Need a change

Well haven't been performing a real lot, still Winston's Monday and Friday but rarely doing a set. I did a really good show at the beginning of the month. Been writting a lot and thinking of new ideas but just haven't had an outlet to perform. Did a couple crappy shows last week. The first I was the "headliner," whatever that means. I went up last and performed out front of comedians and a few humans. I had my girlfriend call out some of my older jokes. I tried to remember some. I made the best of an awkward situation. I'm anxious to see how the video came out. I started off good, had a little bit of a lull, then finished moderately strong. Did have a man say he was going to shoot me, which was a first. I went down to check out another show but bailed when I saw another comic there. I'm not real sure why this guy gets under my skin so much. I think it has a lot to do with the ego, and the fact comics salivate over him. All is basically does is be an asshole to audience members. Anyone has the ability to do this, but comics think he's god. He did this on my show the following night. The comics after him were pretty much screwed to do actual jokes because the crowd didn't want to hear jokes and just wanted to be rediculed.

I've decided to give my two weeks notice at home depot. The recent raise of only 30 cents was the last straw. They wanted me to take on more responsibilities for 30 cents more an hour. They take advantage of their workers, and I'm too smart to stand for it. With that said I will try to play poker 4 to 5 days a week, and get back to the grind of doing comedy shows. I haven't really been grinding for the past 6 months to a year. The varying work schedule with depot really effected my sleep, and I felt tired all the time. Which in turn lead to me drinking much more than is responsible. I'm gonna focus on getting my drinking under control and get my life back on track.

I will try to blog a lot more often even if I don't have a show or do much of anything. Today I woke up at 6, as Lindsey had to go to work. I came home and tried to go to sleep, not much luck. Wanted to play poker but just felt out of it. I should have just gone to the gym, but couldn't get the energy. I decided I'm going to try to go for a walk everyday. I don't want to gain weight as a result of leaving home depot. I think if I walk a mile or so everyday it will give me a added boast of energy and caloric burning. I finally made it to the gym, now I'm just vegging out before heading to Lindsey's.

contest ppl

July 25
judge: billy bonnell sent
1. damien pruitt
2. pat puccini
3. tommy broome
4. joe charles
5. paul herrmann
6. erik martin
7. chris dalberg
8. jon schaeffer

Almost giving up

So little happening. Really been ignoring the blog, but haven't really peformed in awhile. Just been doing Winston's, but not even doing a set. I think my birthday show, and small turnout somewhat screwed with my head. That and meeting the girl. My focus is totally directed toward her. Broke down and said I loved her, and that didn't turn out well. She didn't say it back and I got emotional as I tend to do on occasional. It takes a lot to bum me out, but when I like someone I really like them. It's been almost 5 years since I really put my mind into someone. We worked things out, I think. I'm not completely sure if she's ready to love or be loved. Who knows if I am. I'm not really in the best part of my life. Stuck in a dead end job, and not focusing enough attention on comedy. I did write some stuff the other day, and have been thinking about new jokes and ideas, but just haven't performed. The Comedy Store doesn't have an open mic on Sundays anymore, and Blarney is too far and late now. So that basically just leaves Mondays and Fridays at Winston's. And the crowds haven't been really strong enough to deserve my hard work to bust out a set. I don't think it's because the girl is there, I just don't have the desire to perform. I actually was asked to do a few shows at the end of the month and the beginning of next. I need to start redirecting my focus away from the girl and back to comedy. I just need to find myself. I'm really getting scared this comedy thing is just a hobby and not a life choice. I find myself getting more and more frustrated at home depot. And literally want nothing more than to get fired. I'm leaving early, coming in late, calling out. Just plain miserable there, basically every second. I do enjoy spending time with the girl, but always in the back of my mind I'm wondering what I should be doing with my life. I'm 28 and I'm far from being an adult. I just need to get my life together, but I just don't know what the entails, or what I can do to get there. Radio, tv, newspapers, are all almost a thing of the past. I know I was born to entertain, but how am I going to figure out a way to make that my career?

Birthday show fun

Well big time ignoring of the blog. Went to Vegas, started off really good and ended blah. Broke totally even, but lost $400 the 2nd to last night. My own fault. I grinded all day, played next to pefect after a somewhat cooler to start the day. Then got drunk all of a sudden and donated the money back at a wicked loose already table at Caesar's. The next night I ran awful, and somehow managed to loose another $1000. I should have stopped after I lost the first $500 but I figured it had to turn around. No such luck. Last hand I played, I lost $150 with kings vs aces.

When I got back I just hosted Winston's on Monday and Friday. Didn't do a set either night. Friday I met a girl, and things seem to be great, we'll see. Wednesday I did the Comedy Store. I went up second, there wasn't a huge crowd, but I think I did ok considering the circumstance. Thursday I did a small coffee shop. It was slightly awkward as there were people literally sitting 2 feet from me. I talked over them for a little while, trying to do jokes. They went meh. Some girl yelled about birthday sex, and I interacted with her for a bit. That was good.

Last night was the bday show. 3 people came for me, 3 frickin people. Not one person from work came. I'm somewhat deflated. I'm gonna go in late to work, and might not go at all. Mostly because I want to hang out with the girl, but I don't really want to talk to anyone from there. I need another break.

Ugh death of a funny man

Monday at the contest was pretty full actually. Nice change from last week. It started off slowly but picked up steam throughout. There was solid talent there. One of the dudes that I would consider a comic friend, did really well and got first place. My set was ok, voiced some new stuff, got some laughs. Even had someone write me in, as that Mclovin guy. The banter at the end was fun as always.

Wednesday I had a spot at the store because I helped out a few weeks back. I was expecting to go up late but they had me up 2nd for 6 minutes, when everyone else was doing 8. I was like WTF, as my roomie took forever to get ready so we were slightly late. Luckily I made it in time. Well, not really luckily as the set was rough. Probably one of the worst sets I've ever had. I've had worse sets, but not in a comedy environment, when I expected to do well. It was bad, and I kept losing confidence as the set progressed. It was depressing. I left the stage and just sulked for 10 minutes.

After that we headed to bar 11. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go up but decided it would be for the best. I basically did the same jokes, and had fun with the small audience. Even had some guys talk to me outside about how I stuck out. It felt pretty good. I did some drinking and asked the host to go up again at the end of the night. Normally I wouldn't do this, but the crowd was still there, so I was like, "Why not?" I just chatted it up with a few audience members, and was slightly rude to one. I don't know why I slip up and do that on occasion. Anyways, I think most people enjoyed it.

Last night was Winston's. It started off pretty slow as usual. But people started filtering earlier than usual. A lot of them were talking and it was a struggle to win them over. A few people did well, and the guy before me had a rough time but ended strong. I would say that was about the same for mine. My first joke was eh, but I picked up steam and got a few appaluse breaks. For a crowd like that, that's impressive. I felt like I did ok, I think the co host lit me a little early, but I ended strong enough and didn't feel the need to continue. The headliner was really funny and she's a real overall talent. She does jokes, sings, and raps. Most of the time I find that hacky, but she's a real crowd pleaser and I respect that.

Such a struggle

Sunday was just the Comedy Store. It was short, but I think it went pretty well. Nothing much to report. Monday was the contest at Winston's. It was by far the slowest we've ever had. Literally one non comic at the start of the show. Ended up being 5 or so people, as the door brought in 20$. Normal range is 60- 80 or so. $20 is awful. I did a little bit of time at the start which was basically me rambling about how weird comics are. I did write a few new jokes this week which is nice. The comics did what they could with what they had to work with. It ended up being a decent show for what it was.

Friday was also slow at Winston's. They were a small crowd but they were very attentive. I had some good host banter at the start of the show during the open mic that got some laughs. My set had some up and downs. I did 12-14 or so. Started off choppy, built some steam, than trailed a little bit. I was trying a lot of the new stuff. I think I got one really good joke out of it, and some stuff that can be reworked. One of the headliners was a dude from L.A. that I had on my comedy store show. He's really out there, but really funny. I respect what he does, and gets me to laugh more than almost any comic working. The cool thing is that he is also one of the nicest comics I've met. We talked about getting us to move up to L.A. The results of my upcoming Vegas trip will really set the bar whether I think I can support myself happily with poker. It would be ideal to play poker during the day, and tell jokes at night. But I need to come to terms with being able to lose and not let it affect me.

Joey poster

well that settles it

Had one of my best sets at the Comedy Store Thursday. Did mostly jokes I've written over a year ago, maybe closer to 2 years ago. I've noticed that when I started I wrote a lot of dirty, easy jokes. Since I've progessed as a comedian I think my style has changed and I'm trying to take on stuff that takes some thought to understand. Most of the jokes I think are funny, do not hit on stage. And stuff I know is stupid always hits. So I'm probably becoming a better comedian, but my jokes arn't the same.

