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Kevin was originally born in Seoul, Korea and in January of 1981 he was apdopted and sent to America to live with a middle class Irish family in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He is the son of James and Madalyn Shea, parents of 5 children.... 2 white chicks,2 korean boys and 1 korean girl. Both parents were middle class, James was a korean war vet and decorated police officer and Madalyn was a factory worker. His parents personality were spitten images of "Archie and Edith Bunker". It was if "All in the Family" was combined with "A Different Strokes".
Being from a very middle class family, Kevin was the first to attend college. After graduating from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Kevin was curious to explore the rest of the country, so he moved to San Francisco in 2000. There he would discover Stand-Up.
Comedy Career
After moving to San Francisco, Kevin started a career in the Internet industry which lasted a whole year. In 2002 he was layed off and was convinced by a friend to go to an open mic. Influenced by Eddie Murphy's "RAW", Kevin decided to go to the open mic dressed in a purple leather jump suit......not a good idea. His first set was not very good.
Not trying to become the typical Asian comic Kevin strayed away from Korean accents based on their mothers'.....plus his mom is a honkey. He concetrated on developing his own style which has said to be very laid back and fresh. With his unique style and jokes, he caught the eyes of hollywood and was invited to the prestigious Montreal Comedy Festival.
Kevin has numerous television appearances which include Comedy Central's Premium Blend and Jimmy Kimmel Live. He is currently living in Los Angeles.
Comedy Central Premium Blend
Jimmy Kimmel Live
AZN's Asia Street Comedy
Latino Laugh Festival
ImaginAsian TV
Kims of Comedy (DVD)
(From Kevin Shea's Website - kevinshea.tv)
Kevin Shea Trivia/Facts
Kevin cannot dunk a basketball
He has only TWO Ex-Girlfriends
Attended College on a Cross Country/Track Scholarship
Loves Sandwiches, Favorite is the Chees Steak from J's Subs in Bethlehem, PA
Apr 15 2009, 8:00P LA Comedy Club, April 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 Las Vegas, NV
Apr 23 2009, 1:00P Foothill College Los Altos CA
May 17 2009, 8:00P San Jose Improv San Jose CA
May 28 2009, 8:00P Harveys Comedy Club, May 28, 29, 30, 31 Portland OR
How did you guys get into comedy? What made you guys want to do this?
Jason Downs: (Laughter) Haha, I'll go, I don't give a fuck. I wanted to do it when I was a teenager and then uh...(guys laughing in background). So anyways I wanted to start when I was teenager but didn't have the balls to do it. And then I met a girl when I was 19 who is now currently my fiance. She told me 'You gotta fuckin do this' and so she pushed me into it. And ever since then I just started doing it.
Kevin Shea: I lost my job. I got laid off and I broke up with my girfriend and I was down in the dumps.
(Talk about other comedians comes up, as well as whether being happiness or depression led them to comedy) How'd you do stand up anyway?
Louis Katz: It was weird. I wasn't really a big fan of stand up ever in my life. I just liked funny shit and being funny and watching things that were funny and doing things that were funny and it seemed like the easiest way to do that was just me on a microphone being funny. And I think it's helped me cause it hasn't influenced my style and then right when I was about to graduate from college I started to do open mics and that's it, and I was happy at the time. ("Awww's" from the rest of the boys)
Kris Tinkle: I started doing it...I kinda did it a little when I was in college and I did it when I was way younger. I tried a couple of times and it was fucking awful...I made an ass of myself. And then one time I did it real clean and stuff and then I tried to do it again in college and then after I graduated like a month after I realized I didn't want to work an office job. I just started doing it full time every week. Now I hang out with these fucking losers.
Jason Downs: That's what happened with me. I played around with it while I was in college and then right about the time Kris graduated, the both of us got serious about it at the same time. That was like 2-3, two years ago, three years ago?
Kristopher Tinkle: Yeah.
Kevin Shea: You all have college degrees?
Kristopher Tinkle: We do? Oh shit.
Kevin Shea: Thats's crazy.
Jason Downs: Yeah it's not like comics get college degrees.
Kristopher Tinkle: I'm not paying that shit back. (Laughter erupts)
Jason Downs: I don't have a degree. I was in fucking debt. And so...
