Kevin Bozeman is one tall, imposing and hilarious baby.
"Yep, I'm the baby — youngest of 10 children," Bozeman said. "When you're the tenth kid you know you weren't planned, but I'm not complaining. It gives you some perspective right out the canal. I'm just thankful my parents slipped up one more time."
But Bozeman's no lost and stuttering young'un onstage. Perhaps his carnivalesque, sibling-packed childhood, which he describes as "full of fun and fighting," imparted him the comedic bravado required to sustain a ruthless crowd's attention. Behind a microphone, Bozeman is energetic, fearless and direct, with an impartial wit that leaves no one unscathed. He often riffs on conventional stereotypes, using them as springboards for his own punchlines.
"I like to push the envelope, see how far I can go," Bozeman said. "With stereotypes, it's like gift wrap. It's all about presentation and delivery. Besides, there's nothing wrong with stereotypes as long as they're true."
And — in characteristic good humor — he's not afraid to denounce a racist audience, who tense up, even boo, upon hearing one Mexican jab immediately after exploding in laughter during his string of black jokes.
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Kevin Bozeman wsg Denny Green
Connxtions Comedy Club, Lansing Jan. 13-15, 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. $8-$15 connxtionscomedyclub.com, (517) 374-HAHA |
"We're in this together," Bozeman said. "We laugh as a team."
Ironic as it may be for a performer who's so seemingly at home onstage, Bozeman calls comedy a last-resort career move.
"I realized I don't have any other job skills. I was pigeonholed that way," Bozeman said. "But you go to do something and whenever I walked into a room I always had the curiosity to see if I could make everyone laugh, and I find that challenge exhilarating. Basically, this career chose me."
Nonetheless, Bozeman's last-resort career move has panned out. Since he went full-time comic in 1999, Bozeman's appeared on Comedy Central's "Comics Come Home" and "Premium Blend." He's opened for Aretha Franklin and starred on the Bob and Tom Show. He's competed in Last Comic Standing, finished runner-up in Boston's Comedy Competition, and won HBO's Comedy Competition. Yet, he claims he's not content.
"It's not necessarily about the fame or money," Bozeman said. "It's about the right level of self-satisfaction, to feel perfectly alright with where I am. And I'm not there yet. Though, I am pleasantly shocked to see my credit score has risen a bit."
