In this episode, Cody has a conversation with Anchorage comedian John Norris. John’s parents were pastors for the Salvation Army, so a good portion of his upbringing was spent moving around. He says that in order to make friends in these new places, you could either be good at sports or be funny. John chose to be funny. He says that he doesn’t exactly remember a defining moment that really pushed him toward comedy, but that he listened to a lot of comedy albums as a kid and watched a lot of stand-up on Comedy Central. Then, when he was about 23, he did his first open mic at the Wood Shed, a bar in Anchorage that has since closed. It’s been about 10 years since that first open mic and he’s still at it, the difference being he’s now an integral part of the local comedy scene.
John likes to make people laugh, but more importantly he likes to watch his friends make people laugh. His experience in the Alaska stand-up scene—telling jokes, hanging out and laughing with friends, and opening up for headliners—is something he wants to share with other fans of comedy. So, he started Bear Bones Comedy, a small promotion company that’s trying to bring comedians up to Alaska. The idea is to establish a consistently funny show that features headliners and local comedians.
EP 152 Exonerating Alaskans with Jory Knott
EP 151 Things can get better with Heidi Huppert
EP 150 Furniture, basketball and family with Buddy Bailey
EP 149 Human trafficking in Alaska and decolonizing data with Josie Heyano
Chatter Marks EP 83 Moving home, revitalizing a language and the magic of radio with Shyanne Beatty
Chatter Marks EP 82 A chip on my shoulder with Mario Chalmers
EP 148 Skating Anchorage in the ‘90s with Anthony Black and Jerry Smyth
EP 147 For the glory and the story with IG
Chatter Marks EP 81 Life lessons from fish camp with Angela Gonzalez
EP 146 Searching for understanding and forgiveness with Robert Stark
EP 145 There is no excuse with Andrew Kurka
EP 144 Deconstructing the myth of The Last Frontier with Kaitlin Armstrong
EP 143 A Christmas they’ll never forget
EP 142 The history of slime with Christopher Michlig
EP 141 What we’ve been through is not who we are now with Travante Williams
EP 140 From middle school teacher to pro wrestler with Freya the Slaya
EP 139 Embracing the variance of poker with Adam Hendrix
Museums in a Climate of Change: Chatter Marks EP 73 Futures thinking, perseverance and climate change with Kristin Alford of the Museum of Discovery at the University of South Australia
EP 138 What happens to Alaska when oil is no longer economically viable for the economy of the state?
Museums in a Climate of Change: Chatter Marks EP 72 Creating sustainable exhibitions with Lizzy Bakker of NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam
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