G Davis was 17 at his first open mic — at the Columbus Funny Bone, not a basement — and he didn't bomb. He killed. Then he built the whole stand-up career backwards.
G walked into a real club on a break from college with his grades falling apart. Jason Banks, Kenny Mock and Bobby Dodds were at the bar. Jason leaned over three seats and whispered the line that got him through it.
What came next was out of order and it worked: four live-recorded specials at his church, The Potter's House, between 18 and 20 — a 220-seat room he didn't pay for, three rooms sold out back to back, and a full hour on stage every month before he'd done a real road year.
If you want to know how to deal with hecklers, G's answer is the most specific we've aired: never humiliate them, just talk to them, and fire them up so respectfully that the whole room ends up laughing — including the heckler, at himself. He also gives the segment no other guest has: how to start producing your own comedy shows, and why producing and performing are two different jobs.
Plus a backyard Don't Tell show at a woman named Peggy's actual house in San Diego, and the Florida move that makes this one a goodbye.
Filmed at Rehab Tavern in Columbus, Ohio.
Comics — did you kill or bomb your first open mic? Tell us in the comments.
🎙️ Follow G Davis: Instagram: @gdavisofficial TikTok: @gdavisofficial Facebook: /iamgdavis (see Flag 2 — Facebook handle differs from the one stated on camera)
🔗 First Mic is one of the shows under the Indie Comedy Collective banner: YouTube: youtube.com/@IndieComedyCollective Instagram: @indiecomedycollective
📅 Catch G live: Late September — St. Pete, FL, with St. Pete Stand-Up and Don't Tell Oct 9 — Latrobe, PA, with Next Stop Comedy October — Don't Tell Pittsburgh, three shows that weekend
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