The Good Life

From Studio City, California, Jo Koy is returning to Australia for another comedy tour. One of the shows this time around sees him at the Palms, the Crown Casino in Melbourne's ritzy little ballroom. He loves the venue, but hates casinos. “I grew up in Las Vegas. It's horrible. Like, working your ass off then blowing your whole paycheck at the end of the week. It got to the point where I'm like, 'Okay, I can't gamble anymore, this is dumb'. There's nothing worse than gambling your whole paycheck and then waiting two weeks for the next one,” he laughs. Koy seems fascinated by the Packer dynasty and pokies machines and old broads who blow their pension cheques in hazy, windowless afternoons. The wonders of Australia, he's told.

Koy's career has taken off since he was last here. He's had Comedy Central specials and a regular spot on Chelsea Lately. As a result, he's now sporting bigger, more positive material. “This new routine is a lot more fun and a lot more personal. I am in a better place in my life now; my son is older, so I've got more stories about my son, and being single, and more stories about my mom and a lot more high energy.”

“I love writing,” Koy explains. “There's always room for something new. Even when you think you've got the joke down – think it's perfect – for some reason something else happens and you've got a better punchline. That's what I love about stand-up – there's always room to grow.”

Comedy watchers have been hooking into Koy's up-beat, theatrical vibe for a few years now and it's an attitude he seems to carry everywhere. “I love everything about what I do for a living. It's just so fucking fun!” he laughs. “Right now I am in Hawaii. Like, what am I doing? I get to go to Hawaii and perform and then I get to go to Australia? Holy shit!”

And, of course, he does love it here. “You know what's cool about Australian people? When I first came to Australia, I was supporting Russell Peters. I had no TV cred or anything, but, oh my God, the love I got! They just embraced me – I couldn't believe it. In Australia it's like, 'I don't give a fuck if you're famous, are you funny?'”

It's put to Koy that maybe Australia's just into him because we're a bit obsessed with America, like with the elections or Hurricane Sandy recently, but he heads off on another tangent. He missed both events, but got called in to replace a host on Playboy TV whose flight got delayed because of the epic storm.

“Two days on Playboy TV is pretty cool. It's just non-stop ruckus, man. I host, I get girls to come in, I just do whatever it takes for them to take their clothes off and, I'll be honest, you don't have to ask them much,” he laughs. “I always pinch myself, every day, because I am living such a good life.”