Made a few bucks

Still bummed and confused about what happened Monday. Could have really used the $1000 or at least $200 to get a new laptop and the much needed blood tests. I need to get back on track and retake my life. I don't want to struggle my entire life battling with alcoholism. It scares me a little bit. I go back and forth whether I could quit if needed. I believe I could, I simply don't want to. I imagine that's what all alcoholics think. I'm definitely a functioning alcoholic, but drinking every night can't be healthy to say the least. Wednesday was very busy at Winston's. Everyone did well and that was exciting. There was, going back to the open mic, 4 straight women that performed. Not against female comics at all, but I normally space them out as there just isn't a lot of them. The 3 female comics and one gay comic advanced. They just installed a new window that I think has been drawing in a few more random people. After that I went to Bar 11. I was a little drunk and had a hard time on stage. I got some laughs, but struggled and did the worst on the show. Thursday was the Comedy Store. I went up in a prime spot. The manager gave me a little extra time. I was going to mess around but I wanted to keep the show going esp. as I was doing 10 minutes. I'm getting somewhat tired of my jokes. I've been trying to write more, getting tired of my jokes. The weekend headliner popped in. I felt I held my own against him. Friday was Winston's. There was already people there when I arrived. It was a good crowd throughout the night. Some people struggled, but overall if the comic was funny, the crowd laughed. Made a few bucks, which is nice. Saturday was working at the Store. The headliners were old school. Have there sets they've been doing for 15 years and don't mix it up. Just long, hacky stories. The first crowd was the best I've seen in there since I started working there. A girl I used to date showed up with her new fiance. I'm fine with it, although I miss the sex. She was so intense, it was nuts. I had hoped to go up, but one of the headliners brought a friend who opened both shows. She was meh. She even did well the first show. They invited us to perform on their Belly Room shows any Monday we wanted. I have to make it up there at some point.

Really?

Sunday at the Store was a little rough. Went up somewhat early, but just couldn't get a good rhythm going. I tried talking to the crowd, or chat it up with some hot chicks to the left but they wanted nothing to do with it. Monday was the Madhouse finals. It was the first finals I went into thinking I was going to win. After my set, I assumed it was a for sure. Comics on the show and not told me they thought I had it. I closed with having beat box as I rapped. Not sure that hurt me. It would be extremely crazy to think that was hacky. The crowd was smaller than the other finals. So there was a lot of comics and their votes clearly made a difference. I was shocked and angry. I figured it was between me and another comic. When his name was said first I assumed I had it. When my name wasn't called I just left. I felt bad cause a few friends came down from L.A. to watch the show and I didn't say bye. She was somewhat upset, but I don't think she realized the toll it took on me. I still need to talk to the guys that tallied the votes to figure out what happened. Tonight was the Comedy Store. It was a bringer show so I wasn't sure how I'd do. It was meh to say the least. A few people said I did well, and someone jokingly said they didn't like me. It definitely wasn't great. The headliner from L.A. told us basically that we should move to L.A. or New York now because we're starting over. I'm thinking about it more and more. We'll see how I like it when I visit in a month.

