Six months before Brian Posehn turned 21, he rang Laughs Unlimited in Old Sacramento to ask how he should go about getting into stand-up comedy. They told him he needed to be of drinking age, so he spent the next half-year preparing a five-minute set. They suggested the open mic at the old Metro Bar and Grill next to The Crest.

“The week I turned 21 I went on stage my first time and completely destroyed,” Posehn told Submerge during a recent phone interview. “And then I went on the week after at the same open mic and tried all new material. I ate it so hard, but still loved it.”

Those Sacramento open mics laid the first bricks on a path toward a sprawling career that led Posehn at first to San Francisco and later to Los Angeles. If you don’t know him by name, it’s likely you recognize him, whether it be from The Sarah Silverman Program, Rob Zombie’s horror movies or one of the dozens of sitcoms and shows he’s guested on.

Posehn was raised in Sonoma, but moved to Sacramento when he was 17 to attend American River College and live with his grandpa. The initial plan was to become a rock journalist or a DJ, but his foray into stand-up comedy rerouted that course.

He’s written and acted for dozens of shows and movies, recorded comedy albums, written comic books, hosts a podcast and is currently authoring a book about his life and career.

On Jan. 5–7, he’ll circle back to Sacramento for a string of shows at the Punch Line.

“I usually wind up seeing people I haven’t seen in 20 years,” he said of the homecoming. “There are people I worked with at the Tower Records up in Citrus Heights that still live up here and I’ll hang out with some of those dudes.”

Posehn has also stacked the shows with some of his favorite locals, including Ngaio Bealum, a local comedian who writes a popular weed column for Sacramento News & Review and is active in the marijuana-legalization movement.

When did the stand-up comedy segue into an acting career? 
In ‘94 I moved to L.A. with the intention of getting writing jobs. I didn’t move there to act at all. I wanted to write sketch comedy and late night stuff. It must be so frustrating to anybody who wants to act, but I just happened to do a set in L.A. and a casting woman saw me and brought me in the very next day to audition for my first sitcom and I got it. It was a show called Empty Nest that’s gone forever. That was the first thing I did and it was such a fluke.

When you got on board with Mr. Show, could you tell it was something special? 
Absolutely. I knew David Cross first through San Francisco because he was coming up to the city a lot. Through David I met Bob [Odenkirk]. They were just writing these hilarious sketches and they’d go and perform them at night. By the time it turned into Mr. Show, I was such a fan of those two guys. The first four episodes of season one I acted in, but they wrote all of those by themselves. By the time I was hired as a writer I already knew it was going to be the ‘90s generation’s SCTV.

You were in episodes of Friends and Seinfeld. Which show is better? 
Which one did I have a better experience with or which one makes me laugh? Well, actually, it would be the same! I had a better experience with Seinfeld—and the show is better. That said, I was happy to be a part of Friends and it did help at the time and got me other work. Just my sensibility was more Seinfeld made me laugh and still does. 

When did the love for metal music start?
KISS was the first band that I obsessed over. I wasn’t just a casual fan of anything. Whether it’s movies or music or comic books. I would just get into something and completely obsess over it. In the late ‘70s I got into Van Halen and Black Sabbath and AC/DC and all of that stuff. I just sought out heavier and heavier music, and then in the early ‘80s, by the time I was in high school, bands like Iron Maiden and thrash metal was starting. I went from Iron Maiden to Metallica and here I am as a 50-year-old man still into the same music I’ve liked since I was a kid. 

What album did you latch onto early that’s still just as strong?
Oh, there are a lot of them. If I had to pick, it’d probably Iron Maiden’s Number of the Beast and then Metallica’s Ride the Lighting. Those are the ones I loved the most. 

How did the Rob Zombie connection happen? 
I’ve known Chris Hardwick since he was like 19 I think. I met him at UCLA for a comic book thing. He was in the first Rob Zombie movie House of a Thousand Corpses and I was a little jealous so I said to Chris, “How the fuck?” He said, “Oh I know Rob. He’s a cool guy. You should meet him.” I was like, “All right! Let’s make that happen.” I went to a party at Rob’s and talked to him and he said, “You’re really funny on Everybody Loves Raymond,” and I’m like, “Rob Zombie watches Everybody Loves Raymond?” That was kind of funny to me. Something about picturing him in those boots just sitting around watching Raymond. 

