Pitt County has survived hurricanes, tornados and the occasional winter storm. But can Greenville handle an Earthquake?

The comedian Earthquake, that is.

"We are an earthquake, everything is rumbling," the comedian said by phone.

Earthquake will perform at the Greenville Convention Center at 8 p.m. Saturday. Also on the bill will be Shawty Shawty and Diva Hope Flood.

A Washington, D.C., native, Earthquake has been a comedian for more than 15 years. But it wasn't a career to which he aspired.

Growing up impoverished, he joined the Air Force the day after graduating from high school.

Then known as Nathaniel Stroman, he got his start making people laugh while serving as a sergeant in the Air Force, where he spent 11 years.

Stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., he performed comedy at the "Tops & Blue" military talent show.

Prior to the Gulf War in 1991, Earthquake left the military and moved to Atlanta, where he worked on his comedy routine at local clubs and throughout the Eastern Seaboard.

There are a couple of stories as to how he came to drop his birth name and become Earthquake: His birth name was harder to say than Earthquake; and there was a certain rumble in the crowd during his shows.

"Both of them are true" he said.

His success on the comedy-club circuit led to an invitation to join Russell Simmon's successful Def Comedy Jam road show in 1997.

"Def Jam broke us through," he said while on a lunch break from filming an episode of "Everybody Hates Chris."

Earthquake plays Uncle Mike, a recurring character on the award-winning show.

From there, his career took off. After his appearance at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colo., film and comedy star Whoopi Goldberg picked him out of the crowd as a rising star.

Earthquake moved to Los Angeles to be closer to the center of television comedy.

Appearing frequently on the BET network's "Comic View" program in the late 1990s, he rubbed elbows with rising stars like D.L. Hughley and Cedric the Entertainer during what some saw as a new golden age of African-American comedy.

Earthquake said his experience meeting new people in the military has aided his success as a comedian.

"No matter what their background is, we all have something in common," he said. "Going into any crowd, there is something in that crowd that I can relate to."

But that is not to say that tough crowds don't exist.

"I was at the Apollo and they had a reputation for booing," he said. "Before they could even boo me off stage, I walked off."

Earthquake's quick-witted routines are never the same twice and he keeps his material fresh following current events.

"I watch 'The O'Reilly Factor,' 'Anderson (Cooper) 360,' the news," he said. "Life is funny and life goes on every day."

Perhaps his knowledge of such shows is what helped Earthquake land an appearance on HBO's politically driven "Real Time with Bill Maher."

His appearance received the first standing ovation from the studio audience since the show's debut.

News shows aren't the only TV that Earthquake watches.

He also follows "Next Comic Standing."

"I'm down for any show that promotes our genre," Earthquake said. "I think we have the hardest job out there."

Earthquake also has appeared as a guest on "The Orlando Jones Show," "The 'Dennis Miller Show" and Comedy Central's "Weekend at D.L.'s."

In addition to his live work, he's played in the major motion pictures "Getting Played," starring Vivica Fox and Bill Bellamy, "Clerks II" and provided his voice in the animated film, "Barnyard."

Contact features writer Kelley Kirk-Swindell at 329-9596 or kkirkswindell@coxnc.com.