Weekend fun

Winston's was a roller show. When I arrived at 630 there was already a decent amount of people in the crowd. I think a few open mic comics brought some people, and the features each brought a couple. Winston's also installed a new window so I wonder if that drew in a few randoms. The show was picking up a nice momentum even through the lightning round. Well Jesse was out of town and I had someone else read out the names. He forgot to read off one name, and since it was the dude's first time and he had a few friends I felt obligated to give him a spot. Well as expected he was pretty terrible and sucked the life out of the show. The dude that went up next did ok ripping on him but as far as jokes, the crowd somewhat was tapped out. My set started off pretty decent, but fell flat with the new jokes I tried. When I got the door money I was sure it was short. The door guy is pretty dumb, but I trust he wouldn't steal. There was one show where they missed out on a $100 bill. I felt this was the case. I spoke with him and he didn't know what I was thinking, and was defensive. I spoke to the bartender/ manager and she kind of blew me off and her douchey bf who was a former doorman tried to give me $5. I almost wanted to take it because he was such a douche. I told her I felt the door was 100$ short, to which she said she didn't think it was that busy. I stood my ground. About 25 minutes later the other doorman gave me $100 bill. I knew it. I smoothed things over with the manager and door guy, but still somewhat sketchy busy, esp. as Jesse wasn't there. Saturday was a pretty stress free show at the Store. Both shows weren't that busy, and the crowds weren't rowdy, esp. with the second show holding a bachelorete party with over 20 women. I got to open the second show when a comic who was supposed to open claimed to be too drunk to go up. It was a weird thing as I assumed I was going to open, then told I wasn't, then 4 minutes before the show I'm told I am going to open. I don't know whether it was just a mind game, who cares. My set started strong, fizzled a bit, then ended decent. One of the owners was there and he said he thought I was funny. Didn't feel good throughout, but I'd say it was good enough for opening. The comics on the show were meh. The feature did the best. His crowd work did well, but his jokes were ok. Had a lot of premises but his actually jokes didn't do that well. The headliner was very cute, but as far as being a headliner I don't see it. Her jokes hit ok, but there was no real build up. She hated on men for the most part, with some weird demands. She clearly dated a lot of comics and was either hurt or hated every moment of it.

Weird week

Sunday at the Store was decent. Went up early, was a slow night. The crowd was less supportive than the usual Sunday crowd. With football starting up I think the shows will be slower. Monday was the contest at the Madhouse. It was a pretty stacked line up so I wasn't sure whether or not I'd advance. I lucked out and went up 9th. My set was pretty decent. I should have done a cleaner set as the person that brought most of thecrowd does all clean and is a Christian. He advanced, and I will adjust for the finals. I got through and 3 comics who usually do well, 2 of which I find very funny, did not advance. I have to take some pride in that. Tuesday I worked at the Store. It was one of the most annoying shows I've worked at in awhile. The show was supposed to start at 8, but the booker convinced management to start at 830. The host was wasted, and we had to tell him to leave. Then there was a wave of horrible comics. All thinking they were better than the previous, and all bombing. There were a few single fat ladies that come to every Rick Martinez show. Not sure they think he's gonna bang them, or if he has. He's completely a promoter and such an awful comic, but crowds eat it up. It's sickening. Wednesday was Winston's then the Store. There were a few people at Winston's. Everyone did ok. I headed over to the Store after having a few drinks. Before my set I mentioned to a comic "friend" that I said on the podcast that he was funny on stage and not so much off stage. He flipped. Threatening to fight me. So unrealistic. Talking about how he takes the craft seriously, when he does it once a month. Some people have no clue. It was so akward. Having talked to him since, and really have no desire to. My set was ok, just messed around. It was a big crowd but by the time I got up, the crowd was pretty dead. It was a struggle to get laughs but I did ok. Thursday was back to the Store. It was the smallest crowd for a Thursday that I can remember. They weren't easy but they did laugh at good jokes, and awknowledgement of bad jokes. I felt fine about my set.

