Spit 2 Da Beat Podcast
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Spit 2 Da Beat Podcast
From Supportive Spouse to Standing Ovations A-Train's Comedy Tale
Ever wondered how an unexpected twist can catapult someone into the spotlight? Comedian A-Train knows that story all too well. Growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, he never envisioned a career in comedy until his wife took the bold step of signing him up for a local comedy competition. The result? A victory that changed the course of his life. We'll uncover the moments of disbelief turning into a standing ovation, and how his wife's unwavering support and his natural talent paved the way for his nationwide fame.
Having shared the stage with comedy giants like D.L. Hughley and Bill Bellamy, A-Train brings a treasure trove of wisdom and mentorship to our conversation. Tune in as he reveals how these seasoned veterans have shaped his approach to comedy, emphasizing the relentless grind and the importance of focusing on future goals rather than past successes. A-Train's reflections are a goldmine for aspiring comedians looking to make their mark in the industry.
Finally, A-Train sheds light on the unique world of cruise ship comedy, a niche that presents its own set of challenges and rewards. From adapting his material for a global audience to fine-tuning his delivery to bridge language barriers, A-Train’s versatility shines through. His journey from performing in arenas and theaters to mastering the cruise ship circuit offers listeners invaluable insights into the diverse demands of comedy across different platforms. Don’t miss this episode packed with personal stories, professional advice, and plenty of laughs.
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and welcome to spit to the Beat Podcast. I'm your host, stacey B, unstoppable Prairie, and we are in the studio doing a virtual recording with my very special guest joining me today on this Father's Day weekend comedian A-Train. But before I bring him on, you know how do I kick that intro.
Speaker 2:Nobody do it better.
Speaker 1:Hit that notification bell. I really do appreciate it. Thank you so much to all my listeners as well as my sponsors. Again, we are back in the virtual studio. I'm your host, stacey Beat Unstoppable. You're on Spit to the Beat podcast. Today. I got a very special guest joining me from Atlanta, georgia Comedian my friend, the guy I got to know on the Maxwell Urban Hangout Suite cruise earlier this year. So I was super excited to get back in touch with him and to get him on the podcast. Thank you so much for his wife, but also for making this happen as well. So, without further ado, I'm bringing you on my guest comedian A-Train. Hey, hey.
Speaker 2:What's going on, my brother?
Speaker 1:Not much, man, happy to see you, man, how you doing.
Speaker 2:I'm good man. I just want to make one correction.
Speaker 1:Okay, go ahead.
Speaker 2:So that the listening audience will understand I am from Duval Duval. Duval Duval, jacksonville, florida. I just so happen to be in Atlanta right now because I got a flight out early in the morning to Alaska to get on that ship.
Speaker 1:But I am from Duval, yes, Well, definitely, thank you for making that clear. He's from Duval, jacksonville.
Speaker 2:Yes sir, born and raised. Yes sir.
Speaker 1:So are you residing in Atlanta, or you what?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just be on the run man. You know we're traveling and you know, as a comic man, you on the road every week. You know what I'm saying. And I had a show I had to host AllstStales Juneteenth celebration. So did that on yesterday evening and, like I say, I'm flying out in the morning. But yeah, man, jacksonville, florida, is always home, man.
Speaker 1:Awesome, awesome, awesome. Look, let's talk a little bit about your career and everything. How did you all get started?
Speaker 2:Also, I personally want to know how did you come by the name A-Train? Well, first of all, I got started, man, doing comedy, believe it or not. My wife, brother, my wife, you know, she's been telling me about I need to be doing comedy, man, uh, for years, and I just ignored it, ignored it, ignored it like I'm not doing that. You know what I mean. Like, she told me when we met 26 years ago, you know, we had just met hanging out for a few months, and she was like you ever thought about doing stand-up. She's like you need to be doing stand-up comedy. I was like I'm not doing no stand-up comedy, you know.
