Are You Mormons Ready For Some Comedy?
July 5, 2007 · Print This Article
Are you an up and coming comic who finds getting started difficult? Well try going through it in Salt Lake City, UT. That’s what today’s guest Sina Amedson has done. Sina drops by to talk about SLC Underground, and offers some great tips to young upstarts looking to book their own shows on what venues to look for, dealing with management, and how to pull in headliners.
As though that weren’t enough, Brian talks about the joy of early morning radio promotion, Kathy Griffen, listener reactions to comedy classes and road hacks, and our first comedy spotlight from across the pond. If it’s not Scottish it’s crap!
Email: brianmcomedy@gmail.com
A good staring point for the discussion of comedy books might be, if I may be so bold as to plug my site, is here:
http://nycomedyradio.com/media.php
Lots of books about comedians, books written by comedians, and instructional books.
Just wanted to offer a quick apology to Sina. In addition to butchering his name, the recorder died during his hell gig story and we had to lose the segment. For those of you wondering, it involved the phrase, “A one night stand turned into a weekend excursion”. And believe me, this isn’t a good thing. We’ll get the gritty details next time. Thanks again Sina.
hahaha! Thanks Brian. My apologies to Brian and everyone listening. I was a bit sleep deprived and was having a hard time maintaining linear thoughts. Also, I’d had a similar conversation with my friend Lisa the night before while on a bunch of Xanax because she is running a room in Florida so I couldn’t remember what I’d told her and what I’d told Brian…so if anything seemed unclear please ask and I’ll do my best to answer any questions you might have.
The rambling, hungover and always dumb,
Sina Amedson.
I’ve heard Richard Pryor’s book is really good but it’s out of print last I checked. It’s called Pryor Convictions.
I’m also a big fan of all the _______ on Comedy audio recordings that you can find on Laugh.com. I have George Carlin and Jerry Seinfeld. Good stuff.
I also love “I Killed” by Ritch Shydner and Mark Schiff.
Thanks for the linkNyComedy. I’ll be spending the next few hours on your site.
Sina.
There are so many books out there that stand-up comics have done. Just a few:
Jerry Seinfeld- “Seinlanguage.” He just wrote out his jokes and put them all in a book. Wow. I dare you to find a better example of a comic selling out to make a buck. What’s the point of this? Do people buy his CD and the book and read along with him while he’s doing each bit?
Steve Martin- “Pure Drivel.” I like most of it.
Jon Stewart- “Naked Pictures of Famous People.” From what I understand, it’s an unfiltered version of the kind of stuff he says on the Daily Show. That’s gotta be hilarious.
Lewis Black- “Nothing’s Sacred.” I guess the book is good, but I can’t imagine a comic who depends so much on the delivery of his material being able to translate that energy into literary form.
Others- All those BIll Cosby books, the Paul Reiser “Babyhood” book, and of course the how-to books like what Judy Carter has out there. I think Foxworthy wrote a book out of his Redneck sayings. Or maybe it was bumper stickers. Half of one, six dozen of another.
Joel, On “Nothing’s Sacred”, you can literally hear him delivering the lines as you read it. Very good stuff, especially for Lewis Black fans. It’s essentially an autobiography, with bits of his routine sprinkled in where appropriate.
I also recommend Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays (I saw him perform it on Broadway, it was just amazing) and It Ain’t Easy Bein’ Me by the late great Rodney Dangerfield. It’s inspirational to stand-ups everywhere… if that poor schlubb can make it, there’s hope for the rest of us.
Sina, i concur with the Laugh.com comedian interviews, even if some are a bit dated. The Seinfeld and Carlin ones are really informative, and I also recommend the Johnny Carson interview one. There are a few more out of print ones from oooooollllddd timey comedians like Jack Benny, that you can download from sites like eMusic.com.
While i’m giving out recommendations, I got the new Paul F. Tompkins comedy cd “Impersonal” last week. Very funny stuff. Essentially the same schtick as his bits on Best Week Ever, so if you like/dislike that, you’ll probably have the same reaction to his CD. It also has one bit that he did on an episode of Dr. Katz about an “inside jazz joke” that for YEARS i’ve been trying to figure out who the hell that was. And now I know.
I just spoke with Lewis Black and he said he’s working on a new book. I didn’t get details but I think he implied that he’s finishing it up. So there’s another one to add to the list.
Thanks for the tip. I’ll see if iTunes has the Johnny Carson interview. I’m addicted to iTunes.
Sina.
A quick question for Sina and everyone really….
I really enjoyed the interview and greatly admire what you’re doing. Setting up your own room sounds amazing but I wonder how people feel about letting people in free. Did you not find that people would just wonder in and not really be in the mood or prepared for comedy? I’ve been to a few free comedy nights and people ended up walking in thinking it was a normal bar night and just talking at the other end of the room, etc and really fucking it up for everyone. Is it not better to even charge a minimal fee of $1 so people know….’oh, ok, I’m going to see some comics?’
