Comedian Brian Haner is performing June 1-2 at Stand Up, Scottsdale! Comedy Club. Check out Fab AZ’s exclusive interview with Brian Haner:
Q: Where are you from?
A: Los Angeles
Q: How long have you been doing comedy?
A: 5 Years
Q: How was your first gig?
A: It was great. Opened for Lisa Lampinelli. I could, (and did), say anything I wanted to. After the 1st night I went home and wrote a bunch of dirty and vulgar material that killed. I thought it was the easiest job in the world. The following week I opened for John Pinette – a guy who is both hilarious and squeaky clean. I was told I had to be completely G rated. I had no G rated material and pretty much bombed. I got fired after the first night. I realized that if I was going to have any future in comedy, I would have to be able to work clean. I found it was MUCH harder to be funny and clean. I worked very hard to change my act so it would be more “user friendly”. Most of my stuff is clean, though somewhat dark. I occasionally delve into the inappropriate and naughty, but still avoid the vulgar.
Q: What can comedy goers expect from you at Stand-Up, Scottsdale! this weekend?
A: Lots of funny songs, some standup and a bit of guitar shredding.
Q: What was your source of inspiration for your comedy?
A: Mostly my life experiences, especially my family. My wife is a hypnotist. I have a teenage daughter and my son is a rock star, (lead guitarist for Avenged Sevenfold). So there is a wealth of comedy just from my family.
Q: How do you keep yourself busy while on tour/traveling /performing?
A: I’m pretty much a workaholic. I’ve had two novels published. I’m working on an animated series and I have a jazz project in the works with my son. So if I’m not writing, I have a guitar in my hands.
Q: What has been your memorable comedy milestones so far?
A: Well obviously being Guitar Guy with the Jeff Dunham Show has been amazing. Playing to 10,000 people every night in arenas all around the world for 3 1/2 years was certainly a milestone. Appearing in his Comedy Central Christmas Special was certainly a personal highlight for me.
Q: If you could receive a sext from one politician, one athlete, and one movie star, who would they be?
A: I have a song called “Sarah, the Naughty Librarian” – so Palin for sure. Another song of mine is “Tiger Can’t Control His Wood” – so gotta be Tiger. Not that i really want Tiger to sext me, but it seems like he sexted pretty much everyone, so I don’t want to be left out. I’m gonna go with a line from another of my songs. This was from a love song I wrote to my wife, and the line is – “I love you almost as much as I love Jennifer Anniston.”
Q: If you could buy one thing for everybody in the country, what would it be?
A: A Wheelo – everything in the country would completely stop for about 15 minutes, which is how long it takes to master the thing and then never want to see one again.
Q: What is an interesting fact that people wouldn’t know about you?
A: I was a session musician in L.A. for many years before moving into comedy.
Q: Where can people find out more information about you?
A: brianhaner.com and facebook.com/brianhanercomedy
Q: Anything coming up?
A: I will be performing on an episode of Amsterdam Redlight Comedy – June 14th on Showtime.