No I.D.
Comedian Jerome Davis hosts No I.D. Podcast — the show where real conversations meet raw comedy. Each episode dives deep with comedians, creators, and culture shifters, exploring everything from life and career to art, mental health, and surviving the grind — all with sharp humor and zero filter.
If you’re looking for real stories, unfiltered interviews, and laughs that hit different, this is your podcast. No scripts. No fluff. No I.D. required.
🎙️ New episodes weekly
📧 Booking: info@romedavis.co
🌐 More: noidmediallc.komi.io
📱 Instagram: @comedianrome | @noidpodcast
📺 YouTube: @comedianromedavis
No I.D.
Finding Funny in Life's Darkest Moments W/ Josh Ward
Josh Ward doesn't just tell jokes; he transforms life's darkest moments into something beautiful through comedy. During our candid conversation, this self-described "underground comedy king" reveals how he channeled the grief of losing his son into his powerful special "My Special Boy" - a 21-minute journey that showcases his remarkable ability to find humor within pain.
Despite being just three years into his comedy career, Ward displays the confidence and skill of someone who's been performing far longer. He takes us behind the scenes of developing deeply personal material, sharing the struggle of preventing audiences from becoming too emotionally invested while still honoring his authentic experience. "I had to address the audience like 'y'all can't get all sad about this, because then it's not gonna be funny if y'all in here about to weep for me,'" he explains with refreshing honesty.
Ward's journey to comedy has unexpected roots in his religious upbringing. As the son of ministers, he regularly spoke in front of church congregations, developing the public speaking foundation that would later serve his comedy. His first true comedy performance wasn't at an open mic but at a family reunion, where he boldly delivered raunchy material to relatives of all ages - a true baptism by fire. This fearlessness continues to define his approach, preferring longer sets where he can truly establish rhythm and connection with the audience.
The conversation takes a fascinating turn when Ward discusses the brutal realities of open mic culture, including an encounter with another comedian who tried roasting his appearance while he was working through material about his son. "I got up and left the mic because on the inside I was about to cry, but on the outside I was about to fight," he shares, capturing the vulnerability comedians face when developing deeply personal work. Through these experiences, he's developed an audience-first philosophy that has accelerated his growth: "Laughs in the crowd, every room I go in and it's an audience, I'm cooking."
Ready to witness raw talent and authentic storytelling? Follow Josh Ward at @joshwardcomedy on all platforms and check out "My Special Boy" on YouTube to experience what happens when grief transforms into art through the healing power of laughter.
ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of the no id podcast. Have a comedian here. This man has. I called him about five minutes ago underground comedy king, meaning he's one of those ones that has the talent, he has the juice. The has a special out, now called my Special Boy. It's a tribute to his son. If you haven't seen it, it's in his bio. I saw him on an explore page. The one and only comedian Hold on Josh Ward. What's going on, pal?
Speaker 2:Hey, what's up man? What's up man, what's up bro? How's everybody doing what's good? It's good, it's good bro let's just get into it, man, man well, first of all let me say thanks, man. Glad to be here, appreciate the opportunity, glad to be on your platform, man, it's an honor, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:She is. I appreciate you even coming on my platform. No doubt you know what I'm saying. Uh, I am uh a fan. I respect the work man I've been. It's gonna sound crazy, but you did say moisturize my sexy about 10 seconds hey, yo hey.
Speaker 2:Sometimes it's necessary, especially when you this dog black. You know what I'm saying. The ass real good on dog surfaces. You feel Got to make sure I'm lubricated. Paul Snow Did it Reason.
Speaker 1:The special, your special, my special boy was a was a tribute to your late son, michael. Yeah, yeah, and one of the things I liked is what a lot of comedians have done they turn grief into laughter and was more therapeutic for everybody. And in those 21 minutes and 27 seconds I know the exact time because I watched the special two times. Wow, I watched the special two times, um, which is in the link in his bio, by the way, I just want to throw it out there to the people that's listening. Go run them numbers up. Yeah, you got into it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you turned what kevin hart says laughing my pain. You did what richard prior had talked about with his special live in california or any previous special that he did. Um, and I I salute you on that, because it takes a lot of guts for and a lot of creativity for somebody to take something that's supposed to be tragic and and flip that and bring us into their world, because I'm sorry to be rambling you see a lot of comedians making up these fake ass stories all the time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, you know they're not believable right but you actually took something and did it and I just felt like you just deserve your flowers for that, because I know that probably took a lot wow, yeah, yeah, I appreciate that, man.