I was bummed at first because the crowd was small, and basically no one that said they would come, did. It bothers me as I always do pretty well, and always mix up my jokes. People are just lame. But to be fair I don't really attend other people's events, but I likely would if I was free and could. My set was really strong and I had a lot of people/ comics compliment me after. Even a table that had been talking a lot of the time, one of the woman came up to me after and said I did well.\

Friday was Winston's. There were a lot of no shows. I slammed the mic into my lower lip by accident, and actually caused it to bleed. I wasn't even drinking at the time. There was a decent amount of people but they were not easy to make laugh. I started off somewhat choppy but turned things around and was happy with how I finished. I tried one new joke that I thought would get a big reaction and didn't get much of anything. I'm going to try it a few more times to see if there's anything there.

Am I getting better?

So had a lot of shows the last few weeks. So crazy the roller coaster that is comedy. I had a month or so where I was writing like crazy, but the past few weeks nothing. Even looking back to the jokes I wrote nothing is that great. Still doing the same jokes. I need to make a change. I booked another trip to Vegas in a few weeks, maybe that will help refocus me. Doubt it, as I was doing well with writing, went to Vegas, now nothing. I think the loss of my friend may have something to do with it.

Anyways. Lot of shows to report. Sunday did the Comedy Store first. It was a small crowd, but I got some rarely used jokes in and got a pretty decent reaction. Hadn't been to Blarney in awhile, but one of my coworkers said he might swing by so I made an exception. It was pretty dead, but I tried to interact with the crowd. It was fun. The coworker actually heckled me a few times, but it was good banter. He had fun, and that's what I was trying to do. He bought me some beers, which is always awkward but hes older and has the money.

Monday was the contest. I worked all day and pretty much packed in my set. I didn't really have anything new and didn't want to do old jokes. I stambled through some stuff I just wrote but nothing was good. I'm just not putting in the work I used to. I imagine drinking has a lot to do with it. I'm always tired, and just want to stay in bed when I'm off. The contest ended up pretty ok. Had fun with the critiques at the end. Had solid zingers.

Last night had a couple of shows. One was a little bit of a drive, but I think I had a solid set. Only one jokes didn't work too well. Heard good reviews from one of the comics who had a lot of people attend the show. I do have a lot of jokes about women. Pretty much all the jokes I do often are about relationships and sex. I think people just like that crap.

Next up was the Comedy Palace. There was a good amount of people there. I was going up last on an already late show. I started going through my "smarter" jokes with not much reaction. I said the f word a few times in a row, and did some sex jokes and ended strong. I hate having to go that route but guess the job is to be funny anyway I can. Kinda funny as I hung out a little bit after. And as we were walking out I see a gal standing outside her car next to mine. I say something to the affect of "don't worry were not going to harm you." She then awkwardly hands a note to my roommate. Being the dick he is he opens it up out front of her. She must have felt weird already, but to see him open the note out front of him was a little much. Turns out as I expected it was her number. I didn't get a great look at her, but if she has that much guts, there's no reason I shouldn't give her a chance. It's just funny, cause I was quite vulgar on stage. Who knows, we'll keep it updated.

list

May 16
Judge: sam wiles
1. lauren obrien
2. dave callans
3. jorge mata
4. jared levin
5. willy wilson
6. erik martin
7. adam wolpe
8. mindy lipton

Too busy to blog

Well I've been somewhat ignoring the blog lately not really sure why. I guess I haven't had any major shows or things to rant about. Somewhat overview on how things have been going. I did a show at a theater in Carlsbad May 5. It was a weird vibe. Always different when it's an all ages show and there are kids sitting with their parents in the front row. I opened up with talking about the host. Who has done some soft core porn, and isn't the best comedian. He is kind of a strange character. Really excited about the show, but not really focusing on his jokes. He did about 15 minutes after the headliner did 40 minutes or so. It was kind of strange. My set went ok, I started off with crowd work which is never a good idea, as it's tough to getthe audience to respect you as a comedian, and listen to your jokes. I didn't think I did great, but he invited me back. It's kind of a long drive, so I told him I'd like to be compensated with a little bit of money. He said he worked in a marijuana dispensary, and asked if I'd take that as payment. I agreed, not sure why. Mostly cause he got my roommate on the show as well, so that's cool.

Friday was Winston's. I coheadlined with a gal from the radio. She's come a long way as a comedian. She's nice, and quite attractive so she has that going for her. My set went pretty ok. I stumbled over my words a few times, and found myself speaking a little too quickly at times, but overall solid for the crowd I was dealing with.

Monday was the contest. There was such a weird vibe in the room. I don't know if it was because the comics were so bad, or the audience was terrible, but I just couldn't get into the show. One of the female comics was quite attractive, and all her fans were other dudes. Not sure why she wants to do comedy. MOstly spoke about sex and how dirty she was. Clearly she wasn't hugged enough. Another girl was less attractive and talked about having sex on her period, and it was so disgusting. I had to block my ears. Little offends me but that was awful. My set was terrible to start, I did some Jesus jokes I hadn't done in forever and they tanked like they used to.

Wednesday was Bar 11. There were people there, but most of them were drunk and annoying. I struggled through and got some chuckled here and there. Had some people say I was funny and shook my hand which is always nice.

Thursday we drove up to Bakersfield. I wasn't expecting much from this show, just a long car ride, cracking jokes with comedy buds. There was an older comic that rode up with us, who I could tell was somewhat getting annoyed with us bantering so much. He was cool about it, but he just felt like he couldn't contribute. It was about a 4 hour drive. Once we got there, it was much bigger than I expected. I was thinking dive bars and tumbleweeds. Also on the way up, a girlfriend of a comic that's seen me a few times said, "You are a very sexist comic. I don't think you realize it, but a lot of your jokes demean women." It was somewhat surprising. I started to think which jokes she was talking about. I guess I have some jokes that put women down, but theyre jokes.... We walked around a little while than drank some booze in the car before the show. I was a little worried about my set as the first few people struggled a little bit. The crowd was half there for comedy, half there for the cover band after. I started off by interacting with the crowd a little bit. I think I did pretty well. Had a few people come up to me after, and the other comics said I did well. The comic after me said I was tough to follow which is also nice. He told comics the next day I killed, which I found humbling. I got a little drunk after the show. Didn't do anything stupid, but I'd prefer the public not seeing that side of me.

Friday at Winston's was pretty terrible. I booked a guy who is awful, but can bring people. He claimed he was going to pack the place, and brought maybe 5 people. It was pathetic. My set went pretty terrible. My solid jokes went well, but anything off the A was crap.

Saturday I did a show at a church for recovering addicts and their families. I did around 15 minutes clean. I made it through, but definately felt restricted. There is little to talk about without cursing or alcohol. I felt like I did ok, and had a few compliments. Some from pretty girls which is best.

Store poster

Hey it's Jeff, remember me

Well I've been away from the blog and the stage for a little while but I'm back on the saddle.

Thursday before I left I popped in to hang out at a bar show. I didn't really plan to go up and the crowd was rough and small. One dude asked me a few times to go up, not the people that book the show, but the headliner. I don't like asking for time, but figured I'd do it if they asked me. Then ended up asking and I decided to make an experiment and smoke a little weed beforehand. I got on stage and rambled for a little bit. It was mostly talking about the randomness of the room, and trying out some new jokes. I did around 15 minutes. It's good that I can still string together an entertaining set even with a rough crowd.

Now off to Vegas, a trip that should have never been. Pretty much had to cut ties with a friend and didn't perform at all. Poker went really well, had one of my best few days ever. I was so card dead the first couple days. but grinded nicely, and made barely any mistakes. Actually won playing blackjack. Granted I was drunk, but quit when I was ahead. I plan to go back again next month, not sure if I want to play poker around here.

Drove back to S.D. Thursday night instead of Friday. Winston's Friday was busy, but they weren't the best crowd. They were all there for their friend, and literally turned their backs and talked throughout other comics sets. My set was ok. Did almost 15 minutes of ranting and trying jokes, it was moderately fun. When we were collecting the money it felt short. I talked to the guy I run the show with about how I felt. Turns out they rechecked the draw and found a $100 bill. Oh really? That really concerns me. How does one forget that much money? Sketches me out and feel I should start counting people to make sure there is accurate amounts in the future. I bet the guys skimp $20 here and there, but $100 is rediculous.

Saturday was a fun night. I knew that I had one show at the Palace, but the 2nd was brought on us around 4 pm. I scrambled around calling some comics. Sucked cause there was also another "show" going on with people I wanted to book. The first show was pretty packed. It definately wasn't an easy show, but I felt like a struggled through nicely. Once I felt like I was getting into a groove, I got lit early. Not sure why. I'd imagine it was because the promoter decided last minute, he wanted to do time. I guess I should be happy to do time, but lame to be lit early. Also the host, who I've never met introduced me as "Mclovin" which is pretty disrespectful and unprofessional.

Next set was roughish, but I think I tredged through ok. I interacted with a gal in the front row who wasn't the best looking gal but who cares. Anyways, I was trying to be friendly but it kept coming off like a dick. Finally I just said let's kiss, to which she agreed, and I kissed a gal in the front row. She even tried to add tongue. Crazy life being a comic. Rest of the set was tough to match that excitement, but I made it through.

