by Gene Marrano
Comedian Brian Regan played the Roanoke Performing Arts Theatre in September 2009; now he’s back on March 19 as part of his “Brian Regan Live in Concert,” tour. Regan, who only works every other weekend, opting to stay at home with family otherwise, is also promoting a new album, “All By Myself.”
So what’s new over the past year and a half for the comedian, a friend of Jerry Seinfeld and a former college football player? Regan said in a phone interview last week that he couldn’t specifically remember the previous Roanoke gig – but that’s a good thing. “Oddly enough the ones that stand out are the ones that go horrible. But I don’t remember it going horribly in Roanoke. I look forward to coming back.”
Yes, the former wide receiver did watch the Super Bowl: “I wanted Green Bay – [Packers quarterback] Aaron Rodgers had that monkey on his back because of the Brett Favre thing. It was nice for him to kind of shake that.”
The fifty-something Regan hasn’t climbed K2 or anything else like that over the past year and a half since he was last in Roanoke, although he “has a little brother that climbs mountains,” like Mount Rainier. “It makes me realize that everyone can look at someone else and say man, how do you do that? My little brother [Terry] admires me doing standup but I’m just getting on stage – I don’t need to have an oxygen canister with me to climb to the top of the world.”
Regan has released one other CD and three DVD’s since 2007 (he’s also had several TV specials). He “had another hour of stuff,” which led to the second and newest album, All By Myself, released just before the holidays. It’s certainly easier than all of the stage preparation needed to film a DVD. “There’s just a guy hanging a couple of microphones,” he noted, “this is the way to go.”
See BrianRegan.com to download the new album, which will soon be a CD as well. “It’s not even a thing that you can hold [yet],” said Regan of the brave new digital world. “I don’t get it. My brain isn’t up to speed yet.” The kids today miss all the great album art of the past, a sentiment Regan appreciates, but he doesn’t want to become one of those old guys who says, “when I was young…”
Regan has fielded overtures about doing sitcoms in the past and jokes that he’s available for the spot on Two and a Half Men now vacated since Charlie Sheen was suspended and then fired. “He was getting two million an episode, I want [CBS] to know I’ll be willing to work for one million an episode,” he chuckles.
Regan watched as Sheen careened through a round of interviews before CBS sacked him. “I’m sort of fascinated by what’s happening to him and how he’s handling it. Part of me feels for him. I understand his position to a degree – [its his] private life. [He was] showing up to work on time. Its just an interesting thing to watch.”
Grateful and feeling lucky that he can “lead somewhat of a normal life,” Regan appreciates the fact that he has a loyal following, “[yet] after the show I can literally go a half mile down the road to a Burger King… and nobody in there knows who I am. I love it.”
Regan “works clean,” on stage but said that is not his mission – its just where his comedy is at. “I’m going on stage to be funny. Its not the main point of it.” He jokes that he has been on a 30-year tour of sorts as a standup comedian; Roanoke is just one more stop on March 19. “I like every part of it though.”
Visit roanokeciviccenter.com for ticket info on the March 19 show.
