First Mic

Ira Cross
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A show where comics talk about their first time on stage.

  1. He Studied Bill Cosby on VHS Hundreds of Times | Josh Stovall

    قبل ١٢ ساعة

    He Studied Bill Cosby on VHS Hundreds of Times | Josh Stovall

    Josh Stovall is a preacher, a comedian, and the kind of guest who'll sip Zinfandel like it's communion and then tell you about the last time he made his mom laugh before she passed six years ago this March. He spent two and a half years writing jokes in his phone before he ever set foot on a stage — and when he finally did, at an open mic at Fours on High in Columbus, the host was so drunk he butchered Josh's name on the way up. Josh killed anyway. In this conversation with host Ira Cross, Josh gets into why he studied Bill Cosby on VHS as a kid (and what We Must Talk About Bill Cosby gets right about him), why Columbus is the perfect place to get your soul bruised before you go anywhere else, and the unhinged way he handles hecklers. There's a tribute to Murf Henderson's feet, a Craftsman sponsorship pitch, a mystery Friday involving five cop cars in Westerville, and one of the cleanest pieces of advice we've had on this show: take notes on everybody — the ones you like and the ones you don't — and be yourself. Filmed at Rehab Tavern in Columbus, Ohio. What's the wildest first open mic story you've ever heard? Drop it in the comments. 🎙️ Follow Josh Stovall: Instagram: @pastorpeace Facebook: Joshua Eric Stovall 🔗 First Mic is part of the Indie Comedy Collective: YouTube: youtube.com/@IndieComedyCollective Instagram: @indiecomedycollective ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 00:00 — Pastor with the Zinfandel 01:25 — The Last Time He Made His Mom Laugh 02:40 — Jason Banks, Henry Allen, and the Night the Attic Changed His Mind 03:00 — His First Mic at Fours on High (and the Drunk Host Who Couldn't Say His Name) 04:20 — Studying Bill Cosby on VHS, Hundreds of Times 05:33 — "Something Happened on Friday…" 07:11 — The We Must Talk About Bill Cosby Documentary 09:28 — "I Didn't Bomb. Surprisingly." 09:55 — Tyson Colson Is a Comedic AI 12:25 — Why Comedy in Columbus 13:57 — Columbus Will F You Up — In a Good Way 15:48 — All the Ingredients, Nobody Baked the Cake 17:09 — Jesse Sisson Walks In 19:30 — Advice for New Comics: Take Notes, Be Yourself 20:00 — Five Cop Cars in Westerville 22:55 — Favorite Columbus Comic: Murf Henderson 24:30 — Murf's Feet Need a Craftsman Sponsorship 27:25 — Nef Johnson Will Rip Your Soul With Two Words 28:45 — How to Handle a Heckler 30:10 — Fine People Are Insecure Too 33:55 — Least Favorite Social Media: Threads and TikTok 34:30 — Why Facebook Still Wins 36:00 — Where to Find Him + Mom's Ghost Cameos

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  2. Stand-Up in Tokyo on English Night | Janaris Cain

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    Stand-Up in Tokyo on English Night | Janaris Cain

    Janaris Cain (@PrincessNaris) thought she was going to dance for Missy Elliott. Instead, the wig got snatched off her head on a Wild 'N Out tour stop, her friends told her she had to do comedy, and she said "f it" and walked into Shrunken Head for her first open mic. She bombed. Then a stranger in the crowd yelled "your booty though," and Janaris took it as the green light to get back into her joke. Since then she's performed in LA, New York, New Orleans, Chicago, Louisville, Cincinnati, Dayton — and on English night at a comedy club in Tokyo on her birthday trip, where her "big bag of rice" joke about getting comp passes at Universal absolutely killed. She was the only woman on a Mike Epps show at Nationwide Arena, sharing the stage with TK Kirkland, DC Young Fly, Mojo Brooks, and Tony Roberts. She also has thoughts on hecklers — specifically the one in Cincinnati who called her a piggy, and the comeback that shut the table down. Plus: why Sista Lu's open mic at The Attic is the most structured room in the city, the difference between Columbus's community vibe and Chicago's nine-to-five competitiveness, her hot take that Snapchat is "for the cheaters," and what comics need to understand about Instagram being their resume. Janaris is shooting for her first 20–30 minute special by the end of the year. As she put it: "You gotta be delusional when you do this. Or — what's the new term? You gotta be the birthday." 🎙️ Follow Janaris: Instagram: @PrincessNaris Facebook: Janaris Cain 📍 Recorded at Rehab Tavern in Columbus, Ohio.

