What Up B-Cos?
April 17, 2008 · Print This Article
B-Mo talks a lot about working the road as a club comic, but what if you want to actually make money? Corporate comic Tim Clue steps behind the bricks to discuss working clean, why it’s ok to make demands of your employer, and a hell gig story that most comics would consider a blessing.
Other topics include the overrated/underrated debate, stand up on street corners, things you’re not supposed to say in front of a 2 month old, trolling the internet for jokes, and questions you should never ask a comic. Did you say shingles?
Email: brianmcomedy@gmail.com and give us a call on 206-203-4692
hey Brian site looks cool like the colors (in high voice) its pretty. (normal) now that that over i would like to give you my idea for the site how about a quote botton so if we want to go of somebodys idea we dont have to copy and paste it?? anyone agree
Looks like Ricky gervais is one of the “comedians” in GTA 4
http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2008/04/17/6644/in_the_game
Hey guys, Alvaro here. So I took Patrick AKA Smiley’s words about comedy teams to heart and spent some time working on a solo stand up act. I got some stuff together and went to a comedy open mic. So I did my first solo set and it went really well. I was surprised at how little I was stressed out and I gotta say all the tips I’ve learned from the show and from the boards really helped a lot. So I recorded my set and here it is. Anyway, thanks a lot for your tips guys and heres my set. Oh right, as a tiny bit of information. The comedian before me came dressed as a zombie and stayed in character for his whole set. This is what I had to follow.
My first solo stand up.
what, ricky fervais is one of the comics in GTA4. oh man, i dont want to kill him, oh man.
anywhoo, brian,on the recording of sets i should probably say that i have recorded every set ive done to date. but there is a reason behind it…i improv…alot. but i dont do it on purpose, usually i get a quarter into my set, i forget the rest and i have to wing the rest. the problem is the majority i say is pretty funny, in fact i might start incorparating it full time. but i consider myself a writer first, so i record everything and then later on i write out whatever improv got a luagh. it’s not perfect but im working on it.
Hei Brian,
Nice show as always!
Thank you for including my questions. Also big thanks to Charles and Sando!
Actually I’m pro recording.
The last time my improv-team performed, I had the pleasure to be the host and some of my lines actually got laughs.
But 2 days later, trying to write the lines down: Terrible! I think I have remembered them all now, but still I have this creepy feeling, that I forgot the best one.
Also, it can help your timing, show you why something didn’t get the laugh it deserved (You mumbled the setup…) and overall, can make you a better comedian.
I don’t say it’s necessary, but it certainly can help you get better.
And from an audience view point:
Does it make the show less funny? I don’t think so.
Mini zwei Rappä…
HELP! I’m only getting 12 seconds of the opening intro of this weeks BTB download. Is it just me?
The line up for the Kilkenny Cat Laughs Comedy Festival has just been announced, with such luminaries as Arj Barker, Adam Hills, Rich Hall and Dom Irerra confirmed. I just counted up the price of all the shows I’d like to see and it came to €460! That’s $750 US dollars! Or £370 British pounds! Or even for the antipodeans on the site $930 Kiwi dollars.
When I was younger I dreamed of being paid to attend this festival!
Anybody who wants to check it out, the line up is here:
http://www.thecatlaughs.com/downloads/catlaughs08.pdf
So has anyone actually heard this week’s Podcast all the way through? ‘Cos I’m all getting is 12 seconds of intro.
And I’m starting to get really pissed off. Not least because I want to hear what’s next in the FHM top 100 jokes of all time chart….
overrated:Bill Bellamy (do you think part of his success might be based on race maybe?)
underrated:Jeffrey Ross. For every roast he might do, the guy doesn’t get much success outside of it, and he’s not so young anymore so it probabyl will never happen for him.
ricardo: i personally heard todays episode fine. im sure you tried this but you might want to try redownloading the ep
Hey Brian C,
The Kilkenny Fest sounds awesome….I know what you mean about prices. I’ve been the the Edinburgh Fringe 3 years in a row and that’s just as bad…..you can pay really high prices for low-mid range acts and about £21 for one hour headliner shows.
The problem isn’t the acts it’s the venues that charge them a fortune to hire the place!
