Can I Borrow Your Act For A Sec?
January 31, 2008 · Print This Article
Have you ever liked someone so much that you killed them and then tried to take over their life? Well it happens in comedy all the time. Except for the killing. Sometimes…
Topics on the day include the fine line between inspiration and theft. finding your comedic voice, the double life of a comic with a day job, and Mike single handedly brings Gallagher’s career back to life. Is the soup strong?
Email: brianmcomedy@gmail.com and give us a call on 206-203-4692
In terms of voice. I’m sure you could rephrase the joke, by doing it as a bigger bit talking about stupid friends or something, who tell stupid stories. and how aggravated you get at them.
I had posted this in another thread, but it seems better suited to this one:
__
I had one of those depressing moments today where I saw a clip of an established comic doing a bit very similar to one of my own - and the depressing thing is that his clip (OK, it’s Brian McKim) predates my even writing my joke by a year.
The premises are identical: I’m a tall guy and often a woman in a store will say, “You’re tall, can you get this off the shelf for me? I can’t reach it.”
McKim’s punch: “Yeah, sure.” And the next time I see her, I’ll say, “You’re short, can you get this off the bottom shelf for me?”
Mine: “Yeah, sure. You’re short, can you blow me? I can’t reach it. I’ve tried, believe me.”
So my question is, do I drop the bit, or is it different enough that I need not worry about it too much? McKim is a long-time comedy vet, so I’m the one who’ll look the thief to anyone who’s familiar with his stuff. And I’m not sure it’s worth arguing that I wrote mine before ever having seen his clip, which is true. Then again, I’m probably not the second or even third comic over 6? tall to have had the experience and written a joke about it. Perhaps it’s even a bit hacky?
Anyway, thought I’d run this by you guys for opinions.
quick news on hooks, i was reading deadfrog .com that Dom Irrera is droping his hook. aparently hes the Bada Bing guy. who knew
Regarding pissing off the audience, the best advice is this:
If you’re going to be provocative, don’t be surprised if someone feels provoked.
I think you can wait maybe another 50-100 “contributers” before you need a message board. What looks like a busy group of people on a comments system is actually a painfully slow and quiet message board when it’s spread out into threads and stuff.
–
What I’m really interested in hearing your opinion on is the opposite end of the joke persona thing, when people create a character and expect people to then find what they’re saying funny because it’s not them, I’m not George Minkleburg Plotz, i’m “Pauline, local soccer mother of three little darlings, and I also deal crystal meth on the side. ” In that example it’s all about having a wacky comedy hook that fails, but there are other pitfalls with that brand of punchlineless character comedy that I can’t really put my finger on.
Woah, I totally didn’t phrase that as a question. And I’m still slogging throuh your archives, so I might just be regurgitating something earlier.
Ah well, shit happens.
Re: Dan
I’ve heard a ‘version’ of that joke from a couple of other comedians as well. I wouldn’t call it hack but it’s definitely an observation that’s been made before. So that’s both good news and bad news for you. You can keep the bit since you aren’t stealing it…but I would drop it because it’s pretty much unoriginal at this point.
The other comedian I’ve heard do this (the one that comes to mind anyway) is Scott White (www.ScottBlanco.com) and I only remember because I had to listen to him do it every night for a week.
It’s a solid line but it won’t be the one that makes your career.
All my love,
Sina.
Re:Dan
im a freshman in highschool, and iv herd so many differant versions of that joke, it is Almost to the point or hack. it might work on the older crowds but your up-in-coming audiance will not find it as funny as they should.
- i have to a agree with nic, what we got now is perfect for the numbers we have.
Sina: Agreed. I was leaning towards dumping it. Thanks for the nudge. Besides, if any of my material is “career-making,” it’s probably my nine-minute closer on airplane food.
I’m sure that closer it pretty polished Dan, but if you’re looking for a fresh angle, why do they make the bags of peanuts so small?
Hi folks,
Hey Brian, completely agree with you on the downsides of having co-workers know you do stand-up. The other aspects I dread include when something mildly amusing–stress mildly–occurs at work and someone turns to you and says in a loud voice, “Hey, maybe you can use that in your act, huh? Be sure and give me credit!”
And you mentioned how people laugh at everything you say even when you’re being serious. I get the other response. I’m being serious and people will say, geez, for a comedian you’re not all that funny.
Anyway, love this discussion on comedians finding their voice. I’ll argue that finding your voice is the golden key that unlocks success.
