Jeff Nicholson

Reading is about more than following a narrative or absorbing information; it can also be a profound shared experience that culminates in a better understanding of ourselves and each other. In that spirit, welcome to the Westword Book Club, which celebrates the books that inspire Denver artists.

Deacon Gray, an Oklahoman transplant who honed his comedic expertise through years of working thankless road-dog gigs, is the new-talent coordinator in Denver's most celebrated comedy club. As such, he slaloms between developing his own act and mentoring insecure young comics who seek to benefit from his 25 years in the game.

See also:
- Westword Book Club: Comedian Adrian Mesa on searching for spirituality in literature
- Deacon Gray thinks Denver could use a more monthly alternative comedy shows
- A guide to DIY comedy tours with the Fine Gentleman's Club

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Nina Ross

Comedian ShaNae Ross performs at her favorite venue, the Denver Improv.

ShaNae Ross doesn't tell dirty jokes. She doesn't get political, unless you count poking fun at racial differences as she does in a bit where she asks the audience to guess an imaginary person's race based on their name. She also doesn't approach religion, despite having a religious background. Ross was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, went to high school in Aurora, and entered the comedy world by participating in the 2006 Comedy Works New Face Talent Competition. Since then, she found ways to address risky subjects in her own way and made the Denver Improv in Stapleton her home-away-from-home.

Tonight she will perform in the Improv's Ladies Night Out showcase; next week, she will host three nights with Bruce Bruce, actor and former host of BET's ComicView. We recently sat down with Ross to discuss her future plans, her favorite comedy venues and getting recognized in the grocery store as the "Butt Girl."

See also:
- Denver comics come clean on "clean comedy"
- Tracy Morgan on drugs, Richard Pryor and the stigma of TV comedy
- Denver's five best comedy venues

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Tracy Morgan performs at the Paramount Saturday.

While he may be world-famous and seven years sober, the streets of Bed-Stuy Brooklyn still ring in the voice of Tracy Morgan. Coming from a childhood of poverty and crack-dealing, Morgan built a respectable career in standup, performing on HBO's Def Comedy Jam before reaching TV mega-stardom on Saturday Night Live, and 30 Rock. While he's still juggling projects for FX and also hosting The Billboard Music Awards, at the moment Tracy Morgan has returned to his standup roots, and his Excuse My French tour lands in Denver this Saturday, June 15, at the Paramount Theatre. In anticipation of that show, we caught up with Morgan to chat about the outrage following his Melbourne Comedy Festival gig, being sober and why he's not Richard Pryor.

See also:
- Demetri Martin on Woody Guthrie, prop-comedy and not being a hipster
- Obama talks getting stoned and Conan rips GOP at D.C. Correspondents' Dinner
- Rape jokes: Comedian debates feminist on FX's Totally Biased

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While he's definitely a throwback to another era of standup comedy, Dave Attell's debased style of humor still resonated with the crowd at Comedy Works South Saturday night. Deadpanning about vegan strip clubs, Chinese youth assembling sex toys, and what illegal Mexicans can bring to the game of baseball, Attell delivered a solid hour of shameless jokes and antagonistic crowd work, proving that even in the absence of a hit show, this New York original can still press buttons we didn't even know we had.

See also:
- Greg Baumhauer recalls busting out of the hospital for New Faces comedy competition
- Comedian Dave Attell on Insomniac, Marc Maron and vintage porn nerds
- The ten best comedy events in June

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Greg Baumhauer literally had blood on his hands in the name of comedy.

For any local comic who has yet to appear on Conan or negotiate a sitcom, the New Faces Competition at Comedy Works is the ideal way to gain recognition and earn some cash with your humor. Winning first place in the four-month tournament not only puts a thousand bucks in your pocket, but often leads to a comic getting "on the list" at Comedy Works -- a coveted position that provides a regular paycheck as the opening slot for high-profile national acts.

"It's really stressful for all of us," remembers comedian Greg Baumhauer. "But you have to do it, because you have to get on the list." Now definitely on the list at CW, Baumhauer was just another hopeful back in 2007. He'd come close three years in a row, and was motivated to the point where hospitalization, extreme physical pain and the risk of hand-amputation wasn't going to keep him from competing in the final round.

See also:
- Ten best comedy events in June
- Adam Cayton-Holland announces Denver comedy festival in August
- Comedy Works New Faces competition begins this Wednesday

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Dave Attell appears at Comedy Works South this weekend.

