Many of you may be wondering (as I currently am)... how did this happen?
Two people are to be hailed for this event. The first is a friend from college who has been dominating the San Fran comedy scene for the last three years, Nico Santos. Nico contacted me to let me know about a show going on down there with David Cross headlining, Cathy Sorbo doing one of the featured sets and Nico hosting (with an out-out-outside shot of me getting a guest set... I'll spare you the suspense, I didn't get it). He suggested I come down for it. The out-out-outside shot was enough to bring me down... now how the fuck do I get down there? That question segues us into the second person that deserves vast amounts of praise, my roommate, yes the asshole, Joe. I'll spare you the gruesome details (as he probably wouldn't want them spilled all over the ether... I will volunteer that it involved killing a chicken and using its blood to draw a circle on the ground... but I've already said too much), suffice it to say that he got me there. No bullshit here, he deserves credit for every good thing that happens to me in comedy. He's not alone, I get support from a lot of people, and I love and appreciate them very much for it, but Joe is the first on the list and no one will take that from him or me ever. He knew (better than me to be honest with you) how important it was for me to get down there and made it happen. I didn't want the chicken anyway, they make shitty pets.
They say in entertainment it's not what you know, it's who you know. In comedy I think it's who you know and oh-by-the-way-it's-incredibly-convenient-if-you're-funny-too. Well luckily for me, I know Nico Santos. Nico and I were in the Theatre Dept. of Southern Oregon University together where we studied becoming incredibly jaded about acting (he went on to Costume Design, I went on to Directing, we both went on to comedy). He was a fucking funny guy then so it came as no surprise when I found out he was kicking ass in the San Francisco comedy scene. What I didn't realize was exactly how much ass he was kicking.
He set me up with 7 minutes at the Punch Line SF's "Comedy Showcase". Cool, should be fun. What I didn't realize until I got there is that most comedians break their heads over that scene for as much as a year before they get a spot at the Showcase. Nico had enough pull to set me up with it and that was that. Oh, did I mention Nico had never actually seen my stand-up before? Ballsy mother fucker if you ask me. The other thing with The Punch Line is that you show up, and if they put you up you go and if not you don't. Nonetheless you have to wait to find out. Here, they put up a list and if you're not on it you go home. Not in SF... ouch. What I'm saying to you in so many words is Nico stuck his neck out for me having no idea how good I actually am and I jumped over a handful of comedians who probably want to stab my eyes, that is to say... no pressure.
Before the show starts Nico introduces me to a bunch of comics who are all incredibly nice. That put me at ease actually, you could tell that they all really support each other down there. It's like that for the most part in Seattle, but you never know if that will be the case elsewhere. Big ups to SF comics. People find out they go up right before they actually go up, I get slated for 3rd. Fucking great. The crowd was kinda cold and the first couple of comics didn't have a lot of luck with them so I knew I had to turn up the juice. I had to remind myself that this is fun and I'm just going to have a good time if they like me or not. OK then here I go...
...it went
AWESOME!
Which is not to say it was a perfect set, but I grabbed them right away, and they left with me as well. I did Bumbershoot, Nicole Ritchie, Toby, George Gaynes (which I might shelve or rework a bit), Bidet, Neuva Ring, and closed with Cheesecake. I had to drop a chunk of Cheesecake (I kill me) because of time, (which is a lesson I'm glad I learned 3 entries ago and not tonight), but they loved it. They loved Bumbershoot, Nicole, and Toby. George got silence and Neuva Ring got groans and one guy fucking dying. Overall they loved me. What was better was seeing that the host really dug me as I left. What was the best was the look of "wow" on Nico's face when I got off the stage. I was accepted. I was in. Oh yeah, and I have it on DVD too.
I got a lot of compliments from the other comedians as well. They all were really cool and supportive. I was on Cloud 9, from where I watched the rest of the show. SF has some amazing comics and I'd go into some of them if I wasn't getting tired (I'd go into some of them period, OH SNAP!), however I will talk about Nico because this was actually my first time seeing him as well and HOLY SHIT IS HE FUNNY! He had my favorite bit of the night as well as one of my favorite sets. I don't want to give anything away so I'll just say that I was in the bathroom when he went up so I listened to his opener in there and lost it mid-pee. On top of that he has an amazing Iron Chef judge impression as well as a dead on Aaron Neville, but his closer, oh Dear Holy Lord, his closer reduced me to tears.
