My mental image of Paul Strickland is him in the Zanies green room looking over pages of his material that had been typed out word for word.. reading it under his breath, rehearsing the inflections and energy he would put into each line. A few years ago, this process struck me as funny because you just don’t see a lot of comics doing that. Most have scraps of paper or napkins with one or two words written on them that represent each joke.. or notebooks full of scribbles – sentence fragments, punchlines, random words and broken thoughts and ideas. You generally don’t see comics going over full transcripts of their acts, or talking about the “arc” of their set or the “through-line” they’re trying to establish but I associate these things with Paul’s process. I’m assuming it was his background in theater that led to these habits, but whatever it is has worked in Paul’s favor.

From his first open mic in February 2006, Paul already seemed to have a good head for the business of comedy. He was always working on new, bookable material. He put effort into everything he did and treated it like a job from the very beginning.. which is exactly why he was able to quit his day job in 2009. Since then he has written and performed his one man shows and traditional standup all over the country.

Paul says, “I firmly believe that making people laugh at themselves and their world is a good way to help them escape while, hopefully, gaining some perspective on what they’re escaping from, and distracting them from the fact that I just took their money.”

Strickland recorded “Levels of Difficulty,” his first stand-up album, a few hours up the road at the Comedy Caravan in Louisville. It is available to buy right now at iTunes and Amazon.

As a ‘thank you’ to the local comedy fans in Nashville who supported Paul from the very beginning, NashvilleStandUp and Paul are happy to be giving away three (3!) copies of the cd on April 22nd. Enter to win below.

Paul says, “Listen, people laughed when I said the things on this CD and we recorded both their laughter and the things I said. Now YOU can laugh WITH people that laughed months ago AT the same things I said MONTHS ago! Building community, that’s what I’m about.”

[UPDATE: the contest has closed! Buy the album already, cheapskate!]

If you don’t have time to screw around, waiting to see if you win, feel free to go ahead and buy it right now:
- iTunes
- Amazon

For more from Paul Strickland, stalk him online:
http://talkingpaul.com/
https://twitter.com/#!/talkingpaul
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1080223703

The fine folk at Corporate Juggernaut have decided to record their very own live comedy album and we want you to share this emotional event with us. We want your smiles, we want your laughs and we want your permission to burn them on to a CD for other people to enjoy. So, come on out and be a part of this historical evening and let us help you have a bad-ass time.

Also, stay tuned for all sorts of fun contests and stuff!

Performers Include:

Gary Fletcher
John Thornton Jr.
James Austin Johnson
Brad Edwards
Sean Parrott
Mark Anundson
Chad Riden
Brandon K. Norman
Sean Christian Staggs
Doug Morinec
Paul Strickland
Bryce Damuth
Dan Schlacter

APRIL 23RD

@ 9PM 21+

5 DOLLARS

@ BONGO AFTER HOURS THEATER; 2007 Belmont Ave. Nashville, TN 37212

www.corporatejuggernaut.com

(Facebook event)

LEO Weekly has posted an interview with our good friend Paul Strickland. Here’s an excerpt of him talking about getting too personal on-stage:

“When I first started talking about my divorce, I didn’t really know where the line was, and it would get a little too much for the audience to handle. The key to it, for me, is to take something that’s personal, that’s honest and is true and find a way to talk about it in a way that entertains strangers. That’s the challenge of comedy, I think — to find a way to craft honesty and truth into something that’s funny.”

Read the rest of the interview on LEOweekly.com and catch up with all things Strickland at his site TalkingPaul.com.

Sunday Stand-up Showcase Showdown
6pm every Sunday night, starting Dec. 7
“America’s Favorite Comedian Of All Time,” Chad Riden, hosts a showcase of touring, professional stand-up comedians plus random guest sets from Nashville-based comics and surprise, impromptu sets potentially available for anybody who brings fresh Funny with ‘em.
The show starts at exactly 6pm and ends at 7:30pm – so if you have stuff to do Monday morning, this shouldn’t interfere at all!
Dec 7: Paul Strickland, Mark Anundson;
Dec 14: Wix Wichmann, Brian “B-Cov” Covington;
Dec 21: Dave Young, Brad Edwards;
Dec 28: Renard “Ray-Nard” Hirsch, Danny Limor;
Jan 4: Jesse Perry, Christy Eidson;
Jan 11: Kevin “Renegade” Green, Sean Parrott;
Jan 18: Monty Mitchell, Brian E. Kiley;
(more TBA)
$10 ($5 with student ID)
Tickets available at the door, or in advance online at Brown Paper Tickets:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/49595
The Improv Nashville Comedy Theater
2907 12th Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37204
615.418.0905
http://www.improvnashville.com/
If you’re on Facebook, here’s the event.
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