Sunday was just the comedy store. I forgot I called in the week before to get on the open mic list and even asked to get on alternates. Turns out I was on. Set started off slow. They were a pretty dumb crowd and I falsey thought they were smart. Once I realized their intelligence level I changed gears and ended pretty ok. I'm not really interested in performing at the Blarney anymore. I worked too hard in that room to get not respect.

Last night was the finals of the contest. Show started off pretty slow and rough. The open mic host angerly called out a heckler. I went up there and tried to cut the tension. Pretty unsuccessfully. I tried bantering and jokes, nothing really worked. I did 10 or so minutes, and figured it was time to get on with the contest. Most of the contestants did pretty well. Seemed a few of them were either nervous or out of the element. The girl most people figured would win, did. We ended up having a pretty solid turnout, and were able to pay everyone the money that was expected.

winston's poster

Well that was a waste

Sunday was just the Store. There was a special show at Blarney, to which of course I was not invited to do. I did pretty well at the Store. Mostly new jokes and went over well. Nothing much to report.

Monday was the Winston's contest. It was the slowest one we did 2 date. One comic showed up and left. 2 others no showed completely. And a 4th told me earlier in the week he couldn't make it. We still put on 8 contestants. Most of them bailed before the light. I did some time before the contest that went pretty decent. Just working out some new stuff.

Tuesday I swung by the Palace. There was literly like maybe 6 audience members. I was going to wait to go up, but the roomie wanted to hang, and I couldn't take hanging out there much longer. I thanked the host and bailed.

Last night was a show in Temecula. God dang that was a waste of a drive. I did get 2 free beers and a ride up there, but not worth my time. I did 15 minutes right off the top. I started off ok but started getting bummed as the crowd response was less and less. 15 minutes was way too much time in that environment. I have a tough to remembering jokes nowadays. I hope it's not because of my drinking, but who knows. I wasn't prepared enough. It was a bad set, but everyone did bad so I'll take solice in that. There was a lady in a bathe robe and high heels. Classy.

Big time heckler

Well Thursday was my monthly Comedy Store show. There was a good turnout. I had maybe 11 or 12 people show up. Pretty depressing, but people just arn't supportive. The show started off kind of rough, first couple people had a rough time. The 3rd person did pretty well, the 4th ok, and the 5 did solid. Then me. Well I was thrown off right from the start from a drunk woman yelling something. I still don't know what it is and likely should have ignored it, but I've never been good with that. We bantered back and forth and I felt things getting mean. I enjoy doing crowd work when it's upbeat and positive. This was pretty terrible. Highlights were saying I don't go to her work at Arby's. Also what appeared to be her daughter yelled I was getting pity laughs, later in the set I said I'd have sex with her, but it would be pity sex. I actually thought I was losing the crowd, and asked, but all the people to the right said they hated her. It was a rollercoaster, and didn't feel great about it, but it seemed like it went better than I felt up there. Heard good things from other comics, who knows if they were being truthful. Some people that came said, it was ok.

Kinda funny, they eventually threw the lady out. I felt bad for the people she came with but why would they bring her knowing she was drunk and a bitch. It was also dumb of the workers to sit her in the front. What I learned to be the son apologized to me after which was kinda funny. I also had some girls want to take pictures with some of the comedians. That was cool. I chatted with one of them and she acted like she wanted to talk further. We exchanged facebook info. I sent her a message with my number, no response. Girls are weird. Oh well.

Friday was Winston's. There was a decent amount of people. They were attentive and receptive for most of the show. Once the person they came to see, they lost some attention. I can't blame them, it's a long show. I should have put myself up earlier. My jokes went eh, I stumbled a little bit. The headliner I expected to bring people didn't really promote much. I somewhat have to blame the fact we didn't have a poster made until the week of the show. He also someone ate shit. He's surely not a headliner, but he was awkward and stumbled a lot. One of the worst headliners I've seen us book. Live and learn.

Just Winston's

SO Sunday I actually worked late. I wasn't on at the Comedy Store and didn't feel like getting up at 7. I switched. I called for the store for next week and the guy asked me if I wanted to be on tonight... I said I had to work. My friend said she was going to the show with her dad. She wanted me to try to get on. I told her I couldn't. I likely could have but I didn't want to go up late and struggle. Her dad would likely think I was a chump. I stopped by Blarney and it was all comics. I should have stayed and worked out the new material, but I decided work at 7 the next day and tired from the day, I headed home. I heard it ended up being ok, but whatever.

Monday was the 1st week of the new contest. I wasn't expecting much as far as turn out, but there ended up being 20 or so people. Decent and respectful. Not the easiest people to make laugh but the time I did before the show went pretty well. Still working on a lot of new stuff but I was happy how it went overall. I tried to gp up again after the contest as we finished really early, but the crowd didn't want to listen to me again. I'm looking forward to the show on Thursday, let's hope a good amount of people come. I never can tell. I've made a facebook thing and got very little response. I am going to gorilla text people tomorrow to try to get a decent turnout.

Slacking on the posts

Not sure why it's been so long since I blogged, have been somewhat busy and started playing poker again, but no real excuse to ignore the blog so long. Friday 4/1 was Winston's. One of the worst shows in awhile. The crowd did not laugh at anything. I took it harder than usual as I've been doing pretty good at Winston's and took it somewhat personal. They didn't really laugh at the guy they came to see. It was really weird. I made some money so I'll take that as a win.

After Winston's we did a show at a strip club. Ya. I heard about it and said why not. It was poorly run, even for a show at a strip club. It was in the back room. I can't believe there were dudes in there. Really, you know there's naked women in the other room. There were strippers walking around serving drinks and trying to set up lap dances. I did my time. I was brought up by the dj in the booth. I told some jokes, then I hear one more coming from the speaker out front of me. Very gansta. We then chatted with the booker who was streaming the show over the internet. Interesting experience, he invited us back which I guess is a plus.

Sunday was just the comedy store. My set went ok, but I slurred my words on a couple jokes. I was pretty upset with myself. I recovered nicely and the crowd likely didn't notice, but it sucks that it keeps happening. I get somewhat nervous at the show still, not really sure why.

Monday was Winston's. It was the last semi finals, and there was a decent sized crowd. One very funny guy got off to a really bad start and couldn't recover. I'm not sure why he opened with "AIDS" or "rape." He literally said that. Try not to totally get people to hate you. I didn't really even do a set because the open mic went long, and I tried right after but the crowd was trying hard to get ballots and whatnot. I bantered a little bit with the host than brought up the guest judge. He did pretty well.

Didn't have any midweek shows, so back to Winston's again. One of the features asked me to put on one of his coworkers that had a good amount of people going. I said sure. His friends work at the same company as people I've had on before. These people do not attend comedy shows and talk the entire time. Made things rough for the comics. Once he got up there he paced nonstop and kept the mic a foot from his mouth. He did hacky jokes, which I learned after were Ron White jokes. Why would you do that to yourself? My set was meh. Better than last week, but still not easy or great.

The headliners were down from L.A. He was original a quasi famous dude, who his agent contacted me to do the show. He ended up not even showing up. I paid the other two guys a fair amount of money to drive down to L.A. The gal on the show haggled to get more time. She was originally just a feature but somehow felt she was a headliner and I paid her too. While the open mic dude was awful, he brought the whole crowd. I'm curious what his friends said, and if he'll do it again.

Somewhat busy

SO I had the standard Sunday with Store and Blarney. I didn't make the list at the store, but I texted the old OBC dude and he texted the host. The host at first forgot to put my name down but he told me when he saw me he'd get me up. It was one of the best open mic crowds in awhile. Everyone was killing. The host tried to get me a few extra minutes but they had to put on another person. He brought me up as the best comedian he'd ever seen.. I of course talked about the pressure. I did all new jokes, most I thought of that day, mostly one liners. One went ok, the others not so much. I changed one up to make it salvagable and solid. My set went well, but it's tough to gauge with such a easy crowd.

Blarney was pretty slow, mostly comics. I was sticking to the jokes, which were meh. Then I got heckled by an older comic in the front. I tore into him a bit, and the crowd somewhat took his side. I also chatted with some girls who tried to heckle too. They talked to me after saying it's all in good fun. I'm still not sure why the old guy heckled me. The host said I did good so that's fine. I'm trying to stick to jokes. I left soon after, but I heard there was a comic that punched another comic in the face outside. I guess the new comic was talking loudly, and people kept telling him to keep it down. One thing led to another, and he got a fist full of comedy awakening.

Monday was the contest. It was a small crowd at first but it really filled out nicely. I did what ended up being 20 minutes of basically all new jokes before the contest started. I was bantering with the host a bit, and we were telling "you might be a redcoat" jokes. Some went ok. I was just skimming through my notebook trying out things I've written down. I got some good stuff out of it, which is cool.

