Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts – Memorial Auditorium
Raleigh, NC
March 9, 2014
Amy Schumer is quickly becoming the hottest star in the world of comedy, with her blend of wholesome, girl-next-door looks and edgy comedy. Amy is the creator, star and writer of Inside Amy Schumer, her Comedy Central television show which will premiere on April 30th. Amy is coming off her one-hour stand-up special, Mostly Sex Stuff, which became Comedy Central’s second-highest rated special this year. She was one of the featured comedians on Comedy Central’s Roast of Roseanne, following her breakout performance on the 2011 Roast of Charlie Sheen. Amy was most recently on Louie and in Season 2 of HBO’s Girls.
Schumer has appeared on The Howard Stern Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Conan, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. She was featured in Rolling Stone Magazine, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and as one of Entertainment Weekly and Los Angeles Times “13 Faces to Watch in 2013.”
She had a recurring role on Season 3 of Adult Swim’s Delocated and guest starred in the latest season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. In 2011 she filmed the feature Seeking a Friend for the End of the World starring Steve Carrell and Kiera Knightley and Price Check, an independent feature opposite Parker Posey which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Her album Cutting placed in the top 5 of the Billboard Charts and has been included on multiple Best Comedy Albums of the Year awards’ lists.
Her network debut came in 2007 when she starred on NBC’s Last Comic Standing and soon after co-starred on 30 Rock, and her own Comedy Central Presents special. She co-hosted Hoppus on Music with Mark Hoppus of Blink 182 on Fuse and this summer made her fourth appearance at the Montreal Comedy Festival
This weekend (Jan 9-11) Raleigh, NC will get hit by the bus that is the ever controversial, always opinionated, American Degenerate that is Jim Norton.
Fresh off of his hit Epix comedy special, Jim will be at Goodnight’s in Raleigh performing 5 shows. You can get tickets HERE
A couple of weeks ago, I was given the chance to speak with Jim about his upcoming show. I decided that instead of talking about his show, I would talk to him about his take on issues of the world today. What I got out of the experience is a new found respect for the man and an item I can look back on and say, “wow, that was cool”.
MAS – I am online and I see that A&E has suspended Phil Robertson. What is the first thing that comes to mind for you?
Jim Norton – It’s one of these things that I jump all over on Twitter. I like to know that I live in a country where we care what one hillbilly asshole thinks about homosexuals. It is mind-boggling that anyone cares what this guy thinks, but he has done nothing wrong by expressing his opinions. I am very pro-gay marriage, I am very pro-gay, and I still have to defend the guy.
MAS – I couldn’t agree with you more. Me personally, everybody lives their own life; do what they want to do. I may not agree with it, but I am going to stay out of it. I grew up Catholic in the south and there are two groups that are going to face a lot of harassment here, Blacks and Catholics. As a result, I grew up to be very tolerant.
What I have seen over my 35 years; I have seen tolerance go to an extreme. I have seen tolerance become codling. What do you see there?
Jim Norton – America is a very phony place when it comes to tolerance and freedom of thoughts and diversity in ideas. It has just gone the other way now. I don’t know why we’re pretending to be surprised. We have never really been a place where we allow for ideas that we don’t agree with. Today, it just seems like we have people that are willing to get in trouble for saying something we find disagreeable.
MAS – The idea of something being off-limits because it has a violent connotation. I agreed with your stance where, “If an actor can portray the role, why can’t a comedian make the joke?” Where do you think we need to go as a society in order to overcome that mentality?
Jim Norton – Individuals are self-righteous, social networking allows us to be self-righteous in a group. Rape victim’s pain is very real, and I think that rapists should be castrated. But, the pain of a rape victim is just as real as the pain of a 9/11 victim, the same as an AIDS patient the same as a molestation victim. Look within the Catholic Church. Look at all the molesting priest jokes; there are a million of them. A, Catholicism has brought that upon themselves by protecting those pigs. B, are you going to tell me that the pain of these kids who are molested is not real? Of course it is! Everyone’s pain is real. You can’t look at any of it as off-limits; otherwise you are going to be talking about balloons and puppies. Do you want comedy that is only making fun of sour milk? I mean, there are social issues that we should make fun of. The fact that there is a real pain associated with that shouldn’t negate the ability to make fun of it.