Roller coaster week

Had likely the most productive comedy week in my 3 plus years doing comedy. All while having my relationship with the gf come to an end. It's scary but I know it's for the best. We just arn't compatible. As far as comedy I kept up with doing different sets. It's crazy to think I did the most time, but at the same time made the 2nd least amount of money for the week. Comedy is a crazy game. Wednesday I did 6 minutes to a pretty dead Winston's open mic crowd. I got a few chuckles, nothing to great but I made Jesse laugh, and that's always a good sign. The contest was somewhat slow, but the crowd did laugh. There were 3 no shows. So we chose to advance all 5 people. Kinda funny that by far the funniest person on the show shouldn't have advanced. Thursday was the Store. It was rough. I went up 2nd and was doing minutes 46-53 of my sets. A couple things I said, which I still believe in didn't hit very well. I am going to stick with the jokes. I closed with the Depot joke, and had a girl say I was funny. I didn't do awful but it was by far my worst set in a bit at the Store. Friday was Winston's. Likely one of the worst Friday shows that I can remember. Had a dude that is funny, but expected him to promote somewhat. Also, one of the headliners I expected to promote he did not. Only one of the people attached to the show really brought anyone. I can handle a small crowd but they did not want to laugh at pretty much anything. Jesse and I did the whites vs. crackas bit. It hit moderately ok. I made it through 8 minutes to complete the hour for the week. I would say I have 45 minutes out of that I'd be comfortable doing. I have another 20 or so that I didn't even do. I think I could do a solid 45 minutes, problem is I don't know if I could remember that much material. My jokes are all one or 2 minutes. I don't have long bits like I see all the weekend headliners doing. I think the next task is stretching out my current material. Saturday was the Store. Pretty slow night. None of us got to open as it was an all gay line up and the L.A. Store didn't want to put us up. Pretty stupid if you ask me. The people on the show were nice. Headliner even invited us to the condo after. I would have gone if I didn't have to work at frigin 8 am. I really hate getting up early. Someone called one of the comics a faggot, and he was very angry. I'm not sure what happened but I know a punch was thrown. The comic was very angered. I just don't understand if you're comfortable in you skin, and except being gay, why would that would hurt you so much. One of the comics say it's like saying the n word, which I disagree. That word has history. While I wouldn't call a gay person the word, and wouldn't want to be around when someone did, but I think people should be happy with whoever they are. If you're that embarrassed you shouldn't talk about having a man eating ice cream out of your butt.

Great week so far

Sunday was my biggest night of comedy so far. I did 4 shows. Did the open mic at the Madhouse (3 min), smallish but good crowd. Did a rant about how much my gf(now ex gf)hates me that got a good response. Even got a weird sigh. Next I went up 3rd at ACC (10 min). It was kinda a weird set. The lights are so bright. And as I was doing my set I could hear a couple of black ladies talking in the front. I couldn't see them and assumed they were just ordering. Finally I looked over and they were just reading the menu really loud. I made a comment about them not at a Tyler Perry film. They laughed and the rest of the set went pretty well. The owner talked to me a little before I left about emailing him to host some shows. He was somewhat vague and I'm not sure whether or not I want to email him. I chatted with a dude that worked there, and he said it may or may not be a good opportunity if I don't care about money. After that I did a set at the Palace (10 min). It was a small crowd but one of the best Palace sets I'd ever had. I wanted to do crowd work but the comic after me asked if I was gonna do jokes or crowd work, so I assumed he wanted me to stick to jokes. I mixed him some crowd work but stuck to my jokes. Finally I closed out the show at the Store (10 min). I followed a black comic that always does a jokes about being good at hide and seek. I reversed it to say I was good in Alaska. They crowd surprisingly liked it. My set went well from there. My roomie who has been esp. dicky lately, said something to the effect it had to do with my intro. A girl yesterday said I did well, and the manager even let me run the light. It was a really fun set. Overall I did 33 minutes of different jokes and all but one or two hit pretty well. Last night I did the Store open mic (7 min). It was a small crowd but they were there to laugh. The same host gave me a condescending intro about being the funniest person there. I pretty much shit on it and the rest of the show. I did 7 different minutes, and all of that hit decently. So far I've done 40 different minutes this week. I have another 7 on Thursday and 8 at Winston's. For a total of 55 minutes. If I open one of the Store shows on Saturday I will have done over an hour this week. That's really cool to me. I will do a different 15 in the first two shows, but will reuse jokes if I open the Store show. Great week overall and it's only Tuesday.