Tuesday I got a call to host the open mic at the Comedy Palace. Who knows how many people he asked before me, but I was happy he even thought of me. Even though I hate that place, esp. hosting, I accepted. I got there and one of the comics that fills in hosting sometimes was holding the list and checking ID's. I didn't know if the dude double booked hosts. Turns out the comic was just doing the id thing for "fun." That show is so long and there are so many comics I never see anywhere else. There was basically 10 audience members, most were gone before the show ended. There was one comic that pops in there with the other host and is quite pompous. He comes up to me and says, "Did the host ask you to fill in for him?" Really, like I just showed up and decided to host. Granted I know that's happened before, but honestly he has such an ego it's pathetic. He basically shit on the crowd for a bit like he always does, than does his same hacky jokes. I can stand ego's. I had my roommate host so of it so he could bring me up as a comic. My set went decent enough.

Winston's and Comedy Store

Had a very successful week. The contest went well. Decent amount of people, and made some money. I was getting worried that it wouldn't build up, but there was a good turn out on the last one. I had one of my buddies judge and he wasn't the best at it. It's not an easy thing to be supportive and funny, and helpful. I think I've figured it out. I tried a few new jokes, with mixed reactions. I brought my roomie up and we did the gag that it was his first time on stage. It went surpringly well.

Wednesday I found out the bar show that I pretty much got banned from is no more. I am happy, and think maybe some of these guys will get a clue that running a show isn't that easy, and there's no reason to have an ego.

Thursday I did the Comedy Store. It was pretty full, before the 2 black comics and their posse showed up with a party bus. The guy told me at first they were going to have 2 party buses. But there was only one and it wasn't that packed. Like all their shows it wasn't easy. I noticed I was going up a little later so I decided to grab a shot to take a little bit of the edge off. I had a beer while I was there and I think it helped. I tried to do jokes but there was a lot more crowd interaction. I was pretty happy with the performance and had a few comics say I did well. Oh and a very hot lady who heckled me a bit, talked to me after. Obviously has a bf, but she was sooo hot.

Friday was Winston's. There was a dude that went up for the first time that brought a decent amount of people. Typical "I've never been to a show" crowd. They didn't heckle but they were talking more and more, esp. when more of them showed up. I stalled as long as I could to put him up, but I could tell his friends were getting restless. The crowd was tough, definately not a time to work out material. I saw some very funny people really struggle up there. I did a mixture of crowd/ dj interaction and jokes. Starting off chatting with people and that opened up the room a little bit. They didn't give it up easily, but I definately found some solid stuff I can keep working on. An "ex" was there with her new flame. He seemed kinda tooley, but I'm happy she found someone. She's kinda crazy.

Few bar shows

Thursday I did a show at Portugalia. It was pretty dead. Mostly comics and the ones that have girlfriend's brought them. Everyone was doing ok, nothing spectacular. I went up and workshopped a bunch of new jokes. Got some good reviews for a few. I knew I did a good amount of time, I figured 8-10 minutesI talked to the dude after and I did 14. I was happy I could do that much time, with all new jokes. I'mm writing like I did when I first started. I really think it has a lot to do with going to L.A. and seeing Nick Swardson working out jokes and the bad comedy store experience. I guess you do have to go down to get inspired to move back up.

Friday at Winston's was slow from the start, picked up towards the end but the crowd was quite chatty. They did not laugh easily, but if a joke was good they laughed. I did ok. Still working on the new stuff. It's crazy how some jokes I did the night before did well with comics, but a crowd laughed very rarely. It's just so difficult for me to feel really good about my set at Winston's. I don't know if it's the pressure of running the show, or the crowd is just rough. I just never seem to feel great leaving the stage. It's the love or hate about the room that keeps me coming back.

After the show the bartender told me a couple of girls were looking for me. I knew my sister's friends were in town. She told them I do show's at Winston's. I go out and chat with them. They thought I ran the bands after the show.... Anyways we go grab some pizza and then they say they are a fan of the pot. I call up one of my comic buds who likes the stuff and we head over. I always hang out and watch them smoke but rarely partake. I don't know why but I decided I would. I realized why I don't as I tripped out. I was playing it up a bit but I really was bugging out. It was weird to lift my legs and I was chilling with a stuffed caterpillar. There's video somewhere and I'd love to see it.

Sunday and a single dip. Did the comedy store open mic. I noticed I didn't make the list for next week. That was the first time I didn't make it, with one of the dudes answering the phones in a really long time. Not sure if it has anything to do with me calling him asking if I'd get a spot for being on the sold out show last week. Usually when you get a certain amount of people, you get additional spots. He explained I did not, and seemed cool about it. Well apparently he was not as he brought it up to the dude that put me on his show. I know this because the dude approached me and asked me why I asked for spots. He was a real douche about it. I told him we usually get spots, he said I did nothing. I walked away. Kid's gotten an attitude ever since he thought he was passed. When in all reality he just hangs out and they let him seat people. Here's an awful comic, that will never be recognized for jokes.

My set went pretty good. Did some new jokes, 2 hit, I stumbled over the 3rd. It hasnt really been written yet and I messed it up a bit. I need to make sure I have some kind of plan next time, esp. for 3 minutes. The dude that sent me that email that I posted on my facebook wall opened up the show. A lot of comics were able to put a face to the name. He did awful as expected and left right after. It's funny he was talking to my friend, he said his name was Paul. That didn't ring a bell for her. They then talked about shows around town. She brought up Winston's, he said he's been banned from there. A. I've never banned him. But the ego on this kid to think I care that much about him is crazy. I also heard he talked to another comic about me that same night at the Comedy Palace off stage. I'm surprised the comic didn't tell me about it earlier, but either way.

We drove over to Blarney but with the rain there was 0 audience members. I was kinda tired and didn't feel like entertaining comics. We left. I was suppose to do a show in L.A. at the comedy store. But I messaged the guy earlier in the day saying I wouldn't make it. I saw it was suppose to be heavy rains and winds, and I didn't feel comfortable driving all the way up there. It was pouring on our drive home in S.D. so I think I made the right decision. I was surprised the guy was ok with it, as he's been difficult in the past and is slightly weird.

High and lows of comedy

Sunday was another double dip. Did the comedy store with some newer jokes. The crowd was rather chatty but the jokes went decent. Still been coming up with a lot of new stuff. I went up a little earlier than usual, it was still light out. AFter the gym I went to Blarney. I haven't been drinking before, and have been sticking to my jokes. Some went good others, eh. I included some crowd interaction, and came up with a new way to do a somewhat gross joke.

Monday at the contest was slow but it picked up. I went up after the contestants. This was a little rough, but I voiced out some newer jokes. I chatted with a gal, somewhat pretty, that was doing comedy for the first time. I think female comedians are my "type." There's just something about them that I enjoy. Seems all the decent ones have bf's or move. Sucky.

Last night I was going to check out a speed dating thing at Winston's, but a fellow comic gave me a call to do a show in Temecula. I called him, as I don't want to travel, unpaid for shows if I'm only doing 5 minutes. He assured me 8-10. I also heard good things about this place, so I said I was in for the road trip. We get up there and were told we only get 5 minutes, as there's 22 comics. Ok? Also I end up going first. I pretty much ate crap for 5 minutes. It's a weird environment. But I was doing my "best" jokes and nothing was hitting. I did my cocaine joke to which some black guys complained about more black jokes? Hey idiot, listen to the joke. That is probably my favorite joke as it is true and smart. I also did trick daddy to which some said gross. The crowd was tougher than usual I was told. A comic talked to me after about saying he liked my stuff, the crowd just wasn't feeling it. Oh well. Lesson learned, no more traveling there. Kinda funny a joke I never did before hit the hardest. Joke about homeless people hating the term money doesn't buy happiness.

Busy week after the the lull

Friday at Winston's was pretty packed start to finish. There was a heckler that came with one of the comics that came on the show for the first time I've ever seen him. One of the comics shut him up pretty good. But the heckler did say as he was being ripped apart, "I am the funniest person here." What a lunatic, he probably should do stand up, he'd fit right in. I went up much earlier than usual as the crowd was so good. I tried out some brand new jokes, which went pretty good. I've been writing a lot lately which is awesome. Not everything worked but they are good premises that could be reworked.

After Winston's I was in a comedy contest. I left Winston's early and ran over to the contest as the guy said it started at 9. Well they had featured and I was the last competitor so I went up at like 10:30. This guy does contests throughout So Cal, but he isn't the most friendly man. I facebook messaged him asking how he was picking the order and if it would be ok if I was a little late. He responded with isn't this late to be notifying. I said that doesn't answer my question. He came back with answers but he had an attitude. I talked to him after the show, and smoothed things over. He basically said he deals with a lot of flakes doing all these contests. I get it, just not a good way to handle things.

Well I didn't win the contest but I did get top 5 from audience applause which is cool as I brought 0 people. I did have the advantage of going last, and I had to follow 2 of the worst comics in San Diego. I actually opened with I'm here to save the show. I was happy with how it went. The top 3 were all girls. 2 brought the whole crowd, and are way too attractive to be doing comedy. The girl that won plays songs that's she's been playing at every show for 5 years. It's dirty people love that.

