Don’t worry be happy is the mantra for a comic making his Spokane debut
It’s not uncommon for comics to initially swim upstream for a few years before finding their calling. Brian Regan was an accounting major who learned in college that he was terrible at math. Jeff Foxworthy worked for IBM and wanted more to life than a 9-5 gig as a programmer. Bob Newhart crunched numbers but was compelled to escape the cubicle.
Matt McCusker earned a degree in international business in 2009. However, the Philadelphia native hated working in an office and isn’t fond of math.
Part of McCusker’s set when he makes his Spokane debut is about how important it is to be happy.
“You have to at least try to be in a good frame of mind,” McCusker said while calling from his Austin home. “I feel like part of the problem with society is this conveyor belt of life for most of us is that we are presented with a happiness model that doesn’t make everybody happy. It starts with the education system. You’re in school and the goal is how to make $100,000 a year. I know that since I thought that was the key to happiness.”
McCusker, 43, was on that path but loathed his day to day existence. “I was working in an office and it just sucked,” McCusker said. “It was like this automat. I just didn’t want to do that everyday.”
McCusker opted to focus on comedy 13 years ago. “It was about taking a chance,” McCusker said. “I think that’s important for people to take a risk and see where it leads them.”
That’s so for McCusker’s family as well. While chatting about his shows Friday and Saturday at the Spokane Comedy Club, the married father of two young daughters is unpacking boxes since the family moved from Philly to Austin mere days ago.
McCusker jokes about what he knows, which is his wife and children. The observational comic will touch on society’s greatest ills and about how folks should try to be happy.
“Aiming for happiness is a vague concept,” McCusker said. “But it’s important.”
McCusker gets deep with his comedy while riffing about psychologist Abraham Maslow and self-actualization.
It balances out with shallow conversation with his close friend, comic Shane Gillis, on their podcast, “Tom and Shane’s Secret Podcast,” which launched in 2017. The podcast gig was almost enough for McCusker to quit comedy.
“I love doing our podcast,” McCusker said. “I was just going to do the podcast since I have two young daughters. I don’t want to be on the road. I want to be there for them. But I love doing stand-up. I’m working on a special and I have a new hour of material that I’ll be doing in Spokane. I’m balancing things with stand-up and the podcast. I love working with Shane since he’s the funniest person I know. We have a great time together.”
McCusker wouldn’t be so happy if he worked 9 to 5.
“That’s not for me but it is for some people,” McCusker said. “I found what I was destined to do. Not everybody finds that but I did and I’m so thankful.”