Chris Knutson

Chris Knutson is an American stand-up comedian from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is known for his work as half of the comedy-rap duo Valley Meadows. Patrick Strait of City Pages said that "Knutson has established himself as one of the most consistently funny performers" in the Midwest.[2]

This article is about the American stand-up comedian. For the American luthier, see Chris Knutsen.
Chris Knutson
Born1982 or 1983 (age 40–41)[1]
OccupationStand-up comedian
Years active2006-present
Known forValley Meadows

Knutson has released three albums on Stand Up! Records, most recently 2021's Rewound.

Career

Knutson began performing improv comedy in 2006,[3][1] and stand-up in 2009.[4] He won Acme Comedy Company's "Funniest Person in the Twin Cities" contest in 2010.[5][6][7] His comedy style is sometimes experimental, veering away from traditional first-person stand-up to blend in sketchwork or perform as a character, often one who does not realize he is bad at stand-up.[8] He has toured nationally[9][10][11] and performed at comedy festivals including 10,000 Laughs[12][13] and Gilda's LaughFest.[14] Vincent Terrace, reviewing the series in his book Internet Comedy Television Series, 1997-2015, felt that "the characterizations are a bit rough" but called the series "an interesting idea about two friends just trying to get by."[15]

Knutson formed Valley Meadows in 2008 with Zach Coulter.[12] The duo perform in character as substitute teacher Gary Shinchenshenzenski and MC Tom Johnson,[16][17] who try to become rap stars in a foolish attempt to earn respect, with songs about unlikely topics such as ice cream, karate, and Paul Reiser.[18] The duo also starred in an online video series, Valley Meadows, in 2014, which Knutson wrote.[15] The syndicated newspaper column In Focus praised the series as "capable of going anywhere".[19][20][21][22] The webseries was nominated for four awards at the 2015 Los Angeles Web Series Festival: Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Lead Actor (for Knutson), and Outstanding Guest Actor (for Dan Susmilch).[23][24] In 2012, laughspin.com nominated Valley Meadows for its Readers Choice Award for Best Musical Comedy Act.[25][4] Vincent Terrace, reviewing the series in his book Internet Comedy Television Series, 1997-2015, felt that "the characterizations are a bit rough" but called the series "an interesting idea about two friends just trying to get by."[15]

Knutson was also a founding member of sketch comedy group The Turkeys.[26][3][27]

Knutson and his wife had a son in 2014, and fatherhood quickly become a main topic of his comedy.[28] A stop-motion video Knutson made of his son's teddy bear meeting the baby for the first time went viral, receiving more than 2 million views on YouTube[4] and national coverage on ABC News,[29] the Associated Press, and other news media.[30] Another video series, Baby Cop, followed in 2014–15.[31]

Albums

Knutson has released three albums on Stand Up! Records. His solo stand-up album Rewound was recorded at Sisyphus Brewing in Minneapolis in 2015[2][32] and released in 2021. Valley Meadows released a self-titled album in 2012.[16][33] Jake Austen of Roctober magazine called it "white-guy rap absurdity [that's] amusing even if the form is flawed."[34] Knutson was also part of the Stand Up!-released group album Nerd Alert!, a compilation of Minnesota comics riffing on science fiction and other geek-friendly topics.[35] Austen called Nerd Alert! "a product of [Minneapolis'] impressive comedy scene [that] is something that town can be very proud of."[34]