Saturday I had a small show at a pizza shop. It's a weird vibe cause it's all ages and the lights are on and there's no stage. Most of the crowd laughed at little to nothing. But the host did say I was one of the only people to do well. Also a hot gal high fived me after which is always cool. I was workshopping the new jokes, and trying to have as much fun as I could. It wasn't a great set by any means but I was happy to get something out of it.

Sunday was Comedy Store and Blarney. I wasn't able to make the show the week before, and I didn't make the list last week. I was lucky enough to get on alternates. I had made the list every week, but the normal guy was out of town and I think the guy that answered the phone the week before really does it as a random drawing. My set started off a little slow, as I followed a high energy guy that didn't really do jokes. I closed pretty strong which is always a plus.

Blarney Stone was weird. There was someone from my work there, who had never been to any shows, and clearly does not enjoy comedy. One guy she was with was literally rolling his eyes and asking what was funny about that. I basically looked away from them my entire time on stage. I stuck to jokes and didn't drink. She didn't recognize me, as she never mentioned anything at work when I saw her next.

Monday was the contest. Decent amount of people there. I didn't really do a set as I wasn't feeling it. I tried 2 new jokes that both hit. I gave time to a dude that used to live in SD and now lives in Texas. He has a bunch of dirty, yet smart one liners.

Tuesday was weird. I messaged a guy to try to do his room. It's a venue that is hit or miss mostly an urban crowd. I did it when I first started by it had been nearly a year since I went back. I went to watch a few weeks back and it was decent. This night not so much. Funny thing is the guy says when I first see him, "hey sorry about that thing." I say huh, he says nevermind. I say you confused me with another white dude. Which is likely why instead of giving me 5 minutes which I expected he had me as the headliner and paid me... Kinda cool to be mistaken sometimes. My set was eh. Not great, not terrible.

Thursday I had a big show at the comedy store. The guys asked me then forgot to put me on the flyer. I was a little hurt but I wasn't going to pass on the show. It ended up selling out over 200 people. I went up 3rd after a dude that pretty much bombed and almost had a meltdown at the end. I was slightly worried how I would start as his jokes are so different from mine. I ended up doing pretty well. Not a knock out set, but good overall.

Friday at Winston's was a solid crowd from start to finish again. I keep booking this one dude who is spreading the word about the show. I tried some jokes at the start while hosting which I never do. And to my set.... I stumbled over my initial joke basically 3 times. I played it off well, to where the audience couldn't tell if I was doing it on purpose or not. It's new and I even wrote it down wrong. I had 3 drinks as opposed to my normal 2. That likely had to do with it, on top of the fact I was doing basically 10 minutes all new. I got solid feedback on some jokes. I was just disappointed how bad I was stumbling.

I did hear about a dude who called out Winston's and me at another open mic. I confronted him about via email;. He responded by saying I knew nothing about comedy, and to stay out of his way. I didn't respond. He wrote back saying we got what we wanted to say, let's move on. What a whack job.

Wow and another weak of just WInston's

It's kind of crazy how I went so many weeks with doing random shows to none in the past few weeks. I could have tried to do some shows on Tuesday but I didn't feel like popping in. There is a Wednesday spot that so many people are doing but for some reason the dude won't invite me back. I know it has to do with not putting him up that one week he popped in at Winston's. Well pal learn how to run a legit show and then well talk. Kinda funny he tried to charge a cover for a few weeks and no one came so he had to eliminate the cover. He's featuring on Friday at Winston's well see how that goes.

The contest was pretty dead on Monday. I hope it starts to pick up soon. I knocked the prize money down so we don't take such a huge hit in the finals. It just seems like everyone thinks they can get by without promoting. That should work for these rounds but as things progress people are going to have to step it up. It's hard when no one is promoting, so it's a dominoe effect. Anyways I went up before the contest and did 12 minutes of new jokes I'm still working on. Most of them went pretty well. Tuesday I thought of 3 new jokes, about 10 minutes of new stuff which hasn't happened in awhile. I think I'm going to keep sticking to doing jokes, as it's helping me work on new stuff. I have a bunch of shows coming up so I'll be able to try the new stuff on real people.

Life stuff. We moved Sunday. Basically took from 4 PM- 1 AM. Cleaning the old place and throwing away all the stuff from people who had lived there in the past took the longest time. We got to the new place and it was different. Neighborhood seems a little shady, but it's $900 a month. Biggest things were dead cockroaches in the cabinets, a shower that clogged, and no window locks. The company fixed the stuff rather quickly but let's see how long it lasts. I don't know how you miss major things like that. Also gross gal stuff. A gal comic came over to hang. I went to bed early (drunk), she showed up in my bed later (drunk), and basically tried to seduce me. There was no kissing, but at one point my weiner was in her mouth. Very gross and stopped it and slept on the couch rather quickly. I hope neither of us mention that ever again.

Just Winston's again

Did the Comedy Store on Sunday. It went pretty bad actually. Did some newish jokes that went well Friday at Winston's, but they did not hit at all with the younger, douchey crowd. There was a lot of people just staring at me. It was kind of weird to do that bad out front of all those people. It affected me a little bit. I also did not make the list for this week. There was a different guy answering the phone, but that was the first time I called and didn't make it in a long time. Turns out we'll have to pack and move anyways but it's the principle.

We then headed to Blarney and there was a decent crowd. They were attentive for the first couple people that a comic runined it for everyone. He basically made fun of the 2 people in the bar you obviously shouldn't do that to. He gets up a lot and just starts arguments with people. Comics think he's the greatest thing, but he basically just does easy jokes, but adds yelling and movement. I'm not impressed but what do I know. I just don't like his attitude. I wasn't feeling it after the crowd was ruined and we just left.

Monday was the contest. I could have done time at the end but wasn't really feeling it. I just talked to a guy for a minute or two and bounced. Last night was fun. The crowd got there pretty early. So a lot of people got a chance to perform out front of an actual audience. My set went pretty good I'd say. Still working on the newer jokes, some good some, eh. I did get some good practice. I drank way too much after. Really disappointed in myself about that. I just can't say no to free but it's getting rediculous. There's really no need for me to be like that. It's rather depressing that I'm that weak.

Slow week, just Winston's

Other than the L.A. shows on Sunday I only did Winston's on Monday and Friday. It's rare for me to not have a random show during the week. It's funny cause there was a Wednesday show I was doing consistantly but the host stopped asking me to be on. There could be a few reasons. First he brought up I challenged him on stage. Secondly he popped in at Winston's one time expecting to get time and I didn't put him up. I'm not too worried about it as it's a pretty hit or miss show, I just find it amusing he's simply not asking me to be on.

Monday at Winston's was decent. Small crowd but they were every attentive which is good. The open mic beforehand hasn't been very popular and we've been getting only a few people show up. I can understand as there's barely a crowd, but it's stage time. I went up before the contest this time, and I think that worked out better for me. I did about 10 minutes of newer jokes. They were jokes I did once or twice and gave up on them. I had a few that were brand new but most were one's I gaveup on. All of it went pretty well which is nice.

All the comics on the show had their best sets I've seen them do. One of the guys thattied for first is usuall dreadful to watch but he did pretty well. I think the feedback went a little long that night, and one of the judges was slightly long winded. One of the older female comics made a few comments about one of the judges weight twice. The first time he let it go, the 2nd time he gave it back. Kinda funny she deleted everyone from facebook, or may have deleted her account completely.

Friday was a little rough for most people. The crowd filtered in pretty slowly but in the end we had 52 paying people. They weren't laughing easily but they were quiet. I did most of the jokes I did on Monday and reworked some stuff. I was happy with my set overall. I couldn't end strong, but I probably did the best. I went on for at least 10 minutes. I was enjoying myself. I was comfortable and the jokes and tags were flowing well. I think I have a new 10 minutes to filter in which I'm happy about. After the show I just headed home. I hate having to work Fridays, I'm tired by the time it's show time.

Air Force Pic

I'm not ready for L.A.

Winston's Friday was good, until the end which wasn't great. The crowd got brunt out. They came somewhat early for a Winston's crowd, but got tired with the marathon of comedy. The coproducer of the show went before me and didn't really bring it and that made it tough to follow. My wasn't doing too great, managed to struggle through about 8 minutes but couldn't make 15 minutes. I brought up the dude that used to run the show. He struggled through his jokes. I just can't put energy into my jokes if I'm not getting any crowd response. I should have kept going and work on my delivery and timing. Had a few people tell me after I did well, just a tough crowd. I get that a lot, it would be nice if I could get some better stage time.

