Q+A: Josh Blue

Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007 | 7:04 a.m.

Who: Comedian Josh Blue

When: 9 p.m. Friday

Where: House of Blues at Mandalay Bay

Tickets: $22 to $30; 632-7600

Cerebral palsy may not be a laughing matter to most, but for Josh Blue it's a mother lode of humor out of which he has carved a career.

The 28-year-old native of Cameroon - his dad was teaching English in a mission, and the family later moved to Minnesota, where Blue grew up - has been cracking jokes about his disability most of his life.

Last year, he catapulted into the national limelight by being the "Last Comic Standing" on NBC's reality show.

He already was a hit on the college circuit and had won $10,000 at the Las Vegas Comedy Festival in 2004.

Blue, one of the most popular guests on Comedy Central's "Mind of Mencia," spoke to the Sun by telephone earlier this week from his home in Denver.

Q: Denver isn't exactly the Entertainment Capital. How did you end up living there?

I went to school in Olympia, Wash. One of my friends, a week before I graduated, was like, "Hey, what are you doing after college?" and I was like, "I don't know," and she's like, "You want to move to Denver with me?" and I go, "Sure."

Is your humor a self-defense mechanism?

I've always had it, but it was probably some sort of self-defense mechanism. I don't know. I just always had a lust for life. I have fun with it every day.

How and when did you become a professional comedian?

My comedy career started in college. I went to Evergreen State College. I don't know. I was just jackassing around with my friends - they always said I was funny, so I tried it on open-mike night.

When did you get your first paying gig?

It depends on what kind of payment you mean. I got a lot of gigs for coffee and beer.

What did winning "Last Comic Standing" do for your career?

I was a working comedian for at least two years before that, so I had steady income. I was making good money on the college circuit, but after winning the show it sort of blew the doors off anything.

Is your act focused on yourself and the obstacles you've had to overcome, or do you branch out to cover a lot of topics?

I talk about disabilities, people's ideas of what disability is. Then I show them who I really am, just sort of a smart-ass trickster. I try to talk about other topics other than my disability, but any topic I bring up comes from the perspective of someone who has a disability. I can't talk about what I don't know.

Growing up, did you go through periods when you were bothered by your disability or have you always taken a positive outlook?

It was harder when I was a kid. Being a kid you don't realize it's not the end of the road. I made the best of it. Looking back on it, you were sad about something that didn't even matter.

Do you think Vegas is your kind of crowd or is it going to be just another town?

It's the first time I will have performed in Vegas at a club. I was in the Las Vegas Comedy Festival.

I'm curious to see. I was successful there before. I don't know what to expect from Vegas, but frankly I'm ready for the challenge.