Hope everyone understands the question….I’m incredibly hungover!!!
Hey Brian I know you’re not taking requests for the comics this month so I’ll just post here saying that I hope Jimmy Carr makes your list of UK comics. I love his act and his delivery is great but has to be seen to appreciate:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y0cA2oO85nA
Thanks for chiming in Steve. I have already chosen the comics for this month, but considering I could only think of 4 British comics, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll hear Jimmy.
An answer to your question, Nick, is you’re right. What I neglected to mention in the interview is that these things take extraordinary efforts on everyone’s part. This method that we use does not work overnight. It takes months and years before people realize what is going on. For the first year (and even now) we had/have people walking in and being confused and sometimes leaving. What we try to do is capitalize on that and try to get them to stay. Most of our regulars were customers who had no idea comedy was going on but now they come every week.
The best way to market these shows is the same as a Karoake night. Same night every week. After a while then people just get used to saying that their Sunday night ritual (or whatever night you’re doing it) is comedy at _______ bar.
Eventually what happens is that people will continue to come in and talk but some people listen and eventually those who came for comedy will out number those who are talking and will tell them to shut up.
It’s also pretty key to have an MC who let’s everyone know while he’s setting up and while he’s warming up the crowd that this is comedy night. I’ll usually play a comedy dvd on the tv’s about an hour before the shows so people will shut up and start watching that.
Don’t ever forget that you are not in a comedy club. You will never get that kind attention at a bar. It’s always going to be a bit harder. But that’s good in a lot of ways because a lot of your first gigs are hard. They are in bars. It’s like boot camp. You’ll come out of it a stronger comic who can deal with anything. If you make boot camp as hard as possible then war will be a piece of cake.
Thanks for the question and listening to the interview.
Sina.
Another thing that helps get people to keep coming back is to learn their names and greet them. Say hi to everyone. It makes a difference. Thanks people at the end of the night. People are more inclined to come out if they feel they are supporting a friend and not a bunch of arrogant comics who were pissed there were only 8 people in the crowd.
I can’t stress that enough. Get to know everyone that comes to your shows. Ask them how they heard of it. Find out what marketing methods are working. Invite them back. It works like you wouldn’t believe. Make everyone feel welcome to be there and to come back.
Sina.
Good call on the free show Nick. Not only is there a possible confusion factor, but for some reason, when people pay, they seem to have a better time. Maybe they feel as though they’re investing in their evening. When I used to wait tables at the comedy club the most miserable people were the ones that got in with a free pass. It’s a weird phenomenon.
Thanks for the answers guys….it’s a funny thing human behaviour!
Oh my god Brian you could only think of four British comics!?!
Mate, these aren’t necessarily my favourite comics but they are some of the top ones in recent years.
1) Eddie Izzard. No introduction necessary
2) Jimmy Carr. Likewise.
3) Ricky Gervais. Better known for creating The Office and for writing that simpsons episode for you guys, but has been on a tour of Britain for about 3-4 years in a row with sell-out theatre crowds. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=E_EXqdJ4L7I
4) Bill Bailey. Genius comic with upcoming ARENA tour of the UK. Incorparates music (in a good way) into his comedy. Watch this pub joke by him in the style of Chaucer (Olde English)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qod7nSGKag0
5) Peter Kay. I really, really hate him but he has had MASSIVE success with ‘workin class’ stand up. Has played arenas but in a way I equate him with Larry the Cable Guy. Boring, tedious comedy but you can’t fault the fact that he has made a fortune with both stand up and TV shows in the Uk.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MJr9ekTf0xc&mode=related&search=
My personal fav UK comics (other than Eddie Izzard) are
1) Stewart Lee. He was the man behind the controvesial Jerry Springer: The Opera but is an excellent, dry, often politicaladn social comic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtBQhrFhock
2) Mark Thomas. Very left wing and very funny. If there’s a protest in Britain, he’s usually at the front of the crowd. Had an hilarious tv show at the end of the 1990s and beginning of the 2000s (I think)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAYQU3bORJs
3) Carey Marx. Shocking and hilarious comic. In this video, he uses the word ‘cunt’ about 15 secs into a set in front of lots of kids. My kinda guy!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8468239454052605722
British stand up sounds like its in a similar mode than US stand up is at the moment.
In terms of stand up clubs, pretty much all major and large towns in the uk will have AT LEAST one dedicated stand up club with stand up at least on 3 nights a week. Although, it seems that most comedy goes on in bars or whatever venue is commendeered. The town I live in, which is the biggest in the north east region of England, doesn’t have a spefically comedy club but does host regular comedy nights in the various bars around town, depending which group can organise it.
