Interesting Call

So as most people know I spent about six years or so performing stand-up comedy. I stopped in 2001, roughly the same time I got serious about being in a band. I'm not sure if the two were really related or not, but I do know that the frustrating parts of being a comic were becoming much bigger than the fun parts. And if I wasn't having fun on stage telling jokes then I didn't see much point in continuing. I was angry when I got out.

I was angry at bookers who would bump comics off of shows with no warning, even when the comics traveled for the gig. I was angry with the promoters who completely misrepresented themselves and the shows they booked, be it financially or otherwise. I was angry at the audiences for only wanting to laugh at the easy jokes-and by this I don't necessarily mean dirty jokes or blue humor (I never minded that)-but lazy comedy. I mean, if I'd have heard one more comic say "The difference between men and women is...", or do any type of airline humor ("Why do they have to call it the terminal?") I would have gone ballistic. And these hacks were getting the biggest laughs while I saw tons of really inventive and genuinely funny comics die a horrible death at the hands of a brain dead drunken public. It got to me and my sense of integrity,

Most importantly though, I was mad at myself for letting this stuff sour me on this artform that I loved and harden me to the point of not wanting to do it anymore. Sure, I punked out, but I was miserable and I made the only decision I could at the time. I still beleive it was the right one.

As a result of all this, I didn't set foot inside a comedy club for about three years after I quit. When I did go back it was because some friends wanted to go, or because a comic I used to work with (and enjoyed) was in town. Over the past few years, though, some "edgy" stand up comics (meaning offensive to prudes and requiring a brain to appreciate the jokes) have gotten big enough to make me pay attention again. Mitch Hedberg (RIP), Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifinakis, Maria Bamford and Steven Lynch are among those who are making me laugh and making me feel that there is still some good left in the whole comedy thing after all.

I mention all this because I had a message on my machine tonight from Jim "The Dad" Keith, a local open-miker I used to work with back in the old days. He said that Art Vieluf (comedy club owner/booker and all around swell guy) was back in town and had reopened Comedy Etc. in Fairview Heights Il., my "home" club where I worked consistantly. Tonight was the first open mike night and Jim was calling a lot of the old gang, thinking it would be a hoot to get us all back together again. Nice thought.

My first thought was that it sounded just like Jim, not only the sentiment but also the last minute info. I thought it was interesting and I hoped it worked out well for all involved, but I have passed that point in my life. And I have.

But, y'know, in the back of my head I started to wonder if I could get five minutes together to do onstage. Hey, I've got the Library story, right? And there's gotta be something that's not totally dated and still funny from the old act...but...no...not now anyway. It would be nice to see Art again, and if I ran into any of the old crew it'd be fun to catch up. I'd even be up for trying to top one another's jokes offstage again.

I called my good friend and old comedy partner Tim Heeley and he kind of had the same idea that I did. We'll probably go out there one night here soon, but I'm not sure either of us will get onstage. Maybe just for the heck of it, for the challenge of seeing if I could do it again. I don't know that I could get back into it, I'm not sure I could go through all that again. To be fair, a lot of the same problems listed above exist in the music world too, but it's different somehow when you've got your band around you, like a gang. The responsibility, the disappointments and the victories are all shared. In stand-up, it's all on you. So be in a band, have a day job, be a father to a one year old and soon twins, be a responsible husband and get back into stand up comedy? Probably not gonna happen. But I still might go.

Completely Unrelated Stuff:

1. The debut record from Monsters Of Folk is really good. Not entirely folk, but not anything else either. Great for morning drives.

2. Halloween movie based posts coming up. Stay tuned, kids, oooh, it'll be scary! Heh. Count Floyd reference.

3. There is an organisation that I think we should all be aware of. Go here to support FSITO. Be sure to click on the media section to see all the PSAs. They are worth your time, trust me.

4. If you didn't understand that link, you weren't supposed to. See? that's the attitude that kept me out of comedy.

Later.

P.S. Spellcheck not working. Apologies.