This January, one of America’s most beloved comedians of all time will take the stage in Fayetteville.
He has captivated generations of fans with his comedy, iconic albums & best- selling books like Fatherhood and his current best-seller, I Didn’t Ask to Be Born, But I’m Glad I Was. Cosby transcends age, gender and cultural barriers.
Cosby broke TV’s racial barrier with I Spy, becoming the first African-American to costar on a TV series while winning 3 consecutive Emmys. He created and produced the Emmy-winning cartoon Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids. Perhaps Cosby’s greatest contribution to American entertainment & culture is The CosbyShow, which features a close-knit, upper class black family. For more information, please visit billcosby.com.
Billy Joel will headline his first solo appearance in Raleigh since 2007. He is one of the highest grossing touring artists in the world. Having sold over 150 million albums globally, his music has remained among the most popular in the world. The singer/songwriter/composer is the sixth best-selling recording artist of all time and the third best-selling solo artist.
Billy Joel has received six GRAMMY® Awards, including the prestigious Grammy Legend Award. He has been inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and has received numerous industry awards. His music has also served as the inspiration and score for the hit Tony Award-winning Broadway play “Movin’ Out.”
Drew Carey is a stand-up comic turned actor and producer who had the distinction of having two hit shows simultaneously: the long-running comedy “The Drew Carey Show,” which ran from 1995-2004, and the improv/sketch show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” on which he was host and a producer. The success of that show led to the creation of “Drew Carey’s Improv AllStars,” an improv troupe that performs in showrooms across the country. In July 2007, Carey was named the host of THE PRICE IS RIGHT, succeeding longtime host Bob Barker.
“Whatever happens in that theater, let it stay in that theater.” -Tracy Morgan
On January 3, 2014 one of the most controversial comedic talents going today will arrive at Goodnight’s Raleigh for 5 shows. Tickets are available HERE.
Tracy Morgan, fresh off of the hit NBC sit-com, 30 Rock will bring his straight shooting and often brash style of comedy to give Raleigh a dose of “Funny, funny, funny, funny and then some more funny, funny, funny.”
While his choice of topics and takes on issues are always going to be the subject of scrutiny and, often, disdain. One thing cannot be ignored, Tracy Morgan will tell you exactly what is on his mind and pull no punches in getting his point across.
I had the distinct pleasure of getting that fact smashed into my face first hand recently… The carnage is below…
MAS – In just a couple weeks you are going to be performing 5 shows at Goodnight’s in Raleigh. What can we expect to see from you?
Tracy Morgan – Funny, funny, funny, funny and then some more funny, funny, funny.
MAS – Are we expecting some of the characters that we associate with you, impressions and that kind of thing?
Tracy Morgan – Nah, absolutely not! You are going to have some other characters that are based in my life. My sense of humor is based in reality. I have got people in my life that have touched my life and have steered my life in a direction that is hilarious to me. Those are the characters that I will be bringing to share with you guys.
If people want to see Brian Fellows that got to turn on the TV.I don’t walk around with a Brian Fellows suit; I don’t have no wardrobe, no makeup. I don’t do that. So all those characters that I presented to you on those TV shows, they stay on the TV shows. The characters that I have in my life, I bring and share them with you guys.
MAS – It is well known that you, as a young man, had to do some things coming up that a lot of people may not approve of in order to get by.
Tracy Morgan – I don’t even care about what people think about what I had to do. I was raised in Brooklyn; that is one thing we can’t control. Who we are born to and the environment we are born in. I’m a grown man now, I’m 45, and I’m not that person. That was 25 years ago.
MAS – Since you have been performing, which has been quite a while considering you started performing in the early 90s, you have had a bunch of highs and a very few lows. Which of your highs are you the most proud of?
Tracy Morgan – You gotta have the highs and the lows. You have to have the mountains and the valleys. There are no plains; you go through ups and downs. When you are on a heart machine in the hospital and that machine goes beep-beep and goes up and down, that’s life! That means I’m living. I’m going through it. When its flatlined, then it is flat lines, that means you compromised. My ups and my downs are because I don’t compromise. I keep it coming. I don’t control that line of funny, funny, funny, not funny. So that is what that is, I am going to do me.
