Clown, Interrupted with KiKi Maroon

Welcome to the final episode of Clown, Interrupted with KiKi Maroon. I’ll explain in the closer why it’s the final episode, but first, let’s talk about today’s show. When I first started the podcast, I decided that a personal rule of mine would be not to have newly sober people as guests. Firstly, because the point of the show was to get advice from people who were more experienced than me on how to handle this new way of being. Secondly, it seemed dangerous. I remember how difficult my first year was; everything was so raw and confusing. I didn’t want to risk shaking up anyone’s fragile, or non existent, foundation for the sake of entertainment.

They say that the best standup is real. Yes, you need joke structure. Of course you need punchlines. But it can all feel empty if you don’t hear a real person on stage. They also say it can take years for a comic to “find their voice”. Though I conceptually understood that, I didn’t really get it. Anytime I was on stage, I used an over the top performance voice. Which makes sense. I hosted burlesque shows for years before doing standup. And BURLESQUE IS BIG! IT’S SHOWMANSHIP! But in a comedy club setting, that’s too big, too loud, and very weird.

I went to San Fransisco to meet up with my mentor and sober buddy, Kurtis Matthews (who will be the guest in the the next episode). I asked Kurtis if he had any suggestions for other sober comics I should reach out to while in the Bay Area. He connected me with his friend and today’s guest- Michael Meehan. Michael is a standup comic, sketch artist, and film-maker based in San Fransisco. He’s been on The Late Late Show, The Dennis Miller Show, Last Comic Standing, and many other shows and movies.

If you’ve ever been to (or seen photos from) Burning Man, you are familiar with Art Cars. They’re those crazy mutant vehicles you see driving around, like mobile sculptures. There are so many kinds of Art Cars! Some people paint them, some people do mosaic tiling, some people sculpt around the cars, and one person welded two flame throwers and a stripper pole on the roof of their car! That person is Paul McRae.

Welcome back! This episode’s guest is Dan Danzy. Dan is a standup based in Dallas, TX. I booked him to perform in my variety show, even though I knew nothing about him. He was recommend by another comic I knew, so I asked him to come do standup at my Burly Q Lounge show. While we were back stage waiting for Dan to go on, Confetti Eddie ( a magician who also lives in Dallas) says “hey Dan, congrats on that article!”

I always describe this podcast as me talking to artists and performers “who live and work in party scenes”. This week, I talk to someone with a very different experience. Jef Rouner is an author and a journalist. We’ve known of each other for several years, but I did not know he was sober until he contacted me to write an article about this podcast for the Houston Chronicle. I might be biased, but I think it was the best headline ever written: “Stripping clown explores sobriety, one podcast at a time”.

Welcome to Season 2 of Clown, Interrupted with KiKi Maroon! It’s been a while. Thank you so much for your emails, messages, worries, and concerns. I want to start off by catching you up on why it’s taken so long to get these episodes out to you.

If you missed Season 1, here’s the recap: I was an alcoholic stripping clown, lost everything, found sobriety, but still didn’t understand simple concepts like feelings or friendship. So, I started this podcast to as other artist, comedians, musicians, and other party people who don’t drink, “Hey, what’s your deal? How do you do this?” And they helped me. A lot.

I went to this show called The Addicts Comedy Tour, which is put on by a comedian named Kurtis Matthews. He tours all over, doing standup about being an addict. You don’t have to be sober to go, it’s hilarious no matter what (it’s in a comedy club, so plenty of people were drinking). I went to the show because Andy Huggins (from episode 1) was opening and yet again, Andy simply existing changed my outlook on life.

July has been my rock for years. She began as my intern and has since become my best friend, assistant, and un-official therapist. I wanted them on this episode for two reasons. First off, because they nursed through this last month’s pain, so I can’t do a catchup if you don’t know who they are. And second, I always talk to the unravelers. This time I wanted to ask someone (or two), “how do deal with someone you love unraveling in front of you?”