Joe Hannum attributes his Jekyll and Hyde personality to his dual roles as Dad and stand-up comic. “I live a double life,” says Hannum, host of the monthly Comedy Six-Pack. “I’ll be at home washing sippy cups and thinking of new material. Or I’ll be in a smoky bar with all these drunks and thinking about what to make for the kids’ lunch the next day.”
Hannum’s stand-up career took off two years ago, after he and his wife divorced and he gained shared custody of the couple’s three small children. But he doesn’t limit his routine to jokes on family life. Instead, Hannum breaks into social commentary — from government shake-ups to office politics. “I look like a soccer dad, but I don’t want to do single-dad and dating jokes,” says Hannum, a 35-year-old direct-marketing strategist for Wyse Advertising in Cleveland. “And I’ve surprised myself. These are not PG crowds, and no one’s gonna boo you off the stage.”
Since May, Hannum has organized, promoted, and starred in the Six-Pack show. He’s invited five local comedians each month to join him for a two-hour yukfest at Wings in Geneva. “I don’t want it to be the Joe Show,” he says. “A small-time bar with big-time comedy from six stand-up comics has some legs, because people outside of Cleveland are comedy-starved. And it’s good for me, because I’m a smartass desperately in need of attention.”
Sun., Jan. 15, 7-9 p.m.
This article appears in Jan 11-17, 2006.