I have to view my life as I see it. My ups are up, but I don’t let my ups get too up and my lows don’t get too low. I go through the same things that everybody in this country goes through. People just see me on TV and think that money and all that other stuff changes things, and it don’t.
MAS – I have done a bunch of these interviews in my life and you have to be the most “real” person I have talked to so far.
Tracy Morgan – That is why I love talking with you! Because you get it, you were relating and identifying with me. We all go through it. I just inject my sense of humor into it. I want to make folks not feel so bad. We have to add a little levity to things. If we don’t laugh about things, we are going to cry. I’m done crying man! I wanna rap about this crap, ain’t nobody happy! That’s why I’m here, to teach those who can’t say my name. That’s why He put me on this planet, to make everybody laugh. That’s my purpose. I don’t wanna hurt nobody. I just want to make this planet a little bit better than what it was when I got here.
MAS – You said in an interview that I read a while back that comedians have already earned their wings in heaven because they put smiles on people’s faces.
Tracy Morgan – That’s it man! I ain’t here to hurt nobody or nothing. I just want to make people laugh. When I leave this planet, I’m gonna be a shell of a man because I gave you everything I had.
I share my life! I’m sorry I’m not Seinfeld, sorry I’m not Ray Ramano but I didn’t grow up that way. I grew up in some hard shit. Sometimes because of social media people have their opinions. Sometimes your opinions don’t agree with me. If you don’t like my comedy, stay home and make it Blockbuster night. We’re just making fun! That is what Archie Bunker did! That’s what George Jefferson did! That’s what Richard Pryor did! That’s what George Carlin did! As long as I am doing comedy in the spirit those people that came before me, like Lucille Ball and Jackie Gleason, and the comedy gods are smiling down on me; I’m good. I know that my spirit is in the right place. I’m not mean-spirited with it; I’m just coming with my approach to stand-up. When I come to North Carolina, I’m coming in good spirit and I just want to make people laugh.
MAS – Something else that you do that I respect, you don’t have limits. If you have got something that you want to talk about or something that want to put into your show, you are going to do it.
Tracy Morgan – That’s because I can guarantee that I am not the only one going through it! If you got people that go out here and they burn their whole family up in their house because they think they are the only ones going through something. I’m on stage going, “Yo look, I got tax problems! Come and laugh at this. You ain’t the only one.” If I go out and do comedy “real”, then people are going to identify and relate me like, “I thought I was the only one with tax problems.” You aint! You ain’t the only one with money problems! You ain’t the only one with car problems! There are people like that all around the world!
MAS – For the future for you, looking towards what you have got coming, you just finished up one of the best shows that I have ever seen and you have got all this energy, all this drive to do new things and make life good for people. What have you got coming up?
Tracy Morgan – I got a new TV show, but more than that man. I’m just living life; I’m living it, everyday man. I don’t know what is up ahead of me, because tomorrow is not promised to anybody. I’m living for today and feeling good! You know, I could get a call from the IRS as soon as we get done! You know they always gonna be around this time of year! They always on me! They feel I short-changed them with bin Laden!
MAS – You keep doing what you are doing, you have got fans out here that are looking forward to your show. You bring whatever it is that you want to bring and you are going to make a lot of people laugh.
Tracy Morgan – The only thing that I ask, leave your camera phones at home and let’s just enjoy the show, whatever happens. Whatever happens in that theater, let it stay in that theater. People want to wonder, let them buy a ticket next time.
Since 2006 NBC’sAmerica’s Got Talent has featured some truly wonderful performers. Season 8, which concluded on September 18th, was the first season to feature a dance act as it’s winner. Before Kenichi Ebina was announced as the winner he had to face some very stiff competition by a fresh faced comedian by the name of Taylor Williamson, the eventual first runner-up.
On New Year’s Eve Taylor will be performing 3 shows at Goodnight’s Comedy Club in Raleigh. Tickets are available HERE.
To help get the word out about his style of comedy and the upcoming Raleigh , NC tour date , Taylor spoke at length with me about his performance style and what drives him.
