Getting Bent With Tom Straight

Yale Hollander has been hugely supportive of the St. Louis comedy scene, and it has welcomed him with open arms. He's very quickly accomplished a lot in stand-up, and we discuss how and why he's been driven to do that at the age of 48. He talks about growing up in Jefferson City, his inspiring parents, and writing comedy while practicing law on the side. Yale also gives us an exciting announcement for 2018, but you can always check out his monthly showcase + open mic, The Comedy Penthouse.

The insanely talented and funny Alexis Winford, of St. Louis improv and sketch fame, chats about some helpful advice her dad gave her, attending a funeral right before her first improv class, and giving her characters' souls a body. See her performing with many great groups like: Sketchpad, Your Mom, Mordecai Montrose and The Mission Trip.

Stand-up comedian Patrick Trowbridge stops by on eclipse day to chat before he goes on the Amorphous Blob tour. He endorses Instacart and Genital Jousting; we also talk about his life-changing car accident, Halo 2 and moving to St. Louis for comedy.  Hit Patrick up on Facebook if you want to see when he's performing. He accepts all friend requests, even the bots. 

Chad Wallace- son of St. Louis, mail carrier, stand up comic and host of the legendary Comedy Shipwreck Open Mic. He stops by to share some stories about growing up, working like an old man at a young age, ratting himself out and becoming a father. Also, comedy.  Check out Chad at shows around town, and go to the Comedy Shipwreck Open Mic at The Heavy Anchor, every Monday at 10. 

Talented storyteller and aspiring life coach Christine Compas stops by for a great conversation about breaking legs, the key to networking events, astrology and of course, the St. Louis comedy scene. And ENERGY! Check out her blog, follow her Facebook page, and see her tell stories around St. Louis some time. 

Brandon Judd, darling of the St. Louis stand-up scene, discusses some of his life experiences before comedy: like being an anxious paperboy, a depressed college student, and the importance of punk music during critical times in his life.  Check out his show Live Comedy DVD or his website for more on where he'll be performing. 

The very talented and busy Chris Cyr joins me for a long one, as we cover absolutely everything, including but not limited to: cockroaches taking over his high school, the political divides of comedians, balancing marriage and comedy, and what it all means. 

St. Louis' own Andrew Mihalevich swings by to talk about stalking paintballers to make friends, representing his school's nonexistent vocab team in the talent show, getting into the comedy scene in Springfield, MO and working with The Mystery Hour down there. Also: mental health! politics! religion! video games! Check out Andrew's show Picnic Time, or find him co-hosting Fitz's Comedy Night on Thursdays. 

St. Louis native and quickly rising comedian Angela Smith opens up about some tough times getting bullied, bugging the Humane Society until she got her dream job (running the kitten olympics), and stepping into sketch, stand-up, improv and the welcoming St. Louis comedy scene. 

The very wise and funny St. Louis comic Tom Brown shares some stories from his work in comedy and politics, including getting a POW death stare from Senator John McCain. Make sure to check out his stuff around town, including the show he hosts at 66 Cigar. Also his website! 

St. Louis great comedian Justin Luke stopped by for a delightful chat. We bonded over being weird kids with divorced parents and talked about how he got into comedy. We saved the nerding out over video games for the end. Check out his stand-up and his work with Picnic Time! 

Very talented musician and funny person, Sean Kimble of Brother Lee and the Leather Jackals joins me to chat about being his elementary school's diversity poster child, music training with mom, and getting mugged multiple times. Love this guy- make sure to check out his music. 

My conversation with St. Louis comic Stryker Spurlock, of Contraceptive Comedy and Fatal Bus Accident. We talked about some of his early creative efforts before comedy, blowing off school, odd jobs, and St. Louis' dark comedy style. Thanks to Stryker!

Fun conversation with local St. Louis great person and comedian, Zack Stovall of Fancy Things. We chat about his creative history in comedy writing and performing, his experience in New York with "Oh, Hello", and syncing wavelengths with other comedians.  We also talk out of our butts a little about politics- his political science, philosophy and journalism background make his opinion as worthless as the rest of ours. Thanks to Zack!    Sorry for the background noise, we went for an authentic cafe feel by recording it at a real cafe. 

Getting Bent is back with Ella Fritts, St. Louis stand-up and improviser. We talked outside at Lafayette Park as we mourned the death of our baby, Balentine's Open Mic.  Ella talks about open mics, Second City summer camp, writing Community fanfic, meditating with and without Jesus, and a little bit of politics- 2 days before the presidential election. Also, we both endorse the wonderful game "Life is Strange".  Thanks to Ella! Check out her comedy. 

In the very first episode of Getting Bent with Tom Straight, I chat with Jason Flamm from Sketchpad Comedy and the Welcome Thru Effingham podcast.  Jason talks about growing up poor in Soulard, family challenges, what drove him to succeed and how comedy helped him battle depression. Big thanks to Jason for being the first guest, Thomas Card for the logo design, and Nick Szwedo for the music.