Through that we became friends and then he wrote me into The Devil’s Rejects. He asked, “Do you want to be a roadie and you get shot in the face?” I’m like, “Yeah man. Whatever you want me to do.” I was there for five days. I acted two days, got shot the third day and played dead the next two. It was a fun experience. 10 years later it’s still one of those things I’m most recognized for, among that group of horror fans and metalheads. 

You performed at the Insane Clown Posse’s Gathering of the Juggalos. How was that?
I was working at Metalocalypse with a good buddy of mine, Brendon Small, the head writer of the show, and I got a text from my agent asking if I’ve ever heard of the Gathering of the Juggalos. I’m like, “Yeah, yeah I have.” He told me what the money was and I walked back into the writing room and said to Brendon, “Dude, I just got asked to do the Gathering of the Juggalos and the money is this.” He goes, “You gotta do it!” I probably would have done it for one-third of the money just for the experience. 
It was crazy. Performing at four in the morning in a field out in the middle of nowhere to people wearing face paint and baggy clothing. There was blood on the stage because they had backyard wrestling before. We were being taken around in a golf cart by a clown. I think his name was Fartso the Clown or Yukko the Clown. You’d think it would have stuck with me.

Why do you keep your Twitter feed private? 
I don’t go on there to share jokes with people because I got kind of burnt out on the whole thing. Sorry to get negative, but that’s just how I feel at this point. I feel like it’s important to advertise myself, but other than that I kind of hate what a time suck it is.

You’re a comedian, actor, writer, podcaster and more, while also closely associated with metal, nerd culture and horror movies. What drives you to so many pursuits and passions? 
I’m super lucky that I’ve been able to carve a career out of doing all of these things that I love. There’s not one thing I do that I don’t want to do. I have fun at all of it—voiceovers, writing coming books, being in horror films, telling fart jokes into a microphone. Not that I just tell fart jokes, though. I never went “Hey I’m going to move to L.A. and do 20 different things.” I just moved here to make a living and that’s the way I still look at it.

Catch Brian Posehn live Jan. 5–7, 2017, at Punch Line Sacramento, located at 2100 Arden Way. Shows start at 8 p.m. all three nights, with additional 10 p.m. shows on Friday and Saturday. For tickets and more info check out Punchlinesac.com

**This interview first appeared in print in issue #229 (December 19, 2016 – January 2, 2017).

It’s time to say goodbye to 2015. From rock concerts, to dance parties, to comedy shows and everything in between, here is your ultimate guide to Sacramento-area New Year’s Eve parties! Have fun, be safe and please don’t drink and drive.

1) If you’re looking for a funky dance party head to Torch Club and get down with two fantastic local bands: IdeaTeam (featuring Aquifer) and Black Star Safari. Cover charge is $25, 9 p.m., 21-plus. Torchclub.net for more info.

2) Enjoy a soft rock explosion at Harlow’s with Mustache Harbor. Tickets are $30 in advance, doors open at 9 p.m., 21-plus. Hit up Harlows.com for a link to buy tickets.

3) Sing along to your favorite hard rock hits with Radio Heavy at our favorite downtown Roseville watering hole, Bar 101. This party is free and 21-and-over, with a 9:30 p.m. start time. Bar101roseville.com for more info.

4) Groove to late ‘80s and early ‘90s hip-hop, hip-house, and R&B at “New Jack Fling” at Press Club, brought to you by DJs Crook (featured in our current issue), BenJohnson and Satapana. $7 cover, 21-plus, 9 p.m.

5) Ace of Spades wants to party hard with you on NYE when they host legendary heavy metal band Y&T, with opening sets by locals Skin of Saints, ONOFF and Roswell. Tickets are $35 in advance, available at Aceofspadessac.com. 7 p.m. doors. This show is all-ages!

6) The newest dive bar on the grid B-Side invites you to check out their digs and get down to sounds by DJ Whores and friends. No cover, 21-plus. Search for “B-Side” on Facebook for more info.

