A writing professional for more than a quarter century, I have most regularly covered the arts with occasional diversions into sports and other topics. Stand-up comedy has been my beat for The Boston Globe and TheSpitTake.com – I had a weekly column in the Globe for seven and a half years and still contribute there on a weekly basis. I have also covered books for Kirkus Reviews and Paste Magazine, television for AOL’s TVSquad, music and comedy for the BDCWire.com, sports for the New England Baseball Journal, New England Lacrosse Journal, and the New England Ski Journal, music for Acoustic Guitar Magazine, American Songwriter, Blurt Magazine, and No Depression, and written for Playboy, Mental Floss, and other publications.
Currently, I am touring Massachusetts with a history lecture titled 100 Years of Boston Comedy, and seeking representation for a book of the same title, covering a timespan from vaudeville in the 1890s to current stars like Mike Birbiglia and Ziwe. I have added a spinoff lecture about the 80s comedy boom in Boston and will debut The Call Back, a presentation featuring my favorite stories from nearly three decades of interviewing comedians, in 2027. More presentations to come as soon as I have time to write them! If you have a library, historical society, college, or senior center that might like to host one, get in touch! Venues can book directly through me. Some presentations are funded through grants from local cultural councils.
Every edition of the presentations in the 100 Years of Boston Comedy series also includes a showing of the Boston Comedy History Traveling Mini-Museum, which includes treasures from more than 100 years like theater programs from BF Keith’s Theater and the Old Howard, posters, print ads, badges from media events I have covered like Comics Come Home and the Boston Comedy Festival, books, records, and VHS tapes. See photos at www.100YearsOfBostonComedy.com.
In April of 2024, I launched Boston Comedy Radio, a 24/7 streaming radio station dedicated to stand-up, sketch, and music from Boston comedians. I have been adding new shows and providing new content for the station and the Boston Comedy Radio Substack every week, including short interviews about upcoming shows, longer interviews about Boston comedy history in The Boston Comedy Radio Interview Hour, a rundown of shows The Best of the Week, and other specialty content. Paid Substack subscribers also get full articles in my Writing Archives along with bonus Q&As, and a look back in my 100 Years of Boston Comedy section.
On the backburner is a book of interviews from nearly two decades of talking to comedians like George Carlin, Lily Tomlin, Reggie Watts, Carl Reiner, Eddie Izzard, Mike Birbiglia, Maria Bamford, Patton Oswalt, and Billy Connolly. I’ve accumulated hours of tape writing profiles for newspapers and magazines, much of which never made it into print.
I’m always on the lookout for interesting projects, so if you’re looking to hire a writer, drop me an e-mail. And if you need a guest for your podcast or talk show to take a deep dive on comedy, music, or horror, find me through the Contact page.