Every time I’ve ever driven to a road-gig with Troy Walker I don’t think we’ve stopped talking until we were literally walking into the venue. That’s one of the things I like best about Troy: his mind is always going. Whether he’s surprising you with his wealth of musical knowledge, getting fired up about the law, patiently explaining to me some political issue I barely understand, or, my favorite, talking comedy, the wheels just keep on turning. That’s probably why he’s gotten so far so fast. There’s an intensity to Troy Walker in the way he approaches things that honestly, I’ve only ever seen in athletes. It’s methodical, it’s driven, and it’s relentless. But Troy isn’t a maniac or anything, some aggro alpha-male who won’t stop until he reaches the top, everybody in his way be damned! He’s a goddamn delight. A goddamn delight I say! A goddamn delight who’s just going to excuse himself from the green-room conversation, step on stage and straight crush, then resume right where he left off. Like some sort of cold, unflinching comedy murderer.
Because murder is all that he does. For years now. I remember watching Troy dip his toes into the open mic at The Squire, that ruthless, Colfax-comedy staple where I honed my skills for a few years, and I remember he did okay, which is about as good as one can hope there for a newbie. But then the next thing I remember he was dominating the room. I’m sure the transformation took a lot longer than I remember, and as Troy explains, it seemed like an uphill battle to him, but really he was one of those guys who came on the scene, was always good, and now has gotten great and just keeps moving on up.
To the East side!
Sorry, Jefferson’s, Troy-being-black, you get it, you get it.
IT WAS A FINE JOKE A LITTLE SLOPPY AND POP-REFERENTIAL SO FUCKING SUE ME.
If you don’t know Troy Walker, you will soon. And I hope you enjoy this episode with him.
Troy wanted you to watch this video, specifically the solo. It’s Prince, playing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” with a whole bunch of famous people. And it fucking rocks.
Check out the episode on iTunes here.