Apr 22, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 129
Send us a text Robin Phoenix is relatively new to the comedy scene in Charlston, S.C., but she’s far from inexperienced. After 26 years in the military, she decided to help her fellow veterans and the surrounding community by starting the Best Medicine Brigade, which books those with ties to the service on comedy shows. A talented stand-up, Phoenix produces shows in South Carolina and is working on starting the American Comedy Guild, which she hopes will be a benefit to comedians all over the Un...
Apr 15, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 128
Send us a text R Purpura is one of the best comedians in Rochester, N.Y. He got his start in 2011 while still a SUNY Oswego, writing for a TV show and taking the material to a music mic on campus. He was Rochester's Funniest Person in 2017 and moved to New York City shortly after opening for Dave Attell and Big Jay Oakerson. He moved back in 2019 and is working all over the state, entertaining audiences with his dark and extremely clever jokes. Follow RJ Purpura: Instagram: https://www.instagram...
Apr 08, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 127
Send us a text Damon Sumner's life changed completely in 2010 when he became a father, a teacher and a comedian all in just a few months. One of the bright spots in the Atlanta scene, Sumner released his debut album, "I Know Who I Am," on March 25. Tagged a combination of Jim Gaffigan and Kevin Hart by a friend, Sumner spent 18 months in China, teaching and doing stand-up, before moving back to Georgia. Damon and his wife, KaToya, have a podcast called Sum it Up with the Sumners, where they talk...
Apr 01, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 126
Send us a text Kass Smiley started doing stand-up in Anchorage, Alaska, back in 2009. She learned from Greg Chaille, Doug Stanhope's right-hand man, and is the brains and muscle behind the B4UDie Comedy Festival, which runs from April 6 and April 10 and features a collection of comedians all across the "lesser 48." Smiley is full of stories, from being heckled by Stanhope in Los Angeles to buying a leisure suit on a tour of the southeast. Plus that whole missing-and-possibly-murdered uncle thing...
Mar 25, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 125
Send us a text After a couple of false starts, Chris Plumer has been doing stand-up in Buffalo steadily since 2014. He's become a reliable laugh and a regular at the Helium Comedy Club and became Buffalo's Funniest Person in 2019 -- a title he maintained until 2021, making him the longest-running champion of all time. He's also a game show host and is always creating something. He hosts Live Reads: A Podcast, which comes out every Wednesday. Follow Chris Plumer: Twitter: https://twitter.com/Chri...
Mar 18, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 124
Send us a text Stephen Taylor is a comedian from Kansas City, Mo., who got his start in stand-up back six years ago. He's traveled all over the country, telling jokes to strangers, and also produces his own shows and is a regular host. He stumbled on one of the best ways to defuse a bomb during what turned out to be his last gig in Lawrence, Kan. Taylor used to be 330 pounds and now he's "Formerly Fat" Stephen. He also co-hosts the Set to Destroy podcast and owns the Barrel of the Bottoms, a ven...
Mar 11, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 123
Send us a text Mathew Snover grew up in Endicott, N.Y., and started doing stand-up after moving to New York City. A regular at the Eastville Comedy Club, Snover is working with Mayhem Comedy Inc. to produce shows in New York City. He's a frequent visitor of the scene in Binghamton and stopped by the studio after giving me a Taco Bell gift card. That's how you do it. Follow Mathew Snover: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mathewsnover/ Support the show...
Mar 04, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 122
Send us a text Dan Geurin started doing stand-up in Albany back in 2012. Already a responsible adult with two kids, a wife and a house, Geurin used his experience as an elementary gym teacher to boost himself into regular work at the Comedy Works in Saratoga, N.Y. He's spent the last nine years working on his writing and developing into an excellent comedian. He's a regular at the Albany Funny Bone and works at clubs all over the Northeast. Follow Dan Geurin: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com...
Feb 25, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 121
Send us a text Justin Chupp has been doing stand-up in Grand Rapids, Mich., for the last six years. He started out as a radio deejay and decided to try his luck at an open mic with 150 people in the audience and hasn't looked back. Now Chupp is one of the people behind Full House Comedy and the new Grand Rapids Comedy Club, which had its first show on Jan. 14, 2022. He's helping develop talent in the scene on his way to becoming a headliner. Follow Justin Chupp: Instagram: https://www.instagram....
Feb 18, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 120
Send us a text Nick Carter switched from improv to stand-up and has spent the last two years trying to establish himself in New York City. A Boston native and an actor, Carter's ex-girlfriend convinced him to give stand-up a try and he won a month-long residency at Greenwich Village Comedy Club that didn't go as well as he wanted -- at least at first. And sadly, he knows all about bed bugs. We talked about baseball and why Phillies fans are terrible people. Follow Nick Carter Instagram: https://...
Feb 11, 2022•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 119
Send us a text Josh Wallenstein grew up needing attention and nothing has changed. He started doing stand-up in Los Angeles back in 2019 and moved home to Binghamton during the pandemic and has become a big part of the comedy scene. An elementary school teacher, too, Wallenstein is working hard to become a touring feature comedian. As long as the focus is on him, he'll be just fine. Follow Josh Wallenstein: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatjoshuakid/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thatjosh...
Feb 04, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 118
Send us a text Sarah Benson is one of the funniest and most uplifting comedians in New York. She started doing stand-up back in 2012 and worked in Orlando and Denver before moving back to Rochester during in 2021. She brought the alternative style she picked up in Colorado with her and now she's making people all over upstate New York laugh. She's working on getting her Master's degree in mental health, so she's determined to be around comedians for the rest of her working life. Plus she's got a...
Jan 28, 2022•1 hr 25 min•Season 1Ep. 117
Send us a text Katlin McFee went from the softball field to the stand-up stage. She grew up in Kentucky, got her start in comedy while in Indianapolis and found a home in Boston. Now she runs Hideout Comedy, a club in Boston, and is a co-founder of Yuck Fest in Indianapolis. McFee is a has been in the HBO Women in Comedy Festival and has performed all over the country and she's brought her competitive nature from being a catcher with her to help carve a solid spot for her in the comedy world. An...
Jan 21, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 116
