Comedy Is Easy
September 4, 2008 · Print This Article
Does it bother you when an actor known for making comedies decides to try his hand at stand up? No? Well it bothers the fuck out of Brian.
Topics on the day include praise for Robert Mac, the easiest job in America, bombing on purpose, butchering a legend’s act and Comedy Central actually doing something right. Why don’t you go out in the woods somewhere and stop bothering people?
Email: brianmcomedy@gmail.com and give us a call on 206-203-4692
“died for no reason” and “everything happens for a reason” God I hate those sayings! No offense to Mitch’s memory ( I was a big fan) and I think he would probably agree but he died for this reason. He took too many drugs!
This also implies that some people die for a reasonable reason.
“Bob was found dead.”
“hmmm.. I can see that. Sounds reasonable to me.”
Brian, I’m sorry for attacking your lover. I should have thought that through(!) I DO really like Norm McDonald though don’t get me wrong. I love how sarcastic he is.
We don’t do roasts in the UK, at least the roasts you guys are used to. I’m really not sure why…..
I work in radio and I can see where Brian comes from in hating when actors/musicians/dj’s etc. try standup. Sometimes they come in with the attitude that it’s easy. Other times they use their “name” to skip steps that others have had to take (like John Mayer performing at the Comedy Cellar in NY).
On the other side not everyone who tries comedy is doing it for the novelty. I have always loved standup and have started pursuing it in the last couple years. Because I’ve already comfortable on stage with a microphone, I might have a step up on some others who are just starting out, but I’m still not expecting any shortcuts. I have a love for the art, and want to be on the side that shows people that Standup Comedy is great! (Not someone who shows up, messes with the crowd, insults some people and bails saying “Whatever, standup sucks.”
Overall just because someone pays their mortgage with a job in another part of entertainment, don’t pre-judge them like they’re insulting the industry.
Beer:
I haven’t tried every beer in the world, but I’ve tried plenty, and my favorite thus far is Urquell, at least as far as widely available brews go. Last year I had my first Chimay - wow - give it up for the monks.
It’s true that Pabst Blue Ribbon has become kind of hip lately. It’s the Rolling Rock of the 2000’s. However, it’s hardly the worst America has to offer. It’s not good, but at least it’s not malt liquor.
In other news, unreleased Hedberg is on its way soon. I forget the site where you can hear samples (I ate some CareFree gum, and I was still worried), but Google it.
“Everything happens for a reason” actually makes a good deal of sense if you hold a belief in destiny, fate, or some kind of divine being.
I believe the idea is that people learn something from the death or makes the rest of us grow as people. For example, Mitch Hedburg died of a drug overdose and now his fans are more weary of drug abuse and we appreciate his contributions to stand up even more. I’m not sure if thats true or not but I feel it demonstrates the general idea of “everything happens for a reason”
or maybe it means nothing, being an agnostic I personally don’t think things happen for a reason but stuff does seem kinda convenient sometimes…
every 2 months would be bi-monthly I think.
Also, ever since I heard that Norm Macdonald clip from the interview I’ve just fallen in love with his stuff. Watched everything I could find on him on youtube and I gotta go get one of his CDs when I get the chance.
I hope that McCain/Palin win in November; I’ve already written a few mintues on her bullshit. Vote Republican guys, comics need material!
British beers Americans should try:
1. Double Diamond- my fav but hard to get in the states
2. John Courage
3. Samuel Smith’s Taddy Porter
Don’t go overboard with the “Brit” attitude and drink at room temp. They know how to make it, not drink it. Not too cold though.
eSchmiel on September 5th, 2008 5:58 am
“Everything happens for a reason” actually makes a good deal of sense if you hold a belief in destiny, fate, or some kind of divine being.
It is such an obvious statement that it is pointless. It actually is used to deflect responsibility. It is a “water is wet” statement.
