Valerie Lopez
Richard Goodwin
PSA: If you’re catching this episode on the day of release, June 23rd, drop everything (unless it’s a baby, or something valuable, like a foot long coney) and get out to see Mac Blake’s shows this weekend and next:
- June 23rd, 24th @ 9PM: Mac Blake headlines, with Amber Bixby & Devon Walker opening, at The Velveeta Room
- June 23rd @ 11PM: The Banter Show! At The Velveeta Room
- June 29th @ 9:30PM: Waterbed with Mac Blake & Devon Walker
Let’s get this out of the way: Mac Blake is big. Whether you’re looking up to his height, his career, or his heart, on stage, everything about the man is larger than life.
Blake is almost an official native Austinite, having been here “a while”: nearly rounding the 20 year mark. (You might even call him an Austin legend.) He spent his youth in and out of Texas, with time in Georgia, Virginia, and then a long stretch in San Antonio for his formative years.
In the midst of earning his Masters in Advertising in Austin, he found himself drawn (or serendipitously falling into) opportunities like the MST3K “homage”, Master Pancake. Blake and I seem to share the common attraction to taking on certain challenges & hobbies: seeing someone else doing it and wanting to do it better.
That initiative serves Blake well, driving him to run and perform in multiple local shows, and led to taking the Funniest Person in Austin title in 2013. Always working to gather and perfect his material, in 2015 he etched some of that work for posterity into his first comedy album, Bird Drugs, on the Sure Thing Records label. The album debuted in the #3 spot on the iTunes comedy chart, and uncannily captures the wild ride of Blake’s live performances.
In addition to the shows mentioned up top that you should be running to after (or while) listening to Blake’s interview, be sure to grab his latest EP, Live at Coldtowne. Keep up with other dates and the many other shows he performs in, like Six Shooter and Movie Riot, at macblakecomedy.com.
Valerie Lopez
Richard Goodwin