There once was a time when, if you were in a store and heard someone who apparently was having a non-stop conversation with themselves, it seemed odd.
Now, with earbuds camouflaging that they’re on the phone, it’s often the norm.
It’s among the things that sets Chad Prather’s comedic sense on fire, and he has some advice for those who use them.
“TAKE THEM OUT!” he says in one of his YouTube videos. “There’s nobody who needs to be on the telephone that much that needs to be connected in that way all of the time.”
The comedian, who lives in Texas and is known for wearing a stylish Stetson and recording his videos in his truck with his dog in the back seat, calls himself a political cowboy. He will appear at the Historic Everett Theatre on March 2 as part of a national tour.
Prather came to national attention through his 2015 “Unapologetically Southern” YouTube video, which went viral and now has more than 3 million page views. Since then, he’s been featured by the likes of Fox News, Fox and Friends and Country Living Magazine. He can be found online on Facebook, YouTube and BlazeTV.
He takes on a variety of topics, sometimes with Will Rogers-style homespun humor, other times with sharp comedic pokes.
On Hillary Clinton:
“She blames everybody on the planet except herself for losing the presidential election to Donald Trump.”
On how women and men differ:
“If I hand you a rabbit, you’re going to pet it, name it and build it a home. Give us a rabbit, we’re going to start Googling recipes for a grill. We are just different.”
On taking the family to a water park:
“Men should not wear flip-flops! … You guys haven’t seen your feet in like six years.”
On going to a store and getting your credit or debit card declined:
“You ever notice that look the person gives you as they hand you your card back, that look of condescension and judgment?…’I’m sorry, sir,’ and it echoes all over the room.”
Prather says his comedic influences include George Carlin, Robin Williams and Bill Cosby, and in style he shares their wide-ranging takes on life.
“A lot of people tend to think of me as a little more of a conservative type of George Carlin in my way of communicating on stage,” he said during a telephone interview.
His live shows are different from his videos, he said, with more comedy than observational humor. “We’re going more for laughs at the live show,” he said.
He told of one woman who identified herself as “diehard Hillary liberal” who was driving two hours to see him during a previous stop in Everett. She sent him a Facebook message asking if she and the person she was coming with would be politically beat up throughout the two-hour show.
He met with them afterwards. “They said they had a great time,” he said.
Asked if he feels liberals and conservatives have lost the ability to laugh at themselves, Prather said he’s amazed at people’s inability to be a little self-deprecating. “I like to poke fun at both sides,” he said.
“The problem is people don’t really know each other any more,” he said. “We spend so much time online we don’t know our neighbors.
“I think it comes down to relationships. What I try to do is start a conversation, talking about hot-button topics. To have a conversation, we don’t villainize that person we disagree with.”
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
If you go
Chad Prather will perform from 7 to 10 p.m. March 2 at the Historic Everett Theatre, 2911 Colby Ave. in Everett. Tickets are $35 to $50 for general admission and $28 to $40 seniors and military. More info: 425-258-6766 or https://tinyurl.com/PratherEverett .t
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