I really feel as though Norm didn’t bomb. People watching the Roast that know comedy loved it; Norm’s set from that night has been forwarded all across the world on the Internet and, I feel, will soon reach iconic cult status. He went in a different direction and was fantastic. It was SO funny. Many of the people in the crowd honestly didn’t understand, but those viewing who did get it REALLY got it.
everybody should check out the new brian regan special tonight. he’s definitly one of the best working comics today and he works completely clean which is amazing.
oh also rolling stone just put out it’s comedy issue and although it’s got some rough spots its really good overall.
Randall:
If you know some more ways to deflect responsibility, please post them here. I am always looking to add to my repertoire.
There was a comic the first season of LCS-Rob Cantrell- I thought the guy was hilarious, the best of that bunch. He went a ways in, too, but I haven’t heard of him since. Am (was?) I his only fan? I think he was a kindergarten teacher and maybe not a touring pro…
My God. I’ve been misspelling my name here.
I was a big fan of Cantrell too. He actually changed up his act quite a bit in a way I personally didn’t enjoy as much. He used to have a disjointed, almost Hedberg feel, but he ditched it for a more mainstream approach. He’s definitely still around.
I always thought the hardest part of stand-up was actually writing the material.
I’ve tried a few times but I can’t come up with anything.
I suspect the hardest part of stand-up would be finding the gigs. At least ones that would be enough to cover travel expenses and earn a living. I also imagine 97% of comics feel something like a minor league ballplayer, always waiting for the call up to the bigs. I would have a very hard time keeping a positive outlook, which may expain why older comics often have a more neurotic bent, like Richard Lewis, Lewis Black, etc…
i think so too leonardo….I like what todd alexandro says
‘It took 25 years for lewis black to become an overnight success!’
eSchmiel on September 7th, 2008 3:15 pm
I’ve tried a few times but I can’t come up with anything.
You know that happens for a reason, right?
That’s such a comedians can create comedy statement.
eSchmiel:
I don’t think it’s a good idea to “try” to write a bit,(and I am the LEAST qualified to say) if I were you when something funny, maybe a funny line you said at work or a situation that made you laugh came up, I’d write it down and try to embellish it into something. I phoned in a joke of the week about talking on the cellphone not being as dangerous as two deaf people driving and talking after I saw that happen and I was sure they would wreck…my point is the harder you try to write something funny, maybe the less funny it will be. Let it just happen. But what do I know, I’m a Schwan’s guy for a living.
gah! why does creativity have to be such a reactionary force?!
oh well, guess I’ll wait patiently.
Just wanted to know if anyone saw Russell Brand hosting the MTV VMAs?
I ‘ve seen the clips of him mocking george Bush, Sarah Palin , and kids who wear purity rings( which i though quite funny), but not the whole show. Was he any good? Opinion already seems quite divided about this.
i saw brand, in fact his monolouge was the only part i watched…ok thats a lie. I also watched the cold open sketch with britney spears and jonah hill which was just painfull. seriously, only britney spears could make jonah hill bomb. anywhoo back to Brand. I really liked his set and thought he brought an interesting perspective. and like ricardo i really liked the purity ring joke about the jonas brothers. and some of you might already know this but apparently that joke was deemed “offensive” by the media. WHHAAAHHH! uhhh, i really wish everyone in the united states would stop whining about this shit. IT…WAS…A…JOKE!
Hey, I love being a whore. Check out my new MySpace, it’s really different and I’m proud of it. I’m also in he process of earnestly working on new material and honing older bits in preparation of recording a CD in December 2009. So, uh, watch out for that.
As far as comics that go into serious rolls, I’d like to throw jim carey into the list of comics that made it into serious movies. Truman show and eternal sunshine in the spotless mind were both good films and well acted. In my personal opinion.
Also I heard mitch’s wife is repackaging some of his stuff and trying to resale the cd. I have to check but did mitch marry cortny love?
Hey kids. The bad news is there’s no BTB this week, but the good news is we’re working on a great interview when we come back. Keep up the good work on these boards!
