Still Standing: Josh Blue to play at Funny Bone from April 26-29
Written by Mighty Wyte (Matt Feher) | | mw@toledofreepress.comJosh Blue will make his way back to the Funny Bone at Fat Fish Blue on April 26-29. Blue lives with cerebral palsy and his self-deprecating sense of humor has earned him many fans and helped him win the fourth season of “Last Comic Standing” in 2006. Six years later, he’s still touring heavily.
Blue has a 4-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter.
“You should see me walking down the street with a stroller. People walk up to the stroller acting like they expected to see a bucket of door-knobs or something,” he said. “It’s like free material, two kids and one good arm. My boy is like me in a lot of ways, he’s such a joker. You should see him in public, walking around like he’s got palsy. I have to tell him, ‘Just because Daddy runs like that doesn’t mean you have to.’
“Being a dad is great. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done, the biggest accomplishment of my life. My wife actually just got me and my son matching bibs.”
Touring so much weighs heavy on the family man, but has its rewards.
“I really miss my kids when I’m on the road,” Blue said. However, as a result of his work ethic and the appeal of his comedy, Blue was able to land a coveted Showtime special. Filmed in 2011 in Minneapolis, Blue’s special, “Sticky Change,” premieres April 18.
Josh Blue
Blue began crashing open-mic nights intended for music and poetry as a college student and never looked back.
“My friends really encouraged me to do comedy,” Blue said. “They said, ‘You’re funny all the time, you should try it.’”
Less than a decade later, Blue has enjoyed great success. He has enjoyed numerous television specials and appearances, and was the first comedian to perform stand-up on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” Blue doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.
“Pretty much, I don’t plan on quitting,” he said. “I love doing stand-up and I feel like this is a gift I’ve been given that not too many people have. It’s fun to be able to go up there and make a difference talking about disability. I feel like there are other things for me, like film or TV but I don’t think I’ll ever lose the dirty lust for stand-up.”
As Blue’s career has progressed, venues and audiences have grown. Blue said as headliner, he no longer gets to see too many other headlining comedians.
“When I was opening, I got to see a lot of other big-name comics. Now that I’m on the road I only see openers,” he said. “That’s why I bring Chuck Roy or Ben Roy with me; I have to bring my own friends.
“Ben Roy has been the only person I’ve been afraid to follow after I became famous. He crushes it. So what I did was took Ben Roy on the road with me so I could learn how to follow him. A lot of other people will bring weak talent with them. I want someone to crush it before me so I can take the handoff.”
Blue said he enjoys celebrity.
“It’s really cool now being onstage. People know who I am, I have less to explain to people,” he laughed. “If you don’t know about palsy and you come to my show, you’re like, what is going on here?”
Blue said much of his downtime in new cities is spent researching the town and enjoying nature.
“Right now I’m soaking in beautiful Idaho. As we’re doing this interview I’m drawing a picture. Before that I went for an hourlong run slash walk. I just wanted to get a vibe and see what I can make fun of. I’m pretty much a nature nutball too. I went out and watched birds for a little bit,” Blue said. “I’m also really into throwing knives and hatchets now. I just started throwing eight-inch circular saw blades. It’s awesome.”
Blue asked for one favor: “Could you make mention of my Twitter account? It’s been blowing up lately, but people should follow me because for every three-word tweet I write, it takes me five minutes to type.”
Favor granted: @JoshBlueComedy.
Tags: cerebral palsy, Funny Bone, Josh Blue, Last Comic Standing, Sticky Change
