Comedy act at Camden Opera House

Juston McKinney: 'Looking forward to being in Camden and it's gonna be a blast'

Wed, 02/06/2013 - 12:15pm

    Due to "Nemo," this event has been postponed and rescheduled for Saturday, March 2 at 7 p.m.

    All ticket holder tickets will be honored on the new date. If you cannot make the rescheduled date, you will receive a full refund as long as the refund is done prior to March 2. If you purchased your ticket online, please email Sarah Dearing at sdearing@spotlight-solutions.com. If you purchased your ticket at HAV II, please return there for your refund. If you purchased your ticket through the town office or the Snow Bowl, please visit the town office between hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. for your refund.

    Comedian Juston McKinney will be at the Camden Opera House on Saturday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. as part of the U.S. Toboggan Nationals. The show is also part of McKinney's 16-county tour of Maine taking place this year. So far he has visited Biddeford. This weekend, Camden; next stop. Waterville, April 27.

    Penbaypilot.com spoke to McKinney by phone on Tuesday about his life, career and upcoming show at the Opera House.

    Have you ever been to Camden?

    "Yes, I have been to Camden. I grew up in Maine so I've pretty much been all over the state. Camden is one of the most beautiful towns in Maine. I grew up in Kittery and that's on the coast too and kind of on the water, but Camden is a beautiful town."

    But, have you ever been here in the winter?

    "Uhhh, no, but that's why I think it's beautiful. You have a lot of stuff there, the Snow Bowl, the U.S. Toboggan Nationals, so that's why I'm looking forward to being there."

    Your name is spelled Juston, not Justin. Why?

    "I have my father to thank for that. People ask me if I'm named after my father and I say yes, after my father had a fifth of whiskey. Literally, my whole life I've had to correct people. It's social media now. It has been a nightmare. People go, oh you don't have a Facebook page, and I say I do have a Facebook page, you just have to spell my name right. It's J-u-s-t-o-n."

    You were a deputy sheriff and a lot of your humor is based on those experiences?

    "I was. I was a York County sheriff and I patrolled all the rural towns in York County and that was for seven years. This show that I'm doing in 2013 is called Deer, Moose, Ticks and Hicks and it's all about larger than life patrolling in Maine."

    Did you stretch the blanket of believability in these stories for humor's sake?

    "Well, there's always exaggeration in these stories. For instance, we couldn't afford a sketch artist, so we hired the character artist guy from the Acton Fair. Anytime there was someone in town with a really big head and a skinny body he got arrested. It all stems from real stuff, or calls I've gone on. I mention all the parts deer, moose, ticks and hicks. in the show and believe it or not, Hicks, was actually the name of my partner, Deputy Hicks. I mean here I am in the woods of Maine and my partner's name was Hicks. Can you believe it, you can't write this stuff."

    McKinney said he patrolled along the Maine, New Hampshire border. He said a lot of people commented to him that they had been to York and it was beautiful, but it wasn't like that he said. "I patrolled the 14 towns that were inline with the New Hampshire border. I didn't patrol lighthouse stations; it was more like outhouse stations."

    Do cops like your humor?

    "Yeah, cops do like my humor. I don't make fun of the profession. All the stuff I do is from my perspective, you know, what I saw, what I witnessed, just the kind of guy I was. I just got back from doing a show for the Collier County Sheriff's Department down in Florida. I've done that three years in a row now and if I'm performing for a room full of all cops I can tailor it a little more toward them. It was very well received and a lot of fun."

    McKinney has been on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno twice and once with Conan O'Brien. We asked him how he liked Jay Leno.

    "Jay Leno was one of the nicest guys I ever met in show business. And he had me on twice. The night I did Conan, the next day it was announced that he wouldn't be doing the Tonight Show anymore, so I hope I didn't have anything to do with that."

    Did Jay let you drive one of his cars?

    "No he didn't, but I was living in Burbank at the time and he sent a limo for me and I was literally eight blocks away. I mean I could have walked, but he said no, he wanted to send a limo. So yeah, Jay is a really nice guy."

    Juston has CDs and DVDs you can buy. One is called "A Middle Class Hole." We asked what that one was about.

    "A Middle Class Hole was basically my one hour Comedy Central Special and it was all about moving back to New England in 2006. We were living in Los Angeles and we bought at the top of the market. August 06 was the top of the market I bought my house and it was on the water, so now I can flip my house and found out I could move into a Ford Focus. I lost my shirt, the house is under water now, so it's all about living in the middle class. The kids, the wife, the house and living in New England. It's available on Netflix, too."

    McKinney is also working with Dennis Leary's production company and the Independent Film Channel on a series about a volunteer fire department in New England.

    "I developed it as a web series originally. Leary picked it up and the IFC got involved. It takes place in Effingwoods, New Hampshire. There really is a town called Effingham, but we use Effingwoods. It didn't get picked up this year, but we're hopeful for this year."

    Juston McKinney on Facebook, or justonmckinney.com for information on upcoming shows, or to buy tickets for this Saturday's show.

    "I'm looking forward to being in Camden and it's gonna be a blast."