In the Before Times of Yore, podcaster/producer/comic Spencer Blair chats about his mostly-improvised hosting set at Strip Joker.

We discuss his improv background, how he got into hosting/producing shows all over Chicago, the internal dynamics of Strip Joker, and being terrifyingly confident onstage, all before we dive into the set.

Spencer can be found on the podcasts 'Desks & Dayjobs' as well as 'Please Make This', and is currently a co-producer of Strip Joker.

Timestamps:

01:00 – Hosting Set @ Strip Joker

• Mentions of Martin Felshman, Rachel Relman, 'A Dog's Journey', Lexipro

10:36 – "When did you realize comedy was a thing you could do?"

• Mentions of Comedy Sportz, Imposter Syndrome

12:33 – "Maybe you should stop trying so hard"

• Mentions of Scott Duff, Le Aboav

14:03 – The Funny Friend

15:05 – "I went to a small, Christian university"

• Mentions of Orange County, Improv Groups; Improvcivable, Improv Shmimprov, Disney Cruises, The Walt Disney Corporation

17:30 – "Doing the Chicago thing"

• Mentions of iO, Second City

18:41 – "I've never consistently mic'ed"

• Mentions of Hobart Thompson, The Chill As Fuck Show, Droday, Dewayne Perkins, Michelle Wolfe, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

21:25 – Stand-Up vs. Improv

• Mentions of The Improvised Shakespeare Company, Second City

23:10 –The Chill As Fuck Show and Strip Joker

• Mentions of Brittany Meyer, Le Aboav, Strip Joker Deluxe, Scott Duff, Uptown Underground, That Dude Jeff, Sunny Grissom

27:57 – "The trick is being terrifyingly confident onstage"

29:09 – "The Scientific Method, but applied to humor"

• Mentions of Samantha Berkman, Kink-Shaming

30:54 – Getting into the Set

30:55 – Ad Libs

31:22 – "Are you as horny as I am?"

• Mentions of Body Positivity, Sex Positivity

32:10 – "I don't write comedy down"

• Mentions of Tad Walters, Kirkwood

34:00 – "Everybody's gay dad"

34:58 – Seasonal Depression

• Mentions of Lexapro, SSRI, Edging

38:29 – "A hot guy and his boyfriend"

40:37 – Coming Down from Lexapro

• Mention of Grindr, Christmas

43:18 – Gay Dating Apps

44:00 – Crying at a Movie Poster

• Mention of Johnny Rockets, 'Homeward Bound'

48:30 – Losing the Audience

50:10 – The Oppressor in the Safe Space

52:16 – "Two white guys unpacking it on a podcast"

• Mention of Casey Larwood

521:54 – Self Awareness

53:23 – Spencer Shaved His Legs

54:27 – Wrapping It Up

57:25 – "I'm definitely more comfortable with queer comedy"

59:40 – Advice for Aspiring Comedians

1:00:25 – "The reason we do open mics is to see, meet, and network with people"

1:02:49 – Asshole with Great Jokes Cool Person with Mediocre Jokes

• Mention of Marilee, Tina Fey, 30 Rock, Richard Pryor, 'The Marvelous Ms. Maisel'

1:05:25 – Where Can We Find You?

• Podcast: 'Please Make This'

• Podcast: 'Desks And Dayjobs'

• Monthly Live Show: Strip Joker

• Grindr, Scruff, Growler: S.B.

• Hashtag: #thatloudbottom

• Twitter: @SpencerDBlair

• Instagram: @spencerdblair

1:08:14 – Final Words and Pandering