Regarding Brand: I thought that he was pretty good, but it just was retarded to use him at the MTV awards. He’s a bit too strange to be playing at MTV awards. They can deal with making songs alluding towards sex, ala Lil Wayne’s Lollipop, but they can’t deal with someone throwing it in their faces. I think its totally hilarious on the MTV boards that the same little girls who listen to lil wayne, are the same ones who get offended by brand making jokes about the jonas brothers…
oh, and the mitch hedberg album is a must pick up for anybody. its absolutely brilliant.
Russell Brand; another thing we Brits have to apologise for. I’ve never really found him funny although that may be jealousy since he’s supposed to have shagged over 2,000 birds.
However, Purity Rings are shitty though as is abstinence only education. It doesn’t work.
I want a ring that displays my willingness to fuck any old whore. The Not Fussy About Pussy Ring. Where’s my government funding?
Less than a week till my big debut; I checked out the venue again last night just to see what was on offer. It’s a pretty well run room…. the only thing I would say is that they don’t have a proper spotlight but hey, other than that it is away from a noisy bar, it’s cosy and a little run down. just right for comedy. Even with only about 18 people last night it ‘felt’ full and the audience was pretty receptive to open mikers and pro-comics doing new material i.e. no heckling. All in all it has a pretty relaxed attitude to doing it with not a ridiculous pressure to do well. At least there’s no strict time limit or gong or anything.
One guy last night was on his second gig and just trembled holding two sheets of paper and finished by telling one liners with ‘My girlfriend is so dumb she……’ and the second act was a semi-pro comic trying new stuff. It was a pretty good vibe.
Each week they have a theme which everyone either ignores or writes up a few gags. But it gives the evening at least some impetus and centre. The night I’m on has the theme ‘Advertising’.
Although I could probably say the usual hacky things about shitty products that we don’t need, I’m just going to tie in the material I’m comfortable with at the moment and talk about myself and my image (cause people advertise their image to other people), religion (churches in Britian have started advertising in newspapers) and politics (because politics is just advertising with consequences), mainly because Sarah Palin has inspired me to talk about politics again.
On the advice side of things, I love this post from Patton Oswalt on his Myspace talking about Brian Regan. Awesome.
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=67077201&blogID=430509161
New topic:
A Chicago-area standup comedian died the other day. He wanted his obit to say, “In lieu of flowers, please vote Democratic.” His family was paying for the obit to run in the paper. The paper refused the obit because that line was “offensive” to the paper.
Jesus freaking Christ.
http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/news-bites/2008/09/09/just-because-you-died-doesnt-make-you-special/
ok what the hell. how is that even remotly offensive. he was just telling his last wish(a rather simple one at that). why is it that the people who run things and make decisions are the most uptight D-bags to ever walk the earth…maybe it’s a prerecoiset.
QUESTION: Which comedy delivery style do you think is most effective?
1. Doing the SETUP-PUNCH-TAG, waiting for laughter, then doing more? (Pretty Traditional)
2. Just blazing through the material only pausing for effect at certain moments? (Robin Williams, Paul Hooper are examples)
I deliver most stuff via Option 1, but I have this one bit that I just roll through nonstop (Option 2). I’ve noticed that during that bit I seem to get more intense laughter by not letting them catch their breath between jokes.
Obviously different styles work for different people, but do you think you can “kill” a room better with a quicker rant-style delivery?
Love to hear your thoughts…Maybe a topic for a future show?
As the lone conservative, I can confirm for you that that obit is not offensive. Simply poor judgement.
You’re not the lone conservative, I just don’t talk politics.
intersting. I actually have a question for the conservatives here. how do you feel that there doesnt really seem to be a lot of openly conservative comics out there. the only one i can think of off the top of my head is dennis miller, albeit thats a big one. are their ones i’m simply not aware of or does comedy really have a liberal majority? personally i dont care if a comic is a democrat or a republican. Just as long as they’re funny.
That’s the same way I feel, a joke’s a joke. I laugh at most things that poke fun at my political party if they’re funny, and I won’t laugh at jokes made by Republicans if they aren’t funny. I don’t really get all that into political humor in the first place, and although my jokes sometimes reference social issues, they don’t really give away where my leanings are. I don’t think that because I vote a certain way I am obligated to make light of the opposing party or attempt to glorify my beliefs. And that goes both ways.