The rest of the weekend was San Frantastic. I hung out with a variety of our friends that ended up down there. Saw the David Cross show. Got to talk shop with Nico and a lot of the other comics down there. Learned a lot about where I'm going and how I get there and how I WANT to get there. Perfect fucking vacation.
Lesson: When life hands you an opportunity, take it no matter what. (Even if it involves sacrificing a chicken oh wait I've said to much never mind).
Back-up lesson: Keep good people in your life, they will pave the way to your success. It wont happen alone.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Day 36: La Muerto Quiete 9/09/07
Open mic at Underground tonight. Quiet audience tonight... very quiet.
Been a long time since Underground has been this quiet. I'm sure several factors are involved. Among them a host that doesn't have the most stage presence in the world, along with 4 of the first 5 comics being very new and not super skilled. The stage was set... (so to speak), the audience was bored and non-responsive. Most of them trickled out by the time any of our crew went up. The only one to get anything out of the crowd tonight was Danielle, who woke everybody up for the 3 minutes she was up there... then back to sleep.
Which is not to say we had bad sets, it's to say we had our work cut out as far as getting any response. I don't consider this a shitty night, I consider this trial by fire. Danielle proved you can get a response, you just have to turn it up to level 1000 to get it.
I was testing new stuff and decided to go with it. I put up one called "Fanta" which went well, "Gay Conspiracy" which will go on the back burner for a bit, and closed with "Neuva ring" which got more "Oooohs" than laughs (honestly fine with me). So I didn't turn 'em out, but that wasn't the goal tonight. James had a bold new set. Solomon was awesome. Paul came back (finally) with some great shit. And the Russian came back!!! (see "Day 2: Theatre of Awkward") Most meta-funny guy ever.
A bunch of us comics went to Denny's afterward. Hanging out with comedians is great... it's all the great parts of hanging out with actors, without the bad shit. I like this life.
Lesson: Test new shit in a safe environment first, practice resurrection on a dead crowd.
Back-up lesson: Never throw a cookie at a woman's face... especially from the stage.
Been a long time since Underground has been this quiet. I'm sure several factors are involved. Among them a host that doesn't have the most stage presence in the world, along with 4 of the first 5 comics being very new and not super skilled. The stage was set... (so to speak), the audience was bored and non-responsive. Most of them trickled out by the time any of our crew went up. The only one to get anything out of the crowd tonight was Danielle, who woke everybody up for the 3 minutes she was up there... then back to sleep.
Which is not to say we had bad sets, it's to say we had our work cut out as far as getting any response. I don't consider this a shitty night, I consider this trial by fire. Danielle proved you can get a response, you just have to turn it up to level 1000 to get it.
I was testing new stuff and decided to go with it. I put up one called "Fanta" which went well, "Gay Conspiracy" which will go on the back burner for a bit, and closed with "Neuva ring" which got more "Oooohs" than laughs (honestly fine with me). So I didn't turn 'em out, but that wasn't the goal tonight. James had a bold new set. Solomon was awesome. Paul came back (finally) with some great shit. And the Russian came back!!! (see "Day 2: Theatre of Awkward") Most meta-funny guy ever.
A bunch of us comics went to Denny's afterward. Hanging out with comedians is great... it's all the great parts of hanging out with actors, without the bad shit. I like this life.
Lesson: Test new shit in a safe environment first, practice resurrection on a dead crowd.
Back-up lesson: Never throw a cookie at a woman's face... especially from the stage.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Day 35: Lo Ballin' 9/7/07
Open mic in a new venue.
"Lo-Ball" is the title of the "People's Republic of Komedy" show in Ballard at Mr. Spot's Chai House. Lo-Ball was a monthly show but this month it is a weekly show and two of these weeks are open mics. Lo-Ball is kind of a stepping stone to get a spot at the "Laff Hole" which is P.R.O.K.s main show. Danielle and I opened our mics to Lo-Ball.
Fun venue. Basically an open mic at a coffee house (except chai house). The neat thing is that the lighting is such that you see everyone (like at the Capitol Club) so you have a direct relationship with everyone you're talking too. Derek Sheen (who is a funny mo-fo AND comic geek) is running the show. Danielle set me up with the show but through some unforeseen reason I'm not on the list. Turns out to be an oversight and Derek hooks me up. I go 2nd.