MAS – Let me put things into context for you, in the last week I have interviewed four stand-up comedians. In order; you, yesterday I spoke with Gary Gulman. Before him, Tracy Morgan and last week I spoke with Natasha Leggero. One of those four does not belong.
Jim Norton – Wow, you could take any one of them. You have a woman, a black guy and a Jew so you could say it is any one of them. Or do you mean by what they have said?
MAS – No, you went exactly where I was going. Why is it that you can have four different comedians that are totally different in every possible way all making jokes that go against social norms, yet you and Tracy are the ones that seem to get blasted the most.
Jim Norton – You know, it is really weird. I haven’t gotten it. People have come after me on Twitter, but no one has threatened my job. I have never had that happen because of what I have said. Tracy got it because he had a network gig and that is why Tash got in trouble. When you have a network gig, there is a lot of money at stake, and the networks come after you. So the comedians will just say, “The hell with it, fuck it, let’s just say we are sorry and move along.” I think that is why they went after Tracy because he had a network gig so they pressured him that way. Believe me, I wish I had that problem. I don’t have any type of network affiliation; I am only a moderately successful guy so I have a little more freedom.
MAS – As a fan, putting aside the whole media side, I have a lot of respect for people that will speak their minds and challenge the societal norms. I hate to say it, I almost hope you don’t get a network deal so that I can keep hearing you just let it go.
Jim Norton – Thank you man. You know on the Opie and Anthony Show, that I am on every day, I have had tremendous freedom there. I have my CDs and my DVDs; I have a lot of freedom, I can pretty much say any opinion that I want. I have been very fortunate in my career and I have chosen that path. You might take a little bit less network accessibility for it, but I really like what I do on stage.
In American Degenerate, I blasted the press. It felt great to blast them, and there is nothing they can do about it. Not that they want to do anything, but nobody can do a fucking thing about it. My job as a comedian is to be, hopefully, funny and honest; I don’t always have to be right. I think I am like every other scumbag in this country; half the time I’m right, half the time I’m wrong. I’m just like Fox news, just like CNN, just like everybody else.
MAS – I watched both of your most recent stand-up DVDs and even dug up your old HBO special. In one of them, you lay into Al Sharpton. He has, sort of, dropped out of relevance. People can now see him for what he really is. Who do you think personifies what is wrong today?
Jim Norton – Great Question… You are right; Sharpton is a lot mellower than he used to be.
I don’t know if you can find any one particular person, I think it is the umbrella in which special interest groups operate because they always target people for speech. Then again, they don’t make the firings, the networks do the firing. Then again, the networks don’t WANT to do the firing, they only do it because the advertisers are upset. Then again, the advertisers are only upset because they think they are going to lose sales because the average person, like you or I, don’t push back. It is very hard to find one person that personifies what’s wrong because it is a very weird cyclical thing. We, the population, could end it immediately. Take right now; there is a Facebook page for the people of Duck Dynasty about “Don’t watch A&E until that guy is back on.” They are supporting him. In a few hours they have gotten a half a million “Likes”. A&E is absolutely going to back-pedal on this because they are going to lose a lot more. Society, that is usually very quiet, decides it is not offended and is instead really pissed off and is standing up to push back. So, I bet you that A&E will, fucking, back-pedal on this.
It is a great question; I don’t want to bring just one person. Because, oh yeah, Jessie Jackson is an annoying asshole, but again Jessie Jackson doesn’t fire people. It is not Jessie who fires people; it is the cowardly executives who fire people. So Jessie is annoying, but I think that these executives who stand up for nothing are even worse. The public in general who fucking, just sits there and takes special interest dick, we are all at fault for not speaking up and not defending each other; for not defending each other and our right to say stupid things and our right to say unpopular shit.
MAS – I am going to disagree with several people, an example will be that “church” out in Westboro. Even though I absolutely abhor everything they say and do, I also have to defend them for having the guts to stand up and say what they believe.
