Lawson Chambers is a stylish Athenian who thinks of himself in general terms as “a story-teller.” Whether he’s performing stand up comedy, hosting his local radio show or working hard to earn his animation degree at UGA, he’s keep himself busy, and he looks sharp doing it. We sat down to find out more about Lawson and – most importantly – what his super power of choice would be!
VM: When it comes to your personal style, where do you get your inspiration?
Lawson Chambers: Well, I like to think that what you wear is reflexive of your personality, as if you were a cartoon character, so I try to wear things that represent a facet of my life. I may wear a Neutral Milk Hotel shirt with a leather jacket, so people can correctly assume I work at a radio station. Or I might wear a Homestar Runner shirt to make friends with other nerds. Usually though, I try to wear nicer clothes with bold colors to show that I care about how I look, but don’t take myself too seriously. I also like doing this, because whenever I perform stand-up, it helps me get across the kind of person I am. This practice is also an admittedly blatant rip-off of my favorite comedian, Paul F. Tompkins. To answer more succinctly why I like to wear nice clothes, I’ll quote Paul: “I dunno, I just like dressin’ up… (smiles) It’s fun.”
VM: You’re currently pursuing a fine arts degree, correct? What are you studying, and what is it that speaks to you within the realm of art?
LC: Not exactly; I’m actually pursuing an Independent Studies degree in Animation. I don’t know if I actually want a career in animation, but since I take both theater and visual art classes, I get to nurture two skill-sets that are important to me. I do like animation though, as all of my interest in art comes from the want to entertain, make people laugh, and to tell a story. Ideally I’ll end up working a lot of different, smaller jobs where I’ll get to do a variety of things; performing stand-up, writing for a TV show, cartooning, or going back in time to tour with a vaudeville troupe.
VM: As for stand up comedy, has this long been an interest of yours or it it a new hobby? And how nervous were you your first time on stage?
LC: I’ve always been a huge comedy nerd, but for a long time my only experience in doing it myself was creating silly comics about secret agent monkeys or singer-songwriter Morrissey. I didn’t think about doing it myself until a couple of years ago when I started listening to podcasts like The Nerdist where I would hear comedians talk about themselves, and I realized I was a lot like them. I shared both their love of comedy and a system of neuroses and anxieties that propels one to seek attention from strangers. So I first went on stage about two years ago, and it was horrible. I was extremely nervous, and I visibly shook. I think I may have gotten one laugh. But if you do anything long enough, and you care about it, you get better at it. So I’m still performing every week and getting slightly less horrible with each time I go up.
VM: Do you have any upcoming projects or shows you’re looking forward to?
LC: I have an ongoing radio show and podcast called Comedic Conversation with Colorful Characters that I greatly love doing. It airs on WUOG 90.5 FM on Tuesdays at 7 PM, and is available for download on iTunes or comedicconversations.tumblr.com. Basically, we invite on different comedians from around Athens and Atlanta to talk, play games, and just act silly. Other than that, I’m starting to get more into sketch and improv comedy, and hope to get some comedy friends of mine together soon to put on a variety show. Also, I want to make a web-comic series about a dad just being a dad and doing dad things.
VM: If you had one superpower what would it be?
LC: The only acceptable answer to this question is flying, or telekinesis – which would also give you the ability to fly. Popular opinion is that most people will say flying, but if they were being honest with themselves they would choose to read minds or turn invisible. I say that’s bull-honkey. It would be amazing to fly: at any speed and at any height. What kind of whimsy-less monster would rather hear gossip about themselves than soar through the air like a majestic bird of prey? Flying.
Check out Lawson’s playlist below!
Aubrey Mascali is wanna-be fairy trapped in a human body who is intrigued by tiny things and collections of nature stuffs. She enjoys rainy days with a nice cup of tea and cuddling with her dog Nemo. Currently living and attending school at UGA in Athens GA, you can usually find her doing cliche townie things like thrifting for vintage dresses, walking through the local farmers market, and drinking mimosas at brunch. Aubrey’s keen on meeting new people and hearing their stories. If she were a color, she hopes it would be pink, and if she were music she’d want it to sound like Architecture in Helsinki on a good day and Grimes on a weird day. In her capacity as an art student, she enjoys taking photos, painting, weaving behind a loom or spending countless hours doing five year old art projects like gluing rocks to paper. She is currently working on her thesis exhibition which will be on view at the Lamar Dodd School of art in May 2015.