Starting Out

It’s Episode 99 of Starting Out, and I wanted to have a special guest on to celebrate. He’s someone like few others who take the biggest swings on stage, it’s Garrett Jamieson! Garrett talks about the Humber program, sketch comedy, Crest Whitestrips, and a whole lot of chasing funny. You can follow him on Insta @gjpartyhugs, you can buy the album “Winnipeg Comedy” that was just released on Comedy...

Hoh boy, what a guest on Starting Out this week. It’s none other than the legend -  another one of the best comedians Canada has produced, it’s Mr. Rob Pue. I did a gig in Hamilton with Rob several years ago, I knew who he was, and I knew he was an insanely good comic. I was terrified then, and I was a little less so now. Rob has been in the game 26-years now, all as a full-time standup, no side h...

My guest this week on Starting Out has been in the standup game for 11 years, and is a retired Canadian military reservist who spent 12 years in the Canadian army.  He is my only guest who has been deployed, it’s none other than Max Ross on Starting Out. Like a few past guests, Max at heart is a shy guy who doesn’t really want to be shy, and we had an awesome conversation, not unlike the ones we h...

This week’s guest on Starting Out I’ve had in my back pocket for a while. He started about a year and a half ahead of me in Hamilton, he was the first comic I got to geek out with my first night ever going to Ceili, and not only was he at my first ever spot, he might have been my first ever laugh, it’s Jordan Hoath on Starting Out. Jordan and I used to have so many great conversations before and a...

This week on Starting Out it’s someone who is somehow both established and a burgeoning talent in Canadian comedy, and maybe even the States. He’s an incredible headliner, producer, writer and actor in some of the funniest sketch comedy coming out of Toronto right now, Marc Anthony Sinagoga is on Starting Out this week. Fresh off the release of his debut album “Well Fed” which you can find on Spot...

This week on Starting Out I have on another one of my comedy brothers, someone who started around the same time as I did, and as you’ll hear was equally amazed when we met that we were somewhat normal people deciding to pursue this weird standup thing. It’s Dave Getachew on Starting Out! Dave’s real start began in MMA, before getting into his real love of standup. Dave talks about growing up as th...

This week on Starting Out it’s another person I’ve been wanting to have on for a long, long time. He’s one of the best comics, and one of the best crowd work comics in the country, and easily one of the nicest people, it’s Liam Kelly. Liam is originally from Richmond Hill and it seemed to me that he had carved out his place there, running a weekly show for years which is where we met. But I was so...

My guest this week on Starting Out actually reached out to ask to come on and I am so happy she did. She has been grinding it out in the Toronto scene for 5-6 years and it’s been impressive watching her commitment, it’s Janice Israeloff. Janice spent 25 years as an actor, writer, and playwright before developing stage fright during her one-person play, One Flew Over the Cubicle. That stage fright...

My guest this week on episode 91 of Starting Out is the second American-born comic I’ve had on, and for sure the only American born comic who moved to Canada to do standup, it’s Sam Norton! Sam and I talk about the phenomena that Canadians think he’s a failed comic because he lives here now, which just illustrates our inferiority complex so well. You can download Sam’s recent album “White Noise” -...

This is simply one of the best episodes of this show. I had no knowledge of Simon before we did a show together at Absolute, which is 100% my bad.  On that show he completely blew me away, and I learned he’s one of the OG Canadian comics, someone who has done everything you can do and more in this country, it’s Mr. Simon Cotter on Starting Out. Simon is so goddamn humble and describes his experien...

My guest this week on Starting Out is comedian and now film producer Joe Botelho. By all accounts, Joe and I should be closer as he literally started standup in Hamilton a month or two after I did, but we never clicked. We never had that deep talk, that long car ride to a show where we had the type of conversation we’re about to have. Joe was quite open about his draw to the social part of standup...

My guest this week on Starting Out is none other than one of the best comedians this country has produced, it’s Dom Pare! Again I was reluctant to ask Dom to come on as I hold him in such esteem, but we did a show together recently and we started by talking about whether he goes on last or not bothers him, and that just set up one of the best talks I’ve had on this show. Dom has done just about ev...