Speaker 2:It was definitely, um, for me, it definitely was therapeutic in a way, but also it was like a challenge. You know, I'm one, I'm a fan of comedy man, I'm a fan of the game, um, since childhood and so, yeah, like you, I've watched a lot of comedians take their tough times, their hard times, things like that, and translate it on stage and find a way to still find some funny in it. You know, I'm saying, and so that was the goal in that, um, even when I was writing that material, you know, I was just like I, I gotta try to find a way to be vulnerable about it and find a way to be real about it but still be funny somehow. And I took it as a challenge, like, if you're gonna do this art, I feel like on the highest level, you gotta make it personal. Those are the people who last. You know, I'm saying you make it personal when you can bring people into your world, when you can tell a story, when you can relate, you know things that you'll think about later, all of that stuff. So, yeah, that was my goal with it, man, that was my goal with it. It still wasn't perfect, but I only got one shot at it. So you know, I'm like cool, it's a couple of bits that I didn't get off. I was like, but once it's done, it's done, it's done, it's done. I'm proud of it.
Speaker 2:I'm proud of the project it came out, came out really well, the production quality is good on it, the audio and everything's good on it and it's definitely a meaningful piece for me, for that being my first special ever was in that fashion and about that topic. So I was like this is the shot. I'm going to do this for him, man. So it pushed me, it challenged me in ways that I'd never been before and I'm just, you know, proud of myself for doing it.
Speaker 2:To be honest, like it takes a lot. You know you carry a lot with that every day and so to be able to translate that, I was like when I did that, I was like, yeah, you might have, you might have something for this comedy thing. You know I'm saying to do that. So, proud of it, man, appreciate it. Thank you so much for watching. Thank you to all y'all who go and watch. Go watch the special my special boy on YouTube at Joshua. Comedy is definitely it's a good time, but it's also like it's heavy a little bit. But yeah, it's, I think it's a piece of art for me.
Speaker 1:So my first one of many, hopefully. So I think you got.
Speaker 2:I think you can do like a cat williams type, do like at least 10 more yeah, yeah, that's my goal, man, um building the dexterity as well, to be on stage for a long period of time. I you know, at this point to be able to do, you know, an hour or something like that. But my first special I was like I don't want to stretch out too much, I'm a flay and I didn't have that much time either, because the show that I did it on, you know, there were timelapse.
Speaker 2:It wasn't completely about me for real, for real. But I just capitalized on the opportunity. Everything, opportunity, everything fell in place for me to be able to do it. And my boy shout out to Mookuzzo, who gave me that opportunity. Man, he let me do my thing. He was like, yeah, I'll let you come in and tape it. You have one shot, though You're not going to do no re-dos, you're not going to be able to come back and re-shoot it. So you better get off what you want to get off. And I wanted to kind of display a little bit of my, my, um, you know, reach a little bit comedically. I want to do a little crowd work because I love crowd work. So I wanted to do a little crowd work too, um, and just, you know, display some of the talents and skills that I'm trying to work on. Man, that's all. I'm trying to get better, trying to get better how long have you been in the comedy game?
Speaker 1:shout out to mccuzzle, by the way because, yeah, that's big bro man.
Speaker 2:Um, this is three. I'm going on three years now. So I'm kind of early for real, for real. But uh, they call me the young vet. But you know, I'm saying like you know, I'm a little ahead of my time as far as how long I've been doing it and ability, and that's how I kind of what I want to do because I'm older man. I'm older in the game. Um, when I'm out of these mics and these young kids getting up 24, 23, 25, I'm like man, if I'd have been doing this when I was 22, 23, oh my gosh, I'm almost 40 now. You know what I mean. I got to shave some of that time off. I got to try to make up for lost time.
Speaker 1:And that's impressive you had 20 minutes of material in three years. There's some guys in the game that don't have 10 minutes of material in three years. There's some guys in the game that don't have 10 minutes of material yeah, no, that's um starting out man.
Speaker 2:To be honest, I was terrible at writing jokes. I was just funny, just naturally funny, um, and tried to. You know, do translate, they don't stay. That's why I cry at work I love so much, because I just get to be me and be funny. But that was my challenge. You got to learn how to write and construct a joke and punchline, tag, tag, misdirect all the comedic skills that exist. That's been my challenge since I started and because I've pressurized myself in that way, I think it's paid off a bit.
Speaker 2:Man, if I could remember it all, I could do four hours, bro, if I could remember it all. Dude, I got bits I haven't even done yet for real. The longest I ever did was an hour. Yeah, hours, the longest I've ever done. But yeah, it's been a stretch, so I've been stretching myself. So I'm proud of that too.
Speaker 2:I'm not afraid of the long time. I actually do better with long times. I hate five and 10 minute spots. I hate five 10 minutes. I want 15 and up 15 to 30. That's my bread and butter. 45. Oh, we about to cook. Oh, we about to cook, because then you can really get off, you know. I mean you can really get off. So cut that time down and grabbing your audience and getting them to your pressure point or your level. You know I'm saying it's like every comic gets up, gets to set the tone of the room and so the quicker you can do that, the more effective you can be. Um, and so when you got more time, you got time where you can kind of like slow walking, but when you got the short time you got to hit it and quit it maybe, like James Brown said, you got to go in, man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, bro. Imagine they had an open mic, would everybody get 45 minutes?
