As part of We Own The Laughs.com’s Comedian of the Day, have a few laughs and get to know comedian Andrew Searles. The Montreal, Canada native shares some of his favorite moments in stand-up comedy and lets us know how he always owns the laughs.
Name: Andrew Searles
Hometown: Montreal, Canada/Los Angeles, CA
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat/Tik-Tok: @andrew_searles
Years in Comedy: 19 years
Haven’t we seen you somewhere before: iChannel’s “No Kidding”, Comedy album “Papa Chocolat!” on SiriusXM Radio, Spotify, Pandora, etc, “Fatal Vows” on Discovery Channel, and Dillon Francis music video “GO OFF (Nuthin’ 2 It)”
Comedic Influences: Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock
Favorite Comedy Album: N/A
Favorite Comedy Special: Dave Chappelle “Killin’ Them Softly”
Favorite Comedy Movie: Rush Hour 2
Favorite Comedy TV Show: Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, & Red Dwarf
Favorite Comedic Character: Larry David and Leon (Curb Your Enthusiasm). Kramer, and George Steinbrenner (Seinfeld).
Favorite City to Perform In: Ottawa, Canada & Montreal, Canada.
Favorite Topics to Joke About: Ethnic and Sex material. Always seems to crack the ice and loosen up the crowd.
Favorite Type of Audience for a Comedy Show: Obviously ones that love to laugh
(cause not every audience wants to!), but also the good kinda rowdy audience. Rowdy enough to get involved with the show, but not too rowdy where they don’t disrupt it. An unlikely yet surprisingly good addition to the show.
Favorite Comedy Club: Absolute Comedy in Toronto and Ottawa, and the now closed ComedyWorks Montreal.
How did you discover your passion for comedy:
“I actually fell backwards into it. I grew up watching Just for Laughs on TV and thought telling jokes for 5 mins looked way too hard. It wasn’t until I was doing celebrity impressions in high school that my friend dared me to go on stage and try it. I started college in the fall, where they brought in comedians to entertain the students, so I asked when the next show was and if I could go on stage and open up the show. The jokes were very atypical of a newbie, celebrity impressions instantly won them over, and that was my introduction into the stand-up world.”
What do you remember most about your first time performing stand-up comedy:
“Winning over the crowd with my impressions and getting that rush of adrenaline. I was still a student at the college, so I went to class after the show and people looked at me saying ‘Oh you were the comedian today? That was pretty funny man!’ and taking the bus home ‘You were the comedian today? You’re pretty funny’ and then I went to the movies that night. There was one guy sitting in front of me who looked around the theatre, saw me and said ‘You were the comedian today right? You’re a pretty funny man’. I thought “I must have done something right!” That gave me the confidence to seriously consider stand-up and keep going.
How would you describe your comedic style:
When I started, I did half material, half celebrity impressions, but overtime, I dropped the impressions. Just felt it was too easy to get a laugh if I just busted out an impression of a celebrity. My style since has been alot of life stories, experiences, my views of the world, my place in the world, and what I think about it.
What’s it like being a Canadian living in America? What’s it like being single and all of your friends are getting married and having babies? What’s the funny situations and experiences I’ve been in while being black?
Basically, a lot of life funny stories.
Describe your process for comedic writing:
Definitely don’t write as much as I should. Because a lot of my comedy comes from life experiences, I write about stuff that happens to me, or that I witness. But if nothing crazy, interesting, or weird happens to me, then I have nothing to draw from. Some months I’m blazing through material, and other months is writers block and twiddling thumbs. I barely wrote during lockdown cause I was locked away in my apartment for months on end! Nothing happening, so nothing to draw from. Unfortunately.
Describe the comedy scene in your area:
I love the Montreal comedy scene. Open-mic or shows, you’re always performing for an audience. Actual people. So you know right away if you’re material works or not. What needs to be improved and what needs to be dropped.
Other cities I’ve performed in, I’ll reach out to the booker, sent them my stuff and say “I’m a comic, this is all the clubs, festivals, etc. that I’ve performed at in my years” and they go “You’re a professional. You’re booked on these dates”
In LA, let’s just say, it’s different. When I moved to LA, I would tell bookers “I’m a comic, this is all the clubs, festivals, etc. that I’ve performed at in my years” and bookers would look at me weird like “So what’s your social media followers? I don’t need talent, can you bring 10 people to a show? If I book you, what do I get out of this? Oh you’ve headlined and co-headlined clubs before? Hmmm. I don’t know if I can book you on this show that takes place in a backyard. You should come attend this show first and ‘get a vibe’. Worked at those festivals before? We pick acts for our show from our open-mic. Come to that so we can
see you!”
I once had to send my material to a booker, who then told me to call him so he could explain to me about the process and quality of his show, only to perform to 5 people in a bar, 3 were comics, and 2 were regular people who watched the first 2 acts and then left.
It’s…different. Weirdly and unnecessarily different at times.
