One of America’s greatest unsung comedians is Jackie Kashian. Last time SUSC did an in-depth origin story on Jackie (http://www.standupsantacruz.com/jackie-kashian-better-with-a-punchline/), but this time was a bit more off the cuff. A comic book buff (listen to her podcast The Dork Forest), Jackie has a new project writing her first comic book for STARBURNS (Dan Harmon’s company): https://www.comicscomicskickstarter.com/. But it’s on the stage that Jackie shines. From Comedy Central to entertaining the troops, Jackie is a must-see! She will be in Santa Cruz on September 8th. Tickets here. https://www.facebook.com/events/661382160902200/

Jackie: How’s it going?

SUSC: Good. I’m excited because …

WELL, it’s that time again, The 5th Annual Santa Cruz Comedy Festival is coming October 4th-6th!! Here are the highlights!
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Oct. 4th Kick-Off Party at Blue Lagoon 8:30 FREE
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Oct. 5th The World Premiere of Stand Up Santa Cruz: The Movie at the Santa Cruz Film Festival The Tannery 9:15/ After Party at Poet and Patriot
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Saturday October 6th 60 comedians/11 venues Comics from HBO, Comedy Central, America’s Got Talent, Conan and more invade downtown!!
11am Comedy Brunch at Food Lounge $5 Comedy Show and Brunch
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5pm Bookshop Santa Cruz hosts 4 comics/4 authors https://www.bookshopsantacruz.com/event/four-authors-four-comics-one-night
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FREE 6pm Free Show at Abbott Square 6pm …

You’ve seen Brendon Walsh most recently in Doug Stanhope’s “Comedians Comedian’s Comedians” special on Seeso TV. You may recognize him from his ‘Comedy Central Half Hour’ or his appearances on Drunk History, @midnight, The Late Late Show, Conan, Comedy Bang Bang, HBO, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Tru TV’s World’s Dumbest, Another Period, Maron, the film ‘Punching Henry’ starring JK Simmons & Henry Phillips, or the Nekrogoblikon video “Dressed as Goblins”. Walsh has performed at numerous comedy festivals around the world including the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and the Melbourne International Comedy Fest in Australia. Walsh was also …

Brett Erickson is a comedian and writer based in Los Angeles, CA. A fearless, back-of-the-room comic’s comic, Brett delivers a dynamic, free-form show that’s consistently out front of anything any other comics are doing. It was just this sort of brave, bold, damn the consequences style that led legendary comedian Doug Stanhope to take notice and call Brett, “one of the funniest comics working today.” Their connection has flourished and Brett has become one of Doug’s favorite opening acts over the years. A featured player in the cult-comedy classic, “The Unbookables” the story of a group of comics Stanhope …

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 …