Joel first took the stage at an open mic at Laff's Comedy Cafe in Albuquerque, NM when he had just turned 17. Always inspired by watching late night stand-up sets on shows like "Comic Strip Live," he felt he had found his calling. The 1st night up, he killed it!
The second night up, he absolutely bombed.
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Lesson learned and a new addiction found.
Joel did steady standup work through high school. However, in college and through most of his 20's, he focused more on the acting part of the business. It wasn't until 29 that he had forgotten his love for standup and decided to jump back into the game. Over 10 years later, he still performs when he can and has become known for his high energy, off-the-cuff sets.
You name the slot - Headliner, Feature, MC - he’ll always bring his mantra to the stage “Let’s just have fun!”

INTERNATIONAL COMEDIAN

Joel has recently found a new audience: Europe. He first performed there in Vienna on a goof in 2015. He was wandering the streets, saw a sign that said "English Comedy Tonight," walked in and asked for a spot. Since then, he's become somewhat of a "name" on the English-speaking stand-up comedy circuit. He's been blessed to headline in such varied cities as Berlin, Paris, Graz, Budapest, Prague, Barcelona, Lisbon, Athens, Zagreb, Belgrade, Luxembourg, Belfast, Maastricht, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Lyon, Vienna, Linz, Eindhoven, Riga, Vilnius, Talinn, Munich, Krakow, Frankfurt, Vaduz, Salzburg, Brussels, Ghent, Hamburg, Utrecht...and the list keeps growing... The art-form remains the same: Be funny. It's the challenge that has driven him to these new venues. How do you ply your verbal art-form from city to city with multiple nationalities and various levels of English comprehension and still get people to laugh?
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Guess you'll have to come to a show...

MILITARY TOURS

Clips and pix from the You Will Laugh Comedy Tour with Armed Forces Entertainment in Afghanistan. 5 hilarious comedians and myself played bases in Bagram, Kandahar and in the thick of the war-zone in Kabul. Sad to see it end. So rewarding, humbling and affirming. It's my third trip overseas performing for our service men and women, having been to Jordan, Italy and Germany before this, and the message remains the same: Spread laughter. Support the troops. Open your mind. Have a conversation. Challenge your perspective. And maybe stop sending them cookies (they get A LOT of cookies...change it up). Truly honored to have been a part of a group that slayed me on and off stage. Thanks to Armed Forces Entertainment for having me aboard and for all the troops throughout the world: You are not forgotten.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
He's shared the stage with some of the biggest names in comedy, many of who inspired him to pursue standup when he watched them late at night on his little black & white TV. He's shared the bill with Bill Burr, Natasha Leggero, Nate Bargatze, Bobcat Goldthwait, Dana Carvey, Leslie Jones, Harland Williams, Dane Cook, Iliza Schlesinger, Paul Rodriguez, John Caparulo, The Sklar Brothers, Chris Hardwick, Josh Blue, Eddie Griffin, Anthony Jeselnik, Barry Sobel, Rob Schneider, Wendy Liebman, Nick Thune, Dave Coulier, Aisha Tyler, Jim Jeffries, Adam Devine, Brad Williams, Andrew Dice Clay, Kira Soltanovich, Jimmy Brogan, and many, many more.

He's also been blessed to play in some outstanding, historically revered venues, including The Comedy Store (Hollywood and La Jolla), The Improv (Hollywood), The Laugh Factory, Gotham Live, The StandNY,  The Icehouse, The Riviera (Las Vegas), Flappers (Burbank), The Comedy Palace, and Broadway Comedy Club (also: many, many more). He adjusts his set to any audience or venue which has let to gigs in dive bars, churches, retirement villages, more dive bars and synagogues, plus the requisite "clubs and colleges." He's also rocked HR-friendly clean shows for major corporate clients (Google, Apple, True Religion, Nestle, Canyon Partners, among many others) and for a number of charities (Children’s Hospital, Grace Rose Foundation, Dream Foundation, AIDS Project Los Angeles, NoH8)

​No audience is too small, no venue is too large and nobody doesn’t want to laugh!
FESTIVALS:​
Burbank Comedy Festival (“Best of the Fest”) / Ventura Comedy Festival (Competition Finalist)
Laughing Skull Comedy Festival (Atlanta) / San Diego Comedy Festival / Trial by Laughter (Indianapolis)
Mutiny Radio Comedy Festival (San Francisco) / Crossroads Comedy Festival (Indianapolis)
The Gundo Comedy Festival (Los Angeles) / SLO Comedy Festival (San Luis Obispo)
Palm Springs International Comedy Festival - Standup Comedy Competition Finalist!

CORPORATE COMEDIAN

Corporate clients love Joel's highly interactive, corporate-friendly shows. Having performed in the corporate space for years he knows the lingo and, more importantly, what not to say. He can host, do a 10 minute interlude or a full headlining set, often incorporating jokes that are client-specific, yet respectful to the brand.
​Some names that have trusted his clean comedy: