Stan Stankos. C'mon -- it's a great name for a comedian. Especially a snarky smartass. Haven't you seen a comedian that made you laugh, but then you couldn't remember that person's name? Well, check out Stan live, you'll be entertained and you'll remember him.
The Marquette University alum (one of many from Chicagoland) is now based in New York City writing comedy, performing a lot there and around the country, including a stop in Milwaukee on Saturday.
We've been friends since those good ol' rowdy days, back when Wells Street included the Avalanche and you could play pool at Hegarty's. We have a regular standing bet on Brewers vs. Cubs each season, which is good fodder for hassling each other with wisecracks, but we can talk about more than baseball.
He's been crafting quick, topical jokes for years now, and recently has been writing politically-focused jokes for comedian Jimmy Dore.
As sarcastic as Stan can be, I think I got some honest answers from him on a couple of topics. When asked how Milwaukee's comedy scene compares to other cities, Stan said "The crowds are always good. It could be the beer they drink. But I think they're smart and polite. Just what you want in an audience."
Stan's on Team Coco (I'm on the independent ticket of Team Tosh.0) as an admirer of Conan O'Brien's good writing team and how O'Brien comes across as goofy while still being smart.
Louis CK and Dave Atell also make the cut on Stan's list of worthwhile comedians. Luckily, he's not a comedy snob and enjoys repeat viewings of "Caddyshack" or any Rodney Dangerfield as much as the rest of us. He claims that Tyler Perry's Medea movies are his guilty pleasure, but that may have been a joke.
Yet she still has more Milwaukee discoveries and delights to share with us here.
You'll be sorry if you ever ask her to attempt a British accent (it's awful), but she's always up for talking about all things English, Elvis and alternative ‘80s music (not necessarily in that order).
