Rik Roberts

February, 2003

by Brad Freeman

Rik Roberts has a way of captivating audiences with his blend of comedy and music. Although he's not the first to mix these two forms of entertainment, he does a real nice job of keeping his style and material fresh and unique.

Born in Kentucky, Rik attended college in West Virginia and then later settled in Nashville, TN. He has performed all around the country, building a true following here in the Midwest. He performs the comedy circuit which includes a lot of college towns like Bloomington, and also performs for a lot of big, corporate functions.

His versatile style along with his ability to ad-lib or tailor his shows to his audience are proof to the wit that exists within his twisted, southern mind. Rik recently provided an example of this to the local audiences that attended the 20th Anniversary Celebration of Comedy at Bear's Place in January.

As a frequent patron of Monday night comedy at Bear's Place, I have seen a majority of the comedians that have come through the club. Lots of famous people have performed there. Some have done well, while others have not. I am sure most of you have heard the story about Roseanne Barr being booed off the stage along with her whiny voice years ago.

The crowds at Bear's have a reputation for being unruly if they don't like you. This was not the case with Rik Roberts. He kept the crowd involved and laughing during his entire performance, and, if you ask me, was a hard act to follow. I truly believe that he put on a better show than Ron Shock, who was the headliner that night.

Rik's motto is "comedy + music = good clean fun." Its a motto he holds fast to as he blends his jokes or stories with his music. He blends a variety of topics into his shows like living in the South, family woes and humor plus, he relates to the audience stories pertaining to his travel between shows. He adds a few impressions into the midst. I believe Don Knotts would be proud to see his Barney Fife impression.

Rebecca Coudret from the Evansville Courier Press says, "Rik is sharp, smooth ... you'll remember him when you see his name on a sitcom. Bank on it." Her remarks remind me of former acts that I have seen at Bear's Place. It seems weird to see Brad Garret on the sitcom Everyone loves Raymond after seeing him at Bear's. The list goes on and Rik has the potential to be up there with the big name acts. Catch him while you can, on his way up.

Describing comedy acts is similar to describing movies. Since most of you haven't seen Rik yet, I don't want to give you too much information about his show. Brace yourself for a night of fun, laughter and music. You can also check out Rik's web site at: www.rikroberts.com where you'll find information about this up and coming entertainer.

Brad Freeman, is the editor of the Bloomington Music News and covers Indiana's Music & Comedy Scene

© 2003 B-Town Music News

- Bloomington Music News

By Christine Hawes

Sept. 27, 2002

SARASOTA - Philadelphia, a member of the Bunch O' Comics cast for the second straight year, recalls how he wowed the crowd at The Improv in Los Angeles recently.

He also remembers how he "bombed" the night before, with the same material, at the same venue.

The difference?

The night before was "urban night," he says, and he was surrounded by comics cracking jokes about drugs, child support and Caucasians.

"An all-black audience, from 28 and down, thinks I'm the corniest, softest weakest ..." says the self-described PG-13 comedian. "I just don't connect with the more hip-hop generation.

"All these guys have been able to work the PG scene," says Kimberly Wilkins, owner and vice-president of Corporate Comedy Resource, which coordinates the event each year.

Rik Roberts, a Nashville-based comedian can best be described as a hilarious combination of Don Knotts, Steve Martin & Ray Stevens.

"I've always been a cleaner comic than most," Roberts says. "If I couldn't tell a joke in front of EVERYBODY, it wasn't worth telling."

The organizers are predicting a slicker show with more sketches and skits, and hope for record attendance.

- Sarasota Sun Times

One mistake showed to comedy life for Roberts

By RODNEY BENGSTON

Sept. 28, 2000

Some comics have a master plan for their careers. Rik Roberts, appearing this week at the Cleveland Improv, is not one of them.

Roberts' comedy career started by accident.

While he was living in Columbus, OH, he went to open mike night — which he thought was for musicians. His rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" drew a hearty round of boos. Only after he got off stage did he find out it was a comedy contest.

Roberts decided to hang around for the rest of the show. He remembers watching about 15 others tell jokes. "There were about 15 guys that did it, and 10 guys were really funny. But the other five were less funny, and I thought that I was funny enough that I could do that."

So Roberts started telling jokes anywhere he could get someone to listen including seafood restaurants and karaoke bars. By day, he was working at Ohio State University while delivering pizzas and doing stand-up at night.

Then Roberts made a trek to a comedy club in Columbus. The show featured the improv troupe Midwest Comedy Tool & Die.

As luck would have it, the troupe was auditioning for a second troupe to take over its established schedule of local gigs while it was on the road.

Stand-up was on the back burner for a while as Roberts took improv workshops for a year. Then the troupe gave him a chance to go on the road, and he quit his job at OSU the next day. On his off weeks, he continued to deliver pizzas.

In 1997, Roberts made comedy a full-time gig and hasn't "smelled a pepperoni since."

Because his act heavily relies on music, Roberts has made Nashville his home. "It's a big town, not a small city," Roberts says. "I lived here for about a year, and anytime I go out on a Friday night I usually bump into someone I know."

Roberts has recorded three compact discs, but says he believes his newest "Big Laughs Live" is getting a good response because it was the first one recorded live: "I think people want to have a bit of the show to take home with them, so they can share that with their friends."

His songs also have been getting airplay on syndicated shows like "Rick and Bubba" in Birmingham, Al and National Public Radio's "Car Talk."

Roberts says he also moved to Nashville to try and boost his music: "I'd like to be opening for bands more if I can. When I'm opening up for bands, I can be seen by as many people in one night that would take 15 weeks in clubs."

Born in Lexington, Ky., and raised in nearby Versailles, Roberts says he'll always be a country boy at heart, and his best shows often are on his home turf.

"I just think I'm real in tune with that audience," he says.

While he now has a solo stand-up career, Roberts continues to perform an average of once a month with Midwest Comedy Tool & Die. "The group has grown older and we're scattered all over, so now we mainly do corporate things," he says.

Improv, he adds, "is where you get the biggest belly laughs. Maybe because the crowd never did know what you're going to do."

But not every improv situation works to perfection: "We were booked at the Kellogg Center in Battle Creek, Mich. on New Year's Eve. That had us up on scaffolding. So you had this few-second delay, and we couldn't hear the people that were trying to yell suggestions up to us."

On the other end of the spectrum, Roberts says his Barney Fife impression always seems to get a good reaction. "Fife is an international icon. I'm the biggest fan of Don Knotts. I've invited him to my house for Christmas every year. No response yet."

Roberts says he will continue to look for things that look like fun. It seems to have worked so far.

Rodney Bengston, an editor in Sun Newspapers' Metro office, covers Northeast Ohio's comedy scene.

© 2000 Sun Newspapers

- Sun Newspapers