Locals may know Andrew Polk from his stand-up performances at local clubs or his sports-focused podcast “Polk and Kush” with Scott Kushner.
“I’m the counterpart on the show,” Polk says. “Scott is the smart, observant sportswriter. He knows all the crazy details, like the names of the players. I just show up and say, ‘That sounds crazy.’ And every now and then I’ll throw in a fart joke.”
The show has been struggling through the summer, waiting for its main protagonists, the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, to begin their seasons. During hours of watching the Olympics, he has caught a few glimpses of Pelicans forward Daniel Theis, who plays for Germany.
But Polk has used the summer to prepare for filming his first comedy special. He will tape two shows at Sports Drink on Saturday, August 17.
The special doesn’t have a title yet, but will air in October on the platform of Denver-based comedian Sam Tallent, who is co-producing it.
Polk first met Tallent in Orlando, Florida, when he was just starting out in stand-up comedy. The two comedians toured together, and Polk helped produce Tallent’s novel, “Running the Lights,” a story about a hard-drinking comedian on a miserable tour of second-rate gigs in the Southwest. They also performed together at Sports Drink a few months ago.
Polk is a veteran of the New Orleans comedy scene, having moved here in 2011 to try his hand at stand-up after running out of creative opportunities in his hometown of Ruston, Louisiana.
He delved into local stand-up and improv comedy and in 2013 started Massive Fraud, a combination of sketch comedy and videos. He was also part of the regular show Comedy Beast almost from the beginning. There he met both Louis CK and Hannibal Buress. Both came to New Orleans for film projects and made some surprise appearances at local comedy shows. Polk was hired to open for both in larger venues, including a Louis CK show at The Joy Theater.
Polk moved to Los Angeles in 2016 to pursue comedy, but returned to New Orleans when the pandemic hit.
“If you’re broke and you don’t leave your home, it’s better to be broke and you don’t leave your home in New Orleans,” Polk says.
But the pandemic was a good time to try podcasting, and he started a solo show called “I Wish I Was Dead.”
Kushner heard the podcast and got in touch, which eventually led to the founding of “Polk and Kush.”
Polk no longer hosts local comedy shows, but instead focuses on his own work and performing as often as possible. Many weekends he is on tour, performing everywhere from Austin to Atlanta and along the Gulf Coast.
The show at Sports Drink will include new material he hasn’t performed locally before and will also feature comedians Vincent Zambon and JD Sledge.
After the taping, he will begin going over the Saints’ preseason while Polk and Kush returns to its normal weekly schedule.
“I don’t think anyone would ever make the mistake of calling me an optimist,” Polk says. “The Saints’ preseason is Christmas for hopes and wishes. Everyone is the best player ever. We’re going to go 30-0. I want the season to start so I can assess the damage. But I’m excited to get there and see what happens.”
Andrew Polk performs at Sports Drink on Saturday, August 17, at 7 and 9 p.m. Tickets are $20 through eventbrite.com. For more information, visit polkuniversity.com.
