STAND-UP TUESDAYS: Brad Williams

November 5th, 2013

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 Brad Williams’ comedy career. If you or your comedy troupe would like to be featured on Stand-Up Tuesdays, please email utgjames@gmail.com.

Brad Williams is set to release his second full-length CD, Hi, Ho, today via Rooftop Comedy, offering fans a raucous hour of nonstop laughs. The comedian and actor, who rose to fame with regular appearances on Comedy Central’s Mind of Mencia, shares his frustrations around being a dwarf (which are not what you might suspect) and offers some helpful advice to the heavy ladies.

While some performers strive to set themselves apart from certain physical attributes they may possess, Williams mainly works with what he knows – which is life as a little person. Whether it’s venting over Hollywood’s decision to cast tall actors as dwarfs in Snow White and the Huntsman or inadvertently being left alone in the dark in a public rest room, Williams’ view of the world around him is unique and edgy. In addressing the elephant in the room and announcing his own penis size, Williams hilariously comments on the women in the audience taking note: “Bucket list.”

Echoing the sentiments of other comedians who have partnered with Rooftop, Williams chose to release his album with the label due to the amazing team behind production and Rooftop’s commitment to artistic integrity.

“They have a good history behind them and they have a proven track record and can get it on the channels, on iTunes, Pandora. If I did it privately I wouldn’t be able to do that. They can really help the album get to more people and help spread my comedy,” Williams cites in a recent interview with UTG. “They’re really great to work with and always on call – I had some encounters with other record companies who want to do business with me but they wanted to own the material, meaning that once I put it on the album with them, I can no longer do the material in any sort of TV show or radio appearance or set on the Tonight Show. Rooftop didn’t care about that; they just said, ‘It’s your material; you wrote it, you perform it, so it’s yours.’”

I’d love to see Williams branch out a bit more with his material and showcase his comedic chops with some topics that don’t have to do with dwarfism, but of course, one’s strongest material comes from experience. While Williams may never truly remove the ‘dwarf comic’ title bestowed upon him, he certainly has the skills to strengthen his image as a comedian, and not just one who is a little person. I can’t help but feel – and pardon the pun, please – that he is reaching for low-hanging fruit by almost limiting himself to such material. Thankfully, Williams isn’t one to slow down or grow complacent on the heels of his new CD’s release.

“I’m already about three-fourths of the way into writing the next album – I’m not exactly going to Louis CK it and do a new album or special every year, but I can assure fans that if they come to see me live, they’re not going to see the album Hi, Hodone again,” Williams claims. “They’ll see different material, and I’m really proud of that – I would hate for someone to hear my album, buy the album, love the album, and then come see me life and hear the exact same thing. Comedy is always about what are you doing next and thankfully, I’m almost done with a new hour.”

In addition to touring to promote the new CD, fans can look forward to seeing Williams in the upcoming season of Jim Jefferies’ hit show, Legit. Download your copy of Brad Williams’ Hi, Ho today at Rooftop Comedy!

Grade: B+