Four local comedians will perform at the Rathskeller tonight at 9 p.m. The group, The Irregulars, consists of Mike Polk, also known as “Cowboy Mike,” Ryan Dalton, Quinn Patterson and Jeff Blanchard.

Blanchard said the name of the group came from the idea that these four “make audiences howl, but you wouldn’t recognize them. They’re the ones you don’t normally see. they are The Irregulars.”

For Polk, Dalton and Blanchard, the event will be somewhat of a homecoming. Each of the three started at clubs and bars in Kent, attended classes at Kent State and Dalton’s father is even an instructor in the architecture program.

When asked about their time in Kent, the comedians reminisced about late nights performing at the bars, Bucket-of-Beer nights and youthful optimism.

“I miss the simplicity and hope for the future,” Dalton said. “I lost that long ago.”

The competitive nature of the comedy industry is sometimes difficult, Patterson said, and the others agreed. But they are a tight group and feel success among any of them is always encouraging.

“With this core group we have right here, I don’t feel there’s any jealousy between any of us,” Patterson said. “We’re all different, we all have skills.”

“And we’re all apathetic,” Blanchard added.

After doing comedy for years, the comedians have figured out what works and what keeps audiences laughing. Of course, this can only happen by first figuring out what doesn’t.

“When you first start out, all you want to do is make people laugh,” Dalton said. “And when the audience isn’t laughing, you want to kill yourself. But down the road, you put in some years, it doesn’t even affect you.”

Blanchard, the oldest of the group, has also been weathered by his years in the business.

“You got something to say and people don’t laugh, well who cares?” he asked. “You got something to say. Say it.”

The youngest member, Polk, has a different strategy.

“I usually just disrobe,” he said.

These four, however, have gained notoriety from local radio stations, local television, as well as national exposure through HBO and Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham.” But in choosing to do a show at Kent State, the group proves that they haven’t forgotten their roots, or why they do what they do.

“It’s not about money, it’s not about fame. It’s about at the end of a good show people comin’ up to you and enjoying your personality,” Patterson said. “That’s the best feeling in the world to me.”

Contact on-campus entertainment reporter Denver Collins at [email protected].