Mixtape live recording features some of Spokane’s top comics

With countless open mic and improv opportunities and venues like the Blue Door Theater and Spokane Comedy Club, Spokane has become a hotspot for both local and national comedians in recent years.

Hoping to bottle this comedic lightning is Deece Casillas, who, along with comedian and writer Tony Russell, has organized the Spokane Comedy Mixtape, a live recording event Wednesday at the Bartlett.

“We wanted people to have an idea of what the Spokane scene is about and be able to grab one album and say ‘Here’s 13 of their best comics,’ ” Casillas said. “Be able to hear an appetizer tray of Spokane comics. You get a little bit of everything.”

Casillas gives full credit for the idea of the Spokane Comedy Mixtape to Russell, who has been thinking about a live comedy album for awhile.

Casillas and Russell gauged the interest and availability from fellow comedians and narrowed the list of performers down to 13: D. Abrams, Greg Beachler, Alex Brou, Darryl Burns, Devin Devine, Folger Emerson, Phillip Kopczynski, Jared Munson, Lucas Prahm, Matt Slater and Jessica Watson, plus Casillas and Russell. Each has seven minutes to perform.

Putting together a diverse lineup was important to Casillas because he wanted audiences to get a true sense of the comedians Spokane has to offer.

Casillas said, compared to cities like Seattle and Portland, Spokane comedians are more varied in their points-of-views and backgrounds.

“Those areas end up being a bunch of people with the exact same viewpoint who all look the same,” he said. “There’s no pushing the envelope because everyone is on the same page with everyone else. … What comedy should be is getting people out of their comfort zone.”

Casillas, who moved to Spokane from Los Angeles eight years ago and currently hosts a podcast called The Social Hour, said Spokane is in the sweet spot between cities like Seattle, Portland, Missoula and Boise, which makes traveling and performing easy. Plus, that proximity to major cities and the tight-knit community in the Northwest makes it easy for comedians to make connections and book shows outside of Spokane.

Casillas hopes to record more comedy albums in the future, giving audiences near and far the chance to learn more about Spokane’s budding comedy scene.

“There’s a lot of scene and culture growing in Spokane, and we’re just trying to help foster that,” Casillas said. “We want people to see what Spokane has to offer. It’s not that sleepy little town on the east side of the mountains that it used to be; it’s really an up-and-coming city.”