Louis Katz: I just think that it was stupid that all we waited until it was over to fuckin' do comedy.
Kevin Shea: Yeah I wish I had started it when I was younger.
On that theme, who inspired you guys to get into comedy?
Kevin Shea: Tim Tyak. Local asian comedian who moved to the Phillipines and I hadn't seen too many asian comics and I saw him at an open mic and I went up to him and he told me to buy this book, uh, Stand-Up Comedy by Judy Carter. Remember that book?
Jason Downs: Yeah.
Kevin Shea: And then I read that book. And that's where it all came from.
Louis Katz: All the funny jokes comes in 3's.
Kristopher Tinkle: My favorite comic is Sam Kinison by far so I just like, I remember the impact he would make on my friends and I when I was little, like the fact that he was saying all that shit that was so wrong and afterwards it was really true, so that just made it more funny. To tell stories that are so...like the one about the gun, where his wife put a gun in his face. Dude that shit was so terrible but it made it like, it was my favorite bit. If you can be raw and honest, I like that. That's like how I wanna be too.
Jason Downs: I loved Eddie Murphy when I was kid and Kinison and stuff like that. I used to be 10 years old and I would not go to school cause I would stay up late watching Letterman and honestly I would drink Coke until like 3 in the morning at 10 years old. So I would watch comics on there and that's what I always wanted to do.
Louis Katz: Like I said, I wasn't too into stand-up when I was young, so I didn't watch that much. I liked Saturday Night Live. I loved Saturday Night Live. I used to like staying up watching that. And Eddie Murphy coming out even though it was before my time. And Mel Brooks' movies, uh, I don't know what it has to do with stand-up but I love Mel Brooks movies. Spaceballs and Naked Gun, cause I think, you know, my age, that's right when I was in junior high and I just think those are the funniest things ever, that was it.
Where's that gonna lead into. Fuck. I had something that could have fucking segued into. Uh, fuck, okay let's go with this. I know there's like a lot of East vs West coast tension. (Collective "YEAH!" erupts) Any of you guys wanna voice on this?
Kevin Shea: I'm from the east coast so...
Kristopher Tinkle: Bitch.
Jason Downs: I respect the east coast comedy a lot although I love San Francisco comedy cause it has uh, an intellectual side to it. And uh, I know west coast comedy gets a bad wrap a lot of times, they think that everyone's trying to be Hollywood and shit, but up in San Francisco we have a lot of good original comics and there's an emphasis on being original cause we have so few comics but we still have enough to keep a strong comedy vibe in the Bay Area. And I think it's great what we're doing up here and I do love what's going on in the east coast like how they pump out comics nothing other.
Kristopher Tinkle: That was like a fucking essay.
Jason Downs: Haha, yeah I should just email Patrick, but yeah, it's great.
Louis Katz: They seem to support comedy a lot more over there. I hear there are so many clubs. I think in New York it's a thing that everyone does. Like up here it's almost like it's not cool anymore to do. That kinda stuff, but as far as the comics, you get a lot of real diversity.I don't know what New York's all about. I'm gonna go out there for about a month and try and just do comedy there. I heard you can get like five sets a night, like every night.
Jason Downs: But are they bringer shows or what?
Louis Katz: Well I'm not bringing anybody cause I don't know anyone there so fuck it.
Jason Downs: That what I like about San Francisco. We got no bringer shows here.
Louis Katz: We also only have two comedy clubs man. They've got like eight.
Jason Downs: I know, but we have no bringer shows. They have a lot of open mics where they work shit out and I think a lot of people are supportive in this area of comedy.
Louis Katz: That's all we ever get. No one gives us any press. No one gives us stuff about the shows. Now comics are getting cool again, but for a while no one gave a shit.
Kevin Shea: With the west coast, it's a lot of actors who think they're comedians.
Jason Downs: That's L.A. though. Up here we have a lot of lawyers who think they're comics.
Kristopher Tinkle: We get the whole L.A. thing. People think that the whole west coast are wannabe actors and stuff. That' not true.
Louis Katz: If we wanna be actors we're in the wrong fucking place.
Kristopher Tinkle: Just be fucking funny on the mic on stage.
