There was a time when KevOnStage was a really literal description of comic Kevin Fredericks as a hungry comic in search of stage time. Today, he may as properly be referred to as KevOnEverything. You’ll find him cracking jokes on stay comedy excursions, TV sketch reveals, books, podcasts and nearly each social media platform you care about. From books like his 2025 New York Occasions bestseller “Profitable Failure” to his newest podcast, “Not My Finest Second,” the concept has all the time been about ahead momentum to breed a humorous model that, similar to his identify, continues to stay with a humorousness that in the end succeeds at being relatable.
Shifting from Washington state to L.A. together with his spouse and children to meet his comedy desires, he targeted his comedy on the Black church and household life in a manner that hadn’t been completed earlier than. The consequence was his breakout success with the present “Churchy” that began as a self-funded sequence that was picked up by BET and lately ran by means of its second season. It created a lane for him to broaden his content material universe with sketch reveals like “The Hospital” and “Protected House” on Tubi that enables him to retain artistic management and placed on extra comedians working with veteran stand-ups like Tahir Moore and Tony Baker. The latter is his podcasting accomplice in crime whom he’s been touring with on the Bald Brothers comedy tour which wraps up in L.A. on the Wiltern on Sunday. Just lately we spoke to KevOnStage in regards to the secret to constructing his comedy model — by being all over the place.
This interview was edited for size and readability.
I really like that it is a yr the place a lot is going on for you from so many angles.
It’s wild.
You’re KevOnStage, KevOnPodcasts, KevOnBooks, KevOnTV …
[Laughs] Actually KevOnEverything.
When did you determine to go from being Kevin Fredericks — working a daily job and doing comedy on the facet — to changing into “KevOnStage”?
I used to be working on the Spanaway [Washington] department of Key Financial institution and I used to be on Twitter. This will need to have been 2009 — very early on Twitter. And folks had been simply making jokes and folks had been getting fired [from their jobs over their jokes on Twitter]. Folks wouldn’t like a joke you stated, search your identify, Google you, discover out the place you labored and e mail like your boss, and folks had been getting fired. And I used to be like, “I can’t afford to lose my job over some ports take.” So I’m gonna take my full precise authorities identify out of my deal with, which was simply Kevin Fredericks on the time. And I used to be like, “I’m Kev and I be on stage.” And that was actually as a lot thought as I put into it. I used to be simply not attempting to be simply discovered and fired. So I switched my deal with to KevOnStage as a result of I used to be doing stand-up on a regular basis at the moment and it caught. Hindsight being 20/20, I’d have simply saved Kevin Fredericks, which was my Fb identify, however I feel KevOnStage is cool as a moniker. I’m attempting to be like Beyoncé, Bono, Sting, Oprah, KevOnStage — one identify. Folks suppose my precise identify is Kevon due to that. In the event that they suppose that, then I do know they discovered me due to the web. Which can be high quality. So long as individuals know me, it doesn’t hassle me.
KevOnStage with Tony Baker on the Bald Brothers comedy tour.
(Joshua Gonzales )
When did you actually discover your tribe of comedians in Washington state that you just nonetheless hang around with at present?
In Washington state there was solely actually like Nate Jackson, he was the one working comic who was working nationally. In Washington it was me, Nate, Huge Irish Jay, a comic named Terrence — these are the one people who had been sort of doing comedy persistently. After which we had the Bay Space Black Comedy Competitors, I don’t keep in mind what yr it was, and I met Lance Woods, who I’m nonetheless cool with. However then after I moved [to L.A.], that’s after I met Tony Baker and Tahir Moore by means of All Def Comedy. As a result of I didn’t actually do stand-up on stage that a lot after I first moved to L.A. My spouse was like, “we’re not gonna transfer to L.A. and then you definately’re on stage 4 or 5 nights per week.” And it was laborious to get on stage … you need to go and hang around, go to Denny’s and like hang around all night time. And [my wife] was not going for it and I had young children who needed to go to high school. So the vast majority of the people who I do know I met by means of All Def.
You introduced up an fascinating level in regards to the way of life of comics as a result of it’s a way of life that doesn’t actually agree with every part else for a lot of the 9-to-5 working world — particularly being married and having children. So how did you then determine to focus extra on content material creation as a method to carry out?