I tried to do the clean hits because it's a new house so I want to impress, but it's an all ages show so I don't want to make things too uncomfortable. Turned out there was really dirty stuff so it was a moot point. Nonetheless I did: Bumbershoot, Toby, Nicole Ritchie, Cheesecake Factory. Went well, people laughed. Danielle killed. Fucking Lydia was incredible. The nice thing about it is that it was simply a great open mic where almost everyone killed. Even a few that struggle had some of their best sets.
I don't know that Seattle needs another indie comedy show, but I'll hit the open mic there any time I can.
Lesson: Keep up with what's going on in the scene so that you can become apart of said scene.
Backup lesson: With so many amazing comics out there, there's always room for improvement. Don't get comfortable.
"Lo-Ball" is the title of the "People's Republic of Komedy" show in Ballard at Mr. Spot's Chai House. Lo-Ball was a monthly show but this month it is a weekly show and two of these weeks are open mics. Lo-Ball is kind of a stepping stone to get a spot at the "Laff Hole" which is P.R.O.K.s main show. Danielle and I opened our mics to Lo-Ball.
Fun venue. Basically an open mic at a coffee house (except chai house). The neat thing is that the lighting is such that you see everyone (like at the Capitol Club) so you have a direct relationship with everyone you're talking too. Derek Sheen (who is a funny mo-fo AND comic geek) is running the show. Danielle set me up with the show but through some unforeseen reason I'm not on the list. Turns out to be an oversight and Derek hooks me up. I go 2nd.
I tried to do the clean hits because it's a new house so I want to impress, but it's an all ages show so I don't want to make things too uncomfortable. Turned out there was really dirty stuff so it was a moot point. Nonetheless I did: Bumbershoot, Toby, Nicole Ritchie, Cheesecake Factory. Went well, people laughed. Danielle killed. Fucking Lydia was incredible. The nice thing about it is that it was simply a great open mic where almost everyone killed. Even a few that struggle had some of their best sets.
I don't know that Seattle needs another indie comedy show, but I'll hit the open mic there any time I can.
Lesson: Keep up with what's going on in the scene so that you can become apart of said scene.
Backup lesson: With so many amazing comics out there, there's always room for improvement. Don't get comfortable.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Day 34: No mo' drama 9/2/07
Fucking Hell man.
Solomon's show (now titled "Draft Dodgers of the 21st Century"), Capitol Club. Danielle, Solomon and I are gonna perform, Danielle hosts, Corbet goes up, David Cope closes. Easy right? Until David doesn't show up and seems confused that we're calling him. Danielle finally gets through to him and he remembers he has a show. To his credit he jumps into a cab and gets there in time. But he was bringing the microphones and couldn't now. Luckily I had one, but no chord. Luckily the sound guy had one, but no connector to the mixer. Luckily my friend Dean had one, but he lived on 12th, which was six blocks away, uphill. I ran.
I need more exercise.
If David didn't show up I'd have to do a half-hour set and had no idea what to do. So I put together a set of new shit that I didn't do last time. Danielle, Solomon and I were all flustered about the pre-show drama and oh yeah, everyone's at Bumbershoot so the audience was light. We held for a bit and people showed up. We got started.
The audience was quiet and Danielle had a rough time with them as she was distracted by production shit. Solomon went up and had a rough time as he was distracted by production shit. I probably would've had a rough time too, but since they went up first I had just enough time to clear my head so I could rock the crowd. I'm glad for that time because my set ended up going very well. Intermission. Corbet went up and had a good set. David closed and fucking killed like we knew he would.
In the midst of all of this EVEN MORE dramatic shit went down in the form of a horrible miscommunication between Solomon and another party. So AFTER the show Danielle and I have to do what we can to diffuse and clear up the situation. It took some work but I think everything is cool.
This is why I don't want to work in production right now. To much stress that stands in the way of comedy. I had a show opportunity thrown at me and it occurs I don't want it because a)too many fucking show already and b) I don't want to be a producer, I want to be a comic. Not only do I want to be a comic but I want to be a great comic. Dealing with fucking drama stands in the way of being that and it simply isn't worth it. I want to tell jokes, and then I want to tell jokes, and then I want to tell jokes. End. Of. Fucking. Story.
