Sean T. Hughes

We have our first Clean Comedy Chat with Sean T. Hughes, a comedian based out of Nashville, TN who is also a balloon artist, father, and a co-founder of the Clean Comedy Collective.  

Drew and Sean talk a lot of shop about starting out in comedy, developing the craft, and challenges that new comedians can expect.

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I'm a blue-nottest Anna comedian after a while started to integrate both because I got challenged
by somebody at that open-mic at Twin Kegs that said, "Let's bring up a balloon next time."
[Music]
Hello and welcome to Clean Comedy Chats Drew Davis. This is the very first episode. Thank you all for joining us.
Just a little context for everyone tuning in. My name is Drew Davis. I'm a comedian. I'm also one of the founders of the Clean Comedy Collective,
which is a virtual comedy network of comedians who work clean and are just working to build community.
The long story short, we've been around here in middle Tennessee, on the base of the national area. We've been around for about three years.
About a year ago, we had a website update which made us think, "Hey, let's try to get more comedians across the nation."
Long story short, we got about 200 comedians now from all across the country. We're part of the Clean Comedy Collective.
I've had the opportunity to meet a lot of them. I think, "Wow, these are really cool people. I'd love to get to other people to know them as well."
I realized I was working on making a new podcast. I was like, "Oh my gosh, this is the opportunity for people to meet the other comedians in the Clean Comedy Collective."
You're listening to a podcast where I'm going to have comedians on the show. We're going to interview them about comedy. We're going to talk shop.
We're also going to get to know them as people. Each week, we'll have a different guest. This will kind of be like in every Saturday thing until I run out of guests or stop doing it or the world ends.
We're currently in a Snowpocalypse here in middle Tennessee, which is fun because the last time I started a podcast two years ago, it was also during a Snowpocalypse.
I think that's my new snow activities. I'm just going to start a podcast every time I'm stuck at home.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm very excited about our very first guest of the entire series.
I mentioned I am a co-founder of the Clean Comedy Collective, and this man is also a co-founder of the Clean Comedy Collective.
We're bringing to you this week Sean T. Hughes. Sean, how's it going today?
It's going great. How about you?
I am doing great. How's the big snow day been going for you and your family?
It's been a snow couple days now.
It's been a snow couple days. Right now, it's just all ice.
Actually, my oldest son went to go shovel the driveway. Good kids. I'm going to shovel the driveway. Great.
He got out there about five to ten minutes.
I thought I neighbors one of the huge branches fell down because of the ice. He's like, I'm done.
But at least he went out there at first. Unprovoked. He went out there to give it his best job.
He did.
Sean, so I'm super excited to have you on the podcast.
You're in addition to being a comedian and a producer and one of the guys that helped me found the Clean Comedy Collective.
You're also just a really good friend. He's ladies and gentlemen. He's the guy that when you're having an existential crisis and you call and you talk to him.
He's like, let's go eat lunch. Let's talk about those over the meal.
So just a very important person in my life.
My opening question. I'm going to start asking this to all the comedians we have on the show is Sean, if you could give me a snapshot of who Sean T. Hughes is.
And it doesn't have to be all encompassing, but like when you're if you're asking yourself internally, who is Sean T. Hughes?
I'd love to know the answer to that.
Gotcha. I am a got this is the best way to start is where I got my start. I was very interested in drama in high school.
In and of going to Chicago to take up theater studies.
Then after that got into magic. I worked in a magic shop in the old opera land theme park for about two years.
Started to get into that and while I was working in that shop at opera land, there was the manager there said.
"Gay me a book at a bag of balloons said you can learn how to try to do this. This would be good for you."
And I really liked it. Started getting into that. I've been doing that for now 35 years.
But in that process, I have a lot of stick. I have a lot of stuff that I do. And there were a lot of people that said, "Hey, you should do stand up."
So my first stand up I did before I turned 50. I did an open mic at third toast. It failed horribly.
Didn't do it for not even a wasn't quite a year.
The pandemic hit. Then I just kept that little voice kept getting me so I can go back and try. I went to one of the few open mics that was open during the pandemic.
Nobody was there except for comedians for the most part and just kept cranking it out and five years later, here I am, still trying to figure it out and still trying to crank it out.
So did the second time you did it at the, so was it on when kegs was at the second open mic that you ever did?
It was when kegs. I almost feel like we should get in a flex, gone rest it.
That's all right. Team. Let's give them a second.
No, that was a nice room. That was a nice room. But it was nice because anyone could go do it. You never knew what you were going to get.
