Meet Kevin Collier of AMF Comedy in Central

Thanks for sharing your story with us, Kevin. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
I started doing stand up comedy nine years ago because my friend begged me to come to an open mic with him at The Ice House Comedy Club in Pasadena, CA. I was terrified, and I was hooked. I did it sporadically at first, kind of dipping my toe in for a few years. Then, my wife was pregnant with our first child and naturally, stand up comedy just faded into the background. About six months after my daughter was born, I realized I missed it and went to some open mics again in Los Angeles, and it was difficult and often soul-crushing, and I was thinking of quitting altogether when I found out about an open mic at a pizza place down the street from my house. It was mostly a music open mic, but I started honing my comedy there every week, doing longer sets and falling in love with it all over again. A few months later, I found out they were doing comedy shows at the same pizza place. I was given a spot on one of the shows by someone who worked there. I showed up and quickly learned what a promoter was. I wasn’t booked on his show. He let me go up anyway, and he laughed. It felt good. After the show, there was a falling out and a mutual decision for this promoter to stop producing shows there. I then jokingly offered that I could try to put together a show and the venue took me up on it. So there I was booking my first comedy show. I went on to book there over the course of a year, and when new ownership entered the picture, I transitioned into a monthly show at a sports bar. One hour of comedy right before local musicians took the stage. Eventually, I made the decision to move to Arizona, and it was due to a job opportunity with a quick turnaround, one week. When I got to Arizona, I quickly realized that I was the new kid. No one knew me and most assumed I was trying comedy for the first time. I wanted to continue producing comedy shows, but I not only had to find a venue but also get to know the local scene. I mean, it’s not like Los Angeles-based comedians would come to Phoenix to do shows, right? I met Trevor Skies at an open mic and started talking about wanting to produce shows. I met Chris Zuiker at the same open mic. Chris was well known for providing stage time to the local comedians, and he decided to open his own venue, Comedy Off Main St in downtown Mesa. It was the perfect storm, and I started Comedy Off Sunset @ Comedy Off Main St. The concept of the show was simple, each month, I brought in comedians from Los Angeles, and Trevor booked the local talent. I had so much fun with that show, and then Chris called it a day and closed the doors of Comedy Off Main St. By this point, I had gotten to know the local talent a lot better. I wanted to keep moving forward, and it took a while, but then a friend pointed me toward The Sic Sense Theatre, where some local comedians had already put on shows, including the Bro Show, which started at Comedy Off Main St and just debuted at Stand up Live, and Derek McFarland’s Castaway Comedy show. They also had one of my favorite new shows, Dick Strangler’s Comedy&D. So I had a seance to call upon the spirit of Comedy Off Sunset to start AMF Comedy, where I showcase both Phoenix and Los Angeles-based comedians doing longer sets, and I want to keep growing this whole showrunner thing and see where it leads.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Absolutely not, but the struggle is what makes the small victories seem bigger. One of the biggest struggles is learning who to trust and who to rely on. With any small amount of success, there are going to be leeches and naysayers along the way. Here and there I had people who said they wanted to help me and then stabbed me in the back. Other people seemed very responsible and reliable and then left me hanging with little to no notice. They say in Pro Wrestling, card subject to change and that’s also very true in producing comedy shows. Sometimes you have one or more last-minute cancellations, and you have to call an audible and be able to adapt on the fly. I have had to temper my expectations and not necessarily learn not to trust people, but be open to last-minute changes and obstacles and willing to adjust at a moment’s notice.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I really don’t think I’m all that unique. I’m just trying to continually learn, grow, and get better at doing Stand up comedy and running a comedy show. I’m not afraid of being different, trying something I want to try and also knowing when something just doesn’t fit. I’ve always tried things I want to do even if it’s scary and often it doesn’t work out, but that’s ok. Some things are just for a season in your life. I wanted to be a pro wrestler, so I went to wrestling school. The reality was so much tougher than I imagined. I wanted to play guitar, so I tried it, and it didn’t work out. With comedy, while I didn’t to the official roast battle, I did incorporate it into my show once during Comedy Off Sunset, just to try it. Once I even did a complimentary rap battle with comedian Kevin Anderson because I heard he was a good rapper. That’s compliments instead of insults. So I guess willingness to try and possibly fail at things, but again, I don’t think I’m the only person doing that.

What are your plans for the future?
I want to put together a big benefit show for a friend who is dealing with health issues and rising medical costs. I want to tour, get into some festivals and get booked more locally too, at the comedy clubs and the independent shows. I would love to grow this show into something that people know by name and want to come and see what we do next.