- Don in Nova Scotia
I get a lot of, “I never would have guessed you’re a comic”. Like I should burst into the room like Shecky the Clown and start doing bits everywhere I go.
I got a lot of “I never knew you were funny” when people at my work first found out I started doing open mics.
I still get all that stuff though. I don’t know what kind of antiquated perception people have of comedians. I feel like I’m either supposed to be Uncle Joey from Full House or Dane Cook otherwise I’m somehow a disappointment.
Then there’s always the explanation of why I don’t headline the local comedy club very often. I sometimes will stumble across someone who has heard of my local shows but I’m more surprised at how little the general population cares about stand up comedy as a modern art form.
*sigh*
Sina.
P.S. Worst thing anyone ever said to me had to have been after I made some lame quip at a party with a bunch of old friends and they all just kinda stopped and stared at me. One buddy said “I hope you don’t use shit like that in your stand up.” …Still haunts me.
yeah, when i first started out i wanted to keep it under wraps myself. but one day i was out one day with my parents and two girls from my school came over and said how much they enjoyed my performance at the open mic i was at a few days earlier. my parents didnt know this, so my comic identity was let out of the bag. it wasnt as bad as i thought it would be but still….
yea, my parents think im going to join the army, they have no idea what i really want to do.
Okay Sina– you’re asking for it.
Joey was NOT their uncle. He was just Joey.
Sorry, just had to put that out there for all the Full House purists.
I actually had a substantive comment, though. I really enjoyed the section on jokes you can’t use. This happens to me all the time, but I am big enough to give them away, so that my feelings can be hurt when my fellow comics decide not to use them. I also put jokes I can’t use in my myspace blog.
Comics– do you have a standard category of jokes you can’t use? My stage persona is such that I usually end up with dirty/mean jokes that I think are really funny, but don’t jibe with my bunny-identified lesbian next-door vibe. What do you guys invent and toss?
i normally just go with shit that has happened to me in my life, that way i know it will sound good coming from me
He wasn’t a “technical” uncle. They were all just childhood friends that grew up together. Jesse’s sister married Danny and then died to leave the 3 boys to raise the girls.
So Joseph was as much an uncle (to me) as Jesse. But in hindsight…I don’t think they ever actually called him Uncle Joey though. I must’ve been thinking of Jesse.
Sina.
Damn. you guys are old. I don’t know what full house is.
Dont know what full house is! Im only 23 and now I feel old. Oh well Mike you may be a Boy Meets World follower-
I feel with the conversation about finding you “voice” that if you can take a joke and put it in your own perspective then you shouldnt run into to many problems with overstepping into other peoples material. The same concept of a joke being told by Todd Barry, Daniel Tosh and Larry The Cable Guy would all sound different essentially and all would be funny in respect to the reflecting perspectives each performer brought. I think thats the beauty of standup and that why we can have a thousand yahoo’s all trying to tell jokes. Just like the different way you prepare food yields different end results so did the process that we all went to have our humorous perspective get to where it is today… Just a thought floating around or the result of too many Mandy Moore movies in our culture.
I think we all agree that on the subject of borrowing/inspiration from other comics’ material, its always better to avoid it.
But I dunno if you guys have fallen into the same trap I have at times in the past. I listen to so much comedy, that sometimes the jokes get subconsciously stored in my brain. And when I write jokes, I think they’re my own but in reality it was from something like a Comedy Central Premium blend episode I saw like 2-3 years ago.
This obviously doesn’t happen to me all the time, but it has happened to me in the past, and I know a lot of other comics that it’s happened to.
What about you guys?
Great question Aman. That happened to me a lot early on. It’s so easy to “forget” that you heard something before when you listen to a lot of stand up. There have definitely been a few times where I write a bit then catch a 5 year old HBO special and have to scrap the whole thing. I honestly believe that’s what happens to guys like Robin Williams. I don’t think he intentionally ripped people off. He probably thought he was coming up with that stuff.
brian I think you are right especially about Robin Williams.. I think so much of his stuff is a loose structure, then he improvises around it (and that’s where he gets into trouble). He always just seems SO excited to be on stage, he never knows what is coming out.
On Sina:
“One buddy said “I hope you don’t use shit like that in your stand up.” …Still haunts me.” This happens from time to time to me, I usually just pause and then say something along the lines of “ok, we gotta workshop that one” and it saves the moment enough.
