Funny Bones

Leaving behind a stable career as an attorney for the uncertainty of the comedy club circuit is a bold pivot, but Daniel Humbarger leverages that legal training to tear down the system from the inside. He approaches his material with the logical precision of a courtroom lawyer, formulating a highly detailed, albeit legally questionable, Ponzi scheme designed solely to wipe out his outstanding student loans.

Recorded over two nights in August 2016 at the Sacramento Comedy Spot, Humbarger’s debut album, Funny Bones, showcases a comedian who excels at turning a bizarre personal history into structured comedy. Released in 2018 by Stand Up! Records, the album climbed to the top of the Amazon and iTunes comedy charts. Humbarger paints a picture of his unorthodox upbringing—his dad was a truck driver who sold weed and once got stabbed in prison for impregnating another inmate’s wife, while his mother’s biggest crime was her choice of footwear.

The tracks focus on the absurdities of daily life and public spaces. Humbarger riffs on public transport oddities, the unintended side effects of public service announcements, and the legal implications of introducing N.W.A. lyrics into a courtroom setting. He balances these structured, cynical observations with lighter, rapid-fire bits, including a string of Star Wars-themed “yo mama” jokes.