Evan Wecksell prefers to perform his stand-up comedy routine with his guitar in hand. The New York native will be making his Louisiana debut Thursday night, bringing his signature brand of humor to the University’s campus.
Taking inspiration from comedians such as Jimmy Fallon, Adam Sandler and Stephen Lynch, Wecksell decided to fuse his two passions of stand-up and music. Wecksell said he finds doing his style of melodically pleasing comedy easier than the typical version.
“I think it’s easier. I think writing a set list is much easier because if you have a song that’s like five minutes, it helps out your set list. But if you’re doing stand-up, you could write 10 different things that you would talk about in five minutes. I never got the knack of remembering all that stuff, though,” Wecksell said.
However, he did go on to say that the song format can be a double-edged sword.
“If I’m about to play a song, and they’re just not buying it in the beginning, I’m kind of f**ked by being stuck with this song for the next four minutes,” he said with a laugh.
Although he’s performed for people of all walks of life, Wecksell plays for the college-aged crowd most often. He said this is largely due to his connections with his old fraternity, Theta Chi.
Wecksell said when he first ventured to Los Angeles from New York, he didn’t immediately get “discovered” and needed help scoring stable gigs. He began calling around to various Theta Chi chapters and booking shows at universities across the nation.
Since then, he’s been working on his routine at colleges, appearing on VH1’s “I Love the ’80s” and “I Love the ’70s,” and producing a college-based musical starring him and his wife.
Wecksell said he likes to involve the audience during his stints. He said he incorporates involvement with feedback and suggestions, bringing audience members on stage and performing popular songs with Mad Libs-style lyrics. He said he enjoys the spontaneity and improvisation that comes with each show.
Wecksell described his brand of humor as topical and biting without being overly offensive.
“I always try to stay topical … Internet stuff, college, relationships,” Wecksell said. “I’m not like a racist or anti-gay or anti-religious or anything like that. I try to be universal acceptable comedy, but I definitely try to put an edge on it, so it’s not too vanilla. My humor’s out there, but it’s not crude or vulgar.”
Evan Wecksell will perform at 8 p.m. Thursday in the Live Oak Lounge in the Student Union.
“I always try to stay topical… internet stuff, college, relationships … I’m not like a racist or anti-gay or anti-religious or anything like that. I try to be universal acceptable comedy, but I definitely try to put an edge on it, so it’s not too vanilla. My humor’s out there, but it’s not crude or vulgar.”