Also low stakes. I love this. The second time you did comedy at twin kegs. What did it go like way better than your first time? Do you feel like it didn't go necessarily great still.
There were still stuff I needed to work on and it was just that's what you do. You go back and you figure it out. You go back and you rewrite. You figure it out.
You go back and you rewrite and figure it out. And the hardest part during that time it was all come comics.
It wasn't anybody else other than that. So you would get there. If you've ever done it's very hard to get a reaction from a comic a lot of times.
So I would be trying out stuff and just didn't want to stop and just kept on doing it until we finally started figuring out and then that crowds and then get the laugh here and there.
And then you keep building on that and building on that and until you get to the point where you are right now still figuring out still trying out but much better than I was five years ago.
Absolutely. I mean it's really speaks to the skill of comedy like you keep no one who gets up there their first time is just going to be absolutely fantastic.
You may do well the audience may like your stuff but like if you keep doing it no even if you had an amazing set five years ago today you'd be so much better because you've worked on the skill and stuff like that.
It's like every other skill no one who starts you know sculpting class is going to be perfect the first time.
It's the hardest thing I've ever done. I mean I don't know about how you feel but it's like if I wanted to go the easy route I would stick to what I'm doing right now.
And then there are so many other things which is why I think because so many people in dropping out I mean you and I both seen a lot of media is given it's right they'll do a few shows and then they'll be like no that's enough.
What's impressive to me about your story is that you said the first time you ever did it you didn't feel like it went well but then you kept going now you took a bit of a break but you came back and then you kept going back for me when I started the first time I ever did it I feel like it actually went pretty well.
I remember feeling good about the last feeling good about the routine I gave I practiced it a lot of times and I felt like I gave what I had practiced.
And then I feel like I had two years worth of bombing but what was holding me like what kept me going was like that feeling I had the very first time I ever did it.
And so I almost like commend you for like getting back on the horse after not feeling like you know it went well you know.
I was very ticked off the first time because I yet to understand at that point I was a very successful entertainer like I go in and I do this stuff in my other world without even thinking about it because I've done it so long to go up and fail was a really hard thing to do.
And which is one of the reasons why I stopped but then before I went back in it and did it again.
This is during the pandemic so I did the online course with Rick Robert School of laughs.
More and more books did all times the stuff in the preparation of it and then just kept going back two things I had to figure out after that first time.
Number one things that you say to your friends or something like that in a close situation doesn't always translate to the stage.
Absolutely. And that's the one thing I say which I would tell these jokes to friends personally it'd be like oh yeah that's funny and wouldn't translate to a stage.
And then the second thing is I had to just become more of who I was and not just the nervous guy on stage.
Today I'm still trying to merge the comedian Sean with the with the balloon on us Sean the balloon guy shot and put those two guys together into it.
And so what do you feel like you've gotten better at being not the nervous guy on stage like feeling comfortable with who you are on stage over five years do you feel like you've gotten better at you know getting on stage and being that version of yourself.
Yes that was one of my big goals for for twenty twenty five is that I wanted to be one of the three goals was be more comfortable on stage.
And I and I hit that one.
The only other goal I had to other goals one I can't remember right now but it's in my notebook the other one was to do forty five shows I did forty two shows that year.
But still it was you know you don't sit there and go like all that was horrible year you said that go I still go is a good year absolutely forty I mean doing forty two shows that's it's not like since you said forty five like well I guess that doesn't count for anything that's still really impressive.
One thing you said that I think it's impressive and I wish more people when they start comedy don't think like this but I mean I did and a lot of other people do and it sounds like maybe maybe you had to deal with it a little bit when you start as well.
Was this idea a lot of us have like other skill sets that we think was going to be a perfect translation and comedy like you were saying like it was frustrating because you had so much time as a balloon artist you know so much skill and backup when I first started my attitude was you know I started when I was like twenty four but my attitude is like I've been preaching so I was sixteen this will be a piece of cake.
And one of the one of the first things I learned as a comedian was it's not the same as preaching there's like a lot there's skill wise there's some different things and I work with comedians all the time who like I teacher consult with and those saying something like oh well I do improv or I've acted or I'm I know I've done this this will play into like this I don't I won't be was you know worried about this and while I'm glad they have the confidence.
Sometimes they kind of set themselves up for a little bit of a failure in that when they think this is exactly the same as whatever that other thing is.
And we both know for example actors that I tried to get up and do some company where they were like oh yeah we didn't create me like no you didn't know you didn't know.
Yeah that's it's the laughter is the greatest metric that's why tell people out when they're trying to figure out they did well there's other things that can help you decide whether you did a good routine because sometimes they're not laughing as much as you want but it's like the fool proof like the math doesn't lie kind of thing where like if they're laughing then you should count it as a win.
