It took comedian Cody Cooper two years to tell his first joke at an open mic.
“I just kept thinking, ‘I’m going to try it. I’m going to do it. It’s going to happen this Saturday,’” he said.
During the open mic, he was so nervous he forgot half the joke.
“I was holding the mic, and my hand was whipping the cord like a tail. It was going all over the place,” he said, laughing.
“But the more you do it, the better you get and the more comfortable you are interacting with the audience.”
Two years later, Cooper is the 27-year-old brain behind the Fists of Rage Comedy Tour.
The Springfield-grown comedian will have a homecoming show, alongside tour mates Kyle Harbert and Don Frost, this Thursday at Diablo’s Downtown Lounge.

The tour’s title was originally just a name that the comedians threw around, but Cooper said he realized how appropriate “Fists of Rage” really is.
He said that all three performers have anger-related material in their routines, whether it’s passive anger or something more direct.
“I think a lot of comedy comes from the dysfunctional and angry,” he said. “A lot of that can really develop one’s personality.”
Cooper’s act includes material about “Care Bears,” “Dora the Explorer” and Asian horror films, stemming from the fact that he was the kid everyone picked on, he said.
“If you were ever picked on in school, you will love my show because I get revenge for everybody,” he said.
The Fists of Rage Comedy Tour is a completely uncensored show filled with ridiculous topics.
Cooper said their material is not adapted from comedy albums or in other shows.
“You’re going to see something true, not something that’s watered down or TV-clean,” he said.
“We’re not doing it for shock value. It’s just complete honesty.”
Comedy is Cooper’s passion. He has been writing jokes for more than six years.
“I have had a job every day since I was 14 years old. The ‘American dream’ is to get married and buy a house and have a job,” he said. “I did all that by the time I was 25, and it sucks because it’s like ‘What am I going to do now?’”
Cooper said this generation is going to get to the point where our extracurricular activities become our passion.
“We’re going to be stable in one area then we’re going to pursue something more rewarding on the side,” he said.
“And hopefully, eventually, that rewarding part will overtake the stable part.”
Cooper hopes the latter will happen for him, and his comedy will become a full-fledged career.
“I have some opportunities coming up where I’m going to be doing bigger things and getting more exposure. Sky’s the limit,” he said.
One of those opportunities will happen in Portland next weekend at the locally organized Bridgetown Comedy Festival.
The three-day festival, beginning March 6, will feature more than 40 comedians and raise funds for the Oregon Red Cross.
“Just yesterday, it was announced that Patton Oswalt is going to be performing on March 8. To think that I’m going to be sharing the stage with one of my idols is amazing,” he said.
Shows will be running all night so the audience can leave one performance and walk across the street to another.
Cooper said students should attend because the festival was specifically designed and planned around finals week.
“We’ve also specifically tailored every show to be more important than anything else you could possibly be doing.”
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