Alex Hooper on Behind the Bits!
Alex Hooper is a stand-up comedian, actor and professional roaster. He delights crowds by blending dark humor with silly positivity. His joke writing is clever and fearless. Onstage he bursts with energy. Alex shines just like his sparkly wardrobe. He’s headlined clubs all over the world. And whether it’s an audience of 11 or 11,000 - Alex leaves comedy goers begging for more.
Alex is best known for his appearances on America’s Got Talent. He’s one of a select few contestants to have been asked to return after being eliminated in season 13. His first AGT performance has over 75 million total online views.
As part of his never ending quest to spread love and joy, Alex releases a weekly podcast — Achilles’ Heel. This podcast pushes guests outside of their comfort zone. Alex tackles tough topics like social anxiety and sex addiction with humor and grace.
In 2018 Alex released his debut comedy album Hugs. Drugs. Pugs. It hit #1 on Amazon and #3 on iTunes Best Selling Comedy Records.
To say Alex is a serious pug lover is an understatement. For 2018 he created The Pug Yoga Calendar to raise funds for pug rescue: Pug Nation of LA. Ellen Degeneres spotlighted the sold-out 2018 Pug Yoga Calendar on The Ellen Show.
Alex is the creator of CRAVE — an immersive comedy and dance music exp
Dean Jernigan on Behind the Bits!
Navy Vet and Single Parent Dean Jernigan brings the high energy heat with his keen sense of humor and contagious smile. After several years on the radio, Dean started doing comedy in 2018 swiftly rising to the top of Michiana’s comedy scene. He quickly left his mark sharing his unique view on single parenting and dating today. He made his regional debut as a semi finalist in the 2019 World series of Comedy. Dean has been seen doing spots all over the midwest including Wiley's Comedy Joint, The Comedy Attic, Helium Comedy Club Indianapolis, Chicago's Comedy Bar and Flappers in LA. He also appeared in the Waukegan Comedy Jam, and the South Bend Fringe Festival, and the 2021 Burbank Comedy Festival. 2021 started hot, with the release of Light Me at Five a comedy podcast. Dean’s radio show has moved to Pod. You can catch Dean Featuring across the midwest bringing the laughs to you.
Testing the new digs
Testing the new digs
God help us all...
Dean Jernigan on Behind the Bits!
Drew Hastings on Behind the Bits!
A standup comedian for more than twenty-five years, Drew Hastings has inhabited the American comedy scene with a distinct perspective. His commanding stage presence has always delivered intelligent material with an edge, be it his observations of the human condition or the declining state of American society. What has always made Hastings’ standup and storytelling unique though is his ability to incorporate his wildly varied careers into his act , whether it’s a disastrous foray into a records shredding business, diving into farming at the age of fifty—truly farmageddon—or his unlikely time as a small city mayor.
Drew’s comedy specials, late-night tv appearances, and his status as an all-time favorite on the nationally syndicated Bob & Tom radio show have given him a wide following, particularly in the Midwest. He is one of the few people ever to appear on The Tonight show two separate times for two different careers.
Born in Casablanca, Morocco to a British mother and American father, Drew has spent most of his life in Southwestern Ohio except for a twelve year stretch in Hollywood. In 2004, he fled California saying, At the end of the day the sun doesn’t set in L.A.—it just gives up and drops into the ocean with a bitter hiss. Drew settled in Hillsboro, Ohio to try his hand as a cattle producer in between a busy comedy tour schedule. His farming misadventures went into his standup and Drew gained an entirely new audience, the agricultural community, further expanding his popularity in the Midwest. In 2011, Hastings ran for mayor of Hillsboro on a populist campaign. “I think this Country is going to Hell in a hand basket. I can’t do anything about the whole U.S. but I can do something about the one place I live.” Outspoken and blunt, he won in a landslide and got to work turning around the city's financial woes and make critical infrastructure improvements. Incensed when Hastings won a second term in 2016, he was targeted by a small fact
Trent Babb on Behind the Bits!
Johnny Beehner on Behind the Bits!