So now I want to go at you talk about being a balloon artist and something I didn't know that you said was the reason you got into it because you were doing magic and other stuff and someone else looked at you and saw the potential for a balloon artist right he's like you should get into this.
If I had stick doing an eight all kinds of stick that you do in your reacting people to a little bit of crowd work but that crowd work is based on like 35 years or at that time 30 years of stuff that you know you get the same things over you get something funnier different that will happen once the while that you'll have to go with.
And I would say that's that's true for comedians a lot of times when they do crowd work they they they they've done it so much they they know how to talk to them and react in a funny way or they have a funny line in the back of their head that when they say this all I'm going to say this right here right because.
Because crowd work sometimes isn't as original as people think it is in that like some a lot of crowds say the exact same thing one of my favorite things that you do by the way when you do your show is when you do a balloon animal behind your back so if you all are ever catching Sean in a show he'll be talking to the crowd will be doing crowd work but part of the joke is that he's making a balloon animal but he's not he's just doing it behind his back and it seamlessly because you've been doing it for so many years.
But at the same time like well are we not going to address how awesome that is.
I think we should address that to the folks who are listening right now I'm a blue notice in a comedian and I.
After a while started to integrate both because I got challenged by somebody at that open mic at swing kegs that said bring a balloon next time and so.
That's what I did I brought a balloon and it's kind of been my hook ever since why do that it's great for getting people's attention but it's still important to be funny to have that punch line that said you know one of the things that that always irritated me was people say that was a really cool balloon I beat yeah but it wasn't funny right if you're not the last what's the point well and I was going to ask you didn't.
I was going to ask you does it is it weird including balloon animal stuff with your comedy like do you feel this part of you feel like you you wish you could you could just do comedy like do you ever feel like.
Like when you're doing stand up that you you don't want to do the balloons because that's such a big part of the rest of your life or is it like a seamless like a part of you are like no this is natural this is what I want to do.
At first I was like I didn't want anything of my other life to be in comedy I wanted comedy just to be about comedy one of my balloon arts to be a lot of a lot about me being a balloon artist but the thing I realized after a while is that incorporating balloons.
I was like help me feel more comfortable on stage because I did it so much all the time and it was it was one of those things when you try something new especially when you're after your experience in this that or the other you don't throw away that experience like you don't throw away the experience of being a youth pastor and the things that you learn from that.
When you when you become a comedian you take that information and then you add it and assimilate what works you don't you what doesn't work and you move on from there so that's it's it's very important to not discount that pastor those past experiences and stuff like that so that's eventually I came to that point and eventually became a thing that people wanted to see.
So that's what I did it's it's a blessing in a curse all at the same time there are some people be like balloon artist to a stint comedy I don't know about that.
Hopefully they're like oh no that's actually really awesome that works yes it is different because who else is doing nobody.
I think it does two things it won't let you play into your more authentic self which I think is important for any comedian part of the skills figuring out how to like you said be comfortable with you while you're on stage but then yeah it's unique I don't you're the only balloon artist comedian I know I don't I can't think of any other balloon artist comedian let me let me ask you this what is.
What is maybe your favorite thing about just when it comes to comedy like what's your favorite thing about being a stand-up comedian what's your favorite thing about all of what we do as comics.
I love the creativity the writing and working on that stuff when you have a new bit or new some joke that you're working on you go on stage and it works that's a great thing or if you go like hey I'm going to work on this maybe it didn't get the reaction what it but I'm going to work on it a little bit more and you keep on working on it.
That's a great thing the people I love the people that I get to the people that I get to react with especially in the collective they're really fun really great to work with.
And when you're on stage and you have a game that goes right set that goes right where it's funny and it's there is nothing like it in the world.
It's it's those moments to live for when you have that set when you're on stage you're telling the jokes that goes really well there's just nothing like it in the world.
I mean it is such a high that's the vet to me that's the best way to describe it like it is there is a reason why comedians keep going and keep going and keep going and even when you know your friends or your family are like why are you doing this they haven't seen or they have an experience internally.
The feeling that the success brings and so if you go through a dry spell maybe not having as many gigs are not having as good of gigs you pour might be like are you still doing that but what they don't realize is like oh my gosh when this goes well it is the one of the best feelings ever one of the best experiences.
And yeah so I relate to that you mentioned the clean comedy collective so that that is our that is me and Sean's collective baby we have a baby together we started we weren't the only founders.
We're the last two pairs.
We had a baby together with you know we had a baby together and it's called the clean comedy collective.