How do you judge success in the world of comedy:
Success is very subjective. Everybody views it differently. Success for some people is Netflix while others is to perform in a specific club. For me, it’s to get back to living off Stand-up and acting again, like to what I was doing in Canada before moving to LA. But at the end of the day: Just make people laugh. Do your job. Make an audience laugh, and you’re already successful.
Who are some of your comedic peers that you enjoy watching perform or inspire you personally and professionally:
Sugar Sammy, a comic in Montreal who blew up within Canada and is performing across Europe and North America. He created his own opportunities. He broke the mold and instead of climbing up the entertainment ladder to reach success, he created his own ladder and climbed it himself.
What’s been your most memorable moment in comedy:
In 2011, I had just finished University, and a lot of comics I came up with were jumping from co-headlining to headlining, and I wanted to headline too. So I approached one comedy club to headline. I was assured that I would be given the opportunity but the owner needed to work out some things first. A few months go by and I didn’t hear anything. I reached out, no reply, only to learn the owner had sold the club to new owners, and thus lost my opportunity to headline. The other comedy club in town was primarily interested in American acts.
So, in pure spite, In 2013, I rented a theatre in Montreal, and staged my 5 shows at the exact same time as the other 2 competing clubs, in order to prove a point: I was ready to headline. The result? I outsold the competing clubs and sold-out all 5 of my shows. Two years later in 2015, the club the mainly featured American acts closed, reopened, and changed owners. I was told by a former employee “(The previous owner) biggest mistake was not headlining you”. So when I was approached to headline the club, I stated my demands (a big portion of the door knowing full well I can draw) and had my demands met. I sold-out another 5 shows.
In 2016 before I left for LA, I said “I’ll headline one more time, and I’ll take a bigger portion of the door” and my demands were met, and sold-out another 5 shows.
I learned I could turn No’s into Yes’s, understood my financial value, and to not allow obstacles to stand in your way towards success. I held that in high regard to myself ever since.
What have you learned most from your failures in comedy:
Failure is your best friend, if you know how to use it. Understanding why you bombed, will only make you bomb less, and be a better comic.
I tell new comics “If you’re ready to get on stage, and suffer a horrific bomb so badly that you wanna quit and bury your head in the sand, then you’re ready to start comedy. Cause it’s going to happen, and it will eventually happen, but it’s what you do with that failure that makes you ready to start comedy or not.”
How do people react towards you when they realize that you can make people laugh:
They laugh, ideally!
Of course, you’ll get the occasional “So you’re a comedian? Are you funny? Are you funny?” and I actually have a pretty funny bit about it on my Papa Chocolat! album, but in other instances, I just ignore them.
One time I was outside of a bar, maybe about 10 years ago, and this one guy came up to me and said “I once asked you to tell me a joke, and you said ‘no’ and walked away” And I said “Sounds like something I’d do” and walked away, again!
Still makes me giggle to this day.
Describe what it’s been like building a career in stand-up comedy:
I know the hierarchy for Stand-up in Canada and in America is two different structures, so I’ll use the Canadian one because
A) It’s what I know most
B) I feel the structure is better, and even American headliners agree. Start off with 5 min, then expand to 7min. Then 8min. Then 10min. Then 12, 15, 18-20. Then 25min.
Once you have your solid 25min, THEN start hosting.
In Canada, the host is the 2 nd most important act on the show (after the headliner), if not, the most important person on the show, because the host is what holds the show together. They bring balance to the show. If the audience is down, they bring them up again. If the audience is too hot, they cool them down again for the next act.
Seeing too many comics these days barely have an OK 10min and now they’re hosting shows? You can’t build the 2 nd Floor of your house if you don’t solidify your base first. Then work on your 30. Than 45 min and then an hour.
But since its 2022, you can throw all that away because bookers will let you do anything you want if you can bring 20-30 people to a show, or have over 100,000 followers online.
Ha! Yeah I said it.
If you could change one thing in the world of comedy, what would it be:
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! Stop saying “Killing it”, “Crushed” and “Destroyed”. Way too many comics are using those words, and have absolutely no idea what they mean. Comics these days think if you’re making an audience laugh, that you’re “killing”. No! Absolutely not! You’re not killing. You’re doing your F’ing job.
If you’re “Killing” it means, almost every joke you do, is an applause break. It takes seconds before you can start your next joke because the laughter is dragging on and you don’t want to step on your own laughs.
“Crushed/Destroyed” is every joke you do, has the applause break of a closer. Audiences are roaring with laughter. So much so that you can walk off stage at 25min when you’re supposed to do 45, and the audience wouldn’t have cared because they laughed so hard. You’re basically on the cusp of a standing ovation. That is Crushing or Destroying, to me.
If you went to McDonalds and asked for a Big Mac, and the employee gives it to you, they’re not
killing or crushed it. They did their job.
Now, if said employee is taking orders in the store, doing drive-thru, cooking and prepping the meals, all by himself, and getting everybody’s order within a timely manner, now THAT is Crushing!