With a background in improvisational theater, including training at Chicago’s prestigious Second City and the Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles, Johnny brings a very unique style to the stage. He made his network television debut in January of 2015 as one of the last comedians to appear on the Late Show with David Letterman. He has also made numerous appearances on FOX’s Laughs, has appeared on AXS’s Gotham Comedy Live, and regularly appears on the nationally syndicated Bob & Tom Show. His comedy can be heard regularly on XM/ Sirius Satellite radio.
Geoff Plitt on Behind the Bits!
Geoff Plitt is a stand up comedian & writer based out of Los Angeles . He's made appearances on some of Los Angeles most prestigious stages such as the Hollywood Improv, Comedy Store, Westside Comedy Theater, and the Upright Citizens Brigade. Geoff has performed at the Ventura, Laughlin, Toronto, and Chicago comedy festivalsl. Geoff is a co-founder of Peachy Keen, a weekly stand-up showcase that has been a staple in the LA comedy scene for over 6 years. Geoff has performed along side some of the biggest names in comedy such as Sarah Silverman, Kevin Nealon, Fred Armisen, Jeff Garlin, and Demetri Martin. His TV appearances include a feature in the final episode of Disney's Hannah Montana, acting opposite Miley Cyrus and Jay Leno. Geoff's first feature film "Paranormal Whacktivity" can be seen on Netflix & iTunes. Catch Geoff performing weekly on Peachy Keen at Bar Lubitch in West Hollywood California.
Shanda Sung on Behind the Bits!
Mo Vida on Behind the Bits!
Samantha Bearman on Behind the Bits!
Samantha Bearman, more affectionately referred to as Sam Bear, hails from the riviera of the west coast, Santa Barbara, CA. She has traveled the world, competed for Jimmy Kimmel’s Funniest College Student in America, and was a semi-finalist in the 2019 Ventura Harbor Comedy Festival. She delivers her take on millennial dating, sex, family, how she can have a master's degree, professional career, and 3 side hustles and still not be able to afford sand on the beach; with a relatable quality that will make you feel she's your best friend keeping it 100. But please don't believe everything she says.
She has also used comedy as a way to bring the community together for a cause, producing sold out comedy and variety shows that raised money for organizations including the Alzheimer's Association, Planned Parenthood and the American Heart Association. She now has her own monthly room, Bear Cave Comedy in Santa Barbara.
Trent Mabry on Behind the Bits!
Trent Mabry won Indy's Funniest Person in 2020 and has relocated to New York to pursue his comedy dream.
Lace Larrabee on Behind the Bits!
Lace Larrabee is an Atlanta-based actor and nationally touring stand-up comedian who can be seen at clubs from coast to coast. Festival credits include; the Laughing Skull Comedy Festival (2017 semi-finalist), the She Devil Comedy Festival, the Laugh Your Asheville Off Comedy Festival and the She Dot Festival in Toronto. Lace was also named "2018 Best Local Comedian" by the readers of Creative Loafing Magazine.
Lace has opened for such comedy favorites as Tig Notaro, Caroline Rhea, Rachel Feinstein, Dave Attell, Nikki Glazer, Mary Lynn Rasjkub, Maria Bamford and many more.
From stage to screen, Lace's comedy has been featured on Viceland's Flophouse and she is a FOX network favorite with several appearances on their TV shows; Laughs, Dish Nation and Punchline, all available on Hulu and/or YouTube.
Nina Kraus on Behind the Bits!
As a child, one of Nina Kraus’s favorite places to play was underneath the piano, while listening to her mother playing Scarlatti, Scriabin or Brahms.
“I’d bring my toys and little things with me – it just felt good to me to be under there,” recalls Kraus, who now directs the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University. Her mother’s professional piano playing was just one of the rich and compelling sounds in her childhood. In addition to live music, her home featured the lyrical voices of her European-born parents, who spoke Italian, French and German. Kraus says that those early experiences made such an impression on her that studying how we process sound became her life’s work.
