Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Now go the Catholic route and do some shit worth going to confession over.
Topics on the day include selfish emcees, how far is too far for stage time, another on the road edition of tales from the comedy diner, dating out of your league and Ireland’s favorite musical comic son performs. Bitches like that are a dime a dozen!
Email: brianmcomedy@gmail.com and give us a call on 206-203-4692
Just wanted to thank Brian in this St Paddy’s Day themed month of requested comics on BTB to tackle the thorny subject of the difference between Irish and Irish American.
And I really wanted to ask all BTB fans and our American cousins about ethnic identity in the US, particuarly Irish Americans.
Speaking as a Brit who’s also 1/8th Irish, we’re generally a little confused by Americans who call themselves Irish without having direct roots there (like being born in Ireland or having at least one parent of Irish extraction.)
An Irish American friend of mine described this label as being the same as someone calling themselves African American, in that the average African American was neither born in Africa or has 1st generation African parents.
He also explained that in America, most people are from a strong ethnic background, be it Italian, Jewish, African,Irish, Asian ,etc, so they use the prefix rather than just call themselves American.
So is this really the case?
Perhaps it’s an American habit I’ve picked up from TV, but I always refer to myself as Irish. Neither of my parents are Irish, but both families are of Irish descent. Every time I visit Ireland I feel more at home than I do here, and I’ll probably end up living there eventually.
So I guess it’s a personal preference.
Louisville Guy: I’m making my first visit ever to Louisville this Thursday to showcase at The Comedy Caravan. I don’t know how they run their open mike, but I’ve never heard that it’s a bringer.
How soon is too soon? I’m apparently not a good judge of that… Last night I saw that Natasha Richardson had died just before I went on stage, so when I went up I said something like “She took a run on the bunny hill and seemed fine for a while, and then it’s like poof, she’s gone… makes me want to take the wife to Vail.”
It got a minor laugh, but more important I won a bet for having the balls to do it…
Thoughts? is 30 seconds too soon?
— Dennis the Dick
Looks like LCS is finished????
http://thecomicscomic.typepad.com/thecomicscomic/2009/03/the-end-for-nbcs-last-comic-standing.html
Good riddance to LCS. I had fun auditioning, but the show itself was so difficult to watch, I can’t imagine anyone missing it.
Now I can focus on polishing up my “Ventriloquism of the Vagina” act for America’s Got Talent!
“Now I can focus on polishing up my “Ventriloquism of the Vagina” act for America’s Got Talent!”
Cue gratuitous ” we can all see your lips move” gag…
One of Last Comic Standing’s biggest problem was that it spent too much time in the “audition” process, where they spent the time in the individual cities. This works great with American Idol, when you can laugh at absolute tone-deaf doofuses. But with bad stand-up comedy… no one laughs. It’s not entertaining in an entertaining way, and it’s not entertaining in the “so funny because it’s awkward” way.
The show would’ve been better if it ran in this format:
WEEK 1: The auditions from the cities
WEEK 2: The selection of who will be competing. 10 comics chosen.
WEEKS 3-10: Kind of how they do the show, except to vote a comic out, they just throw 2 comics out there and only eliminate one (and they could probably choose who has to compete better). This process continues until there are only 3 comics, because I think it’s awesome to watch comedians self-implode on a non-stage environment.
WEEK 11: The remaining 3 comics each get 15 minute sets, and the winner is revealed.
But, talking about the show, really loved this week’s show. The only thing I would add to the “open mic check list” (or maybe it was on there and I forgot?) is this: your first time to an open mic (and, in my opinion, your first bunch of times), try and stay for as much of it as you possibly can. Not only is it the best place to meet the local scene and make great connections, but it is a fantastic place to learn. I know some open mics can run until the wee hours and some people have to work or have a long commute, but it helps as a comedian.
Also, and this runs along the same line: be a good audience member. In so many open mics, you’re just working in front of a pile of comedians who you’re going to see in 2 hours at the next open mic anyway. The ratio of non-comics to comics is staggeringly low, so put your own bullshit aside and watch the other comics and laugh. Enjoy watching people who work hard to be funny, and it will come back to you in spades when you’re onstage.
I fully agree with Matt; in those early days, 80% of your success will be determined on meeting people and networking. My job and my own inability to see this, probably held me back here – people who started around the same time as me were getting gigs right left and centre, where I was just signing up through email and getting one gig a month like a chump.
