5Q :: ‘Beards of Comedy’ standout coming to town

Too-good-to-be-true alliances are everywhere in the arts these days, and the world of comedy is definitely no exception. Up until last week, I would’ve said that my favorite in that field was “definitely” the Comedians of Comedy. This Patton Oswalt-led merry brand of pranksters has featured Brian Posehn (“The Sarah Silverman Program”), hometown sweetheart Maria Bamford and Zach Galifianakis — well, since he’s become a big star (“The Hangover,” hosting “Saturday Night Live”), apparently he’s been replaced by Eugene Mirman.

Anyway, the point is this: There’s strength in numbers.

The formula even works wonders when the names aren’t as recognizable. Take the Beards of Comedy, for instance. It’s a group of Southern comedians that, I’ve quickly found out, is equally as entertaining as the Comedians of Comedy. With comedic stylings akin to Oswalt’s off-kilter collective, this mighty foursome (Dave Stone, Andy Sandford, T.J. Young and Joe Zimmerman) is definitely a bright light in the world of standup.

The Budgeteer was recently blessed with the opportunity to ask a few questions of unofficial ringleader Stone, who will be appearing June 11-12 at Dubh Linn Irish Pub with Chris Barnes (who, unfortunately, only sports a little facial hair…):

Budgeteer: I know this has to be the absolutely worst question, but ... how do you describe your humor? If you had to make up a comedy “genre” for your material, what would it be?

Stone: My comedy is a lot like a can of Beef-A-Roni: it’s very filling, but loaded with sodium. “Canned Good Comedy” would be a proper label.

Your hometown got some press a few years back when Stephen Colbert made an easy joke about it on “The Colbert Report” and the Cantonites made a fuss — is there not a lot of joking going on down there? If that’s the case, where’d you get your sense of humor from?

The city of Canton, Ga., imposed a strict humor embargo in the late 1970s, prohibiting the import of all jokes, funny anecdotes and yarns with all bordering states, counties and townships. Most of my comedy is imported illegally from Costa Rica.

On a similar note, what’s kept you in your home state? It seems like most comedians move to either Los Angeles or New York — what are the qualities which Georgia possesses that you just can’t find anywhere else?

I refuse to move to N.Y. or L.A. until one of them learns to produce quality sweet iced tea. My loyalty to my favorite beverage supersedes my desire for stardom.

I laughed reading your bio about people coming up randomly and instructing you to “say something funny” — do you get this a lot? At family get-togethers? How do you deal?

People who ask me that are usually met with a swift karate chop to the sternum. They will often say, “Hey, that’s not very funny” — to which I reply, “It is to me.” Some people have to learn the hard way.

Finally, I just have to ask: What’s with comedians and beards these days? Even fellow Georgia native David Cross is getting in on the action.

Most comics are slobs. Growing a beard is simply easier than dieting.

NEWS TO USE
Comedians Chris Barnes and Dave Stone will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, June 11, at Dubh Linn Irish Pub. Cost is $10 ($18 with pre-show dinner). Reservations recommended; call 727-1559. The two will return the next night, June 12, for two performances: 6:30 and 9 p.m. Cost is $10 ($25 with pre-show dinner).

Tags: arts and entertainment, dave stone, beards of comedy, duluth, budgeteer, comedy, standup, 5q, interview, georgia, comedian