ComedyView: JP Sears
By Felicia Aleman
Hello, hello, hello Modesto View-ers! April showers are bringing us May shows and there are a lot of them this month.
A highlight is the State Theatre brings YouTube star and stand up comic JP Sears. JP Sears produces videos that parody “new age” living and healthy eating fads. I got to speak to him for a bit on my lunch break from my real job while he was, I assume, at home in Austin, TX massaging his chakras or handpicking the gluten from his bread while wearing his signature purple shirt and flowered headband. (Fun fact: he thinks he has 10 purple shirts, but he can’t be sure because he isn’t very good at math.
JP was raised by an atheist father and Catholic mother, so he’s not sure where his interest in health and exercise came from, but it started at a young age and by the age of 20 he began his spiritual journey. Eventually, JP spent 14 years as a life coach before turning to comedy. Fourteen short years later he was an overnight sensation with his YouTube show “Ultra Spiritual Life”. Episodes like “How to Be Gluten Intolerant” and “Prancercising” poke fun at the extremes some people go through to show how healthy they are.
Mostly though, JP is a down-to-earth guy who is in his words, “stands for kindness and acceptance” and is “blessed his audience has found him”. When I asked what he recommended for a healthier lifestyle he offered the following advice: laugh instead of criticize, your practices should give you energy and leave you feeling better and of course, get a Buddha statue for your living room.
JP Sears will be performing May 9 at the State Theatre along with local openers and MAMA Comedy Award winners Anthony K and Serena “The Spicy Latina” Gamboa. Doors open at 7 pm Get tickets soon because they are going fast. www.thestate.org
May 9 I will be presenting my second annual Mom-edy Show. This year we’ll be at the 108 Sports Lounge in Riverbank. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. On May 14 at 7 will be my regular open mic at Fired Up Grill in Ceres. This month we will be awarding a prize to an open mic-er as well. Come by and maybe you’ll get to be a judge.
Here is a super quick rundown on local shows. Check the events section for more details.
May 2 & 16 open mic at Whiskey Barrel Tavern, Stockton
May 3 Cozy Corner, Livingston
May 9 108 Sports Lounge, Riverbank
May 10 Goldrush Comedy at Gameroom, Sonora
May 11 Koes, Stockton
May 14 Fired Up Grill, Ceres
May 15 Pizza Factory, Turlock
May 25 Strings, Manteca (just have to add national act Theo Von will be at this one)
May 25 Spare Time Lounge, Tracy
May 29 Comedy at the Outpost Saloon, Waterford
Every Thursday open mic at the Brave Bull
