BIOGRAPHY
I am a comedian, writer, and activist currently based in Nashville, Tennessee (and soon to be Portland, Oregon). To paraphrase the line from Goodfellas: As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a stand-up comic.
I always loved making people laugh. I was enthralled by those who could do it really well on television and in film, even if I didn’t really understand it. As a child, I remember once giving a rudimentary stand-up performance in my living room in front of my parents and their friends. The jokes were probably not very funny, but they still laughed at my efforts. That was all I needed.
Over the next decade, my interest in comedy grew and evolved many times over. I began writing humorous short stories and plays. In high school, I wrote a humor column in the student newspaper. I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t enough. During this time, I became fascinated with the world of stand-up comedy. I saw it as an outlet to develop an honest point-of-view about the world and speak truth to power, in the same way as many of my comedy idols: George Carlin, Bill Hicks, Lewis Black, and Marc Maron, just to name a few. I was drawn to it immediately. I was thirteen years old.
I made my first official debut as a stand-up comic when I was seventeen, opening for some local bands. It went surprisingly well, but after a handful of lackluster subsequent performances, I stopped. I made my second official debut as a comic when I was nineteen. I bombed horribly and fell in love. Fast-forward a few years to my early twenties, and I have since performed in clubs, colleges, and other venues all across the country, placed in contests, appeared at festivals, released a self-produced live comedy album, worked with many notable names, and developed a reputation as one of Tennessee's most promising up-and-coming comics. (I know that seems self-aggrandizing. I'm sorry about that. Let's be honest: who wants to read a bio about how awful someone is?)
I’ve been described as cerebral, energetic, sarcastic, angry, laid-back, engaging, and other seemingly contradictory words. They’re all true to various extents. I think it’s important to be multi-faceted in your perspective. Once, after a show, a woman approached me and said I was brilliant. Another time, I was standing outside a club before a show, and a guy in his car pulled up beside me. He said, “Hey, who’s on the show tonight?” I said, “Actually, I am.” And he went, “GAAAAAAAY!” and drove off.
But I was grateful for that, because, thanks to them, I’ll always have the two ends of my personal spectrum of success. I will either be brilliant, GAAAAAAAY, or somewhere in-between.
And I think I'm comfortable with that.
RF
I always loved making people laugh. I was enthralled by those who could do it really well on television and in film, even if I didn’t really understand it. As a child, I remember once giving a rudimentary stand-up performance in my living room in front of my parents and their friends. The jokes were probably not very funny, but they still laughed at my efforts. That was all I needed.
Over the next decade, my interest in comedy grew and evolved many times over. I began writing humorous short stories and plays. In high school, I wrote a humor column in the student newspaper. I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t enough. During this time, I became fascinated with the world of stand-up comedy. I saw it as an outlet to develop an honest point-of-view about the world and speak truth to power, in the same way as many of my comedy idols: George Carlin, Bill Hicks, Lewis Black, and Marc Maron, just to name a few. I was drawn to it immediately. I was thirteen years old.
I made my first official debut as a stand-up comic when I was seventeen, opening for some local bands. It went surprisingly well, but after a handful of lackluster subsequent performances, I stopped. I made my second official debut as a comic when I was nineteen. I bombed horribly and fell in love. Fast-forward a few years to my early twenties, and I have since performed in clubs, colleges, and other venues all across the country, placed in contests, appeared at festivals, released a self-produced live comedy album, worked with many notable names, and developed a reputation as one of Tennessee's most promising up-and-coming comics. (I know that seems self-aggrandizing. I'm sorry about that. Let's be honest: who wants to read a bio about how awful someone is?)
I’ve been described as cerebral, energetic, sarcastic, angry, laid-back, engaging, and other seemingly contradictory words. They’re all true to various extents. I think it’s important to be multi-faceted in your perspective. Once, after a show, a woman approached me and said I was brilliant. Another time, I was standing outside a club before a show, and a guy in his car pulled up beside me. He said, “Hey, who’s on the show tonight?” I said, “Actually, I am.” And he went, “GAAAAAAAY!” and drove off.
But I was grateful for that, because, thanks to them, I’ll always have the two ends of my personal spectrum of success. I will either be brilliant, GAAAAAAAY, or somewhere in-between.
And I think I'm comfortable with that.
RF