Speaker 2:And uh pushed it off, brother, about, you know, about 11 years, you know. And then I started, you know, um, like hosting events and things like that and rocking, you know, rocking the rooms, and she just got tired of me ignoring her. So what she did was she signed me up into a comedy competition that was here in the city and, uh, and she made me do it like I didn't even know, I didn't even know she had initiated, you know, until afterwards, and she's talking like, yeah, we got like what, what you know, and um, and so, sure enough, man, long story short. I participated, you know, and uh, I won, you know, and the rest was literally history, man, like it was nonstop ever since. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, was that a surprise to you winning that.
Speaker 2:It was a surprise, because you got to keep in mind I didn't want to do it, right, I'm only doing this to shut her up and to have her leave me alone and don't ever bother me about this, ever again. And, truth of the matter, I was on stage and while I was on stage, you know, doing my little set, the whole time I'm thinking in my head like this is so dumb, like this is so stupid man. And I'm saying this in my head, like this is so dumb, like this is so stupid man, like and I'm saying this in my head and people in the crowd they laughing at the stuff I'm saying and doing, but at the same time I'm in my head and I literally said this ain't funny. Like why are they laughing? You know what I mean? And I did that like the whole set. Brother and um and you know, did my, you know, my last little joke, you know, and people were standing on their feet clapping and I'm exiting the stage and I'm just looking down at the floor and I'm trying to get out of there, not even realizing I just got a standing ovation, you know, and I went off in the back and the other comedians they went up and they had, because I was in this competition with, like you know, cats who were like bona fide comics who have been doing this for a while, uh, comedians who have went to comedy classes at the local comedy club I didn't even know you could take a class for comedy, you know. And here I am straight off the street just doing this to shut my wife up and to have her leave me alone, and, man, I ended up winning the competition by the crowd participation and a panel of judges that was at that showcase, and so the prize for that, for that competition, was you got got like a little monetary, you know, uh award.
Speaker 2:And then, two weeks later, you had to open up for this comedy show that they were throwing right, and it was at the, uh, the times union theater, which is in downtown jacksonville, which is, like you know, one of the big theaters in town, and it was a sold out show, bro. And so here I am, you know, because I won the competition, I gotta be the first one to go out to do my seven minutes. And, man, I was on that stage at that theater, man, and I'm doing my jokes again, and, brother, somewhere in the middle of that set, something just kicked in. I'm like man, like you know, saying like okay, you know, okay. And at the end of my set I got a standing ovation right again and I'm standing on stage and I'm looking at all these people in that theater man and I was like, yeah, I like this, so. So at that moment I was hooked, but not when I first did it two weeks prior at the competition. But you know at that big show.
Speaker 2:Oh man, I was hooked brother. And and from there, from there, man, you know, I was getting booked and getting booked and getting booked, and, um, uh, about two later you know what I'm saying? I was doing some dates with DL Hughley man.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So you finally accepted that call huh.
Speaker 2:Say that again.
Speaker 1:I said you finally accepted that call.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, yeah, when I think about it now, it's like I don't, I wouldn't want to be doing anything else, man, and I'm going to tell you. I'm going to tell you what did it for me.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:You know how, like when you work in, you know your job, you're nine to five and you know you've done your thing throughout that day and you're laying down at night and right before you fall off to sleep, your brain is just mapping. You know, it's like I got to do this, I'm going to do that, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that. You know what I'm saying. And playing this thing, you know playing your life out, and I call it background noise. You know, but when I started doing comedy, brother, all of that background noise ceased, and when that happened, for me it was a sign letting me know that I was doing exactly what I supposed to be doing, because you know, all that background noise, it ceased, and all the other things about do this and do that, all of that just disappeared and it let me know that I was in the path of what is designed for my life. You know what I mean, yeah, so yeah, I was in it then, brother.
Speaker 1:You have performed with some of the great uh in the comedy uh industry. Now, uh, tell me a little bit more about that for some of the people that you have performed with so you say tell you some of the people.
Speaker 2:I could barely hear you.
Speaker 1:I mean you. You sent me a plethora of list of uh comedians, like yeah for dlwlett, for Bill Bellamy, so many people. I mean you have performed with some of the A-list type comedians, so how has that experience been for you?
Speaker 2:Oh man, it's been amazing. You know, I'm extremely grateful for you know, these vets in the game for extending their platform to me and allowing me to work with them, learn from them. You know what I'm saying. They're giving me gems, giving me insight to the game and allowing me to just be in their world, so to speak. Okay, what it has done for me is caused me to be even the more grateful and humble, you know, because I don't take it for granted at all.
