Adelaide comedian, Marc Ryan is a self diagnosed bogan. He’s also a state winner, and national finalist of Raw Comedy, and through his success has been able to go full time – although not without some serious thought. In this School of Hard Knock Knocks podcast, we discuss Raw, building a comedy career, supportive wives, and the Adelaide Fringe Festival. …
The Raw Story with Ben Horowitz
Comedian Ben Horowitz knows Raw Comedy well – he entered three times. His first brush with the amateur competition was in 2002, and although he did pick up two footy club gigs immediately after, he got no further. “The gig was huge,” says Ben reminiscing of his first brush with fame. “There were over 500 people in the audience, and …
063: Chris Wainhouse – Dark humour and the importance of taboos
New Zealand born, Brisbane raised, and globally travelled, Chris Wainhouse, has been in the comedy game for over 20 years. The son of a fundamental Christian mother, it should come as no surprise for those that know Chris’s material, that his views are somewhat different – after all, he called his most recent Melbourne International Comedy Festival show (MICF) ‘The …
060: Khaled Khalafalla – How comedy killed the radio star
Khaled Khalafalla has had a meteoric rise in comedy. But it could have turned out very different. Born into a medical family of surgeons and dentists, and growing up in Saudi Arabia and New Zealand, comedy’s call must have been strong. Now calling Melbourne home, Khaled has well and truly put his mark on the comedy map, having come runner …
059: David Tulk – ‘No Filter’ but still lovable
David Tulk has been performing stand-up comedy for the past 15 years, and today he’s a regular feature at comedy rooms around Australia. A straight talker, Tulk’s rough edges are emphasised by the titles of his productions, namely his upcoming stand-up show ‘David Tulk has No Filter‘ and his YouTube video series, “Some People Are Just Arseholes.“ In this interview …
057: Paul Sharplin – Jumping in the deep end of comedy
Paul Sharplin has only been in the comedy game for 15 months. But that hasn’t stopped him from competing at Raw Comedy twice, and running a comedy room – Guerilla, in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn. But as you’ll learn from this School of Hard Knock Knocks podcast interview, Paul just likes to jump in head first. Newcomers to comedy …
MICF Review – Gavin Sempel – Plain and Sempel
For someone so lightly framed, Gavin Sempel’s humour packs a punch. Indeed, the seemingly incidental goings on in most people’s lives, become highly visible targets, ripe for the Sempel comedic treatment. More often than not the target is Sempel himself (as well as the “odd” family member) which he pounds relentlessly with self-deprecating effect. Born and raised in Sydney’s west, …
054: Cameron James – Building a comedy brand with your own hands
Sometimes anonymity can give you the courage to try something scary. That was the case for Cameron James, the Newcastle born comedian whose first open mic was at Comedy on Edge in Sydney, where he knew no one – intentionally. Today, Cameron is well known, having made the national final of Raw Comedy, performed all over Australia, and has representation. …
053: Gavin Sempel – The hard road to Raw Comedy
Gavin Sempel is one of the hardest working new comedians in Australia. At the age of 18, in March 2016, Gavin began his stand-up comedy career by enrolling in the very first School of Hard Knock Knocks course. Two years later, almost to this day, he’s done close to 300 open mic, curated, and paid gigs all around Australia. Last …