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THe SilUGLe-NliNDeD HUMOP
op pete McBrayer
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easy to sit at the end of a bar and crack
IU U wise—countless Athenians do it night
after night. Pete McBrayer, however, is one of the
few who has relocated to the stage, losing the
barstool and standing up to deliver, well, some
stand-up.
A computer support technician for the
University of Georgia's main library by day.
McBrayer has honed his comedy routine over the
past several months, performing a handful of
shows at Flicker, usually opening up for bands.
McBrayer first performed a local set of stand-up
in the mid-1990s, opening up for the Star Room
Boys at the Georgia Theatre. “I wasn't ready for
it, and bombed in absolutely fantastic fashion,"
says McBrayer. It wasn't until more than 10 years
later, at the urging of a friend, that McBrayer got
back into writing jokes.
His style is in the classic one-liner vein. "The
great thing about one-liners," says McBrayer,
"is that there's always something to move on
to. There are jokes that I think are hilarious but
get no reaction, and while that's discouraging,
it's real easy to just move on the the next one."
McBrayer shares a lot, in terms of style with
Rodney Dangerfield, Steven Wright and Mitch
Hedberg, though he doesn't display as much
self-loathing as the first, isn't as esoteric as the
second and not nearly as drug-addled as the
latter. On-stage. McBrayer presents a blustery,
self-deprecating persona. He can be handy with
a punchline: “It really makes me angry that
we have these illegal immigrants taking away
American jobs, and nobody's taken away mine
yet," and is willing to skewer himself: “I'm so
lazy, I qo to the zoo to check out the giant sloth
and give him borne tips," as much as others: "I'm
not going to lie, comedy is hard. I wish I could
just step up to the microphone and play an iPod
with other comedians' jokes. Then I would call
myself the Krush Girls of comedy." "Yeah, that
last one gets a big laugh from musicians," says
McBrayer.
McBrayer says his was a comic upbringing,
with his family constantly relying on humor in
many situations. "We're a family of laughers," he
says. 'Big laughers." McBrayeris brother Jack, for
instance, is an actor who's appeared on "Arrested
Development," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien"
and has a small role in an upcoming Will Ferrell
film.
This Friday's performance at Little Kings will
be McBrayer's final performance for a while, as he
says he wants to spend a little more time writing
and working on other projects. The tonguc-in-
cheek musical act Mandy Jane & the Jaws of Life
opens the show at ID p.m., and tnen McBrayer
performs, and eclectic pop band Ham 1 closes
out the night. Local musician Kevin Lane is also
recording the show, and McBrayer suggests he
may try to release a recording if things turn out
well. Flagpole recently sat down for a cup of
coffee with McBrayer—despite his joke "I hate
coffee houses. Or as I like to call them, scarf
houses. Because even on the hottest day in July,
you can walk into 3 coffee house, and someone is
wearing a scarf. And that person is an asshole."
Flagpole: So I'll toss some things out. and you
tell me if they're funny or not funny. Feel free to
elaborate.
Pete McBrayer: Okay, shoot.
FP: Observations on day-to-day activities ana
occurrences.
PM: Not funny, because all of my friends can
do that. They're all smart-asses. Which is not to
say you can't laugh at that, but everybody's an
observational comedian.
FP: Farting.
PM: Farting? Well, in a very serious place-
say. a funeral—hilarious. In general? Not so
funny.
FP: Clowns.
PM: Always, always, always not funny.
FP: People with large heads wearing small
hats.
PM: Always, always, always hilarious.
FP: Dead babies.
PM: I'll say with that one, it depends on the
context.
Chris Hassiotis
WHO: Pete McBrayer, Ham 1,
Mandy Jane & the Jaws of Life
WHERE: Little Kings
WHEN: Friday, February 24
HOW MUCH: $5
J
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FEBRUARY 22,2006 • FLAGPOLE.COM 13