Localized: Punks & Punchlines

2026… Did you ever think we would make it? Celebrate this historic moment with a fist-pounding show of raw, aggressive rock and a few gut-bursting jokes in between. Kick off the night with Hangxiety, laugh your ass off with Punks & Punchlines and top it all off moshing to The Apathetics! Catch SLUG Localized on Thursday, January 22 at Kilby Court for a night that’ll make you say, “hell yeah!” Get tickets here!

When you think of punk rock, the first thing you think of probably isn’t stand-up comedy. Unless you’re Antonio Iacobellis, the founder of Punks & Punchlines, of course. When Iacobellis explains it, the connection is obvious, as both comedy and punk music are rooted in counterculture. They’re cousins in the entertainment world, and Punks & Punchlines turns it into a family reunion.

These guys nearly had me on the floor through the whole interview, which is no surprise considering it’s a room full of Salt Lake’s finest comedians. Iacobellis was joined by comedians David Hone, Ben Corrigan, Chuck Fury and their producer Bobby White. Five viciously funny men and one chuckling interviewer.

“I dove head first into [comedy] and at the same time was going to a lot of underground punk and metal shows, and I just got the idea. I love both of these communities … and I want to make something with both of them,” Iacobellis explains. “The whole idea is: We have everyone laughing together with comedy, and then we all throw each other around in a mosh pit.” What’s the difference between taking the stage at Wiseguys and doing your material in someone’s packed basement? Corrigan says it’s the connection. “At these shows you’re up closewith them, you’re in the room with them,” he says. “You’re not a show pony, you’re among them.”

As with any performance, however, there is a chance it won’t go well, or in comic terms, it’ll bomb. When I ask about the wisdom gained from telling a joke that turns sour, Hone is simple in his response: “I love bombing.” This comment is followed by something unfit to print, but he continues, “Failure is the greatest teacher, and every time I bomb it’s because I’m not remembering to have fun,” he says. White, who runs the open mic at Kamikazes in Ogden, dispenses a pearl of wisdom he shares with the open-micers: “One of my ads is ‘Come bomb at Kamikazes’ because you’re gonna learn more that way … Just because you don’t hear a roar from the audience doesn’t mean no one thought it was funny.”

There is a relatively obvious question in the core principle of Punks & Punchlines, and that is how they handle the sheer change in momentum from fast and loud music to one man telling jokes. Iacobellis said it’s hard, but he has his way around it. “Honestly, I’ve been trying to get more of the musicians to banter with the audience … or even make jokes themselves,” Iacobellis says. “The Debasers literally wrote down a bunch of really offensive dad jokes and it was fucking hilarious. Even if they’re not comedians, they’re a part of the show too.”

Finally, we touch on the topic of hecklers, which White explains are a double-edged sword: “[If you heckle], they’re gonna heckle you back.” Fury continues, “Most hecklers think they’re helping the show … and you can play with it and use it.” But the difference in venues brings a difference in hecklers. “At bar shows it’s more likely to be confrontative … especially if they don’t know there’s gonna be a show that night. They’re just trying to eat their nachos and you’re up there saying, ‘That cheese looks like my [REDACTED] if it was orange.’ Comedians are never of average intelligence, they’re either smarter than smart or dumber than dog shit,” Fury explains.

It’s here that I curse a word count, because I wish I could tell you every single clever line and devastating quip we shared over the two-or-so hours I spent with these comedians. But fret not, dear reader, you’ll have your chance to hear them for yourself at January’s SLUG Localized show, and I will be there chuckling right beside you. Follow the guys at @punksandpunchlines on Instagram to keep up with their next shows. Rock on and keep laughing!

Read more interviews from SLUG Localized:
Localized: Chausie
Localized X GenderFuQ