There was a very selfish part of me that was upset that I couldn't just celebrate that I had a really good set that night. That way danger leads. If I start trying to get caught up in how good I'm doing, I lose sight of way more important shit that deserves and requires much more of my attention. I found this out the hard way. It's so not worth it. A good set is in the past. The next set is in the future. Don't ever close your eyes to what's happening right now.
Lesson: Drama is never worth the effort.
Backup lesson: Keep your eyes off of yourself and keep 'em on your loved ones. If you don't have loved ones, it's because you lost sight of this lesson.
Solomon's show (now titled "Draft Dodgers of the 21st Century"), Capitol Club. Danielle, Solomon and I are gonna perform, Danielle hosts, Corbet goes up, David Cope closes. Easy right? Until David doesn't show up and seems confused that we're calling him. Danielle finally gets through to him and he remembers he has a show. To his credit he jumps into a cab and gets there in time. But he was bringing the microphones and couldn't now. Luckily I had one, but no chord. Luckily the sound guy had one, but no connector to the mixer. Luckily my friend Dean had one, but he lived on 12th, which was six blocks away, uphill. I ran.
I need more exercise.
If David didn't show up I'd have to do a half-hour set and had no idea what to do. So I put together a set of new shit that I didn't do last time. Danielle, Solomon and I were all flustered about the pre-show drama and oh yeah, everyone's at Bumbershoot so the audience was light. We held for a bit and people showed up. We got started.
The audience was quiet and Danielle had a rough time with them as she was distracted by production shit. Solomon went up and had a rough time as he was distracted by production shit. I probably would've had a rough time too, but since they went up first I had just enough time to clear my head so I could rock the crowd. I'm glad for that time because my set ended up going very well. Intermission. Corbet went up and had a good set. David closed and fucking killed like we knew he would.
In the midst of all of this EVEN MORE dramatic shit went down in the form of a horrible miscommunication between Solomon and another party. So AFTER the show Danielle and I have to do what we can to diffuse and clear up the situation. It took some work but I think everything is cool.
This is why I don't want to work in production right now. To much stress that stands in the way of comedy. I had a show opportunity thrown at me and it occurs I don't want it because a)too many fucking show already and b) I don't want to be a producer, I want to be a comic. Not only do I want to be a comic but I want to be a great comic. Dealing with fucking drama stands in the way of being that and it simply isn't worth it. I want to tell jokes, and then I want to tell jokes, and then I want to tell jokes. End. Of. Fucking. Story.
There was a very selfish part of me that was upset that I couldn't just celebrate that I had a really good set that night. That way danger leads. If I start trying to get caught up in how good I'm doing, I lose sight of way more important shit that deserves and requires much more of my attention. I found this out the hard way. It's so not worth it. A good set is in the past. The next set is in the future. Don't ever close your eyes to what's happening right now.
Lesson: Drama is never worth the effort.
Backup lesson: Keep your eyes off of yourself and keep 'em on your loved ones. If you don't have loved ones, it's because you lost sight of this lesson.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Day 33: Don't be a dick 8/29/07
So I've been really self-righteous about a couple of things in comedy. One is being pissed off at comedians who go too long, another is comedians who jet from an open mic right after their set.
Tonight I was both of these people.
"Comedy Slam" at the Underground, which is essentially an open mic with less comics and more performance time. Cathy Sorbo is playing at the Laff Hole show tonight so I'm just seeing if I can get a set in early then go to Laff Hole later. As luck would have it Ron puts me up first. There's a small but nice crowd. I try some safe stuff and some new stuff. I open with Bumbershoot and Toby which did well, then went into Christian comics. That was all I put on my outline and should've been about 5 minutes, but when I got done I saw that the warning light had not gone on so, fuck it... close with Cheesecake Factory. My first mistake here was not saying to myself, "Well I got done early, that's good, I can quit while I'm ahead." Nope. So the light goes on (which means a minute left by the way) right after I start the bit. Now hindsight being 20/20 I could've cut to the last part of the bit and I would've been fine. Nope. I do the whole thing and by the time I'm done the light is flashing and I flew over time by 3 minutes. Fuck. I apologized to the host, the next comic, and then Ron who said, "Well, tonight of all nights you can get away with it." Still, fuck, I really don't want to be that guy. The set went pretty good, yeah, but I don't ever want to be that guy.