Speaker 2:Oh, you just show up at your time. What's up, jesus?
Speaker 1:Christ Coming to the stage. God damn it, no.
Speaker 2:That's the crazy part, but that's like the hardest part of comedy man For me anyway, because you got to get better like four or five minutes at a time. You know what I mean. Put these mics and spend hours to do five minutes of comedy. You know what I mean. Spend hours to do four minutes spot that kind of thing.
Speaker 2:So and I'm getting to the place now where I'm like writing longer bits, like I want to try to write out stories more and stuff, and it's just not enough time to be able to get to where I want to get to, um, in that way.
Speaker 2:So it's hard sometimes. I gotta come in sometimes and like do the first part of a bit and then go to like another mic and like do the next part of a bit or the back end of a bit. I know I need to work on, but I still gotta lay a foundation from the first part so the back part makes sense. So you kind of like try to speed through the beginning points that's gonna give it cohesion and then work on the thing that you really want to work on. It's even an art to practice in comedy if you want to be effective at it. I mean if you just put little mics and just recite the same thing over and over again, then that's different, but you want to get better. I believe when you go out you want to learn something about the bit, learn something about the language, learn something about how you wrote it, learn something about how the crowd receives it. That right there makes you hone a bit and make it better and better and better.
Speaker 1:So that's the goal most of the time man, I've been working on that more so yeah yeah, yeah, I got into the when I first started, just like you, I was horrible, horrible and the only reason this podcast is this because I had a show so bad. The lady threw a chicken bone at me yikes right. She threw a chicken bone at me and cussed me out for being bad. Wow, I said. Oh, I'm gonna quit this shit. She hit me with a thigh bone thigh bone.
Speaker 2:That's the girthiest bone. You know that thigh bone got the most weight on it my mentor because I went to comedy school.
Speaker 1:My mentor, the v on 35th street, marlon hargrave and james cooper those two guys was telling me just like you was talking about five minutes. They taught me how to take five minutes. Then once you do your first five minutes, you add on another five minutes, then you add on another five minutes, you add on another five minutes, then you got a quality built set. But you also got a way if you got 15 minutes, if one of those five minutes sets don't work, you can pivot in and out of those other 10 minutes. It's just ridiculous. Um, what I did like about you had on your special the P-joke.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, yeah, I did too. I think I did. I did one with my son and one just for guys, or whatever.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the P-joke, oh, okay, okay, I got you Both of them, the P-joke, and then you did a little crowd work, but what you had did was you said you wanted to talk about your son and I think you did it within like the first 10 minutes. I gotta go back and watch again. I'm more than likely to go back and watch it again tomorrow. Um, and I was like, okay, he's cooking Right. And I said this is excuse me, I don't know if you're a cuss, but this is fucking genius.
Speaker 2:Oh no, no, you saw my special. You know I cuss.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know if you really you know how some people cuss on the stage.
Speaker 2:I do. I do cuss on the stage, and not in regular life as often. Yes, that's true, I do cuss on stage.
Speaker 1:This is amazing.
Speaker 2:You can't help yourself. I appreciate that, bro, straight up. I appreciate that because it means something to me when people actually connect with the work you know what I'm saying Connect with what I put out, that really matters. I had a comment come to me recently like an OG I respect. He was like yo, I saw the special bro, that's tough stuff, man, like that jump was good, like you can see the skills and everything you did. I was like bro, I appreciate that. That matters to me. Um, because you want your peers to at least respect what you do, even if they don't like you as a person. You know I, they, I won't be like hey, but he be cooking, he, he cooks now.
Speaker 1:So yeah, man, I appreciate that, bro, through the jokes on the grill you served him up. I was like okay yeah, like a little crowd work in there because it's an older lady that was somewhere in the corner. This is the richmond funny bone. I've only been there like three, four times to perform so I was like okay bad.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like I'm all over the place because that takes like I said, that takes courage, because the reason I connect with yours I lost my father back in 2020. Wow, not 2020, excuse me. I lost him two years ago, 2023. He was diagnosed in 2020. Okay, and I had a. I mean diagnosed with what? Stage four pancreatic cancer. Okay, okay, stage four finger, and he was the reason why I got into comedy. Those is my way, sir. Yeah, it, it, it was appreciated. Yeah, um, and I actually wrote a bit. I wrote like 10 minutes about the funeral. I don't know if anybody's ever been to a black funeral.
Speaker 1:Black funerals are comedy, especially mine pure comedy bro so I was like and I I'm saying this because I tucked away the 10 minutes that I wrote about my father's funeral and his diagnosis and stuff, and I tucked it away and I was like I ain't telling these jokes no more, because one time I did it I didn't do it right and someone's like oh, yeah, yeah. But then somebody came up to me said my condolences, but that was funny. I was like, okay, yeah, you kind of, not kind of kind of you gave me the inspiration.
Speaker 1:Maybe I just need to bring this back out one more time. One more time.