Another productive comedy week

Sunday was the Store. My set was pretty decent. I kept stumbling over my words, but I got through it. Had a few comics compliment my set. Mike even said I made him laugh and thought I was a good hire. Monday I was in a comedy competition at the Madhouse. I drank a little bit during the day. I followed a guy that sang a song about shitting in his pants. I ripped on him a little bit and one of his equally terrible comedy friends yelled from the back, "Fuck you Jeff." I didn't know at the time who it was until my roommate told me later. I basically just did crowd work the whole time. I wasn't sure whether or not I'd advance, and to be honest I didn't really care. Tuesday was back at the Store, or so I thought. The show ended up getting cancelled after we were there for a half hour. I texted a few people and secured a spot at the Palace after their contest. I basically just voiced out some new jokes, and got some decent responses. I wasn't expecting much as the crowd was small but I got some decent laughs from the small crowd. Wednesday was hosting Winston's. I tried a few jokes in between, most of which got no response. I know better than to try jokes in between comics. The contest was decent. Thursday was back to working at the Store. I went up forth. I enjoyed my set. Messed around with some jokes. Friday was Winston's. Wasn't sure there would be many people there but ended up being a decent turn out. My set started off pretty good but I couldn't get a solid finish as hard as I tried to. Saturday I got to open the first Store show. I had a feeling I would open one of them. The crowd was almost sold out. My nerves have gone down about opening. I try not to think about it. I started off pretty slow, but picked up steam nicely. The headliner said he enjoyed my set. He asked me how long I'd been doing it and when I said 3 and half years he said he figured Id been doing it at least 5 years. Apparently he didn't watch my set according to my roommate. But he told me again when I left that he liked it. Whether or not he watched it, he has no reason to say that. He even said "I'm not trying to jerk you off." To which I laughed and said, I have no pull around here. Last time he ran the light by 50 minutes, last night he only ran it by 20. Not too shabby.

Working on new sets

So I planned this week to do a different set every night I performed. I pretty much stuck to that goal other than doing 2 jokes twice. One was a new joke I only did this week, and the other fit in with my set. Sunday was the Store. My set was pretty decent, don't really remember exactly how it went, but I know it wasn't a disaster. I know the new joke didn't do very well. I wrote myself into the line up as the list maker forgot to put me on. They were doing a raffle and it was a charity show. I went up kinda later than usual for a Sunday. I started off ok, trailed off a bit, but ended strong enough. Tuesday was back at the Store. It was a showcase show for the people that took the comedy workshop. There is a kid that has now taken the class at least 3 times. I find that so crazy. His dad is obviously loaded and just wants to get his kid out the house or a few hours, but it's so nuts to take the class 3 times, esp. from a woman that has never done comedy. He still holds the mic really low, and you can barely hear him. I want to help him out, but he seems to be a spoiled punk who thinks he's the shit. He actually already has a tee shirt with his website on it. I got to do 5 minutes at end and it went pretty well. Wednesday was the contest. It was kinda weird as the open mic was busier than the actual contest. The dude that took second in the contest before, due to bringing a shit ton of people bailed on his spot. I was bummed as I would have headed up to the Store after had I known Jesse was going to do a podcast. Otherwise I grabbed a beer at a spot while Hugo ate and headed back to Lindsey's and did the standard of getting wasted. I also woke up at 4, couldn't fall asleep, and drank again. My drinking is likely the worst it's ever been, I think. I know at one point I was drinking a bottle a day, pissing myself, but this just seems to be ridiculous. I did take 2 days off, but I need to get it under control fast. Thursday was back at the Store. I went up third. It was the very few times where I would say I had a good set. The first guy bombed, second dude did meh, but I really felt I opened the crowd up. The guy before me got off early so the piano player wasn't back at his spot yet, so I said "give it up for Lou, getting high in the alley." I think the crowd enjoyed that and loosened up a bit. I did mostly tv references which most hit. Friday was Winston's. It was slow as expected, but I felt it was a little busier than the door brought in, like Wednesday now that I think of it. It's weird to accuse the door guys of stealing, but I think it's more they let more people in for free than they should. We were about 25 minutes over time when I arrived. I played catch up and luckily a few people didn't show, so I was able to get the show back on schedule and we even ended right at 9. My set was decent. I tried a few new/ old jokes that went decent. I made a knock on a few of the jokes that didn't do as well as the others that got a better response from the audience. A comic asked me if I was really that miserable on stage, to which I replied no. It's just a trick to keep the audience on my side. Saturday was the Store. The headliner was Carl Labove. I had never seen him, but I had heard of him. Many claim that he is there favorite. And although he isn't exactly my style of comedy, he one of the few old school comics that keeps his set fresh. He did almost a totally different set from the first show to the second. I was told all 4 set from the weekend were different. He was interactive with the crowd, but not mean or overdoing it. He has a great comedic mind.