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  3. Make It Make Sense: A Mother's Day Conversation with Mom | Sheila Taylor

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    Make It Make Sense: A Mother's Day Conversation with Mom | Sheila Taylor

    Happy Mother's Day. For this special episode, Ira sits down with the woman everyone in his life has called hilarious for as long as he can remember — his mom, Sheila Taylor. She's the first non-comic guest on First Mic, the first mom, and (sorry Murf) the first one to take her shoes off on camera.   They get into her first live comedy show at Powers Auditorium in Youngstown back in the late '80s, what it's like watching her son show up on TV commercials and Walmart displays, and the sister-and-fiancée tag team that keeps trying to put her on Tinder. Sheila explains why peace and quiet beats a partner who can't take the trash out, runs through her favorite Columbus comics (Tyson Carson, Sister Lou, Larry Danflows, Murph Henderson, Wendy Ferguson, Def Goldblum), picks Steve Harvey as her Kings of Comedy MVP, and reveals exactly how she'd handle a heckler — and yes, prayer is involved.   Whether she'll ever actually do an open mic? She says one time, with a drink, with Jackie and Myra in the front row. We'll hold her to it.   CHAPTERS 0:00 Cold open 0:14 Welcome to a Mother's Day First Mic 2:31 Murf, the shoes are off 3:08 First non-comic guest in show history 5:04 First live comedy show: Michael Blackson at Powers Auditorium 8:12 Watching her son in commercials 10:14 Why your "intimate community" still counts 13:33 Would Sheila ever do stand-up? 17:00 Plugs: Da F**k, The Valley, Rehab Tavern open mics 19:18 The Tinder situation 19:35 "I can buy myself flowers" 22:07 Favorite Columbus comics 25:48 Favorite comics, living or dead 28:20 How Sheila would handle a heckler 29:50 Why she left social media 32:55 Happy Mother's Day   PRESENTED BY The Independent Comedy Collective   OPEN MIC LINEUP Fridays — Dafuque Beer Company Wednesdays — The Valley (with Def Goldblum) NEW: Rehab Tavern open mic, sign-ups 7pm / start 8pm   Filmed at Rehab Tavern, Franklinton, Columbus, OH.   LISTEN Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get podcasts.   #FirstMic #MothersDay #ColumbusComedy #Standup #IraCross

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  4. Why This Comic Practices in Her Closet Before Every Set | Tanya Vora

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    Why This Comic Practices in Her Closet Before Every Set | Tanya Vora

    Tanya Vora doesn't wing anything. Before her first open mic in July 2023, she recorded herself practicing in her closet, showed up at The Attic early to visualize the stage, and went ninth on the lineup so she wouldn't have to go first. She also Googled what a "tight five" was the week before — because she thought it meant five jokes. She was wrong. She was also great. The comic who followed her, Chris Toiloi, told the room he couldn't believe it was her first time. In this episode of First Mic, Tanya sits down with Ira Cross at Rehab Tavern to talk about moving from Startup Weekend pitch competitions into stand-up, running Brats (the women-centered mic at Space Bar), building Spice Up (her live show where comics interview chefs while the audience eats), the Picasso theory of why year-one comics aren't supposed to be polished yet, and the one thing every headliner she's ever asked said made their career. 🎙️ First Mic is the podcast where Columbus comedians share the story of their first time on stage — the bombs, the lessons, and the moment they got hooked. 📍 Recorded at Rehab Tavern — shout out for hosting us. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every Thursday. 🎙️ Follow Tanya: Instagram/TikTok: @tanya.vohra YouTube: Tanya Vohra Spice Up: @spiceupeats Mic: @bratscomedy

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  5. "I Looked at Comedians Like Dorks and Dweebs" — Then Tony Rock Changed His Mind | LeRon Crowder

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    "I Looked at Comedians Like Dorks and Dweebs" — Then Tony Rock Changed His Mind | LeRon Crowder

    LeRon Crowder is the reason First Mic exists. Before this podcast was a podcast, he and Ira Cross sat in a Columbus library sketching the idea out on dry erase boards like a couple of professors. This is his first mic story — and it starts with Tony Rock at a Cheesecake Factory telling him, "You need to get on stage." After two years of driving up to open mics, looking at comedians like "dorks and dweebs," and turning his car back around, a divorce and a need for something tangible to grab onto finally pushed LeRon through the door. He hasn't stopped since. In this episode, LeRon sits down with Ira Cross at Rehab Tavern to talk about starting The Green Room podcast at iHeart with his brother Mark Gordon, how Tony Rock planted the seed that became a career, being 40 in a scene full of kids, why work ethic matters more than punchlines, raising four young children while chasing stand-up, and his wildly unserious take on his favorite Columbus comics (Tyson Colson, Josh Albert, Jason Banks, Henry Allen — sorry in advance, fellas).   🎙️ First Mic is a podcast where Columbus comedians share the story of their first time on stage — the bombs, the lessons, and the moment they got hooked.   📍 Recorded at Rehab Tavern, 456 West Town Street, Franklinton. Go give them your money. 🎤 Follow LeRon Crowder: Instagram: @leroncrowder Facebook: LeRon Crowder   🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week and get a front-row seat to the Columbus comedy scene. What's the piece of advice someone gave you that changed your whole trajectory? Drop it below.