Speaker 2:What your experience was. That was my experience at the open mics, trying to work that stuff out. I'm not even going to lie, it's hard to get up there and tell jokes about stuff like that and the crowd not get emotionally connected to it immediately. And that was the challenge. I was like all right, man, like every mic I did, I had to like address the audience like y'all can't get all sad about this, because then I'm not gonna be able. You know what I'm saying. It's not gonna be funny if y'all in here about to weep. For me you know what I mean. So definitely that was one of the biggest challenges of working out that material is having to go out to mics and figure it out.
Speaker 2:And when it wasn't figured out, that was tough. That was tough because the crowd, I don't know. You know, when you get this somber energy from the crowd, it kind of makes you sad too. You know I'm like you should be sad and I'm like I know I am actually sad, but right now I'm trying to do something, so I don't have time to be sad about this, you know I mean. So I'm, I'm grateful I had a chance to have those tough moments um beforehand, that way when it got on stage, like I could feel it in the room happening and if you pay, if you notice, I addressed it.
Speaker 2:You know, I'm saying during the room to bring the room back up from it, because they was trying to go there and I was like, nah, y'all better come, come on with it. I'm plucking butt cheeks. It's about to get worse. So I don't want to hear it. I want to hear it, you know. So that's definitely tough. Um, that was, that was one of the tougher parts of it definitely story actually about a mic while I was working it out. You mind, if I tell it, go ahead, share it babe, yeah, so um, I went out about a mic while I was working it out.
Speaker 2:You mind if I tell it, go ahead, share it, baby. Yeah. So I went out to a mic to work out some of the material, whatever. Whatever I get up there I do my set. You know it's a good set, it goes okay. You know, I still had that same work through the.
Speaker 2:You know, the songwriter audience don't know this guy. He's like new to the scene. I've never seen him before and I guess he have no jokes. So his jokes was gonna be to try to make fun of me.
Speaker 2:So I go out to this mic, I throw on like sweatpants, a hoodie. I got on Crocs, like I'm low-key, depressed right now, like I'm in real life. I'm depressed, but also I gotta work out this stuff. So I just throw something on to get out here, to get through it and work through it. And then the guy comes up behind me and like roast my outfit. You know I'm saying because I came to an open mic with Crocs and a hoodie on and all and I'm like bro, if this is the top tier place for you to come and put on your duds and stunt and show all you know you're in a low place in life. I mean, that's an open mic in a top.
Speaker 2:We're in a basement dungeon slash attic. I don't even know how you do that. I've never seen a dungeon upstairs. What are we talking about? We we're in an upstairs dungeon. What is we practicing for? It's 11 people in here? Really Interesting occurrence. He pissed me off. I got up and left the mic because on the inside I was about to cry, but on the outside I was about to fight. So I'm about to smack this white man with tears in my eyes, bro.
Speaker 1:The crazy thing is, I think I know who you're talking about, but I don't want to say his name on the show.
Speaker 2:No, it ain't who you think. It's a newer guy. You've probably never seen this guy before, so the person I think you might be thinking has been in the scene for a while. Mm-mm, oh, okay, well, it might be you might know, but I had a vendetta out on this guy.
Speaker 2:If I ever see him at another mic, he is getting the works. You hear me? Oh, you going to roast me in my depression? Oh, nick, I can't wait. I never saw him again. He never came out and his set bomb. Let, I can't wait. I never saw him again.
Speaker 1:He never came out and his set bombed. Let's be clear, they always do.
Speaker 2:Because the crowd wasn't with it. Because my jokes was telling them I'm grieving and, like bro, you gonna make fun of the grieving guy. The crowd wasn't with that, so he tried to pivot, do some of his stuff. Nothing landed. At that point you would turn the whole room sour against you, like everybody was already like that was so brave for him to even get up there, and then you would come behind me and be a dick. Oh my God, bro. So yeah, it didn't go well, I never saw him again, but if I ever see him again, it's going to be smoke. It's going to be some furniture moving On stage, though On stage, on stage.
Speaker 1:I had on stage, though. On stage, on stage I had one comedian tried and I was like I'm gonna get his ass and I waited to the next week. He showed up at the mic. He's like what spot you want to go to? I said man, put him in front of me I was like you know, when you was talking shit, I was like you know what that five minutes is bad when you got the right material, don't you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, five minutes turns into a long time if you ain't got nothing to say.
Speaker 1:I was like yeah what'd you say? Remember, last week we talked about my hairline. I forgot my hat in the car.
Speaker 2:Young bastard, I was so hot, yeah, I ain't gonna lie, you do have the church deacon, john, you know what I'm saying. Oh man, it's all right though. It's all right though, john. You know you got to ride with what you got. I'm bald all the way because mine are back here too. I just gave up. You know you still fighting a good fight. I gave up.
Speaker 1:You know what I bought Beyonce's hair products. I just got them last week.
Speaker 2:I didn't want to hear nothing. After Beyonce I bought Beyonce's Cowboy Carter album and I just knew all my follicles was going to jam. What are we saying?