Discography

References
  1. Corey Adam, Tom Colvin (2012-08-09). "Dirty Bomb Shop Episode 3) Chris Knutson". Internet Archive (Podcast). Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  2. Strait, Patrick (September 23, 2015). "Standup Chris Knutson records debut album at Sisyphus Brewing this Saturday". City Pages. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  3. "About". Chris Knutson. Archived from the original on 2014-07-03. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  4. Mehta, Raghav (March 19, 2015). "Comedians on Comedians: Chris Knutson". City Pages. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  5. Zoss, Jeremy. "Bizz Buzz: Comedy Corner Underground launches monthly triple feature program". The Journal. Minneapolis-St. Paul. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  6. Tenseth, Terese (2013-10-09). "The Live Feed Presents: The Comedy of Chris Knutson and Isaac Witty". AMPERS (KQAL-FM). Winona, Minnesota. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  7. Tenseth, Terese (2013-10-09). "The Live Feed Presents: The Comedy of Chris Knutson and Isaac Witty". KQAL-FM. Winona, Minnesota. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  8. Levi Weinhagen (2015-04-30). "What's So Funny? – With Chris Knutson". Mn Artists (Walker Art Center) (Podcast). Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  9. "Sioux Falls Nightlife: Shaun Latham & Chris Knutson". Argus Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 2016-09-08. p. F12. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  10. "Sioux Falls Events: Show with Minnesota Comedians". Argus Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 2011-03-24. p. 35. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  11. Miller, Diane (2014-12-23). "Ultimate New Year's Eve Guide: Courtney's Comedy Club". High Plains Reader. Fargo, North Dakota. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  12. Strait, Patrick (October 20, 2014). "Valley Meadows Takes Over the Twin Cities (Comedy) Rap Scene". City Pages. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  13. Carlson Gustafson, Amy (2016-10-11). "Comedy festival organizer picks 3 shows you'll die laughing over". Pioneer Press. St. Paul, Minnesota. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  14. Schulte, Jordan (2016-03-15). "LaughFest's 'Best of the Midwest' competition to showcase regional comedians". Grand Rapids, Michigan. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  15. Vincent Terrace (25 February 2016). Internet Comedy Television Series, 1997-2015. McFarland. pp. 311–. ISBN 978-1-4766-2393-1.
  16. Miller, Bryan (August 15, 2012). "Valley Meadows CD-release party". City Pages. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  17. Strait, Patrick (July 8, 2015). "Jokes that Rock: Local comedy music gets its moment in the spotlight". The Growler. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  18. Strait, Patrick (October 15, 2014). "5 Must-See Shows at 10,000 Laughs Comedy Festival". City Pages. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  19. "In Focus: Valley Meadows". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. 2016-01-31. p. T37. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  20. "In Focus: Valley Meadows". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. 2016-01-31. p. V12. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  21. "In Focus: Valley Meadows". Daily Reporter (Greenfield, Indiana). Greenfield, Indiana. 2016-01-30. p. D15. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  22. "NetPicks: Valley Meadows". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 2016-01-30. p. Z008. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  23. Michael Ajakwe (2020-10-04). "L.A> Webfest 2015 Award nominations". Facebook. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  24. "Valley Meadows award nominations at LAWEBFEST". Joe Filipas. 2014-12-01. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  25. Gadino, Dylan P. (2012-12-03). "Laughspin Presents: 2012 Readers' Choice Comedy Awards". Laughspin. Archived from the original on 2012-12-10. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  26. Strait, Patrick (August 12, 2014). "Flock of Turkeys: How a group of Minnesota comedians is taking flight". The Growler. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  27. Armbruster, Jessica (May 29, 2014). "The Turkeys launch new material on My Damn Channel". City Pages. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  28. Strait, Patrick (June 16, 2016). "More than just "Dad Jokes": For Twin Cities comedy dads, fatherhood means learning to take things a little less seriously". The Growler. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  29. Kindelan, Katie (June 25, 2014). "Baby Meets Teddy Bear in Adorable Video". ABC News. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  30. "Minneapolis comedian makes heartwarming video for newborn son". Bring Me the News. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. 2014-06-22. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  31. Carlson Gustafson, Amy (January 31, 2015). "Twin Cities baby stars in online series 'Baby Cop'". Pioneer Press. St. Paul. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  32. Armenian, Bert (September 25, 2015). "Chris Knutson and Friends Blowout Celebration Recording Grand Opening Party". Secrets of the City. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  33. Valley Meadows at AllMusic. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  34. Austen, Jake (August 2013). "The Stand Up! Records Listener's Guide". Roctober. Chicago.
  35. "Various Artists - Nerd Alert!". Discogs. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
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