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UC Engineering Alum Knows His Material

Photos By: Dottie Stover, photojournalist

   "It's always good to come home to LaRosa's, Skyline and Graeter's," says Rajiv Satyal. "It’s really special to come back to where I first started by doing open mic nights. It’s an honor."

Rajiv Satyal graduated from UC with a bachelor's degree in materials engineering.

Wait a minute…open mic?

Satyal graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in materials engineering. After he won a "funniest person" award from the Go Bananas comedy club and radio station Q102 deemed him the funniest P&G employee, Satyal decided to jump into stand-up. He went West and established himself as "the Funny Indian." Now Satyal returns to Cincinnati this week for two performances at the Funny Bone at Newport on the Levee.

So does Satyal change his routine for good-old Cincinnati? He says his fans are in two camps.

"When I played at Go Bananas in August, I did a lot of local stuff, like I talked about Mapplethorpe, and people asked me, 'Do you talk about Mapplethorpe when you’re on the West Coast?' and I was like, 'Well, no, no one would understand it there,'" says Satyal.

News flash: Dan Carruther's son Alex will play guitar during Satyal's routine at the Funny Bone.

He compares it to musical groups with old fans who attend all their concerts. "It’s like the camp that says, 'I can’t believe you didn't play Satisfaction' and then the other camp is saying, 'I can't believe you're still playing Satisfaction.'"

Besides looking up family while he's in town, Satyal is going to also reach out to a few UC professors and students from his days on campus.

What about Dan Carruthers? Satyal laughs.

"Dan's son, Alex, is going to play guitar with me at the Funny Bone while I'm on stage," says Satyal. "You heard it here first."

While doing a quick phone interview, Satyal was on his way to a meeting at Procter & Gamble, just like the good old days. (Some habits are hard to break.)

He has now formed his own consulting firm, offering the services of a core of comedians to companies to call on for marketing ideas. The name of his consulting firm is Funny 'Cause It's True.

No kidding?

Satyal returns to his old stompin' grounds in Cincinnati.

"Yes, it's kidding," he replies.

Satyal headlines Thursday, Nov. 5, and Sunday, Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m. show.

For more info, visit: www.funnyboneonthelevee.com.

Learn more about Rajiv: Rajiv Satyal Calls Himself the "Funny Indian"
UC College of Engineering alumnus disproves old stereotypes — about Procter & Gamble employees, about Indians, about College of Engineering alumni. Well, two out of three ain’t bad.