Culture: Comedian Maronzio Vance Drops New Comedy Album '20'

By Audrey Garrett

​Comedian, writer and actor, Maronzio Vance told Quail Bell Magazine he is now bored with comedy in a Zoom interview discussing his new comedy album. His album ‘20’ drops today, April 2nd on Spotify and other streaming services in commemoration of his past 20 years performing and acting as a comic in Los Angeles, California. The album includes comedic segments discussing anxiety, mental health and maturity. The vulnerable album inspires the long time comedian to move to story telling entertainment rather than just joke telling. Vance says, “I hate jokes, I can tell them, but I hate them”.

​The album ‘20’, includes 19 stand-up comedy segments recorded before the pandemic. The segments are split between three venues in California, two in San Francisco including the Tenderloin neighborhood and one in Vance's familiar home venue, The Comedy and Magic Club ​in Hermosa Beach, California.

Uninterested with slap stick humor ‘20’ includes blunt stories of aging, anxiety and relationships. Vance declares he “never” changes his  material based on where he is performing. He emphasizes the goal of  ‘20’  is “to take the most uncomfortable subject matter and see if we can make it funny.” His favorite segment on the album dissects the irony of  the wildfires in Malibu, California.

​Since his beginning as a 21-year-old stand-up comedian, Vance has joked about anxiety, relationships and gender. ‘20’ elevates the jokes of his youth with years of experience growing as a comedian and adult as a Southern California transplant from North Carolina. His experiences as a comedian always on the go encouraged him to focus this album '20' on what matters most to him. 

​Vance thanks the pandemic and time in lockdown for bolstering his creative process in creating '20'. ​“I like the fact that this time is forcing people to really think about what they do”, Vance says. The months of downtime led Vance to decide to be more than just a comedian but a storyteller and writer as well.  “I don't want to be a comic anymore, the title boxes you in.”

 NPR’s Moth Radio Hour is Vance’s new career goal replacing his comedy focused dream of performing at Laugh Factory Club in Hollywood in his early twenties. His recurring blog titled Eat (standing for Emotionally Available Today) includes personal essays on emotions, mental health and self-care. Vance hopes the blog gives young men vocabulary to express their emotions effectively and grow their emotional intelligence.

​The comedy album '20' begins his journey as a storyteller first and a joke teller second. Excited for future Vance celebrates his thoughts first and his stage persona second, “I'm not high energy. My words are my energy”.

​Maranzio Vance's comedy album '20' dropped on streaming services including Spotify, and YouTube April 2, 2021