Properly, apparently sufficient, it began earlier than I moved to L.A. There’s hardly any leisure alternatives in Washington. There’s very hardly ever a TV present, even taking pictures there, a lot much less a present you possibly can truly audition and be on. So what occurred was we had been doing performs. We’re attempting to be like Tyler Perry, David E. Talbert or Je’Caryous Johnson. And we had been on our manner, however there weren’t sufficient individuals in Washington to mount a profitable black play — or “city performs” as individuals referred to as them. So we did our greatest, however even when we acquired 3,000 individuals, that was just for one night time. And we weren’t doing that, by the best way. We’re getting like 68 individuals. So I used to be watching numerous YouTube on the time and I used to be realizing these individuals have followers all over the place. So I used to be like, we will do web comedy and make individuals snort on the web and hopefully we get followers all throughout america. And from the primary two movies we did, I used to be like, overlook the play factor, I feel the web is the factor. Similar to concentrate on that. I feel we do this, we’ll construct our personal viewers, and every part shall be simpler for us.
So far as the power to personal your content material and information nevertheless you need, how has that been essential to your comedy profession?
For me it’s been like, “He who pays says.” Like in case you pay for it, you get the ultimate say. So for a very long time, it was by default as a result of no person’s getting paid. I’m simply making it and posting it. The primary huge factor we did that was like actually costly was “Churchy” [on BET]. And there was numerous [money from previous brand deals] that I saved, numerous [money from doing] Spectrum commercials that I saved. I made eight episodes of “Churchy.” And shout-out to Jamal Henderson, he helped us meet executives at BET and so they purchased it. And so they couldn’t have any artistic management as a result of it was already completed.
In order that’s sort of a course of that we’ve repeated with [my sketch shows] “The Hospital” and “Protected House.” We pay for it after which license it or accomplice with an organization and make it now. And with Tubi, they’re a bit of bit totally different. They let you’ve artistic management, even when they pay for it. They’re like “hey, we belief that you just constructed your viewers, you understand your viewers.” They’re the one platform that I’ve labored with that’s utterly like, “we don’t have any say-so, no notes, you don’t should ship us a script, you don’t should ship an edit for approval, we belief you.” And that’s improbable for me since you get to make it as near [the original vision] with none impurities as potential.
Now I gotta be sincere, after I work with BET, we had wonderful executives and so they’ve given us numerous nice notes, however in addition they offer you some notes that you just don’t agree with that you need to take. And that’s additionally a part of simply making issues. It’s not a full detrimental. In addition they made [the show] higher in numerous alternative ways. And the one factor that I’m very grateful for with our companions at BET is each word they gave was to make the general venture higher and for extra individuals to take pleasure in it. I’m a comic at coronary heart, so generally I’m loyal to the joke to a fault. The chief is like, we gotta inform the very best story — so it’s not all unhealthy. A variety of instances we hear individuals bemoan partnering with individuals, and it has its negatives, but in addition my TV exec was extra skilled than I used to be at making good TV, so a few of their notes had been actually useful, and I can carry these with me after I’m making different initiatives.
“The Hospital” and “Protected House” are each like sketch reveals. What was essential in regards to the codecs for each reveals — one at a hospital, the opposite on a therapist’s sofa — that help you discover the humorous?
Richard Washington, who’s a artistic exec at KevOn Stage Studios, head of T V and movie, and I constructed the programs after which we permit the individuals to work inside the programs to the very best of their character. So I feel the good half about “Protected House” is the expertise. Such as you give them a premise, you discover the precise individuals, after which they take it and make it humorous. “Protected House” was actually the identical with “The Hospital.” Like, you understand, we employed extra sketch writers for the hospital, however Protected House was extra improv than even “The Hospital.” We had some totally written sketches for “The Hospital,” however we didn’t follow every part precisely. Some are nearly all improv. Like comic CP’s episodes, he’s simply riffing. So it’s as near a stand-up model of content material as you may get. And what I imply by stand-up is the viewers is sitting there not realizing what the particular person’s gonna say. And that’s why I feel it really works.
KevOnStage recording a podcast.