Kevin Shea: I didn't realize there was an east coast, west coast thing. Real men dance. (Huge eruption of laughter)
I didn't know of any rivalry. When I go out to New York they're real nice to me.
Jason Downs: I do feel like when I go out and perform with someone from like Minnesota or from the midwest or east coast, I feel I represent San Francisco comedy and that's why whenever I perform I try to do my best. Cause I love San Franciso, it's a bad ass town.
Louis Katz: East coast comics do seem to have a certain style about them. I wanna go out there and see if there's more...cause what I like about here like I was saying is the diversity of style. And from the comics I see on TV is one type of kind of comic that comes out from there. A little more abrasive, quick and witty. They all have a similar rhythm all out of them. So I wanna see if that's really a New York thing or it's just the ones I happen to see on TV.
More of an in your face kind of comedy.
Louis Katz: Very snappy, very quick. But the rhythm is similar, kind of a New York speak kind of rhythm which I...I'd like to see if they have the same diversity.
Kevin Shea: But people who stand out in New York don't sound like that.
Louis Katz: Yeah they do man, they all sound like that.
Kevin Shea: Really? I don't think Attell or Todd Barry are anything like that.
Louis Katz: Okay, those two, but I mean, uh...you can hear the rhythm. I'm not saying they have the same...I'm saying their rhythm is similar.
Kevin Shea: I feel they have more of the social qualms where they feel like they're angry about something. It's a different crowd. San Francisco's a little more liberal.
Kristopher Tinkle: People whine.
Louis Katz: They're probably less PC over there.
Kristopher Tinkle: Yeah definitely.
Louis Katz: There's definitely a problem with audiences out here. People are fucking uptight. Need to relax. San Francisco, Berkeley.
Kevin Shea: They're all trying to be independent film, fuckin...
Louis Katz: What does independent film have to do with this?
Kristopher Tinkle: No, no, I wanna see him talk his way out of this.
Jason Downs: Getting back to the whole east coast, west coast thing, I went to a comedy festival and there was a group of San Francisco comics there and they had a group of New York, Chicago and everything else. And so all us SF comics were coming together eating dinner together and shit like that and so we're all eating togther and we had this gang of people from other cities going 'You guys eat together?', and we're like 'Yeah', and they're like 'You guys hang out together?, and we're like 'Yeah', that's the way it is in San Francisco. We help each other out and we're really supportive of each other. That's the way it is in San Francisco. I don't know if that's the way it is in the east coast. But they painted a picture that it was really that you're on your own and you gotta pick what you can up there and stuff like that. So that's what I'm grateful about in San Francisco.
What I've noticed between east and...I don't know if it's necessarily east or west coast, but more of the guys on the east are more in each others faces about, you know, their sets or what they think about it. Here it's a little more hush-hush, you kinda don't wanna speak up without getting bashed.
Louis Katz: I mean, on the plus side everyone is real supportive and I think people here help each other and they're cool with each other more. But it's the thing with that PC shit. It's all a front you know. People definitely talk shit behind people's back. It's not like it doesn't exist here.
Kevin Shea: A lot of comics won't sack up and say what they feel. They just talk shit behind each others backs. Maybe because it's a small community, you don't wanna stir up shit whereas the east has a thousand comics who don't give a shit.
Kristopher Tinkle: [sarcasm] Nobody talks shit around here.
Kevin Shea: Cause everybody loves each other here.[sarcasm]
Jason Downs: Well I got called a hack recently and I think we all fucking witnesed that. But you know, I don't give a fuck if that person thinks I'm a hack. She could try to...(laughter)...well then try to follow me Louis.
Kristopher Tinkle: Do a dance for him. (Laughter and inside references fill the room)
Kevin Shea: Who called you a hack?
Jason Downs: They didn't call me a hack until she got a bad review. Then she called me a hack.
Okay, we'll just keep it at that. Let's not dig a ditch. Let's go with some basic shit. What advice would you give for others starting out, say in San Francisco?
Kevin Shea: Stage time.
What do you mean by stage time?
Kevin Shea: Get as much stage time as possible. The more comfortable you are...even if your writing is great, if you're not comfortable, you're gonna look like an ass. I know a lot of comedians who can write but they get on stage and it's like 'What the hell are you doing?'.