“I must have realized that sound was important somehow,” says Kraus, who earned a PhD in neuroscience from Northwestern. “My whole career has been looking at our life in sound, for better and worse.”
In her lab, Kraus and her colleagues study numerous aspects of the auditory system, including its underlying brain mechanisms, the way musical input influences our ability to read and learn language and how conditions such as autism, aging and HIV affect sound processing.
In the past few years, the lab has been focusing on the auditory aspects of concussion, resulting in a new five-year grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to study this injury in all of Northwestern’s Division I athletes, who play football, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and more.
Nina has just released "Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World"
Making sense of sound is one of the hardest jobs we ask our brains to do. In Of Sound Mind, Nina Kraus examines the partnership of sound and brain, showing for the first time that the processing of sound drives many of the brain's core functions. Our hearing is always on--we can't close our ears the way we close our eyes--and yet we can ignore sounds that are unimportant
Gwen Sunkel on Behind the Bits!
Gwen Sunkel is an Indianapolis comedian and Hamburger Helper connoisseur. She is a contributing writer for AWF magazine. Gwen has opened for Ben Dela Creme, Iliza Shlesinger.. She co produced a series of comedy shows that have raised over $15,000 for reproductive health groups in the Midwest at The White Rabbit in Indianapolis.
Greg Warren on Behind the Bits!
Greg Warren won a comedy contest while in college and that gave him the chance to perform at a comedy club. Greg was bitten by the comedy bug and worked part-time in stand-up while maintaining a sales job at Proctor & Gamble. When he decided to comedy full-time he made a splash through great material and work ethic.
Greg's latest special, "Where the Field Corn Grows" was a hit on Amazon Prime and is now a hit on YouTube. Greg's Dry Bar Special "How to Get Out of a Blind Date" is another YouTube Sensation.
Join Greg & I as we share war stories about sales and how sales experience is the perfect fit for comedy.
Liz Miele On Behind the Bits!
Liz Miele on Behind the Bits!
Liz Miele, originally from New Jersey, started doing stand-up at 16 in New York City. At 18 she was profiled in The New Yorker Magazine, at 22 she appeared on Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham.” She recently appeared on Comedy Central’s “This Week at the Comedy Cellar,” NPR’s “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me,” Hulu’s “Coming To The Stage,” AXS TV’s “Gotham Comedy Live,” and was profiled in the March 2015 issue of Runner’s World.
She has several viral videos on Youtube, Instagram and Tiktok including jokes “Feminist Sex Positions,” “F*ck Finland,” and “London Cops Are Better Than American Cops” She regularly tours internationally and has three albums out on spotify and itunes and released her first special “Self Help Me” in May 2020 free on youtube. Her first book, “Why Cats Are Assholes” is available everywhere March 30th 2021.
She wrote and produced season one of her animated web series “Damaged,” voiced by great comics including, Maz Jobrani, Hari Kondabolu, Ted Alexandro, Jermaine Fowler, Dean Edwards, DC Benny, Joe Machi and so many more. She also co-produced and co-starred in 40 episodes of a web series called “Apt C3” with fellow comic, Carmen Lynch and fashion photographer, Chris Vongsawat.
Erica Switzer on Behind the Bits!
Chicago-born Erica Switzer is a standup comedian formerly based in Shanghai, China. With her unique energy and raw, biting wit, she has supported veteran comedians Simeon Goodson, Mateen Stewart, Emma Willmann and Atsuko Okatsuka. Along with co-founding Shanghai’s Blackout Comedy and founding Hei Now Comedy, China's premier Black comedy crew, Erica became the first Black comedian to perform in Mongolia at the inaugural Silk Road International Comedy Festival in July 2019. After winning Flappers Comedy Club Soup-or-Bowl in October 2020, she was a featured performer and panelist at the NY Underground Comedy Festival. She performed her first virtual headliner, Flappers Presents Erica Switzer, in April 2021. She featured and hosted at the 2021 Laugh Riot Grrl Festival. See her virtually at the upcoming Burbank Comedy Festival, the 29th LA Comedy Festival, World Series of Comedy and various live dates in Chicago.
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