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Daniel Humbarger

A former bankruptcy lawyer who makes bleakness feel entirely reasonable.

1 special · 2018

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Daniel Humbarger props his arm on the mic stand and talks about death or bad life choices with the relaxed posture of a guy explaining a minor traffic ticket. He delivers grim premises in an upbeat, conversational tone. When he drops a bleak personal detail, he doesn’t pause for the audience to feel sorry for him. He just keeps the rhythm moving, forcing the room to laugh at the darkness rather than sit with the discomfort.

Specials

  • Funny Bones

    A former lawyer applies legal logic to absolute absurdity.

    Stand Up! Records · Album · 60 min

On stage

A California-based comic, he traded a career in corporate bankruptcy law to perform in clubs, dive bars, and casinos. He puts in the physical hours required to build a set, working rooms across the country and pulling shifts at festivals from SF Sketchfest to the Edinburgh Fringe. He skips internet gimmicks to focus on the stage.

He builds bits around failure and the strange realities of adulthood. He treats his own fragmented past, including actual stints as a rave DJ and an Air Force loadmaster, with bemused skepticism. He talks about his mistakes but refuses to get sentimental about them. The lawyer background shows up in how he structures a joke. He lays out a bad situation like a factual record before systematically pulling the logic apart, pitching terrible decisions to the audience like they were the only reasonable options.

Turning points

  1. Leaving Bankruptcy Law for Stand-Up

    After earning a law degree and working as a corporate bankruptcy attorney, Humbarger quit legal practice to pursue stand-up comedy full-time.

  2. Release of Charting Debut Funny Bones

    Humbarger released his debut comedy album on Stand Up! Records, reaching No. 1 on the Amazon and No. 2 on the iTunes comedy charts.

  3. Edinburgh Fringe Run and Manchester Victory

    Humbarger completed 40 sets in 20 days around the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and won the Manchester Comedy Store Competition.

At a glance

On stage
since 2011
Style
observational, dark comedy, storytelling
Breakout
Funny Bones
Topics
Elsewhere
Website, Wikipedia

Fans also like

  • Johnny Taylor

    Both Sacramento stand-ups record for Stand Up! Records, share an autobiographical dark comedy style, and co-hosted the sports podcast Cowbell Kingdom.

Podcasts

  • Cowbell Kingdom · co-host

    A sports podcast covering the Sacramento Kings co-hosted by Sacramento stand-up comedians.

    Apple Podcasts

Also on screen

The Coexist Comedy Tour Self / Performer

A clip to start with

Daniel Humbarger | LIVE at Hot Water Comedy Club

6 min · 1K views