I’m getting more gigs now – not because of my amazing ability and hard hitting wit, but because I know who to talk to and they can approach me. My gigging has raised exponentionally now I hang out with people more.
Here’s the list of rules I put together for my newbys…
1. Respect everybody! You never know who is going be important to you! (This includes bartenders, waitress and other people who control the flow of free food and booze). Imagine if there’s a conversation after the show about who to have back and the waitress says you acted like an ass.
2. Keep your drinking and drugs in check; they don’t improve your performance. That might work for Richard Prior, but you’re no Richard Prior.
3. Respect the light! Everybody hates the comic who steals minutes.
4. Shake off a bad show. Take it as a learning experience.
5. Shake off a good show; otherwise you’ll trip over your own ego.
6. Never rip on the club, the emcee or other comics unless it’s with a smile. You want to be invited back on a better night, right?
7. Incorporate the environment in your material. “Wow… I’m so old that disco ball isn’t even ironic”, or if a police siren goes by “excuse me, my ride is here”, etc. It gives the show immediacy (and yes I know, my two examples are hack, but you get the idea).
8. Even an audience of one deserves respect. Who knows who that guy is? He might be a Hollywood producer or a serial killer… either way, you want him to like you, right?
9. Use open mics to try new stuff – don’t waste your bringers. Nobody has an unlimited number of friends with money for a $10 cover and a two drink minimum; use them wisely.
10. Use a digital recorder to capture impromptu jokes and to record shows.
11. Don’t step on your laughs. If they’re laughing, let them laugh.
12. Do the show in front of you, not the show you’ve written. If something’s not working, try something else.
13. Remember to breath (trust me, people forget).
14. Be organized, sober and reliable – it’ll make you stand out.
15. Take advantage of all video opportunities, and post your best stuff where people can find it – on a social networking site or personal website where people who see it can get in touch with you.
16. Always have a business card or sample DVD with your up-to-date contact information so you can quickly hand it out if you meet someone who can help your career or blow you after the show.
17. Don’t chew gum or anything else while you’re trying to enunciate jokes.
18. Don’t attack women; even a heckler… you’ll always come out as the bad guy (unless you’re a woman or a transvestite in attire – then it’s a fair fight).
19. Comedy clubs make money from nachos and beer, not jokes. Don’t get in the way of the servers. The club owner’s cash register is the most important space in the club.
20. Always know and respect all the club rules (even at an open mic). That means don’t curse at a clean show, don’t park your car where it gets in the way, and don’t smoke where you’re not suppose to smoke… in other words, don’t be an ass.
I like Dennis’ list of rules, except number 18, which is circumstantial, IMO.
If the woman in question is being extremely disruptive and irritating everyone in the audience, nobody is going to hate on you if you put her in her place and shut her up for a minute.
The other get out I’d list is if you’re a ‘gay’ comic – As in Gay/Bi/TG/NG, anything covered by the LGBT community – because you’ll be seen by an audience as ‘effeminate’ (as long as this is something that’s either obvious or you’ve mentioned it in your act already.)
If you have a deep voice and throw out hip-hop slang, nobody’s going to buy you as ‘gay’ unless you’ve done a joke about sucking a guy’s dick in the parking lot. If you’re camp as a row of tents, then happy days. Put her down like a rabid dog.
In regards to dealing with women who are unruly, it depends. My act revolves around the audience liking me, and a direct slam (especially on a woman) might hinder that. So instead of going after her with both barrels blazing, I use a nice little aside. Something like this generally works:
“You are fantastic. You’re like a drunken DVD commentary that no one cares about.”
Nice little laugh, audience sees your not a total dick, time to get back on track.
But, yeah… fantastic list, Dennis.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/video/video.php?v=1133239048185&oid=49739696804
Hey guys, this was a sketch I did during a recent St. Patrick’s Day sketch show I was a part of. It was written by my friend Travis Cherniss (guy in dress); sorry about the Fallon moments.
About women; I was at a gig the other week where some drunk bitch heckled everyone and was a real pain. The compere walked on stage, raised his fist and said ‘If you don’t shut up I’m going to stick this right up your cunt’
…..I’ll give him this list.
She had it coming!
I’d still back off… As a man it’s really easy to give the perception that you’re being “mean” to her, which loses the women in the room… and since the men in the room just want to get laid, you lose them too…
If I had a female heckler I’d make some gentle comment about not letting my wife come to the show anymore and then move on… and maybe singal security to beat the living crap out of her in the parking lot.
—D