Mental Willness: Our conversation with comedian Will Noonan

Our good friend and local comedian Will Noonan has dropped a new album out and it’s oh so funny!  Recorded live in Boston at Nick’s Comedy Stop this past March, you can download “Mental Willness” on Apple Music, ITunes, Amazon, CD Baby, Spotify and more!  You’ll love it!  We promise!  We sat down recently with Will and had ourselves a little Q&A:

How long have you been doing comedy?
I’m almost at 10 years. Next January will make 10 years as a comedian and I’m really excited to hit that milestone because “10” sounds cooler than 7,8 or 9.

Who are your comedy inspirations?
Jerry Seinfeld and Richard Pryor were my favorites when I was kid. Bill Murray has also been a lifetime spirit guide. I was bummed when he became a hipster icon because I thought I was alone in my admiration. Locally, I was into Denis Leary. Bill Burr and Patrice O’Neal too. I also love Dave Chappelle and Dave Attell. And many more. I love stand up and still listen to it a lot.

Favorite Comedy On TV Right Now?
Most of the comedy I like is animated. I’m a big fan of Rick and Morty and Bob’s Burgers. My herbal hobby may play into that somewhat. I also think Portlandia is pretty amazing. Honestly, I shamefully watch murder show after murder show. I’ve finished all the Dateline’s on YouTube so now I watch the UK version. I’m not a psycho I swear. I love to see how they get caught. I swear. You can date me without fear Southie women.

Favorite Era of SNL?
My favorite part of SNL has always been “Weekend Update”. Now there’s a lot of fake news but when I was a kid that was all there was and it was killer. I think the Norm MacDonald era of hosting was my favorite. Along with Kevin Nealon, he’s an underrated dude.

Favorite Spot in Southie?
I have many. I often record my podcast in my car near Castle Island. Then I walk the sugar bowl like an old man and make weird eye contact with Portuguese fishermen. You can also often find me buying Strawberry Frosted Pop Tarts and Iced Coffee at the Cumby’s on L and 5th, they’ve maintained a nice charm even though it’s gotten more corporate. I think all of L Street rules. It’s great to drive from downtown in a straight line to the beach and watch really really tan men and women with the same haircut work out.

Favorite Southie Joke?
My buddy, fellow comedian and Southie Resident John Paul Rivera has a joke about how Southie has lettered and numbered streets so meeting someone is like a game of Battleship.”I’m on B and 6th! B6!”. I like that one. Also any parking ticket joke. Those meter maids are savages here.

Where Did You Grow Up?
I’m a Milton dude. Though my parents are both Southie born and raised, they moved a few miles to Milton right before I was born. We still spent a lot of time here, but I definitely got the suburban childhood. As an adult, all my friends live here so I’m here all the time. It’s funny, a guy once looked at me in a store and said “F’n Yuppies” about a group of guys in front of us. I laughed because I was like “Southie really has changed. A Milton guy is blending in.”

Where/When can people see you perform?
Besides my new album Mental Willness (available everywhere online music is sold), you can often find me at Nick’s Comedy Stop(where I recorded Mental Willness) and Laugh Boston (which is near Southie, or in Southie depending on who you ask).  I’ll be at Laugh Boston June 24th and I’ll also at Mohegan Sun Casino June 30 thru July 2nd for all you Keno players out there.

Check it out!