I hope it looks more like Sean than it does like me so we have done a lot with the clean comedy collective and by that I mean we've done a lot of different kinds of shows we've done I feel like we we got a very
lot of different places that we've done clean comedy collective shows that I mean off the top of my head I'm thinking wineries coffee shops comedy clubs juice bars
theater.
And we've been all over the place so what I'm wondering is if you have any kind of like really good memory of a show that a clean comedy collective show or alternatively or both if you have like a just a maybe a funny or odd story something that just did not go well because we if we're being transparent we've done great shows and we've done other shows were afterwards right well that happened.
The memory of the great show that really came to mind the one coffee show that we did together in October the end of October with Brandon Shelton back at sweet waters that was such a great show and I love the fact that I had kids show up I think I had my oldest daughter is some came to that show.
My oldest son and my daughter came to that show I have three kids have two sons and a daughter they came to that show and it was great it's great when they see I they get to see me do well go like oh yeah this is my dad which I one of the things I like to tell comedians especially when they have kids and I forgot to tell this to somebody I gave advice to the other day that you are around that is that when you have kids and you're comedian you will not be your kids.
My oldest son's favorite comedian is through Davis one talking to you.
He's my most loyal and longest fan well maybe not long ago for sure.
Yeah, the what I liked about that show was both your children showed up in costume and I had no idea who either of them were you're oldest son who again I think I think the world of and I know he enjoys what I do.
He showed up as Paul Walker but I just thought it was like a white guy in a t-shirt and pack these I was like you look like me when I go to Penaerabra I don't know what you know I don't know.
So what made that sweet water show special for you was that like your kids were there and they got to see you do well that is that what is that to take yeah awesome love it.
Well that's a fun show and if anyone's listening here from Nashville we do that sweet water show every last Thursday of the month except for November and December and possibly this coming week of snow still I mean I hope you and we're all cleared up but there's no but there's day but we'll see.
And also you all often since this is going out to the collective mostly two people were in the collective even for the people the collective if you're coming in town hit drew up and you know possibly get a spot.
Yeah absolutely I love I love bringing in out of towners to be on that show I know it's usually for like the folks in California or Oregon or whatever it's probably not worth the drive to come do a little show in the coffee shop but I always let people know like let me know if you're in the area.
Because I even I even usually you know I try to get five comedians I usually only book for comedians because I think like in case someone's coming through when they let me know I like to include out of state guest spots if possible.
So Sean you you know you do comedy but you've also produced shows you produce shows with the clean comedy collective you produced other shows I did I remember the first time I maybe met you was at a random show in White House Tennessee that we did and it had a fun backdrop of like a jungle glow in the dark vibe to it was a place it was it was a piece of place but it was good.
So I'm wondering if you have from the perspective as a producer or as a comedian it what's one piece of advice you give to comedians if you could say something here that everyone would hear and take to heart.
Oh I actually put notes on this.
Oh cool.
Yes because I was thinking about that and made notes.
The first thing I would say is make sure you have an EPK that you can send out.
If anything a Facebook video a YouTube video but it's great if you have an EPK of some type if you're looking for help making EPK through Davis actually the you can reach out to him after the podcast and he actually makes EPK's or people.
So links that you could send out to someone I actually use drew from my first EPK and then.
In making my own website moved everything over over to there which you could check out a blue guy comedy dot com.
Yeah by the way I love it when that happens with you sometimes you will feel weird letting me know like hey I made my own website but I feel like my EPK's are very basic and very affordable and very like.
First level once you're willing to pay a little bit of money for your comedy career but then a lot of people when they decide that they're going to start because mine they're just like a one time fee and is it's relatively small and then when you make.
When you decide to make your own website that's probably like a monthly cost or there or if you get someone to do it for you that's going to charge you more.
But and to me so is kind of a success when like the people who I have EPK's for sometimes be like hey I'm actually going to go make my own site now because I because that means they're growing as comedians and so I was the best kind of a I'm always I think it's weird when they send me that I think they think it's weird when they send me that message and I'm like that's great man good for you.
But I just think that's a cool little thing and and you're right though I had a I had a guy who used to mentor me in comedy when I first started he said it's so important even just to have your own domain name even just to have your own collective place where when people type and and you show up it's more than just sending them a video or sending them to your social media.
But it just makes you it just takes you a step above because when we start we're all open mic comedians and you know I so important to do open mics and to be an open mic comedian there are just so many of them so once you start taking comedy professionally a little bit more seriously you start asking yourself what is something I can do to kind of stand out among the herd.