On an unrelated note is it true that Artie Lange has walked off Stern? I heard about all the fights.
First thing that comes to mind is….what an idiot! How many hard worki
ing comics would kill themselves and their family to get on Stern!
I’m a huge Stern fan and that show was really shocking. Artie flipped out and attacked his assistant. Everyone panicked and Artie apologized saying he’s not a person and walked out. I doubt he’s coming back.
This goes back to what we’ve talked about so many times, comics are fucked up. Artie is the poster boy for fucked up comics. Depression, drug problem, and getting his dream job and fucking it up.
man, i cant help thinking artie’s gonna kill homself. and i really hope he doesnt, he’s a good comic. but he’s so fucked up,i guess we’ll have to wait and see. *sigh* well im depressed as hell now. well no better time to write some new material.
I had never heard of Aziz Ansari until Patrick’s post, so I looked him up on youtube and watched some clips. Before I add him to my list of overrated comics, I’d like to know what fans of his like about his act. This is not a couched criticism, I really want to know - maybe I’m just out of touch with what’s goin’ down with the youngin’s.
Yeah, I know….I hope artie is ok. He’s a great comic and excellent at roasts……I wish we had those roasts in the UK but I think they’d be totally taking the wrong way by the arsehole reactionary right wing press……..
That’s why I totally respect comics who don’t drink or q
uit drinking and ddrugs to truly focus on their career. People like Rich Vos and Greg Giraldo are great comics who got their priorities right. So was Bill Hicks…….think about what it would have been like if Hicks never quit drinking.
It also gives me a lot of strength on a personal level because people like those guys are cool and they don’t need booze. This is a little out there but since we’re talking about fucking your life up on drugs,I’m happy to announce that I have been sober for one month….I did it! I’ve quit drinking and I think probably for good; i did it cause it was really messing my life up…..not as bad as artie but still……I want to get into stand up and be a better worker etc so it’s pretty much the best decision I’ve ever made.
Maybe more comics should take heed.? How many promising careers have been pissed away?
…….just wanna say thanks to you b-mo and the rest of the BTB community cause waiting for BTB every week has helped alot…….and it’s also helped cause I’ve got a shit load of material out of it! Catch you all later!!!
Sorry about the disjointed posts…my internet is acting like Artie Lange!
[quote]ricardo: i personally heard todays episode fine. im sure you tried this but you might want to try redownloading the ep[/quote]
Cheers Patrick - But I’ve Downloaded the thing- played it in Realplayer and even tried burning it directly off Itunes onto a blank CD, but am still only getting the opening 12 seconds.
What’s happening Brian?
Rick - I have no idea buddy. You’re the only one who has said there is an issue, so I’m inclined to think it’s something on your end. Have you tried playing it from the site of through the myspace page?
On a side note, as much as I love Artie Lange, he makes my list as an overrated comic. I think he’s brilliant on Stern, but as a stand up he’s very average. He just found his perfect niche.
Nick - I’m flattered that this show, in some small way, has helped you better your life. Unfortunately the lives I ruin on a weekly basis far out weigh the positives, but it’s nice to hear.
Ricardo - It stopped playing for me after 11 minutes 30 seconds, but I re-downloaded and it was fine. Did you download directly from the site or use the iTunes RSS subscription?
“Ricardo - It stopped playing for me after 11 minutes 30 seconds, but I re-downloaded and it was fine. Did you download directly from the site or use the iTunes RSS subscription?”
I’ve pretty much tried everything, Token Scot.
I have an unreliable ancient PC that’s probably ever older than John McCain, but I’ve downloaded other stuff tonight with little trouble.
I only mention it because i wanted to upload the latest episode today on the Chortle comedy website before the weekend , just because more people on that site seem to be getting interested in BTB judging by the number of views on each succesive thread every week.
Ric, if you’re still unable to download it throw me an email at the.sando@gmail dot com, and i’ll email you a copy or share it or sumptin.
Man, its weird how long time radio DJs, and certain comics like Tim Clue start speaking in that definite punchline rhythm even if what they are saying is like serious. Weird.
