Podcast episode 452ish: Brad Upton

I had a great time talking with Brad Upton a few weeks back. The Seattle-area comic was making one of his yearly weekends at Lafflines in New West. I brought along sidekick-in-training Sam Tonning and we visited Upton in his hotel room for the best-worst threesome I can think of. We talked about dealing with hecklers, how standup and teaching a class of 10-year-olds are similar, and playing mind-games in both athletic and comedy competitions. He also spoke openly and honestly about all the big names he's worked with over the years. And there have been plenty. He still opens for Johnny Mathis, about whom he has nothing but good things to say. And check out this photo. On the right is our guest, Brad Upton, when he was competing in hurdles for Eastern Washington University. Who's that on the left? Why, it's none other than Mr. Johnny Mathis, who was quite the track athlete in his day, Upton tells us. Great form!

Enjoy this episode. It's on the house. You can click below to hear it or go find us on iTunes, Stitcher, or the podcast emporium of your choosing.

Apr. 16: Brad Upton

Our guest tonight has been doing standup comedy for over 30 years. I'll do the math for you: we're talking 1984 when he first gave it a go. And he still kills wherever he goes, whether it's a club, cruise ship, or theatre. Brad Upton still goes out on the road with crooner Johnny Mathis, but he makes time for a visit to Lafflines about once a year, where we caught him last week. Upton has spent his whole career in Seattle so it's a nice little drive up. He's been an elementary school teacher and a university track & field coach, but comedy won out. We'll talk about all of the above, and more, tonight. (Full disclosure: we already did.)

Tune in tonight at 11 pm to CFRO 100.5 FM in Vancouver. Or livestream us at coopradio.org. Or, I suppose, find us on TuneIn Radio. That works, too.