Jim Norton – That is exactly right. I mean, I hate the fact that they do it. I have issues with them, simply because they go to these funerals… there is almost something dishonest about them. They remind me of little children standing on the porch yelling the “F word” knowing that mommy is right behind them to protect them. If they had real courage and they really had faith in God they wouldn’t need to get permits to march, they would just show up without police protection. If they really thought God was protecting them, they would just show up without police watching.
But, you are right. I believe in their right to do what they do. I think they are a great statement as to what we will tolerate in this country. They are just a great image. The whole country thinks that they are just fucking pigs, which they are. However, they have the right to say something so reprehensible. It is just a great statement about our country and what we can and do tolerate at times.
They have really hurt themselves by using such inflammatory rhetoric. Their rhetoric is so inflammatory and so childish and they say things like “God hates fags.” Even people who may be inclined to agree with them have turned against them, even people who are religious and don’t really like homosexuals. They are using such babyish, child terms that people look at them and say, “These people are just absolute assholes.” All the younger members of their congregation are leaving; they have backed themselves into a corner and bitten their own asshole out which is really great to see.
MAS – Hopefully we will see a day when that type of attitude will go away and be replaced by real tolerance, real understanding and real compassion.
Jim Norton – My opinion is, I think that people who do not like homosexuals are lousy. I think that if you do not like gay people, then you are kind of a shitty person. I think that is an ignorant point of view. But I think that if you don’t like gay people, but you still want them to be able to get married and have all the rights you do I think you are a shitty person, but a great American because you realize your personal views shouldn’t interfere with someone elses life liberty or the pursuit of happiness.
I don’t care if people hate gays or hate blacks, that is within your right and you should be able to feel that way. Just don’t ask for your rights to be one iota more than theirs.
MAS – I am in North Carolina; I am going to live up to the southern stereotype on guns. I am one of those “gun toting lunatics” that gun control advocates talk about. I also believe in responsibility, I believe in doing what is right for society and what is right in general. I can’t help but get offended when I get lumped into the same category as the guy in Colorado, that nutcase in Connecticut. It sends me into orbit that I am seen as a pariah because I own a weapon.
Jim Norton – There are many opinions that I hear that find offensive or vile. The difference is, it is okay to be offended or upset by something someone says, but I don’t want them penalized for it. People are always coming up to me, “don’t you ever get offended?” Sure I do! But I understand that is the price you pay for living in a free society. Some people are going to say things that I find shitty, some people are going to have opinions that I find dumb, or retarded or vile. There are people that are going to hate my guts, it is what it is.
The problem is that we want each other penalized for it; we are a country of hall monitors
MAS – I am finally going to ask you about your show… What can we expect as material?
Jim Norton – I talk about Anthony Weiner, I talk about technology, Paula Dean and you can bet I will be talking about Duck Dynasty, plus my use of prostitutes and addiction. I promise to be funny, it is a new set and completely different from my stuff on American Degenerate. I promise it is good.
Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts – Meymandi Concert Hall
Raleigh, NC
March 9, 2014
For more than a decade, Wayne Brady has entertained audiences with his acting, improv, singing and dancing on stage, on television and in film. Brady’s career took off with his debut on the television show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” in 1998, which won him an Emmy in Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety, Musical or Comedy Series in 2003.
Since his debut on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”, Brady’s success has continued with the two year run of his talk show “The Wayne Brady Show,” and guest starring on primetime television series’ such as “How I Met Your Mother,” “30 Rock” and “The Dave Chappelle Show”. Brady can be seen weekdays on CBS as host of the daytime class “Let’s Make A Deal.”
Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts – Memorial Auditorium
Raleigh, NC
January 31, 2014
Bruce Bruce is a name synonymous with keeping audiences rolling with laughter thanks to his captivating improv skills and larger than life comedic style. Bruce’s steady style of comedy has been showcased across the country, and he has been entertaining audiences young and old, and of all backgrounds, for years. His wit, spontaneity and dazzling personality set him apart from other standup comedians. Although Bruce is known for his adult comedy, he prides himself on not using vulgarity to win a laugh, and is no stranger is winning over new audiences with every appearance he makes. From his role as host for two seasons of BET’s “Comic View” to his many appearances on tv and film, Bruce is clearly a comedian that has found his mark in the business.