Jason Downs: I actually have to give props to Kevin cause I thought I was a pretty good writer and I had pretty clever material but I would get so tense up there and I remember Kevin saying 'Fuck man you're really funny, but you need to fucking relax', and then pretty much when he said that, I started relaxing and things started turning up for me. Maybe Kevin's not such a dick.
Louis Katz: Stage time is key. Just get as much stage time as possible. Sometimes people are not likeable, and not very funny. And they're trying to do stand-up comedy and my advice to you is if that's how you are, go home. That's what I wanna say. (Tons of laughter) It's not even about being funny. I you don't have a little bit of charisma, if you're the kind of person I wouldn't even wanna talk to at a party, why do I want to sit in the audience and listen to you talk only, for five minutes. No, no, so don't perform. Stop it.
Jason Downs: Yeah seriously.
Kristopher Tinkle: The thing is, talking about stage time, you don't even realize how it happens for the first six months then all of a sudden one day you're like 'Wow', and people come up to you, and you do it and you keep doing it and doing it.
Jason Downs: And that's the best I can do, be honest with yourself. If you suck, say you suck. Admit to it. I hate these fucking people who have semi-good sets and they get off stage and they're like 'Yeah I did well'. NO! The standard is killing. If you're not killing, get the fuck off the stage.
Kristopher Tinkle: I think definitely, without all the agro and the Korn soundtrack. Like you said with our little group, the best compliment is that we can be honest with each other. Cause you see a lot of people come off stage and they're high fiving people and they just fucking ate it dude, and they're all like 'Whooo!' and they're all proud and you're like 'Oh jesus did you just fucking see that?'. And it's the other way around.
Louis Katz: To write comedy, the second most important thing is editing man. Edit your shit. You gotta get to the funny, be honest with yourself to the point where you say 'This line isn't working, I'm gonna take it out'. You fall in love with your material. You like it, you think it's gonna work, but a lot of the times it's not working, you gotta take it out. You gotta shorten it and take out, cut out all the fat. That was the biggest lesson I learned when I first came into comedy was fuckin' editing. Editing, editing, editing.
Kristopher Tinkle: One of the most heartbreaking things is when you think something is fucking funny and you write it down and you're so fucking proud and you skip up to stage to do it and it just fucking eats it dude and you're like 'NO! That was so funny, that was so fucking funny it was great', and other shit you think is dumb you just tie it down...
Kevin Shea: You're gonna see some shit like that tonight but not from me.
Jason Downs: Well the reason I like to see comics only kill and just kill is because I remember one night here Dave Attell just happened to pop in and he was doing a set and he's freakin' destroying, more than we'd ever hoped of destroying, and fuckin' killing the room and he walks off stage and he happened to walk by me and I was all 'Hey good set', and he's all 'I fucking sucked'. And I'm like, well if he's that hard on himself, I should be half as hard on myself, because if that's his standard, then that's what I should be shooting for. And I don't think enough people shoot for that standard, they kinda just dream it.
Kevin Shea: I like people who suck. It makes me look better.
Kristopher Tinkle: I like when people laugh when people suck.
What's been the highlight of your career so far?
Kristopher Tinkle: I got to meet Kevin Shea (laughs).
Kevin Shea: Well apparently I turned Jason Downs' career around. Just getting on stage. That sounds cheesy as shit, but just doing it, my material. I mean, that's what you like about it.
Louis Katz: Every time you've killed.
Kevin Shea: There's no certain moment.
Jason Downs: Well I got a threeway in Winamuka. That was great.
Kevin Shea: Yeah, the girls are good.
Jason Downs: Nah, I was talking about two guys.
Kristopher Tinkle: I think definitely like one of the coolest things, well there's a lot of cool things, but I think definitely one of the coolest things is like at a movie theater or at a random place like a super market and someone will be like, it happened to me yesterday, like this dude was eyeballing me and I was like what the fuck is your problem man, and he's like 'Hey I saw you at the Punchline'. An immediately cause I'm fucking neurotic I was like 'Did I suck that night?' (laughter) And as soon as I have some business cards made that shit will pan out. It's like I had to write on the back of the receipt saying I have a website.
