They claim it can keep the doctor away, but two “Bad Apples,” Nelson Mayer and Clayton T. Stewart, will be proving that laughter is the best medicine with their Bad Apples Comedy Show that’s coming to Cochrane at the beginning of February.
The show will take place at the Texas Bar & Grill on Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. and will be hosted by Justin “J-Bomb” Fillion. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the venue or on Eventbrite.
Stewart explained that the Bad Apples duo has been performing for over a decade now. He adds that they’ve brought their voices together for to create a unique storytelling experience for their upcoming tour.
“I’m a proud member of the Peguis First Nation and Nelson is a proud Métis member, and we’ve been performing for quite some time,” Stewart said. “That’s the wonderful thing about or comedy, is that we branch out into all sorts of different aspects of life.”
In terms for the inspiration for the name “Bad Apples” Stewart said that it’s derived from a slur that is common among Indigenous people.
“Nelson and I are both city-born Indians, so we’ve heard this slur before,” He explained. “That’s when people call you as red on the outside, but white on the inside, like an apple.
“In our experiences, working with Indigenous organizations in the past, we’ve heard that slur bandied about, and we thought; why not take the power back and make it a funny joke and call ourselves the Bad Apples?”
From different aspects of life, experiences of growing up in the city, versus life on the reservation, and even the “male-itch,” Stewart said their unique form of comedy jokes poke fun at different stereotypes while also talking about their own lived experiences.
“They can usually tell right away that we’re not from the reserve,” Stewart said. “When I go out to perform on reserves, they can tell right away because as soon as I step foot on reserve land, the rez dogs starts chasing me. Because to a pack of dogs, I look delicious.”
In terms of experience on stage, Stewart said that they have been fortunate to perform across Canada and the United States.
“Nelson was actually part of the International Comedy Festival in LA, and he was actually selected as best of the show; so it was a big honour for him,” he said. “We’ve also been in the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, […] and we’ve performed all over. I mean, I’ve even gotten the chance to perform down in Hawaii, and I felt very at home being a big guy in a Hawaiian shirt. It has been a blast.”
As descendants of a long line of great performers, Stewart is proud to keep that tradition going for others to enjoy.
“I think it’s an honour to keep that tradition of storytelling and healing through humour with comedy,” he said.
With the performance set for a few weeks, the duo looks forward to performing in Cochrane and hopes to create a new bond with the town.
“I personally have never performed in Cochrane before, but Nelson has, and he had a great experience there,” Stewart said. “So, we definitely had to make it part of this tour.