Last night was a roller coaster, mostly downward. We headed up to L.A. My only other experiences was being used to do 5 minutes with a shitty drunk host. The other was me going up with my friend, getting wasted, and complaining. Last night didn't help my vision of the city. We all were able to get on the open mic at the comedy store in L.A. They have 40 or so comics sign up and randomly pick 15 names. I gave a ride to one of the guys that works there and he got us all on. We were excited. Until we got in there. First thing we here is one of the comics that works there tell all the comics to sit in the back. There was about 6 audience members sitting in the front and 6 or so spread apart throughout the room. The host was the biggest prick I've ever seen. He started off by telling the "audience" that all the comics will be awful and some will be less awful. He told them to throw things at them and heckle them. He made some rude comment about every comic. Some guy broke down and said "what is wrong with you people, I'm a headliner." The host then said he headlines for old people that want a cheap buffet. He called out a few of my friends that went up and I said he was crushing dreams. I went up there, got barely no laughs, stumbled over my last joke and got off. He made some snide comment about how I wasn't funny. He was a pathetic little man.

We had to leave soon after because I my car could only be there for 2 hours and it was getting close. A dude that books a show in the upstairs of the comedy store asked my friend to open the show. He also put me up. The lights was bright as heck, and there wasn't many people there but it went well. It was cool to get up soon after bombing so hard. I like the Comedy Store it has a cool vibe and it's cool they have 3 rooms in one club. We left soon after and found out, I got a fucking $50 parking ticket. God damn I hate my life. I had been so good with not getting tickets. Theyre so fucking annoying. Waste of money. Luckily the people I rode up with chipped in for the ticket. My roommate was a little hesitant about pitching in which was annoying but whatever.

Next up was the Improv show. I had to host which was somewhat a bummer cause I had some friends come and I couldn't really sit with them cause I had to keep getting up. Also I didn't know any of the comics and I was trying to be professional and memorize their names and intro's. I wasn't comfortable, because I'd never performed on the stage and I didn't know really how I was suppose to host. I just immediately brough up one comic after another. I opened the show by doing 8 minutes. I stumbled over a few punch lines, recovered nicely but still bad to be doing comedy almost 2 years and I'm still not comfortable with my material. It's so rare for me to do jokes and have an attentive crowd. I need to work on my delivery and jokes. The whole experience was very humbling. I'm glad I get to perform tonight and I need to keep going up and doing jokes. I am not ready to move to L.A.


Improv jokes: Cocaine, del taco, pot kettle, trick daddy, getting older

Made it 2 days

Made it 2 days without drinking for the first time since I can remember, probably a year at least. I've been awake since 3, it's 4 now. Sucks, not sure what's better for me. Here's the flyer for the Improv show.

Too much drinking

So Sunday I missed Blarney Stone for the first time in awhile. It was the Super Bowl and I was drinking beers all day and got a little too drunk to go over there. I did do the Comedy Store. It was pretty slow there. But the crowd was tentative. There was a gal in the front row with her face painted both teams. It was strange. There was one dude in the middle and what turned out to be his girlfriend to his right. My god she ws too good for him. I just need to get that lucky break. Anyways it was the first time I did the comedy store somewhat drunk. I messed around with the audience for the most part. They didn't tell me until after but I got 5 minutes again. There was an older female comic I've chatted with her and there and she was buying me drinks. Always a plus.

Monday was the contest. It was pretty dead. The slowest we've had so far. I'm hoping the crowds start to pick up in the later rounds, but who knows. The website says free, so they had to change that. There was two girls that complained and we gave them their money back. I chatted with one of them who wrote that the door guy smelled like booze on the events page. She ended up deleting it, and she said she'll return. Who knows. I tried one joke off the top that I thought of. It was slightly topical and it went eh. I'll need to try it again in the middle of my set or something. I am starting to really like the feedback portion at the end. Who knows if people like it or hate it. I wish people would help me out like that.

Last night I attended 3 shows, and didn't perform on any of them. One was an open mic I haven't done in over 6 months. It was rough back then, mostly urban crowd. It is a lot better now. The host did 20 minutes to start the show which was weird. He then brought up a guy that bombed, and the host tore into him and gave him advice and whatnot. It was entertaining. Next up was 2 L.A. people. THe girl was over the top yelling and kinda weird. The dude was said to be Comedy Central's comics to watch in 2011. He was ok. Seemed he was trying out some new jokes. He was on the 3rd show we went to as well. My friend watched him and said he was ok. Went a little long at times. He did an hour. I'd love to do an hour, not sure I could do it without notes. I know I could do 25-30, but an hour is a long time. Not sure when I'll be able to do that much time other than Winston's.

I'm going to try to not drink the next two days, wish me luck.

Slight depression

So had my show on Thursday, 2nd attempt at the Culy Warehouse. The space has so much potential, but so little reward. So the dude called me last week saying no more cash bar. He called me the day of the show saying he called the person he borrowed the sound equipment from last time sold the stuff.... So now we have no mic. He says he'll try to find one or rent it. He texts me an hour or so later saying he can't get one and doesn't feel like spending money to get one. Great... So I ask around a little bit. Locate a mic and a stand. We think we have an amp and speakers, but around 5 pm for our 8 pm show, we find out that's a no go. So at this point were debating cancelling it. We decide to keep it on. I text the comics saying we have no mic. One guy calls me and says he can probably get one. Well he ends up coming through, but this is after I tell all the comics it might not happen, and the other promoter tells people there are mic issues. Anyways I get there and there is basically no one there as expected. The other comics didn't promote at all. We were suppose to charge $5 but decided to not charge because of all the issues. I delayed the start of the show until around 8:30. I let a couple comics go first who were hanging out. There ended up being around 20 or so audience members. 2 of which I brought. I had 3 more but when they saw the venue they said they'd grab food and return. They never did. I was a little angered by the fact no one showed up. It gets so frustrating to have people say theyre coming and never show. My set went ok. I was a litle bummed and the lighting there is a little awkward. I just tried different jokes than I did the night before. Some went pretty good. There were 2 dudes sitting in the front row with their arms crossed not laughing at anything. It was so weird.

Friday was WInston's It was a decent amount of people. Chatty bunch again. Funny there is one dude still in San Diego from the original 6 of us that came here from Maine. He's a stoner and we don't have much in common. He always says he is going to the show and never does. Once again he tells me to let him know. I text him he doesn't show. I was hosting and still a little depressed and drinking a little more and faster than usual. I messed up my words a little bit while hosting. That and the crowd wasn't great, plus we were over time so I just decided to not even go up. I wasn't feeling it. I still have some jokes I need to work on, but I didn't feel like workshopping that night. We had some drinks and pizza after but I left rather early. I definatelt should not have drove. It really urks me when I do that. My life would be over if I got a D.U.I. I'm usually so good with not drinking and driving. I just got to the point where I didn't want to be around people and left. Luckily I made it home safe, but I'm not proud of driving.

Last night we hung out at the Comedy Store. Jeff Garlin was there. He did 45 minutes of just chatting with the crowd. It got boring and we were about to leave but then I see a hot chick on stage, and that sparked my interest to stay until the end. He ended with two terribly hacky unfunny jokes. But he did answer questions from the audience and that was kinda cool. He seemed a little bitter. I heard that the shows the night before were pretty tough crowds. He told one of the comics that he didn't know why he was there, he was rich. I talked to him before he went up and asked if he was nervous. I then told him there was an agent from Chula Vista public access. He had no clue what that was. I then told him they were seeking talent. He just walked away. Funny for me to put people out of their element. The comic standing next to me thought I was the biggest idiot in the world. But I think it's funny, how unsocial so many comics are. Why can't you just joke around. Esp. him he's rich, have fun.

Lotta zany shows

Friday was Winston's. There were a lot of no shows, and the usual comedians I give more time to didn't say they were coming. So like we had the previous week we were ahead of time. There was a decent amount of people but they were talking nonstop. There was a good time where there wasn't too many people and they were attentive. But it started filling up and it was a typical douchey crowd. I tried to tape with little success. I did a few jokes and bailed on the set pretty quickly. I complained a little bit and the headliners apologized. But in reality it's not their fault. Most of the people there never go to comedy shows and don't know the etiquette. A few people came up to me after and said I did well with the elements, and said they could barely hear the show because of all the chatting. Whatever, I made a little bit of money, and that's the main reason I do the show.

Sunday I did the usual Store and Blarney. This week they once again said I would get a little more time. I didnt have enough time to get my camera, but felt pretty good about my set. I had struggled the last few times on stage. And while I wasn't questioning my abilities I was getting frustrated. I stuck to my jokes and got a good response from the crowd.

Blarney was more interesting than usual. It was the host's anniversary show so he tried to promote it a little bit. There still wasn't many people there but it was a fun show. There was a 60 year old couple heckling and being drunk, but nothing too bad. Two guys before me was a jacked black comic. The lady told him to take his shirt off, he said he would if she flashed, of course she did. Unfortunately I didn't get to see the goods... I went up and stuck to my jokes. I was taping and it was so hard to ignore the talking and her yelling but I was proud. I believe it was the first time I did Blarney without drinking before. I think not drinking keeps me focused and fresh. I think the jokes went very well, but the tape isn't great as there isn't a lot of laughter and there is a lot of talking. Oh well. A dude did say I was so funny he had to listen and stop playing angry birds.

