Chad Daniels

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chad Daniels
Born (1975-03-02) March 2, 1975 (age 49)
Fergus Falls, Minnesota, U.S.
MediumStand-up[1]
Years active1998–present
Children2
Websitechaddaniels.com

Chad Daniels is an American comedian.[2][3] His albums have reached the top 10 on the Billboard comedy charts three times: No. 2 for 2017's Footprints On The Moon, No. 6 for 2019's Dad Chaniels, and No. 7 for 2014's Natural Selection.[4] As of 2019, his albums have been streamed more than 700 million times.[5] Footprints on the Moon also reached No. 1 on the iTunes comedy chart.[6]

In 2020, Vulture.com called him "one of the great unsung American comedians right now, who has some of the best stuff about being a dad out there."[7]

Early life[edit]

Daniels was born March 2, 1975, in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.[8][9] He graduated from Fergus Falls High School in 1993.[10][11]

Career[edit]

Stand-up comedy[edit]

Daniels' comedy is known for what Allmusic critic Mark Deming described as a "skewed, often dark view" on domestic family life.[8][12]

He started performing standup at an open mic night at ACME Comedy Company in Minneapolis in 1998. His performance earned him a job as house emcee at Grand Forks, North Dakota, comedy club Westward Ho, hosting six shows a week in 1998–1999.[8][13][14]

During the early 2000s, Chad was a favorite comedian at Hilarities comedy club inside of Pickwick and Frolic, in Cleveland, Ohio.

In 2003, Daniels was a finalist in Comedy Central’s Laugh Riots competition.[15]

In 2009, he was named Artist of the Year in comedy by Minneapolis alt-weekly City Pages, which said "Plenty of comics have jokes about marriage and children, but few speak about the experience with such uncompromising honesty."[16][17]

He has toured extensively in the U.S. and across the world.[5] In 2012, he won the $10,000 grand prize at the Gilda's LaughFest competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[18][19][20][8] He also performed at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal in 2004 and 2012,[15] Limestone Comedy Festival, Akumal Comedy Festival,[21] World Comedy Festival,[11] and the Aspen Comedy Festival, where he won the Comic's Comic award.[17][8][22]

He hosts a weekly podcast, Middle of Somewhere, with fellow comedian Cy Amundson.[23][24]

Television and film[edit]

Daniels' 2008 Comedy Central Presents half-hour special was named fifth-best all-time special by viewers in the network's 2010 Stand-Up Showdown.[25][9][26][27] He has also starred in two hour-long specials, 2012's As Is and 2019's Dad Chaniels.[28][9]

He is featured in J. Elvis Weinstein's documentary I Need You To Kill.[29][30]

He has also appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (one of only 13 comics to appear on that version of the show), O’Brien’s TBS talk show Conan,[20][31] The Late Late Show with both Craig Kilborn and Craig Ferguson,[15][9] Live at Gotham, The Bob and Tom Show, and Laugh Riots.[14][25]

Albums[edit]

Daniels has released seven albums: three with Stand Up! Records, three with 800 Pound Gorilla Records, and his self-produced debut.

Richard Lanoie of The Serious Comedy Site called Daniels "a smart, funny, surprising stand-up whose comedy will stand the test of time."[32] He and Brett Watson both named You’re The Best in the website's top 10 comedy albums of 2012; Lanoie called it "a superb, brilliant, smart, very funny, original album."[33][34][35] Lanoie called 2014's Natural Selection "funny and original".[36] Reviewing Natural Selection, Chris Spector of Midwest Record said "Daniels keeps the laughs coming (in) rapid-fire fashion without any misses."[37] Jake Austen of Roctober magazine, reviewing his early albums, was impressed that Daniel could deliver "domesticated, regular-guy" humor about families and airline food "yet manages not to lose his edge."[38]

Personal life[edit]

Daniels is divorced, and has a son and a daughter.[30][11][39][5] In March 2023, fellow comedian Kelsey Cook announced on Sirius XM's Jim and Sam Show that she and Daniels were dating. Cook also stated that the two had recently moved in together.[citation needed]

Discography[edit]

  • Two Minutes for Stale Hacking (self-released)
  • Busy Being Awesome (Stand Up! Records, 2009)
  • You're the Best (Stand Up! Records, 2012)
  • Natural Selection (Stand Up! Records, 2014)
  • Footprints on the Moon (800 Pound Gorilla Records, 2017)
  • Dad Chaniels (800 Pound Gorilla Records, 2019)
  • Twelfth Night (800 Pound Gorilla Records, 2021)[8][20]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

  • As Is (2012)[28]
  • I Need You To Kill (2017)
  • Dad Chaniels (2019)
  • Mixed Reviews (2023)