Speaker 2:You know, working with some of the people that you named, man, and it's so weird because I, if I had started comedy 26 years ago when my wife was telling me to get involved with comedy and to get going, uh, when I look at it, some of these cats that I'm running with now and sharing some of their platforms with now they would have. It's like, it's like I would have been in that class Gotcha, and it's like where I am now when I got going, and to look up and see that I'm still rubbing elbows, or not still rubbing elbows, but get a chance to rub elbows and share the stages of some of the people that I grew up watching. It's almost like this, this thing where I don't know your, your. Your journey would just make up for lost time and put you exactly among the people that you were always supposed to be with. You know what I mean, because when I started off in comedy, the first group of people for us comedians to like, embrace me and take me under their wings, they were all the OGs. You know all the people that we grew up watching on Comic View and Def Jam.
Speaker 2:You know what I'm saying. Like they showed me love, truthfully speaking, before some comedians that was on my level and in my little, you know, sphere of comedy, it was the OGs that showed me love first. So it's been great to be able to work with them, man, and one of the things they said which is a common statement that I've heard from most of them in reference to myself it was like my work ethic is what caused them to open their door and share their space with me. They said they've seen the way that I've hustled, the way that I hustle and the way that I work and the way that I just embrace comedy. And they said it reminds them of how they embrace comedy. So that was the thing that opened the door for me, long before they saw my set on stage. They liked the way I grind and hustle.
Speaker 1:That was my next question. I wonder how did they come into your life? As far as cultivating your skills to make you even a better comedian, which you just answered so awesome yeah.
Speaker 2:And I'm going to tell you one of the things that I pick up from them. Man, you know the people that you named on that list. You know I don't care if I share this with other comedians as well. It's like pay attention to what these veteran comics are asking and talking about in the green room. Anytime you're around a vet, before you leave their place, they're going to ask you something. They're going to ask you what's next're going to ask you what's next when you at, next what you got coming up next.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And for me and what I would like to share to other comedians that's out there. Pay attention to that because that's one of the things I learned. They're not concerned about the gig you're on now. You know what I'm saying. Or what you did last week, what you got coming up next and what that did for me was it just kind of gave me a hidden message that you know, always grind, always keep working, because it's not about what you're doing now. You know what I'm saying. You got to stay working.
Speaker 2:You know it doesn't matter how big your gig was last month, what you got coming up next, you know I'm saying we're not caught up on that. We don't park next to a success, we don't park next to a failure, but we always keep it moving. And one of my ogs in the game always tell me that the he used this phrase all the time. He says we leave work to go to work. You know, as a comic, you know what I mean and um, so these are some of the gems that I've learned from being a fly on the wall in the presence of some of these people that you've named, and I would just like to share that.
Speaker 1:That's great information for comedians that are coming up and need to hear what you just said. I mean, that's so valuable.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you gotta grind man, Because, even if that's so valuable yeah, yeah, you got to grind man, because even if somebody opened the door and put you on, guess what you have to do after that. You got to work. Let's say, you have a Netflix special tomorrow. After that special, guess what you got to do? Work, you got to work. You know what I'm saying, and a lot of times people have this thing in their mind like oh man, if, if, if, I could just get this one show and it's like no, you know. And one of the ogs told me, man, he was like it's not even about who's the funniest in this game. He said it's about who is the most consistent. Yeah, you know. So consistency is key and that's one of the things that I really. Who is the most consistent? Yeah?
Speaker 2:You know, so consistency is key and that's one of the things that I really, you know, try to embrace and keep in the forefront, you know, of my mind. Man, just be consistent, just keep going, keep working.
Speaker 1:Cool, cool. Hey, hold tight, we're going to take a short break and we're going to come back. I want to talk about you being the most requested cruise comedian because you stay on the ship so much. Hold tight, be right back.
