STAND-UP TUESDAYS: Louis Katz

October 25th, 2011

Angie Frissore

Stand-Up Tuesdays is a weekly comedy spotlight written by the wonderfully talented Angie Frissore. Covering both known and unknown comics, Stand-up Tuesdays is your new source for all things funny.

This week, Angie puts a spotlight on Louis Katz and his latest release, If These Balls Could Talk. If you or your comedy troupe would like to be featured on Stand-Up Tuesdays, please email utgjames@gmail.com.

Even though 2011 still has a little bit of life left in her, it’s safe to say I’ve found what I consider to be the stand-out comedy album of the year in Louis Katz’ If These Balls Could Talk. Released earlier this year as a digital album, the aptly-named recording is the Los Angeles native’s first in his ten year comedy career – and he nailed it.

If These Balls Could Talk was released in conjunction with the premiere of Katz’ Comedy Central Presents special, which debuted back in March. On the album, Katz discusses why he hates hippies, how he lands women, pornography, and exactly what street chocolate is – all with an incredibly high level of energy and impeccable timing.

“Sometimes I would count syllables just to make sure it’s as tight as possible,” Katz told me recently, describing his creative process – though he’s loosened some on being so meticulous. “Just this year I started writing more on stage and seeing where things go just when I perform it.”

It’s a mix that certainly works for Katz, who has appeared on “Last Call with Carson Daly,” Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham,” Jamie Foxx’s “America’s Funniest Comics” and HBO’s “Down and Dirty with Jim Norton”. No topic is off limits as he slings story upon story of oddities and hilarity.

“It’s kind of a weird time in my life right now,” Katz quips. “A lot of my friends are getting married – the rest of us are pro-choice.”

As the title would suggest, the album is rife with highly-detailed sex jokes, but no matter how over the top Katz gets, his humor is so quick and witty that there’s simply no time for shock or guilt. Thirty seconds into the set, and Katz has you hooked (even his setups have punch lines).

“Here’s a little advice for you guys,” Katz states. “Never hire a clown named Molesto.”

Katz has also produced a series of short films for Adult Swim’s superdeluxe.com (which can be seen at youtube.com/louiskatzcomedy), and fittingly released a video for one of the album tracks, “Hippie Roommate, featuring Dave Meowthews”, which was created in collaboration with Pomp & Clout.

“I wanted it to have a different look,” Katz says. “I feel like a lot of that flash stuff sort of looks the same. I found a guy that mostly does music videos, and I showed him the stuff and he was into it. We collaborated on the whole thing, and he really came through at the end doing it the whole two-toned thing all the time.”

I really could go on and on about how much I enjoy If These Balls Could Talk, but one just has to give it a listen to know immediately where I’m coming from. Katz is a true entertainer and one absolutely hilarious person. Pick up ITBCT today over at Amazon.com, and I guarantee it will make your top comedy list as well.