We were lucky to catch up with Brady Willis recently and have shared our conversation below.
Brady , so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
After getting out of the military in 2011 I was lost. The previously creative and resilient young man was now void of the confidence required to be oneself. For a decade I fought to regain the joy of life I once knew, to be the happy Father my children needed. But through years of counseling and pharmaceuticals I failed to find the remnants of my former self. Leading me to try something drastic, I began to write.
I did not know what it would become but I knew well the darkness of doing nothing so I wrote. I soon found myself immersed spending hours a day writing. Realizing that by bringing something into the world that otherwise was not there helped me. After a week the writing began to manifest itself into comedy, and I began to wonder if it was any good. Leading me to step on an open mic stage Nov. 10 2023, where I created my first laugh in this world from my writing.
Now, little over a year later I write everyday, I write what my feelings are for the moment. It may be a poem or a song, but mostly it is comedy. Creating and the challenge of bringing laughter into this world keeps me alive. Helps me to see the reality that Everything Is Funny. So for my kids I write, for my wife I write, and for my soul I laugh.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My focus at this time in life is very much on my family, being a loving husband and a kind caring father. My passion is comedy. At this point in time I am just performing stand-up but I write everyday and some of what I write are skits, poems, songs, but it is mostly stand-up material.
I have only been performing for a little over a year, but I write almost everyday so I have lots of material. I have performed 1 hour comedy sets down to 15 min sets and happily take any opportunity to perform. I live in a small town two hours away from the closest open mics, making at least one a week. Because of this I do most of my practicing at home, recording myself and listening back for dead spots and lines out of order. Once I know a bit is funny, I become obsessed with the challenge of making it the funniest.
My Grandmother calls my comedy high-brow, I would say it is just well researched energetic dark humor. The truth is I am just a 35 year old kid obsessed with comedy and having way too much fun. My overall goal is that in 10 years I can call myself a comedian, for now I’ll just keep grinding.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I have had many experiences in my life that impacted the creation of who I am as a 35 year old man. The three that have affected me most over this journey of creating comedy are as follows.
The first experience that impacted me was in 7th grade, I was ugly, heavily bullied and had one friend. Middle school is hard for everyone, and I had a choice to make. I was never going to be the hot guy in school, and it was not looking good for being popular. So I decided in my bedroom at the age of 12 I had to be funny. So the rest of my time in school I was the weird funny kid, because I was not going back to the alternative.
Being deployed overseas, to witness and partake in the fragility of life was the next experience to forever change me. War steers my writing towards darker subjects, it is what my hands and mind know. With my pen I bleed out the demons of war through the black ink on the paper. I dissolve them of power by rewriting their darkness into laughter among others. But forever the experience lingers.
The unconditional love I have been allowed to experience in this life through my wife and kids is everything. Their love and my love for them is why what I write is comedy. They are my now, and my past years are just small pieces to a large puzzle that is me. Through their never-ending support I find the confidence to be myself, and to show others on stage who I am. I will continue to strive for my very best as a comedian but the truth is if my writing only ever makes them laugh that is good enough for me.
My advice to others is to live life a lot, take the ups and downs at a steady pace. It’s who you are and that’s unique and interesting so just be you.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I love any collaboration or just a discussion in general with any fellow creative individual. I could talk all day about structures of jokes, tag lines, writing skits and so on. If I had a chance to collaborate with people at this time I would love to work with anyone that does videography. I have quite a few sketch comedy scenes that I have written that I would love to see completed but I do not know where to start. So someone with that knowledge and background would be a dream to collaborate with.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradywilliscomedy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564897062153
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BradyWillisComedy
Image Credits
I am not sure what you mean by this, all the pictures I own except the one where I am performing. I took that photo off of the Top City Comedy Facebook page.
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