Ooh, speaking of Ricardo…
I’m going out and assuming that you saw Funny Bussiness, considering that you seem to have been in it briefly.
Is it good enough to bother tracking down, or are the smatterings of youtube offerings pretty much the only good stuff from it?
Sorry Ricardo, still not sure what the issue is. Tony is out on his weekly drunken football watching jaunt. If it’s not fixed by Sunday I’ll have him take a look. Thanks for spreading the word!
No problem Brian, I know what you mean about fucking more lives up, I mean, how many 14 year olds have heard you say cunt? Ouch!
I’ve never much liked Aziz Ansari. I have no idea what the fuss is about regarding his stand-up.
I like Aziz. I saw him one night in NY at Invite Them Up and he had the set of the night. He’s a great example of “getting one for free”. When he walks up on stage you instantly want to like him. He looks like a 12 year old for fuck’s sake! Of course, he can back it up with material. I don’t much care for his sketch work, then again, I don’t much care for anyone’s sketch work.
“Ooh, speaking of Ricardo…
I’m going out and assuming that you saw Funny Bussiness, considering that you seem to have been in it briefly.
Is it good enough to bother tracking down, or are the smatterings of youtube offerings pretty much the only good stuff from it?”
Hey, Sando.
Funny Business is worth checking out the same way every comedian/comedy fan needs to go to a few really rotten open-mikes now and again to see the whole picture of stand-up.
And i don’t say that because I only feature in the outtakes -honest …(all on BBC2 Wales at 11.25 this tuesday!)
Most of the other acts I did the show with also share the same opinion in private- the show SUCKS - both as a reality-show or as any reflection of the Welsh comedy circuit.
Here’s the scenario: Some guys representing a supposedly “high-profile” UK comedy agency think there’s a Last Comic Standing TV show begging to be made involving the Welsh comedy scene. A series of gigs are set up in Wales and filmed to eliminate everyone down to the funniest comedian worthy of a £30,000 contract( roughly $60,000 ) with the offer of regular gigs on cruise ships and at army bases. (oooooh….)
The winner turned out to be a pleasant guy who was professional, competent and inoffensive - in short, the perfect cruise ship comedy act. (Thank you, Funny Business.)
I’m not even pretending that there were vanloads of Lenny Bruce-types auditioning who were turned away for being too edgy. But this TV show has few fans other than the acts who were allowed into the final.
Check out the 1st episode and tell me if you wanted to see more or just turn off halfway through.
ok, on Aziz, i think the reason i like him is because our senses of humor are fairly similar, albeit mine is slightly darker. also its kind of nice to see someone close to my age group succeding in stand up. i relize that it takes years to break through in comedy but most of the comics i like but cant really relate to becuase of the age diffrence. Aziz and some other people are closer and it’s kind of like a breath of fresh air. plus aziz came with a recomendation from Patton Oswalt, probably my bigest influence. so that helps to
Okay guys and gals here is another slight change in topic for all you fans and comics alike (and possibly a good one for the show B-mo).
Is stand up an art or art? Are stand ups artists? Do you consider yourselves artists? Music is art, writing is an art, painting is art, etc etc.
I ask because people seem to brand stand up as the ‘art of making people laugh’, but can something that invariably involves shit jokes and swearing have such high wording. Are people like Bruce and Pryor artists but not those at the ‘lower end’?
I would say its more of a craft; like carpentry. You can make a decent, simple wooden table or an elaborate, well-crafted tabernacle.
Any thoughts?
Fuck yes, stand up is art. Specifically it (usually) fits nicely into Speech, one of the Four major live performance arts dude. Oh, they are: Speech, Dance, Drama, and Music. Obviously, these arts can cross over a lot (like opera, clowning, or power point presentations.) and some think that drama shouldn’t be there as it is physicalised movement (dance) that often uses speech, but I digress. I do think that stand up is one of the less respected of these arts, mainly because it’s still “new” to critical respect, AKA the Lenny Bruce effect. Its also rather academically ephemeral… whether this is because there hasn’t been a Keith Johnstone like figure to “discover” and formalize the guiding forces behind stand up in a way that is pleasing to the theatrerati (like Impro) or because the “smart” comics actively resist categorical and theoretical study of their work (which is rather unlikely: I know John Cleese actively helps people analysing his stuff academically.)