I find it unbelievable that comics will still get applause, in 2008, for “going there” and saying President Bush is an idiot. That’s something I think is great about Lewis Black: he seems to go a little bit deeper (at least when he’s really on) and pick apart specific individual policies and turn them into gold. He doesn’t go generic, and I honestly think he’s just making fun of authority and not Republican-bashing for the sake of Republican-bashing. They’re the ones who have been in charge, therefore they’re the ones making the mistakes. When the next Democratic president takes over, I seriously doubt he’s going to treat them as a sacred cow (he didn’t treat Clinton that way).
god no, thats what i like about Lewis Black, he doesnt play favorites. plus i’m pretty sure on one of his albums he said that his main problem is with authority in general. thats the way it should be. I barely ever inject politics into my act but when i do i try to make fun of both sides.
Nick on September 10th, 2008 9:27 am
Russell Brand; another thing we Brits have to apologise for. I’ve never really found him funny although that may be jealousy since he’s supposed to have shagged over 2,000 birds.
I thought he came off as a hack. As to the bird thing, I guess the pigeons in Trafalgar Square get really nervous around him
I don’t mind conservative comics either…..depends on what you mean by conservative. And plus, it’s when they make fun of themselves and disarm the situation that helps. I wanna talk about politics becuase that’s actually my trade and I am really into it.
And totally agree that’s it’s not fucking edgy to call bush an idiot and clinton an adulterer….it’s been done. Although I like him as a comic people like Bill Maher rely heavily on that kind of material.
Hey if McCain/Palin win what will be the hacky jokes?
“McCain is old/Palin is a redneck on ice.”
It’s happening even now…..
Interesting comments about Russel Brand.
I find him a funny and intelligent guy, but mainly when he’s on chat shows or his own BBC radio show improvising and being genuinely spontaneous. When he attempts to perform pre-written material however, he’s less than convincing.
Mind you, I had to laugh at the the recent poll question in the Uk music magazine Word:
“Following his controversial appearance as the host of the MTV Awards the other night, America is asking “is this guy what you Brits call funny?
Well, is he? Tick one of the following options:
1: Yes, he represents the anarchic tradition of British comedy in all its glory.
2: No, he’s essentially a haircut in search of a few good lines and you can keep him. ”
lol.
(Saying that, MTV have asked him back to present next year’s awards.)
As regards conservative comics, I’m not sure calling Dennis Miller a conservative is accurate, I think he sees radical Islamic terror as the largest threat to the country, as does J. Leiberman, but I’m not sure he’s all that conservative beyond that point. I don’t care for his radio show so I don’t listen, but I don’t know if he speaks on social issues much.\
I have a theory on why you don’t hear much you would call “conservative humor”. I won’t go into it here, but I’ll summarize it by saying our our stance on political issues is a function of our psychological makeup and for MANY, not all, conservatives, there is a clash in reconciling humor in a political issue. While I can hear a comic make liberally bent jokes and think they are funny, I simply cannot think up a funny angle from a conservative standpoint on most issues.
Fuck me Ron White has just ben arrested for possessing pot. Another work related hazard………..
“I’m not sure calling Dennis Miller a conservative is accurate.”
You should listen to his radio show. The guy is quite right wing on most issues. His regular guests like Ann Coulter and Pat Buchanan sum up the political bias of his show too, as well as his constant slagging off of liberals, Democrats or anyone on the left.
I used to like Miller pre 9/11 when he poked fun at everyone in the political spectrum (and when he also had funnier writers too).
But these days he just comes over as a rather sad and cranky individual who stopped being funny along time ago.
On Dennis Miller:
Oh yeah. Huge conservative, and anymore the rants just come off as whining. I do enjoy the interviews from time to time.
