Adam Cayton-Holland

Adam Cayton-Holland (born June 2, 1980) is an American stand-up comedian in Denver, Colorado best known for his work with Andrew Orvedahl and Ben Roy on the monthly live comedy show and web series The Grawlix and the TruTV show Those Who Can't. Cayton-Holland is also a writer and has been published in both regional and national publications in addition to headlining clubs and colleges throughout the United States as a comic.

Adam Cayton-Holland
Adam Cayton-Holland performing live
PseudonymACH
Born (1980-06-02) June 2, 1980
Years active2007–present
GenresAlternative comedy
Websiteadamcaytonholland.com

Career

Stand-up comedy

Adam Cayton-Holland started in stand-up comedy by attending open mics at Denver dive bars in 2003. In 2006, Cayton-Holland competed against nearly 200 other aspiring comedians for Comedy Works' New Talent showcase, and won.[1]

Cayton-Holland was included in Esquires 25 Best New Stand-Up Comedians in 2012.[2] That same year he was invited to the prestigious New Faces competition at Montreal's Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, appeared on the Nerdist podcast, and had a cameo on the ABC show Happy Endings (TV series).[3]

After making his national television stand-up debut on Conan in 2013, he appeared on The Pete Holmes Show in February 2014.[4] He quickly followed that appearance with a repeat trip to South by Southwest where he was featured on the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast[5] and competed on @midnight against Baron Vaughn and Rove McManus.[6] Cayton-Holland was invited back on @midnight for the September 17, 2014 episode when he competed against Beth Stelling and Nate Bargatze, winning the competition; and returned to the show again for the April 14, 2015 episode, facing Megan Neuringer and Kurt Braunohler.

The Grawlix

In 2007, Cayton-Holland founded Wrist Deep Productions with fellow comedians Greg Baumhauer, Ben Roy, Jim Hickox, and Andrew Orvedahl. Wrist Deep developed "Los Comicos Super Hilariosos," a regular show that welcomed big-name comics like Arj Barker, Maria Bamford, Tig Notaro, and Moshe Kasher. The group eventually dissolved and reformed as The Grawlix in 2011.[7]

The Grawlix consists of Cayton-Holland, Ben Roy and Andrew Orvedahl. The troupe performs a monthly show at The Bug Theater in Denver, featuring standup sets from each of the principals, a variety of national guest comedians, and screenings of their web series videos, produced by The Nix brothers.

Those Who Can't

The Grawlix also teamed with The Nix Brothers to produce a pilot for Amazon in June 2012 called Those Who Can't, about three inept Denver high school teachers.[8] While Amazon eventually passed on the pilot, TruTV paid the trio to rewrite and re-film it in December 2014. In February 2015, the network announced they were ordering 10 episodes of the series.[9]

Writer

Before becoming a comedian, Cayton-Holland was a journalist, working at Denver's alt-weekly Westword from 2003 through 2008. Best known for his "What's So Funny?" column, while at Westword he also did regular long-form feature writing.[10]

His writing has appeared in Spin and The Onion's A.V. Club.[11] In late 2013, Cayton-Holland had a piece called "Ghosts I've Known" published in The Atlantic. The essay addressed the painful topic of his younger sister's suicide.[12] Reviewer Michael Wear called it a "haunting," "beautiful," and "heartfelt" "love letter." [13] The essay eventually turned into a comic-tragic memoir titled "Tragedy + Time", published in August 2018 by Simon & Schuster. Asked to describe the book in 50 words or less, Cayton-Holland said: "If you’re expecting a guide to navigating life after grief, this isn’t it. It’s an honest look at mental illness, depression, death and the beautiful relationships between families and siblings — one that lets you know that there is no guide to grief, and that it’s still O.K. to laugh."[14]

Other projects

High Plains Comedy Festival

In 2013, Cayton-Holland partnered with Denver comedian/producer Andy Juett to launch the High Plains Comedy Festival. In its inaugural year, the Festival ran three days in venues throughout Denver, and featured both local and national talent—including headliner Reggie Watts, Matt Braunger, and Kyle Kinane.[15] High Plains returned to Denver in 2014 with T.J. Miller, Kumail Nanjiani, and Pete Holmes headlining.