Speaker 1:I saw it on Instagram. I was like oh, they said that the sacred, the creed is supposed to bring them back.
Speaker 2:I was like okay, oh, so she got some hair growth stuff. Yeah, never knew.
Speaker 1:I never knew I've been doing this right here, I've been just going right here.
Speaker 2:Keep it up, believe in yourself. I believe in you?
Speaker 1:I mean, you know what I appreciate you, bro, I believe in you. Baby, keep up the laugh. Who was your inspiration, or what was your inspiration to get into comedy? What was that thing that I know you say it was always funny, right, but what was that thing that was like, yeah, I'm gonna get this, I'm gonna try this and keep going crazy thing is I always loved stand up from childhood.
Speaker 2:Like I always loved stand-up from childhood. I always loved comedy and stand-up from childhood. Eddie Murphy's my goat. Growing up watching Eddie and Richard Pryor, watching a lot of the older comedians and stuff. I actually have their records around here and stuff.
Speaker 2:It was always a thing that was inside but I never felt like I could actually pursue that. That didn't seem real Crazy thing. When we were kids I got five brothers and sisters, so it was six of us. We literally used to do comedy skits for each other. We set up chairs and the other five sat down and one of us would get up and we would try to make the other ones laugh, like literally like a comedy show. And now in retrospect I'm like it was there the whole time, like I wasn't even paying attention to the connection. Until I started doing comedy I was like duh. So, um, you know, always had this thing inside, um, that I wanted to pursue, never found space. I actually spent a lot of time.
Speaker 2:I grew up in church so my mom and dad were both like ministers and stuff. So I grew up in church so I was always up speaking. They used to make us go to the front of the church and recite stuff and memorize scriptures and stuff. This is old school. You grew up in the 80s and stuff. You didn't have a choice, you had to. Everybody had to live in this house. You know what I'm saying. Got to go in the black black family if your parents or whatever.
Speaker 2:So I always just do public speaking, stuff like that, and I grew in church and started speaking in church and stuff like that, and but then I will always be funny, be funny, you know, while I'm doing it. And so part of me was just like I want to try to pursue this. So I tried to actually get my church to do this little like stand-up comedy slash preacher night thing where it's like a comedy show I wanted to call it the stand-up preacher where it's like you know, like a preacher that's actually got not do stand up, but it was like a play on words. Basically, you know what I'm saying Stand up guy, stand up, reach, that kind of thing. And so never really did it, but had opportunities to just talk and be funny.
Speaker 2:And then 2020, the pandemic came and, like you know, the world shut down and everything went crazy and I was like you know what People dying. They never died before. You know what I'm saying. And I could be next and mind and ain't never died before. You know I'm saying and I could be next, and so I don't want to live and die with this in my heart and never actually give it a shot why not so?
Speaker 2:then I just started writing. I just started like trying to write jokes and stuff. And when I first started like my whole set was just about dogs, it was about dogs, bro, I was literally going to do a special on dogs. I was just joking about dogs. I got an interesting perspective I think about dogs, bro, I was literally going to do a special on dogs. I was just joking about dogs. I got an interesting perspective I think about dogs. And so I was telling all these dog jokes you know dog jokes and stuff like that. And then I was like I don't want to be the dog guy, you know what I mean. So I actually performed for my wife in the house with a TV remote.
Speaker 2:I did During the pandemic. I wrote some stuff I've been working on, you know, for a while. I was like I'm just trying to perform stuff. So I did a little performance for her in the house. She was like it was funny, like it felt like it was comedy. You know it didn't feel like he was trying, it just felt like you know it's funny.
Speaker 2:So then my first, I guess, performance in front of people outside of her was a family reunion and my family was like you know they was like anybody want to do different talent, do something with entertainment. I was like, yeah, I want to try, I want to do some comedy. It was like you do comedy, I want to Like, all right, so they let me get out there. You know, for like 25. My first time before it was like 25, 30 minutes. And at the family reunion, with all my family sitting in chairs and stuff, I got out there with my aunties and great uncles and everybody and said some outlandish stuff. The way I am on stage. It was in me from the beginning like I never wanted to be like a clean comic or anything, because the comics that I like were not clean, like I didn't grow up laughing at clean comedy. That's not what I thought was funny. So I was like I want to be true to my identity.
Speaker 2:I told him from jump, I was like I'm about to say some wild stuff, y'all gonna be alright, and so all my cousins and them out there, whatever, and I'm telling some wild jokes and um, they was like chuckling a little bit but they couldn't laugh because like your mama, his mama, your mom sitting over there, you know, I mean my grandma's out here, great grandma's out here. End of the job. They came to me after everybody. You know, the end of the night, once all the older people leave and the younger people stay and turn up a little bit, it was like yo, you was funny as hell, bro. I just couldn't laugh because my mama was here.