Russell Brand:
I had only first heard of the guy when someone posted a link here to a video of his act (which at the time just struck me as a huge Mort Sahl rip off), and then his supporting role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I do agree that if you have to come out and tell the audience why you’re famous, you’re not famous enough to host the VMA’s. “I’m a big star in Europe.” Really? Are you not funny there, too? I don’t think his jokes were offensive, they just plain weren’t funny. All of the “Jonas brothers” jokes fell flat, almost like he needed to say “Get it? ‘Cause they’re virgins.” How about a little creativity? And what exactly is his persona? Dandy, or Fop?
“And what exactly is his persona? Dandy, or Fop?”
I always saw Brand as more of a popinjay myself.
this does’nt have anything to do with anything were talking about but i figure now’s a good enough time to whore myself out. I’ll be performing this coming tuesday(september, 16th) I’ll be performing at montclaire university at 7: 45 to compete in the New Jersey Comedy Festivel. So if your in the area you should definitly come check it out. and if you want to perhaps root for me I’ll be the fat redheaded dude head wearing the blazer. I’m really happy with my set that I’ve perpared which has such nuggets as sexual fantasys about cartoon charecters, video game suicides, the magical properties of cock rings, and the worst warning you could get before your murdered…I’m a simple man.
Heya folks, I saw Bill Burr’s special last night on Comedy Central’s late night stash and fell in love with the guy. I read up a bit on him since then I found this post of his on his blog.
I’ve been contemplating trying my hand at stand up a bit and found this to be interesting.
http://billburrlive.blogspot.com/2008/03/chinese-democracy.html
kinda talks about how he started out really clean and his attitude about it when he first started.
kind of discusses his transformation into working blue.
Have any of you guys had a similar experience?
Good luck Patrick!
Have a great gig , Patrick. Hope you kill.
(…but maybe just lay off cracking any impromptu off-the-cuff jibes about The Jonas Brothers!)
thanks guy’s that means alot. I’ll let you guys know how it goes.
I read the bill burr post eSchmiel put up and i gotta say that it was very entertaining and fascinating. i find it hard to believe Burr worked absolutely clean for like two years. But the part that stuck out most for me is when he talks about people coming up to him after a show when he started working blue and said “You shouldnt do that. It’s not you”. wow, that struck a chord. I’ve always held the principle that my act should reflect who i am as a person(dont know what my current act says about my mindset but it probably is’nt good). But I am shocked when somebody occasionally comes up to me after a show and tell me that I should’nt do such-and-such bit because “it is’nt you”, and i’ve never met them before in my life! How do they have any idea of who i am? I swear it would be infuriating if it was’nt so funny.
You’ll kick that shit dude. I demand a full report after you do it. Don’t spare us any gory little details.
Why do I say things like ‘kick that shit’? I wasn’t even a jock at school.
and away I go…
As Patrick goes on to his, another aspiring comic checks in.
Well I just got back from my first ever stand up gig and by all accounts I think I did pretty good. I’m happy with how I did and it certainly hasn’t put me off. I’ve just listened to my set and did do the classic first timer thing of rambling and talking too fast. I didn’t ‘give permission for them to laugh’ I think is the poncy actor phrase.
I said what I wanted to say and I did get laughs but I think I made the mistake of being too political. I was talking about Sarah Palin and politics and why having a family doesn’t qualify you for President and they weren’t really into it. But hey, that’s my problem.
I’m happy with my performance and I thought my stage presence was great and I didn’t need to look at my notes. The organiser was really keen to have me back. He said just do the same stuff and we’ll put you on a different time.
The reason he said that was that the place was absolutely packed and I thought great. First I was on second then they swapped me to second last. In between this time was two breaks and the main event… this student who had brought all his mates who made up of half the audience and were baying for him. To be fair he was really good but more than 2/3 of them left so the room was pretty dead and hot and etc etc.
I’m already making excuses like a comic! When the emcee came on after me he read out the note that the organiser wrote which said ’not a political audience’ which the audience laughed at. Peons! They just don’t get it! As I say, it wasn’t a swipe, they really wanted me back, I swapped a few numbers and the organiser was just get your name down for one soon.’
