When I started doing this podcast Josh Blue was one of the first people I wanted to interview. Not only is he a true Renaissance man – comic, artist, athlete, bushwhacker, father – he’s also one of the nicer and more sincere comics I’ve come across. When I started out doing comedy back in Denver in 2004, it was easy to be intimidated by Josh – he was the breakout star of the scene and on his way to winning Last Comic Standing, exploding onto the national comedy scene, where he still remains an impressive draw everywhere he goes. But Josh always had a way of putting you at ease, of talking with you about your comedy and going out of his way to compliment you for a job well done when he felt you deserved it. As a young comic, I appreciated it. Because I was in awe of his talent. So much so that I told the newspaper I was writing for at the time that they needed to put him on the cover. Which they did.
If you read that article, my admiration for Josh is front row center. And so it remains today. Josh has never let his disability stand in the way of everything that he wanted and as he has achieved all that and more, he’s encountered and embraced new hurdles with grace and resolve. There were many in the all too precious alt-comedy crowd who lashed out at Josh, who minimized him as a gimmick or a reality TV star, and Josh just kept his head down and kept being a good comic, playing to his growing army of adoring fans, honing his craft. And it worked. To watch Josh do an hour these days is nothing short of inspiring. He’s grown into a master storyteller and broadened his viewpoint to include the broader life he has created for himself. I’ve told Josh this a hundred times but the last time I watched him headline, a set where he talked mostly about his Japanese wife and their two young children, the only comparison that came to mind was Bill Cosby’s “Fatherhood.” There’s really not much higher praise I can give.
So enjoy this episode with Josh Blue. We had to record it twice because the first one got deleted somehow by an angry computer. Josh was gracious enough to record it again. He’s that nice a guy.
Also, up top, please enjoy an introduction that Ben Roy and I did at a recent live Grawlix show in Denver. I’m fond of it and think you’ll dig it as well. Thanks to the indefatigable Andy Juett who provides the live introduction to that Grawlix that you hear at the beginning of this episode.
Also, just because, here’s a pretty hilarious video that Josh recently did with Colorado’s beloved Hippieman. Please to enjoy.
To listen to the episode on iTunes click here.