Rapidly becoming one of the most talked about comedians, Arnez J’s charisma and physical agility are unforgettable. With the physicality of Jim Carrey, his brand of comedy has dubbed him “the black Jerry Lewis.”
On his own at age 14, Arnez lied about his age to get a job at a gas station to work his way through school. Arnez wanted to be a professional baseball player. A Philadelphia Phillies Farm League pursued him, but that fell through. It was later while working as a flight attendant that Arnez discovered his comedic talent. He realized that he had the ability to keep the passengers and crew laughing and upon encouragement from friends, he made his first attempt at stand-up comedy. After that first night on stage, he knew what he wanted to do. He left his job with the airlines and made the decision to devote all of his time to a career in comedy.
In keeping with his plan, Arnez keeps up a dizzying pace performing for sold out crowds in clubs, colleges and concert halls across the country. And most recently, he has accomplished something no other comic yet has done. Arnez has been asked by The Artist Formerly Known as Prince to perform as his opening act.
Gary Owen has been entertaining America for over a decade with his side-splitting comedy. Having performed in all of the major comedy rooms across America, including The Laugh Factory Hollywood, The Comedy Store, all of the Improvs, numerous Funny Bones and Punchlines, and Caroline’s in New York, Owen is one of America’s most loved comedians.”
Owen started doing stand-up in San Diego, and had a huge African American fan base. He went onto win the “Funniest Black Comedian in San Diego” contest. That led to his first big gig at the Comedy Store in Hollywood.
Then in July of 1997 he auditioned for BET’s Comicview. Two appearances on the multi-cultural comedy showcase won him his own one-hour “Grandstand” show. At the end of the season he was selected from the year’s four “Grandstanders” to be the host. Not only is Owen the only white man to have ever hosted Comicview, but he is the only white on-air personality the network has ever had.
What is there to know about Dominique? Well, if you’re interested in high-powered comedy, there is everything to know. From clubs across the country to Comedy Central’s hit “Chapelle’s Show” she’s showing America what a comedienne is.
She began honing her skills unprofessionally as a civil servant on the nightshift as a postal worker at the now infamous Brentwood Postal facility in her native Washington D.C. “I knew something like that was gonna happen. I used to see all kinds of stuff that terrorist could use come through that post office. But that was back in the good ole’ Timothy McVeigh days”, she quips about the nation’s anthrax scare. Boredom with the job and fear of going postal gave way to open mic nights at local clubs at the behest of friends and co-workers. She immediately gained a reputation for telling it like it is; raw and uncut and unknowingly garnered a loyal following. Washington’s uppity audiences gravitated toward her mixture of politics, street culture and current events. Her strong presence and a bravado rarely seen in female comics quickly gained the attention of the producers of HBO’s “Russell Simmons’s Def Comedy Jam”, the show that changed comedy forever. She went from shuffling mail to working with the likes of Chris Rock in no time. “I didn’t do anything special. I just talked about what I knew and the next thing you know I’m on T.V. I quit that job and took about 20 books of stamps. I figured they owed me.” She never looked back.
Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts – Memorial Auditorium
Raleigh, NC
January 12, 2014
In SHATNER’S WORLD…a one man force of nature delivers a larger than life performance complete with his laugh-out-loud humor, signature storytelling and select musical selections in his inimitable style.
Through anecdotes, songs, jokes and even some poignant moments, you will experience William Shatner ‘s phenomenal path from classically trained Shakespearean actor to cultural icon, brilliantly creating the larger-than-life and most important character he has ever played, William Shatner.
January 17, 2014
Bill Cosby …Far From Finished
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 Cosby Show, which features a close-knit, upper class black family. For more information, please visit billcosby.com.
Durham, NC
January 11, 2014
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.
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’s America’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.
ecsguestwriter
MichaelSmithNC
Melissa Anne Cain
Eastern Carolina Style 