Tone Bell Performs As Part Of ‘Triple The Laughs’

The Lil Rhody Laugh Riot is going to bring a ton of laughs at various venues across Providence this weekend (March 27-30). Some of the top stand-up comics on the planet, including Matt Rife, Leslie Jones and Kevin Hart, are going to be performing along with a bunch of other talented folks, including Tone Bell.

Bell is a man of many talents, who tells jokes while providing an hilarious look at life and other topics. He will be taking part in the festival at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium on March 28 as part of “Triple The Laughs”. Fellow comics Alec Flynn and Andy Woodhull will also be performing with the show.

We talked about his previous career in promotions and marketing, how he’s been able to translate those skills into his current profession, and about doing stand-up for the first time in Providence.

Rob Duguay: You’re originally from Decatur, Georgia, but you didn’t start pursuing comedy until moving to Dallas and working in the promotions department for a beer company. What made you want to first start doing comedy? Was it based on a dare from a friend or was it something else?

Tone Bell: I’ve always been a huge stand-up fan. I was working a corporate job and I was looking to perform, so I saw stand-up as a way to get on stage and perform without having the time to go to rehearsals for plays or audition for TV. That was the start of it, it was something that I could do on my own schedule, and I fell in love with it immediately. I haven’t looked back since.

RD: Cool, that’s great. Do you feel that working in promotions gave you better insight on the business side of live entertainment where you have knowledge of how contracts work and how to market yourself as a comic?

TB: Yeah, I think promotions and marketing make you more comfortable around people. I was a mentor for a bunch of brands under an organizational umbrella at one point, so I had to look at myself and realize that I was promoting someone else’s product, but now I’m the product. I figured out how I wanted to put myself out there and how I wanted to be seen, so it really did help.

RD: You just mentioned that you did some previous work with hosting, and you were recently the host of the Netflix reality television contest show called “Drink Masters”. It featured a cocktail competition between 12 mixologists, so what was the experience like for you? Did you enjoy interacting with different people and were there any drinks that you were disgusted by and any drinks that you thought were inventive and delicious?

TB: They did a good job casting the talent and they really got people from all walks of life. I can talk to anyone, and I can have a conversation with a rock if I need to. Also, having worked in the beverage industry and knowing the process of how beer, tequila, vodka and all the spirits are made, but watching them create one-of-a-kind cocktails was mind-blowing. You get into the science of it, you get into the craft of it, and I’ll say that the majority of the cocktails on the show were amazing, but given certain challenges, they didn’t have the time to get it just right. If I gave you a bowl of cherries and you gave me a durian fruit, one is going to be better than the other one, so there were probably a couple that you would want to sip because of the terrible smell.

RD: As part of the Lil Rhody Laugh Riot, you’re going to be one of the comics taking the stage at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium for “Triple The Laughs”, so what are your thoughts on coming up to perform in Providence, especially with being from the South?

TB: I think the Northeast has very honest crowds. They show a lot of love for comedy in that whole region, but I’m super excited because I’ve never worked in Rhode Island. I’ve listened to a lot of podcasts in the past that are about Providence and the history of the city, so I’m excited to see what it’s like. I’ve performed in the area, but never there, so I’m really looking forward to it. We’ll see what kinds of people show up, but even though they might look different, everybody is kind of the same. You just have fun and people chuckle because if they follow along, they’ll get it.

RD: I hope you enjoy yourself in Providence and we do have a great following for comedy. After the Lil Rhody Laugh Riot, what other projects do you have going on that you’d like to mention? Are you doing any podcasting, do you have a new special in the works or do you have any new hosting or acting roles?

TB: There will be a couple movies coming up towards the middle end of 2025. I’m in the process right now of developing my own show and if everything works out the way it’s looking like it will, then hopefully later in the summer I’ll be shooting my sophomore special. It’s kind of a continuation of my first special “Can’t Cancel This” where I’m sort of starting a new chapter. I was single with no dog and no kids during my first one, and now things have changed, so it’s going to continue the anthology series and I think it’s going to be fun, enlightening and
very real.