Woah; Postgraduate studies in Theatre and Film mean when I want to wank about this stuff I really can. A pity about the spelling and grammar though.
Also, Ricardo, i’ve decided to avoid the show like the plague. Mang, I thought last comic standing could be dire, but this didn’t even have the poetry that American reality T.V has, you know?
Fuck me, great answer Sando…..
so where the fuck does mime come into the spectrum?
Great question Nick. While I agree that comedy is technically a “performing art”, I am generally annoyed by comics who go on and on about how they are artists (no offense Sando). I guess I feel that comedy is more human than that. I always feel like artists are trying to separate themselves as “something special” when all of the great comics I know do the opposite, they make you feel like they are one of you. I also think Nick makes a great point, where do you draw the line? I’m sure everyone would say that Pryor, Carlin and Bruce are artists, but what about the opener who does 15 minutes on peeing with a boner?
it’s really a matter of personal opinion, on one hand stand up is a combination of writing and “acting”, two bonafide artforms. on the other hand more often than not were telling dick jokes. But you know what id be willing to accept stand up as an art form because half of the stuff that calls itself art is fucking ridiculous. I once heard if a guy who got a giant cube and over the course of a year or two he filled it with his own jizz. that is not art, that is insanity. So stand up might not be a “real art form”, but it has more integrity and work ethic in it than all the other one’s .
Woah, ok, i’ll cut down on the casual swearing… It’s kind of distracting when reading it. And, chur Nick!
This following post is going to make me sound like an arts cock, because I am one, I guess.
Patrick, that art piece is actually going on at the moment. The artist is asking people to mail in their semen, and get it put into the tube. It’ll need something ridiculous, like 10 million orgasms or something for it to be full. It totally is art, but, it is meant to also be seem ridiculously stupid and funny.
There is a lot of humour in the “fine arts” that is missed by the average Joe, not just because average people think that all art needs to be really serious, like some chapel painted by Michaelangelo, this of course, is silly. Check out the stuff Salvador Dali painted with his shit. It was meant to use humour as an element.. There is also the thing though, that many artists are dicks who like messing with “the squares.”, by which they seem to mean those that haven’t spent ten years learning about obscure past works and esoteric theory. Fine art actually has this huge exclusionary history which actually set out, as standard practice, to create obscure things that couldn’t/wouldn’t be enjoyed by the common man, or at least not to the level of sofistication that a classically educated man would. (Not women, they were also sexist.)
Brian
Great question Nick. While I agree that comedy is technically a “performing art”, I am generally annoyed by comics who go on and on about how they are artists (no offense Sando).
None taken, I just figure that every performer is an artist, whether or not they are any good.
I guess I feel that comedy is more human than that. I always feel like artists are trying to separate themselves as “something special” when all of the great comics I know do the opposite, they make you feel like they are one of you.
I totally agree. The role of an artist is to interpret what is presented in our life, and re-present it to us. A humourist has to do it in a way that is funny, the best will do it in a way that will change things to make a difference. So, to me it makes perfect sense that the best artists will have to rub elbows with the rest of us somewhere, whether its at Joe’s Ribs, or at an anarchist squat just outside of Berkley, or more probably knowing, all the artists that I do at a B.K serving you fries.
The thing with Comics calling themselves “artists” and then acting as if it actually means something status wise, (which is bullshit, everybody is an artist at some stage, even a 3 year old with a colouring book.), is that it makes you wonder what sort of insecurities that they have at play that are making this guy affect these postures (and it almost always is a guy that I see doing this,)
I also think Nick makes a great point, where do you draw the line? I’m sure everyone would say that Pryor, Carlin and Bruce are artists, but what about the opener who does 15 minutes on peeing with a boner? The thing about claiming that stand up is an art form, means that there is no line: everything is art, even boner boy. However, that is not to say that you can’t judge art to be worthwhile or not. And, chances are that like that chick who faked artificially inseminating herself and then aborting repeatedly in a 9 month period as an art piece, the boner joke isn’t going to be worth anything in the greater picture of what stand up is. And the really cool part is that, as practitioners of the Stand Up art, its our right and sometimes responsibility to sit around and analyse what we think is good, bad, bad but interesting, or good but interesting. Because sometimes hearing about the painful trickle coming out of the end of your knob is actually really funny. And anyway, its what we do every week here anyway right?
