Comedy is not all about jokes. I have been a witness to this a few times in my meager comedy career. I have seen some comics just be dicks off stage. Rude to the waitstaff, demanding of things, uninterested in what is going on around them, argumentative… Just nonsense really. And this will come back to haunt them. They won’t be asked to come back to the club. They will lose money and opportunities as a result. Just how it goes. Now, they may be the talent, they may be the reason people are in the seats, they may be funny but they are completely replaceable. There are only 52 weekends in the year. Some of those weekends might be lost to holidays or other things so let’s just say there are 50 weekends in the year. Why risk losing a weekend by being a dick? By being rude? By being just a surly cuss? Trust me, there are guys just waiting to take your spot. Funny will take you so far. You are still a human being so treat others with respect too!
I’ve been kind of disturbed with a lot of racial humor I have heard lately. A lot has happened at open mics but some has come from headliners. The problem is that the crowd usually eats this crap up. So it kind of perpetuates the cycle. Comic tells an off color joke, audience rewards them with laughter, the comic continues to write this way. So I came up with my own racist joke. I thought it was clever and really more of a social commentary kind of joke. And not shockingly it has gone well. It is frustrating to me that I want to write better and have the audience appreciate deeper thoughts. Sadly it gets lost. Sometimes it still is about the basic level. Keep It Simple Stupid…
I have been doing less promotion of my shows lately. Mostly because of the harm that can come from it. And doesn’t that sound backwards? Harm coming from promoting yourself?! You see, there are these people called “bookers” who are the ones responsible for getting comics to work rooms. These bookers are often territorial and they can get pissy if they think you are working a room that interferes with a room they have. Often these gigs are one nighter rooms on a Wed at some bar in a hick town. These rooms are not hurting other rooms. I find it funny how these bookers like to intimidate comics. Usually younger and less experienced guys. My thought is that if you don’t want me to work for someone else, then work me in your rooms! Pure and simple. There is no loyalty in this gig. Comics are independent contractors. We are all just trying to make our way. I just wanna work and feel like I am having to crawl over people who should be helping me in that pursuit. I assume it is similar in theater and the music industry. I wish bookers worried more about how they can make their rooms better, pay comics more, and just have better shows than worrying about where comics are performing. Meh.
I am doing a benefit show for the National Guard tomorrow in Ft. Wayne, IN. I will be car pooling it down there with a few other comics. I usually find the journey much more fun than the destination. I hope so as the ride is like 4 hours there or so. What we do for the people who help protect our country… :D
Thanks for reading folks. Have a good one.
