By The Numbers: Joel Vinsen
Joel Vinsen is a musician, improviser, and a 2026 Billy T award nominated comedian. He approaches comedy with equal parts respect and contempt; delivering silly unpredictable dumb/smart comedy in a deadpan style. His show, Renaissance Man premieres in May, as part of the NZ International Comedy Festival.
- How many podcasts do you subscribe to?
Maybe 4 or 5.
- How many podcast episodes do you listen to on average each week?
3 or 4. I like listening to reviews/analysis of films that I like, comedy podcasts (the Stavvy's world advice section especially), Otherworld (Paranormal stories), Smosh reads Reddit for a dose of the drama that's missing in my own life and the Let's Read podcast; the scariest stories read in a lovely soothing voice. I also love listening to history and science content on YouTube.
- How many people do you follow on Letterboxd?
I follow 5 people on Letterboxd. My favourite is a friend of mine who passed away earlier this year. He wrote wonderfully insightful and hilarious reviews of B grade movies, art films and various oddities. It keeps me feeling connected to him.
- How many caffeinated beverages do you consume, on average, daily?
About 3 or 4. I'm trying to limit and reduce but I love coffee. My favourite place is Coffix on K'Rd; the barista is a lovely guy, and it's part of my pre-gym routine on the weekend.
- How many books do you currently have checked out from the library?
None. I'm working my way through my own copy of The Master and the Margarita, which was given to me by a friend in 2014, and holding off reading anything else until I've finished that. I'm going to read a bunch of Russian literature after this one, I think.
- How many books do you have on hold from the library?
None. But shout out to our libraries; I love going to the library and working on my own writing, life admin etc. It’s one of my happy places.
- How many photos do you have in your camera roll?
1176.
- How many screenshots do you have in your screenshot folder?
321.
- How many selfies do you have saved?
44, Almost all of these are helmet selfies from the flamingo scooter app; they always look real dumb and it cracks me up looking through them.
- How many films have you watched so far this year?
About 20. I love films. My favourites that I’ve watched recently; The Bone Temple, American Honey, Bones and All, Weapons, 28 Years Later. I love going to the Terror-Fi film fest movies at the Capitol on Dominion rd; my favourite cinema.
- How many books have your read so far this year?
2.
- How many games have you played so far this year?
96 games of Spelling Bee (every day this year) on the NYT games app. Also maybe 5 rounds of Mario Kart at timezone with my partner.
- How many songs do you have saved/liked on your music app of choice?
3579. Sonny Rollins, Nofx, John Hartford, Cannibal Corpse, St Vincent are some of my go tos at the moment.
- How many playlists do you have saved?
73.
- How many shows or live performances have you been to this year?
About 50 as a performer, 10 as a punter. My Favourite was Angela Dravid’s I’m Happy For You. She is brilliant, and a must see if you like dark comedy.
- How many streaming services do you pay for a subscription to?
2, YouTube Premium and I get Spotify as part of my mobile plan. YouTube Premium is my favourite; I love listening to history, space, comedy and philosophy videos as potter around my apartment.
- How many apps do you have a paid subscription for?
1 – NYT games app.
- How many unread emails do you currently have in your inbox?
0, organising my email is one of my go tos for procrastination, so I'm always on top of it haha. Shout out to everyone else still on Hotmail!
- How many total emails do you have in your inbox?
Can't see the total, but I'm guessing five or six thousand.
- How many emails would you send on the average workday?
15 or 16.
- How many tabs do you currently have open on your main browsing device?
17. I normally have a bunch of google docs on the go for standup, youtube videos (currently nature videos on lions and punk bass guitar tutorials), and a few rotten tomatoes/letterboxd tabs open.
- How many times do you go to the supermarket in a week on average?
About 4. I break my shopping up to give me a reason to cycle most days; love riding my bike.
- How many items would you purchase in an average supermarket shop?
6.
- How many unread notifications do you currently have on your phone?
0.
- How many instruments can you play?
5. Guitar is my main one; I’m jazz trained and have also played in a heap of bands, and I teach guitar as a day job. I’m loving playing bass at the moment also. I can cover mandolin and ukulele too. I’m also reasonable on the Otamatone (weird instrument; worth a google).
- How many languages can you speak/understand?
1.
- How many keys (or equivalent) are on your keychain?
13. I can't remember what 2 of them unlock.
- How many passwords do you have saved on an app that saves passwords?
301.
- How many kitchen appliances do you have in your household?
9. My favourite is my Instant Pot; I currently have a big batch of tom yum cooling as I'm writing this.
- How many pairs of shoes do you have?
8. 6 of them are Doc Martens.
- How many pairs of socks do you have?
About 30.
- How many cushions/pillows do you sleep with?
4.
- How many times have you been in love?
Once. I'm currently in love and really happy!
- How many hours on average do you sleep in a night?
6-7. I'm struggling with sleep at the moment.
- How many schools have you attended?
3.
- How many addresses have you had in your life?
9.
- How many qualifications do you have?
2 – Bachelor of Music (jazz), Diploma of Contemporary Music Performances.
- How many times have you broken a bone?
1.
- How long did it take you to fill out this questionnaire?
Ages. I had a really nice time listening to music and just filling this out at a leisurely pace. Thanks :)
Renaissance Man premieres in May, as part of the NZ International Comedy Festival.
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