Hi I’m comedian Jo Koy - Ask me Anything!

Do you prefer Joy or Joi?

neither, it's Jo Koy. But you can call me Herbert (Thanks for listening to the Carolla podcast)

Does your son still run around telling everyone to look at his ting ting?

Unfortunately yes but this year I'm going to take a stand and tell him to stop :)

Do you ever feel that Adam stepped to much on some of your Bung-lo-su bits?

No I mean it's Adam's show so he's controlling that conversation so he's not walking on anything we're just improvising. I'm just trying to find the funny in whatever way I can.

As I understand hecklers are part of the job, do you have any stories about best/worst encounters?

I think I was in Idaho one time and I was making fun of this obnoxious lady in the corner of the club and then right when I said something this huge cowboy silhouette figure stood up in the back of the audience and said "That's my sister!" It was like a scene out of a movie. I was able to play it off and the guy ended up buying me drinks at the end of the night so I didn't die in Idaho.

I'm a college student who loves comedy and stand up. I've performed a couple of times and have done pretty well, what recommendations do you have for me for furthering my dream?

Go up as much as you can. Find the place to go up. And if you can't find a place to go up make one. Start your own comedy show. Do whatever you can do to get stage time.

Jo, thank you for making me laugh on a weekly basis!

My favorite material is the banter you describe between you and your mom. Has this ever lead to issues in real life; has she or any of your family ever taken offense to their portrayals in your comedy. If so, how did you resolve them?

I need to know for ... reasons.

The stories that I tell are actually true stories so no one can get offended. My mom likes when I use her as the subject of my jokes. In fact she doesn't get enough of it. There's been times that I've gotten off stage and she'll say jokingly "There's a couple of other stories you forgot to say."

What is the trick to engaging an audience? Any overlap between stage and podcast?

My approach on stage is very conversational whether it's my crowd work with my audience or actually delivering a joke. I want the audience to feel like everything was just coming up off the top of my head. With my podcast, I pretty much improvise the entire time. I try and give a little structure but there's nothing more fun than improvising with my guests.

Thanks for doing so many shows in San Jose. We love you here. What are your favorite spots to go to in San Jose?

The mall. I go to the mall because I want to eat the best pizza at Pizza my Heart. I also try to find a place to get good Filipino food. Basically I just try and find a place to eat.

What's your favorite thing about being on tour around the country?

Going to places where I don't think they'll even get me. But then I end up loving the place because the fans love me. Like Nashville or Kansas City: Places you don't think would be comedy towns but they end up being the best comedy towns.

Do you have future plans of becoming an actor in movies such as the greats like Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, etc.? If so, who would you like to do a movie with?

Eventually of course I'd like to make it to the big screen.

And anyone, it's my movie! :)

Josep! lol. Does your mom still kick your butt on Wii sports?

No I think my mom stopped playing with the Wii and I think the whole country stopped playing with the Wii. lol

What prep do you do for a joke before you use it in front of a large/national audience?

I continually work it out but life just writes me jokes. Whatever my son does or whatever someone does in my family I like to tell it on stage and get the funny out of it. If it makes me laugh at home then I like to get it on stage.

I see that you're from Tacoma an I got a real question....

Is the Puyallup Fair 10x better than the Las Vegas strip? I mean those elephant ears take it over the top!

Lol congrats on the success!

Yes I miss the Puyallup Fair but I don't miss the rain so I guess the Las Vegas strip wins.

What's it like having your own podcast and who's your dream guest?

I loooove my own podcast. My dream guest would probably be Michael Jordan. I think that's every guy's dream guest.

How did you start off with this job?

I started doing it right out of high school. I went to every open mic, every coffee house, every stand-up competition I could get on. As long as I was on stage I was happy.

As far as sneakers... what are your grails?

I'm still a 90/91 Air max fanatic.

How many of your comedian friends have podcasts? Is it a good thing for the community?

Well one, all of my friends have podcasts. And I think it's a great thing for the community. Everyone has a different voice. Everyone has a different point of view. And what's wrong with variety?