7) We here at Submerge are teaming up with the Lipstick crew for an epic NYE dance party at Old Ironsides featuring live music from local dreamy/synth-y pop group The Good Fortune, as well as DJ sets by Shaun Slaughter, Roger Carpio and Adam Jay. 9 p.m., 21-plus. $8 advance tickets available at Cuffs.

8) Laugh away the new year at Punchline Sacramento during “2015’s Last Laughs” featuring sets by Ngaio Bealum, Keith Lowell Jensen and many other local faves. Two shows: 7:30 p.m. ($20) and 10 p.m. ($25). 18-and-over. Punchlinesac.com for more info.

9) Blackbird recently re-opened and they’re throwing a party this NYE co-presented by Rue 27, THIS Midtown and 1810 Gallery featuring live tunes by nu-disco act Figgy, and a DJ set from Sacto faves Sister Crayon. 7:30 p.m., $40 per person, $75 for VIP upgrade. Studio53.eventbrite.com for more.

10) Visit historic Grass Valley for Center for the Arts’ “Laughs, Lolo and Legs” party featuring comedy from Katie Rubin, neo vintage jazz pop music of Lolo Gervais, burlesque from the Bow-Tie Beauties, DJ dance party hosted by Jamal Walker and more! 8 p.m. doors, tickets start at $22. Hit up Thecenterforthearts.org for advanced tickets.

11) For a family-friendly daytime celebration that everyone can stay awake for, head to Crocker Art Museum’s “Noon Year’s Eve” event, which is free for all ages and runs from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Performances from Germar the Magician, Ebo Okokan, Ohana Dance Group and many more.

12) Enjoy some amazing homegrown talent at Crest Theatre when Jackie Greene and his band perform a special NYE concert! Doors open at 8:30 p.m. and tickets start at $35 in advance.

13) The kind folks over at Blue Lamp are throwing a free NYE bash featuring great music, plenty of booze, good company and a champagne toast at midnight. 9 p.m. start time, 21-plus, no cover.

14) Groove to some soul, funk, disco, reggae, latin and more from a few of Sacto’s best selectors at Fox & Goose. DJs Larry Rodriguez, MC Ham and Wokstar will be spinning all night! $10 cover, 21-and-up, 9 p.m.

15) Bundle up and head up the hill for three days of SnowGlobe (Dec. 29–31) in South Lake Tahoe featuring headliners like Jack Ü (aka Skrillex and Diplo), Kaskade, Dillon Francis, Run the Jewels, E-40 and many more. All-ages event. Check out Snowglobemusicfestival.com for details.

16) NOW 100.5 FM and MIX 96 are throwing a masquerade party for the ages at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento featuring cover band and headliner Apple Z, plus DJ Rated R, Quinn Hedges and Ryan Hernandez. $75 in advance for general admission, 9 p.m. start time, 21-plus.

Organizers hope the second Sacramento Comedy Festival will make California’s capital a destination for comics nationwide

There is only one place where you can see 120 comedians in nine days. And we aren’t asking you to travel to San Francisco, Las Vegas or New York for this epic week. All of the comics are going to make their way to the Capital City to try and make your stomach hurt from laughing. The Sacramento Comedy Festival is ready to make its second appearance in September but this time with a lot more laughs to go around. You can catch local and out-of-town stand-up comedians, improv groups and sketch comics at Luna’s Café (in cooperation with comic Keith Lowell Jensen) and the Sacramento Comedy Spot from Sept. 7 through 15, 2012. The mastermind behind the giant laugh fest is Brian Crall, a veteran comic and owner of the Sacramento Comedy Spot, whose goal is to make Sacramento the next destination for great comedy.

In 2005, Crall created a comedy club that was easily available and affordable for comics in training and audience members. “We decided from early on that we are going to be different from any other club and we are going to be accessible for people,” Crall said over the phone. “They don’t have to spend a lot of money and they are going to get a good quality product.”

The Comedy Spot, located in Midtown, is a hot spot for stand-up comedy, sketch comedy and improv, drawing in big crowds. The club is home of the Anti-Cooperation League Comedy Troupe, In Your Facebook (where comics poke fun at your profile), The Syndicate (a sketch comedy team), Lady Business (an all-women improv team) and a Top 10 podcast who will all be performing at the festival.