This week’s guest actually told me he had been waiting to be asked to come on this pod since I started it up, and I’m so happy he had the patience to wait through 86 episodes and he still said yes, it’s Greg Houston on Starting Out! Greg joined me from his new-ish home base in the UK. We talk starting out in the Ottawa scene, the discipline and drive you have to have to take comedy seriously, and...

My guest this week on Starting Out is the multi-talented, uber creative, roast battle master, and now 10-year comedy veteran before the age of 30, it’s Sarah Ashby! I met Sarah very early on in my standup journey as we were competitors in a comedy competition in a large room with few people, but Sarah left a mark on me and I was really happy that she wanted to chat. Sarah seemed destined as the id...

My guest this week on Starting Out is Dave Squeaky Wheelz! I ran into Dave at a show I hosted a little while back and I hadn’t seen him since first meeting him in his hometown of Windsor about 6 years ago. Dave and I had such a fun conversation about some of the challenges he faced growing up with a disability, and he was so eloquent and thoughtful in recounting it all. Dave has been through a lot...

This week on Starting Out its another guest I hesitated to ask to come on because I was afraid he’d either ignore me or just say no. He is truly one of my favourite comics out there, in my mind one of the most unique, creative people to do comedy, it’s Mark DeBonis! Mark chatted with me from his new city of Buffalo, and we had such an awesome conversation about never wanting to do comedy, not even...

I was so excited to this week’s guest on because he quit being a veterinarian to pursue standup comedy full time, it’s the incomparable Ted Morris on Starting Out! Ted quit his very successful, though mentally challenging job as a vet a whole 3 months before a global pandemic hit.  We talk about his first time on stage at Club 54 in Burlington, and how a series of ‘lucky’ encounters led him to bei...

This week on Starting Out it’s someone I consider my comedy little brother, as he started in Hamilton about a year after me. I’ve loved watching him grow and become even more creative in standup and now film, it’s AJ Bate on Starting Out. AJ talks about growing up in Libya and how speaking English so well prompted him to take a job at a radio station. From there he got an engineering degree, event...

This week on Starting Out my guest is one of the hardest working up-and-coming comics. I’ve known him for almost as long as I’ve been doing standup as we started at the same time, though in different cities, it’s Max Sheldrick! If there’s a theme to this episode it’s hard work and not getting down. Max explains how growing up on a farm set the course for hard work and how he went through so many d...

Holy hell what a treat of a guest I have this week on Starting Out. It’s comedian, actor, and writer Paul Haywood. Paul is my first guest who’s had something thrown at him his first set, and told “you suck” the second, and it turns out he’s one of the best comics this country has produced. He has even opened for Mitch Hedberg which we obviously get into here. We talk about the history of Comedywoo...

Somehow I inadvertently booked two straight guests who are LA residents by way of Canada. This week on Starting Out it’s the incomparable comedian, writer, actor and artist, Ana-Marija Stojic. It was so great learning about all the big life changes that have happened for Ana during the pandemic. I wanted to have her on because I’ve always admired her as an original  comedian, but mostly to promote...

Oh what a guest this week on Starting Out. I didn’t know him very well, we did one show together at Absolute Comedy but I knew he was a great guy. It’s LA-based comedian by way of Edmonton, Mr. Henry Sir is on Starting Out this week. Not only is he an incredible comedian, regular at The Comedy Store and nationally touring headliner, the real reason I wanted to have Henry on was to talk about the p...

Holy hell I was so excited to catch up with truly one of the smartest, kindest comics I’ve met and have the privilege of calling a friend, Drew Grav is my guest this week on Starting Out. Drew is one of those smart people you can actually have an intellectual conversation about conspiracy theories, and that’s what we start with, before moving on to how he got into comedy and how he tries to channe...

This week on Starting Out I have another multi-talented, comedian, filmmaker, writer, and baking show host, it’s Kelly Zemnickis! I only knew Kelly casually from running into her at open mics here in Toronto, but I was fascinated to learn about her documentary No Responders Left Behind that was recently snubbed for an Emmy. Kelly was great about opening up about how a big life event threw her into...

It’s episode 75 of Starting Out with my guest the multi-talented comedian, actor, and now feature film writer and producer, it’s Foad HP! Born in Iran during the Iran-Iraq war, Foad tells me the harrowing story of his family’s escape, ultimate capture, brief imprisonment before they finally made it to Toronto. Foad also was great about opening up to me about personal and social struggles he went t...