Doing your job isn’t crushing. Doing your job in a means that’s absolutely above and beyond the call of duty, in a manner that’s mesmerizing and surreal to watch. Now that’s crushing, killing, and destroying.
Best advice you’ve ever received from a comedian:
Club Owner: “How much time do you have?”
Me: “10min”
Owner: “Now, how much of that is funny?”
Me: “Hmmm, 8min?”
Owner: “Then you have 8min”
Me: “Ahhhh!” *Mindblown*
I learned very early in my career that there’s a difference between being funny, and filler.
If you were releasing a comedy special this week, what would it be called:
I’m actually recording my second comedy album sometime this year, so that’s TBA shortly!
Funniest encounter you’ve ever had with a celebrity:
I’m a huge Star Trek fan. HUGE!
One day I’m at the ComedyWorks in Montreal and I get a notification on my phone saying “George Takei (Sulu) is following you”
I stop in my tracks and freak out. I remember getting a DM saying “OOOO MY! Thank you for following me, you lil Tweeter” or something to that effect. A very copy+paste automated message.
I just remember staring at my phone, and showing my phone to the bartender Sheri and she was ecstatic.
Years later, I’m at FanExpo in Toronto and I meet George at his table for an autograph signing. I pull out my phone, and I remember wanting to say “Hello George. I got this message from you in my Twitter inbox and it was the happiest day of my life” But what I ended up telling George through my nervousness “Umm..Hi.. Errr, George. Twitter. Phone. Um. Inbox. Like. Like. Thing. Message” and then nervously giggling. He just smiled, signed the autograph and said “Hehe of course! OOOH MY!”
Weirdest place you’ve ever performed any form of comedy:
I once performed in a cornfield outside of a barn for a fundraiser. It was a disaster and maybe 2 years into comedy. My first no-win scenario.
An Andrew Searles Fun Fact:
Being a stand-up comedian, who exudes a lot of high energy on stage, and yet I don’t do any drugs, I don’t drink coffee, and only drink (alcohol) on occasion. Something most people are shocked to find out. “You don’t do anything? Nothing at all?? Where do you get all this energy from??”
They can’t figure it out.
Where would you like your laughs to take you:
Touring globally and making people laugh in different cultures and countries in different parts of the world. Definitely a Netflix special. Have that balance of working in TV/Films while still performing stand-up. That’s the ultimate goal. Anything that would make me look at my previous gatekeepers and go “See, I got this
far and I didn’t have to go through you. Surprised?”
What would you tell a potential comedian if they ask you how they can own the laughs:
Take it all in and appreciate it. Understand why you got the laughs (writing, structure, delivery, etc), but also enjoy the moment.
Keep writing. Keep hustling. And don’t expect success to show up within 2 years of starting comedy.
This industry is a lot harder than you realize, and not what you’d sometimes expect. Just like everything else in the world, politics.
What are your thoughts on the future of comedy:
The one thing I fear most in stand-up comedy is: Bringers & Social Media Influencers.
Lately, those who can bring a large group of their friends & family to shows, and those with big social media followers, are flying by genuinely talented comedians. You can be a hardworking comic who invested years into crafting your talent, but you will gladly and probably will be overlooked and disregarded by the booker in favor of a comic who started 2 weeks ago and can bring 15 people to a show, or has 200,000 followers online.
I understand the business side of it (asses in seats = money), and I get it, I have a business degree, but it bothers me knowing the possibility that talented comedians will be the opening acts for very mediocre headliners with 100,000 followers on their social media.
Having a big social media following should be an addition to your career, not a substitute for talent.
If you could write one episode for one classic TV sitcom which show would it be and give a brief detailed sentence on the episode:
Seinfeld.
“Jerry doesn’t understand why his date, a social media influencer, has to take pictures of her food before every meal. George is obsessed as to why the girl he’s dating won’t follow him back on Instagram. Kramer’s antics gets him recognized and famous after a TikTok video of him goes viral. Elaine is wondering if she’s dating a Fuckboy.”
If you could choose 1 comedy club and 3 comedians to perform with on your perfect comedy show, how would it go:
Absolute Comedy Ottawa. Sebastian Maniscalco, & Dave Chappelle.
What’s next for you:
Recording my second comedy album, and still try and push into the LA comedy circuit. Still auditioning and hopefully book something that elevates my career to a new level.
Why should a person always laugh at life:
Life is absurd, cruel, difficult, unfair and stressful at times. So why add more negativity in your circles? Surround yourself with good, positive people. Those who make you laugh, appreciate you, and make the bad times bearable.
See the humor in things. Laugh at the absurdity, and just go with the flow. Shit happens, but laugh and smile through it. Nothing ever got better by keeping a grumpy face and outlook.
Follow Andrew Searles’ comedic journey on these social media websites:
Instagram/Twitter/FacebookTik-Tok: @andrew_searles @andrewsearles @andrewsearlescomedian Andrew Searles (Facebook)
Youtube: Andrew Searles
Personal Website: www.AndrewSearles.com