Speaker 1:Man, you're listening to Spit to the Beat Podcast with your host, the one, the only, stacey B, unstoppable Per Year. Hey, this is Stacey aka B Unstoppable per year with Spit to the Beat Podcast. Would you like to be my guest? If you're a singer, songwriter, musician, producer or promoter, give me a call at 901-341-6777 or email me at myguest at spit to the beatcom, or email me at myguest at spit to the beatcom. And welcome back to Spit to the Beat podcast. I'm your host, stacey B, unstoppable Prairie, and I'm joined in the virtual studio with my very special guest from Duval, jacksonville, my guest comedian A-Train man.
Speaker 1:We left off with you talking about working hard in the business. You know veterans or vets will tell you what you're doing next, what you have next, and you share some valuable information for those upcoming comedians to not just stop at one show, continue to work hard, continue to look for your next gig, and so forth and so on. So, with that being said, you've been one of the most requested uh comedian for cruise ship and I believe that from because you, you I looked at your schedule that your wife presented you. You're on the cruise like what? Three times out of a month and you're gone what? Longer than weeks on this crew. So how has that been performing for cruise ships? Maybe the same guests or whatever, versus being on the stage at a comedy club.
Speaker 2:Well, first of all, you know, I'm going to keep it in harmony with the same philosophy that spit to the beat pride themselves on which is it ain't cap, if it's true.
Speaker 1:Right right, right right.
Speaker 2:We stay in cadence. You know what I mean. So just in harmony with that mindset, man, you know these cruise ships, you know. First of all, let me just say this it's not just the cruise ships, but it's the caliber of ships as well, and a lot of times people don't understand that. They think that, uh, all cruise ships are linear. You know what I mean, and they're. They're really not. There's levels to it.
Speaker 1:Um, they're different you learned that on your way.
Speaker 2:You know, going into the cruise ship right like you started this certain cruise company and then you moved to better and better right yeah, when I so, when I started, I had the philosophy of, I mean, I had the uh, the understanding of, you know, if you're on a cruise ship, it is what it is. And once I started on the cruise ships, I discovered that, oh, all cruise ships aren't on the same level, you know, just because you're working on this ship where there's another cruise line and a caliber of ship where, uh, it's, it's a little bit more top chef, you know. And so once I've discovered, you know and saw the rhythm of that, you know what I mean. Um, I just got on there and I started, you know, doing thing, and I'm grateful enough to have people around me and to have folks in my corner that recognize the difference between my shows, you know, and some of the other shows that they've seen.
Speaker 2:You know, on that ship, it's coming from directors you know what I mean. It's coming from, you know, cruise directors, entertainment directors, you know some of the folks who are responsible for staffing you know what I mean and booking on the cruises. And then you know, they look at your ratings, you know. So my ratings were like soaring and it was going through the roof. So, with that, as a result, you know what I'm saying. It was like, okay, this guy out here is shining, shining and I was able to do some of the top tier shifts in a shorter period of time than most comedians who probably been out there, you know, for years. Um, yeah, um so. So with that I remember one time, man uh we got memorable moments yeah, it's so many, man.
Speaker 2:So one time, just to kind of like bring you in on some inside stuff, one time, uh, my wife, you know, and myself, you know, my wife is my manager as well we got this email from, uh, one particular cruise line and they were hey, we've never received this many guest cards, you know, complimenting a comedian ever. And we don't even know what to do with them. They say to passengers man, you know what I'm saying, just filling out comment cards saying, hey, we enjoyed A-Train, a-train made our cruise, blah, blah, blah, and this was like just happened. So with that alone, man, you know, they started realizing that, hey, these people coming on our ships, rocking with A-Train, and then you started having people book cruises just because I was going to be scheduled on that cruise. So with that, man, you know, a lot of fanfare started kicking up and my name just started, you know, kind of like traveling throughout that water out there. And you know, and the game was real, man, and I got to, you know, I want to give a shout out too, man, I had some real OGs out on that water to kind of like show me some ropes. You know what I mean. You know I want to give a shout out to my dude, cj Jones man. I want to give a shout out to Maceo, give a shout out to Billy D Washington. Some of these boys been out there like 20 years, man, you know what I'm saying and you know, a lot of times people on land don't know about these boys out there rocking on that water because they're not in the social media limelight or they're not in the limelight of, you know, whatever spotlight is given on comedians.
