Clearing The Air
Tags: The Stand-Up DiariesIn over 3 1/2 years I’ve probably written at least 150 of these posts, and I try to write anywhere from 1 to 5 posts a month depending on what’s happening. There are so many posts that cover so many topics, sometimes even I have trouble remembering everything I’ve covered.
I sure as hell don’t claim to be perfect, but I do claim to be honest.
Someone took way too much time from their day to write a comment to my last blog piece. I enjoy a good debate and an exchange of ideas, but when somebody starts flapping their yap without checking the facts, well let’s just say that it gets my attention.
This “person” needs to be brought up to speed on some of the inaccuracies they wrote. I’ve been through enough shit in my life that I am pretty honest in my assessment of things, even when things don’t go my way. So here now, are this person’s “claims” and my rebuttal.
MYTH #1: My blog is self serving
REALITY: FALSE
There are many bullshit claims in this persons reply, so we will start with the dumbest comment first. Do you remember when I first started this blog? I do. I have always enjoyed doing for other people, giving of my time and knowledge to help people see things from a different point of view, to have them experience a new idea, or simply to put a smile on their face.
I started this blog because I knew my core group of friends who would follow me on this journey would be interested to see how I do. I was wanting to share with them my experiences so they would get an appreciation for comedy by telling them the story from the performers side. Along the way there have been a few times when people have commented that they’ve learned a thing or two about comedy they wouldn’t have known, had I not got involved in stand up. This blog and my experiences are for all of you. I’ve maintained that right from the start and it hasn’t changed.
MYTH #2: I WAS CALLED “PRINCESS” IN THIS REPLY I RECEIVED
REALITY: FALSE
I appreciate you remembering my costume from that great night at Halloween we had a few years back, but I hope you are smart enough to know that a Halloween costume doesn’t define who I am. However, spewing out a profanity laced tirade when you don’t check your facts, well that’s just dumb.
MYTH #3: APOLOGIZE TO THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE HURT
REALITY: WTF
As a friend of mine mentioned on my comedy page, I have stayed true to my beliefs, meaning that since I’ve been in comedy I have not decided to throw people under the bus for the sake of my own ego. I am not a Facebook bully either. The people in my life who I’ve hurt, sure I apologize to them, but they are the ones worth apologizing too because their relationship has value and meaning to me. I’m sure whoever penned the reply has hurt me in the past (I think I have an idea who wrote it, but at the same time I could care less), and they never apologized, so they should take their own advice.
MYTH #4: I SHOULD NOT HAVE ATTACKED THE PERSON WHO WERE TRYING TO HELP ME
REALITY: MAYBE
The good thing about the bad experiences in your life is that time gives you a chance to heal, but more importantly it gives you the proper perspective on things.
In my short time in comedy I have seen comics come and go. The ones who go aren’t great, but they also can’t stand the heat that’s put upon them when they don’t do well. I will admit that I wasn’t great to start with, and when the heat came upon me, I dug in my heels and stood up for myself because at my core, I believed, and still do, that I have the basic tools to be able to succeed. When I was homeless and jobless, I still continued to try to make it work on stage. I was simply following something I believed in and was passionate about.
Everything happens for a reason, and everything comes around full circle too. When I get attacked, I stand up for myself and keep moving forward. Then sit back, figure out what happened and why, and move on. I am not laying blame upon anyone. I am thankful for what happened, because it brought me to this place I am at now, and it made me a little bit wiser in the process too.
MYTH #5: I SUCKED BEFORE MY PROFESSIONAL COMEDY CLUB DEBUT (IN NOVEMBER/2014) AND I STILL SUCK NOW
REALITY: DO YOU OWN A COMPUTER?
Ever since I started working with my comedy coach (more on him later), I have seen the quality of my performances increase to where there is a level of consistency now in the laughs I get. Granted, they aren’t the type of big laughs others get, and I recognize that. However, I do get my share of the laughs, however big or small they may be on a given night.
To make a long explanation really short and sweet, once I got with my comedy coach, I started to learn how to write better material because I was learning WHY my jokes didn’t work before. Once I figured that out, it got easier to write and I started to write out my sets from beginning to end, with a nice flow to them that got laughs. I may not be setting the world on fire with my comedy, but at the same time I don’t suck like I did before. To say that is not only ignorant, but uninformed.
MYTH #6: COMICS DON’T PAY COACHES
REALITY: YOU ARE WRONG
If a person has a differing view on something, I welcome an exchange of ideas to have a discussion. But, I bet you whoever wrote this reply to me is either too much of a fucking jackass, a bully, a piece of shit, ignorant and just a dink in general. You, fuckhead, are ignoring the reality around you. That reality is that comics do pay coaches. Coaches are writers too. So if you look at it that way, then why does Letterman, Leno, Kimmel and Fallon all have writers? Why is is that students from the comedy school in Los Angeles (Burbank to be exact) get t.v. spots and win competitions quicker than most? That last statement is a fucking FACT you stupid jackass. If you had a brain within you, you’d actually research it and see that students from the comedy school do in fact succeed. So to say comics don’t need coaches, get off your fucking perch. The other thing that makes me laugh is this person probably has never bothered to educate himself on the types of things that my coach teaches. Therefore your opinion to me is worthless. Educate yourself on the topic before you spout off, then you might earn a smidgen of respect from me. Until then, keep your mouth shut on the coaching thing.
Besides, look at it another way. When Tiger Woods ruled the golfing world with an iron fist for a few years, he had a coach. Does that make him a piece of shit loser?
How about Roger Federer. He had a coach too. Does that make him a loser?
Wayne Gretzky had a coach. He must be a loser too then, right?
Pele had a coach.
See what I’m getting at?
MYTH #7: START YOUR OWN ROOM
REALITY: GUESS YOU HAVEN’T READ MY PREVIOUS POSTS EITHER
I have tried a few times to get things started. I started doing open mics at Lydias, before they restricted the acts to just musical ones. I then tried at a pub that opened up downtown, and that only lasted about a month, then again at a small bar in my old neighbourhood from where I grew up, but things never got set up (through no fault of my own).
I also mentioned that not being able to start a room despite a few cracks at it, and my own personal situation at the moment makes me kind of gun shy to try and do it again. Plus, I don’t have the name recognition really to have my work speak for itself yet, which is why I need to hit more of the open mics.
Oh, and lastly, I explained the situation about me getting the headliner on a few minutes early because things weren’t going so well, and the person who booked me understood and said it was okay (for the Friday night show).
Like I said, a lot of what I wrote tonight was based on a comment to my blog that had quite a few factual errors. If you want to get in my face and call me out on something, go ahead whether you do it in person or anonymously through my blog, I really don’t give a shit. However, you need to get your facts straight. If you are too lazy or ignorant to research your claims you’re making (the myths in this posting), then go fuck yourself. I have no time for people like you. Go blow your hot air somewhere else where somebody might give a shit, because I don’t. Where I come from, you have a debate about the facts, not about bullshit lies to suit your own ego or hidden agenda.
Goodnight all……..until we meet again soon.