I really feel great I’ve finally done it; I feel I have a great springboard to work on.
I’m so happy I’ve finally done it after all that time of procrastinating. It’s a great feeling. I used to act in school and uni but there’s nothing better than having a crowd listening and laughing to what you have written.
…and I’m back. *sigh* well I did’nt win but i honestly dont care becase i went up did my set perfectly and left on a high note. so im surprisingly pleased with myself. the event itself was interesting. the crowd itself was small for an event like this and there was only five comics including myself and not including the MC. all the comics were great. the winners were interesting. one was a guy who has done it for five years and the other was doing it for the first time. i cant say im not a little bit jealous but im not bitter…not yet anyway. so there yah go. i recorded my set and I’m hoping to put it on my site. I’ll let you know if it goes up.
Hey, I’m not sure what the right protocol for posting comments here is, but if it’s a just a question of talking about stand up, then I have a topic, George Carlin and Bill Hicks. Did anyone else, like me, think that towards the end of his career Carlin’s comedy more and more resembled Bill Hicks? I’m not saying he stole from Hicks in a Leary-like fashion, just that Carlin may have, subconsciously, absorbed some of Hicks’ comedy? Maybe it’s ludicrous, but I made a video, showing comedy from different stages in Carlin’s and Hick’s careers in parallel, pointing out their similarities. Here’s the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJQ2w77Z4wA
By the way, I don’t want to piss off Carlin fans. I think you’d have to be a Carlin fan to know his work well enough to notice its similarity to some of Hicks’ work. I own many of Carlin’s albums. I just wanted to make a good, entertaining and interesting video. I think it’s a shame than many people who love George Carlin don’t know about Bill Hicks; I think if you loved Carlin you’d definitely like Hicks.
I’m pretty sure that I can speak for everyone from the boards that we all know very well who Hicks is. Carlin stealing from Hicks is a ludicrous idea, having the same ideas maybe, but they also came from a similar mindset towards the government. I watched the Inside the Actors Studio episode with Carlin, and his antiestablishment really began in the 70’s with the famous seven dirty words. And since then, he definitely tackled topics, in which he saw hypocrisy. Hicks was very similar, in he held an almost feeling of disgust with society, and with two such brilliant comedians, common thought is obviously going to occur. Yes, some of Carlin’s stuff may sound similar to other people’s jokes. But a lot of people’s stuff sounds like Carlin’s as well- ala gay lisp/jokes and airplane material. With such a vast body of work behind him, I think that there is no doubt that you could find a lot of common thought between a lot of other comedians. If you had perhaps an hour documenting this correlation I might be a little swayed, but Carlin had such a body of work, that there is no doubt that others have had similar thoughts at some point in time, especially someone as brilliant as Hicks.
Oh and patrick I for sure want to listen to your set. Chee.
I have to disagree with Brian’s vitriol against non-comics trying stand-up. There’s this idea of paying dues before you can make any money doing standup, which is true for most people. But could Will Ferrell really do open mics for a few years before spending a few years touring, and finally getting some TV spots and high profile gigs? If Will Ferrell advertised that he’d be farting loudly at a public park for two hours, he’d have 10,000 people there. He can’t follow the standard trajectory (same for Vince Vaughan, Ricky Gervais, etc.) because he’s already too popular. I think what he did (as far as I understand it, was MCing a show full of experienced comics) is the most responsible way possible to get into stand up. All he really skipped was the open mic step. I agree that some people may get a bad idea of stand up from him, but as long as the show involved good comics, they probably got a good experience and he did some work to get people to a live comedy show that wouldn’t have gone otherwise.
I also don’t imagine that you’d propose the opposite, that comics should pay their acting dues before getting in sitcoms or comedy films. Should Jerry Seinfeld have gotten an MFA in acting before acting in his own sitcom?
The corollary of your opinion seems to be that famous non-comics should never try stand up, and that’s a shitty provincial attitude that I disagree with.