J.R. Brow was driving in pouring rain through the Ozark Mountains, a couple hours outside Columbia, MO. A city where the mood apparently teeters from happy-as-clam to throwing beer cans with every fumble of the football.
“And they don’t know how to drive either,” he noted, last time he checked in with Skyline.
We figured it was best to let the comic get to his gig in one piece, with promises of seeing him soon. J.R. returns to Appleton again this week, July 21-23. Let’s revisit our last chat with him, shall we?
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Skyline Comedy: You know, we can relate up here to how football affects people. You know, the Packers vs. Vikings?
J.R. Brow: That’s a city that revolves around football! Oh my God. It’s funny because I think, well…In Appleton, you’re a little safer out there. It’s right around Lambeau. It’s like a flux capacitor where all the energy flows in and out of the city. The closer you get to Lambeau, the bigger the smiles are.
Skyline Comedy: That’s true. So what have you got for us this time around?
J.R. Brow: All new material. I’ve gotten all this material together from watching other comics. (laughs) I’m just kidding. They can expect a well-rounded show with a guy who does impressions. I’ll give you a headline — I do observational stuff. Character driven. I play my Fender Strat. That’s icing on the cake.
Skyline Comedy: So, what inspires your material?
J.R. Brow: To tell people to lighten up, that’s fun. You don’t wanna die grumpy, so even if the Packers do lose…try to be happy. I know, I’m a Cowboys fan. I know grumpy. Really, my thing in life is “have fun, learn to laugh.” And I think during my show I don’t really hammer home any theme. “Oh, I’m a married guy, here’s my problems.” I’m a married guy who’s happy. I am still promoting the “dumber by the decade” theme. I love my country, but…
Skyline Comedy: So you grew up with an Army dad?
J.R. Brow: Yep, I was an Army brat.
Skyline Comedy: What did your dad think about you going into comedy?
J.R. Brow: Well. He didn’t want that. He wanted me to join the service. I’m like, “No, dude. I wanna be the only kid in the family to break away from that.” An army of one less. I wanted to be a comic, get the hell out of the barracks, the post. In high school I was voted “Most Likely to Move.” It kinda goes hand in hand, really, if you think about it. My dad traveled all the time, and I said I don’t wanna be in the service and travel all the time. (laughs) No, I wanna be a comic…and travel all the time.
Skyline Comedy: Have you performed for your family and friends? Some comics say that’s a little uncomfortable. Is it easier or tougher being in front of certain crowds?
J.R. Brow: No, because I’m an entertainer of the masses. I’m not an underground cult comedian. I don’t appeal solely to potheads, I’m not the guy looking for chicks and single. I’m mass appeal. I’m like the nondenominational comic. Every denomination’s welcome in my church, even though I started out Catholic.
Skyline Comedy: Sweet. What other projects do you have going we might want to know about before we see ya?
J.R. Brow: I just got back from Barcelona, Spain, where I was a speaker for this organization. I had to watch five, six different keynote speakers do their thing and at the end of the week sum it up in a humorous way. That wasn’t the only challenge. It was an international crowd, 300 people from these different countries. My Army brat background came back full circle. There was a crowd from Germany, the United Arab Emerites, China, Japan; everybody was there, all laughing. So the big thing this year is to go international. I want to get out to Australia, the UK. I’m shoot for Ireland, you know. And I think the Internet is helping me do that. People from the United Arab Emerites came up and said, (heavily accented) “I saw your clips on the Internet. And thought you were very funny. You sound French.”
Skyline Comedy: That’s awesome. Well, anything else you’d like to say to Appleton comedy fans?
J.R. Brow: Yes. Come to the show. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. You might not know me, but you’ll wanna know me. (laughs) I’m the worst salesman. I’ve been in (comedy) for 20 years for a reason. “Love what you do, do what you love.” And I love doing nothing…
J.R. BROW ONLINE
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January 21, 2012 at 1:36 pm
hahaha! Funny stuff!