MAS – You have one of the best deliveries and most unique overall performance styles. Where did that come from? How did you develop that character? That can’t be natural…
Taylor Williamson – People say that kind of stuff to me, I don’t know if I should be offended or what. I am just being myself, I’m sorry.
MAS – You have that total package, the jokes you tell are very smart. In one of your routines you make a joke about illegal aliens, if you were not paying attention to political or current events, you wouldn’t have gotten that joke. You have the wit the facial expressions the deadpan delivery just the whole package. That had to take some development. Is that truly your personality?
Taylor Williamson – {Laughs} Yeah, It’s not like I am going to lie to you the first time and then on the second question say ‘No’. But yeah, it took ten years of working in comedy to figure out what to do with it, you know? But Yeah, I’m just weird, I’m sorry.
MAS – Don’t be sorry, you have a gift
Taylor Williamson –Thanks
MAS – I was doing some reading about you and I saw in an interview that you did a while back that you were in college, dropped out. You went out to say that you then found yourself surrounded by 40 year old comedians to better the craft. Tell me a little about that experience. What were some of the things you picked up, how did that develop you?
Taylor Williamson – What I learned from hanging out with creepy 40 year old comedians, um…. Don’t do drugs? I really don’t know what I am supposed to say.
Taylor Williamson – The good thing about being in LA, I got to be surrounded by some really amazing comedians at a young age. I mean I’m in LA; I get to see the best comedians in the world. I got to hang out with them, I got to stand in the circle with them as they talked to their friends, and they didn’t kick me out of the circle. Be a comic with them let me watch really amazing comics every night, so that was pretty special.
MAS – I also read somewhere that you were having a pretty tough go at it for a while there, and then you caught a break with America’s Got Talent. I have to think that you have been able to reap some serious rewards from that. Is there anything new that you have gotten into since you were on America’s Got Talent?
Taylor Williamson – It’s been kinda non-stop. Right after the show ended, like a few days later, we had to go do this two-month long tour that was so much fun. Then right after that I jumped right into my own solo tour, that’s what I am doing right now. That tour is what is bringing me to Raleigh; I’m in Sarasota right now. I am doing comedy clubs non-stop. I am working on a comedy special and some other TV stuff that is definitely happening. But the thing that is current is the comedy tour. That is special, I get to go to all these cities and have people come out. I get to meet the people who are the reason that I am here. They voted for me and supported me, it’s really amazing. Crazy.
MAS – The support that I have seen for you has been almost overwhelming. To think that someone who was almost ready to hang it up would get this type of resurgence. I went to your YouTube channel and listened to your “Video Thingee”, which I found very funny. You have tens of thousands of people viewing that, which is impressive. What do you attribute your success to? How have you built your connection to your audience?
Taylor Williamson – I don’t know, by the way, I was never going to quit. There was a misquote in some articles. I was never ever going to quit comedy. I was going to have to get a day job for sure. So I was going to quit {Laughs}….not working.
Taylor Williamson – I don’t know why people like me, I really appreciate it though. It’s really funny that for all the things that people in this industry told me that reason why that I am not good enough are all the reasons why people like me now. It’s really nice, I can just be myself. Maybe it is because I am an underdog. Maybe because I am really handsome, I guess.
MAS – What was the AGT quote? “Awkward Cute, Dorky Comedian?” That did endear you to a good number of the population.
Taylor Williamson – Yeah, {Laughs} I don’t know why people like me, but I appreciate it. I just get to be myself. It is kind of nice; amazing actually. It sounds so ridiculous, but I am so appreciative. I have gone from, “I have no career” to “I have all my dreams coming true” in just a few months.
MAS – Where do you see your career going from here? I know you said you are doing the tour now, but big picture, maybe take a step back, what do you see next for yourself? What do you hope is next for yourself?
Taylor Williamson – I hope to have the comedy special filmed really soon, and maybe get a sit-com. That’s the goal. I am working towards that, some bad TV show that I can star in. That would be fun.
MAS – I think you would do very well on a sit-com, with your delivery. You would just do exceedingly well; I see that being really funny.
