By Sara Murphy

Big John Richardson has a dirty mind, but not in the way one might think.

Richardson, the next comedian to perform stand-up at the Cat’s Den Wednesday, believes a plate of comedy does not always have to come with a side of profanity. In fact, Richardson’s oxymoronic slogan is “Clean Comedy for Dirty Minds”.

“When I started out, people would tell me you had to cuss or be excessively inappropriate to be funny and I don’t agree with that,” Richardson said. “So my goal was to put on a clean show where everyone could have a good laugh, no matter what age or race you were.”

This doesn’t mean that he holds anything back when it comes to his material; he’s just more creative about how he gets his laughs, Richardson said.

Of course, Richardson was drawn to comedy from an early age.

“I have that middle child thing where I have to find some way of getting attention,” he said.

From there he went to open-mic nights at comedy clubs, trying out his unique brand of humor. Yet despite his talent, he remains humble about his comedic ability.

“Everybody is funny; there are just so many varieties of humor,” Richardson said. “Comedy is like a rainbow, there are different shades of funny. It’s about finding your own color, and that’s what I’ve been able to do.”

In fact, Richardson believes comedy serves a greater purpose than just for entertainment.

“Like sports, comedy unites us. Regardless of your race, sex, or age, we can all laugh together,” he said.

Big John Richardson performs his “Clean Comedy for Dirty Minds” at the Cat’s Den this Wednesday at 8pm as part of the Comedy Caravan series. The performance is free and open to the public.