Kansas City Comedy: The Unbelievable True Story of Stanford & Sons, Its Outlaw Owners and the Most Infamous Stand-Up Sets of All Time

Join author and comedian Mike Bridenstine for a show business story unlike any other. In 2001, an aspiring comedian in Kansas City named Kyle Parris performed what can be described as the most infamous open mic set of all time. And it took place at one of the most infamous clubs in the history of stand-up--Stanford & Sons--which was owned by one of the most notorious and colorful families in comedy history. This book tells the story of that set, as well as the story of the Kansas City comedy scene, from the boom times of the ’80s, when comics like Sinbad and Eddie Griffin got their starts, to the 2000s, when Nikki Glaser got hers. There are a lot of twists, turns and wild characters along the way, including some recent headlines in the Hollywood trades.

Mike Bridenstine is a comedian and author originally from Muscatine, Iowa. He has performed at festivals all around the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, including New Faces at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal. Some of his TV credits include Last Call with Carlson Daly on NBC, Adam DeVine’s House Party on Comedy Central, The Eric Andre Show on Adult Swim and High Potential on ABC. You can listen to his comedy albums The Hungry Wolf Hunts Best and Hustle from AST Records on Apple Music and Spotify. His first book, The Perfect Amount of Wrong, was called ＂catnip for comedy nerds＂ by Jason Zinoman of the New York Times. This is his second book.