"They always say that Albert Einstein was a genius. Then how come when anyone every calls you that, it's an insult? 'You don't know where you parked the car? Good job, Einstein.' I don't think we're honoring that man properly by using his name in vain in parking lots."
Comedian Brian Regan smiles as the crowd laughs at the truth behind that statement.
The Miami, Fla., native has been a comedian for over 30 years and has stopped naming his comedy tours. He will be performing at Shea's Performing Arts Center on Friday, Dec. 6.
"I want it to be just me doing comedy," Regan said. "I think if you name it, then people come and say all of that material is from that specific tour. Then people come back another time and hear a joke they heard on a previous tour and they might go, 'Hey that was on the previous tour,' so I'm resistant to naming. It's me."
Regan has been to Buffalo before and said his favorite part of the Queen City is "everything about Buffalo" and he looks forward to presenting new material to the fans. If they saw his show last time he was in Buffalo, Regan assumes at least more than half of his show will be jokes they haven't heard.
His favorite comments after a show are from the fans that tell him the jokes they heard were new to them.
Although the jokes may be new, Regan tries to stay true to his observational and sarcastic style of humor. He draws inspiration from everyday tasks like reading the newspaper, watching TV, going to the bank and paying attention to things that "just happen in life."
Regan describes a lot of his material as "autobiographical" but sometimes he just wants to tell funny stories.
"Some stuff I'm describing are things that have happened to me," Regan said. "And other stuff I'm like, 'Hey, I saw an old lady slip in a mud puddle.' That has nothing to do with me, but I still want to talk about it."
Regan didn't always know he wanted to make people laugh for a living.
He went to college intending to be an accountant, but after a few accounting courses, he thought, "If this is what my future is going to be, I'm in trouble."
So he switched majors to communication and theatre arts, and when he took a speech class, he found his passion for standup comedy. He encourages students to follow their hearts and look at the options available when it comes to picking a major and ultimately a career.
When it comes to comedy, Regan believes he could give thousands of pieces of advice. The first is to find places to perform and the second would be to not give up. He explains there are many factors that can go into a comedian's first time on stage, such as being new, scared or nervous.
"When you first start, more than likely you're going to have a bad show," Regan said. "Don't necessarily let that be the decider as to whether or not you're going to continue on that comedic quest ... You don't want to walk off stage and be like, 'I am never doing that again.'"
It took five auditions at a comedy club in Ft. Lauderdale before he was invited to perform. To this day, he says the moment he passed that audition was the highlight of his career - the owner of the club thought he was funny and showed a lot of promise.
Since then, he has been performing at comedy clubs, going on tours and making people laugh. And he doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon.
After Buffalo, Regan's tour will continue to Rochester for a show at the Rochester Auditorium Theater.
email: arts@ubspectrum.com
