How I got that job: Stephen Swanson, 28, Minneapolis

Last update: October 25, 2009 - 5:29 PM

Job: Pub trivia host

Salary: $60 per gig (around two hours, plus the perks of free beer and free food).

Education and day job: I'm a University of Minnesota graduate (education major). I work at WCCO-TV as a floor director.

Background: I come from a big trivia bloodline. I've heard stories that my parents would go to Trivial Pursuit parties with other couples. They would dominate so much that after a while they weren't invited. [Laughs] So it's in my blood.

How did you become

a trivia host?

I've been a fan of Sunday night trivia at the 331 Club in northeast Minneapolis. My pal Chuck Terhark, who's an editor at Metro magazine, co-hosts there with Sean McPherson, who's in the band Heiruspecs. They've put on trivia for the last three years that I and a revolving-door group of friends try to go to as often as we can. It's pretty competitive. One day Chuck mentioned that he needed a sub for another trivia night that he puts on in St. Paul at the Green Mill and I jumped at it.

Is pub trivia a competitive

market?

I don't know the ins and outs of the business, I'm just a host. Chuck and Sean started their own trivia company called Trivia Mafia. They've grown to the point where they've got about 20 different trivia nights at various bars around the Twin Cities every Sunday through Thursday. I know there are a couple of other companies and I think they are kind of cutthroat competing with each other, trying to undercut what the competitors are charging to the bars. It's a mafia organization, but it's a bloodless mafia.

Is there anything about hosting trivia that's not fun?

When you're doing it solo, and you're trying to keep the bar managers happy, the not-so-fun part of the job is getting done by a certain time. You can really be under the gun when it comes to correcting answer sheets. But the best part of the job is the awards ceremony. It's great because you get to see the rivalries the different teams have and the subtle hate between them. It always culminates in tie-breakers. Things get pretty tense, but not really tense at all because it's just Tuesday night trivia.

What keeps you coming back to host every week?

It's fun for two hours a week to strut around a bar, sipping on some Molson and having that air of intellectual superiority. There are all these regulars, so it becomes like seeing school chums. We're all just excited to hang out and compete in a very low-key way.

Any advice for trivia-goers?

Come prepared to have a lot of fun and with the mind-set of having your team dominate. That's the best way to approach a trivia night.

HILARY BRUECK

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