Speaker 2:So I, you know I did that and from there then on it was like if I can perform in front of them, I can perform in front of anybody. Like that was the most wild audience to tell these types of jokes in. They all you know, they real religious, they. I got christian family and stuff and I was cussing, I was telling dick jokes. I was all the things, brother, oh shameful stuff that you never say in front of those people other times. So some of my family, they love that, I do it. They don't love my material, but you know they like that, I'm doing it and whatever. So it started from there. And then my first opportunity, my first time actually doing out public, was in a comedy club, which is rare, you know. Usually it was an open mic that Sandman Comedy Club used to have. I remember you did. You was in a competition at Sandman with me actually.
Speaker 1:That shit was so horrible.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we were in a competition with me. I made it to the finals in that jet, but we weren't on the same night so I never saw you. But yeah, the Sandman was the first place I ever did it outside of that, and once I did it that night I was hooked. I was like, oh yeah, this is it right here. My set wasn't great, but like I had the bones, you know, I had the energy, I was quick with it for a little bit. I was like I think I can do this. And from there that was in 2020 to, yeah, like 2022. That was like everything opened up. You know, the world started letting us back outside.
Speaker 1:It was yeah, and they started back doing the mics or whatever, and that was.
Speaker 2:It was like everything opened up, you know, the world started letting us back outside. It was, yeah, and they started back doing the mics or whatever, and that was it. And from there it was like I'm in there, um, so I've been doing it ever since, you know, doing it ever since, man.
Speaker 1:Sam man, it was my shit Cause it was but I you know it was my, that was my jam, that was that that competition um showed me about preparation. Well, I'm gonna go ahead, just do the same shit. That's been working. Blah, blah, boom. I done did this set already in number five minutes. I just want to, you know, make sure I get it to the finals.
Speaker 1:Boy, I ain't prepped none of the shit that I was supposed to rehearse. I get up there. I'm like all right, they gonna. This is what I learned, really how to get into the bag. Uh, they said the whole set of times, like I'm not doing no jokes, I'm just gonna bring you on and give the rules. I'm like what, and who was first? I was, oh man, I go up there. I had a cotton mouth. I'm like yep, and I had another comedian. He was right there beside me, we cool. It was like yeah, bro, we, we ain't making it. We kept hearing everybody says like well, it was, I'm off on monday. You know, I can drive home home sleeping and watching this night. It's a wrap. It's a wrap. The preparation man.
Speaker 2:No, that's crazy, because my Sandman experience was a little bit opposite. I wanted to go out here and do new stuff and so I'm like, yeah, I'm about to hit them with this new joint. Yeah, this right about to be fire. Do not go into a competition and try to do new material. It's what I learned. Do your old stuff that you solid on and you cool, or you know what I mean. Get up there and be confident. Right, right, right. And that was what I. That was the biggest lesson I took away from it. I'll never try new material in a situation where that counts like that. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:So the finals jump I did okay, but my first night, my first night, I cooked and made it to the finals round or whatever, but they shortened it. I felt like that robbed you know a lot of, because, remember, it was supposed to be longer but then the place was going to shut down and they ended up going straight to, like, the finals. They took the people, that whatever, and changed the format, but it was supposed to grow from that five minutes to 15 minutes, that kind of thing or whatever, and that's where I was going to excel. I was like plenty of these guys can do five minutes, but when you get to 10, 15, that's deep water. That's deep water right there for a lot of comics. And I knew that. And so I was like, if I make it past the first round it's a wrap, because with the longer time I'm a cook. But then they cut it and they was like, no, we're not doing all the rounds and stuff, we're gonna wrap it up, we're gonna let this be the finals. Blah, blah, blah. And I was like, oh all, right, whatever.
Speaker 2:So, um, yeah, I learned the hard lesson that, that, that doing that experience too. And don't let other comments get in your head. That's another lesson I learned. Don't let other comics get in my head. Because I was off kilter that night because another comic made a comment in the comics beat, that kind of like threw me. You know, I mean, it's always a little shade, you know I'm saying sometimes. And so another comic made a little comment and kind kind of threw me.
Speaker 2:And I wasn't as sure of myself when I got up there as I usually am and I said I'll never do that again. I'll never do that again. I'm going to cook, despite whoever in the room thinks what. I don't care about what no other comic thinks. The only thing that matters to me is that audience. That's it, because you can deny whatever you want, you can say whatever you want. You cannot deny laughs in the crowd and that's the goal Laughs in the crowd. I don't care what you think about me, I don't care whether you think I deserve or you think I'm as good as people say whatever. Laughs in the crowd Every room I go in and it's an audience. I'm cooking, that's what I vowed.
Speaker 2:From that point on, I'm cooking. I don't care nothing about the comics who in there, what? Nope, I ain't got nothing to do with me. Me and this audience is all that matters. Since I've adopted that, it's helped me a lot Because you know it's hard to go to open mics and the room full of 25 comics and two crowd members. You know what I mean. I hate that. I hate that. You know what I mean, because then the comics sit back there and not go on and not try not to laugh, especially if they don't like you or whatever. They just sit back there, ignore you, start reading, start taking out their phone and you think you're not doing a good job, but they just not. It don't matter.