Monday was the competition. It was slow as expected. One dude that brought a decent amount of the crowd, didn't even show up nor did he message or anything. We had a guy go on that has never done comedy. It was a pretty weak line up compared to what we've had in the past few weeks. One dude that was suppose to go up later, went up this week and advanced. The first 2 people were seperated by 2 points, and the next closest person was nearly 50 points away. I brought on a judge, in hope he may hook us up with doing his room. I didn't really ask about it, and he didn't mention it. Oh well. I did some jokes at the end, and it went decent considering the time I went up and the awkwardness of hosting/ judging. I think the critiqing is really getting better and is helping people. I see some improvements in people, and get thank you's.

Tuesday I was suppose to tape. But I got to the Palace, and there was no one there. I hung out for a little bit, but decided I didn't want to waste everyone's time. Last night I did a little bar show that ended up being pretty good. They didn't have a stage and the seating area was pretty small. I followed an ethnic comic that basically talked about his race for the most part. I can't stand that. He actually just got an audition for just for laughs. Oh really? Don't agents get tired of that? Anyways I was decently happy with my set(s). I had 12 minutes and broke them into 2 6 minute sets. First was clean, 2nd was whatever. I stumbled over my words a little bit, luckily not on the punch lines. It was a little distracting but I think I did pretty good. I have one more chance to film tonight, otherwise I'm going to use one of these tapes to submit. I'm not sure how the show will go today. Just been getting bad calls from the guy. First it was no cash bar, no he says they have no mic or speaker.... He said he was going to get it, but this may be the last time I do the show there. I'm so tired of promoting, and it's just a lot of headache. Hopefully it goes well.

Nothing crazy to report

Normal Sunday. Did the Comedy Store. There were a lot of no shows so the host told me he'd try to put me up later and get me some more time. I was excited as I'm trying to get a good tape. He came up to me a little later and said he couldn't give me more time. Oh well, I was going to tape but I got weird vibes from on the other comics and didn't end up taping. It wasn't that great anyways. Next up was Blarney. I figured I could get a decent tape if it was a good crowd. Well it was not. It was one of the worst crowds so far. There was actually a gal that I had been texting. She is one of the weirdest people I've ever met. Her friends heckled me and the dude actually said, "I will kill you." One of the girls said, "were from New York, just deal with it." People are idiots. I also got heckled by a literally 87 year old man. He also called me vain for taping.

Next up was the competition at Winston's. It was a decent crowd. Most of the people just laughed at their friend's. Basically 2 people brought the entire crowd. I made a little bit of money. I tried to record but the crowd wasn't having it and I just bailed on the set.

Last night was Bar Eleven. It's been pretty much hit or miss for the most part. Last night was definately miss. The show started off about a half hour late. Then the stoner, unorganized host. He is pretty much the definition of new comic that think running a show is getting free drinks and winging it. He literally said I didn't really put the show together tonight. And then closed the show with saying "we need to try to get people here." Might help if you advertise or at least book the show in advance you lunatic. There was aggressive heckling for the first comic, but that guy left and it was slow going after that. The host did way too much time between comics, but as he only does that one show, and has done maybe 25 shows in his life he has no idea what he's doing. There was a black comic that went up for the first time. He must have said the n word 25 times, and talked about farting during sex, etc. It was awful to watch, but of course people love that. Anyways I got up, pretty late but managed to get through the entire set swearfree. I heard someone yell something, which I believe was Hedberg during my smokey the bear joke. It made me recall a smokey the bear joke mitch hedberg told. Mine is completely different, but he does say england uses smackie the frog. I say slappy the frog, Im just going to change it to smacky the clam. First time I've ever been called out on taking other's jokes. Interesting it would happen at a dive bar. I'm happy I made it through clean, and have 4 more chance to record a clean solid tape I'm happy with. I think this is a good experience. It is helping with segways, and making the jokes even better.

Side note: I just listened to the tape. The dude did yell Hedberg. The dude was a "comic" who went up last night talked about beating up a person in a wheelchair. I'm somewhat angered now.

Here is the poster for the show on Thursday. Just got a call that there will be no booze served at the place.... Awesome. I'm not expecting much for the show.

Full week of shows

So I had another week of every night having a show. Tuesday was at Lestat's, the show I pretty much got guilted into taking instead of the Sunday show. Which I heard was standing room only. Anyways I had prepared to tape my set. Well come to find out as I'm walking out to turn it on the dude before me cut himself short. So I didn't have a chance to record it. I don't think it was too great anyways, but we did the proteige thing at the end and it went well.

Wednesday was a bar show in PB. I did it before and did really well. This time was decent. The table right in front was eating food and not really interactive. I chatted with a few people but I should have talked to the people who were on a 21st bday party. My roommate said I did really well, I just didn't feel I did as well as last time. One of the features from L.A. said good job on my out. Kinda of funny she said she was getting an audition to perform on Jimmy Fallon and wanted to record that set. She opened with saying she'd babysit the shit out of Justin Beiber. So unoriginal. She did have some smarter better jokes throughout, but the bar crowd was tough. Kinda weird I looked her up after the show, because I noticed I was suppose to do a show with her before. That night she was all nerded up with dark hair and a long coat. I looked her up to see a blind, quite attractive lady. I wonder if her agent or someone told her to tone it down with being attractive.

Thursday was the Comedy Store. I had asked one of the guys if I could have some time on his promoted show. He said he'd ask and never did. I talked to one of the managers and he said he'd give me time, but late. I understand. So after the promoted show went on and then all of the workers go on, I went up around 10:30. The dude before me did pretty bad. I've never really seen him do well. He's just too low energy, and unlikely. So when the dj mumbled my name, half the crowd walked out. I had intended to do a clean tape. But that was immediately out the window. I chatted with what was left of the crowd and think I did well considering. My friend said one of the other managers came in to watch me and said he was laughing. That's a good sign.

Friday my folks left. It was nice seeing them, wouldn't mind having them around. Winston's was decent. We had a guy headline that last time asked for $25 more. The dude I promote the show with booked him again. The headliner kept asking how much we were paying him. I understand he's a professional, but you have to realize it's a bar show with no budget. Well both people I had on to promote were no shows. One called me, the other is the definition of a lunatic and just bailed. The headliner had a decent amount of attentive people show up, so it went decent. He was also late so I had to have the last few people stretch their time. I did about 10 or so, but it was all different than last week, and a few not new jokes, but jokes I rarely do. 2 got huge responses. I was quite happy. After a few of us hung out a a comics house and that was a lot of fun.

Lotta shows

Wednesday I had a show at Bar Eleven. It's a small room but people do give it up if you're funny. My sis and her bf were there. I learned halfway through the night 2 guys got passed at the Comedy Store. They're 2 of the 3 people I brought to Maine, plus one's my good friend in comedy. I can't be mad at them, I'm happy for them. One of the guys told me he was told the two of them would be passed 6 months ago, and it took this long. I was pretty bummed as I thought I was really making process. I'm still on the open mic every week, but I'd like to be getting more than 3 minutes. What's funny is when I was starting I thought those 2 were the best. I think one of them has gotten better and better, and too be honest I think the other guy has gotten worse. He yells a lot and doesn't do the samrt jokes he did when he started. He gets on a lot of shows, and it just proves that being funny is such a small part of comedy progression.

Anyways my set went ok, from what I recall anyways. I got pretty drunk. I remember a lady yelling at me to stop talking to her and she didn't want to be part of my sketch. I also brought people on stage to take pictures with me. It was fun messing around.

Also got a facebook message from a dude saying he didn't like being put on lightning round and talking about all these places he's performed and people he's opened for. I said if you don't like it don't come back, you bring nothing to the show. He sent me video from last week and other shows, I was away from my computer and didn't respond. He called me a pussy white boy and threatened to fight me. Mind you he's 5' 1" tall. After a little more banter I told him what I have to deal with and all the comics trying to get on the show. He closes with well do it for the love, see you tomorrow, peace. Comics are crazy.

