You are all cordially invited to witness a savage, verbal beating of eight of the best comedians from Ithaca, Syracuse, Scranton, Utica and Binghamton as we wrap the Matty B's Roast Battle series at 9 p.m., March 9 at Spotlight.
Presented by P.S.Y.C.H. 607 and Poor Decisions Live!, Matty B's Roast Battle V: The Final Battle takes the best of the best from the first four rounds and the audience will decide who walks away with the cash prize and crown. Taury Seward will host the festivities and Mike Ciurzysnki, Zack Hammond and Paul Kozlowski round out this phenomenal cast with feature performances.
Bryan Walsh (Scranton) comes into the final bracket after winning the third and fourth roast battles. Cortland Cloos (Utica) won the first and Angelia Petrillo (Scranton) captured the second title. Adam Munio (Syracuse), CJ Youmans (Binghamton), Erich Drexler (Scranton), Deidre Mollura (Ithaca) and Steve Burke (Ithaca) qualified and are determined to score a few upsets.
Admission is $5 at the door and food and drinks will be served all night. There will be a 50-50 raffle, too. This will be one of the highlights of your year.
About the feature comedians:
Taury Seward, a co-founder of P.S.Y.C.H. 607, won the Who's Got Next? Rochester tournament and is a regular at Matty B's and Spotlight. He works steadily around New York and Pennsylvania and enjoys Bob Dylan, spam and amusement parks. He's a crowd favorite and always helpful at the grocery store. Seward runs the successful Laughs with Friends series and lives in constant fear of his grandfather.
One third of the Binghamton Comedy Binge, Mike Ciurzynski combines a sharp wit, a punk rock attitude and three chords to please audiences wherever he goes. Ciurzynski is everywhere the Comedy Binge is: The Binghamton Comedy Crawl, Virgil's at Tioga Downs and next -- in your hearts. He’s ready to unleash his middle-aged angst on anyone willing to listen.
Originally from Maryland, Zack Hammond is approaching a decade of stand-up that's taken him all around the East Coast while working on recording his three albums. He performs regularly at Wise Crackers in Scranton and has worked in New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore and opened for Doug Stanhope. Known for his dark take on life, the world and humanity, Hammond won the 2010 NEPA Comedy Idol and NEPA Scene’s Got Talent in 2015.
Paul Kozlowski is one of the most unique voices on the local comedy scene. A Cortland native, Kozlowski came up through the Boston comedy scene and worked in New York City and Los Angeles, making appearances in the Shakes the Clown and Punchline movies and on television in "The Chris Rock Show," "Mr. Show with Bob and David" and "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist," along with writing for "The Wayne Brady Show," "Johnny Bravo." "The Chris Rock Show" and "The Jon Stewart Show." There's no telling what'll come out of Kozlowski's mouth. But you won't be able to look away.
About the roasters:
Burke is no stranger to Binghamton. A roast-battle champion and headliner of the first Night of Debauchery, Burke is a founding member of Itha-ha comedy group. A member of the ComedyFLOPS improv group and an actor, Burke produces shows all over Ithaca, including a weekly spot at The Dock every Thursday. Burke's performed at the Funny Bone and is a consistent crowd favorite.
Cortland Cloos is a heavy hitter from Utica. The original Matty B’s Roast Battle champion after taking out three people in the inaugural event, Cloos uses his strong combination of story-telling and off-the-cuff, observational skills to keep the crowd going. He headlined Matty B's when his crew came to Binghamton for the Utica Invasion.
Erich Drexler is one of the strongest comedians in the Scranton area. A founding member of StreetKar Comedy, Drexler has a sharp tongue and an odd mind with no boundaries. Together, they energize the crowds in any room he performs. Drexler is a regular host of the Open Mic Circus at The Keys in Scranton and is a favorite in Binghamton, probably because he visits sparingly.
Deidre Mollura is one of Ithaca's strongest comedians. A co-founder of the Itha-ha comedy group, Mollura is a collector of oddities and a lover of the weird things in life -- much to the audience's amusement. Mollura performs all across New York and opened for Kevin Salisbury and Brian Barganier on their New York, including a stop at the Bundy Museum in Binghamton. She works for food, drinks and one time, a tomato plant. (Don’t give her tomatoes.)
A New Berlin, N.Y., native, Adam Munio got his start in comedy in Lawrence, Kan., before moving back to upstate New York. Munio, a member of Poor Decisions Live!, placed twice at the Utica Brews Laugh Contest and finished second in Matty B's Roast Battle I.
Nothing is off-limits for Angelia Petrillo, who's everywhere around the Scranton area and has performed in New York City. Petrillo produces shows all over Scranton and won Matty B's Roast Battle II. A founder of StreetKar Comedy, Petrillo combines heavy doses of self-loathing and her musical talent to keep the crowd laughing.
Bryan Walsh, from Scranton, will keep the audience's attention because everyone is a potential target. Armed with a quick wit, a sharp tongue and no remorse, Walsh wins over a crowd by taking shots at its collective self-esteem. He's performed at Wisecrackers in Scranton, the Helium and Trocodero comedy clubs in Philadelphia and the New York Comedy Club, Walsh is a two-time winner of Matty B’s Roast Battle.
CJ Youmans, a co-founder of P.S.Y.C.H. 607, takes a special delight in seeing just how far he can go until an audience turns on him. He's a regular performer in the Scranton, Pa., and Binghamton areas and hasn't met a boundary he can't cross. Youmans runs a successful dark comedy series and the annual Jokes for Jude show.