[1] He lived in the South Hills and Bethel Park, and graduated from Seton-La Salle Catholic High School.

He started performing in coffee shops and laundromats, and eventually went on to play venues such as Madison Square Garden, The Chicago Theater, The Warfield, the Punch Line,[3] and the Palace of Fine Arts.

He has written for many television projects including Dogg After Dark and Eddie Griffin: Going For Broke.

In 2013 he played a role in George Anton’s feature length motion picture Dead on Arrival starring Medicated Pete from the Howard Stern Show.

Joe Bartnick is the co-host and creator of the podcast PuckOff and can be heard weekly talking all things hockey.