Kevin Knows named Funniest Man on Marco
by Phyllis Bator - Marco Island Sun Times - July 27, 2006
It began on Thursday night, where six comedians vied for the first round of the Funniest Man on Marco Island contest. They came from as far as Tampa, Port Charlotte, West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale. The winner of the evening was Max Doyle, who received a check for $100 and an opportunity to compete again on Sunday evening for the final round. Bobby Miller and Laurie Fondilier were also in the top three.
Ron Morey, who served as master of ceremonies, has performed at the club. And what a perfect choice he was! I've seen him perform before, but he was certainly at his best that night. He is just a very funny, natural comedian who makes everyone laugh.
Sunday evening's master of ceremonies was another funny guy, Gary Menke. In between each comedian's act, he did a schtick of his own. He, too, was hilarious. These two MC's are comedians you don't want to miss when they return to the club.
Twelve contestants did their comedic routines at Sunday's contest finale. They included Dominic Muzio, Jim Chaquettte, C.L. Smith, Paul Smith, Tony B, Vinny Deisso, Christina, Kevin Knows, Filippo Montana, Laurie Fondilier, Max Doyle and Keith Jackson.
By audience applause, the group was narrowed down to six contestants, then four, and finally the winner.
Knows won the competition hands down and was awarded a $100 check. He was hilarious from the moment he grabbed the microphone. There was non-stop laughter for five minutes, and he later said he had six more minutes of dialouge on the tip of his tongue.
Coming down from Tampa for the competition, Knows has been doing comedy for just three years. Trying to do an interview was almost impossible because no matter what I asked, the answer came out in the form of a joke. I had a difficult time trying not to laugh so hard. What a fun job!
When I asked him his name, he said, "Kevin Knows. That's my stage name because the IRS is looking for me. They can't find you if you don't have an address, so it's no problem."
He also mentioned that Sunday night was his 296th time on stage, so he was getting very comfortable with it.
Asking where he got his material from, he stated, "It comes from my heart. I can't just sit there with a paper and pen and write comedy. It comes off the top of my head and I'll write it in my little black book. From there, I'll build on an idea and blend it into what I think the audience might accept."
Knows continued, "The more you do something, you get to see more different angles about it. And one of the good things about comedy is you can learn to read audiences - what they can or can't take."
He noted that he averages between six and nine laughs per minute. So in five minutes on stage, the allotted time for each comedian, he calculated that he got 35 laughs.
Some of his routine included hilarious one-liners:
"I'm a carpenter by trade. And if Jesus Christ was one, then it's good enough for me."
"I'm from New Orleans originally. But quite frankly, that city's gone under since I left and all my ex's live in Louisiana."
"My mom told me I was gifted, but she didn't give me anything for Christmas."
Before coming to Marco Island for the contest, Knows performed in Clearwater on Friday evening at Coconut's and on Saturday evening at Coconut's in Lakeland. He stated that comedy is therapeutic because you have to have a sense of humor.
"To receive laughter from the stage is the most exhilarating thing I've ever experienced," Knows added.
Brien Spina, who came up with the idea for the contest, said that the club had been trying to do an open mic competition to see what kind of interest there was. His agent put the word out to all the Improvs.
"We're also going to do The Funniest Man in Florida," Spina said. "The Improv has six clubs now and we'll do each region. We'll have the championship contest here because it was my idea."
The other Improv clubs are located in Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Hollywood, West Palm Beach and Miami.
The winner of the Funniest Man in Florida, with a representative coming from each Improv, will win a weeklong performance gig at Capt. Brien's Off The Hook Comedy Club and a weeklong performance gig at The Improv in Orlando.
"So for all the up and coming comedians, that's a big deal," Spina said.
Phyllis Bator has been involved with music all her life and has been reviewing entertainment for several years. Comments can be sent to her at
phyllisbator@earthlink.net.
İMarco Island Sun Times 2006
|