Speaker 2:But when I started doing ships and things, I entered a whole nother world that I didn't know existed and I entered a world of comedians that I didn't, hadn't, didn't know about either. And uh, yeah, I did my thing, but I want to, I want to show love to some of the cats out there that you know spit game to my ear. You know I'm saying and let me know how to move. You know what I mean. And um and uh, and I appreciate that because, by the same token, you had some comedians. You know I'm saying they went, they went cool with it. You know, um, they went cool with the fanfare.
Speaker 2:And just to keep in mind, you know, as a, as a comedian, we're not, we're not um crew. You know I'm saying I'm on a contract, my contract as a guest entertainer. As a guest entertainer, you know what I'm saying, you know. You know I can, I can. My contract it can be a week long. You know what I mean. So we're not like those people that you see work on a cruise just for six months or nine months straight, you know, based on their visas. As a guest entertainer, you know my contract could be a week long. You know I go in, I do my shows and I'm out, you know so. So I move around, so I'm not just like stifled to one cruise line or one ship, you know.
Speaker 1:I do multiple cruise lines. You know I'm saying just like now. You know, tomorrow I get on. You know a ship for Norwegian cruise line, you know for the Alaska run. But I was getting ready to ask you your next, your next venture going out to Alaska going out to Alaska.
Speaker 2:Okay, go ahead. Yeah. And I want to give a shout out man to, like I say, the cats who are out there and showed me love, and there is one brother man. Last but certainly not least, Louis Johnson man, I hit him up first, you know, and he's went on record saying you know what he like about me versus other comedians who have come across his path, asking him questions.
Speaker 2:He was like what I love about baby bro, that's what he called me. He said what I love about bro. He said, um, he said train hit me up with questions one day. And he said then, next thing, I know I look up and this dude is killing these cruise ships, you know. And he was like he was impressed because he was like, oh, so he, he was asking like for real intent to do. I was like, yes, you know what I mean. And but Lewis Johnson was definitely one of the people. You know that kind of spit, some real game to me, man. Johnson was definitely one of the people. You know that kind of spit, some real game to me, man, and um, and allowed me to see the route you know to take for this cruise ship stuff.
Speaker 1:So you know, Does it ever get taxing?
Speaker 2:It does, man. Um, it's like anything else. You know what I'm saying it has. It has its pros and cons, you know, and a lot of times people like, oh my god, you working on cruise ships, you all around the world, you on vacation every week? Yeah, we are, you know. But at the same time, you know, you, you, you can get bored a little bit because it's the same, it's the same repetition every week. You know, I'm saying you got 5,000 people getting on, you know, say on a Saturday, and the same things that they were excited about was the same things that the last 5,000 people were excited about. You're tired of looking at that food on the buffet. You're tired of looking at the menu. You know what day of the week it is based on, what's on the buffet. You know it's like you have little stuff. You know, but at the same time you can't complain because you know I've seen work before and this ain't it.
Speaker 1:You know what.
Speaker 2:I mean yeah.
Speaker 1:I can imagine, man, not only you, but your wife got it like okay, here we go again, but let's go get it though.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and baby man, and, believe it or not, she rides with me, she cruises with me. But then some people may not believe this there's some time when she's like I'm going home. She had been on the road with me, I would say about a year and a half straight. Now, when I'm on land, if you see me, you're going to see her, but she has her own things going on too. You know what I'm saying. But if it's a land gig, she's going to be there.
Speaker 2:Most of my cruise ship gigs, you know she'd be like ah, you know, I got something I need to do. I can't be gone for that week and you know little things like that. But over the last year and a half she made a commitment. You know she was going to be there with me on these cruises and man, we were running brother I'm talking about we were running back to back, ship to ship, cruise line to cruise line. She right there with me. You know we spent all of August in Alaska and then the next month of September I was supposed to do Hawaii and Tahiti. Man, when I got off that ship for Alaska, supposed to fly from LA to Honolulu to get on the ship, my wife was like I'm going home.
Speaker 3:I was like you're not going to go to.
