“My dad would take me to Mariner games as a kid, just so I would learn disappointment. It was like, ‘Life’s hard, you’re going to need this!’” — Andrew Rivers

Giving a best man’s speech at a wedding helped give Andrew Rivers the confidence to make a commitment to stand-up comedy.

That speech was in 2008 when his brother, Keith, was married. His speech at the wedding included carefully constructed elements of comedy.

“Everyone said, ‘That was so funny, you should do comedy,’” said Rivers.

At the time, he had a job as a paid intern in marketing. Later in that recession year, he was laid off and started to think seriously about comedy as a profession.

Since then, Rivers has worked on his craft, from open mics at Giggles in Seattle to his own shows, increasing his appearances and spreading his humor.

Rivers, a 2003 Mount Si High School graduate, was around comedy his whole life. His father, Bob Rivers, who died this year from cancer, was a popular rock and roll Seattle radio personality with The Bob Rivers Show for 25 years. His dad also was a comic genius, which included writing parodies of songs, and a young Andrew sometimes was included in the music videos.

Even with his father’s background, Rivers wasn’t completely sure if comedy could be his career path.

“I thought you can turn this into somewhat of a career, but your high school guidance counselor was never like, ‘Do you want to be a policeman, a doctor or a comedian?’” he said.

He learned a lesson one day about the limitations of comedy in high school during the school’s annual Homecoming Spirit Week in 2001, a month after 9/11. One of the days that week was “Tourist Day,” so he dressed up in Middle Eastern garb with a robe, turban, a wig and a fake beard. Some thought it was funny, but some didn’t, and the sophomore ended up in the principal’s office.

The principal questioned a crying Rivers and then asked, “Does your mom know about this?”

Rivers replied: “She helped me make the costume. She thought it was funny, too.”

Rivers, who shares a condo in Tukwila with fellow stand-up comedian Luke Severeid, is aware of those type of limitations in his professional stand-up career, too, knowing that you can’t always please the whole crowd.

“Sometimes I see people leave the show on something I thought was completely harmless. Most of the audience are clapping, but two people don’t like it so they leave,” said Rivers. “But that’s the fight of what people expect of me.”

Rivers doesn’t completely shy away from political jokes on tour, but he keeps them to a minimum, saying, “I don’t think I’m known for a political take or slant.”

As he became more experienced, he began to read his audiences better from city to city. Also, jokes at a crowd in a club will differ from those he tells if he is hired for a private party, etc. He calls it a level of trust between him and his different type of audiences.

Rivers seriously believes in writing down possible jokes before they are lost in memory, even if they aren’t eventually used.

“At my best, I’m taking notes all week, then sitting down, collecting dough and beating it up to try to turn it into something,” he said. “If you stop it before it leaves your head, it will never be anything. You go, ‘this might be stupid,’ but as long as you write it down, it can always be something better.”

He likes the challenge of creating some local jokes on his travels to different cities to help break the ice before he goes into his regular routine. When he went to Texas, he couldn’t resist cracking a joke to his Houston audience about their “26-lane freeway.”

Rivers doesn’t ad-lib too often on stage.

“I’m a real stick-to-the-game-plan type of guy,” he said. “You know, we’re going to sink with the ship if we have to. A lot of it is don’t panic because they’ll smell blood in the water. And they can sense if you’re uneasy and that gives them unease. You’ve got to kill them with confidence and believe it is just going fine.”

He gets a little nervous before going on stage, but once the first joke gets a laugh, it quickly settles him to do his work: “Boxers talk about that, until they get punched, they don’t really feel they are in the fight.”

Bombing on stage is part of being a comedian, but Rivers said it rarely happens anymore as he has become better prepared and has better skills: “The highs feel so good, the lows are worth it. The lows don’t happen much anymore.”

Early on in his career, the gigs were more difficult. One example was performing at a bar where the audience was mainly there for karaoke, not comedy.

“It’s important to charge a cover, at least five bucks so they have a little skin in the game,” he said.

However, as he started to play better venues, the audiences started to become better, too.

“Good audiences help you write, bad audiences help you edit,” said Rivers.

Like most comedians, Rivers is not very fond of hecklers. If it happens, he tries to turn a negative into a positive.

“One of my favorite things to do is to get a heckler to apologize,” said Rivers. “When they apologize, I say, ‘The best apology is changed behavior.’ And then that makes everybody freak out.”

Rivers said getting paid can sometimes be tricky, depending on whether a flat rate or percentage of the ticket sales works out best. Getting a percentage of the ticket sales makes him more invested, sparking more effort on social media publicity and spending more on advertising.

Rivers self-produces most of his shows and often greets his audience when they enter. He also sees them off when they leave, including selling some Andrew Rivers’-related merchandise.

Spending so much time on the road (and in the air) has its ups and downs.

“Travel is good at times,” said the comedian, “but when you do 35 cities in 41 days, that’s not as fun for me. Someone might ask, ‘How was St. Louis?’ I could only tell you about the six blocks from the Marriott.”

Sometimes he has a working vacation: “Every December I try to go to Honolulu for a show. So, that’s just a less expensive vacation.”

He admits traveling can be tough on personal relationships.

“It’s good and bad. I have a friend anywhere I go. I know people,” said Rivers. “I have a girlfriend everywhere I go. I wish, I wish.”

The years of experience have also taught him how to say no to traveling.

“I don’t need to go to Medford, Oregon, just to make $500,” he said.

Rivers pointed out two stand-up comedians who especially have had an influence on him, Christopher Titus and Mike Birbiglia. He said they helped teach him about storytelling, with Titus giving him a three-minute lecture on how to write comedy that he never forgot. Rivers, on occasion, has opened for Titus.

One of the strangest times he opened for someone was early in his career at a fair for Ronald McDonald. He said it went poorly: “There were a lot of kids outdoors on benches (waiting for Ronald). I don’t know why I was there.”

Rivers hasn’t been on television too much, but did make an appearance on Seattle’s King 5 TV’s “The 206” comedy show.

Between 1,000-2,000 people was the largest audience who have seen Rivers on stage, when he joined comedian Billy Gardell (known for his TV show “Mike & Molly”).

Last month, Rivers performed in front of a similarly large crowd at the Snoqualmie Casino and Hotel, which hosted “A Tribute to Bob Rivers” honoring his Radio Hall of Fame father. Rivers’ mom, Lisa, and his brother, Keith, went onstage, as well as members of The Bob Rivers Show, along with musical groups Spike and the Impalers and Heart By Heart. At that show, most of Rivers’ jokes were sensitive and personally related to his father’s death. A week later, Rivers joined other comedians who tried to help their own grieving process by making others laugh at “The Dead Parents Society” show in Tacoma.

Read more online at valleyrecord.com.

A poster on display outside the window of the Tin Room Theater the night of Andrew Rivers’ show. Photo by James Gibowski

West Seattle’s Jennifer Margolis purchases some Andrew Rivers’ merchandise after his show at Burien’s Tin Room Theater. Photo by James Gibowski

Andrew Rivers pictured on a TV monitor as well as seen live on stage at The Tin Room Theater in Burien. Photo by James Gibowski

Andrew Rivers at the Tin Room Theater on Dec. 5 in Burien. Photo by James Gibowski

Andrew Rivers holds the audience Dec. 5 at the Tin Room Theater in Burien. Photo by James Gibowski