Looking Stupid: Hey man, does now still work for you?

Fast Ronald: Yessir 

LS: Nice. How you doing? How’s your day/week been?

FR: I’m good man. Week’s been good so far. Working and doing some comedy stuff 

LS: Are you still at the same spot you’ve mentioned onstage? You were heading up desserts last time we talking cooking 

FR: I actually got a promotion to sous chef recently. It’s a little more general cooking and some admin responsibilities, but at the same restaurant 

LS: You toured pretty extensively for the first time in 2025, is right now more of a gestation period, working new material in San Antonio?

FR: That was my first actual tour.  When we met in Oakland, that that the first leg of the run 

I’ve been writing a new special, working on some writing projects. Recently did 4 nights in Irving, TX, and that was my first time being able to get away in-state 

LS: *Googling Irving Texas and looking at a map*

FR: ( did the same ) 

Live Nation opened a club there. Suburb of Dallas.

LS: Did the Irving shows feel different than gigs you’ve done in Denton? You lived in California long enough to know we in this nation state can view Texas as one unified thing when that’s just not true 

FR: The shows were really fun and interesting. It was the suburbs, so it was a good mix of new and old money. All cultures. Some shows were a little more diverse in crowd. I was surprised how welcoming and how much of the material worked . 

Tried a new private equity joke and it did well there 

LS: The private equity thing is funny, I get the general sense that the mask is off in this country in a way we haven’t seen before, normal people know what private equity is and dislike it, which is kind of amazing

FR: I’ve been surprised at how many people get it and will talk to me about how it apply to them. Lots of medical field people experience it too

LS: I was wondering about the tension between how good your comedy is getting and how talented you are as a cook. Does accepting a promotion weigh on you at all? Or does the kitchen feel like something that is always waiting but the stage isn’t? 

FR: When I was first adjusting to doing more comedy, it was difficult to find a balance and it was stressful. Now that I have a better grasp on how to travel and what to expect I can plan better. As of yet, it hasn’t changed anything. My job is really accommodating when it comes to traveling.  

LS: Your standup career started in LA, right? How’d you get the nerve to actually start opening mic’ing, and what was it like, taking what you developed in Los Angeles back to San Antonio? What does it feel like to hold ambition in a place that might not favor it?

FR: So, I did my first mic in Austin in 2012, did it for a few months. Moved off grid and didn’t do it for 2 years. Moved to LA, started again. Did it there until Covid. Back to San Antonio, took another break 

Honestly, I was ready to give it up. Wasn’t getting any traction. 0 bookings outside the same handful of independent shows. But I kept writing and making my existing jokes better 

2021 I came back, and moved to Austin in 2022. San Antonio is definitely a challenge. There’s less opportunity to practice, so progressing takes a bit longer. Austin now reminds me of LA a decade ago

LS: Do you ever get frustrated trying to build an earnest career in a small market city? Or did the early days in LA take that line of thinking out of your head? Were there some “aha” moments where you realized the better version of the jokes you were trying to tell?

Also, Austin has emerged as this big pillar of standup, I haven’t been since 2021, is it thoroughly all the Kill Tony type of stuff? Or is there a place for everyone not doing that? 

FR: I think it’s easier to get general stage time in Austin right now than LA. There’s more of it in a smaller area. I don’t necessarily think it’s as over saturated as LA can be, not yet anyways 

There’s definitely spots where it’s more of a working comic scene, more in-depth jokes

LS: With regards to in-depth jokes It takes a while to really internalize that a lot/most stand up stories are parables (lies? lol) to help build up an idea into a joke, but some of your stuff is pretty much what happened. Did you actually watch civil court some days at one point? Or did you just have the notion to?

FR: Oh man, to this day it’s one of my favorite things to do 

You see some real life in court 

LS: Does Judge Soto recognize you at this point? Do you have a new favorite due to your changing schedule?

FR: Haha that was in San Antonio 

No favorites in Austin yet 

LS: Is there a balance you’re looking for? Do you ever sit down, see one or two cases and think “wrong channel” 

FR: Civil cases are usually hilarious 

Small claims is also insanely funny 

LS: Pettiness that has been formalized, and given a dollar amount 

FR: Haha definitely 

LS: You mentioned it’s relatively simple to get stage time in Austin right now. How have you felt about the more “traditional” culture around stand up? Does your background in punk/hardcore ever influence how you might circumvent the parts of the business that don’t make sense? Or does the formalism of the music creep into how you think about comedy

FR: Man I think having the punk/hardcore background helps with the diy mindset of “ I can just do my own special “ and book my own tour , but when it comes down to the business aspect, it’s just like music , which having that background also helps me understand 

LS: Just like music in that you can fuck with it, but there’s a grind that will test nearly everyone, and you either submit to it and do that, or you don’t?

FR: Exactly. 

What is your approach to taking your craft seriously without being self serious? ( I feel like you do a great job with that) And how is your approach to developing your material changing?

FR: This is a great question. I view it this way. I take the craft of writing serious. I enjoy dedicating time to something I find interesting. I happen to be better at writing comedy. So with stand up, I just tell myself, no one owes me laughs. I don’t expect anything from the crowd. If a joke doesn’t hit, I never acknowledge it. I just want to perform my jokes. When there’s laughs, it’s a bonus. 

I think when I started I had a bigger ego than now. Like a defense mechanism because I didn’t understand the craft. But now, it’s all the same to me. Big show, small show. My job is the same.

LS: I noticed in your early clips you weren’t scared to pause when there wasn’t a laugh but that’s what the timing was.

Now that you’re building new material with an hour out, what are the oldest jokes that have finally been cut? What’s it like the last few times telling sturdy jokes that don’t serve you anymore?

FR: I don’t do any of the jokes about drinking anymore, even during the special I wasn’t drinking. I don’t really do the queer homies joke too much either 

It felt good to let them go. I like being able to stay on the pulse of culture as much as I can 

LS: Is early material/first specials like that thing with authors where their first crack at a book is very autobiographical, and half the time they shelve it? I guess I’m asking what it’s like to reach past that 

FR: Ahhh 

It feels like I finally understand my voice as a comic. I don’t think most of the first special is who I am in any facet anymore 

I feel like I can call myself a comic