Louis Katz: Once that happened to me. I was in Brazil at a concert. Some people came up to me and said they saw me at the Punchline. And that shit was just fucking awesome man. Another fucking country. That shit was so crazy. And the other thing that was my highlight was I did a birthday party for the manager here at the Punchline, and just doing that was cool but also the band jammed with the original keyboard player from Parliament, Bernie Wuhl. I'm a big fan of his. And to end the band said thanks, they thanked Louis Katz and Bernie Wuhl. To be in the same sentence as him was pretty cool. That's kinda lame but...
Jason Downs: My highlight was going on with Mitch Hedberg and doing the joke-off. That was awesome.
That was really cool.
Kevin Shea: I've never seen anything like that.
That little dance you did at the end. That was cool.
Kristopher Tinkle: You know how many dance references we have in this interview? We are so gay.
Kevin Shea: We're the San Francisco comics! (tons of laughter)
Haha, okay. We'll move on. Who do you guys...who are like your favorite guys in comedy today and who would you like to work with that you haven't worked with yet?
Kevin Shea: Oh, Mitch Hedberg. He's one of my favorites. Cause he just seems real laid back. And it just seems like he's cool and stuff. He writes his stuff, he goes on stage, does his material, comes back or he hangs out. He's a good guy. I like Mitch.
Kristopher Tinkle: I would love to work with Doug Stanhope and Jim Norton. And fuck you Louis. Yeah, definitely Doug Stanhope or definitely Jim Norton are two I would like cause I'm a fan of their stuff and I'd like to work with them.
Louis Katz: Uh, yeah, I like Stanhope, who I'm gonna be working with. That's awesome. Marc Maron, Patton Oswalt, fucking Louis C.K. is pretty dope. I think he's really funny. I think those are like my favorites that I've seen. Attell, Stanhope, Marc Maron, Patton.
Jason Downs: I like Cedric the Entertainer (huge laughs), uh, D.L. Hughley...nah fuck it. I just happen to work with my favorite comic, and that's Hedberg and I would love to work with Attell or Lewis Black. Those guys are badass.
Louis Katz: [sarcasm]Do you hate black people?
Jason Downs: Yeah I do. You got me right on the head.
Kristopher Tinkle: You know I think it's kinda gay but we're also kinda racist too.
Jason Downs: Are they gay or racist? Wait, they're both.
Louis Katz: Gay people are particularly racist.
Kevin Shea: I just don't want to be called Dat Phan. [sarcasm]
Speaking of Dat Phan...nothing against him, just reminded me of something. Can I get each one of your opinions on what a hack is? Cause I know everyone has a differing opinion on what you consider a hack.
Kevin Shea: Someone who steals jokes and who works on easy premises.
Such as?
Kevin Shea: You know the usual like men & women...
So women comics?
Louis Katz: That's ridiculous. There are a lot of differences between men and women. I'm just saying, it's human thing, and if you can put your own spin on it, it's not hacky.
Kristopher Tinkle: Well can you give us an example?
Kevin Shea: Do you have any men and women jokes?
Louis Katz: I have relationship jokes. That's different.
Kevin Shea: You have horse hair jokes.
Louis Katz: In relationship jokes for example, there's a point of conflict where the girl wants to give me a handjob but I'm angered.
Kevin Shea: You have elaborate penis jokes.
Louis Katz: Exactly. That's what people say, 'You only tell dick jokes. That's all I hear is dick jokes.' If it's funny and it's original then it's good. There are so many rules. Like oh, anything with a prop is a hack, anything with a song. You know I like Weird Al, I don't give a fuck. I don't play that shit. I like Weird Al. As long as you're original and funny and you don't steal shit...
Jason Downs: Stealing is the bottom line.
Louis Katz: And some shit that you've heard that's really played out I mean...
Kevin Shea: And that asian voice. God dammit! You don't know how many people, how many fans that come up to me and are like 'Why don't you do the voice?'
Jason Downs: No way. They don't tell you that.
Kevin Shea: I swear to god.
Kristopher Tinkle: If you did that you'd probably get a bigger crowd.