Anyway’s; that’s my opinion coming from a Theatrical and Fine arts background. I hope it made sense, and obviously you guys don’t have to agree with me. Debating this could be really fun or a really big pain in ass. Especially as the training that people like me get is actually full of wank and pretension, from both artists and academics.
have a good one guys.
Oh, and mime is like clowning and dance so it’d probably come in there. Mime can actually rule, it’s just usually its Marcel Marceau wannabe’s and don’t progress from the really stupid stuff that you teach five year olds. That and they are often trying to be really cute, and engage the uncanny valley… so need to be exterminated.
And now bed! I haven’t slept since I Sunday because of the first Laughs after party which went until 6am this morning; the night was awesome. Is it just me, or is it totally cool when every single comedy person in the country, and a bunch of internationals come together and party until they are collapsed?
i gotta admit when i first heard about that semen thing my brain kind of shut off, i was in shock.
Yeah, what’s the address I can send mine too, since no lady is getting my jizz on her boobs, it might as well be going to a good cause?
http://spermcube.org … I’ve given up sleeping until the appropriate time, because I don’t wanna be up before 8am. Anybody got any cool comedy, not neccisarily stand up stuff floating around?
hey all,
i’ve been back in the shadows, but still listening to every show — and the new site looks great!
recently when you were talking about rehearsing/not rehearsing, you mentioned trying to avoid sounding like you’re delivering a monologue, which I totally agree with. i saw a comic recently in london (name escapes me.. urg..) who spent a majority of his 45-minute headlining set just working the crowd. he was WONDERFUL, if not ever-so-slightly over the edge. but i was jealous; i don’t want to rely on hacky jokes like “you’re fat!” or “you’re bald!”… but i also figure a few of these might be necessary to get practice working the crowd.
to the comics on here: how much do you plan to work the crowd? how do you ‘practice’? (i know, stagetime is the only way). maybe i should just walk around downtown and work passerbys until i get beaten up…
Ohhh, and Sando, I find your comments pretty interesting… I’ve been studying jokes and laughter recently from a different discipline (political theory), but my true love is in arts/music. do you ever feel like we can over-study this and take the fun out of it? i guess that’s always my worry. that being said, i love being on stage, and i love having a job that involves reading about, writing about, and speaking about comedy, even if i do probably risk over-analyzing.
ddd I totally dig that dude. Political analysis of stuff is really interesting. Especially the debate over whether all comedy is actually conservative, because we laugh at what is different. (I think its BS, because satire is often used to help change the present.), and the entire culture-pol aspects of humour… and feminist reactions to comedy, because it’s just so alien to most of the ways people automatically think and weird is often interesting, even if it is not always entirely valid (Ooh, snap! Take that Germaine Greer!.)
What do you study? What theories and theorists are you primarily using? What fascinates you about it?
Anyways, I think a bunch of people will disagree with me on this, but I really don’t believe that the generic we can over analyse what we do. We can definitely reach a point where we are satisfied or embittered enough over how we think about an aspect of it, but not the entire thing. I mean, that’s a big chunk of how we hone our material, right? Sure someone can get burnt out as a creator, but that doesn’t mean we should suddenly stop trying to see what works and what doesn’t. Entire movements in the artsare often pushed further by critics who aren’t practitioners (well, Godard became a director, but he was an exception.) Like those French New Wave dicks who made it alright for people to watch old Hitchcock films, because they thought that they were actually totally sweet and actually interesting to watch. Because of those guys, Hollywood started to take chances and create films like Easy Rider, and that was totally sweet.
Oh man, I tried writing that like five times, and I still can’t tell if it made sense. I gotta sleep.
Ah well, don’t forget to tip your waitstaff,
Good Night ever’ Body!
Wait, there are openers with the ability to write FIFTEEN minutes on that?!
