After performing in the Quad-Cities several times over the years - opening for Jeff Foxworthy in 2003 and Bill Engvall in 2005 - James Johann is back, this time headlining his own shows this weekend at Penguin's Comedy Club.

Johann is a junior member of the Blue Collar Comedy fraternity, also opening for the likes of Larry the Cable Guy and Ron White.

Foxworthy, he said, taught him how to work in the round.

"He taught me how to do turns on stage so you have your butt facing the smallest number of people," he said with a laugh.

From Larry the Cable Guy, he learned how to treat fans.

"It was the first time I had been up close to somebody who was really on a rocket ride up. It blew my mind," Johann said. "From the time the bus pulled into town to 3 or 4 that morning, he's shaking hands and signing autographs. It was an all-evening thing, not the hour-and-a-half he was on stage. I learned what stamina it takes when you get to certain levels."

The 37-year-old, who lives in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kan., has a character he calls the "rural genius."

"I give a lot of advice because I think I'm a know-it-all. Bad advice, usually," he said in a telephone interview.

He is busy at home, working on a book about life on the road and producing comedic videos that are shown on cable channel CMT and its Web site.

"If I can keep busy enough and work at home on these projects, that's where I want to be," said Johann, who has been a performer for 18 years. "I don't want to be a superstar, I just want to make a comfortable living."

Much of his humor is self-deprecating, he said, not insulting the audience.

"Don't be afraid to sit in the front row - I'm not gonna pick on you," he added. "A lot of people come to clubs and don't want to sit up front because you get a harsh comic up there. I make fun of my friends and family because they're not there."