In this edition of ‘Live! From the 209’, we talk with working comedians that call the 209 their home. Meet Taylor Evans and Patrick Eley.
Taylor Evans
A Turlock-raised comic who began performing stand-up comedy in 2014.
“[Taylor Evans] has also been featured at the Savage Henry Comedy Festival, but works as a regular comic at clubs in California and is a member of the Deaf Puppies comedy collective.” -An excerpt from Taylor Evans’ bio.
When asked about if he always dreamed of being a comedian, Evans answered “never,” immediately.
What was the start of your career as a comedian?
“How I got started in comedy, nothing really drew me to it. You ever tell a lie then have to live a lie?” Taylor asked half-jokingly to laughter.
“That was more or less what happened. I told somebody that I did stand-up comedy one time, to get a chick, and then she [said] ‘Oh I’m gonna add you on Facebook’. And then I had to get a picture taken of me on stage the next day because I was [thinking] ‘She’s gonna see it’ ya know? So then I posted it on Facebook. I didn’t think about all of my friends and family that were going to see it. So then people started [asking] ‘So you do stand-up comedy?’ And I was like ‘Yeah, totally I do stand-up comedy,’” Evans said.
What has been your greatest success and greatest failure in stand-up?
Speaking from the heart about what success means to him:
“I was able to buy my grandmother a couch, with money I made in comedy. My grandmother had a run down couch and I was able to buy her a brand new one with the money I made,” Evans said.
As far as his description of dealing with crushing defeat; every comedian can relate to this on some level.
“I bombed a competition that was for 5,000 dollars,” he stated. “I did the Gallo in Modesto, [it was] sold-out,” Evans said while expressing his excitement toward his superb performance. “And then the next week, I had a competition and I bombed in front of like 400 people to complete silence. It was my first time ever having a bad set in front of that big of an audience, [where] nobody in the audience laughed. It felt like I was on The Truman Show or something. Like ‘Let’s give him the best day of his life, and then the worst day of his life’. It just didn’t make sense to me and it made me question what I had been doing. Had I been doing these shows where people were coddling me [and] being nice to me? Were people being honest with the feedback they were giving me?” Evans described in recollection of his frustration and discontent.
What is something that comedy has given you, that you don’t believe you would have received without being involved with stand-up?
“The friends. Comics are some of the coolest people I’ve ever met, the most interesting-
There’s only a way of looking at the world, like in the way that you do, that you can only find in other comics. It definitely feels like the Matrix: Red or Blue pill [dilemma], and the only other people that took the same pill as you are comics. Just the comradery that comes from other comedians and stuff like that. The friendship,” he said. “If I didn’t find comedy, my life would be so different. I would’ve been a construction worker or something [similar]. Some labor job.”
Something you can tell to newer comics? Not people that have tried it once and never committed, but people that continued and really want to be in this? What’s something you can say to them early on that you wish would have been said to you?
“A good piece of advice I wish I had gotten earlier; because I spent, probably, about a year and a half of like my initial years in comedy not even searching for my voice. Just trying to do comedy in a way that I thought I was supposed to do it. I wasn’t being authentic, I wasn’t being myself when I was up there and being authentic is a hard thing, because then if we deal with the rejection it’s like; ‘oh they actually don’t like us’. Compared to if I’m doing a shtick or something I’m not fully invested in and they don’t like it, [we] can handle that better, and that’s not how you’re going to get better as a comic. So, one of the pieces of advice that I got that helped me along with that was from Mike E. Winfield. It was to think about the three people that you are funniest in front of. That can be siblings, cousins, best friend, whatever. Think of the people that you make laugh the hardest, [that version of you] and channel that person to the stage. Write your jokes using that voice and attitude [that] you have of that person. I think that’s the fastest way to find your voice and find where you fit in, in this comedy world,” Evans explained.
You can follow Taylor Evans on Instagram @TaylorevansComedy
Patrick Eley
Comedian and martial artist.
Eley lived in many places before calling the 209 area his home, including Florida where he was introduced to boxing during his undergraduate. “I stopped all of that and [left] to get the regular 9 to 5 education and job. And then I really hated my life,” Eley said. Patrick Eley shares how he began combat sports and how he found himself performing comedy.
Around the age of 24, he was introduced to Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai and other combat sports.
“The moment I stepped into that gym, I became obsessed with martial arts,” Eley explained.
Eley left Florida for Chicago where he considered trying for the UFC but being nearly 30, he felt he was too old to pursue professional fighting.
His official bio notes that Eley is a “standup comedian, podcaster, martial artist, and retired chiropractor. He’s lived all over the country and worked in a spectrum of professions from longshoreman to derivatives trader. His comedy examines the challenges of modern America, reflecting on the contrasts between classes and regional culture.”
What brought you to Stockton?
“I saved up some money to move to Stockton, in hopes to train with the Diaz brothers,” Eley said, referencing professional UFC fighters Nate and Nick Diaz. This was in 2015. Eley currently trains Jiu Jitsu with the Diaz brothers.
When did you start comedy?
“I started comedy in March or April of 2022. I did a set 10 years before in Chicago just once before,” Eley said. “That’s when I met you guys (the comedians from around the valley).”
Were you always a fan of stand-up?
“I always really liked it. I remember my friends and I when we were in like middle school, renting Andrew Dice Clay and Richard Pryor. [In college] I would watch black comedy on BET, but I never thought about doing it myself until I was in my mid 20s [when I] was a Chiropractor [and I] saw [a] Bill Burr special on Netflix,” Eley said.
What made you want to be a comedian?
“Bill Burr on a video where he was talking about his anger and making people laugh. I identified with [that]. [It] planted a seed and I just wondered what it would be like to communicate that way on stage.
Eley had a simple motto for advice:
“Discipline. Repetition. Living clean.”
You can follow Patrick Eley on Instagram @PatrickEley209