Johnny Taylor, Jr.
Born (1977-03-05) March 5, 1977
Riverside, California
Occupation(s)Stand-up comedian, actor, podcaster, writer
Years active2011-present

Johnny Taylor, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor, and podcaster from Sacramento, California.

Taylor has released two comedy albums and a charity single on Stand Up! Records. His debut, 2014's Tangled Up in Plaid, reached No. 7 on the iTunes comedy chart.[1][2] His 2018 followup album and video Bummin' with the Devil reached No. 1 on both the Amazon and iTunes comedy charts.[3][4][5]

Early life

Taylor was born March 5, 1977, in Riverside, California.[6][7] He has called his childhood "rocky"; his family moved several dozen times before settling in Sacramento.[7]

He was an amateur boxer from 13 to 19,[8] and competed in Police Athletic League and Golden Gloves tournaments in Sacramento and Reno, Nevada. He hoped to turn professional, but a detached retina forced his retirement. He became a boxing trainer and co-owned a gym before becoming a comedian full-time.[9]

Career

Taylor performing at the Mystic Theater in Petaluma, California on August 16, 2018

Taylor began performing stand-up in May 2011, at age 33.[9][10][6]

Taylor's work ethic helped fuel his rise in the Northern California comedy scene; in his first year as a comic, he would drive to San Francisco and perform at as many open mics in one night as he could, appearing on stage between 300 and 400 times that year.[11][12] He won the Stand-up Shootout competition in Sacramento in 2011,[6] was named the city's best comedian in 2016 by readers of the Sacramento News & Review,[13] and came in second in the same poll in 2014.[14]

Taylor considers himself a "storyteller comic", and much of his material is drawn from his own life.[15][16] He is known for his deeply personal, brutally honest and often dark comedy, which includes routines about his divorces and his parents' deaths.[6][17][9][18]

He has toured across the U.S. and Canada,[7][19][20] and is a regular on the comedy festival circuit, performing at San Francisco Sketchfest,[21] the New Orleans Hell Yes Fest, the Asheville Comedy Festival,[22] Altercation Fest,[23][24] the Sacramento Comedy Festival,[25] and the Chico Comedy Festival.[26] He tours frequently with Brian Posehn.[8][27][19]

Taylor also writes for punk-rock satire website The Hard Times. In September 2020, he began hosting pop-culture podcast Hipsterocracy for The Hard Times' podcasting network, on which Taylor has interviewed other comedians as well as musicians such as Brendan Benson and Blag Dahlia of the Dwarves.[8][4][28]

In 2015, he co-hosted the podcast It's Funny Because with fellow Sacramento comic Keith Lowell Jensen, in which the pair interviewed national and Sacramento-area comedians.[29] The Sacramento Bee called it "a riveting and eye-opening dissection of the art and craft of comedy."[30][31] With comic Daniel Humbarger, he co-hosted the sports podcast Cowbell Kingdom in 2015 and 2016.[32][33][34][35]

In 2021, he began hosting the talk-show/news-commentary webseries The Nonfiction with Johnny Taylor, Jr.[36]

He has also written for the Huffington Post,[37] Laughspin, Laugh Button, McSweeneys,[10] and The Interrobang.[38]

Albums

Taylor has released two comedy albums and a charity single on Stand Up! Records.

His debut, 2014's Tangled Up in Plaid, [39] reached No. 7 on the iTunes comedy chart.[1][2] It was reviewed positively by critics. Chris Spector of Midwest Record praised Taylor's "punk-rock energy" and said "he's got a sharp wit that really cuts to the bone."[40] Brett Watson of The Serious Comedy Site said "Taylor is an absolute master of misdirection. Many of the punchlines go in directions you will never see coming."[18]

His 2018 followup album and video Bummin' with the Devil reached No. 1 on both the Amazon and iTunes comedy charts.[3][4][5] Aaron Carnes of the Sacramento News & Review called it an improvement over his debut, saying that Taylor "never rushes a punchline and tells true stories with absurd details."[12] Lara Smith of Austin, Texas, website ComedyWham noted Taylor's "evolution and growth" as a comic, saying "he’s grown more comfortable as a performer and a polished storyteller."[41] Richard Lanoie of The Serious Comedy Site praised the "dark and autobiographical humor" but felt his Donald Trump material (recorded before the 2016 election) was dated.[42]