That makes me think of a question though. When trying to determine how ‘useful’ or ‘funny’ a joke is, obviously nothing is better than trying it out repeatedly on different stages. In second place, perhaps running through material with a writing partner (or partners) you can really trust. But other than that, do y’all ever try out material in another way, i.e. slipping new bits into conversations at a party and watching reactions, etc? I’ve done this from time to time when I could keep my true motivations quiet (so not “hey gang, check out my new bit!”) but I feel like if someone does it too much and gets ‘caught’, it seems like the janitor at brian’s school, using bits of his standup in every normal conversation.
So, other than stagetime, what is the best way of workshopping and refining material?
This is a hot button issue with me. I can’t stress enough that you shouldn’t try out material on friends/family, even if you’re doing it undercover. All it does is fuck with your confidence. If they don’t laugh you start to second guess yourself, meanwhile you’re depending on 1 or 2 people to determine the fate of a bit that supposed to appeal to the masses. Once you’ve been doing it a while you start to get a feel for what will work, but when you’re starting out I say trust your own sense of humor until you can work it out on stage.
ow see i disagree on the freinds part, at least with myself. i have some of the best/worst freinds a wanna be comic can have. they will openly tell me that i sucked the big one or tell me im a god when i did well. theyre the best critics i can have becuase they wont be nice cuase its politically correct. theyll speak their minds even if it comes off as sadistic. god bless em.
I saw a comic break the rule on covering once in a really funny way. He had a bit about how Bush never seems to really get his own jokes, and went on to do an impression of Bush covering Steven Wright jokes. Now that I think of it, Bush jokes and impressions are already kinda hacky, and combining it with copying jokes should have been unspeakable, but I laughed my balls off.
Re: Aman Ali.
I have done that a handful of times in the past. The worst was an old quote some buddies and I used to say to each other. Little did I know that one of us stole that from Louis CK and had the rest of us saying it. So I started doing it on stage and next thing I know I’m on stage stealing a Louis CK bit inadvertently. I’m glad I caught it before anyone else did though.
When I first started writing jokes, since I didn’t have my own voice, I would often write in the voice of whoever I was listening to the most at the time. So a lot of my jokes were pretty much written to be delivered like Dave Attell or Dane Cook. They weren’t their jokes reworded. They were original. But they were meant to be said with their voices since I didn’t know what mine sounded like. After a while I strayed from doing that though. It became easier to write for myself.
Another form of stealing that a lot of people don’t seem to acknowledge is what I call ‘formulaic stealing’. When someone steals the formula for a joke but not necessarily a joke itself.
For example. Dave Attell will say “Let’s talk about the Eskimos, or as I call them, The Snow Mexicans.” Then I’ll steal the joke by saying “I had a wet dream the other night, or as I call it, God’s sticky alarm clock.”
Anyone else ever noticed that?
Sina.
“So, other than stagetime, what is the best way of workshopping and refining material?” - DDD
I come from a Fringe Theatre and improv background, (yeah yeah, wank wank.) And one of the coolest things that we did were workshop nights where people get invited to see a work in progress (or in case of improv, how a team is gelling) and then critique it, on the understanding that you’ll do the same for them when it comes around. A bit like a writers group. My comedy group extended this to other things we do, like my stand up, and bits of writing, so forth and so forth. It’s really cool, because you get actually useful critical feedback and the experience of trying to sell a crowd with it.
There are two problems with this -
1st. You have to trust them, not just not to steal your bit (which comics everywhere get paranoid about, judging the billion references to that fear on this site.) but also you have to trust that their opinion is relevent and informed. You can (and I often do) go against their opinions, but you have to be able to rely that their critiques aren’t shit… Your Uncle Mike the Jehova’s Witness Actuary who gets offended when you don’t invite him, but feels that your bit about Nelson Mandela starring in gay porn is horrific, should probably be left in the dark.
The second problem is making a range of people who have opinions you trust, but don’t think in the same vein as you come. Which is hard because why would you trust a person who thinks differently than you? I’m lucky because I did theatre shit, I know a lot of people who are good at what they do, but are apples to my oranges.I trust them, and they trust me too. It is these people who I find the most helpful to figuring out my act, because of their foreignness.
Yeah, and that is that.
Great points Nic. I am very pro workshops, but like the thread that was started by Aman, you can fall into a trap where you’re all talking/riffing together, and the line for “who’s bit is this” gets blurred. I have one comic friend who started at the same time I did, and he’s the only one I feel comfortable running stuff by. We’re so different on stage that my material wouldn’t work for his act and vice versa.