Speaker 1:Hawaii with me. She's like I'm going home. It ain't even about Hawaii, I'm just going home.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sometimes you just miss your couch, you just miss your bed. You know what I mean. But I shared that just to let people know. Man, like you know, we have our moments where it's like man, I'm going home. You know what I mean. So yeah, so definitely.
Speaker 1:With that being said, look, I'm going to take another little short break. I'm going to come back. I want to talk about you being on the stage versus the cruise ship. I'm going to come right back and get that kicking, okay.
Speaker 2:That's what's up All right, cool.
Speaker 1:Hey, this is Stacy aka Beat Unstoppable. Per you with Spit to the Beat Podcast. Would you like to be my guest? If you're a singer, songwriter, musician, producer or promoter, give me a call at 901-341-6777 or email me at myguestatspitstothebeatcom.
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Speaker 1:And we're back to Spit to the Beat podcast. I'm your host, Stacy B, Unstoppable for you and again joining me all the way Atlanta, Georgia, but reside in Jacksonville, Duval, Jacksonville, Florida, baby, my Jackson median A-Train Again, man, thank you for being on the show and all the information that you are sharing about your life, your career. Let's jump in a little bit. I know we talked about the cruise ship. We talked about the guys, the vets, that poured into your life, into your career and everything. How is the stage different from where the culture or the people is where you started from?
Speaker 2:Oh, brother, I tell people all the time that you know the muscle that's needed to perform as a comedian on cruise ships. That's a different muscle than you would typically use when you're performing on land or in local comedy clubs, because when you're in it's actually the target of material is a little bit clear, and when you're performing at a local club, because you understand who's in the audience, you know what I'm saying. It's usually you know a targeted group of people, but when you're on a cruise ship, you're literally standing before a thousand people who is a mixture of all type of you know ethnicities, all different backgrounds, different cultures. They're from different parts of the world, different age groups you know what I'm saying Different genres. And you, as a comedian, your material has to be on a level now to where all of these different people can relate to some part of what you're putting out, where you can bring them in and cause them to have some level of enjoyment and laughter.
Speaker 2:And a lot of times on land, it's easy, you know. You can talk about this. You know what I'm saying. You can talk about that. You know what I'm saying. And it's like damn, you know. You're hitting them right in the forehead. You're hitting them. You know what I'm saying, right right, it's a low target of conversation, you know what I mean. But when you out on that water, some of the things that I talk about on land it might only reach, you know, a small few in the crowd, because the majority of the people they don't know what you're talking about. They're not from your world and your what's popular among you know, your local city or whatever. And uh, and then, especially if you do like some of the ships and the cruise lines that I work, you know. I'm saying where you know the demographics are, you know, mostly white, you know. And then different age groups. You got people who different parts of the world. You know what I mean, like you know what we laugh about in the streets of Duval.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know what I'm saying? They ain't going to get it on a cruise ship, right, they don't get it, man. And so I always say that working that muscle, the muscle that's worked on when you're performing on a cruise ship, it literally prepares you for performing for the world. You know what I mean, because you're able to find a common denominator among all these different groups. You know, and have them attached to it. And sometimes it's not just the material itself that I have to adjust. Sometimes I have the same material, but I'll adjust the delivery on it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah yeah, you know, yeah, that's why I wanted to ask you, do you?
Speaker 2:make that adjustment. Yeah, yeah, but at the end of the day, you're going to have to make an adjustment because you know, man, I'm literally like all over the world. You know what I'm saying. You're doing transatlantic runs. You know what I'm saying. You're over in Spain, you're in Portugal, and although you have some Americans on there, you still have people from that region that will board the ship as well. So you know what I'm saying. You have to really find the real funny in your bit and allow it to be universal, and if not, you got to adjust it. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:So yeah, yeah. Did you ever ran across the language barrier with any audience on the ship and stuff?
Speaker 2:Yeah, especially the cruise lines that I work and some of the vessels that I work on. You know there's a language barrier, not just because of me, but there's a language barrier simply because there's a language barrier. You know, and you have some people the language barrier is so real that they can't even come to none of the form of entertainment that's on the ship because you know they just don't get it. And you have some people that will come to the show and be like hey, I'm know, I'm from australia and I was, I was picking up a little bit, you know, but but everything, most of everything you said I got and I find it funny, so you have that. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Um, a lot of times the challenges that you faces huh so these are some of the challenges that you face.