“People come from out of town and they love our stage,” Crall explained. “They always compliment us on our professionalism and the quality of the local comedy groups, especially ones that the Comedy Spot produces.”

After more than seven years of running the Comedy Spot, Crall decided to create a comedy festival that can call Sacramento home. One way that Crall is spreading the comedy love is by inviting comics from all across the country to see what Sacramento has to offer.

“If we are going to make Sacramento a destination, we have to have a reason for people to come here in the first place, and people love performing in festivals,” Crall said. “We have people coming to Sacramento to see what we do, then they will start spreading the word and let people know that we have a great scene and that this is the place to do good comedy.”

Nick Pettigrew

Not only does the Festival draw comics and audience members to the Capital City for comedy but it’s a great way to put a spotlight on talented local comedians. A few of the performing local acts include Keith Lowell Jensen, Ngaio Bealum, Michael O’Connell, John Ross, Queenie TT, Carlos Rodriguez, Chazz Hawkins, Kristen Frisk and the improv group Mayhem from ComedySportz.

One of the local talents to be featured in the festival is Nick Pettigrew, the co-producer of Critical Hit, a geek-centric comedy variety show that was created at the Comedy Spot.

“I’ve been a geek my whole life and I love doing comedy, but it was hard doing geek-orientated stand-up but not finding an audience for it,” said Pettigrew over the phone. “So I wanted to create a show where I can make my own audience.”

Another great local to be showcased is Cheryl the Soccer Mom, whose style of comedy does not seem to match her innocent name. A few years ago, Cheryl was a legitimate soccer mom who would drop off the kids at practice and lived in the suburbs. But at a comedy club Cheryl has a hilarious and sometimes dirty stand-up routine.

Cheryl the Soccer Mom

“It depends on the audience. If it’s that kind of show, I can totally go there,” she said. “Not always but pretty often.”

Even though her soccer mom days are nearly over because her oldest child is leaving for college soon, her comedy career is quickly taking off. She has recently filmed a show for Nickelodeon and has been invited to participate in the World Series of Comedy in Las Vegas. Without the support of local Sacramento comics, getting started in the comedy world would have been tough, she said.

“When I started out all of the Sacramento comics were so helpful and so welcoming. I can’t imagine getting a better start in any other city,” she said. “There’s the typical [comedy] politics that you find anywhere but overall the support for new comics is really strong and support for each other, we’re happy for each other’s success.”

The Sacramento Comedy Festival is not holding back support for the out-of-town comedians. Multiple comedians have been invited to perform in the 25-show festival by Crall himself. A few of the traveling comics (improv and stand-up) include Joe Klocek from the Bay Area; Matt Gubser and Priya Prasad from Oakland; Andrew Holmgren from San Francisco; 70-year-old comedian Sandra Risser from Concord, Calif.; and Brent Gill from Denver. Former Comedy Spot cast member Jeff Sloniker will also be performing at the festivities.

Leeman Parker, Sacramento native and member of improv group Bro Squad 5 from Hollywood, Calif., performed at the comedy festival last year and anticipates the upcoming shows. “The place was packed, and it was a really cool atmosphere to do a show,” said Parker about the Comedy Festival last year.

Kurt Weitzmann

A first time performer in the festival but veteran stand-up comic, Kurt Weitzmann, who has been seen on Comedy Central, MTV and multiple comedy stages in San Francisco is also scheduled to perform for this year’s fest.

“I’ve always loved the Sacramento comedy scene. I’ve always thought it was really good people that came out of there,” said Weitzmann. “I’m just glad they’re doing it. I think it’s a great idea. I think every city should have a comedy festival. It’s not hard to do, everybody loves comedy.”

Everyone does love comedy, but I’m not sure if putting on a comedy festival is as easy as it sounds. Brian Crall along with the help from Mignon Foster, who is in charge of the logistics of the show, has been planning this festival for over a year. They have been working on making the festival bigger and decided to extend the festival to eight days.

“We just started off very simple last year. We did four days, and we tried to pack in as many things as possible but it was a lot of fun,” Crall explained. “We didn’t do a lot of publicity last year, it was just more of a trial run year…but this year we are going all out.” As soon as the 2011 laughs were over, Crall and Foster got straight to work on an encore. They have created an original logo for the festival, a website and have been screening tapes from comics across the country who wanted to participate. After all of this work, Crall is hoping for a big turnout.

