Lance Avery Morgan
When you’re the funniest guy in the room, it might seem daunting. Not for professional comedian Simon Fraser who is stirring up laughs and big crowds since he’s the new hilarious star to watch, according to his pal Lance Avery Morgan, who knows a thing or two about what amuses people.
To see Simon perform, check him out in Austin on January 5th and 6th at Cap City Comedy Club, in Houston on January 7th at The Riot Comedy Club, and in Dallas on March 14th at Dallas Comedy Club.
The best career advice I’ve received is…You do your best work where you are happy.
Three qualities that got me where I am today as a comedian are…Delusion, delusion, and delusion.
Easiest career decision I ever made is…Moving to Columbus, Ohio straight out of college and starting a comedy club. It was easy because I didn’t think about it.
If I could compete in an Olympic sport it would be…Bobsled.
What is influencing me creatively in comedy right now is…I’m rereading Tocqueville, thinking it would be interesting to repurpose all his observations into the stand-up genre. I’m not quite sure how “Do you ever notice how lawyers are the natural link between the people and the aristocracy?” will play in Pflugerville, but perhaps the bit needs a little fine-tuning.
A celebrity I would prank phone call and what I would tell them is…I’d call up Joe Rogan and tell him there’s a female comic on stage at his club.
How I made my first dollar…Lemonade stand. But buying the lemons, buying the sugar, hiring my mother to drive me to the store, expensing her gas, fighting a lawsuit against my younger brother alleging unpaid labor, and fighting another lawsuit against the city alleging I operated a business without a permit. It’s a devastatingly unprofitable business when you think about it, and a terrible financial model for 6-year-olds.
If I weren’t doing what I do I would be a…Gonzo journalist. Very similar to what I do now actually.
Book that left a lasting impression on me…Either Steven Pinker’s The Better Angels of Our Nature, which makes the obvious but important point that things have never been better, or Yes Man by Danny Wallace, which makes the obvious but important point that it’s good to say yes to things.
If I lived in a foreign city it would be…Austin.
What everyone/man/woman should try in her lifetime is…One night at a $20 motel. It changes you.
My style icon is…Derek Guy, The Menswear Guy, and, by proxy, King Felipe of Spain.
My personal style signifier is…I like to dress on stage like I don’t know what vichyssoise is.
The classic comedian’s artistic and personal style I most identify with is…Mark Twain. Most people don’t think of him as a stand-up comedian, and I identify with that.
Last thing I binge/marathon watched…Better Call Saul. It never won an Emmy because it was always competing with Succession, but it was categorically the better of the two shows.
The last meal that truly impressed me was…In Columbus, Ohio, there’s a chic restaurant in the German Village called Chapman’s Eat Market. Every single dish is always great, but the General Tso’s Cauliflower and the Maple Hazelnut Budino are staples that blow me away every time. When in Austin, either the mozz sticks at Sammie’s, the plantain chips at Canje, or anything at Uchi.
In my fridge you will always find…Leafy greens from two weeks ago I swore I’d put in a salad.
My perfect day would end…With a good book on the couch in front of a fire, fresh off a hot bath, having put in a ferocious performance in my 7v7 amateur soccer league.
On my tombstone it will say…Encore Un Petit Moment, Monsieur Le Bourreau.
