‘Redneck Revolution’
Comedy trio wellRed celebrates all that’s good about the South
Trae Crowder gets to perform with two of his best friends.
The trio — which consists of Crowder, Drew Morgan and Corey Ryan Forrester — is known as wellRed. The trio’s comedy is about celebrating all that’s good about the South while leading the “Redneck Revolution” and standing proudly blue in a sea of red.
And with the current political climate, Crowder has a lot to pull from.
“I’d gladly trade the wealth of material for stability for the future,” he says in a recent phone interview. “Since I have children, I want to try and be a part of the change. I’m very honest in what I do. Just because I’m from the South doesn’t mean that I have the same outlook of many.”
Crowder grew up in Celina, Tenn., which he describes as a town with “more liquor stores than traffic lights.”
He grew up with an affinity for literature and film.
But in 1998, when he was 12, he watched a Chris Rock special on HBO. His life was forever changed, and his trek to becoming a comedian began.
Years later, Crowder was asked to do some videos for the New York Daily News.
The videos helped thrust him into the mainstream culture.
“What’s great about what I do online is that it’s entirely up to me,” he says. “There is no studio to censor it. If I say it, I mean it. I tend to stay away from topics that aren’t funny. I have my own personal filter, and I trust it. There are definitely lines that I wouldn’t cross.”
Crowder makes his living touring his stand-up comedy.
He’s on the road quite a bit, which makes it difficult to find time to do videos for his YouTube channel. He’s also been developing a comedy series for Warner Bros.
And he always finds a way.
“I try to do at least one a month,” he says. “My schedule is so crazy, so there’s no set schedule to my video releases. If I have some time off, I work to create a new video. This month may be a good month, and I’ll get three online before it ends.”
Crowder balances his family life with his life on tour.
“When I’m at home, it’s a lot of family stuff,” he says. “I definitely try to make a point to balance it out. I feel like I have a handle on it now. In the long term, it could completely go off the rails. I’m trying to keep the ball rolling and moving forward.”