“We want as many people to come out and get a good sampling of what we do, and we have put a festival pass together that allows you to see every show at the comedy festival for $55, when we have 20-plus shows that’s a pretty good deal,” he added.

The Sacramento Comedy Festival will kick off opening night with a ribbon cutting ceremony and music from the local rock group Dog Party. After that for eight days, you watch stand-up comics and improv groups from across the country brave the stage, you can geek out with Nick Pettigrew and listen to Cheryl the Soccer Mom’s MILF joke. With every laugh that comes out of the festival, Brian Crall will be one step closer to making his goal a reality in making Sacramento a destination for comedy.

We don’t have the space to list all the acts who will be performing at the Sacramento Comedy Festival. Good thing for you, ticket prices are affordable enough that we won’t have to. You can go see them for yourselves. The fest runs from Sept. 7 through 15, 2012 and for just $55, you can see every show. Go to http://www.saccomedyfest.com/ for more info and to purchase tickets.

Dave Chappelle, Ngaio Bealum

Punch Line Comedy Club
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 (8 p.m. show)

When we first saw Punch Line Comedy Club’s Facebook and Twitter posts on Monday, April 25, saying that Dave Chappelle was coming to town the next night, we nearly flipped out. What comedy fan wouldn’t? After purchasing a couple pricey tickets (about $67 after online fees) the paranoia settled in. “Is this for real?” we thought. “Will Dave freaking Chappelle really show up tomorrow night?” Questions like, “Why was it such a last minute announcement?” and “Will I get a refund if he flakes?” haunted us.

The next night we arrived over an hour early for the 8 p.m. show with four people in our group. After waiting in a rather short line, we were seated. There was loud hip-hop playing via DJ Fuze sitting side-stage, who apparently spins for Chappelle when he is doing gigs in and around the Bay Area. Classic selections from Wu-Tang Clan, De La Soul, Jay-Z and more ignited a little life into an anxious crowd and got everyone chatting louder amongst their tables. Not long after the room was full and the lights dimmed, a voice came over the PA and announced the opening act, Sacramento comedy club regular Ngaio Bealum.

Bealum immediately took command of the crowd with his highly pot-influenced brand of comedy. “I have weed in my pocket, ‘allegedly,’ that’ll make hippies go, ‘Fuuuuuuuck, I’m high!’” Bealum joked. He’s been around the block when it comes to marijuana activism too. He doesn’t just joke around about it. He pointed out that he attends every marijuana-related convention, rally, concert, exposition, etc. that he possibly can in order to fight for his rights. Soon after, he did a bit about how you’ll never see festivals or concerts thrown in celebration of any drug other than marijuana. His example: “Meth Fest!” Bealum dropped the microphone and yelled to the crowd at the top of his lungs, “Welcome to Meth Fest!” He paused, dramatically grinded his teeth, then yelled, “Who stole the fucking sound system?” It got the crowd rolling. Save for when he awkwardly performed oral sex on the microphone for a solid minute or two (which is a long time to sit through, sound effects and all), Bealum’s set was extremely well received and proved to be a great stage-setter for the man of the night, Dave Chappelle.

Chappelle, sporting a hoodie, gray T-shirt and jeans, casually walked onstage moments later to thunderous applause. It’s safe to say the crowd was star struck. Chappelle sat on a stool, lit up the first of many cigarettes and briefly reminisced about when he used to gig at Punch Line over a decade ago. The stool seemed to be a crucial part of his set, as he spent a fair share of an hour-and-a-half sitting on it, delivering material slowly but steadily, smacking the microphone on his knee after delivering punch lines, creating a “thud” sound. It was like a “laugh-your-ass-off-now” indicator. Many of Chappelle’s funnier bits were crowd-involved as Chappelle kept asking questions like, “What is there to do in Sacramento?” to which everyone unanimously decided, “Nothing.” He then asked, “What are we doing tonight?” Everyone, including Chapelle, seemed to be OK with either A) pancakes across the street at IHOP or B) going to the state capitol to “protest some shit,” in Chappelle’s words.

