Local comic Ryan McComb performing a special goodbye | Arts & Culture | Spokane | The Pacific Northwest Inlander
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Spokane comedian Ryan McComb is filming a new special at the Central Library.
Comedian Ryan McComb, a Perry District native who climbed through the ranks of the Spokane comedy scene, is getting ready for a new standup special at the downtown library. It’s one of his final events as a “Spokane comedian” before he heads south to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue new opportunities for his comedy career.
McComb christens the newly renovated event space at the central location of the Spokane Public Library with its first after-hours event. He’ll tape an all-new special in front of a live audience July 22 at 9 pm. Tickets are free, the comedy is clean, and it’s a perfect evening of celebrating local growth.
McComb grew up going to the Spokane Public Library every Saturday morning. His mom worked night shifts, and it was his father’s job to get the kids out of the house so she could sleep in. McComb has witnessed the library transform, navigating the diminishing need for DVDs and CDs and creating new ways of adding value to a place, like a recording studio, a podcast booth and this new event space.
“The downtown library renovations are unbelievable,” McComb says. He appreciates their thoughtfulness and usefulness, as well as the conscious ways the different areas are laid out.
Besides introducing him to the library, McComb’s father Ken also introduced him to comedy. He was a local comic and brought McComb to open mics to watch him perform.
“It was essentially just to have something to do,” McComb says. “And then I thought, ‘Well, if I’m gonna be there, I may as well write something down.'”
A natural instinct kicked in, as well as the dedication to nurture it. McComb began testing out material at Spokane Comedy Club and local bars. As McComb moved from open mics to weekday spots, he carefully honed minutes and then whole sets of clever, calm comedy.
Progress wasn’t seamless or steady. McComb dealt with serious bouts of stage fright that started a few years into his career, the kind that triggered him into feeling like he was actively peeing his pants the whole time he was on stage. He also lost control of the audience at least once, slowly getting more and more annoyed by aggressive hecklers until he said some choice words, cut it short and walked offstage. But these failures are what convinced him to keep going.
“You know you can do better,” McComb says. “The one way you grow is by totally, totally blowing it.”
This competition with himself motivated McComb. Early on, he was scared of going short or disappointing the crowd. But even when these things happened, “you know it’s not going to ruin your life,” he says. McComb kept reworking jokes, going through four to five drafts before performing something, and letting his jokes evolve naturally.
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McComb paid his dues alongside his comedian dad.
The progress came. After hosting weeknight shows, then hosting weekend shows, then featuring on nights off, McComb finally headlined for the Spokane Comedy Club last year. It was a major milestone in his career. During that headline show, McComb told a story with such a satisfying ending that the crowd assumed the act was finished. They gave a standing ovation. But McComb wasn’t done, and he still needed to fill more time. Instead of peeing his pants or cursing, McComb regained control of the audience, stayed comfortable on stage and finished his time.
To McComb, that comfort and control were important markers of maturity, perhaps as significant as the headlining itself.
At that point, McComb started considering moving away from Spokane.
“From a comedic standpoint, my opportunities weren’t going to get larger here,” says McComb. “I knew that I was encountering diminishing returns in Spokane. Everything here is phenomenal — I’m not mad at Spokane — but I’m at a point where I can go elsewhere and discover new opportunities and still have most of the opportunities I have here if I travel back in.”
Nashville isn’t a comedy mecca like Manhattan, but it’s a strategic move by McComb. The Spokane Comedy Club has sister clubs in Tacoma, Oklahoma City, Louisville, Appleton (in Wisconsin) and Fort Wayne (in Indiana). Nashville is a center between most of those cities, which means that McComb can take advantage of opportunities with all those affiliates. Plus, he can also encounter new possibilities in bigger metro areas with cheap flights, like Atlanta, Chicago and New York.
McComb keeps his expectations reasonable. “I’m not sitting here with a picture of Madison Square Garden next to my bed, thinking one day I’m gonna headline there,” McComb says. But he retells a story from comic Nate Bargatze, who started his career as a barker outside New York City comedy clubs. Bargatze had dreams, but he focused on short-term goals: “Don’t be on this corner anymore. Be barking elsewhere.” McComb decided that Nashville is his next corner, the next place to put himself in the way of more opportunity.
“The fact that I’m moving to Nashville is in itself a success,” McComb says.
“Just because you move away from home doesn’t mean you hate your mom,” McComb adds, referring to his love for Spokane. In fact, his most precious cargo for the move to Nashville all have roots in his hometown — his girlfriend, his dog and a few of his mom’s paintings.
Being at the Spokane Comedy Club was one of the “top five most influential things that have happened to me,” McComb says. It’s where he and his girlfriend met, and where he garnered a lot of support from the owners and other comics. A few of those comics, including Rob Wentz, Jay Berg and Jesse Burt, will feature before his special at the library. But the host of that evening, decades after those Saturday mornings together, will be McComb’s dad. ♦
Ryan McComb: Live at the Library • Fri, July 22 at 9:00 pm • Free • All ages • Spokane Public Library – Central • 906 W. Main Ave • events.spokanelibrary.org • 509-444-5308