Sina:
I don’t think your “or as I call it…” example qualifies as theft, since it’s not really an uncommon way of constructing a metaphor. I don’t think anyone could claim ownership of the construction - in itself - anymore than using “like” and “as.” If a comic’s doing Attell-like jokes in that fashion, and a lot of them, that’s a different matter I suppose. Then again, I could be biased because I have one joke that uses it, though I didn’t sit down and write it after listening to Attell.
Doing a known comic’s material is NFG, unless one acknowledges it is someone else’s BEFORE they tell the joke.
For example, one night at the local open-mike-athon I was hosting, I brought up a comic, who spent his 10 mins doing a Lewis Black bit, verbatim, and getting NO laughs at all. When I came back up after “his” set, I called him on it. About half the comics in the room - the ones who understood the guy was just reciting a CD he’d heard a zillion times - applauded.
On another occasion, we had an audience left over from some religious folk-music show. One audience member shouted out “No Jesus jokes!” and I said that a paraphrase from Bill Hicks was the most appropriate “If we say something that offends you, do the Christian thing - forgive us!” The point being that I credited Bill Hicks up-front, unlike the LB pirate.
Not sure I agree with you there Russ. Stand up isn’t like a research paper where you have to site your sources. I guess saying you took a bit from someone is better than passing it off as your own, but I don’t think it’s widely accepted as “ok”. Just my take of course. Not trying to call you out as you were obviously not trying to steal Hicks’ material.
I’ve heard comics reference other comic’s thoughts and ideas on stage before and give them credit and I don’t really know how I feel about it. On one hand, they’re giving credit but on the other hand they are doing time on stage and filling it with others’ material.
Now that I’m thinking about it, I guess I’m okay with it. It sounds bad initially but it adds an element of intimacy with the performer. Like you aren’t watching a performance but someone just speaking to you.
I think I’ve heard Ron Shock say on stage once something along the lines of “George Carlin famously said …” and then went on from there. I’ve done something like that before as part of a rant before too. It’s nothing that would be considered “material” but it fit in the moment on stage.
I guess what I’m saying is that I can see where you’re coming from.
Sina.
P.S. Thanks Dan for clarifying that.
P.P.S. Have any of you noticed how 90% of topics discussed by comics are directed toward theft of material? Yet, it’s not really that big of an issue…at least not in my life personally. It sucks when it happens but it hasn’t crippled me or anything. It’s just a shitty part of the job that we all seem to dwell on. I belong to other comic groups and it’s all we ever talk about.
Sina, it is pretty funny. I’ve had the stealing material convo once over here in New Zealand, but have heard it in almost every one of the American and British podcast things that I’ve run into, almost every time. I guess, over here, the talent pool is so small that if someone pisses in it, everyone can see the yellow.
Hey BMO if I recall right you were a Giants fan so I just wanted to congratulate you. Gotta be their best win ever.
Having never been near Vegas I have what is probably a dumb question as there may be no way for you to compete: Have you ever considered starting your own comedy club?
Tough as it may be, between Cosby & Gallagher they planted the seed of my interest in comedy, that being said: Cosby is timeless I just watched Himself again for the millionth time whereas I haven’t seen hide nor lack of hair from Gallagher since I was in Jr. High. Cosby makes my list but Gallagher to me is like one of those TV shows that you loved when it was on but you catch it again 15 years later and realize just how awful the show was.
i gotta disagree with you
gallagher is funny no matter when you see him
Thanks LX. The past 3 Giants games have aged me 15 years, but it’s all worth it now.
As far as opening my own club, it’s something I would love to do, but never in Vegas. It’s just such a weird town in terms of tourism and entertainment. Even places like the Improv that are located on the Strip and bring in A/B list headliners can’t pack the room because on any given night Romano/Leno/Carlin/Maher etc. are performing in theaters around town. It really dilutes the comedy fan base. I am going to be starting my own comedy night, which I hope will be more manageable, but who knows. At least if that fails I won’t have to sell my baby to get out of debt.
Lord X: Gallagher (or his twin brother who took over his act at some point) still performs, just not at sold-out theaters.
i was reading punchline magazine today and they had an article about a sketch group called the Whitest kids you know and i noticed when of there members, Trevor Moore, used to be a stand up. and ive been thinking and alot of good stand ups have gone into sketch. Adam Sandler, Artie Lange, chris rock. is there some sort of allure of sketch. i mean i like sketches but ive never been able to picture myself or other comics doing it. i wonder why.
