Eddie Gossling

Born in New York and raised in the military, comic Eddie Gossling didn't have to leave a promising career to pursue standup. "I was working at a gas station," he recalls. "And I was like, 'I really don't know if this is a career job.' But it always surprises me when doctors and lawyers want to be comics. That's a good-paying gig." After going to a few open mics in Austin, Texas, he left the retail petroleum business behind. Today Gossling has his own Comedy Central Presents special that runs sporadically. "It's like having your own little TV show," he muses. While that program gives one a sense of Gossling's comedic stylings, including his love of rap and hip-hop music, these days he's talking more about his newborn son. There have been some surprises. "When you change him," Gossling notes, "you have to cover him so he doesn't do an R. Kelly on you. The first time it happens, you're like, 'Oh, crap!'"
June 17-21, 8 p.m.; June 20-21, 10:30 p.m., 2008