Hello reader! I had a chat with Philly comedian LeMaire Lee this week. He’s bringing his pals, Dorian Vazquez and Jay Simpson, to Castleburg Brewery for the monthly Game of Jokes show, which is hosted by Mike Engle. Lee is a regular guest on Luis J Gomez’s Real Ass Podcast and Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast. He also co-hosts his own podcast called Panties In The Mouth with Nate Marshall and Andy Malafarina. We talked about Richmond comedy during the pandemic, live-action adaptations, and Steve Urkle’s biggest mistake!
Have you been to Richmond before?
Yeah, I’ve been. I was there during the pandemic. Me and the guys that are coming out now, Dorian and Jay, we were there during the pandemic. We were in Virginia a couple times during the pandemic. We’re bad boys.
Oh yeah. Comedy was still rocking and rolling in the Richmond during the pandemic.
Yeah it was. Ya’ll were keeping comedy alive.
Hell yeah. We’re glad you’re coming back.
Richmond. That’s the Castleburg, right? Yeah, this will be our third time doing that show. It’s pretty cool. I love that show
Awesome. Shout out to Mike Engle for putting these on. When did you get your start in comedy?
I started in 2013 I believe. Like in May or March. I’m not sure because I got fired from my job. I can’t remember if I got fired in May or March.
Did getting fired from your job play a roll into you starting comedy?
I feel like it because as soon as I got fired, they’re like ‘you won’t you never like smile anymore’, and I was like ‘oh cause I don’t like doing this’. This other stuff is fun.
Well it seems to be working out. I saw you on Matt and Shane’s Podcast a couple of weeks ago when…
…with the mentalist?
Yeah. I wanted to ask how that experience was.
It was crazy. That guy really freaked me out. I didn’t think I’d get that freaked out. I thought I could beat him. I tried to trick him. I actively tried to change my answers and he figured me out every time. He’s a real wizard.
Yeah. He guessed the person you were thinking of (Michael Jackson) and Shane’s PIN number. It was wild.
No, we were freaked out. That’s why we were laughing like, ‘Holy shit dude!’
I know you’re a big fan of anime. Do you think they’ll every successfully turn an anime into live action?
Maybe one of the animes that are sort of already based in real life. Like one of the detective ones like a Case Closed. Yeah, I feel like Case Closed would be a good one. Maybe like Lupin the Third. Did they ever do a live action Lupin the Third? That could be a great heist movie.
I’ve seen other things turn anime and it’s been cool or funny. Like X-Men or South Park but doesn’t always work the other way around. And the fans are just …
… Brutal.
Yeah. They are so ready to shit on everything.
Did you see The Last Of Us?
I haven’t yet. That’s based on a video game though, right?
Yeah. But video games are in the same boat as anime games or movies. Where it’s like always been bad and no one’s ever done it well. The Last of Us is the first, I think, maybe like the first true time of video game has been done well in the live action adaptation.
True. I mean, ones in the past are historically bad. But honestly, the ones in the past, I still like a lot. Anything out of the 90s. I think still like Street Fighter, Super Mario Brothers, Mortal Kombat.
That Mortal Kombat movie still fucking rocks. [LeMaire starts singing the Mortal Kombat theme music]
photo courtesy of Lemaire Lee
Absolutely. You’re a big fan of 90’s sitcoms. Who, in your opinion, it the number 90’s sitcom baddie?
Mmm, Now… Family Matters. Myra, not Laura.
Oh yeah. Myra is a babe.
I’m kind of upset at Steve for not going with her.
I think we were all upset at that as a nation. Huge mistake!
Hey, just wanted to let you know that LeMaire, Dorian, and Jay are headlining at Castleburg Brewery this Saturday at 8pm. It’s part of the monthly comedy show, Game of Jokes, which happens every first Saturday and is hosted by Mike Engle. The show starts off with an open mic list and then finishes with sets from the headliners. Trust me, you don’t want to miss this! LeMaire is one of the funniest comics on the rise right now. So grab a cold one and get ready to laugh your ass off!
Main photo by @lvazquezphotography