And then a deeper online presence is like in my opinion kind of an easy thing that you can do an EPK a website some even as simple as a link tree which is free once you have that then when people reach out you can give them that and just makes you look a little bit more professional than the average bear so.
One thing I will add as far as that I've learned over the years with domain names make sure it's a domain name get dot com if you can and make a domain name that is easy for people to not only remember but easy to put in for example for you yours is through Davis comedy dot com.
You know Davis really easy name to spell through Davis comedy is not anything complicated mine is balloon guy comedy basically for the reason people think I should have bought my you know Sean balloon comedy or something like that no my name is spelled S. E. A. M. there's like four or more different ways to spell the name Sean so I know I need something that people are going to mess up or be too complicated or anything like that.
Where they could put it in and go to so that's another piece of advice for up and coming comedians that the only other thing I would say is be sure to have an updated video maybe once every two years or so I don't know you might have a different opinion about that I made the mistake of getting a comedian hiring a comedian last year for my show in in the back to the library and their video was like.
Six years older older and I was like oh surely they're better than that now it came from a recommendation and they were not.
Yeah it was easy train wreck so you want to make sure that you have a good EPK that is not a shake you could use cell phone video make sure it's edited not shaky or.
If you want to see a YouTube video you want it horizontal reels are great vertical but like you want it to look like a real video someone's watching your full set.
But it's funny because I I'm so glad this sounds terrible I'm so glad that happened on your show Sean because then you were telling me about it.
So now every time I watch videos I think to look at the time stamp of when it is and you're right I think I think two years or you want to give them recent videos what I like to do is so every year I try to go to the North Carolina comedy festival and I know that they record the routines there so every year I try to get a really good set there and then that becomes my thing for the whole year.
And then best case scenario I get a better video at some point even if you're doing the same jokes those jokes change in mature and get better with time so even if you look at some new video but the same jokes I mean no those jokes get better and you deliver and better and they become more a part of you so yeah always be right of course working on the material and stuff like that but but don't be afraid to put up new video with old jokes.
Especially that doesn't look dated.
Yeah and then I had I heard I think this might have been at the clean comedy workshop we both are out with Joe buyers a few weeks ago but a recent piece of advice that I heard was like if your book did a new place and they book you from the video you send.
Do those jokes in your set because that's what they book don't feel like you have to do something different you know or for whatever reason if that's your best stuff and if that's what got you the gig like feel comfortable and preferably do that stuff is that we're we have the same thing that heard that or am I.
Yeah was it so and he's talking about that on the podcast before so buyers.
Yeah for those people who want to look them up yes but I'm hoping to get in for our third episode just in case you guys want to stay out for this.
Very cool guest very you guys want to miss that one but yes you want to make sure to do what got you there and do your best stuff is creative people we want to try new things and we want to do new things and we get that we may have done that gig those jokes a million times.
This is the thing guys the people who are hearing your jokes that you've done a million times they've never heard them before so you have to perform it sounds fresh and new and not like doing this joke again I'm so sick of this joke it has to be fresh and new that's what a professional is.
Yep and that's and and often for me oftentimes I get rolling in the routine I can find the motivation because I don't know I draw off of their energy and they haven't heard it before but the truth is even on jokes I'm tired of you on jokes you're tired of that's the performing part that's the you know that's the actors have to do that when they have to do the same lines all the time.
You have to make it sound fresh every time and as comedians we're performers too so Sean I want to ask you so I asked you about the what the best part of comedy for you what would you say is the hardest part of stand up comedy.
The clicks comedy is very gross centric sometimes and there have been people who have not been so nice there are people even today it's like I know if I'm going to be doing stand up and they're in the audience but they're making fun of my set while I'm doing it and I tend to tell that they're you know saying this and that and making comments.
That's the hard thing and it's one of those things that if you want it bad enough you have to push the know that eventually that's not your audience you're not there to please them you're.
There to please.
The audience the real people the muggles that show up that that when it come and they want to laugh and forget about life for a while absolutely now do you have any of that is that is very hard no comedian would disagree with you there's I don't think there's ever a level where that stops being a problem.
Do you have any tips on how we can handle that better as comedians to deal with the clicks and the mean people and the what people are saying behind your back or even on your do you raise it on social media like as a as a comedian what helps you kind of get through that stuff well the good thing is that it's not a social media thing if somebody post that they don't like your joke on social media.
You just have to let it go and a lot of times we have that haters math where we go a hundred lights plus one dislike equals one dislike and you have to remember that that one guy that's that's this like in your set they're just like in what you're doing they're making fun of you because you're a jerk they're a jerk and it has to do with their insecurities not your insecurities.