Best known for his hit Comedy Central show Insomniac, Dave Attell is an all-around beloved character in standup comedy. While often edgy and at times arrogantly confrontational, his razor-sharp wit gives him an everyman-at-the-bar diplomacy. During nearly three decades in the business, Attell has seen the ebb and flow of the comedy industry and his own career; in anticipation of his four-show run at Comedy Works this weekend, we caught up with the knight of nightlife to chat political comedy, the irony of reality TV and vintage-porn nerds.

See also:
- T.J. Miller debuts a Fox comedy -- and soon a Mike Judge collaboration
- Ron White on gay marriage, marijuana and opening acts -- including Josh Blue
- Comedian Chris Hardwick on hipsters, sobriety and the true meaning of being a nerd

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Adam Cayton-Holland, comedy empresasio.

The disappointing news that the Grawlix pilot got the thumbs down from Amazon didn't keep Adam Cayton-Holland down for long. Just days later, he announced the August 23-24 High Plains Comedy Festival, which will raise the bar on previous summer comedy jams like Laugh Track and Too Much Funstival by bringing in such big-name national acts as Kyle Kinane, Rory Scovel and Sean Patton. Although Cayton-Holland says he wants the High Plains festival to be on a level with others like Portland's Bridgetown Festival, he also emphasizes that this event is designed to bring as much attention to Denver comedians as possible. Keep reading for more from Cayton-Holland on the High Plains Comedy Festival.

See also:
- The Grawlix's five best comedy shorts
- T.J. Miller debuts a Fox comedy -- and soon a Mike Judge collaboration
- Nerdist's Erotic Fan Fiction leaves Denver filthy with laughter

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The Sklar Brothers will appear at Comedy Works Downtown June 27-29.

June is jam-packed with a lineup of comedy events so eclectic, you're sure to find something to tickle your funny bone. There are podcasters and Pride festers, twins and Too Much Fun, He-Man and transgenders...so many giggle-worthy performances that your calendar will be bursting with snickers. Keep reading for the ten best comedy nights in June.

See also:
- The Dairy Center developing a standup comedy scene in Boulder
- Ron White got personal in Denver about sex, pot and Osama Bin Laden on Friday
- Comedian Josh Blue on the pros and cons of being an "inspiration"

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Ryan Brackin

Reading is about more than following a narrative or learning facts; it can also be a profound shared experience that culminates in a better understanding of ourselves and each other. In that spirit, welcome to the Westword Book Club, a weekly feature that celebrates the books that inspire Denver artists.

Evan Nix is a local filmmaker with roots in Denver's comedy scene. With the help of his younger brother, Adam, a fellow filmmaker with whom he shared a Westword MasterMind award this year, Evan Nix has developed a fruitful creative relationship with the Grawlix comedy trio, producing several sketch videos along with the annual Laugh Track Comedy Festival. This week, Nix met with us to discuss the books that helped shape his sense of humor, as well as the importance of insulating yourself in naivete in order to follow your bliss.

See also:
- Meet the 2013 MasterMinds: Evan and Adam Nix
- Westword Book Club: J.A. Kazimer on peeing in a bottle and writing what you know
- Evan Nix's top picks for the Laugh Track Comedy Festival

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Ben Roy explaining the steamy exploits of Magnum P.I.

Typically found at L.A.'s Nerdist Theater, the Erotic Fan Fiction competition made itself at home at the Bug Theatre last night, dirtying the minds of a roomful of comedy fans with its unsettlingly hilarious mix of pop culture and hardcore pornography. Troy Walker earned himself the top ranking in the first round with his lickably linguistic take on The Raven, while Chris Charpentier cleaned up in the final round with his previously unimaginable vision of an erotic Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Kristin Rand dipped into the boyish orgies of The Sandlot, Jim Hickox talked of a dioynisan Saved by the Bell, and Jordan Doll somehow made Game of Thrones even weirder and sexier.

And then we all went home separately and silently to take a long shower and attempt to get those images out of our minds.

See also:
- Ron White on gay marriage, marijuana and opening acts -- including Josh Blue
- Comedy review: Chris Hardwick gets cozy in Kigurumi pajamas at Comedy Works
- Anthony Jeselnik celebrates baby-death, bulimia and domestic violence at DU

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