However, if you’re a comic wanting to make a career of it, fro what I’ve heard you’ve got to move to London. That’s where you can work (if you’re good a networking) every night of the week and gain contacts to get around the UK on gigs. If you end up being a full time, touring comic, with perhaps the occaisional tv or radio work you’ll be earning around $20,000 a year……You have to remember that rarely a comic will be booked for a week long and put up in some skanky condo; Britian is reasonably easy and quick to get around in comparison with the expansive US. I’ve heard stories of 3 comics driving 200 mile round trips for a night gig then going home and getting up and going to do the day job.
We have a comedy channel on our cable (Paramount), but it only really has limited shows on stand up, usually of 10-15 minute bits of touringcomics……i.e. theres no comedy central presents shows or something of their kind.
Another reason I would say it’s like the US is the reliance on TV. There’s a great effrot to get some TV credits to help you promote you act or show. Jimmy Carr is a case in point; he slept in his car(r) while touring Britian, busted his ass (arse) and now is on practically every TV show you can name either presenting or just turning up to the point where the British public is a bit sick of him! He’s reasonably clean, he’s smug and he’s got that quick, one lined wit that fits well with both TV and the stage.
I do think we’re a bunch of witty, often dry and potentially quite sick people. We have some great festivals including probably one of the most famous festivals in the world in the Edinburgh Fringe, where EVERYONE in britian plays, tv credits or not! I’ll be attending the Fringe for the third year in a row this August, can’t wait!
I’ll repost what I said last week cause I think it’s worth repteating (and saving those too lazy to go back an episode!
“Another interesting thing about the UK is that we’re a haven for foreign comics including americans, canadians and austrailians. Bill Hicks did sold out theatre tours here, Doug stanhope has been the edinburgh fringe a few times and come away with armfuls of awards.
Some might say this is because we’re receptive and accept many different cultures. Others might say it’s becuase we like laughing at your funny accents………………
I know the US is a melting pot of cultures but other than a handful of comics (including Izzard and Carr and maybe Hugh Laurie from House,) do you have a lot of comics from other countries playing their trade there? If so, how do they fare?
Some top foreign comics working in the UK are:
1) Rich Hall. Deadpan, miserable and funny as fuck. Supposively, he is the inspiration, looks and manner, for Moe the Bartender from the Simpsons.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi1E7QLWy-w
2) Glenn Wool. Aboslutely mad comic from Canada. Doug Stanhope calls him the best comic working in the UK.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXojj06KSPo
3) Steve Hughes. Heavy metal lover from Austrailia. Kicking right wing arse up and down the country with his long haired antics.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOLYX4ESNrI
I really don’t pretend I’m 100% accurate and I would love anyone else from the Uk to correct me if I’m wrong or give another perspective on British comedy!
That came out a bit wrong….Hugh Laurie isn’t touring as a comic, just as a miserable doctor! You lot know what I mean!
Awkward Introduction
Just letting you guys know that I’ll be hanging out on the boards with you and I couldn’t find a better place to introduce myself. So… I’m 41 and have been a stand-up fan all of my life. My first comedy album was a present from my father. It was Bill Dana’s infamous character, José Jimenéz. I had the entire album memorized and I’m pretty sure that the very first line was, “My name: José Jimenéz, a teenage base-a-ball star.” I’ve been a collector ever since.
I’m an American living and working in Japan. There are no boundaries for me when it comes to comedy, and I’m looking for ward to hanging out with you all when I SHOULD BE working.
–
Bryan (with a muhfuhggin Y)
Tokyo
Thanks for the breakdown of comedy in England Nick. I’ve always wondered if stand up was thriving in other parts of the world. I was lucky enough to perform in London once and the crowds are awesome, but it sounds like the business is struggling everywhere.
Welcome Bryan. I’ve been distracting people from their jobs for the better part of a year, so I think you’ll feel at home here. And other than the fact you spell your name incorrectly, you seem like a good guy.
Thanks for that update Nick. I’ve really always wanted to visit the UK (London and Edinburgh in particular) and I’ve always wanted to see/perform comedy out there. I like a lot of British comics. You guys seem way edgier than us and seem to having a hell of a lot more fun.
Here’s hoping that happens one day.
Cheers,
Sina.
“Sir, this is the hotel lobby!!!!” That’s a good one, Brian! Where did that joke come from? Or is that your own fantasy? BTW, do you have any stand up performances booked in Phoenix, or heck, even Tucson any time soon?
Absolutely VP, AZ is my home state, I’m always passing through. My next week long booking in Tucson isn’t until X-Mas, but I may make it out there before the summer is over. I also plan on hitting up the state capitol on the way and working on one of Kirk Buckhout’s shows. So I’m sure our paths will cross.
