What's Up America with Mike Kara - Ricky Glore Interview - Final Edit

·58 min·5 clips

Jerry Seinfeld says a comedian's maturity level equals their years in stand-up, like a five-year-old making fart jokes.

Mike Kara hosts comedian Ricky Glore on What's Up America, broadcasting from Ocoee, Florida. Glore introduces himself as a stand-up comedian, impressionist, and playwright who recently wrote a horror movie. He traces his comedy roots to his father, who exposed him to 60s television, films, and comedians like the Marx Brothers and Mel Blanc. Glore describes his high school theater start, auditioning for a comedic role in West Side Story after a sports injury. He pursued theater in college but initially failed to make the improv team, leading him to take stand-up classes at Funny Bone comedy club. Glore became a house emcee, working with comedians like Kevin Nealon and Tracy Morgan. He references Jerry Seinfeld's concept from the documentary Comedian, comparing a comedian's maturity to their years in stand-up. Glore shares personal material, such as an eight-minute story about his family's visits to the Burt Reynolds Museum, which was cut from his Dry Bar special due to themes of stealing. He discusses clean comedy guidelines and marketability, noting older audiences sometimes prefer edgier material. Glore recounts writing and producing a parody of A Nightmare on Elm Street in Chicago, where an audience member's reaction highlighted inconsistencies in content sensitivity. He explains his horror movie project, a semi-autobiographical story about an athlete who turns to alcoholism after an injury, pitched as 'what happens to the teen slasher movie when they grow up.' The conversation shifts to handling hecklers, with Glore emphasizing venue responsibility and comedian techniques. He addresses social media's impact, citing examples like Pete Davidson and Dave Chappelle restricting recordings to protect rough material. Glore mentions recording his album Spitting Image in February 2020 and a customer complaint about reused material. He uses Twitter for joke writing and TikTok for marketing, despite finding self-promotion challenging. Glore advises on comedy writing, suggesting recording audio to refine delivery and avoid offensive stereotypes, as he did with a bit about his brother coming out. He shares his social media handles and upcoming shows at Gutty's Comedy Club and Comedy Shrine. Glore reveals he auditioned for SNL twice, submitting a video with impressions and a music video that advanced past the first round but was ultimately rejected. He concludes that his dream is to make a living entertaining people through various mediums.

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