Taylor Williamson – Thanks a lot, I think so. The goal is just to keep making people laugh and if I can do it in different ways. I don’t know; it’s fun. I’m so lucky to have been given this opportunity. I’m going to do my best to keep it going.
MAS – If you had any advice to any up-and-coming comedian that may be hitting a rough spot, what would it be?
Taylor Williamson – If you really love it, stick with it. I had the worst year of my career. I had ONE OF the worst years of my career. I just had a really really bad year, the year before all my dreams come true. I got rejected by every single thing that I would ever want to do the year before the best few months of my career. If you really love it, just keep working hard and let the rejection fuel you and make you want to prove people wrong and prove yourself. If someone says that “I don’t want to work with you’ or “I don’t like you” or “you’re not good”; that is just their opinion. All you need is one person to like you. So for all the people that have rejected you, realize that you could have a million people reject you and one really cool person to like you to give you a career. Thankfully my cool people were like Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, Howard Stern and Mel B. If you love it and you are good at it, work really hard to stick with it and keep having fun the whole time. You never know who is going to be in the audience and who is going to see you.
Natash Leggero is one of the funniest comedians touring today, her elitist character and take on current social norms will leave you sweating from laughter. Her routine contains her hilarious takes on toilet-babies, music, poor people, pop figures and so much more. Inspired by the downward spiral of popular culture Natasha has decided to add some class and style in poking fun at the elements of society that she finds funny.
Leggero is a regular on the hit E! late night show Chelsea Lately and has appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno along with several other late night shows. She provided her voice to the character Claire Maggotbone on the Comedy Central show Ugly Americans and can be seen in guest starring roles in Reno 911! and many other shows. Her hugely successful comedy album Coke Money is a must listen.
Natasha will bring her comedic style to Goodnight’s Comedy Club in Raleigh Thursday, December 26 – Saturday, December 28 for 5 shows. Tickets are available HERE.
In advance of her local shows, Natasha took some time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions…
MAS – I read in another interview that you did a while back that you think that something happens to people early in life to make them decide to be a comedian. What happened to you to make you choose comedy as your path to fame and fortune?
Natasha Leggero– I’m assuming mine was just the usual boring stuff, not getting enough love from at least one parent. I wish I was slashed in an alley or something then I’d probably be richer!
MAS – Your takes on the less flattering parts of our society are spot on. Your CD, Coke Money, felt like a hilarious social commentary. Have your opinions or jokes ever put you in a position of being confronted by someone that took your show a little too seriously?
Natasha Leggero – Yes. Once on the Tonight Show I said that I met Snooki and she didn’t know what epilepsy was. (True Story) So I told Snooki” you know when you’re in the hot tub and you start shaking and vomiting uncontrollably it’s like that.” And I got massive amounts of hate mail from people with Epilepsy. The Tonight Show is apparently big with the Epilepsy demographic!
MAS – Has fear of backlash regarding political correctness ever factored into you performances? Are you ever afraid that a joke may have crossed a line?
Natasha Leggero – No.
{I cannot help but think that she is just dying for the next TLC “I Didn’t Know I was Pregnant” type of show to come on.}
MAS – Who do you test out your new material on?
Natasha Leggero – An audience. Once in a while at the dry cleaners. I’ve never not bombed at the dry cleaners.
{She does not have a “home club” that other acts have told me that they like to use for testing new material}
MAS – Do you feel like you have to work to a different standard as a woman in comedy as compared to the men that are successful today?
Natasha Leggero – No.
{A bit surprised that she did not have more of an opinion on this considering how outspoken she has been in the past}
MAS – How have you handled juggling your stand-up successes while still pursuing TV and film?
Natasha Leggero – I have a lovely wife who takes care of all of my needs. She watches the kids while I’m away, makes me breakfast, does my laundry. I’m very lucky.
MAS – Are there any projects that you have in the works that you are looking forward to?
Natasha Leggero – I have a new web show Tubbin’ with Tash where I interview people in my hot tub. I’m also a regular in the new seasons of Suburgatory on ABC and Betas on Amazon. I’ll also be in the new movie “Let’s Be Cops” opposite Jake Johnson.
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