I took me a while to learn that that you have to just you you have to focus on the good things the positive things that are happening as compared to.
The negative your goals guys Shawn I know that and you talked about your goals for 2025 you talked about how do you you met one of them where I'm gonna give you a little answer you met two of them because forty forty two out of forty five shows is pretty good and then I don't know if you ever remember to what your last goal twenty five is but I'm interested in.
So I'm gonna buy briefcase right now and get it out I think it's sitting on my bed you know we got to know we want to know we want to know hold on a second yeah we know if you we got to know if you made it or not for twenty five so it's in my my company notebook here by the way that you.
We hope it's kind of one um to the more comfortable on stage and have more fun on stage that was the other one how do you let one way that one is going better I'm I.
The one of the best advice that the comedian gave me was like do I know and have fun that's so important that you go on and have fun it's not worth it if you're not it's not putting all the stuff if you're not having fun in joy.
Everything in comedy makes sense if you're having a good time it gives you the strength to deal with whether we're talking about the negativity it is or or the though the stressful work hours or the you know all the not fun things of trying to get booked and stuff like that it's all you find the strength to be okay with all that if you love what you're doing and so you're so right.
Well those are good goals now have you thought about your twenty twenty six goals yet yes I haven't they're not totally definite right now but there there are things I'm working on one of the things I'm working on is once a month I want to be somewhere outside of the national area even if it's for an open mind.
This coming which this will be after it comes out that this coming Wednesday this will have already happened by the time you watched it but I'm getting the opportunity the open mic at the car of comedy club in Louisville can do.
And the cool thing is when I when he sent me the message he was like I just wanted you know my whatever time that it gives you the time that it gives you depends on your experience.
If you've been doing this for a while we see you have good stuff I think the last time I was up there I got eight minutes this time around he was like hey you want to do the final spot for 15 minutes I was like yeah so I'm doing.
I mean Wednesday and I will be up there no matter what the weather is.
I will be driving you'll get up that that's right that's right because that's only in a couple days but are in a few days I think it hopefully it should be fine by Wednesday but I love that for you.
I've done that feature spot before and it's a lot of fun he's a Craig who runs open mic for the caravan he's a great guy and this is just a cool spot you've been there before you know so I that's awesome.
And I was surprised I got it because I had to I was supposed to go up in September and had to cancel on my head an issue with the kid where I had to go like I hate to do this.
I would never do this any other way in just apologize profusely so what he offered it again I was very grateful and I will be up there come hell or high water.
Yeah, that's great.
And that that that that will probably the last comedy related question I have for you in a second but because this is something that I think would be interesting to talk about I.
You have to deal with balancing building a comedy career with being a responsible father and husband and it's so hard because I know whenever we anything comedy gig based we feel like it's and to be fair sometimes comedy clubs make us feel this way but like oftentimes when you have to say no to comedy you feel you feel like you're just killing an opportunity forever like.
And sometimes sometimes we get nice people like that who when stuff happens it's a hey come back in another month but honestly other times when we say no to things that still call someone else and then that person will do great and that will be the guy they call for the rest of the things how do you balance building your comedy career and like taking care of your family or being there for your family.
There is no perfect balance I actually had to talk to last Monday Martin Luther King day was was last Monday fresh while this would be recorded and Joe buyers was there teaching the class and I can listen to him on his podcast and go like because he's for those of you know jolly just had a baby and I had to go to him and I go like man I can hear the fact that you don't want to leave home.
Here's the reality of it there's going to be things that you miss as a dad because you're booked on a show or something like that and there things that I miss for my kids right because I put booked on a show or something like that sometimes you gotta think for your kids on the counter it's like nope can't do that show my kids having this and I'm going to be there for the moment sometimes your kid has this thing come up it's like I'm already booked I can't get out of this.
It's important I've got to do it but here's the trade off that I had to tell him is that there are other I get the even though I'm not there for all my kids events I get to make breakfast for my kids every day and take them to school every day and in that process have conversations with them about anything in general life in general and that's the straight off that you get you.
That you get you miss some of the big moments but in some ways I get to be there for my kids more because of that so that's it's it's it's never going to be perfect it's never great.
You know it's easier for the single people without kids or anything to start like it easier for you to do more comedy than it is for me to do more comedy because you're single you have no commits you can just up one weekend decide oh I'm going to travel to someone so you know other than your regular job you can you know work that out you can happen.
I was like the recurring thing the comedians I would work with like headliners when going to or like when I show up at comedy clubs and feature host they did just look at me and like you have no idea how lucky you have it you know not having kids and being single and stuff like that and I'll be honest I do enjoy it but I also I appreciate how you are able to do both well and that's really good insight.
