Richwood resident and comedian, Lee Mays, will tape his first stand-up special in Utah on March 30. The comedy show will then be available to purchase through Dry Bar Comedy, an online platform with more than 150 million monthly views.
(Photo submitted)
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Lee Mays has the kind of second job some people only dream of.
“I’m basically a nurse aid by day and a comedian by night.”
Mays, who lives just west of Richwood, works as a state tested nurse aid (STNA) in his daily life but has been actively involved in the comedy world for more than a decade, working venues and telling jokes. That work has led him to his first stand-up comedy special, which is set to tape next month in Utah.
“It’s a huge opportunity for someone like me who started one way and went another,” he said.
That path has led him in a number of directions, but now, an STNA, Mays cares for people, often elderly and that, he said, gives him all kinds of perspective.
“It can be a lot but there can be a lot of joy in it too,” he said. “A lot of them have a good outlook on life.”
Mays said his comedy draws inspiration for material from his life and upbringing, which started originally in the southern part of the state in Ironton, near the Ohio River.
“I draw from my own life experiences. My upbringing was very rural,” he said. “If I ever make it big, I won’t ever forget I was raised in a single-wide trailer, on a dirt road, in Lawrence County.”
As a kid, Mays said he watched a variety of comedy specials, taking inspiration from comedic legends like Eddie Murphy.
The comedian’s famous stand-up specials in the 1980s made an impression on him, he said.
“I was very fortunate in that I had parents that didn’t really care about what I watched,” he added. “You see things and get inspired but you don’t really know where to start.”
Mays left southern Ohio nearly a decade ago and came north for more opportunities and, because of its proximity to Columbus, finally ended up in northern Union County.
His arrival in central Ohio nearly coincides with his start in comedy, which he said has taken many forms and was helped by social media.
“A friend told me I should give stand-up a try,” he said. “I didn’t know where to start and then came the age of social media.”
Online, Mays said he developed reputation “for insulting celebrities that included Twitter “wars” with Roseanne Barr, Dane Cook and misguided fans of celebrities who think their heroes can do no wrong.”
He has also described his comedy as a “condescending, rapid-fire, insulting writing style that includes wordplay and sometimes self-deprecating humor.”
Mays said he has put videos online and worked to build a set that includes those jokes about growing up in rural Lawrence County, but over the years, his comedy has evolved.
While he started his comedy journey with the sharp, foul-mouthed edge of Murphy, his comedy now pulls more from the cleaner style of someone like Jim Gaffigan, though that edge is still intact.
“Cursing is just kind of the way I talk but I decided to write clean,” Mays said. “It’s clean material but it’s still my humor. What that did was open all kinds of doors for me.”
Mays said that switch has given him opportunities to play places he might not otherwise play because the comedy can work with a variety of audiences.
“I’ll perform for anyone that’ll have me. I’m not picky. Bar, VFW, theater, I’ve done it all,” he said.
He added that he doesn’t think there is anything wrong with “dirty comedy” and that he still likes to hear it.
“If I can do a 45-minute set without cursing, that’s good for me,” Mays said. “There are so many comics out there already like that. To set myself apart from the rest, I decided to go clean.”
Part of the goal, he said, is to bring comedy to places that don’t always get it and he works to make that happen.
Mays’ Dry Bar Comedy Special, which will be taped in Provo, Utah on March 30, and will be available on the show’s website after the recording.
The online platform was founded in 2017, according to its website and notes it “has become the fastest growing stand-up comedy streaming series, garnering up to 150 million monthly views across the brand’s social and app platforms.”
“They release clips daily, so keep an eye out for that,” Mays said. “This is my first taped special and hopefully not my last.”
Those interested in Mays’ comedy can find him on social media under his name and see clips of his stand-up on YouTube. He will also be playing live locally at The Ridge in April.