My gut has always told me that stand-up isn’t really an art. And when I hear other stand-ups call themselves artists, it bugs me. But what I can’t stand even more than that is when they talk about working on their jokes and consider it “performing a craft” or “crafting their material.” You’re not crafting anyhing. You’re developing a bit. At least that’s what I’ve always called it. I’ll never call my jokes, or anyone else’s (no matter how brilliant and well-constructed the joke is) a crafted piece of artwork.
Hei Alvaro,
just discovered your standupperformance record.
I can’t really comment on the jokes, cause it was too noisy, I hardly understood you. Especially for me as a foreigner, I have a hard time understanding English if it is a bit distorted.
But your voice sounded really confident and you seemed used to being on a stage. I liked that.
And on the topic art or no art:
I think it is an art. It’s a (really special) form of storytelling and I would consider a good storyteller an artist.
Hey I just wanted to chime in on that little blurb about comedians forming groups and whatnot. The scene I came up in was rife with them, as I’ve gathered most of life is really. Sure there’s always infighting and shit talkery but thats the business. Cutthroat. Thats the way its gotta be.
That doesnt mean there isnt a lot of good that comes from these groups. They can help you write jokes or propose better punchlines for your material. hell just hanging around comics can inspire bits. Besides that I dont know many, if any, comedians that made it in this industry without a helping hand from another comic. So go out there and get some allies. Get some shows out of it. You dont wanna talk shit? then dont. Easy.
some of the guys i grew up with are also trying to become comics just like me and i have found that we can be good bouncing boards for one another. plus my freinds have no problem “hurting” my feelings and they’ll tell me if a bit sucks
Joel:
If we aren’t practising an art, and we aren’t honing a craft, then what are we doing when we sit around developing a bit? How would you define us?
I’ll stick up for Joel. Why can’t it just be writing and telling jokes? It’s our job. I make phone calls and send email all day. I wouldn’t call that “honing a craft”.
Umm, Brian, I’m really sorry but that seems a little, silly. Sorry.
This because when you get better at doing a job you are exactly honing that craft. There are literally seminars on how to write better emails and have a more effective phone manner, and there are skills that you learn to make those jobs easier, like learning the most succinct phone patter. Just because its emailing instead of cartwrighting, doesn’t change the fact that people get better at it for their job.
As for why it has to be more than telling jokes on stage, is because it is, it fits within and around a tradition of creative performance and it is informed and in turn informed by other types of performance. You talked a little while ago about learning and maintaining an illusion of saying this stuff on stage as if it is the first time you’ve thought of it. That’s a skill that has to be honed, and it is pretty much acting. What about figuring out where and how your take on comedy works is also another thing that comics have to figure out. That anecdote about the New Yorker guy who keeps stealing other peoples persona’s comes to mind.
We are performing, and we get better at doing it, right?
When you’re playing around with a bit are you trying to make it better?
I dunno. I mean, art is everything that shows some form of expression that isn’t mathematically required, like a really pretty car design, or a nice looking cake or something. I mean, the Bill Baileys and Steven Wrights are fine french pastry, and the average comedian with his facebook poke joke is an animal cracker… but he still is in the shape of an animal for some reason.
Sorry.
But when is the last time a construction worker pouring concrete said, or was thought of, as honing his craft. It’s all about self perception. I think some comics love being thought of as artists.
This seems silly because I happen to agree with your points about comedy being an art form, I just hate the air of pompousness that surrounds “artist”. In my world you’re a comic, singer, painter, or stripper.
ok im not affirming nor discerning that stand up is art, im to new and inexperianced to make any call, but I once read somewher that stand up is considered one of the only two true american art forms, the other being jazz. just thought i would throw that out there.
But when is the last time a construction worker pouring concrete said, or was thought of, as honing his craft. It’s all about self perception. I think some comics love being thought of as artists.
This seems silly because I happen to agree with your points about comedy being an art form, I just hate the air of pompousness that surrounds “artist”. In my world you’re a comic, singer, painter, or stripper.
