Stand-Up Comic Talks to Y105 Ahead of UD Heritage Center Show

"Mike Paramore is the guy you fight to sit next to in a movie theatre, on a long car ride, or during a boring lecture," so says the homepage of the comic's website. After watching an extended clip from one of his comedy specials, and then talking with him on the phone, I would absolutely elect to go on a road-trip with this man.

Mike Paramore is taking the stage of the UD Heritage Center this Friday, September 9th at 8pm. Ahead of the show, he was gracious enough to spend some time chatting with me about his career in comedy. The humble but contagiously funny Cleveland native knows how to keep you engaged with his laidback delivery and conversational warmth.

And of course, it helps that he's damn funny too.

The decorated comic — who was a finalist in the 2014 World Series of Comedy in Las Vegas and the Winner of the 2015 Cleveland Comedy Festival, to name just a few accolades — predicates his shows on an atmosphere somewhat atypical from a lot of mainstream comedians. He doesn't go for a lot of vulgarity; he'd rather win you over with an easy-going charm:

I'm more of a storyteller. I like to connect with my audience, I like to look people in the eye. I'm actually kind of a shy dude, so visualizing or looking at the audience in its totality freaks me out. [....] Throughout my show, I'll look at like five people. Like, my jokes are being told to like five people because I'm looking at them specifically.

In our interview, Paramore touched on everything from his favorite comedians working today to how he approaches comedy in what can easily be perceived as an incendiary social climate. In his comedy special for Dry Bar Comedy (embedded above), he smoothly segues from first date awkwardness to having women say he resembles Winnie the Pooh (you might not be able to unsee it after he mentions it).

Mike Paramore will be performing at the UD Heritage Center on Friday, September 9th at 8pm. Tickets are still available! In the meantime, for all things Mike Paramore, visit his website!