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  6. "If You're Not Getting Booked, Produce Your Own Show" — Def Goldblum

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    "If You're Not Getting Booked, Produce Your Own Show" — Def Goldblum

    Def Goldblum is a Columbus-based music comedian, open mic host, and show producer who brings guitar, keyboard, and an absurd love of Facebook Marketplace to every stage he touches. On this episode of First Mic, he sits down with Ira Cross to talk about growing up on Redd Foxx records and George Carlin albums, stepping on stage for the first time at Scully's Music Diner right after COVID, and building a comedy career in one of the Midwest's most underrated comedy cities. Def breaks down why writing about everything — even the topics other comics have already covered — is the real path to finding your comedic voice. He shares why he tells new comics to produce their own shows if they want to understand why they're not getting booked, and why self-promotion is the part of comedy nobody wants to do but everybody needs. He also talks about his upcoming comedy rock opera live recording, his shows Date Night with Def and Late Night Double Feature, and the comedian who pushed him over the edge into music comedy: Dennis Blair, George Carlin's longtime opener. Filmed live at Rehab Tavern in Franklinton, Columbus, Ohio. First Mic is a podcast where we talk to comics about their first time on stage. Follow Def Goldblum: @defgoldblum_ across social media Subscribe to First Mic for new episodes every week. Columbus standup comedy, music comedian, open mic tips, comedy podcast, Def Goldblum, First Mic, Ira Cross, Columbus Ohio comedy scene, comedy advice for beginners, how to get booked comedy, Rehab Tavern, Independent Comedy Collective, comedy rock opera

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  7. Her Therapist Told Her to Try Stand-Up | Jules Wagner

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    Her Therapist Told Her to Try Stand-Up | Jules Wagner

    Jules Wagner didn't plan on being a comic — her therapist basically prescribed it. After a cancer diagnosis, chemo, and a brutal first attempt at stand-up in Virginia Beach surrounded by frat bros, Jules walked away from comedy entirely. Then she moved to Columbus, gave it one more shot at Crescent Lounge on February 29th, 2023 — and three mics in, Johnny Collins gave her a piece of advice that reshaped her entire approach: "It's never the room. It's always you." In this episode of First Mic, Jules sits down with Ira Cross at Rehab Tavern to talk about getting sucked into the Columbus comedy scene, why knowing yourself makes you funnier, the class that started it all (shout out Paul Stelzer at hashtag Comedy Club), running the Independent Comedy Collective, why she's mean as hell to hecklers and they love her for it, and the "thread head" life. 🎙️ First Mic is a podcast where Columbus comedians share the story of their first time on stage — the bombs, the lessons, and the moment they got hooked. 📍 Recorded at Rehab Tavern — shout out for hosting us. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week and get a front-row seat to the Columbus comedy scene. Follow Jules: - Instagram: @julesmwagner - TikTok: @noteuphoriajules - Threads: @julesmwagner

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  8. My First Open Mic Was 300 Kids at a Talent Show | Jarrel Beamon

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    My First Open Mic Was 300 Kids at a Talent Show | Jarrel Beamon

    He got in trouble at 10 years old for saying something he definitely shouldn't have to his mom — and the punishment changed everything. Locked out of TV, Jarrel Beaman found an old iPod and fell into a rabbit hole of Richard Pryor albums, Def Jam, Comedy Central Presents, and even Bob Hope. By the time he was 16, he'd been secretly battle-testing material in lunchrooms and on the back of the bus — getting paid a dollar per story — before walking into his high school talent show with zero stage experience and ripping it in front of 300 people. Now the Dayton, Ohio comic has performed at the Apollo Theater, crushed a Kill Tony set at the Mothership (after signing up five times), and calls Columbus his second home. In this conversation with Ira Cross, Jarrel breaks down why studying comics you don't even find funny is the real cheat code, how bombing gives you a Dragon Ball Z-style Zenkai boost, and why the scariest stage he's ever stood on had millions watching instead of hundreds. What's the first thing that made YOU fall in love with comedy — a special, a live show, or someone funny in your life? Drop it in the comments. 🎙️ Follow Jarrel Beaman: @jerrelscomedy on Instagram & TikTok

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A show where comics talk about their first time on stage.

المعلومات

  • صناع العمل
    Ira Cross
  • سنوات النشاط
    ٢٠٢٦
  • الحلقات
    ٢٥
  • التقييم
    فاضح
  • حقوق النشر
    © 2025
  • موقع البرنامج على الويب
    First Mic