I’m a musician, comedian, improviser, writer and IT consultant. Only one of those things makes me any money. I run the night Comedy Commentary Cinema in Brisbane with Kristian Fletcher, my stand-up was once described as: 'Robin Williams during his coke days times three', I am an understudy in the 'Potter Unplotted' production as part of this year’s Brisbane Comedy Festival and used to be in the semi-unsuccessful electro band Neon Highwire.
What do you love about the city you live in?
Before moving to Brisbane in 2014, I lived in London in the UK for ten years. Moving here was the best decision I could have made. My stress levels have plummeted and I no longer feel like I’m constantly on the brink of a nervous breakdown. Everything is just easier here. I went to see PJ Harvey at The Tivoli the other day and parked for free a mere couple of hundred metres from the venue. I stood next to the car staring at the parking sign and just broke into hysterical laughter. People were staring and crossed the street to get away from me, but I didn’t care. It’s the little things.
Where did you go for your last holiday?
My wife and I drove up to Port Douglas and got married on the beach. No one but immediate family knew. We spent a couple of weeks exploring the coast of Queensland up to the Daintree. We’ve been making the most of exploring this beautiful country since coming here to live. I’d never been to Australia before moving here, so technically every place we go is a mini holiday. “What is this Bunnings you speak of?” Selfie at the sausage sizzle. Make it into a postcard? Why not. Something to send the relatives back in the old world.
What's your favourite item of clothing? Why?
I recently bought a t-shirt which looks like it has a cat in the pocket. When you pull the pocket down, it reveals that the cat’s secretly giving you the double bird salute. You may recognise it from the internet. I empathise with that cat a lot.
What was your favourite TV show when you were a kid?
Pretty sure it was 'Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles'. For some reason they were heroes in the UK rather than ninjas. I find the logic behind those sorts of decisions fascinating. Like 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone' being renamed to Sorcerer’s Stone in the USA. Why is the UK fine with philosophers, but not ninjas?
Maybe we’ll never know. If you could travel back in time for a day, where would you go?
Bit of a clichéd response I know, but I’d go back to when I was in school and beat up all of my bullies.
If we were coming over to your place, what would you cook us?
I’ve never been all that interested in food; had kind of hoped we’d all be living on food pills by this point, but the boffins haven’t pulled their weight. Signed up to Hello Fresh a little while ago, and I’m a big fan of their easy-to-do recipes. Makes you feel like you can cook when you really have no idea what you’re doing. Like someone with a colouring book calling themselves an artist. I’d probably pull out one of their old recipes and make something with quinoa, so I can intentionally mispronounce it the whole time.
What's the best lesson you've ever learned?
A wise person pees when they can, not when they have to. Think about it. Australia’s better than the UK for public toilets, but still, why take the risk? There’s no shame in a mini-pee if you know you’re going to be remote for the next few hours.
Tell us one thing about yourself that nobody else knows…
My left nipple is more sensitive than my right nipple. I think trauma response blocked my memory of why this is the case, and I have yet to find a practical use for this skill.
Are you happy with your work/ life balance?
It’s pretty good right now, however that’s at the price of getting enough sleep which always seems to be the one that gives. This is a shame because I’m a big fan of sleep.
How do you define success?
'MTV Cribs' doing an episode on you.
What's your spirit animal?
Someone pointed out to me the other day that talking about spirit animals is casual, cultural appropriation and trivialises native American beliefs. When I found out I thought: 'I don’t understand enough about native American culture to fully appreciate this, but I’m glad this was pointed out to me as so I’m more aware in the future.'