By the time I get done the Laff Hole show is an hour away. I went up first, but we started late so it's already time for me to go. Shit. I was going to record Lydia but scram instead. I'm not beating myself up as bad for this, but still, I shouldn't do an open mic if I can't hang out for a bit at least.
As soon as Cathy went up I forgot all about my self-flagellation and enjoyed a master at her craft. I strong armed a bunch of derby girls to go and they all enjoyed her. Still the night would've been better had I not felt like an asshole for a portion of it.
Lesson: Do your time, and not a second more.
Back-up lesson: Hang out with the open micers... they deserve it as much as you do.
Tonight I was both of these people.
"Comedy Slam" at the Underground, which is essentially an open mic with less comics and more performance time. Cathy Sorbo is playing at the Laff Hole show tonight so I'm just seeing if I can get a set in early then go to Laff Hole later. As luck would have it Ron puts me up first. There's a small but nice crowd. I try some safe stuff and some new stuff. I open with Bumbershoot and Toby which did well, then went into Christian comics. That was all I put on my outline and should've been about 5 minutes, but when I got done I saw that the warning light had not gone on so, fuck it... close with Cheesecake Factory. My first mistake here was not saying to myself, "Well I got done early, that's good, I can quit while I'm ahead." Nope. So the light goes on (which means a minute left by the way) right after I start the bit. Now hindsight being 20/20 I could've cut to the last part of the bit and I would've been fine. Nope. I do the whole thing and by the time I'm done the light is flashing and I flew over time by 3 minutes. Fuck. I apologized to the host, the next comic, and then Ron who said, "Well, tonight of all nights you can get away with it." Still, fuck, I really don't want to be that guy. The set went pretty good, yeah, but I don't ever want to be that guy.
By the time I get done the Laff Hole show is an hour away. I went up first, but we started late so it's already time for me to go. Shit. I was going to record Lydia but scram instead. I'm not beating myself up as bad for this, but still, I shouldn't do an open mic if I can't hang out for a bit at least.
As soon as Cathy went up I forgot all about my self-flagellation and enjoyed a master at her craft. I strong armed a bunch of derby girls to go and they all enjoyed her. Still the night would've been better had I not felt like an asshole for a portion of it.
Lesson: Do your time, and not a second more.
Back-up lesson: Hang out with the open micers... they deserve it as much as you do.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Day 31: Mo' comedy mo' problems 8/27/07
More of the same. Comedy Underground. Open mic. Tried some new stuff.
There was a bit of an audience there, who didn't seem into dirty stuff. I apologized before I got going. Went up with Toby impression (for the clean folks), George Gaynes (who played Henry Warnimont from Punky Brewster) impression, Lisa Loeb (didn't do well, but I like it), the new and improved Tab (it may be a joke after all), and the new hit, Nicole Ritchie's baby. That one did well and will be very good. It was a bit of a collab with Nick, Danielle and James but I had the premise so the bits all mine. My set went a little long, which I hate doing, gotta get that under control. Great sets from Danielle, Nick, and Solomon (Solomon's new bit is a stroke of genius), and James had his best set yet with multiple applause. Go you fucker, Go!
Lesson: Collaborations help take a non-joke to legendary status
Back-up lesson: Just because I like a joke, doesn't mean it's funny. Just because a joke isn't funny doesn't mean I wont do it. (actually that's a bad lesson, the first part is good, but the second...)
There was a bit of an audience there, who didn't seem into dirty stuff. I apologized before I got going. Went up with Toby impression (for the clean folks), George Gaynes (who played Henry Warnimont from Punky Brewster) impression, Lisa Loeb (didn't do well, but I like it), the new and improved Tab (it may be a joke after all), and the new hit, Nicole Ritchie's baby. That one did well and will be very good. It was a bit of a collab with Nick, Danielle and James but I had the premise so the bits all mine. My set went a little long, which I hate doing, gotta get that under control. Great sets from Danielle, Nick, and Solomon (Solomon's new bit is a stroke of genius), and James had his best set yet with multiple applause. Go you fucker, Go!
Lesson: Collaborations help take a non-joke to legendary status
Back-up lesson: Just because I like a joke, doesn't mean it's funny. Just because a joke isn't funny doesn't mean I wont do it. (actually that's a bad lesson, the first part is good, but the second...)
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