Six local comedians talk about their craft

How many people from Martinsville does it take to screw in a light bulb? These six comedians from Bloomington, all of whom performed at the Best of Bloomington show at the Comedy Attic last Wednesday, would know.  

Jon "The Animal" Hancuff
Jon Hancuff said he considers himself pretty mellow, and his onstage presence is no different. But when he finally let loose a little too much during one performance, all the local comedians lovingly gave him the nickname "The Animal." Hancuff, 41, works in Bloomington and lives with his wife and three children, and he uses his casual humor to make light of family life. He said his love of Steve Martin, Steven Wright and Bill Hicks allowed him to start cracking jokes about selling his kids' baby teeth on eBay.

Hancuff calls comedy a creative outlet. "Once you get success, it's addictive," he said.

Joshua Murphy
Joshua Murphy, a 21-year-old junior and history major, is something of a storyteller. He said he’s always thinking about comedy and new jokes to tell, and it shows in every set in which he recounts his day and his life at IU. If you see him perform, you’ll rarely hear the same story twice. He said he is inspired by Marc Maron, Louis C.K. and Patton Oswalt. Murphy said he loves doing stand-up because “it’s a bit of a control thing, being able to talk and make people laugh for the right reasons.”

Mat Alano-Martin
Mat Alano-Martin is just a Bloomington “office drone.” But onstage, he makes dirty cracks about sex and marriage and proves why he is one of the best comedians in Bloomington.

“Comedy is like a mental puzzle,” Alano-Martin, 37, said.

And he’s been puzzling for more than a year now. His inspirations include Dave Attell and Dave Chappelle. Outside of comedy, Alano-Martin said he enjoys music and even used to play in a handful of local bands.
 
Josh Cocks
Why does Josh Cocks do comedy when driving three hours to perform a set gives him no time outside of it?

“I’m really just a massive attention whore,” Cocks said jokingly. “I like knowing my voice is louder than yours and you have to listen.”

Cocks, 22, is an IU senior majoring in journalism, and he’s a big guy telling fun and congenial observational jokes about dating, society and how he only just learned the difference between Anne Frank and Helen Keller. His inspirations include Geoff Tate, Tommy Johnigan and local comedian Ben Mohr, who Cocks calls the best comedian in Bloomington.

Jack Skolnick
Who says finance majors aren’t interesting people? Jack Skolnick, 22, is an IU student who has been performing stand-up for three years. Skolnick said he needed a place to spill his soul and entertain the masses, and his dry, low-key comedy was just the trick. As a comedian, Skolnick said he admires Steven Wright and Zach Galifianakis. Skolnick said his favorite jokes he’s written are usually the ones that never work with audiences.

Tom Brady
Tom Brady has been working his unfortunate name into his act for some time now. The 23-year-old telecommunications alumnus has now made stand-up comedy his full-time career. But he still appeases the local and college crowd with his material about making addendums to sidewalk chalk messages and other Bloomington jokes. Brady is a youthful and fun-spirited comedian, and outside his work he said he enjoys running and playing “Madden.”

“I like Chili’s. Is that a hobby?”