Speaker 2:Up to him like yeah, you had a good set not even, not even. So yeah, I learned a lot from that experience too. That sandman was. That was the first and only competition I've been a part of. I said I'm gonna do another one eventually, but I don't know when. That's gonna be witness opportunities, right, the last one they had. I wasn't able to make it all the days so I didn't even sign up to pearl street when I think pearl street had a junk. I wasn't no to make it all the days, so I didn't even sign up. The Pearl Street one. I think Pearl Street had a jump.
Speaker 1:I wasn't that one.
Speaker 2:Funny one, last Ham who won that Shout out to Last, last one of my faves in this scene, last of the Beasts. We've definitely been on some shows together. Yeah, we got Last one of my faves Shout out to Last Ham who won that jump. But I couldn't be there every week on Tuesday. I could only be there, like, I think, two of them, like one or two of them, the last one and one other one and I was like, oh, there's no need for me to sign up for that.
Speaker 1:I was in that one. That's who you knew was talking about probably the Crocs.
Speaker 2:I was in that one oh no, they weren't in that they wanted that one okay this was a. This was a new comic. Like I think they just graduated from the little class or something like that. You're like they were new to the game all together. He learned some lessons that night, though, hopefully probably.
Speaker 1:But you know what some some, some of us don't, some of us don't learn them well, let's be clear while he was on stage I did roast back.
Speaker 2:I ain't say that I did roast back from the audience. I forgot that part. So, yeah, I did roast back during the set and then I left after.
Speaker 1:But, um, yeah, yeah, a lot of us don't learn those lessons, man. I think a lot of us try and be alphas but really deep down inside we bait us. A lot of us want to be big sharks and small ponds. A lot of us want it real quick, like it's it'd be a comedian that's doing it for six months, but like, yeah, I'm getting the open mic. I'm like, yeah, do what you gotta do, man yeah, good luck with that.
Speaker 2:What's your take on that, on like running a mic man, because I've had some offers to do so and I've thought about it, but I just don't see the benefit just yet personally. Like, I know you get guaranteed time, sure, but does that weigh out the production? You know the the work that it's. Have you ever ran your own mic? So yeah, what are the benefits of running your own?
Speaker 1:you get guaranteed time, maybe a free meal and a little bit of money in your pocket. That's it now, if you do decide to run your open mic, um, I wouldn't do one every week yeah, that's the thing too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't want a weekly job. I can't, don't burn through yourself.
Speaker 1:Don't throw burn through. Yeah, I don't want a weekly job, I can't. Don't burn through yourself, don't burn through your material and don't burn through comedians, because the allure of having a mic once every two weeks or once a month is the greatest thing ever. Mm-hmm, I personally don't want to run one. I might run lasted two well, three. Run lasted two, well, three weeks. It lasted three weeks. I was running with another, with three other comedians. I stepped away because I saw I put it on my story a couple of weeks ago, but I can see where it falters into. I've also had opportunities to put on shows, but my thing is, I love a lot of these comedians but I don't want to jeopardize their craft or put their name in danger, something. The show don't go right. So I'd like I just rather just ask for some time, go pull up at an open mic. Yeah, keep it pushing me personally, but if you want, I think everybody should at least produce one show in five years of comedy why do you say that?
Speaker 1:just want to get the experience. That's it. Just one notch on your back. I think everybody should do at least produce one show well, actually I do.
Speaker 2:I have produced a show Because I put a show together in North Carolina and, you know, brought some of my boys up here, from up here down here, and did whatever for A family event. So I mean I guess that counts. I paid them you know what I'm saying Took care of them. Yeah, I produced the show. I was the host, so you know what I mean. It was a good time. A couple little shaky moments yeah, I produced the show, I was the host. So you know, I mean it was a good time. It was a good time.
Speaker 2:You know, a couple of shaky moments. A couple of shaky moments for some of the comics, because you know certain crowd. You got to know your audience, you know. I mean you got to know your audience and if you realize that your audience not vibing with what you're doing, you got to be able to. You got to be able to pivot. Vibing with what you're doing, you got to be able to pivot. You got to be able to find a way to grab them.
Speaker 2:And one of the comics he was just so vulgar and it was just a lot for the audience and then he wasn't telling no jokes. So you're just up here cussing a lot and talking about a bunch of stuff, but you weren't telling jokes for real, for real. And so the vulgarity is tolerated when it's in context of funny and the material and it's like pacing and timing and all that too. But yeah, I was like bro, whenever they start yelling out at you and saying stuff, like you doing all that cussing, you ain't saying nothing. I was like, oh, you heard the lady, she telling you what the problem is, what you going to do, and he ran the light like crazy, like I was trying to get this nigga off stage for like for like six minutes, bro. I'm like bro, what we doing, man, what we doing? So that kind of stuff I don't deal with it.