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 "Comedian Johnny Taylor to record special for Stand Up! Records". The Laugh Button. May 12, 2016. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  2. 1 2 Beth Ruyak (2015-04-07). "Insight: Political Junkie Goes West / Walk MS / 33 Variations / Johnny Taylor". Insight (Podcast). Capital Public Radio (California State University, Sacramento). Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  3. 1 2 "Meet Johnny Taylor". Voyage LA Magazine. April 2, 2019. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  4. 1 2 3 Brock, Marcus (October 16, 2020). "Satire Site The Hard Times Launches New Podcast "Hipsterocracy" Hosted by Stand-up Comedian Johnny Taylor". Newsdeli. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  5. 1 2 Vince Mancini (2018-11-06). "Frotcast 393: The Seed Bearers, With Sean Keane And Johnny Taylor Jr". Filmdrunk Frotcast (Podcast). Uproxx. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Costello, Becca (2011-12-08). "Knockout comedy: Johnny Taylor". News & Review. Sacramento, California. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  7. 1 2 3 Smith, Lara (September 25, 2018). "Johnny Taylor: No Rules". ComedyWham. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  8. 1 2 3 Bill Conway, Matt Saincome (2020-10-01). "The Hard Times Podcast w/ Johnny Taylor (Hipsterocracy)". The Hard Times Podcast (Podcast). The Hard Times. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  9. 1 2 3 Robert Omoto (2021-04-27). "#203 - Johnny Taylor Jr. - Hipsterocracy". Random Thoughts With Robert Omoto (Podcast). Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  10. 1 2 Jesse Rivera (2019-11-27). "Comic Talk (Episode 30-Johnny Taylor)". Jesse Rivera Likes to Talk (Podcast). Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  11. ↑ Nyarady, Evan (2015-05-01). "The Tenacity of Humor: Johnny Taylor in Perspective". Tube Magazine. Sacramento, California. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  12. 1 2 Carnes, Aaron (2016-12-15). "Keith Lowell Jensen and Johnny Taylor Jr.: A duo for the ages". News & Review. Sacramento, California. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  13. ↑ "Best of Sacramento 2016: Arts & Entertainment readers' picks". News & Review. Sacramento, California. 2016-09-22. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  14. ↑ "Best of Sacramento 2014: People & Places". News & Review. Sacramento, California. 2014-09-11. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  15. ↑ Carnes, Aaron (2016-06-16). "In The Mix: Johnny Taylor is out of the dark". News & Review. Sacramento, California. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  16. ↑ Beth Ruyak (March 29, 2018). "Johnny Taylor Brings 'Sicko' Home To Sacramento". Insight (Podcast). Capital Public Radio (California State University, Sacramento). Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  17. ↑ Serna, Amy (2014-11-11). "Real, Personal Johnny Taylor". Submerge Magazine. Sacramento, California. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  18. 1 2 Brett Watson (2018-04-09). "Johnny Taylor – Tangled Up In Plaid". The Serious Comedy Site. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  19. 1 2 Leonard, J.P. (2019-09-04). "Q&A with comedian Kevin Farley". The Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, Louisiana). Lafayette, Louisiana. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  20. ↑ Twitchell, Jenny (2018-09-19). "New Bryan-College Station comedy club to feature big names, local talent". The Bryan-College Station Eagle. Bryan, Texas. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  21. ↑ "Performers: Johnny Taylor". SF Sketchfest 2015. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  22. ↑ "Laugh Your Asheville Off". Capital At Play. Asheville, North Carolina. August 2017. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  23. ↑ "Altercation Comedy Festival". KUTX-FM. Austin, Texas. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  24. ↑ "Comedy Night at The Melon Ball welcomes Johnny Taylor". The Davis Enterprise. Davis, California. 2019-06-24. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  25. ↑ Rodriguez, Steph (2012-09-06). "A comic walks into a festival …". News & Review. Sacramento, California. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  26. ↑ Manfredi, Matt (April 4, 2018). "Chico Comedy Festival returns". Chico Enterprise-Record. Chico, California. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  27. ↑ Dykes, Bret Michael (2020-09-16). "UPROXX 20: Brian Posehn Will Watch Anything With Kurt Russell In It". Uproxx. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  28. ↑ "Hipsterocracy". Libsyn. The Hard Times. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  29. ↑ "It's Funny Because: Archive". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  30. ↑ Grunewald, Becky (2015-02-09). "Five Sacramento-area podcasts worth a listen". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  31. ↑ Ben Adler (July 29, 2015). "Keith Lowell Jensen, Johnny Taylor Launch MASS". Insight (Podcast). Capital Public Radio (California State University, Sacramento). Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  32. ↑ Daniel Humbarger, Johnny Taylor (2015-12-24). "CK Podcast 229: Rondo statistics and a game with high stakes". Spreaker (Podcast). Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  33. ↑ Beas, Leo (January 8, 2016). "CK Podcast 231: A hard look at the Kings' real big 3". TheSportsDaily. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  34. ↑ Daniel Humbarger, Johnny Taylor (2016-01-21). "CK Podcast 233: ESPN Director of Analytics, Ben Alamar discusses the Kings' chances of making the playoffs". Spreaker (Podcast). Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  35. ↑ Daniel Humbarger, Johnny Taylor (2016-02-14). "CK Podcast 236: Leo Beas calls out Yahoo's subjective article about the Kings". Spreaker (Podcast). Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  36. ↑ "The Nonfiction with Johnny Taylor, Jr". The Nonfiction with Johnny Taylor, Jr. YouTube. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  37. ↑ "Contributor: Johnny Taylor". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  38. ↑ Taylor, Johnny (November 15, 2018). "The 5: Johnny Taylor's 5 Cities You Think Are Gonna Suck But They're Actually Kinda Tight". The Interrobang. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  39. ↑ Tangled Up In Plaid at AllMusic. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  40. ↑ Chris Spector (2014-09-24). "Volume 38/Number 328". Midwest Record. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  41. ↑ Smith, Lara (December 26, 2018). "Review – Johnny Taylor: Bummin' with the Devil". ComedyWham. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  42. ↑ Richard Lanoie (January 20, 2019). "Bummin' With the Devil – Johnny Taylor". The Serious Comedy Site. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
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