Speaker 2:Yes, and then most of the times when people have that language barrier, the key to it is to slow down.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:You know, because you know, as Americans, we don't really think about it, but we speak, especially, I know I do. I speak fast and you'll have some people with that language barrier that's trying to pick up what you're saying. They'll ask you hey, you know, can you slow it down some? So I slow it down. I change my pace, you know what I'm saying. I change my tone just so that they can get what I'm putting out.
Speaker 1:man, yeah, in the industry. It was one other thing that you wanted to talk about. Let's talk about that. Yeah, I, it was one other thing that you wanted to talk about.
Speaker 2:Let's talk about that. Yeah, I want to just make sure people are aware. It's like of course they see me out on these cruise ships and they're like, oh, it's a cruise ship comedian. Like no, I was rocking arenas and theaters for years prior to working on cruise ships. Like my second year of doing comedy, you know I was.
Speaker 2:I was doing um the kings and queens of hip-hop tour, you know what I mean. Uh, with dmx headlining. I mean you had everybody on that tour, dmx. You know. Uh, trick daddy rick ross, yin yang twins, trina kaya. You know juvenile, uh, michelle, uh, jaru. You know bobby v, like I mean you had, this was like this was a Juvenile Michelle. A Ja Rule, bobby V. I mean this was a major tour and I was the host on those tours and rocking arenas. You know what I'm saying and having crowds in the palm of my hand and it wasn't just like hip hop concerts that I hosted and that I've stages. I rock like every genre of music jazz, I mean you know stages, I rock like every genre of music. Jazz, I mean you name, you know.
Speaker 1:David.
Speaker 2:Swain, sam Bourne, you know, my mind went blank. There's so many, though. David Swain, it's all of them. You name a jazz artist, and I'm Kirk Whalum, you know what I'm saying, and I work with them and host their shows. Patti LaBellealen, you know what I'm saying and I work with him and host their shows. Patty labelle, you know um maxwell. Maxwell, frankie, beverly and maze, the isley brothers man, I mean, you know. Name an artist tank keisha cole. You know um, um monica.
Speaker 2:You know everybody, I'm telling you Anthony Hamilton. You know Erykah Badu, like I've done, I've hosted major concerts and major tours, bro, so it ain't just like oh, he worked on cruise ships. Oh, you know, when I get on a ship before a thousand people, that's nothing, because I've been doing this and been doing it for years, man, and doing it on a high level, you know. And? But I just want to make sure people don't say, oh, that's a cruise ship comedian. No, I'm a comedian that's happened to be out here rocking on a ship right now for this particular week, but this is what I've been doing for years. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:So You're definitely more than a cruise ship If people see your plethora of artists and from, like you said, from all genres of music that you have opened up for and performed Patti LaBelle, ricky, bobby, mike from New Edition, all these people You're beyond man measure. As far as just this particular committee, you're worldwide man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and not just on the music side Right, not just on the music side I didn't mean to cut you off but even on the comedy side. You know what I'm saying. I was two years in the game when DL Hughley scooped me up and took me on his wings and took me on the road with him. So I'm opening up for, you know, one of the kings of comedy, man to this day. You know what I'm saying. Any little gaps in my schedule, you know you might find me on the stage. You know, with DL. So you know Bill Bellamy. You know what I mean. You know Elaine Boosler. So you go from. You know, top notch in this lane, top notch in that lane of comedy. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:So, bruh, we working out here, man, like I brought other heavy hitters to my city to rock my stage. You know what I'm saying. Kev on stage. You got Ali Sadiq right now, who the world is giving him finally, some of the flowers that he's due. But, man, listen, I brought Ali Sadiq to the city long before the comedy club was rocking with him or anybody else was rocking with him. You know, this was just five, six years ago. You know, and that's my brother. I'm happy for his success. Not trying to take credit for it. My point is I've been running and sharing stages with some heavy hitters since I've been doing comedy. You know what I mean, and so you know we out here, man Huggy Lowdown. You know what I'm saying, chris, like bro, come on, man, we out here, yeah definitely out there yeah that's awesome.