See, where I am coming from in what I’m trying to say, is that everyone who works in a creative manner is in some way an artist, and anyone who works to become better at a discipline is honing a craft. The thing is that those “artists” you were talking about don’t seem to get that kind of thought process. If we are all artists, yeah, its taken for granted that they are. That means that being an artist shouldn’t then be thought of as “special” and “high status,” and their airs of pomp and douche are just showing us that they are pompous douche bags. those people are around in any discipline I’ve been a part of, and probably every creative industry. They don’t seem to get that being an artist isn’t about being mystical and shit, it’s about being a practitioner in an art.
This thought kind of comes from the theatres that I have been involved with, because in the theatre their was/is a tradition that any person in a performing or low art was an artiste, while any high art person was an artist. Starting about 80-90 years ago, (just before 1930) in Germany of all places, a huge levelling of the arts started taking place, where people basically stopped caring about the “e.” And then they all became pretentious gits. However, since the 70’s this has been slowly dying off, to the point where you can look deeply into someones eyes and say ‘We’re both artists, but you mate, you’re a cunt.’
well, off to a college open mic i go.
Luck dude!
well im back, the night went well. most of the jokes did well but a few died on the spot and i made a few onstage mistakes that if my high svhool drama teacher were there she would have come up to me mid set and clubbed me. but for mostly new material i think i did well. a freind taped me and hopefully ill get a copy within a few days. il let you guys know when its up.
Sweet meats man. I’d love to take a look at it, not for advice or anything, just so I can fill in my many, many hours of boredom over a weekend or something.
by which i mean I’ve made 3 of the last 5 posts on the board tonight.
ahh, cliquely comic groups.
i love the “advice” i got from one jaded old-timer after my first and… third?… real open mics. i didn’t tell many people about the first one, because i just wanted to try it out on my own. he jokingly (but deadpan) told me if i can’t bring out an audience, i should quit.
the next show that we did together, i brought out a huge audience of supportive friends (not because of his comment though, haha). he just said “yeah, i remember when my friends used to come out too. now nobody wants to see me”
hahaha. love it.
Hey guys. Show will be out tomorrow. Insert lame baby related excuse here.
“Creating art” and “Honing a craft” are different than “Perfecting a skill.” When I’m writing, it doesn’t feel very crafty or artistic.
I spent literally 7 months on a bit about my grandfather having cancer before I felt it was ready for the stage, but when I present it to people they don’t care about how long it took me to write the joke. They just care that it’s funny, hopefully as funny as the joke I did right before it about buffalo wings… a joke that I had hastily worked on for a couple hours before the show started. But the amont of time doesn’t matter.
The time and effort put into the joke makes no difference. I was very proud of the cancer joke when I finished writing it, but I dropped it after about 4 or 5 shows because it wasn’t clicking. I still use the buffalo wings joke, even though it wasn’t as “crafted.”
The writers for Family Guy are hilarious. They are amazingly smart an creative. But something tells me they wouldn’t have the audacity to call themselves artists.
If people want to call it an art, or that they’re crafting their material, that’s fine. It’s just not my thing; I feel that by calling myself an artist, I’m giving myself too much credit for what I do. Is a comic a writer? Hell yes. Is a comic creative? Absolutely! But comics aren’t artists.
Also, big props to Andy for the Joke of the Week! He was out at Billy Joe’s here in Des Moines a couple weeks ago and was hilarious. If you’re near Ames, find a show he’s going to be at and go to it!
Behind the Bricks has been a terrific way for me to meet some comics like Andy and Dan Tessitore who are really funny and motivated. I love that aspect of the podcast, too.
Ok, so we aren’t artists. What is art, and why isn’t this an art? What are we doing while we are performing? I’m still just not getting it yet.
Stand-up comedy is an art. Isn’t performing, such as acting or performing a monologue an art form? And “Writing Arts” is an available major at Rowan. So, if comedy writing is an art, and stage performance is an art, how is stand up comedy not an art?
I do have the audacity to call myself an artist. I do not, however, have the audacity to consider myself a “double artist, comparable to a singer who paints,” as I’ve heard another comic say. Although he may have been a bit ineriated.
I dig it, that’s more or less where I’m coming from Charles.
Wow, cool design. I usually just get notiow.com but came over here to listen to Brian’s jokes - it’s easy to see why he skipped a few notiowa shows with this new site design.