That was a good insight that when I asked how do you how do you do it and he said there's no foolproof way but I feel like the subjects there is what you make it work and that's the work.
You make it work.
For spouses that's a there isn't a perfect system but she figured out how to make it work and I can appreciate that.
You know like spinning plates if you remember the old vaudeville thing where they spun plates on sticks and stuff like that you're not spinning a plate all at one time sometimes you're spinning this plate and then you move over and spin that plate because that needs a little focus then you go to another plate that's the same thing for me it sometimes I got to take care of it sometimes I need to do I get this game during balloon art then sometimes I come over here decent comedy and and it all works together like I went and tried my kids for the world.
And I've been in youth history as long as I was oftentimes you can tell the sounds weird but like you can tell how good the parents are being parents by how the kids relate or see or interact with the parents and I really do I I impressed by how highly your teenage children think of you.
Because that's not usually the year that our kids think highly of us and I think that's cool.
Looking on the time they don't always think highly of me but I will say this they I do have great kids and I think of in my other life as a balloon artist and doing birthday parties or convention events or whatever when I'm doing a birthday party I can tell you in the first five minutes.
How involved those parents are in the kids lives it's it's it's an important thing and I think it balances us out and it gives you some of the talk about here in there.
So that's being a thing to talk about we've talked about before all a myriad of like just nerdy topics me I think me and Sean have this in common or fan of superheroes or a fan of star wars were fan well you're a fan of star trek I can I know I grew up watching star trek and never really was my thing.
But I'm just curious like in general right now like what are you nerdy now don't is there a particular show or series or anything that's really just.
Making your life complete.
I got this with my comparison I thought about this question beforehand.
Star Trek is to me the way the fast and furious is to you that's probably the best way for me to put it I love that I'm watching star fleet academy right now and even though I don't like what's they've done with some of the new star track stuff like I don't like the fact that they had this cataclysmic event that really for the Federation apart and they're rebuilding it but they've gone so far and it like we've gone hundreds of years.
In the future compared to where the series ended there's sometimes a little bit too politically correct is what they focused on but I am nerding out on star trek academy because I think they they can be the politically correct you can be politically correct if you tell the story well and there's no substitute for telling the story because there's been some really politically correct movies.
That have been really bad and even some great movies like I heard some some Christians get on to me about a Christian movie that's really bad I'm like yeah but it good movie has to be a good movie still doesn't matter if it's Christian or not it's still going to be a good movie politically even politically in jokes and stuff like that politically correct it's gotta be funny it's gotta be good and so I really am enjoying star fleet academy because
Holly Hunter who I didn't think would be a great captain lead person I absolutely really like her and the cast they put together is so neat where I'm really enjoying the cast so that's awesome I love that for you and I love that I mean anyone who's followed me from my other podcast you know that like to me any kind of TV show and kind of movie any kind of entertainment like the joy we find in it the fulfillment the satisfaction sometimes just the
distraction is such a beautiful thing so good good good for you for having Star Trek good for me for having fast and furious that you know those are we need those things sometimes sometimes all you can do is sit at home on a snow day and binge watch your favorite show and just rejuvenate you know and I think
I'm gonna start to start to count me last night's okay well now what I want to do is so I've compiled earlier this week before I start our podcast I asked people on Facebook on threads and on Instagram I said hey I'm gonna be interviewing comedians every week what are some questions you'd like me to ask and I think I got like 43 and 43 questions so we're gonna ask every single one of them no we're not
but Shawn will maybe do two or three so yeah right now we're gonna do and then next week we'll have 43 different ones though I'm just kidding what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna pull up my little
list here and Shawn which you can do is I'm looking for a number between one and 42 and then that will help me figure out what question I'm asking you
let's start with number 13 13 this question came from threads from James Mac as a fellow comedian I believe he's New York or New Jersey I genuinely can't remember one of the news
and his question is if you could bring back a musician from the dead for one last concert who would you choose
ooh that's a good one maybe get the Beatles back together for one last let's bring back John Lennon so at least get John Lennon and Paul McCartney back for one last show
I think that'd be a good show yeah let's do another one any number one to 42 without 13 25 25 all right this one for face milk from Joe Whitey
who's also in the clean comedy collected we might actually get to might get to see her on the podcast at some point too
this question says when did you realize you were funny that was probably in high school when I started to do drama and theater
and I was always drawn towards comedies I love Neil Simon I love and Neil Simon is a very particular humor
that you just can't say the line you have to really work and know the beats and no I mean it's not you can't just say the line and make it work you really have to work on it in depth
so that was probably for me the first time for funny right there and then realize I like making people laugh
