Career
Taylor began performing stand-up in May 2011, at age 33. [9] [10] [6] His work ethic helped fuel his rise in the Northern California comedy scene; in his first year as a comic, he drove to San Francisco and performed at as many open mics in one night as he could, appearing on stage between 300 and 400 times in 2011(in seven months). [11] [12] He won the Stand-up Shootout competition in Sacramento in 2011, [6] was named the city's best comedian in 2016 by readers of the Sacramento News & Review, [13] and finshed second in the same poll in 2014. [14]
Taylor considers himself to be a "storyteller comic", and much of his material is drawn from his life. [15] [16] He is known for his deeply personal, brutally honest and often dark comedy, which includes routines about his divorces and his parents' deaths. [6] [17] [9] [18] He has toured across the U.S. and Canada, [7] [19] [20] and is a regular on the comedy festival circuit, performing at San Francisco Sketchfest, [21] the New Orleans Hell Yes Fest, the Asheville Comedy Festival, [22] Altercation Fest, [23] [24] the Sacramento Comedy Festival, [25] and the Chico Comedy Festival. [26] He tours frequently with Brian Posehn. [8] [27] [19]
Taylor also writes for The Hard Times, punk-rock satire website. In September 2020, he began hosting pop-culture podcast Hipsterocracy for The Hard Times' podcasting network, on which Taylor has interviewed other comedians as well as musicians including Brendan Benson and Blag Dahlia of the Dwarves. [8] [4] [28]
In 2015, he co-hosted the podcast It's Funny Because with fellow Sacramento comic Keith Lowell Jensen, in which the pair interviewed national and Sacramento-area comedians. [29] The Sacramento Bee said that it is "a riveting and eye-opening dissection of the art and craft of comedy." [30] [31] With comedian Daniel Humbarger, he co-hosted the sports podcast Cowbell Kingdom in 2015 and 2016. [32] [33] [34] [35] In 2021, Taylor began hosting the talk-show/news-commentary webseries The Nonfiction with Johnny Taylor, Jr. [36] He has written for the Huffington Post, [37] Laughspin, Laugh Button, McSweeneys, [10] and The Interrobang. [38]
Albums
Taylor has released two comedy albums and a charity single on Stand Up! Records. His debut, 2014's Tangled Up in Plaid, [39] reached No. 7 on the iTunes comedy chart. [1] [2] It was reviewed positively by critics. Chris Spector of Midwest Record praised Taylor's "punk-rock energy" and said "he's got a sharp wit that really cuts to the bone." [40] Brett Watson of The Serious Comedy Site said "Taylor is an absolute master of misdirection. Many of the punchlines go in directions you will never see coming." [18]
His 2018 followup album and video Bummin' with the Devil hit No. 1 on both the Amazon and iTunes comedy charts. [3] [4] [5] Aaron Carnes of the Sacramento News & Review called it an improvement over his debut, saying that Taylor "never rushes a punchline and tells true stories with absurd details." [12] Lara Smith of ComedyWham, a website in Austin, Texas, noted Taylor's "evolution and growth" as a comic, saying "he’s grown more comfortable as a performer and a polished storyteller." [41] Richard Lanoie of The Serious Comedy Site praised the "dark and autobiographical humor" but felt his Donald Trump material (recorded before the 2016 presidential election) was dated. [42]