The Rolling Green Room Coasts Into Stardom

October 21, 2019 Rene Agredano

From dump station disasters to boondocking blunders, the RV life is ripe with funny stories to tell around the campfire. Who better to explore this landscape of rich material than two professional comedians who happen to be full-time RVers? Meet James Myer and Cody Woods, the creative team behind the wheel of The Rolling Green Room Comedy Road Show, coming to a club, brew pup, bar or convergence near you.

Aspiring hopefuls sink or swim in the cutthroat world of professional comedy. Some may tread water for a while, and most will drown. But since pooling their cash for a 1994 Gulfstream Sun Voyager motorhome and hitting the road this year, James and Cody have crafted a working partnership that’s the envy of their performing peers. With each new mile these newbie RVers put under their wheels, the two comics are cultivating a loyal following faster than ever before.

Loyalty Gets You Everywhere

James was originally from New York, Cody from L.A. They met in 2016 at an audition for the Columbus Funny Bone night club, one of the toughest places to land a comedy gig. In a move that could only be explained as fate, both comedians were accepted onto the Funny Bone roster, a rare achievement for any first-timer. “They rarely pass anybody but they passed both of us on the same night,” says James. “We’ve been friends since and have done a lot of touring together ever since.”

Their talents got the attention of a professional manager who coordinated a grueling cross-country touring schedule that capitalized on their Funny Bone appearances. Both were well-prepared for the grind of living out of suitcases and didn’t mind the lifestyle, but they still daydreamed about taking a few more creature comforts on the road.

“We had been talking about how great it would be if we just got an RV, then we wouldn’t have to sleep in a different bed every night,” says James. “We could actually keep a lot of our stuff instead of just one bag. Actually have a home.”

They envisioned having a “green room” on wheels, the traditional backstage lounge where performers wait for their appearance. Not only would the RV be more comfortable than living out of rental cars, but both knew it could also serve as material for a funny reality TV show—or at the very least, a wildly funny YouTube channel.

Several months after conjuring up their vision, both comedians squirreled away enough cash for a vintage coach with just 66,000 miles on the odometer. They adorned the new touring rig with graphics that read “The Rolling Green Room,” a slogan leaving plenty to the imagination. But just before hitting the road, the duo’s agent took James aside, asked him to cut Cody from the partnership and pursue the Rolling Green Room idea without him. James refused and stood by his friend.

Broke and with zero paying gigs lined up, the newbie RVers decided to hit the road anyways. It wasn’t easy, as Cody remembers.

“We lost all of our income and were living homeless in parking lots in New York, trying to get the tour started. We had no way to make money, so we just had to sit there, eat canned food and build our website for two months. We had to figure things out.”

By June, the Rolling Green Room tour was ready for prime time. James agreed to do the driving, while Cody handled video production and bookings. They would still perform their respective sets at each appearance. “It took us two months to finally start the tour and so far all but two shows have been sold out,” says Cody.

The Rubiks Cube of Comedy

The “The Rolling Green Room” lettering emblazoned on the rig doesn’t always win them any favors with law enforcement, but they don’t hesitate to use humor to reverse their first impression. “Yeah, we do get pulled over quite a bit,” laughs James. If an officer is unconvinced about their story, there’s no better way to handle the situation than high comedy. Cody recalls one instance when “These cops asked us to tell a joke and if it was funny they would let us go. I asked the officer, ‘Where’s the best place to bury a body?’ And the officer goes ‘I don’t know.’ So I go ‘Well if you can’t help us out, then we can’t tell you the joke.’ He saw the humor in it and they let us go.”

And as any Xscaper lucky enough to catch the Rolling Green Room at this year’s July Fourth Convergence knows, the pull-no-punches entertainment is even better when they’re on stage. At their 2019 Convergence performance, Cody didn’t hesitate to size up his audience. “I just can’t figure this crowd out,” Cody contemplated. Bewildered by the mishmash of non-traditional RVers expecting jokes, he continues. “You just look like you believe in transgender restrooms and guns. You guys look like you can cook meth if its gluten-free. You guys are quite the Rubik’s cube I can tell you that.” The crowd erupted in laughter, knowing that he was exactly right.

Cody and James’ gut-busting humor doesn’t stop at curtain call either. On the same night as the Convergence show, Cody was scheduled to make his debut on Comedy Central. But James wasn’t about to let the big moment go by without an epic prank captured on camera. It was the first of many snarky videos to follow on the Rolling Green Room YouTube Channel.

Since teaming up, the guys have added an impressive roster of comedic cred to their backstory, like appearances on Comedy Central, Sirius XM Radio, Hulu and other big comedy club tours. You probably won’t find them at too many RV rallies, but both say their non-traditional Convergence gig boosted their appreciation of full-time RVing. “It was awesome,” says James. “We didn’t know what to expect. Just driving around, we see that RVs tend to be driven by people with a little bit higher of an age demographic. So we thought maybe it would be an older crowd than what we were used to. But it really wasn’t at all! It was a good crowd, legitimately good and it was a good experience. I even got some help with my generator there. It was good to be around people that live this particular lifestyle.”

Hundreds of miles after they rolled out of Colorado, it didn’t take long for the guys to learn that the full-time RVing community is a relatively small one. “We pulled up into this RV park in Tennessee,” explains James, “And the woman on the porch was literally an Xscapers member. She had seen us in Colorado a month before. She’s like ‘You guys?!’”

A Million Dollars Or Bust

For now, the friends don’t see an end to their unusual road trip. Their tour schedule includes steady gigs of two to five shows a week throughout the country, including an upcoming appearance at the next Xscapers Annual Bash. Meanwhile, as other comedians are doing the rental car, hotel room suitcase shuffle, this mobile partnership is rolling along in comfort.

They always enjoy inviting other comedians along for a temporary ride to show them the bonuses of the full-time RVing lifestyle. So far all of their passengers have been impressed. “We’re doing it all on our own,” says James. “I don’t know that anybody’s done it quite like this before. It’s pretty unusual.”

Cody says their ultimate goal is to turn The Rolling Green Room into a TV series. “We’re going to do it no matter what, even if TV doesn’t want it. We’re just going to release it and we’re gonna keep going until either this thing blows up or we do.”