Brad Williams’s ‘Growth Spurt’ Brings Him to The Granada Theatre

Comedian Returns to Santa Barbara After ‘Starfish’ Comedy Special

Brad Williams | Photo: Courtesy

He may be fun-sized, but when it comes to talent, Brad Williams is ginormous. I’ve been enjoying his observations on the twists and turns of everyday life, including relationships, parenthood, disabilities, race, and more, for about a decade, when Williams recorded his first television special, Fun Size, at the Lobero Theatre during the sadly short-lived LOL Comedy Festival.

He’s been back at the Lobero a few times since then (read my most recent review here), and on June 7, he’s upsizing his game for an even bigger crowd at The Granada Theatre.

“Does your style change at all with a larger venue?” I asked him in a Zoom interview last week.

“The show has always been sort of high-energy,” said Williams, who is currently on the road for his Growth Spurt Tour. “I’ve been told many times that my show was meant for a theater, and maybe that’s just an overcompensation for my size, where I’m trying to make it as big as possible. So, the show, other than the material, in terms of the energy and the scale, doesn’t change much. … It’s not like a Garth Brooks, Chris Gaines situation, where I’m a completely different person. If you like my show, you will like this show.”

“And is it hard to find the funny side when there’s so much unfunny stuff going on in the world right now?” I asked.

“I don’t fancy myself a political comedian. I don’t want to be a political comedian. I don’t think I’m smart enough to be a political comedian,” said Williams. “So, no matter who you voted for, you’re going to have a good time at my show. … I want everyone to just have a good night out, no matter who you voted for. So, I want you to forget about all the things that are going on in the world. I want you to put down your phones and not doom-scroll for two hours about headlines.”

He continued, “I have very strong opinions about certain topics, but even when I bring them up in my show, the last thing I want to do is say, ‘Hey, you think this way — you’re stupid,’ or, ‘You voted for this guy — you’re dumb.’ I think that’s really dismissive. … We all want the same thing. We all want success. We want safety, security, for our friends, for our neighbors, for our family, and then to be able to advance in our careers and be able to do that, it’s what literally everyone wants. … We have different thoughts on how to achieve the goals — but my job is to entertain anyone who buys a ticket. That is my job.”

He also has another job, as a culinary entrepreneur of sorts, investing in Thorn Brewing in San Diego and, most recently, in his own line of Death by Dwarf Hot Sauce. Williams laughs when I ask about it. “This sounds dumb, but as a white guy growing up in Orange County, my diet was devoid of flavor for a really long time, and then I started in, like my mid-twenties, really discovering flavor. And then, certainly in my thirties, when I met my wife, who is a great cook, I really started discovering what flavor is. And now I just want to share that, and I want there to be more parts of me that people can consume.

“My dream is to have a whole Brad Williams section at a grocery store. I mean, you know, a very small shelf.”

See Brad Williams’s Growth Spurt Tour on Saturday, June 7, at 7 p.m. at the Granada Theatre (1214 State St.). See bit.ly/4jfjw7e.