Speaker 1:I had one comedian. He did it numerous times. He ain't run no light, but he gave up in the middle of the joke where they had to do like a let's go, you can do it. Keep going, bro.
Speaker 2:I'm like what what are we doing? Not the church encouragement?
Speaker 1:everybody just started clapping for you before the show this is, I'm not really approachable for anything. I'm quiet as shit before I even go on the stage. Um, I'm trying to get my mind right. He was asking for some advice. Hey, lock in, because this isn't a black room. Excuse me, alain, this is a nigga room. You better walk into, which means you better be able to fire off, mess with somebody in the crowd and keep it pushing. Yeah, yep, yeah, it's like, and keep it pushing. Yeah and yep, yeah, yeah it's like that sometimes.
Speaker 1:It's like that sometimes well, man, josh, I do appreciate you coming on. This has been a good convo, bro, I that's it we wrapping up already, hey, man, let me tell you. Hey, bro, I appreciate your time, but I'm gonna say like this they got us back in the office with the government, bro, I gotta get up 4 30 in the morning.
Speaker 1:That's crazy, 4 30 nice the earlier you wake up for the job, even while you hate it. 4, 30, and I gotta get to work at six. Yeah, this man, I feel that man, I understand, I do appreciate it, man, and um, all I just want to say is, bro, I'm I just may sound weird, I ain't glazing or whatever these terms.
Speaker 2:I'm proud of you, bro I appreciate that man ain't glazing at all. I appreciate that man I ain't glazing at all, man.
Speaker 1:I appreciate that, brother. If you need anything, just DM me, because obviously I need to get this new email address worked out.
Speaker 2:Because that's some shit.
Speaker 1:My sister helped me set up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I checked my email a few times. Yeah, I was like, nah, you know, you can search by trying to be specific. I'm pulling up stuff from 2013. I was like ain't no way, no way deep in the trenches. So, yeah, yeah, I'm glad at least we. Um, we sent it multiple ways, so I appreciate it, so I can have everything to be locked in. Um, it was a pleasure.
Speaker 1:Man enjoyed it me man and people want to follow you and get in contact. Which way do they go to?
Speaker 2:yeah, follow me at josh war comedy on all platforms. Um, tiktok banned me right now so I gotta start a new page on tiktok. There's a whole nother story we could have got into um. But um, yeah, follow me at josh war comedy on all platforms. Man, there's another josh ward out there that's more famous than me. He's a musician, so put comedy at the end of it. Josh ward comedy, that's how you find me. All right, don't just put josh ward. Uh, yeah, hit me up like, subscribe, share, follow all the good things and follow me at comedian rome and on instagram.
Speaker 1:No id podcast, uh. At comedian rome davis. On YouTube, if you hit the link in the bio you can get all that stuff and more Tiki Tok. I don't be up there because Josh talking about he banned. This ban is about to be lifted, about to get rid of TikTok. My dumb ass deleted the whole thing. Brung it back.
Speaker 2:I'm like it ain't hitting no more there was a space where people deleted it and couldn't put it back on their phone. Like people was being petty, going in other people's phones and deleting the app off the check and put it back. Wasn't that? It was that thing that was the thing.
Speaker 1:It was like flappy birds back in the day.
Speaker 2:I don't know what's flappy birds flappy birds was.
Speaker 1:It was a game. I lied to you. Not, it was a game on the iphone. It's just like, yeah, I don't know, I can't really explain it, but I know that if you updated your phone to the new software, because of copyright things, they deleted the flappy birds off. So if you guys got time, you can google this flash birds. People was actually selling outdated iphones with the flash birds game for like a couple of 16, like a couple thousands of dollars, like 16 000 because it still had the game on it still had the game on it.
Speaker 1:It was like that old atari type feel mario, this super nintendo type oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I have seen that before, I just googled it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I have seen that before, I just Googled it. Yeah, I have seen that before. People was hooked on that giant, though, yeah, people was hooked on that Flappy Bird, I remember. Okay, alright, that's the joke where you go up or down and you gotta maneuver between the tunnels and all of that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know what you're talking about. That's why.
Speaker 1:If I didn't have the automatic updates we'll be having a whole we'll be having a whole different conversation. Probably wouldn't be no damn comedy on the podcast nah, I feel that, though, but Josh man, keep going, bro. That's all I got to say, bro, like, just keep going. Thank you for making fun of my deacon hairline no offense man, please.
Speaker 2:I hope you can take a joke, bro.
Speaker 1:I was like I can take a joke, yeah. No, you can't take a joke, yeah same to you, man.
Speaker 2:I checked out some of your stuff as well. Um, keep going, keep grinding, man. Yeah there's no end in sight, because there is no end for this man. That's the thing. If you're looking for a destination in comedy, there is none. The only destination is your next stage, so keep it going amen, we gonna sign off right quick, ain't gonna stop.
