Brad Williams, the comic with the social media footprint, is making his debut at 713 Music Hall and knows he has to be “going bigger.”
“I’ve had about a year of touring theaters now,” he says. “So far, so good. The only thing that changes, and this is gonna sound funny coming from a dwarf, but I have to be bigger. I can’t just do little subtle movements with my face or my hands to get a joke across. I have to be playing to the person in the back row. With these larger venues, that means going bigger so they get just as much out of the show as someone in the front row.”
Fans of Williams should know what’s in store: funny stories and observations from the comic’s lived experiences, as well as tweaking the culture. “I’m very autobiographical, so what is going on in the family, probably a lot of jokes about being a dad, a lot of jokes about being a husband – and also what strikes me going on in the world.
“But I do not really dive too much into politics. I don’t like half the audience to hate me based on who I voted for. So I want to make sure everyone no matter who you voted for can come out and have a good time and kinda escape that. I think we’re inundated with it. So I’m just gonna be that place where you can kinda go and forget about stuff for a few hours.”
This year has been bountiful for the comic, who is coming to town with a brand new bag of tricks. “I took three months off at the beginning of the year, and just played the Comedy Store and just worked on the new stuff there. But I still try out new jokes for 1,200 seaters and I like it. I am not that guy where if you see me I would be doing the exact same material for like five years. I have seen comics like that and its kinda sad to see someone doing Ronald Reagan jokes. I am trying to move on. I don’t want to get bored with the same material, and I always want to be excited to perform.”
Alongside Williams at the headliner will be opening act J. B. Ball, who Williams praises. “He’s been with me for a few years now. He’s a great comic with a couple of specials up on YouTube that people should check out. And you should watch my special on YouTube now called Star Fish.”
Williams also offers advice for those looking to pre-game his material online before checking out the live show. “If you watch it or JB’s specials, don’t worry, you’re not spoiling the show for yourself,” he comforts. “It’s gonna be different material. Once we do a special, it’s done. That retires the material. So it’s all different stuff.
Trying out new material is a large room offers risk, but Williams enjoys the thrill of finding a home for the new stuff alongside his established bits. “General rule of thumb: you do jokes that work to start,” he explains. “You do jokes that work to end. You do your new stuff in the middle. But man, sometimes I got a new thought, a new line, a new something and I throw that out right in the beginning. I just get so excited to hear it. The general rule is what it is, but I break it all the time.”
Part of the challenge for the comic is not just generating the new material: it’s having enough real life that’s worthy to document in jokes. “That’s a part of it,” he agrees. “I have to live a life that is worth writing about. I can’t just be on planes and in theaters and hotels every night. I gotta be home. I thankfully have a wonderful family, I love my wife and kid very much so I don’t mind spending time with them. But yeah, I have to spend time with them so that I have a life that I can actually write about and can have stories that are relatable. It’s not a bad thing!”
Good things seems to be finding their way to Williams these days, including a mysterious role in the exciting sequel to Rob Reiner’s This is Spinal Tap. “I am in that!” the actor says with pride. “I can’t tell you what I’m doing… but if you know what I look like… and you know the movie Spinal Tap… it’s not hard to figure out. I’m really excited about it. Obviously if you’ve seen the first movie, you know what a historical comedy that is. But I’m in it with Wee Man from Jackass, which also makes me excited because now you’ll see us both on screen at the same time and know we’re not the same fucking person.”
Getting to costar with the legendary improviser Christopher Guest, who directed Williams previously in the 2016 Netflix comedy Mascots, was clearly a treat. “That is how I got the part in Spinal Tap,” he explains. “[Guest] was thinking I could really use a funny dwarf for this part. Hey I know one! I was in the film Mascots which is on Netflix and it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. I got to do a scene with the late great Fred Willard. That was truly an honor: top five moments of your career.”
Getting to stretch himself as a improviser is part of the challenge of starring in a vehicle that calls for thinking off the cuff. “How Christopher Guest directs a film is, “Hey! Here’s where we are starting and here’s where we have to end up. Whatever happens in the middle is up to you.” Really no lines are written. It’s really what we want to accomplish from this scene. Then he lets the actors do what they do. It’s really great to work with a guy like that, who really trusts his actors. Trusts the comedians who are really talented working in the film.”
“It was a little different on Spinal Tap, Rob Reiner was directing. He was fun to work with too. We shot it in New Orleans, I got to be there for a week and just eat the best freaking food. Oh my god, it was awesome.”
The natural comparison might be to see how improvising with Guest and company stacks up against the unscripted crowd work Williams sprinkles in his sets each night. However, Williams is quick to make clear these couldn’t be further apart.
“Definitely when you are in a film with Christopher Guest actors, you trust your co stars,” he says calmly before comically raising his voice. “I don’t really trust the drunks on the late show on a Friday night! Unless Bill Burr is sitting in my audience, I will probably be funnier than them. In that way, I have to drive it a bit more if there is improv in my shows. Whereas if I’m in a film with actors and this is their specialty, I let them go and I react based off of them.”
Williams takes this opportunity to share a tiny PSA for those visiting a stand-up show for the first time. “It’s very trendy right now in comedy to do crowd work because of all the crowd work clips you see put on so that you don’t really burn material. But the downside of that is now audience members think that is what comedy is now. It’s crowd work! So they are constantly yelling stuff out. I’ll tell you guys right now, if you see my show in Houston, I have worked really hard on these jokes. They’re really good. I don’t need the help!”
He laughs, before adding: “I am good friends with Matt Rife, but darn you Matt Rife!”
With opportunities coming in, it’s easy to look ahead. But Williams has a level head about his growing success, and is clearly content. “I’ll say this right now: when I started this career, I said, all I want to do was be a touring headliner comedian. That’s all I want to be.”
“I have played the Houston Improv several times, both at the current location and the location before with the square room and the lobby had a giant tree. Some of the old fans might know that. So now I am doing theaters and doing Christopher Guest movies and I did a stint in Cirque Du Soleil, that’s a whole other story. Like really, I’m playing with house money now. I don’t want to say this is what I’m looking forward to next. I want to really enjoy where I’m at right now. And wherever this life goes, it’s already a win.”
Brad Williams’ performance is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 18 at 713 Music Hall, 401 Franklin, Suit 1600. For more information, visit 713musichall.com. $59-373