Sketch is more of an improv thing. I’ve noticed that people that do improv tend to bounce off into sketch and acting whereas stand ups tend to stay in stand up. It’s kind of a different animal.
However the disciplined writing that it takes to be a stand up will help you in sketch. In my experience it just seems that stand ups are not very selfless when it comes to sharing the stage with others.
It’s not always the case but it is the majority of the time.
Sina.
Brian, All,
As a new topic, maybe, for a future podcast, can you/we speak to or discuss the true value of MySpace and Facebook (especially) to the aspiring comic? I have been on MySpace for a while, and it’s OK… but only OK…mostly to find out who is doing what shows, and how to get on them, etc., but my ever-firming opinion of Facebook is that it is just a bunch of blather, drivel and nonsense. Are either of these doing anyone else any good? If so, how? If not, what is?
Russ
believe it or not, myspace is loosing its popularity amoung the yeounger crowd, but everyone else likes it more. i would say its not worth the trouble (though i have a myspace myself)
im no longer on myspace becuase of the webcam whores. they send me essage that if i pay them 25 bucks i can watch them strip. no thanks ill stick with free porn thank you very much.
I have had a Facebook account for a while now and can’t seem to figure it out. It’s definitely not as easy to use as myspace. And it definitely seems like its more set up to find old friends rather than promote your comedy and shows etc.
I think myspace has a lot of potential to meet new people. More than people realize. I wouldn’t know about this podcast if it wasn’t for myspace. I probably wouldn’t know half of my comedian buddies if it wasn’t for myspace.
On the flip side, I spend entirely too much time online because of myspace.
Sina.
Great show as always. Couple of things I wanted to chime in on.
First off I wanted to talk about attacking the audience. Well less about that specifically and more on handling tanking jokes. Attacking the audience is one way I’ve seen a lot of younger comics handle it Cause hey these jokes are your babies and fuck these assholes for hating it right? And yeah I’ve even seen it work to rally the crowd. I’ve also seem people go the opposite route and get self deprecating.
“yeah your right that joke sucked fuck me”
That one works sometimes to. You wanna do it to rally the crowd and get back into your set cool but once you get off track and just become pissed or masarcistic the audience sees it and you lose them. At the end of the day do you really want to have people laughing at your jokes failure?
A couple of good comics I’ve worked with have said “there are no bad audiences just bad deliveries” Now I understand what they mean in that you should be THAT good at telling your jokes that you cant have a bad set but those dream worlds are easily shattered by a show on a lake patio deck. Personally I say learning to walk it off and move on is the way to go.
Secondly, as far as the beginners using other peoples jokes to get started? Man I hate when I hear people in conversations “quoting” a comics joke they heard on tv and butchering it. Seeing that on a stage drives me insane.
That being said, heres how I started out. Dead Baby Jokes. There it is. Out there on the table. I started by closing every open mic with 3 different dead baby jokes. Hell I knew I wasnt going to be funny when I started but I figured I’d make an impression. Dont get me wrong I wasnt just trying to shock people. I love Dead Baby Jokes. They are fucked up and twisted and they crack me up. It worked to. I got recognized for it for awhile and eventually a comic came up to me and told me, “man your to funny to be using bs material” and he was right and moved on.
I guess what Im saying is using a crutch (ie maybe a bar joke or something of that ilk) to get you off your ass and on a stage is acceptable in my book. i mean whatever keeps you going up until you write that first 5 min. right? Just dont start taking credit for them. And ditch them when you got your feet under ya. This rant has gone on to long. Sorry.
Ryan
On jokes that tank:
I think that there’s a third approach other than attacking the audience or attacking oneself: ignoring the fact that you’re tanking.
I realize that this runs counter to what comedians are taught (we should always acknowledge what’s going on in the room) and, believe me, if the tanking continues, I think you have to mention it in some way. But in the short term — a few jokes here and there — I think it’s better to continue with the confidence that what you’re doing is good and that the audience will realize it sooner or later.
I hate “audiences are like…” comparisons, but here’s one anyway: audiences are like women you’re trying to impress. The more you actually TRY to impress them, the more they will sense your neediness and turn off to you. If you approach them with confidence (”Hey, you might not be laughing now, but I know this stuff is good so eventually we’ll all have a good time”), they’ll at best come around to you and at worst be confused (and confusion is better than heckling in my book).