Podcast

Cayton-Holland produces a biweekly podcast called My Dining Room Table that he began in spring 2013. The central concept to the podcast is Cayton-Holland's loyalty to and love of Denver and his home (hence, the majority of the recordings happening at his literal dining room table), and his subsequent decision to stay in the city rather than move to LA or New York. He interviews local and national comics and musicians about a variety of topics, but often returns to the core ideas of "home" and "success" while promoting the burgeoning Denver cultural scene.[16]

Personal life

Cayton-Holland grew up in the neighborhood of Park Hill, Denver. He attended East High School (Denver) and Wesleyan University where he majored in film. His "twin obsessions" are birdwatching and the Colorado Rockies baseball team.[1] His father has held Rockies season tickets since the team was formed. Before the start of the 2014 season, Cayton-Holland campaigned to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Rockies' game. He created a buzz on Twitter with the hashtag #ACHFirstPitch, and took the plea national when he talked about it on The Pete Holmes Show.[17] On April 7, 2014, Cayton-Holland got his wish when he threw out the first pitch at a Rockies vs. White Sox game at Coors Field.[18] Cayton-Holland is married and is living with his wife in Denver, Colorado. In September 2018, he mentioned on the podcast WTF with Marc Maron that he and his wife were expecting their first child.[19]

Discography
  • Dick Jokes for Artists (2009)
  • I Don't Know If I Happy (2013)
  • Backyards (2015)
  • Performs His Signature Bits (2018)
gollark: I can blather randomly about my other projects instead of potatOS if you like.
gollark: Wait, solution! `#define y0 y____0`.
gollark: How odd.
gollark: Oh, right.
gollark: There is NO RULE against cursed code.

References
  1. Wenzel, John (June 12, 2011). "Can comedian Adam Cayton-Holland take Denver-based routine national?". Reverb. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  2. Raymond, Adam K. (February 2012). "The Best New Stand-Up Comedians". Esquire. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  3. Warner and Peter McGraw, Joel (July 25, 2012). "Stand-Up Adam Cayton-Holland on Hitting the Comedy Jackpot". Wired. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  4. Miller, Matt (February 19, 2014). "Denver's Adam Cayton-Holland to appear on TBS' "Pete Holmes Show"". Reverb. Archived from the original on May 14, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  5. Kleinschmidt, Matt (March 11, 2014). "SXSW 2014: Comedy Bang! Bang! still just as absurd as you want it". The Laugh Button. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  6. Simon, Perry Michael (May 1, 2014). "Last Night on @midnight: Adam Cayton-Holland, Baron Vaughn, Rove McManus". Nerdist.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  7. Wenzel, John (January 6, 2011). "Brains behind "Los Comicos" launch new comedy show at Avenue Theater". Reverb. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  8. Hesse, Josiah (February 20, 2013). "Even sobriety can't tame comedian Ben Roy's savage humor". Westword. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  9. Graham, Byron (March 9, 2015). "Ben Roy on Those Who Can't, His New Album and Leaving Denver". Westword. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  10. Roberts, Michael (January 6, 2009). "Some required reading by Adam Cayton-Holland". Westword. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  11. News Desk, TV (January 29, 2013). "Adam Cayton-Holland to Make CONAN Debut Tonight". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  12. Cayton-Holland, Adam (December 31, 2013). "Ghosts I've Known". The Atlantic. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  13. Wear, Michael (January 5, 2014). "Michael's Favorite Reads of the Week: The Week of December 29". MichaelRWear.com. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  14. Williams, John (August 26, 2018). "Grief and Laughter Mingle in 'Tragedy Plus Time'". nytimes.com. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  15. Wenzel, John (August 23, 2013). "Why So Serious, Adam Cayton-Holland and Andy Juett?". Reverb. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  16. Hesse, Josiah M. (March 18, 2013). "Comedian Adam Cayton-Holland debuts new podcast with Ben Roy interview". Westword. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  17. Hochman, Benjamin (March 9, 2014). "Give Cayton-Holland chance to throw out Rockies' first pitch". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  18. Bergstrom, Richard (April 18, 2014). "Interview – Adam Cayton-Holland's First Pitch". Rockies Zingers. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  19. "Episode 950, Adam Cayton-Holland, 13 September 2018". WTF with Marc Maron. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
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