The Comedy Club Podcast · The Comedy Club of Kansas City

AJ Wilkerson On His Home Club, Fatherhood, & His Skyrocketing Career | Ep 56

·28 min·1 clip

Lucy at Zanies pinned him to the wall and said, “you’re a fucking star.”

1. The Comedy Club Podcast episode centers on A.J. Wilkerson’s rise from the Comedy Club of Kansas City to touring comedian and new father. 2. Dustin Kaufman hosts A.J. Wilkerson, who is a comic, former van-dweller, and current opener for Bert Kreischer whose career matters to the story. 3. The episode asks how a comic goes from COVID patio mics to selling hundreds of tickets and building a life around comedy. 4. Dustin says Wilkerson first met the club during outdoor patio mics in COVID and then drove in from Florida for a contest with only 10 comics. 5. Wilkerson says the contest winner got a guest spot with Jason Mewes, and he returned the next week to do that set after winning. 6. He says Jason Mewes’ manager liked him enough to keep him for the weekend and that he became a regular opener on the road. 7. Dustin says Wilkerson now lives in Nashville and has gone from living out of a van for a little over two years to living in a house with a woman who knows he lives there. 8. Wilkerson says comedy clubs are “Pokemon gyms” because comics have to show up, train new material, and grow the set longer. 9. He says he likes the “nuts and bolts” of comedy, including words, cadence, and the work of testing new material between polished sets. 10. He says Nashville gave him access to Zanies, Outback Presents, Judy Marmel, and tours with Bert Kreischer. 11. Wilkerson says Lucy at Zanies pinned him to the wall and told him, “you’re a fucking star,” after a Circle Network taping. 12. He says Kathleen Madigan, who he had admired before comedy, now invites him to dinner and asks him about “the youngsters.” 13. Wilkerson names Nate Bargatze, Theo Von, Leanne Morgan, Kathleen Madigan, Steve Byrne, John Crist, Henry Cho, and Amber Autry as part of the Nashville scene. 14. Dustin and Wilkerson discuss Greg Warren selling out 14 shows between December 26 and New Year’s Eve after his recent social media growth. 15. Wilkerson says an arena show with Bert Kreischer at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids triggered calls from fans asking when he would return to the club. 16. He says performing in theaters and arenas changed his rhythm because larger rooms are slower and require different timing. 17. The tone stays conversational and supportive, with Dustin repeatedly praising Wilkerson’s work ethic and career growth. 18. The format mixes career backstory, club history, and loose comic banter, including jokes about the van, the “chair bow,” and “funky town.” 19. Listeners who like comedy career stories, club scenes, and touring details will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners looking for a tightly structured, topic-specific interview may skip it.

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