Kevin Shea: It's not at comedy clubs, it's at one-nighters. It's at like bars in small towns.
Louis Katz: You don't even know the voice.
Kevin Shea: Yeah, people that steal are the biggest hacks there are.
Kristopher Tinkle: How many times has someone been up there and you hear the first couple of sentences and it's like everyone in the back starts to roll their eyes. It's like certain subjects that have definitely been talked about a lot and there's really nothing new. I mean there's a lot of things out right now that I think are funny but it falls into the category of it's been done before and there's no way I could go out there and do it.
Kevin Shea: You ever walk into a club and hear someone do your joke like on an open mic?
Kristopher Tinkle: No. I think I would go agro dude.
Louis Katz: I don't know what I would do. I can't really fight anybody.
Jason Downs: That's happened to me a couple of times, and I told Attell to get the fuck off the stage! (laughter) That happened to me a couple of times and my girlfriend pointed it out like 'That's your joke!', but I don't wanna make a big thing out of it, so I challenge myself tothink about more shit so I don't have to worry about it.
Kristopher Tinkle: Yeah man, Downs' girlfriend is crazy man, she'll call that shit out.
Well we're almost at like half an hour, and I know the show's gonna start soon. Let's go around, I wanna wrap it up. Anybody wanna say anything, plug anything.
Kevin Shea: kevinshea.tv.
Jason Downs: jasondowns.com, it's a hacky ass Indian-Irish singer who has my name and I can't get the fucking rights to use jasondowns.com.
Kevin Shea: How big is Cringe Humor now?
It's pretty big from what it was. Uh, he's gotten to know a lot of comedians and stuff.
Kevin Shea: I know Robert Kelly plugs his site all the time. What about other comics?
Well, Norton gave it props on his cd. I know Patrick hangs out with a lot of the guys he features on the site. So I don't know how many of them plug it or not.
Jason Downs: To all the Cringe Humor members, fucking, thank you guys. You guys keep real comedy alive. It's good.
Kristopher Tinkle: It's cool man. The first time I saw the site I couldn't fucking believe it dude I was like whoa, these are all the comics who me and all my friends like and there's actually a site for that shit and then I remember I told these guys about it. I told them there was this cringe site and they were so passionate And the first time I saw hack up there I was like dude, he can't be a comic calling these people hacks. I was like, no way, these people are huge names and I was like holy shit.
Kevin Shea: Patrick, is he a comic?
Patrick is not a comic, he's just a big fan. His goal is just to make it the premiere comedy site on the web.
Jason Downs: It's ending up that way. It's getting pretty big.
Louis Katz: That's all I wanted to say is thanks. It seems like it's not looked upon, no one pays attention, no one even notices what we're doing.
"The Asian comedy market is one that has never really been tapped," says Steve Byrne, lounging in the green room of the Punch Line Comedy Club. "I mean, even animals have their own planet!"
The remark evokes gales of laughter from his two fellow comics -- "Mad TV's" Bobby Lee and rising star Kevin Shea ("Jimmy Kimmel Live") -- who are sharing a couch and a drink before the evening's "Kims of Comedy" showcase, which runs through Saturday night.
You've most likely heard of the "Kings of Comedy," perhaps even the "Queens of Comedy" or the "Latin Kings of Comedy." And now we have (rim shot) the "Kims of Comedy," an all-Asian revue. It was only a matter of time.
Despite the Irish last names sported by two of the three, all are Korean. Byrne, who has just been called a "halfie" by his two full-blooded friends, is the product of an American GI and a Korean woman he met during the Vietnam War. Shea, 28, was adopted as a 7-year-old, and Lee is from a very traditional Korean household; his parents, embarrassed that their son refused college and became a comic, barely spoke to the now-30-year-old. Until he had that first big breakthrough.
"The day after I went on 'Leno' for the first time, my dad called me," says the uber-manic Lee. He shrinks his already-small frame even further and scrunches up his face to imitate his father. "I sorree we did not supp-ott you, " he stammers.
If this had come from an Anglo comic, this characterization might have been deemed racist. But these are the Kims of Comedy, and Asian humor is de rigueur. It's something of a celebration for these three (who will be joined by a fourth, "Dr. Ken" Jeong, on Friday and Saturday nights) to be together. Asian comedians don't enjoy great representation in laugh houses or on TV, and this elite group is clearly reveling in the like-storied company -- and excited about the possibility of a real "Kings of Comedy"-style tour.