Another question Chappelle asked the crowd that seemed to become a main theme of his set was, “What’s the saddest movie you’ve ever seen?” Apparently Chappelle loves sad movies. “I like movies that make me feel something,” he kept saying. Movies like Hotel Rwanda, Precious, Million Dollar Baby and other depressing titles were somehow made hilarious by Chappelle and his commentary.

At one point, Chappelle let the crowd in on one of his trade secrets, admitting that he frequently writes the punch lines to his jokes first, then the set-up. His latest punch line? “Turns out, I was smelling my own balls.” He tried it a number of ways, setting it up from a different angle each time and nailed each one. “I laugh every time,” Chappelle said of the work in progress. That’s another thing: Chappelle frequently laughs at his own jokes, which in turn makes the crowd laugh because he has a rather silly giggle. Other themes and bits, both prepared and situational depending on the crowd’s (and staff’s) involvement, were his interracial marriage with a Chinese woman; the cocktail waitress Roxy, and whether or not she lived alone in her Yuba City apartment; bumming cigarettes off of crowd members just because he was sick of his own and then giving them back after someone yelled, “You might want to check that!” and plenty of other gut-busting topics.

Toward the end of his time, Chappelle muttered something like, “I gotta get out of here after I finish this cigarette,” and then proceeded to poke around a bit with an engaged couple in the front row. At this point the crowd was worn out, cheek muscles ever-so-sore from well over an hour’s worth of hilarity, but we were willing to take more. Chappelle reached into his pocket, pulled out his pack of American Spirits and lit up another one. Even though there was another show starting in a few minutes, it didn’t look like he wanted to get off the stage; he wanted to sit right there, smoke his cigarettes and engage with the crowd. Throughout the night he has asked, “What do you want to talk about?” and it was clear the answer from the crowd was, “Anything, Dave, anything.”

Ngaio Bealum Brings the Eighth or Ninth Cannabis Comedy Festival to Sacramento

Ngaio Bealum is out to change your perception of what a stoner is supposed to be. Though the Sacramento-based comedian makes no qualms about his love affair with marijuana, his track record isn’t that of a couch-bound video game/Saturday morning cartoon junkie. Instead, you’ll find a man who is hard working and highly motivated.

“I’m not always a fan of how stoners are portrayed in the major media,” Bealum says. He believes his standup routine shows “cannabis consumers” in a different light. “I’m a pretty cool guy; I’m relatively smart, quick-witted. You know what I’m saying? I’m not dumb or unmotivated.”

If watching his act won’t change your mind, just look at his resume. Not only has he survived as a professional standup comedian for the past 20 years (he celebrates his 21st anniversary as a pro in October), he also publishes his own magazine, West Coast Cannabis, a full-color 96-page glossy, which first hit shelves in February 2008.

“It was really a ‘How hard can it be?’ sort of decision,” Bealum says of his choice to fit producing a magazine into his busy touring schedule. “But it turned out where it’s not too hard, but it was definitely a challenge at first. We’re getting it to where it flows pretty good now, but there was definitely a point or two where it was like, whoa, you know.”

In addition to that, Bealum also organizes the Cannabis Comedy Festival, which will celebrate its eighth or ninth installment (Bealum couldn’t remember which) Oct. 7 and 8 at the Punch Line in Sacramento. Bealum will host the event that boasts a lineup that includes DJ Mervin, Caitlin Gill, Keith Lowell Jensen and others. The traveling event has made stops in Portland, San Francisco and New Orleans in the past and is a fundraiser for Americans for Safe Access, an organization that helps “people who need marijuana for medical reasons have safe access to it,” says Bealum.

“I’m a big fan if you can raise money, educate and have a good time all at the same time,” he explains.

Submerge spoke with Bealum as he was preparing for a second night at Punch Line in San Francisco, after just returning from Hempstock in Portland, Ore., an event he likened to “an Oktoberfest or a wine tasting.”

“You know, all the connoisseurs get together and bring their favorite flavors, and other people bring smaller things that they had grown,” Bealum said of Hempstock and other events of its ilk, such as the Cannabis Cup. “It’s all really medical. It’s really nice.”