Thursday was the weirdest show I've ever done. I almost forgot about that show, how I don't remember. A dude I've done a few shows with who always seems to put me on his shows calls me at 5 for his 9 oclock show. He said he thought the show was on the 23 but it was the 13. He said round up some comics. I called the people I knew in the area and brought my parents there for their first San Diego show. I've done shows there before and it's always been terrible. Bad location and no crowd. We get there and there's just some people playing darts and beer pong. 0 people in the crowd. The host goes up does a little time, attempts to interact with my family. He gets off brings up the next guy. Mind you all the comics except 3 are people I told about the show. Oh yeah, he went on stage with the music still playing, there was no dj. Well there was no one working there other than the angry bartender. No one checking id's, nothing. So I go in the booth and turn down the music. Someone I imagine is just a regular comes into the booth and turns the music down and goes back to his beer pong game. Anyways the promoter buys us a shot. I go to the bathroom, come back and realize the first comic is still on stage. I look around and the promoter is gone. I decide to light the guy with my phone and bring up the next comic. I'd never seen him before I just saw him at the bar writing out his set on notebook paper. He goes up with his notebook paper and a coke bottle in hand. He's ranting about smoking pot etc for about 8 minutes and I try lighting him. He has no clue what that is. I keep trying. I light him again and he says, "Oh yeah, I should give them a chance to laugh." Wow. So then I walk on stage grab a drink on the back, come off, he's still talking. I then go on stage and walk around. He finally looks at me, with rage in his eyes, and says, "Can I help you sir?" I and everyone else laughs. I say you need to get off, we have a lot of people. He says I was never told I had time limits, I must have only done 5 minutes. When in reality it was over 10. I bring up the next guy, and he comes over to me and says, "Sorry man, I didn't even get a chance to get to my funny stuff." Wow! So the show continues, still no idea where the promoter is, I just run the dang thing. During my set I managed to get a guy to dance on the stripper pole and give a few female comics lap dances... Ya. So we wrap up the show, and I unplug the mic cause I knew the drunk navy people where going to try to use it. Of course the second I get off stage one of the gals gets on stage and starts talking into the mic I just unplugged. She says "It's broken, what's wrong, I can't find the on switch." Finally some dope tells her to plug it in and they start talking. We left soon after but I know more dudes were on the pole. It wasn't the worst show, cause he had fun with it. Oh, there was also a flyer for that night that claimed it was suppose to be a michael jackson tribute show. Do you dance, sing, act like the king of pop. My god, and on the bar's schedule it had micheal jackson show. Yes michael was spelt wrong. I get a message on my wall in the middle of another status saying it was the anniversary of his bro's death and wasn't feeling it. Ok, you could have told someone at least. Just wow!

Friday was Winston's headlining. I was pretty happy with the turnout. Kinda funny more people from work I didn't ask to show came, then people I did ask. There was probably 30-40 which for me is good. I pushed it pretty hard for me anyways. I felt myself slightly nervous before I went up. Not sure if it was because I had two redbulls or what. It was basically only the 2nd or 3rd time I got nervous. I know before the finals of the competition and maybe when I did the show in Maine. I don't recall being nervous then but I must have been. So the set went well. Pretty much one of the only times I felt I was doing really well at Winston's. I could still hear a fair amount of people talking but most of my punchlines hit. Had a few people tell me I did well. It was a nice combination of jokes and crowd work. It's great to do 30 minutes and feel like I could keep going. I'd say at this point I would feel comfortable doing possibly 45 minutes to an hour. There are still little quirks I need to work on, but I'm getting there.

Sunday I did the Comedy Store and Blarney. Store was a little shady, I'm working on a few new jokes and they were new joke quality. I'm somewhat trying to develop them on stage. I think they both are solid ideas so I'm going to keep working on them. Blarney went well, but I felt kinda bad after. There was a dude that clearly didn't want to be part of the show, nor was he doing anything and I kept talking to him. I don't like doing crowd work that is mean.

Last night was Winston's. It was pretty dead. Most people didn't promote and 2 of the comics were pretty late. I gave up their spots but they both showed up last minute, so I took one spot away from a dude and let the other guy on, so we had 9. Some of the people did ok. The first guy basically complained about not wanting to be there. I just don't get why some people do comedy.

Sunday and Monday Funday, Tuesday Tearsday

So my sister is in town. It's nice to see her. It's very weird how it feels were so distant. I guess it makes sense as were 5 years apart. But the first night she kept thanking me for letting them stay there etc. It's like you're my sister obviously you can stay here.

Sunday was a decent show day. Comedy Store was ok nothing much to report. Stuck to my jokes, did mostly older grammer jokes. I felt I stuck to the script and didn't veer off track. It's funny how my crowd personality has taken over even the comedy store. Claps at the wrong time, or sighs can really add to a show. I of course won't make noise during people's set's I don't know but it's fun messing with my friends. I've noticed other comics doing it, and it makes for a much more enjoyable show.

Blareny was typical Blarney. Decent turnout and they were paying attention. I may have chatted a little too much offstage but did apologize after. Funny there was a girl there that I have been talking to off and on but never actually hung out with. I sat next to her for a solid 10 minutes, and she didn't say a word to me. She is the strangest human I've ever met. She really comes across like she thinks she's better than me. And truly there's nothing that special about her. My set went well, lot of chatting and whatnot.

Monday was really fun at the competition. It was lighthearted and the crowd was somewhat receptive. Little more packed than last time, made a few dollars. My set was still eh. It's just so weird going up after judging and whatnot. The crowd doesn't know whether to laugh or leave. No one is really promoting hard so it seems it's a nice balance of funny ruling who moves on. There was a guy that went up for his first time, and it was painful to watch. I think I may have been awkward on stage but I at least had jokes and a point for being up there. So people are just lonely. The guy I run the show with was a little drunk, and was complimenting how I run the shows and whatnot. I always feel weird when people are nice to me.

Last night was pretty awful. Show was supposed to start at 9, didn't start until 10. There was maybe 20 spread out people there. I was sandwiched between a comic who talked about fingering a gal for the first time, and a comic that spoke for 8 minutes about whacking off. I tried my clean approach as my sister was in the crowd. I may have been slightly offensive to a few of the people I spoke to. Not sure I ever had the crowd, but being quite sleepy and not wanting to go down the dirty road affected me a little bit. Had a few people compliment me randomly so that was nice. My friend said I looked nervous and censored myself a little bit. Who knows, I just didn't bring my A game.

2010 quick recap

Winston's was dead Friday. I didn't really expect the headliner to bring anybody and that came true. I put faith in the 2 people I had promoting the show, and neither delivered. Both are definately in the lunatic category. One has been doing comedy for a long time, and is dreafully awful, yet thinks he's amazing. He plans to move to L.A. to focus on comedy, god these guys a nutjobs. The other guy has claimed he can bring people a few times. I gave him a chance and he didn't deliver. He made a poster about 3 weeks ago, and of course promoted back then and did nothing in the past week. People have no sense of reality. My set went decent. My friend brought 3 of her friends, and that was 25% of the crowd. I basically riffed and chatted for what I learned was 15 minutes. I'm getting more and more comfortable on stage, yet less confident with my jokes. I don't feel like telling them, andwhen I do I can't seem to get the rush from the laughs anymore. I kept trying to end on a high point but just couldn't get that big finish.

At the start of the show one of the comics asked me to talk to another one of the comics who felt I was ignoring him. I've discussed this individual before and feel our friendship slowly has dwindled away. He stormed out of the show when I didn't talk to him. I had been somewhat avoiding him since he took me off his monthly show. We talked for about 20 minutes yesterday about things. I realized I should have probably talked about my feelings long before. But I just felt if that's how he wants to be maybe it's just best to let the friendship go. I think we talked out our differences. I'm not sure what will come in the future but at least the hostility is put to rest, for now anyways.....

Well 2010 in comedy had some good points. Performing in Maine, getting to the finals of the comedy competition, and making more connections. I didn't reach my goal of getting regular at the store or the palace. But I really feel like I'm making headway at the store. I think one more year here, and then make the move up to NYC or L.A. I'd like to save a little more money and make some more connections before leaving. I think by then I would have done everything I could in San Diego, comedy wise.

It's been awhile...

Haven't been keeping up with the blog since I made it private. That and nothing has really made me angry lately. Been doing a lot of shows but no real drama. Winston's last week was pretty slow but the crowd was receptive. I did about 12-15 minutes of mostly riffing. It was a lot of fun.

Sunday was the Comedy Store. It was kinda rough. The crowd was tight and didn't laugh much. I put myself in a hole off the top by saying something rude about the host. I also stumbled over my words saying it. Dumb move. I struggled through the rest of the set. We tried to go to Blarney after but I was an idiot and counted on someone to sign me up, and she took forever and never put me down. We hung out for a bit then headed out.

Monday was the first OBC contest. It was a small turnout. No one really promoted. One guy didn't even show up, allowing someone else to step in who ended up getting first. The voting was pretty close between 1-7. One of the guys that brought half the crowd didn't advance. He got no judges votes, nor any of the comedians. I felt bad he didn't advance but wanted to keep it fair. My roommate also didn't advance. He did pretty well but went up early. The 2 people that went last did decent, and ended up advancing. The roomie was bummed and questioning comedy etc. Comedy and competitions are tough and shouldn't be combined. It's a lot of sadness, as only one person is going to get first, and the rest of us are left queestioning if comedy is for us. I had fun doing it, and made a few dollars, that's all I care about.

Tuesday I had a show at UCSD. Got put up 1st, which I guess is cool. The crowd all filled in pretty late. I felt like I was dying up there. Started off a little shakey but turned things around as good as I could. I watched the dude after me who has some credits. The crowd just laughed a little bit, but no loud, long laughs. No claps or anything. Looking back my pacing was a little off, and wasn't as comfortable as I could have been.

Wednesday I had a bar show. It went pretty good. The booker forgot he told me he'd put me on, but still got me up for a few minutes and gave me some drink tickets. I got my drink on but didn't get crazy. There was about 10 people watching when I went up but I felt good about how it went. Combo of jokes and chatting.