(Mike Folabi)
As a creator of those reveals, you usually maintain the door open for brand new expertise to shine. How does that assist your personal imaginative and prescient of permitting there to be area for brand new actors and comedians to come back up?
I grew up taking part in sports activities after which I went into performs. And with each of these parts, it’s it’s a group surroundings. You want different individuals to achieve success and also you gotta depend on different individuals to do their factor. With performs, you wanna have the very best present potential. And then you definately put all of it collectively and it’s the very best product. And I feel that’s the identical method that I take to creation. A variety of comedians, I’ve been informed, they received’t take the very best comedians. They’ll take people who find themselves OK, however nowhere close to pretty much as good as them.
Contemplating you put up three to 5 movies a day, how do you discover the time to supply as a lot content material as you do?
So the factor is like that is my job. And I work actually laborious. I feel individuals examine themselves to me, however in addition they have a job. Such as you’re considering of “how does he do that?” since you’re considering of your precise day job. For probably the most half, I stand up and consider humorous issues to say all day. And the opposite factor is I don’t spend numerous time fascinated with what I’m gonna do or enhancing it in any respect. If one thing humorous occurs proper now, if I stroll out of right here and I journey and fall, I’ll most likely make a video instantly and inside 5 minutes that video’s gonna be on seven totally different platforms. So I’m probably not treasured about what I make. And I really feel like individuals suppose it’s laborious, however this isn’t laborious for me. It’s one thing I like to do, I create freely out of pleasure. The man who runs my doughnut store who hasn’t taken a break day in 20 years, actually I used to be speaking to him about this. He by no means takes a break day. Twenty years he’s at that doughnut store, each night time at 8 p.m., he makes doughnut, getting ready for the day. Day-after-day at 4 a.m., he comes and bakes them. That’s laborious. To not say what I’m making just isn’t laborious. It’s, but it surely’s not laborious like that. Folks have laborious jobs. I simply be foolish for 2 minutes and put up it inside 5 minutes. That’s probably not laborious for me.
“For probably the most half, I stand up and consider humorous issues to say all day,” says KevOnStage.
(Joshua Gonzales )
I suppose you’re not getting cellphone calluses.
Under no circumstances [laughs] … I sort of designed my content material to have the ability to make it simply as a result of I really feel like my method is simply inundating you with Kev. Like I wish to be unavoidable. Yeah. I wish to make content material on so many alternative matters. It’s not even all the time comedic. I would like individuals to only share you and or have a thought or make you’ve a thought. Proper now I’ve been doing numerous podcasts. So in case you don’t comply with me, however you comply with for instance “The Pivot,” which I did final week and so they collab with me, now you’re seeing me on “The Pivot” or Humorous Marco or I interviewed Issa Rae for the primary episode of [my new podcast] referred to as “Not My Finest Second.” And Issa Rae doesn’t do a complete entire bunch of interviews if she’s not selling one thing. So in case you’re excited by what Issa has to say, you bought to listen to me as a result of I requested the query. So individuals rip my stuff, I’m like, “that is nice!” They rip it and put up it on threads. That is like as near getting bootlegged as potential.
That’s what you need.
Yeah, bootleg me! Clearly I’d like to make the cash, but it surely’s just like the publicity will grow to be capital or foreign money later. I simply wish to be out right here a lot that you just’re finally like, “All proper, what’s he speaking about?” As a result of take into consideration what number of movies do you see in a day now. Again within the day, we used to should be like, OK, I wish to watch the movies. I’m gonna go to my laptop and go to love, I keep in mind earlier than YouTube, I used to go to Break.com and watch movies. It was a factor I did for a while after which I went on about my day. Take into consideration what number of movies you eat each day. … So that you gotta actually hit ‘em time and again earlier than they decide. In order that’s why I simply wanna flood you. I would like you to be like, “Oh, my God, sufficient!”
Properly, add another to the pile proper right here.
Yeah, completely. As soon as I noticed cameras right here [at the L.A. Times studio], I used to be like, “Yeah, child, I believed this was simply an interview, we acquired video content material, child. Let’s go!” So yeah, it’s like that’s my method. Simply maintain going — rather a lot.
