Twenty years ago (actually, 1991), Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) was just a twinkle in the eye, and a tingle in the collective funny bone of Matt Walsh, Matt Besser, Amy Poehler and Ian Roberts.

It became fully realized by the mid-1990s in Chicago, and by the end of the decade, uprooted and moved to New York City.

Its imprint on comedy can be seen across the TV dial, in places like Saturday Night Live and Comedy Central and many, many others.

On Thursday’s Afternoon Shift we speak with Chicago native and UCB co-founder Matt Walsh about the renowned comedy troupe. From its humble beginnings here in the Windy City to its long lasting mark on the world of comedy.

Walsh has been on numerous TV series including Dog Bites Man, Reno 911!, Outsourced and Hung.  And he’s been up on the silver screen in most of director Todd Phillips’ movies.

In the new HBO comedy Veep, Walsh plays the press secretary Mike McClintock to Julia Louis Dreyfus’ character, Vice President Selina Meyer.

He’s also comfortable behind the camera, and his directorial feature debut High Road is screening Friday night at the Logan Theatre as part of this year’s CIMMfest.