Television[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Gadino, Dylan P. (2012-06-13). "Comedian Chad Daniels' new stand-up special to premiere exclusively on Laughspin". LaughSpin. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  2. ^ "Stand up comedy review: Chad Daniels". Bits and Segways. Archived from the original on 2 April 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  3. ^ Birmingham, Steve (2012-06-25). "Chad Daniels' Free One Hour Special: "As Is"". Moontower Comedy. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Chad Daniels". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  5. ^ a b c Strait, Patrick (March 7, 2019). "Chad Daniels talks about his new hip and the smell of comedy history". The Growler. Minneapolis. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  6. ^ Strait, Patrick (December 21, 2017). "The year in comedy: 2017's new faces, new venues, and Chappelle". City Pages. Minneapolis-St. Paul.
  7. ^ Fox, Jesse David; VanArendonk, Kathryn (2020-03-25). "79 Comedians to Check Out Based on Ones You Already Like". Vulture.com. New York City. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Deming, Mark. Chad Daniels at AllMusic. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  9. ^ a b c d "Chad Daniels New Hour Special "Dad Chaniels" Exclusive World Premiere Trailer!". The Interrobang. March 22, 2019. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  10. ^ Tellers, Josh (2015-03-26). "'Listen to my stupidity': FF native Chad Daniels continues tour in region". Fergus Falls Daily Journal. Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  11. ^ a b c Hintgen, Tom (2009-12-05). "Fergus comedian hits the big time". Fergus Falls Daily Journal. Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  12. ^ Franich, Erica (March 26, 2010). "Laugh and bear it with comedian Chad Daniels". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Fairbanks, Alaska.
  13. ^ Tobin, Paulette (March 26, 2009). "Daniels balances his rough and abrasive side with the 'guy next door'". Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks, North Dakota. p. D2.
  14. ^ a b Parlin, Geri (October 14, 2008). "Sad-looking Comic Really a Load of Laughs". La Crosse Tribune. La Crosse, Wisconsin. p. 1.
  15. ^ a b c "Comedy corner". El Paso Times. El Paso, Texas. April 11, 2008.
  16. ^ Miller, Bryan (December 23, 2009). "Aby Wolf, K'naan, and P.O.S. top Artists of the Year '09". City Pages. Minneapolis-St. Paul.
  17. ^ a b "Comedian Chad Daniels to Perform at NDSU". Fargo Examiner. Fargo, North Dakota. November 3, 2011.
  18. ^ Misiano, Lou. "Chad Daniels' 'You're the Best'". America's Comedy. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  19. ^ Kaczmarczyk, Jeffrey (2012-11-27). "Gilda's LaughFest unveils 10 comedians vying for $10,000 in next LaughFest Stand Up Comedy Competition". Booth Newspapers. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  20. ^ a b c "Chad Daniels - Comic's online special gets boost from 'Conan' appearance". Dayton Daily News. Dayton, Ohio. August 3, 2012. p. AC18.
  21. ^ Meehan, Ryan (2014-05-19). "5 Questions with Chad Daniels". First Order Historians. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  22. ^ Wilson, P.F. (October 19, 2015). "Ride or die Minnesota: Why Chad Daniels prefers Fergus Falls over Los Angeles". City Pages. Minneapolis-St. Paul.
  23. ^ "Middle of Somewhere". Middle of Somewhere. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  24. ^ Lamb, John (2021-02-04). "Grounded by COVID, Minnesota stand-up gets puppy, hangs out at lake cabin and enjoys life at home with kids". West Fargo News. Fargo, North Dakota. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  25. ^ a b "Comedian Chad Daniels to perform at Muddy Rivers". Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks, North Dakota. September 16, 2011. p. C2.
  26. ^ Miller, Bryan (February 10, 2010). "A-List: Chad Daniels". City Pages. Minneapolis-St. Paul.
  27. ^ Wilson, P.F. (February 29, 2012). "A-List: Chad Daniels". City Pages. Minneapolis-St. Paul.
  28. ^ a b Merriman, John. "CHAD DANIELS' FREE ONE HOUR SPECIAL: "AS IS"". Moontower Comedy. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  29. ^ Chad Daniels at IMDb
  30. ^ a b Strait, Patrick (November 21, 2017). "Chad Daniels is thankful to be playing his biggest MN venue yet this Thanksgiving weekend". City Pages. Minneapolis-St. Paul.
  31. ^ Greenough, Jason (December 4, 2018). "After walking on the moon, Chad Daniels finally visits Boston". Vanyaland. Boston, Massachusetts. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  32. ^ Lanoie, Richard (April 9, 2018). "Chad Daniels – Busy Being Awesome". The Serious Comedy Site. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  33. ^ Lanoie, Richard (April 9, 2018). "Chad Daniels – You're The Best – Richard s review". The Serious Comedy Site. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  34. ^ Watson, Brett (April 9, 2018). "Chad Daniels – You're The Best". The Serious Comedy Site. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  35. ^ "2012 Top 10 Stand-up Comedy MP3 albums and CD". The Serious Comedy Site. April 9, 2018. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  36. ^ Lanoie, Richard (April 9, 2018). "Chad Daniels – Natural Selection". The Serious Comedy Site. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  37. ^ Spector, Chris (2014-03-31). "CHAD DANIELS/Natural Selection". Midwest Record. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  38. ^ Austen, Jake (August 2013). "The Stand Up! Records Listener's Guide". Roctober. Chicago.
  39. ^ Wilson, P.F. (January 7, 2020). "Minnesotan Comic Chad Daniels to Perform at Go Bananas Comedy Club". CityBeat. Cincinnati, Ohio.

External links[edit]