absolutely let's get answer and funny how so many comedians who eventually become practicing stand-up comedians
there was a time and usually it's like in childhood or when they're much younger where they kind of in the back of that rock maybe I could be maybe I could be a comedian something like that
and I think so much of being coming a comedian successful comedian is giving yourself permission to be a comedian like that I think that's a big part of it
all right let's go ahead to the first I would get you advice for new comedians first of all don't be afraid to fail
because more times you're not you're going to fail at the very beginning and you kind of have to believe in something that's not there yet but you know it's there in your heart of hearts
like I knew I could be funny I knew I could make something work and in my head I still believe that which is why keep doing it because if you don't believe it you'll eventually go ahead
you have to be your biggest fan you have to be your biggest supporter because there'll be days where tons of people are supporting you
and then there's a day where it feels like it's just you all right last question one through 42 not 25 or 13
let's do 33 33 all right Jesus is age all right this one to come some Joe hospital and Facebook why do you choose to do clean comedy
that's a very easy question I have for two reasons first of all I it worked in a children and family entertainer my real job and that's the job that pays bills
I don't want to be doing something where somebody sees me say blankity blank on a show online somewhere and then goes no I'm not going to hire him for this
because in my world about someone between 13 and 15% of what I do for churches and my world is shown the balloon guys balloon artists
and that's a good significant amount of money the other reason is if I'm a parent of three teenagers and I have to be that example
and if you're a comedian who you know who cusses and stuff like that but you have kids I'm not judging that's great for you but for me I didn't want to be like yeah you don't trust but me on stage oh but when I'm on stage is totally fine
and that's you're sending your kid to different message and being a dad is very important to me
yeah and your job and career or calling or whatever you want to call it as a as a comedian it it's not as important when it comes on to it as being a dad
and it and it's not as important as the job that's paying the bills to support your family I know I know I have a lot more flexibility with what I can do as a comedian now the when I was a youth pastor
and I don't regret holding myself back when I was a youth pastor because my ministry and that as in my job that came first and I never wanted something I did in comedy to negate what I was doing in ministry
thank you so much for coming on the very first episode how's it feel to know that this could have gone so badly that this could have been the first and last episode of this podcast
but I still want to know that this is one of my better interviews because I can tend to go off that video
tend to go off that being a creative person you go and all these different rabbit holes off the deep ends so I'm very satisfied with it if that means anything
good. Thank you thank you I'm excited to keep doing this and get to know the other comedians that we have in our collective
but before we let you go two questions one where can people find you and then two do you have anything upcoming or anything that you'd want to play with?
or anything that you'd want to plug or push or tell people about because this would be the time to do it.
The only thing I have going right now is going to be after this before this comes out this coming Wednesday I'm going to be like I said I really
with the Caravan comedy club I'm doing yes it's an open mic but I get a 15 minutes set and that's very exciting.
I think you should definitely yes it's an open mic for everyone else but you're the closing feature they're going to announce you as like you're the headliner I've done that spot before it feels different you are like you're like the big deal of the night you know I think that's cool.
I've got a friend in Louisville coming up to see me so that's nice.
So that's the good thing the only thing I got coming up right now that's notable I've got a couple other things on my calendar but you can check those out on my website at balloon die comedy dot com the link to all my social media is there.
Instagram is all balloon die comedy so you can look at that that up and you can find that or just the loot is all my website at balloon die comedy dot com.
And we'll have links all if you're watching us on YouTube it's in the description anything that you're listening on Spotify bus Brow Apple music whatever if you look at the episode description will have links to balloon die comedy dot com will also have a couple of options where you could set you there's a one where you can write to us you can send us a comment of if you have any thoughts about what we said in this episode or if you want to add your question to the list of questions that we ask comedians there's an option where you can do that I think it says.
Send us a comment or question then you click it and that's what you can do listen thank you everyone thank you again Sean for being our guest but thank you for everyone who's listened to the first episode of clean comedy chat some true Davis here's just a reminder check out clean comedy collective dot com you can see all thing all the things clean comedy related you can get to know our comedians maybe find your new favorite comedian there's also options to listen to the podcast there's also options for some additional resources.
If you want to take classes or learn more things about comedy there's also options to donate if you want to help sponsor what we do is a clean comedy collective you can also see when we have upcoming shows so a lot of great things on the website including this interview which I'm very happy about so thank you Sean thank you everyone is listening I don't have a cool tag yet I'm not going to say go live your life a quarter mile at a time because this is isn't that podcast anymore so bye.
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