We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brandon Killough a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Brandon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

My best (and worst) investment has got to be my comedy career lol. I bet on myself, and it definitely feels great that they paid to do what I love. At times I work enough to sustain that and love comfortably off comedy. There are however also times that the bookings slow down and it gets very tough to get by. I do think that I’m well on my way to more consistently doing what I love, and being booked enough for this to be more sustainable.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I come from a theater background. Just small grade school stuff. I was a drama nerd and a choir kid. I also grew up listening to hip-hop and started rapping at a young age. In middle school I started freestyle rapping and rap battling other kids at lunch. I really think rap battling and drama/improv classes are what make me so light on my feet in comedy. Riffing feels more natural to me than writing most of the time.

I started doing karaoke regularly in my mid twenties and started running karaoke at a couple bars as an odd-job in my late twenties. One of the bars I still run karaoke nights at called Don Quixote’s had an open-mic comedy night that I just stumbled upon and I tried it out on a whim. I’ve been hooked ever since.

I run a few open-mics in OKC and produce some local comedy shows. I’ve put a lot of local comics that are now doing club work on their first shows, and that’s probably one of the things I’m most proud of. I’ve always been against gatekeeping in comedy, and wanted to give people opportunities that I felt they were ready for regardless if f whether or not they’d “put in their bones” so to speak. I feel like I’ve done that. I’ve given a lot of people opportunities that they otherwise would’ve had to wait months if not years for.

As far as my brand and what I feel like I bring to the table as a performer comes down to my approach and unique voice. All of my comedy comes from a place of positivity. I don’t tell jokes with the intention of being mean or shaming anyone or any group of people. Most of my jokes are about current events or pop culture, and I love to subvert expectations as well as get people to look at things in a different and funny way. I also enjoy blending music with my comedy in unexpected ways.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Honestly just being a father. Having custody of my son and helping take care of my paraplegic father while living about an hour away from the two big hub cities where 90% of comedy opportunities here in Oklahoma are, and continuing to invest in myself and my career I think is a testament to my resilience.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My biggest goal at the moment is to be able to tour as a headlining comic. I just want to be able to fully take care of my family by doing this thing that I love so much, and for them to be able to live comfortably off that. I don’t need to be rich or famous if I have that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/bkp86?fbclid=PAY2xjawIQz_xleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABpieQqDzgm1pOiuvUA_aPW3fF-MQbVxoth2Cs9ZS5op_0xR83BhAbePWcbQ_aem_pCk9whQN9O1FpvQMVKjNpQ
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandon_killo_comedy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brandon.lawaynekillough
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC_v1uUsQNQ3-06xPUUPD2xA
• Other: I released my first self produced hour long special “TrapMouse” for free on YouTube at https://youtu.be/C_k4tjOGOv4?feature=shared

Image Credits

Photo credit Adrian Corwin
Photo credit Kayvon Taghizadeh