NEWS4U FEBRUARY 2022 | MUSIC
DANNY BROWNING
F
or those who remember when the Funny Bone was all the rage in Evansville, routinely drawing big crowds for both regional and
nationally-known comedians, this one's for you. Because stand-up comic Danny Browning, a native of Floyds Knobs, Indiana, was right there in the thick of it, learning a little more about his craft each time he took the stage - though he's the first to admit how green he was about the art of joke-telling prior to that first five minute set over two decades ago. "The Funny Bone was the second club I'd been in in my entire life," he recalls. "The owner at the time let me do some time; I got off the stage and he said, 'Ok, I'll use you.' I was truly clueless - had no idea what he was talking about. I said, 'use me for what?'"
Southern Indiana -based stand-up comic looking to revitalize the Evansville comedy scene
Despite not quite comprehending that he'd been given the go-ahead to perform again, unexpectedly stumbling into a paying gig, Browning finally took the hint "and that's how I found my way into the Evansville comedy scene." He had actually moved here to take a job with WFIE - the number one TV station in the market - which saw him driving the live truck and setting up live shots in addition to getting the footage and editing everything before broadcast. "To this day I don't understand why they put me in charge of thousands of dollars worth of equipment," Browning says with a chuckle. He loved every minute, in truth, and still considers past coworkers such as Mike Blake and Jeff Lyons friends today. Best of all, his work schedule allowed for evening sets at the Funny Bone. But the lure of life on the road was strong - deep down inside, Browning wanted nothing more than to make people laugh whenever and wherever he could. And that meant giving up the security of his full-time position with WFIE and preparing to live as a "vagabond," literally criss-crossing the country for any and all opportunities to perform. "My first gig was in Parkersburg, West Virginia," Browning recalls. "Then I had another in Charleston and then the next week I was in Port Charlotte, Florida - I drove all the way down there and the next weekend drove all the way back to Livonia, Michigan. That's what my schedule was like after I left my job at the number one TV station in the market." Basically, Browning followed the money trail, though he experienced some lean
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• www.evansvillemediagroup.com Photo: Tricia Cundiff
