• GAZLO
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Janesville grads could be last comics standing

Photo

Pete Lee

Photo

Andria Smith

JANESVILLE — First we learned Janesville no longer will be an auto town, and hundreds of our friends will lose their jobs.

Then, before we were ready to move on, Lake Koshkonong ended up on Main Street.

Janesville could use a laugh.

Consider it done.

Two Janesville natives—one from Parker and one from Craig—have made it to the semi-finals on NBC's "Last Comic Standing."

Parker's Andria Smith and Craig's Pete Lee will move on to Las Vegas next week to battle it out with comedians from around the world for the $250,000 prize and the bonus of getting face time on national television.

The semi-final shows will air the next two Thursdays, June 26 and July 3. Neither comedian knows which night they will be on, and they're on contract not to say how the competition ends up.

The Gazette caught up with Smith and Lee this week en route to weekend gigs in the Midwest: Lee was in a hotel in Appleton getting ready for a weekend performance at the Skyline Comedy Club. Smith was in a hotel in Columbus, Ohio, before a weekend at The Funny Bone Comedy Club.

Q: Pete, what are you up to these days?

Lee: I'm starting to shoot my own sit-com. You don't hand them a script anymore and say, "This is my pilot." Most people shoot their own show and hand it to the networks that way.

We've gotten the majority of the scripts written. A director and 10-man film crew will start shooting the end of July.

The working title is "The House of Pete and Travis." Because I live with my girlfriend, Jamie (Millward). Jamie is a dude's name. So my character's hot girlfriend will have a dude's name.

Q: Andi, have people noticed you since you've been on "Last Comic Standing"?

Smith: It's good exposure. I've got additional MySpace friends, which is nice. I was in Colorado the week after the (audition) episode aired, and a waitress recognized me. Usually two or three people recognize you, but it's not a big deal.

Like I say, this is my 15 minutes and counting.

Q: Pete, have people noticed you?

A: Ever since that stupid (audition) aired, people come up to me in the airport. The ratings say only 5 million people watch the show. But if that significant amount of people are coming up to me, it's gotta be more. I was sleeping on the airplane, and a lady woke me up.

Q: Andi, what are you working on right now?

Smith: I travel a lot doing stand-up—two or three weeks out of the month. The other weekend I'm home in St. Louis. I also work on (comic directory) www.rooftopcomedy.com, which is getting slowly and slowly more successful. I make it look pretty, so I'm working on my laptop all the time. I went to a few rummage sales on the way to Columbus.

Q: Pete, what was the crowd at "Last Comic Standing" like in Las Vegas?

A: Crazy. The Wisconsin people were rowdy and drunk and would not settle down in the beginning of any of our sets. If there were 1,000 people in the audience, 500 were from Wisconsin. Because I performed in Wisconsin so much, I had the home team advantage.

WHO THEY ARE

Name: Andria (Andi) Smith.

Age: 32.

School: Parker Class of 1994.

Now living: St. Louis.

Comedic style: Dry and sarcastic. Over the top at points, but not dirty. Someone described it as "corrosively funny." "It's about all the stuff I've been through ... some people attach their personal feelings, but it's just stuff I've been through."

Laugh out loud: "I drove all the way to North Carolina once to perform for six people in the back of a coffee shop. Kids were still getting their Starbucks up front. Really? You couldn't have cancelled me for this?"

Name: Pete Lee.

Age: 30.

School: Craig Class of 1995.

Now living: New York.

Comedic style: "I just go up there, and I don't have the façade, I am kind of a wimp, and people really like it."

Laugh out loud: "People from Wisconsin love Vegas. They all walk around with their big 'W' on their shirt. When they go on vacation, they let you know they're from 'Wisconsin!' Then as soon as they get home, they break out the 'Vegas!' shirt."