Check out Renee's interview with comedian John Crist, as he gears up for his shows at The Hartford Funny Bone this weekend!
He chats about visiting CT for the first time, an upcoming Netflix special, and how comedy can be therapeutic for so many!
Click here for tickets to see John Crist this weekend!
Listen to the full interview here:
About John Crist
With over 1 billion video views, comedian and viral sensation John Crist is the next big thing in standup comedy. Whether you know him from viral videos like “Millennial International,” “Road Rage in the Church Parking Lot,” or “Every Parent at Disney,” Crist has solidified his comedic prowess with sold out shows from coast to coast. His most recent tour—The Human Being Tour—completely sold out in the Fall of 2018. Crist performed in front of 100,000 people across 55 cities throughout the tour.
Nine years in, Crist has shared the stage with some of the best in the business, including Dave Chappelle, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Meyers, Larry the Cable Guy, Trevor Noah, Dana Carvey, Adam Carolla, Chris D’Elia, Anjelah Johnson, Tim Hawkins, and Louie Anderson. Anderson, named one of Comedy Central’s Top 100 Comedians of All Time, says of Crist, “It’s only a matter of time until John Crist is a household name. He is so likable and his stand-up is top notch.” Tim Hawkins, who Crist has performed with over 100 times says, “This guy ain’t no opener. John Crist is the real deal.”
“My favorite part of touring is meeting people from different areas of the country and hearing how my comedy has impacted them or their favorite part of my act,” says Crist.
Named as one of the “Top Five Comics to Watch,” Crist is no stranger to accolades. He was a finalist in Comedy Central’s“Up Next Comedy Competition,” a finalist in the Comedy Works “New Faces Contest,” and named to the Burbank Comedy Festival’s “Best of the Fest.”
Crist has created and starred in several videos for BuzzFeed and has made several appearances on the Bob and Tom Show. He has been featured on ESPN, Sports Illustrated, US Weekly, USA Today, Buzzfeed, Laughs on Fox, The Today Show, Huffington Post, The Bleacher Report, 9Gag, HLN, Men’s Humor, Relevant Magazine, The Adam Carolla Show, WGN, Cloyd Rivers, Old Row, Cracked, The Catalyst Conference, The Nerdist Network, TBN, and The Daily Wire. He was even once a voice actor on the popular children’s radio show Adventures in Odyssey.
Crist’s tour schedule keeps him busy, typically performing in churches, comedy clubs and theaters. “It wasn’t always like that,” Crist says. “One time when I was first starting out, I did an open mic at a Chili’s. It was traumatizing.” To date, one of the most unique shows Crist has ever performed was a comedy tour for the troops in Middle East. “It was surreal. It was just me and a tent full of soldiers at this military base on the border of Kuwait and Iraq. No mic, no stage, no nothing. I was standing on a wooden crate. It was probably 120 degrees in there. It was comedy in its purest form.”
When asked where he finds the inspiration to write jokes, Crist says, “Shoot, I grew up in the deep south, my dad is a pastor, and I was the third of eight homeschooled children. My first job was at Chick-fil-A. Coming from a background like that, how do you NOT write jokes?!”
Whether its Church Hunters, Celebrity Pastor Fantasy Draft or his most recent work, Virtual Reality Church, Crist’s humor sometimes focuses on the nuance of the local church. Of the church, Crist says, “Man, I love the local church. Growing up serving at my dad’s church, I know the effect that a healthy, vibrant local church can have on the community. If I ever come across as critical, it's because I love the church and I wish for so much more from it. I think the local church is our only hope for change in America, that said... we do some weird stuff :)”