In Los Angeles, comedian Justin James made a name for himself by working his love of cooking and music into his stand-up sets. His weekly shows attracted attention from big names such as Rory Scovel, Christopher Titus, and Dan Cummins, each of whom invited him to open for them. But the 38-year-old got his start in his hometown of Dallas, in a little comedy club in Deep Ellum. On Wednesday, he is coming back to film his first special where his career began.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to perform at the place where I started and I’m lucky enough to be able to do that,” James says. “I’m really excited to come home and perform for my friends and family and all my fans from when I started.”
James is recording his first comedy special at the Dallas Comedy Club with the help of Dallas comedy production group For The City (FTC) Comedy. He started his career at the first incarnation of the old Dallas Comedy House, when it was located on Commerce Street. The comedy club has moved twice since then, first to Main Street and then Elm. It closed during the COVID pandemic but reopened with a slightly different name: the Dallas Comedy Club. It was important to James to record his first special here. (He moved to California in 2017.)
“Me and [FTC co-founder and comedian Paulos Feerow] have been talking about it forever,” James says.
James’ special doesn’t just complete a career circle. It also marks a 12-year friendship between James, Feerow, and Christopher olson, Feerow’s creative partner and FTC co-founder.
“To me, it feels a little bit like a graduation, like a 12-plus year friendship all around standup in DFW,” Olson says. “FTC started with me and friends saying Dallas has great comedians and should be a bigger comedy scene. While the standup talent grew, my production chops grew and Paulos’ skills grew. It feels like our generation of comedians, like it’s a little time capsule for that.”
Neighborhood Spotlight
Central Dallas
The neighborhoods at the center of Dallas are in the midst of an exciting period of growth and renewal. Construction cranes are a common sight looking out the windows of downtown’s skyscrapers, and once sketchy corners of dilapidated buildings have morphed into the trendiest, most walkable areas in town as more people choose an urban—rather than suburban—lifestyle.
In Los Angeles, James produced some of his own live shows, including a song parody showcase called Those Aren’t the Words and a backyard variety show Kids in the Yard that commingled his loves of comedy and cooking. He even received glowing endorsements from comedian Whitney Cummings and Saturday Night Live’s Devon Walker about his upcoming special.
“He’s also got other shit going on, which is rare for a Dallas comedian,” Olson says. “Usually they have a shitty job or they date. [James] has so much like his chef background and his music. You can’t just pin him down. He has so much to draw from.”
His talents and interests are rarely separate. James’ storytelling veers from silly to satiric, which he blends with his love and skill for making music.
“I’ve always tried to combine all my talents into one,” James says. “I run a backyard show where I perform and cook like a backyard campfire vibe and my family, my very colorful family, fuels a lot of my comedy. I develop my own style out of that.”
James says he’s also been working on a full show to turn into an album or something longer than a typical standup set.
“I finally found an ending to make the album a full circle thing,” James says. “It has a beginning, a middle, and an end and it feels like a complete thing finally.”
Feerow says the timing couldn’t be better. James told Feerow, Olson, and his friends that he’d be back in town this month, which sparked talk of filming a full comedy special.
“This past February, we had a show and Justin let us know at the last minute that he was in town and wanted to jump on the show,” Feerow says. “He fucking murdered everybody.”
James’ show isn’t just a step up for his career and audience. It’s also an achievement for FTC Comedy; this is its first feature-length comedy special.
“Dudes have these really nerdy conversations about comedy,” Feerow says. “Even back years ago, we had all these ideas and how we have the budget to do this and the skill to do that and a venue. It’s gonna be fun to graduate to the next step.”
“I’m really confident about it,” James adds. “I’ve had a few opportunities to run it a few times. I’m more ready than ever.”
Author
