When he goes on stage, Chad Riden takes the crowd’s energy and simmers it, adding a variety of herbs, sauces and slander.. bringing it to a boil and scorching everybody in the house with his blistering hot funny.
As early as the age of 8, Chad would sneak out of bed to watch David Letterman, thinking “THAT’S what I want to do.” In college Riden majored in Broadcasting, as “Jackassery” was not an option, and began working in local radio and television.. but was constantly reprimanded for being a smart-ass. In the fall of 2000, he sought work where this kind of behavior was appreciated and decided to embrace poverty and pursue stand-up comedy.
He found both in Nashville, where after doing open mics for only a few months, Riden had regular bookings at Zanies Comedy Showplace where he got to work with and learn from some of the biggest names in comedy. Chad hit the road full time in 2006 – traveling from North Dakota to Florida, Oklahoma to the Carolinas, and everywhere in between. In April 2007, he recorded his first cd, “FREEdumb” which has been downloaded over 168,655 times (as of November 2010).
Riden has appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman’s “Tony Mendez Show”, several Comcast On Demand specials, dozens of independent short films, and was on NBC’s Last Comic Standing for exactly one freaking second. He has performed at the Laughing Skull Comedy Festival (2010) and the Laugh Your Asheville Off Festival (2009) and continues to tour the nation using his smart-ass super powers for good, not evil.
Chad mostly tells jokes and stories about his life, family and the randomness around him with just enough jackassery in the moment to make each show unique. He can work totally clean, but generally puts on an R-rated show. He has done shows for theater crowds, club crowds, dive bar crowds, hipsters, blue-haired grandmas, a cop convention, a linux convention, corporate events, kindergarten classes and everything in between.
“Chad’s Orwellian tinted concepts of family, home and recreation provide the right amount of cynicism and criticism with wit to make it all worth while. In a realm of usually pesimistic and self-loathing performers, Riden spouts vitality with a handle on reality. Chad Riden has a presence uncapturable to the camera and undefendable to the will.” – Scot Nery
“His observations on the domestic sphere teeter amiably on the edge.” – The Nashville Scene
Over the course of a weekend in February 2011, Doug Stanhope called Chad Riden “wicked funny” once, “fucking brilliant” twice, and “stupid” only one time (which is pretty amazing, given that we’re talking about Riden).
Theatres:
- Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN
- TPAC’s Polk Theatre – Nashville, TN
- Belcourt Theatre – Nashville, TN
- Roxy Theater – Clarksville, TN
- The Palace Theater – Crossville, TN
- Boiler Room Theatre – Franklin, TN
- Princess Theatre – Hopkinsville, KY
- Diana Wortham Theater – Asheville, NC
- Sumter Opera House – Sumter, SC
- Relapse Theater – Atlanta, GA
- Buford Variety Theater – Buford, GA
Clubs: (partial list)
- Zanies – Nashville, TN
- Laughing Skull Lounge – Atlanta, GA
- Broadway Comedy Club – NYC
- House Of Blues – Myrtle Beach, NC
- Loony Bin – Wichita, KS
- Comedy Zone – Jacksonville, FL
- Stardome – Birmingham, AL
- Funny Farm – Roswell, GA
- The Loft – Columbus, GA
- Exit/In – Nashville, TN
TV:
- Comcast On Demand: Morty’s “Trial By Laughter” (Indianapolis, IN) | 2011
- NBC’s Last Comic Standing, Season 7 | 2010
- Comcast On Demand: Crackers (Indianapolis, IN) | 2009
- Howard TV’s “Killers of Comedy On The Road” | 2009
- NBC’s Last Comic Standing, Season 6 | 2008
- Comcast On Demand: The Punchline (Atlanta, GA) | 2008
- Late Show with David Letterman’s “Tony Mendez Show” | 2002
Acting!:
- Scotty McCreery Blackmail Video | 2012
- Nashville Film Festival Comedian Correspondent NaFFtv.com | 2011
- “Lahna Turner: Angus Bangs Sheep“ music video | 2010
- “Death By Death” short | 2010
- “Get On Google Wave!” short | 2010
- “Searching For Scott” short | 2010
- “Texas Toast and His Talking Dog, Jesus” sketches | 2009
- Play MPE “Single vs. CD Single” ad campaign | 2008
- “Veggie Tales: The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything Sing-Along Songs And More” Interstitials | 2007
- Bud Light / Maxim ad | 2006
- “Comedy And You: An Edu-taining Enter-cation film about stand-up comedy” short | 2006
- “Dixie Dicks” mockumentary | 2003
- “Beards For Hire” short | 2003
- “Dirk Schmeltzer: Desk Cop” short | 2002
- “GNATS!” short | 2001
- East TN Satellite commercial: “Thugs” | 1999
- WBXX-TV’s Star Trek: TNG Marathon Interstitials | 1998
Festivals:
- Memphis Comedy Festival (Memphis, TN) | February 2012
- GMX2011 – Geek Media Expo Comedy Showcase (Nashville, TN) | October 2011
- Laughing Skull Comedy Festival (Birmingham, AL) | November 2010
- The 1st Annual Longest Running NEW! Famous #1 International Open Mic Comedy Festival (Nashville, TN) | April 2010
- Laugh Your Asheville Off Festival (Asheville, NC) | 2009
Accolades:
- Dream Row Comedy Video Contest Winner | May 2010
- Budweiser “Real Men of Comedy” Competition Finalist (Nashville) | October 2006
- “Funniest Person In Nashville” | (This is an award Riden made up as a goof on comedy contests & awards in 2001. NashvilleStandUp.com has awarded this joke title to one person a week, every week since then. It, like most awards, is meaningless.)