Ralphie May
Kalamazoo State Theatre
March 11, 7:30 p.m.
$29.50
kazoostate.com, (269) 345-6500
Ralphie May holds FCC insurance up to $1 million to protect him from fines up to $275,000 per incident. He's not vulgar, but he speaks his mind — he's politically incorrect.
You may have seen him launch his career on the first season of "Last Comic Standing." He had a special called Austin-tatious that aired on Comedy Central last year. REVUE spoke to the 38-year-old comedian about late night TV, and why the Tiger Woods situation was a "gift from God" for him as a comedian.
"Tiger Woods always claimed to be half black and half Asian," May said. "The last few months have proven both. Single car crash, two hedge rows, a fire hydrant and a tree without going over 20 miles per hour in your own neighborhood. That's the most Asian thing I've ever heard. Cheating on his wife with 20 girls. That's NBA black."
May talks about the difficulty of working as a comedian and trying to stay fresh with his jokes. His jokes have a lot of topical humor, and he has the motto that a comic is only as good as his last joke. May went to on talk about Woods, this time hitting his sponsorships, including AT&T, which recently dropped him amongst the scandal.
"I wish AT&T would let me out with their sh***y blue map," May said. "I see a call tower and I still lose the call. Who do I have to [expletive] to get out of AT&T?"
Performing on radio and late night television holds different challenges for May — especially with his knack for politically incorrect jokes. He had a radio show on Sirius for one year and the station is interested in doing more. May enjoys the medium of radio and the flexibility that comes with it and looks forward to the possibility of doing a show again in the future. Late night television, however, is a different story.
"I have a hard time building a set for them," said May. "They fight me on every joke. I present it more raw than I would normally. They nitpick and try to take all the funny away. When I got a standing [ovation] on ‘The Tonight Show,' that was years of culmination working on that set."
May loves the art of comedy and anything that helps to advance its exposure, whether it helps him personally or not. In mainstream media, he says the biggest supporter of stand-up comedy is Comedy Central.
"Comedy Central takes young comics and gives them exposure," May said. "Some of them have the chops. Some get burned out and leave the business altogether. You don't know what you're doing in comedy until you've been doing it for eight years. You're ignorant to the process. You don't know who you are as a person."
May is working on his next comedy special. He also has a movie coming out this year starring Neil Patrick Harris and Amy Sedaris called The Best and the Brightest where May plays a security guard.
Other Comedy Events
By Joshua Melfi
Radisson Hotel
270 Ann Street NW, Grand Rapids
(616) 363-9001
Radisson's Sunday Night Funnies is a free comedy show for those who aren't quite ready to let their weekend come to an end. Sunday Night Funnies features a wide variety of West Michigan comedians and a few touring acts. With free admission, lots of laughs, cheap food and drinks, and convenient parking, it's a good send off to a great weekend! The shows are every Sunday and start at 8:30 p.m. Running March 7, 14, 21 and 28.
Dr. Grins
20 Monroe Ave. NW, Grand Rapids
thebob.com, (616) 356-2627
Just by looking at him you can tell Emo Philips was born to be a comedian. Everything from his hair, clothes, spastic contortions, blank stares, and, more notably, his material, is funny. He has developed his own unusual onstage character and has perfected his performances with more than two decades of being on stage. Philips has released three comedy albums and his E=Mo2 album won the 1985 New Music Award for best comedy album. One of his jokes from his 2001 album Emo was voted "Funniest Religious Joke Ever" in a 2005 online poll. He was also included in the top 50 of E4's 100 Greatest Comedians. Aside from stand-up, Philips has also appeared on the television shows Miami Vice, and The Weird Al Show. His voice is so unique that he has also had several voices over credits on the animated series Dr.Katz, Professional Therapist, Home Movies, Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, and Slacker Cats. Don't miss this one-of-a-kind comedian when he comes to Dr.Grins March18-20. Also playing: March 4-6 Chris Barnes, March 11-13 Ian Bagg, and March 25-27 Tommy Johnagin.
