Of the St. Louis American
A funny, St. Louis thing is happening to TV land this year: Six area comedians are cued to appear on the small screen in a big way.
Leading the way is Brandon Glover, known around these parts and stages as Hot Sauce. The short, cuddly comic took his show on the road and joked his way onto two popular network TV comedy gigs this season.
Glover “got on” after impressing comedy mogul Bob Summer at a Minnesota audition for the popular, pioneering HBO stand-up comedy show Def Comedy Jam.
Glover’s comedy routine impressed Summer’s humor palate so much that, along with the HBO gig, he scored a spot on BET’s Comic View: One Mic Stand, which offers a fresh new swagger. Comic View: One Night Stand airs 9 p.m. Tuesdays on BET.
Summer also became Glover’s manager, immediately getting him live stage gigs in Miami and New York.
While Glover is happy about his BET debut and the show’s favorable career ramifications, he expressed gratitude for fellow St. Louis comic Jay Lee’s spot on the popular network.
“It’s an honor to be there with Jay Lee – he’s been doing comedy longer than I have,” Glover said. “Now he can do his ‘the douche’ joke and let the world hear it.”
St. Louis comedian Arvin Mitchell, G-Thang (Disaster Movie) and Joe Torry rounds out the STL comic trio slated to appear on One Mic Stand this season.
“It lets me know that St. Louis is making more big steps in comedy,” Glover said.
“There’s a lot of untapped talent here and a lot of guys are doing some good stuff.”
Glover also gave the St. Louis audience credit as one of the toughest in the world, equal to or surpassing the Big Apple’s.
Thus, when St. Louis comics take their shows on the road, they’re ready for prime time.
You have to go out of town, so they can put a face with your name – and TV is even better, Glover said.
“Before I was spending money to go out of town – now that’s going to change,” Glover projected.
St. Louis comedienne Carmen Barton, who took her show to L.A. in February, can attest to the benefit of relocating to the action.
“There’s more opportunity for me to get work in my industry, more talent scouts and production companies,” Barton said of L.A.
“It’s paying off, because I’m making a lot of ground,” said Barton, who has already played most of the major comedy rooms in L.A.
Now Barton’s TV credit is about to roll.
Along with veteran St. Louis comedian-actor Joe Torry (the original host of Def Comedy Jam), Lavell Crawford (Last Comic Standing) and B Phlat, who has been on Def Comedy Jam, she has a spot on Martin Lawrence Presents 1st Amendment Stand-up.
The show began airing at 9 p.m. Tuesdays, August 2 on Starz.
“I needed a TV credit – when I do colleges and clubs, it helps to have a TV credit,” said Barton who participated in the New Faces of Comedy Competition Laffapalooza Urban Comedy Special and showcased as an audition finalist on NBC’s Last Comic Standing.
Barton said St. Louis prepared her well.
“I’m prepared for folks looking for rapid fire, because people in St. Louis have short attention spans like New York,” Barton said.
“They want jokes right away, and I’m killing it because I’m from St. Louis.”