In the following interview, Bealum talks about his decades-long career and his favorite flavor of, well, you know”¦

Do you consider yourself a marijuana connoisseur? Do you have your favorite strain?
I’m a connoisseur for sure. I’m a big fan of sativas”¦not so much the Trainwreck, I like this new Green Ribbon that’s out right now.

What do you like most about it?
I like the kind of buzz-y head-high effects where you feel a little energized and maybe kind of chatty. I’m not so much the sit on the couch all day smoking weed stoner. That’s not for me.

If you were that kind of stoner, what would you recommend?
For that, if you’re old school, you’d go with a Romulan. But if you’re the new kids, they like the Kush or the Granddaddy Purple.

The number I’m calling you on is a Southern California number, but you’re living in Sacramento now, right?
I’ve been living in Sacramento for about a year, but it’s an open secret, so if they call me from L.A., I can still pretend. “I’ll be right there”¦in about five hours.”

What made you move up north? It seems like L.A. would be a more happening town for a comedian.
L.A.’s not really my style. I love Sacramento. It’s got a lot of civic pride, and my girlfriend lives up here, my brother lives up here, and my mom’s not too far away. She lives in San Francisco”¦ It’s got good restaurants. We rode our bikes to go to The Crocker, and then to the River Cats game. It was awesome.

Was there a final straw for you that caused you to move out of L.A.?
No, L.A. and I just get along better from a distance”¦ It’s better when I can just go down there to work and then come home.

I’ve had friends who have had prescription cards for marijuana. Do you have one as well?
I do.

A couple of friends who had cards, they didn’t really have a condition or anything. They just got their cards from doctors who were quick to give them out. I’m not saying that’s the case with you, but do you think that sort of thing hurts the cause of people fighting for marijuana legislation reform?
I quote Dennis Peron when he says, “All marijuana use is medical use.” Now, some people may not take it to that extreme, but if you derive some therapeutic value from feeling better”¦ Studies say that if you take a shot or two or have a glass of wine after dinner, you may actually get some benefit from it, so who’s to say that people who enjoy a toke or two aren’t getting some benefit from it. It’s a natural anti-inflammatory and mood leavener, so who doesn’t like to smooth out and feel less pain?

Do you foresee a day when marijuana is just legal across the board?
Yeah, I don’t think that’s too far in the future, actually. It’s getting there. We’re starting to reach the tipping point.

You’ve been doing this for 21 years now”¦
Yeah, 20 years. October will be my 21st anniversary as a professional comedian. Where’s my watch and retirement plan?

Is there a good pension for comics?
Yeah, it’s called shitty one-nighters. You can do those till you’re 80—have your kids drive you. “C’mon, we’ve gotta get to Missoula. Hurry!”

Does it bother you to be labeled as a weed comedian?
No. As I’ve said, I’ve made a pretty good career out of it. You know, it’s funny, because I did a show at the Punch Line last night, and it wasn’t even a stoner crowd, which was funny to me. It took me by surprise at first, because I didn’t really go for a lot of the marijuana jokes, so fortunately, I have a whole other act that consists of jokes about my kids and quantum physics and psychedelic poetry.

In the years you’ve been a professional comedian, how have you seen the scene change?
I started comedy in 1988, which was sort of the ass-end of the comedy boom. Comedy was just starting to take off, there were a lot of clubs and there weren’t really that many comics, so there was a lot of work everywhere. It was really comedy-based. If you were really funny, you’d get a lot of work. It didn’t matter if you were on TV or not. When I started, you had to do a lot of roadwork in clubs to get on TV, and now, you have to get on TV to get into the clubs. I also think that comedy is changing its model, because more and more corporations have gotten involved. You know, Viacom owns Comedy Central, so comedy has become a commodity and not just a visceral way to entertain people. But with the advent of the Internet, I think the underground scene is coming back again, and the do-it-yourself punk rock vibe where all you really need is a room and a microphone and 50 people who can pay $5. You can make some money and get your point across without worrying about what you can and cannot say and how you will be perceived on television.

See the Cannabis Comedy Festival on Oct. 7 and 8 at the Punch Line in Sacramento. The show is 18 and over and carries a two-drink minimum. For more information on Americans for Safe Access, go to www.safeaccessnow.org