As part of We Own The Laughs.com’s Comedian of the Day, have a few laughs and get to know comedian Tre Pack. The Knoxville, TN native shares some of his favorite moments in stand-up comedy and lets us know how he always owns the laughs.
Name: Tre Pack
Hometown: Knoxville, TN/Austin, TX
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat/Tik-Tok: @trepackcomedy @trepack
Years in Comedy: 5
Comedic Influences: Ralphie May, Theo Von, Shane Gillis, & Patrice O’Neal
Favorite Comedy Album: Patrice O’Neal “Elephant in the Room”
Favorite Comedy Movie: Tommy Boy
Favorite Comedy TV Show: The Andy Griffith Show
Favorite City to Perform In: Austin, TX
Favorite Topics to Joke About: Myself
Favorite Type of Audience for a Comedy Show: Any audience that’s engaged and is there to appreciate the art form.
Favorite Comedy Club: Vulcan Gas Company
How did you discover your passion for comedy:
I discovered my passion for comedy in a couple of different ways. I used to be a youth minister at a very successful church. I was 17-18 years old and had a team of people working with me. On nights that I would preach we would have to do sound check and I would have to talk into the mic. I wouldn’t want to spoil what I was going to preach on so one night I just started running Ron White’s jokes during sound check and after a couple of weeks when I would start to do this I noticed that the entire team would stop what they were doing and sit down and watch and I knew then that that felt way better then preaching. When I stopped preaching I was a theater major in college. As I was approaching the end of school my girlfriend at the time and I approached our theater director and asked him for help in our next steps to get our career started. He lined up a bunch of auditions for me with different productions and he suggested that my girlfriend should go try to find an open mic comedy night to give it a shot. We were both so upset, she wanted the auditions, and I wanted to be thought of as funny. So we broke up, I went and found the open mic myself, and I haven’t done a play or looked back since.
What do you remember most about your first time performing stand-up comedy:
My first time performing wasn’t anything special. I brought all of my friends (which I don’t recommend looking back) The night before I did throw away everything I had planned on doing and completely rewrote it in what I thought was “joke form” and I’ve been doing that with every thought I’ve had since.
How would you describe your comedic style:
I don’t know if I have a word for my comedic style. I think I’m still trying to discover that. I tell a lot of stories and I do some set up/punch type stuff. I just try to be as honest and true to myself and the audience while I’m on stage.
Describe your process for comedic writing:
My process changes all the time. The most consistent thing it consists of is me having several ideas all at once that I will write down and then trying to mix the old stuff with the new stuff when I’m doing open mics. I very rarely write anything down verbatim but by the time I’m telling a joke on stage I’ve scripted out in my head over and over.
Describe the comedy scene in your area:
I honestly believe that the comedy scene in Austin has potential to be the best in the country. There are already a handful of amazing clubs and with Joe Rogan’s club opening soon this place is going to continue to explode with talented comedians.
How do you judge success in the world of comedy:
Success in the world of comedy for me currently is getting off stage and KNOWING you did more than your job. Your job was to make people laugh consistently throughout your slotted time. Going above and beyond that and crushing is the most important thing to me right now.
Who are some of your comedic peers that you enjoy watching perform or inspire you personally and professionally:
Here in Austin, there are some of the funniest people I’ve ever seen anywhere and I’m very fortunate to have several I get to call my very good friends. Mike Eaton, Darian Irwin, and Lukas McCrary are all incredible people and comics and I’m blessed to get to learn from them everyday.
What’s been your most memorable moment in comedy:
My most memorable moments in comedy have been being on the Kill Tony podcast the handful of times I have. I’ve got to perform in front of some of my favorite comedians ever and it’s helped my career out tremendously.
What have you learned most from your failures in comedy:
I’ve learned that everyone fails at everything sometimes. Even when you have the best intentions for a show you can still bomb. The best thing I’ve learned from my failures at comedy is that bombing sucks. It’s the worst thing in the world. So let’s try our absolute hardest everyday to not do that.
How do people react towards you when they realize that you can make people laugh:
I get the classic “tell me a joke” from strangers all the time. Honestly though the non comic people close to me are always worried that I’m going to write a joke about them.
Describe what it’s been like building a career in stand-up comedy:
I honestly am still trying to figure out how to build a career in comedy. The best thing I could tell anyone is take every opportunity you can. When you know you’re ready don’t be afraid to put your hat in the ring for shows as much as you can.
If you could change one thing in the world of comedy, what would it be:
There has never been a clear cut path to success in comedy but it is more arbitrary now than ever. I think comedy is changing in a great way and is headed in a direction that is needed for the art form to grow. I just wish someone could tell me what to do next.
Best advice you’ve ever received from a comedian:
The best advice I’ve ever gotten is “be good at what you do and don’t be an asshole.” That works for every aspect of life.
If you were releasing a comedy special this week, what would it be called:
If I had an album right now it would be called bigger “Than Your Average Bear.”
Funniest encounter you’ve ever had with a celebrity:
I don’t really have a ton of encounters with celebrities but I did get to be on the Kill Tony the night that Shane Gillis went beer for beer with Ari Shafir on Joe Rogan’s Podcast. Ari passed out and didn’t make the show and Shane and Mark Normand were HAMMERED. It was the funnest thing to be a part of.
Weirdest place you’ve ever performed any form of comedy:
I’ve told jokes in sermons in some of the sketchiest churches East Tennessee has to offer.
A Tre Pack Fun Fact:
I’ve talked about it a lot but I went from football, to preaching, to theater, to comedy. Doesn’t seem like a natural progression but it’s worked for me.
Where would you like your laughs to take you:
I want what everyone else wants I think. I want to be able to support myself with comedy alone. But more importantly then that I just want to kill, consistently, and if I can do that everything else will follow.
What would you tell a potential comedian if they ask you how they can own the laughs:
I would tell anyone trying to get in to comedy that the first step is showing up. Show up every time. Every day. When you don’t want to. Especially when you don’t want to. This isn’t something you can put on the back burner and be good at. Put it at the front of your mind all the time, show up and get on stage every chance you get and good things will follow.
What are your thoughts on the future of comedy:
The future of comedy is very bright. I think the “woke” culture we’ve had at the forefront the last several years is finally going to start swinging back the other direction. With people like Andrew Schultz and Shane Gillis putting there specials online and then being huge successes is taking the need for a network out of the equation. Which means there are so many more doors open for avenues of a success.
If you could choose 1 comedy club and 3 comedians to perform with on your perfect comedy show, how would it go:
My favorite club right now has to be Vulcan Gas Company in Austin. A show with Theo Von, Shane Gillis, and Tom Segura would be absolutely incredible.
What’s next for you:
What’s next for me is just continuing to show up and get better everyday and trying to enjoy this ride of comedy for the rest of my life.
Why should a person always laugh at life:
People should laugh at life because life is just funny. In the good times life is funny and in the bad times life is even funnier, just give it time.
Follow Tre Pack’s comedic journey on these social media websites:
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat/Tik-Tok: @trepackcomedy @trepack
