Fourteen years ago, an up-and-coming young comedian took home the Best Club Comedian award at the annual American Comedy Awards. Today, Brian Regan is a comedy machine. He's been touring the country since 2005 and shows no signs of slowing down now. In support of his latest comedy special, "The Epitome of Hyperbole," Regan heads to Peabody Auditorium at 8 p.m. Friday.
We had a chance to catch up with the comic about his longevity, who he finds funny and his hope that we'll all be flying into Regan International in 2010.
How and when did you get into comedy?
Well I was in college. I was going to be an accountant. You can imagine how exciting that was. My heart couldn't take it. I had to take the foot off the gas and try something less exciting. So I switched my major to communications and theater arts. My first class was a speech class and I would try to make my speeches as funny as I could. I loved it and thought, "Maybe I should try something like this."
How would you describe your comedy?
Machiavellian with Kierkegaardian undertones. (Laughs) Man, I'm just a goof with a microphone acting goofy for an hour. It's hard to describe but I guess you could say it's observational humor. I like to shine the spotlight on things in a way that they haven't been looked at before.
You dropped your first CD, "Brian Regan Live" almost 13 years ago. To this day it's on the iTunes Top Ten Comedy Albums list. How does that happen?
I wish I knew. I wish I had that formula, you know? Use 20 percent of this, 30 percent of that. One reason I think is that it's material I did when I was coming up. I was working in these clubs that you had to be a certain age to get into. So it was material that had people reminiscing about when they were kids. I started to realize that families were listening to it. When it was released, even the kids liked it. So it was just something anybody could get into. It wasn't by design. It was sort of a fluke.
You work relatively clean. Is it hard to stay that way?
It's not hard for me. I hate though to get typecast as this squeaky clean guy though. I'm not handcuffed by it. It's just the medium I choose to work with.
Who do you find funny?
Man, I love driving around listening to XM radio's comedy stations to hear what people are doing. I love Bill Burr, guys like Nick DiPaolo, Seinfeld, Steve Martin, Mitch Hedberg who sadly is no longer with us, Maria Bamford. Anybody who is doing their own thing. Sometimes certain guys get too similar to someone else and it's just less interesting.
Your latest comedy special, "The Epitome of Hyperbole," was released a little over a year ago. Do you ever stop touring?
When I first started, I thought you went on the road and you never come home. I remember being on tour with this comedian and he's going, "Man, I've been out forever, I can't wait to get home." I thought, man, he must have been touring for five or six years. He says, "Man I've been out for two weeks straight." I was like "What?" I thought you said goodbye to your family and that was it. But you know I've been touring nonstop for years but I take every other week off. I spend more time at home than I do on the road.
How much inspiration or material do you draw from your family?
A little bit. I try not to go too much in that direction. When I'm home, I don't want my family thinking I'm following them around with a notebook going, "Come on kids, do something funny. Daddy needs another 5 minutes." But sometimes things happen that you just can't help but use it. But I like to do a little bit of that but not so much that someone without kids doesn't enjoy it. I want to touch on things that we all have in common.
What do you hope people take from your show?
It's always fun to connect with people who are laughing. And not to be selfish but while it's fun to laugh, it's also fun to cause laughter. It makes you feel good.
What does the future hold for you?
Well I'd like to have an airport named after me. And more comedy.
If You Go
WHAT: Brian Regan
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Peabody Auditorium, 600 Auditorium Blvd., Daytona Beach.
TICKET INFO: $39.50. For more information call the box office at 386-671-3462 or visit ticketmaster.com.
Well I was in college. I was going to be an accountant. You can imagine how exciting that was. My heart couldn't take it. I had to take the foot off the gas and try something less exciting. So I switched my major to communications and theater arts. My first class was a speech class and I would try to make my speeches as funny as I could. I loved it and thought, "Maybe I should try something like this."
How would you describe your comedy?
Machiavellian with Kierkegaardian undertones. (Laughs) Man, I'm just a goof with a microphone acting goofy for an hour. It's hard to describe but I guess you could say it's observational humor. I like to shine the spotlight on things in a way that they haven't been looked at before.
You dropped your first CD, "Brian Regan Live" almost 13 years ago. To this day it's on the iTunes Top Ten Comedy Albums list. How does that happen?
I wish I knew. I wish I had that formula, you know? Use 20 percent of this, 30 percent of that. One reason I think is that it's material I did when I was coming up. I was working in these clubs that you had to be a certain age to get into. So it was material that had people reminiscing about when they were kids. I started to realize that families were listening to it. When it was released, even the kids liked it. So it was just something anybody could get into. It wasn't by design. It was sort of a fluke.
You work relatively clean. Is it hard to stay that way?
It's not hard for me. I hate though to get typecast as this squeaky clean guy though. I'm not handcuffed by it. It's just the medium I choose to work with.
Who do you find funny?
Man, I love driving around listening to XM radio's comedy stations to hear what people are doing. I love Bill Burr, guys like Nick DiPaolo, Seinfeld, Steve Martin, Mitch Hedberg who sadly is no longer with us, Maria Bamford. Anybody who is doing their own thing. Sometimes certain guys get too similar to someone else and it's just less interesting.
Your latest comedy special, "The Epitome of Hyperbole," was released a little over a year ago. Do you ever stop touring?
When I first started, I thought you went on the road and you never come home. I remember being on tour with this comedian and he's going, "Man, I've been out forever, I can't wait to get home." I thought, man, he must have been touring for five or six years. He says, "Man I've been out for two weeks straight." I was like "What?" I thought you said goodbye to your family and that was it. But you know I've been touring nonstop for years but I take every other week off. I spend more time at home than I do on the road.
How much inspiration or material do you draw from your family?
A little bit. I try not to go too much in that direction. When I'm home, I don't want my family thinking I'm following them around with a notebook going, "Come on kids, do something funny. Daddy needs another 5 minutes." But sometimes things happen that you just can't help but use it. But I like to do a little bit of that but not so much that someone without kids doesn't enjoy it. I want to touch on things that we all have in common.
What do you hope people take from your show?
It's always fun to connect with people who are laughing. And not to be selfish but while it's fun to laugh, it's also fun to cause laughter. It makes you feel good.
What does the future hold for you?
Well I'd like to have an airport named after me. And more comedy.
If You Go
WHAT: Brian Regan
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Peabody Auditorium, 600 Auditorium Blvd., Daytona Beach.
TICKET INFO: $39.50. For more information call the box office at 386-671-3462 or visit ticketmaster.com.
