What inspired your move to Whanganui?
I get asked that quite a bit, actually. It's usually 'Why Whanganui?'. I'd say the main reason was for a change of lifestyle. We have some friends that live down here, and we've got a young family. It feels good to be able to go to places in five minutes.
You're renowned as a master of "clean comedy". Was it a conscious decision to follow that path?
Clean comedy is a term that refers to comedy that's assessable to everyone in the family. There's no swearing, no extremely really dark bits, and no explicit sexual stuff. That's just the type of comedian and person I am. As a comedian, you basically perform as yourself - that's the way you're most funny. If I went out and tried to be an edgy, "smeary" guy, I just wouldn't get away with it.
What's your favourite thing to do in Whanganui?
It's my favourite thing to do anywhere, really - hang out with my friends and family, have a laugh, and share a life. Whanganui is cool, but I was saying to my wife, as long as we have those family and friends, we could live anywhere. In saying that, I love being able to whip around town here. In Auckland, everything was just too hard to do.
Which event from history would you most liked to have attended?
This is a personal thing to me, but I would have liked to be there when Jesus was rocking around with people. I think you would have seen some pretty amazing stuff. He fed 5000 people, so you'd get to listen to him talk and get a free feed afterwards. What could be better than that?
Who is your favourite comedian? And why?
Early on, I watched a lot of Jerry Seinfeld and a guy called Brian Regan. A combination of those two probably sums up my act. Seinfeld is very observational, and Regan has got quite an interesting, energetic persona. I try and describe myself as energetic, observational stand-up.
What advice would you give your 15-year-old self?
Do your big overseas trip before 2020, that would be the first piece of advice. Go everywhere you want before 2020.
Do you think there are enough funny-people in Whanganui to create a vibrant scene?
I have to say yes, don't I? I think comedy in Whanganui has a bright future, and we have the ability to bring in other acts from Auckland, Wellington, Palmerston North, anywhere. You need both I think - seasoned comedians to come in and do their thing and locals who can do it as well.
What were your immediate thoughts of Whanganui when you first moved here?
The one thing I remember from the first time I came here to do comedy was the Ray White building on Victoria Ave. That was obviously an old Pizza Hut. That still makes me laugh. To my children, it's probably just a strange-shaped building.
As a family, we came here in June, right after lockdown. We were making the decision of whether we were going to move here, and we stayed at an Airbnb in Castlecliff for a couple of days. Within an hour, my wife had broken her foot going down the slide at the playground there.
I guess we just thought, 'Oh well, it can't get worse than this', so we moved here.
You're making your return to comedy after years out of the game. Does having four kids help with the new material?
When you're a writer you kind of write about what you know, and as a comedian you write jokes about what you know. That's what my life is consumed by at the moment - a full life with four kids. There's the funny things they do, the funny things that happen, and sometimes you've just got to make a joke to break the tension. I already have jokes about my kids, although there's not one about one of my middle daughters. I feel that she might get a complex later in life if I don't come up with something.
What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of giving stand-up a go?
We don't currently have an open-mic night in Whanganui, but that would be a great place to start. It would be good to get one going here. Unfortunately, the only way you can get better is by doing it on stage in front of a live audience, which can be a painful process. The other advice I'd give is to watch as much comedy as you can, particularly live comedy. Watch the same comics over and over again, because the more you see the same person perform, the more you see what they're actually doing. It's an act and it's a skill.
