It’s a pretty good time to be Big Jay Oakerson these days.
The Philadelphia native is packing in comedy clubs across the country thanks to his packed schedule of touring, radio shows and other projects. In addition to hosting the insanely popular “Legion of Skanks” podcast, Oakerson co-hosts the SiriusXM talk radio show “The Bonfire” for Comedy Central with New England native Dan Soder. He also recently returned to NBC’s Seeso streaming service with a huge list of guest stars for season 2 of his crowd work series “What’s Your F@%king Deal?!”
“I’m trying to keep as many irons in the fire as possible, until people get sick of me,” jokes the 39-year-old comic.
We caught up with Oakerson ahead of his three-night stint at Laugh Boston this weekend.
What is Big Jay’s take on the Boston comedy scene?
They’re well-informed comedy fans. They have a keen eye for it, for sure. My comedy is 100 percent edge. I feel like I don’t have to baby them for my first 15 minutes. They’re ready for it out of the gate.
Boston is a big sports town, too. Are you a diehard sports fan?
I don’t just sit and watch sports, like whatever’s on, I follow diehard the Philadelphia Eagles and the Philadelphia 76ers. But I’ll put aside my hatred of Tom Brady for just this one weekend.
So what did you think of your hometown hosting the NFL Draft?
Everyone said it was a really amazing experience there, which is funny because what everyone loved about it was the “Philly-ness” of it. Everyone’s like, “This is the place we should do it every year.” These fans are nuts, so it was probably like an episode of “Cops,” guys having their shirts off, I’m sure.
How did you become friends with late Boston comic Patrice O’Neal?
I lucked out in a sense that through mentorship and friendship, I was brought into his world, very young into my career. At this point in his career, he was very revered by the comedy community, not by the mainstream world yet. He just took some interest in me, kind of an organic friendship.
What’s it been like seeing your podcast grow so rapidly?
It’s been a pretty amazing ride with that. We have a logo that I drew in a green room of a comedy club like 8 years ago. It’s like 200 some people have it tattooed on their bodies now, which is crazy. There was a guy I met this weekend in D.C., who came to three shows I think. He had a big tattoo of it on the back of his leg, like his whole calf.
If you go:
May 4-6, Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St., $25. laughboston.com.
