Allen Strickland Williams is one of the best one-liner comedians in the game. From getting a standing O on Conan to the new Netflix show (Cooking on High) where he appears as a judge on a cooking show for stoners. Williams is hitting all the markets. Williams performed at South by Southwest, Moontower Comedy Festival, Funny or Die’s Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival, the Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland, CROM Comedy Festival in Omaha, Comedy Carnivale in Salt Lake City, Hell Yes Fest! in New Orleans, and the RIOT Festival in Los Angeles. Williams was also one-fourth of the …

When it comes to comedy resumes, scholar and comic, Paul Mecurio has one of the most impressive. Wall Street power player, joke writer for Leno, staff and Emmy winner on The Daily Show, writer on  The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and has appeared on everything from ESPN to HBO. He currently appears as a commentator on the venerable, “CBS Sunday Morning,” CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and CBS News. And, Paul is now on the heels of his first one-man show on Broadway. Let’s take a deep/deep dive into Paul’s origin story. You can see Paul at Rooster T. …

Aside from being a talented and influential singer/songwriter, Loudon Wainwright III has become a hip household name for his sense of humor. From the road where Loudon is polishing his new Netflix special, he confesses, “I’ve always liked making people laugh, if possible. I have friends that are comics and I certainly have watched a lot of stand up. When I perform, I have a guitar that acts as a fig-leaf and as a shield for protection—so I’m relaxed.”

With 23 albums under his belt, appearances on TV—including M.A.S.H and Judd Apatow’s underrated Undeclared—and a hilarious role as an irreverent …

When Clerks hit the big screen in 1994, for millions of mostly young adults, it was like lightening split the theatre in two. And it wasn’t just New Jersey youth who related to the characters and their syntax, it was the birth of a new comedic duo Jay and Silent Bob.

There was something classic about the interplay between Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith). Like an X-rated version of Abbott & Costello, Laurel & Hardy and Martin & Lewis, Mewes solidified his place in comedy history.

From a rough and tumble beginning to stardom, Mewes has been vocal …

David Spade is not just one of those guys that used to be on Just Shoot Me or SNL, he’s definitive, original and a huge influence on the zeitgeist of 2018. From a hard scrapple upbringing to a huge star in his twenties, Spade not only entertained us, he redefined what comedy is. You can trace the snarkiness that permeates the 21st Century to Spade’s “Hollywood Minute” segment during SNL news in 1992. Spade’s contribution to the world of comedy can’t be overlooked.

(Quick sidenote: there might be 6 degrees of separation between me and Kevin Bacon, but there’s only …

Here’s a disclaimer: I’ve never seen Full House. I am aware of the characters and where the house is located in San Francisco, but the daily tribulations of the Tanner family escaped me. And yet, I feel like I grew up with Bob Saget. I saw him on Johnny Carson and the other talk shows of the day. I saw him as the host on AFV. To me he was, in some ways, the archetypal comic. A guy who could clean it up onscreen and throw it down live onstage. And when I look at his vast multi-faceted career …

In our first interview with Carlos Mencia we went back in time and revisited Mencia’s first decade in the business. This time around, Mencia is about to record 5 shows at the San Jose Improv (tix here), for his latest album(s).

Transparency: the recorder glitched at the beginning. So let’s dive into Carlos Mencia talking about his new 3 hours of material and breaking it down for the new album.

Mencia: When I do current jokes I try and tie it into an emotional idea. But once those moments go away, I can’t really use that material again. Last year I …

Chris Titus: Champion of the People.

Christopher Titus has to be one of the longest running, hardest working comedians in the business. From his major success at 35 on his own television show, Titus, to his ground breaking comedy albums, the guy’s work ethic is staggering. Last time SUSC talked with Titus, he was angry at life, angry at love and angry in a downhearted, but hilarious, way. Now that the entire planet is coming apart at the seams, Titus has found his stride and new confidence. Like Hunter S. Thompson said, “When the going gets weird, the weird turn …

Big goings on for the 4th annual Santa Cruz Comedy Festival on Saturday October 28th (and beyond).

It’s a SPOOKY Comedy Festival w/comedians from Comedy Central, Last Comic Standing, Conan, Letterman, Better Call Saul and MORE!

ON Saturday October 28th 60 comics run around 10 venues in downtown Santa Cruz. Pick your favorite free venue and or see a ticketed show like:

David Liebe Hart (Tim and Eric Awesome Show) headlines The Atrium with Nervous Energy and DJ Real. With host Samantha Gilweit. Tickets here: http://www.catalystclub.com/event/1549075-david-liebe-hart-santa-cruz

Everyone deserves to laugh. So get out the door and downtown.

ON SATURDAY OCTOBER 28th

Free Comedy …

Bay Area Comic Sal Calanni recently moved to LA to pursue his dream of acting, stand-up and finding pick-up basketball games. Working the NorCal scene for the better part of a decade, Calanni hit all the checks on the comedy bucket list and now has a brand new comedy album out.

His album, Little Dago, is based off something his father used to say, and this album is kind of a nod to him since it’s the first time Calanni revisited material about his dad since he passed in 2012. It also covers Calanni’s journey from Cleveland, to SF to …