A man walked into a bar, actually, it was the Services Club in Byron Bay – and he sat down and for the next two hours he laughed his bloody head off because Austen Tashus was on stage crackin’ a few jokes.
A man on the wise side of 41, Austen Tayshus was born at Sydney’s first Comedy Store in Jamieson Street in 1981. He stood up for the first time after a fairly precarious delivery, in March of that year. By 1982, Australiana was ready to record and it was released by Regular Records through Warner Music in June 1983. It sold in excess of two hundred thousand copies, went double platinum, and still holds the record for the highest-selling Australian single ever.
Austen Tayshus is STILL on the road (and boy is he tired – boom boom!)
They say ‘start as you mean to finish’ and laughing is a good way to begin the year. In January Austen Tayshus will be playing local shows to kickstart your 2025.
Seven caught up with Austen Tayshus’s handler, Sandy Gutman, last week in the lead-up to his Byron Bay show.
What’s fantastic about performing this show?
Letting everyone see how great I am! But seriously, it’s the culmination of another great year of stand up. I’ve done 100 shows in 2024 all over the country, and so this really is the culmination, that and the fact that my prowess has exceeded my own expectation!
Standing up for two hours – that’s a big ask for a 41-year-old
That’s what I do and I am getting better at it. I get much funnier each time I stand more than 30 centimetres higher than everyone else in the room – the stage has that effect on me. I’m great. More than that. I’m actually terrific.
Has anything exciting happened to you this year?
My life is a barrel of excitement, sometimes, it’s almost too much for me and I have to sit parts of it out and let other people be excited for me, but, did you hear I’m getting younger? I’m on the Blue Zone Diet. I’m doing a lot of gardening, and I’ve lost 40 years. How about that? It’s amazing in the Blue Zone. It’s about places like Okinawa, Nuoro Province, the Nicoya Peninsula and Icaria – where people live to 100 because they they have a diet which is beans, and they do a lot of gardening and walk up mountains, but they don’t get old. Yeah, so because of the Blue Zone Diet, instead of being 41 I’m actually a lot younger.
The Blue Zone lifestyle combines physical activity, low stress, rich social interactions as well as the local whole-foods diet. Is performing the ‘low stress and rich social interactions’ part?
Well performing is low stress for me, but maybe not for the audience, I like to keep them on their toes. But as far as rich social interactions goes, as long as I’m getting rich from the social interactions, I’m happy.
Are you having enough fun?
I am having as much fun as a cockatoo!
Austen Tayshus is putting a very funny 40th anniversary spin on Australiana and will be supported by Cam Standen for the Byron show. Tickets are selling very fast for his show on Monday January 6th Byron Bay Services Club – call 6685 6878 for details.
If you miss the man on Monday or you want to see him again, he has shows on Wednesday, January 8, at the Bangalow Bowling Club and Thursday, January 9, at the Tyalgum Hotel. Tickets are available at the venues.
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