"It's been coming together for a long time," says Lee. "I did 'Tonight' four years ago, and Steve called me from New York and said I'm half-Korean and would like to meet you. So we eventually met in L.A., and it was great, wasn't it, Steve?"
Byrne sighs on cue. "You humped my leg like a puppy."
Lee ignores him and continues. "And then I kept hearing about this Dr. Ken guy, people kept saying he's Korean and so funny! So we met and also became friends. And then eventually, I met Kevin and thought he was also really funny."
He pauses in the rapid-fire delivery. "Whenever I meet an Asian comic it stirs something up in my emotions, you know?"
Byrne sighs again. "And it makes you want to hump their leg."
Lee leaps up and tries to demonstrate on Shea, who shoves him away, laughing.
The group was approached about doing a tour, and it was suggested they enlist Margaret Cho to headline. "But first of all, she'd never do it," says Byrne, also 30, "and secondly, the tour would be called, 'Margaret Cho and Those Other Guys.' "
They all laugh. Then Byrne gets serious for just a split second.
"I think the combination of the four of us could really be a breakthrough for Asian comedy. We all have TV credits now, and I'm hoping the four of us can make a difference."
Shea pipes up: "People need to know that Asian comedy is about more than Dat Phan." As if rehearsed, all three comics groan when the name of the 2003 winner of "Last Comic Standing" is mentioned.
Shea and Lee also tease the smooth-talking, good-looking Byrne about having been chosen to host a new show on the AZN ("Asian, get it?" quips Lee) TV network. "It's like BET, only no one watches it," explains Shea, while Byrne blushes.
Asked if there is a "Korean comedy style," they all shake their heads. "We're all so different," says Byrne. "I do voices and impersonations, Kevin is kind of a monologue guy, Ken is a hip-hop doctor, and Bobby? Well, he's just crazy."
Although all of them draw on their heritage, they do it with differing points of view.
"You're not going to get hammered with Asian jokes," Byrne says. "I don't think I've ever done a joke about the difference between Asians and whites. Black comics play that card more than anybody."
At the same time, their race is often the elephant in the room. Byrne notes that when he was the only nonwhite comic at a recent college gig, "this kid sat in the front row, holding his eyes like this." He pulls his eyelids out to the side to make his eyes squint.
Lee and Shea gasp out loud. "Get the f -- out!" laughs Lee.
Shea notes that his family is truly multi-culti, so his humor is all over the ethnic map. "My parents adopted two Korean children, and they already had two white daughters, who have adopted black children!"
Byrne laughs. "Man, your family could be a Benetton ad!"
Shea goes on stage first and, after a slow start, gets the audience rocking with his edgy blend of dark humor and a political incorrectness. Noting a group of Filipinos in the audience, he congratulates them for "getting out of the fish market for the night!" Thankfully, they roar with laughter.
He draws on his interesting family setup, saying his parents collected children "like Star Wars figures," and when he mouthed off to his father, the response was, "Watch your mouth, boy! I still have the receipt!"
Byrne's humor is smooth, like an acting monologue, with occasional jolts of surrealness. "I want to catch a squirrel so badly, and I want to sit down with John Mayer on a Sunday afternoon and write a song about it."
He says that when asked, he tells people he is half-Asian. "And they imagine I come from some kind of island nation where I play volleyball on the beach with Keanu Reeves and Tiger Woods." And he finishes with an indescribable-in-print (and very funny) imitation of Bruce Lee having sex.
Lee storms the stage to close the evening, and the "crazy" adjective is put to good use. His over-the-edge material is razor-sharp, sometimes X-rated, and often delivered at ear-shattering decibels. Of the fact that he recently shaved his head, he laments, "I wanted to look like Kojak but instead I look like 'The Golden Child' with Down's syndrome."
After a particularly hilarious-slash-offensive imitation of "American Idol" reject William Hung, he stops for a split second to tell the audience, "I'm Margaret Cho! I really am!"
Perhaps she'll be on the tour after this one.