Symply Courtney, Volume 2

January 12, 2025

Photo Credit

James Dean

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INTERVIEW BY
Valerie Lopez
ARTICLE BY
Richard Goodwin
MORE ABOUT
Symply Courtney
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This week’s guest, Sym­ply Court­ney, is back for his sec­ond time long talk with Valerie, and – hav­ing had the chance to see him mul­ti­ple times on-stage and off – remains one of the most ground­ed yet ambi­tious come­di­ans we’ve had a chance to talk with. That’s not even count­ing the many projects Court­ney has in the works, includ­ing host­ing and per­form­ing in more than one Com­e­dy Wham show­case.

Things are going gang­busters for him, and that’s sim­ply delight­ful in our book. 

Who needs to go to eleven?

While Courtney admits he likes to vent and complain from time to time, he can't deny that "comedy is at a 10" for him right now, with 4 weekly shows (+1 monthly), a comedy music project, and more collaborators than we can capture here (listen to the episode!). He jokes at telling "comedy to slow down", but something tells us that dial will keep on turning.

I want com­e­dy to be so big and bad ass… where I have to say ​‘hey com­e­dy, calm down.
Symply Courtney
Making the most of your time

Performing is just one slice of Courtney's life, as he manages what many consider an already full time job: having two teenaged kids. It seems there are never enough hours in the day to get it all done, but the death of his father has put the importance of making the most of that time front and center. A sound reminder that saying "someday" is a notion, but "Sunday at 8am" is a commitment, and Courtney is nothing if not committed.

When you lose one par­ent, you real­ize… the clock was always there, but now you see it a lot more
Symply Courtney
Not those Goosebumps

A newer project for Courtney, the comedy music group RL Stein (yes like the author, but also not), has landed a regular Friday show at ColdTowne Theatre. What started as friend Josh McCaulley's keyboard playing at open mics has turned into a passion for Courtney, McCaulley and his wife Mars, and its own show: Along for the Vibes.

Courtney describes their performances as having special "magic" moments that give him goosebumps, which is touching, a perfect reference, and in no way copyright infringing for comedian nor comedy site writer (note the lowercase "g"); "music hat you can dance to, that you can cry to, that you can make love to, that you can pull yourself out of a rut to," is how he describes it, and hopes that it's so good that people love the music before even noticing it's comedy as well.

I’m not say­ing it’s gonna be imme­di­ate rich­es and fame and for­tune and all that, but I just feel like the way that peo­ple respond to us in R.L. Stein, it’s some­thing that I haven’t felt before
Symply Courtney
Multiplying by removing

Being on stage requires--let's be real--somewhat of a complex. Believing that what you have to say is something people will pay to hear. It follows then that the more ego you have, the more success will follow.

For Courtney, one of his biggest discoveries was shutting that voice down and listening to the reactions from his fans (and of course his kiddos). Turns out that giving without expectation of self gratification can work out pretty well; maybe it'll catch on?

I think that when I put my ego away and I just give every­thing, it comes back tenfold
Symply Courtney

Fol­low Symply


Sym­ply can be seen and heard:

  • Head­lin­ing The Velvee­ta Room Jan­u­ary 31 (8pm) and Feb­ru­ary 1 (8pm and 10pm) — tick­et link
  • Tini­est Bar Open Mic — Tues­days and Thursdays
  • R.L. Stein Along for the Vibes — Fri­days at 8 pm at Cold­Towne Theater
  • All You Talk About album

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