Have you ever been thrown right into something in life?
One Detroit comedian has an interesting story on how he got coerced into getting on stage, to launch his start in comedy.
At only five-years-old, Gad Holland was completely in the zone with old VHS tapes of Eddie Murphy stand up comedy. As a kid, Holland, mentioned he was in awe of how Murphy had the whole theatre’s attention during his routine.
“As a young kid, I was watching one of the dirtiest stand-up routines with Eddie Murphy and on the flip side one of the cleanest with Sinbad,” Holland said. “It was a simply a guy with a microphone telling jokes, no extras or anything, but it completely held my attention.”
For Holland, his first time on stage is quite memorable, as he was in his early 20s, attending Western Michigan University and went for an evening out to support a friend at an open mic competition.
The curve ball came when his friend came off stage and informed Holland, that he would be taking part in the event. There was a list to sign up and Holland’s name had been added, without his consent and not a lot of time to prepare.
“I found out after my friend came off stage, that I literally had three minutes to get my act together and come up with five minutes of material for my set,” Holland said. “I was quick on my feet and at the time Obama had just been sworn into office and I made a lot of political type jokes. When I was done and came off stage, no one booed. I didn’t really have time to think about it, just get up on stage and literally do it.”
Holland explained that his style is more of a conversational style and likes to put the audience at ease. You could compare it to just hanging out and talking with a large group.
“A lot of times in my life, I’m a fish out of water and I’ll talk about that in my stand up,” Holland said.
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He takes his craft seriously and Holland mentioned that he will pay a little extra attention to his audience during his set. Sometimes, it might for the one person in the crowd, that doesn’t seem into his stand up set.
“Being able to watch someone have a visible reaction to something you said is really a special thing,” Holland said. “Especially, if are aware of someone that doesn’t seem to be enjoying the show and by the end of your set, you win that person over and have them clapping. I believe that right there that is the most fun, being able to turn somebody.”
Get ready for a full arsenal of jokes from the boys from the 313, with co-headliners Markus Olind and Gad Holland, this weekend at Haddon’s Comedy Club in the lower level of Rockhead Pub at 1444 Ottawa St in Windsor, ON.
Their shows begin on Friday night at 9 p.m. and two more shows on Saturday night at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 cash at the door. Or if you prefer to purchase your tickets in advance click https://www.eventbrite.com/e/haddons-comedy-clubpresents-gad-holland-and-markus-olind-tickets-64212712953 to have them in hand before taking in a night of comedy. See you at the shows!