Speaker 1:You've done some great work and you're still doing some great work, not only yourself, but with comedians all over the world.
Speaker 2:It's amazing, man you're talking about the Maxwell Cruise which we met. That gig didn't come through because I worked with Norwegian Cruise Line. Yeah, it's funny, how did you get that gig didn't come through because I worked with norwegian cruise line.
Speaker 1:Yes, why? How did you get that gig?
Speaker 2:because of my resume of doing major concerts and hosting major concerts from franklin beverly all the way down to pat labelle, kirk franklin, yolanda adams, Cata LaBelle, Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams, Tamla Mann, everybody in between you know. So being approached, you know, with this gig it was just what I do and they went with somebody who they know could rock and hold that stage down for Maxwell. So that's how I got that gig. That was like an independent booking. It just so happened that, yes, I work with Norwegian as well, but that wasn't a Norwegian gig, that was an independent comedian A-train being booked to host Maxwell's. You know, first annual cruise. You know what I mean and we had a blast baby.
Speaker 1:Let me just list some of the artists that you met Kevin Gates, mike Jones, trina, nba Youngboy, kodak Black, jt Money, 69 Boys, trick Daddy, the Blues List, bishop Bulkwing, sir Charles Jones, jeff Floor, tk, so and so many more Pokeyback Come on now.
Speaker 2:Keep naming them, keep naming them, name them. We got time, name them. You got me three lists. Name them. Yeah, you know, in this day and time, people only respect likes and views. Let's drop them. Let's drop them credentials and them breadcrumbs of actual work. We ain't talking about no, 40 years ago, right right, we talking about. This is current work.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, that's amazing, man, Not even counting the cruise ship stuff.
Speaker 2:you know, last year I was in 22 different countries in 10 months, not even counting the tour that I did for the US troops in South Korea. Shout out to our military man Got a chance to perform for those who are on the front lines. You know, holding it down for us man, we hit Camp Casey, camp Humphreys, camp Kusan, camp Osan. You know what I'm saying. Serving the troops, man. It was an honor to serve those who serve us. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Name them.
Speaker 2:Comedian. A-train putting in the work. Baby, listen, man, they can follow me, man, they can follow me on Instagram. On Instagram under Comedian A-Train, that's all one word. You know no hyphen, just all one word Comedian A-Train. And then on Facebook, it's Comedian A-Train.
Speaker 1:Cool, cool, cool, Definitely. Hey, man wish you well on your next adventure in Alaska cruise ship.
Speaker 2:Thank you, my brother.
Speaker 1:I know you're going to kill it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, I'm getting ready to go out there again this week. I was off a week and a half because I had some shows on land I had to knock out, but prior to that I was in Alaska for two weeks. So I'm getting ready to jump up on the ship tomorrow and go back up there and slaying these jokes, man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cool.
Speaker 2:Thank you, man, and also if you're in the Jacksonville area, during August the 2nd, I got my show coming up A-Train Live the Experience. It's my birthday show. If you're anywhere near Duval, come to the show man. Go to my website. You'll see all the information available for that. That's wwwcomedianatraincom. It's the largest independent running comedy series in the city.
Speaker 2:For the last 10 years the first two years of me doing that the city of Jacksonville gave me a residency at the Historic Theater, which is known as the Rich Theater downtown. Since then we've moved on and I'm doing it somewhere else. But our next big show is August 2nd. It's going to be held at the WJCT Television Studios, which is directly across the street from the Jaguar Stadium. So come and rock with me on that. And if you're in Fairhaven, massachusetts, I'll be up there August 31st. And so get them tickets. Boston, come on out, let's get them tickets. Y'all ripping it up out there on that court. Come on out and rock with your boy and get these jokes, man. All that information is found on my website as well wwwcomedianatraincom.
Speaker 1:There you have it, one down, cool, cool. Hey, man. Again I want to thank you for finally getting you on the show, coming on my podcast and sharing your information.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me, man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah. Your life and your career and everything like this. Hey, hold tight as I close out the show and we'll come right back. Okay, cool, thank you for watching spit to the beat podcast. Join us again for another live episode next week.