I’m reminded of Jessica Kirshon’s routine about fat, ugly girls who constantly complain about how much they get hit on. After a while, you start to believe she’s hot just because she insists on it so much. I think audiences can be fooled the same way. If you hold yourself with the confidence of a comic who is killing, they might get confused and start believing that you are.
I remember back in the old days when I was emceeing a club we had an open micer come in to do a guest spot. I asked everyone what they wanted as their introduction. The open micer said, “He’s recording an HBO special next month and stopped in to try out some of his material.” I remember thinking that this went counter to everything I believed in when it came to credits, but I dutifully wrote down what he wanted me to say. When I introduced him, there were audible gasps of excitement from the audience (even though there was no way they could possibly know who he was). On top of that, he KILLED. I knew this guy from the open mics and uh, let’s just say killing was a rare thing for him.
The point of this story is not that you should lie about your credits, just that audience perception is sometimes more important than the quality of jokes that you’re telling. If the audience believes your funny, then you are. How will the audience find you funny if you don’t find yourself funny?
I’ve written a lot of lines here with no jokes or anything. So, poop. Yes, that’s right, I work blue.
I’m with Jay on how to handle crickets. I find just riding it out works best. But it’s not a bad idea to have a couple lines in your pocket for when that happens. Not just “you suck” or “I suck,” but actual jokes.
Best “I’m tanking and need to make a joke about it” improv I’ve ever seen: my buddy Gino Bisconti was headlining the all-girls college at Rutgers. He was eating it pretty harshly when sirens went whizzing by the auditorium. Gino says: “That’s the ambulance coming to pick up my act.”
Huge laughs. Didn’t save the show entirely, but it went a long way to fixing the first few minutes
Re: MYSPACE
Overall, I think Myspace is useful, if for no other reason than that it makes it easy to keep in touch with comics you already know and have worked with. I haven’t had any bookers or clubs message me with invitations to work and hit on their wait staff, but I have had one or two comics find me - usually through mutual friends’ pages - and that’s led to a gig here or there and new contacts.
Then again, it’s an easy way to waste many hours surfing blogs and clips or, in Doug Stanhope’s words, “adding friends like a little beekeeper.”
I do think a decent looking website with your own domain name is more professional, but I don’t see any reason not to do both.
Just thought i’d chime in with my 2 pence worth for a change:-
First i think this message board is fine as it is…….being as it’s used as a statrting point for the shows topics to split it up would lose the continuity it has
Secondly i seen many acts stolen from comics in Open Mics or pub acts which the average punter doesn’t recognise as someone elses. But i can’t see how crediting your ‘ Inspiration ‘ would help as you need your own material. I’m sure it must be a nightmare coming up with new material i take my hat off to those that do it along with holding down a day job. I don’t have the determination to do that so i stick to being a comedy fan with a fascination to what goes on behind the scenes.
Lastly i was wondering how many of those posting are simply Fans as opposed to up and coming or already well known stand up comedians………from reading this topic there was lots from Working comics but nothing from those ( that i saw anyway ) who are just fans.
Re: Jay
haha…that’s funny you bring up Geno. He said something funny when he was down here a while ago. A chair screeched along the floor from someone scooting their chair out and he said that was the sound of his career screeching to a halt.
He’s a funny guy.
Sina.
Hey all. Show will be a little late. This one’s totally on me. Should have it out by tonight or early tomorrow morning.
I had a drive from New Jersey to New Hampshire tonight. Now I’ll have to listen to non-comedy-related podcasts. Stuff like the “NY Times OPED Page” and “This American Life”. Next time someone calls me a pretentious bore, I’m going to say, “Hey, don’t blame me, blame Brian Mollica. I _wanted_ to listen to a collection of comedy insight and cunt jokes, but he was late in posting today and so I therefore had to learn what Maureen Dowd thinks about Super Tuesday!”
everytime the show is even 3 minutes late, i now assume there is a mini-brian in the world, even though i have no idea what the actual time line is, hah.
Brian,
Thank you for responding on my post on “borrowing” material.
I just wanted to clarify my post, if I may; Doing someone else’s whole bit, even if you credit it, is a bad idea. You’ll never do it as well as the original person. The audience that knows you’re stealing will hate you, and the ones that don’t know won’t think you’re funny. Lose-lose.
My “OK” on it was simply on a single joke that fit that single situation perfectly. Beyond that very infrequent instance or occasion, I share your opinion. Don’t steal.