As for the joke of the week, none of them are my own creation. They are either submissions from the listeners or jokes I’ve heard in bars. Oddly enough, I heard that one on Jim Breuer’s satellite radio show and it was told by Brian Johnson of AC/DC.
Cool, I live in Tempe. Let me know if you’re going to be performing in the phx area. I’ve actually never been to a comedy club before, even though we have the improv here (which I know you’re not a fan of). I was introduced to this show from listening to This Ain’t Iowa, not because I had an interest in comedy, but now I’m starting to think BTB is better! Oh yeah, ignore what I said a few weeks ago– that was a joke. you’re probably not that freaky, at least from a distance.
Haha Rich Hall… the Snigletts guy…
My band’s CD is about to drop. Check me out on vocals.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5Ym5g3DR1M
Sounds cool Brian,
where abouts in london did you play? How did you end up getting the gig?
london is an awesome city; being in politics in the UK everything kinda points towards it!
N
x
Hey Nick, check out a comic named Dave Bishop out there. He and I have collaborated a handful of times. He’s doing the same thing over there as I’m doing over here.
He just booked Sean Rouse to come out in October (I think…check his schedule to be sure). But he also got Joe Rogan and some other great comics out there too.
Cheers,
Sina.
Oh I know, he’s awesome!
He had Stanhope over last year causing havoc in manchester. Sean Rouse, what a man! How is he getting on in LCS?
Brian, thanks for another great show.
Sina, it’s so cool to hear what you’re doing - I am so impressed. I almost did something similar last fall when I was in a comedy-starved area (or at least starved for me), but oddly enough, I couldn’t get enough comics to commit to being there to do the shows. Crazy times. So I gave up.
On a related note, when it comes to marketing, Sina, if you need help with website stuff, I’m a bit of guru and would love to help you out. That goes for you other comics, too - I can hook you up with hosting and a basic site you can update yourself fairly inexpensively.
Amelia (woman #2)
I have the Audiobook of Nothing’s Sacred (no, I’m not lazy, I don’t know how to read!) on mp3 and I’d be willing to wager it’s probably better than reading the book yourself. Lewis does the reading himself and while it’s not like his stage act he still manages to speak in a very similar manner. I thought it was a pretty interesting book myself.
I’m a big fan of Audio books. But I am lazy so maybe that’s why. Plus they make car trips easier.
As for Sean…I haven’t spoken with him since his phone got disconnected. But i heard he made it to hollywood but the word on the street is that they have already chosen who is going through.
I think there is a thread dedicated to it in this myspace group:
Groups.Myspace.com/Roflmao
But you’ll probably have to do some hunting because it’s been a couple weeks since we’ve talked about this.
Hugs,
Sina.
Thank you Amelia. That’s very nice of you. I wish I would’ve met you a year ago. I have TaintedHumor.net doing my website right now. http://www.SinaAmedson.com and I never really spend any time on it or update it. I spend too much time on myspace as it is. I figure its more effective anyway. Even for the Underground Comedy Movement I just use myspace and an email list I mail out from Hotmail. It’s pretty basic, but if I ever grow out of it, I’d love to work with you.
Send me an email at SinaAmedson@hotmail.com so I can have you on file. Add me on myspace if you’re on there…I’m there everyday.
I love you guys. I’m off to Bear Lake, Idaho for the weekend. If I come back alive, I’ll talk with again on Sunday.
Hugs and kissies,
Sina.
P.S. If you ever want to try and get something like that off the ground again and want some pointers, I’d love to help. Just email me and we’ll chat.
Sorry for the delay everyone. My one man production team had a slight scheduling conflict. We’ll have it out to you ASAP. Thanks.
no problem brian… i’ll just listen to “evil scottsman” over and over again until it’s ready… And just because it’s really Alanis Morrisette’s “One Hand In My Pocket”, that doesn’t make me a fruit.
Just talked to Tony. The show should be out tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for your patience.
Tony, You’re fired!
Anybody else ever read “Letters From A Nut”? Supposedly written by Seinfeld, with a name like Arthur Tuesday or something on the cover…there is also More Letters From a Nut out there. It is a compilation of insane complaint/customer letters to businesses and their responses. Totally sidesplitting. Look ‘em up and read at your first opportunity.
yeah ive seen those. theyre pretty funny. hey brian whats the deal. its sunday and still no podcast
Don’t be too hard on Tony. For the most part he’s a podcast producing machine. He just had to get drunk Aussie style this weekend, which requires a little more recovery time than our American hangovers. The show will be up tomorrow and the new episode will be out Thursday as usual. Thanks for the patience everyone.