On The Spot Talk: Josh Denny 'Provoked'

So I was privileged on Monday morning, November 9, 2015, to speak with the very funny and talented Mr. Josh Denny, Comedian/Producer, via phone conversation. Josh was kind enough to agree to an audio interview with me for Center Stage Magazine, to catch us, the fans, up on what has been happening with him. From hosting and producing an ongoing comedy show, "The Darkest Hour", in Santa Monica, to his new upcoming, soon to begin filming, stand up special "Provoked", which has a different kind of twist. Josh Denny is a busy man (FYI his first album was in 2008 and his second in 2012).

I start our conversation with, "Good morning Josh, how are you today?" And as you can hear in the audio he says, "I'm good. I'm sitting in lovely Los Angeles traffic, so that's always fun." If you know LA traffic, you get the sarcasm. After a bit of chat, we go into speaking about what brought him to life on the stage. Josh tells how he has always been active on stage since early on, as he was a musician all throughout high school, so performing on stage was not unfamiliar to him. And if you listen to our audio, you can hear him tell of his jump to performing as a Comedian. Always liking comedy since he was really young, he says, "I was funny with my friends and amongst groups of people, with actually performing it, and um, I just kind of had that light bulb moment back in 2006 and like went and hit my first open MIC, and I was hooked, you know from that point forward,"  He goes into more details on the audio, and makes me giggle as he describes the experience. "It's like heroine, you're addicted immediately the moment you try it, even if you're - - - - - y at it." You can hear Josh chuckle at that too. But just listening to him speak about what brought him to this lifestyle and all that comes with it, you can not help but admire his passion for pursuing a hard career for entertaining others for a living. We, the fans, are happy that he did. I am one who loves and supports our local and not so local comedians, which they need, for they provide a service needed nowadays more so than ever. We need laughter to help reset our minds. We need this type of funny break in-between the down and out times. If there were not people like Josh Denny, who bring this very thing to us, then the world would be a much sadder place for sure.

We dip into his earlier years of comedy as I bring up seeing his YouTube videos and mention his spot on impression of Tracy Morgan (a renown comedic actor, whose work goes from SNL to Third Rock and everything in-between) and his Sean Connery impression one as well. Josh says it's funny that I brought that up since it is something from his early days and he talks how he hopes people see his transition in his comedy. You need to click on the audio portion of this interview to hear all he had to say on that. He tells a great story of his comedy transitioning and what he tries to bring to people via stage performance.

I know Josh has two comedy albums out and that he also hosts an ongoing comedy show called, "The Darkest Hour", in Santa Monica. But, what I did not know was that not only does Josh Denny host that show, he and fellow comedian Adam Tod Brown also produce it as well. He talks about it being a format for comedians to be able to go on late at night and try out their darkest material. Hence the title, "The Darkest Hour". He tells us how some comics that go on are known for doing the darker side of things. But he says it's fun when a clean (act) comic goes dark, for it is not something they would normally do. So I find it awesome that they provide this type of format for others as well as themselves. I asked him to tell fans where and when and what time they can catch him and this darker side show. On the audio you can hear him say, "So the show is called "The Darkest Hour". It's once a month, every second Friday of every month in Santa Monica at the West Side Comedy Theater, and it's a late show. It starts at 11:30 but it runs for just about an hour."  If you listen to the interview provided you will hear all the info and details he gives and the stories he goes into. It's very interesting to hear. He invites, if you're a fan of comedy and would want to see something a little bit different then come on out. You can get tickets at westsidecomedy.com.

Now, let us talk about "Provoked",  Josh Denny's new stand-up special. He talks about having enough material for a new show (as well as influences, he touches on like Bill Burr, Louis C.K., and Chris Rock) and this is also where fans can see that transition in his comedy we touched on earlier. However, with "Provoked", great catchy title BTW, leaving you to wonder what it is he is provoking, Josh Denny adds a twist to his show by showing the audience, the fans, an inside look into the process and into his past in the Industry of Comedy. What a great way to captivate the audience. He states, "We were originally going to film in December, here in Southern California, but the Director (name not given) actually booked a gig, working on a pretty big show out in New York, so he'll be tied up until, I want to say February, but our goal is to film probably the second or third week of February."

And as an AWESOME BONUS! Josh Denny gives all us fans, previous followers and new, possibly Center Stage Magazine reader fans alike, a great opportunity to be a part of the, "Provoked" production. They will be filming in a small venue in Los Angeles and Josh invites fans to come down and participate in the filming. He says they will have information leading up to the filming for fans to follow on his website, which you can find at joshdennycomedy.com. And, as a last added thing before we ended our wonderful conversation, he encourages everyone to make sure to go out and support your comedians. I agree because our world needs laughter, especially in these hard times. After all of the comedy shows I have seen,  I can proudly say that is something I most definitely do.

This was such a wonderful interview. It was truly a pleasure speaking with you Mr. Josh Denny. We look forward to speaking with you again, will keep an eye out for any information on your new film, and will most definitely look forward to seeing and being, "Provoked."  Ha, ha. Wink.

This is Dilly Brigs for Center Stage Magazine, saying thank you for both reading and listening to this pretty cool interview with Comedian and Producer, Josh Denny. Now go check out his website and go see "The Darkest Hour". Get some laughter in. It's good for the soul. In my opinion, anyways.