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Show Notes for Episode 46b: My Standup Debut

I took a 6-week comedy course at the Manhattan Comedy School and on Thursday night, October 15th, 2009, I graduated by performing a 4-5 minute set at Comix Comedy Club. Here is the end result. Enjoy

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Show Notes for Episode 46a: Quick Announcement
-Quick Announcement about upcoming episode

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So I got my DVD today and figured out how to use HandBrake in order to get it on YouTube. So here it is. Enjoy!

I know it’s cliché but words can’t describe the feelings that went through me as I got on stage that fateful night. I remember stepping out into the blaring lights momentarily disoriented and then immediately realizing that I had to start my set right away or this silence would get steadily awkward as I continued to utter nothing. After getting the initial laugh the butterflies settled down, time slowed to a surreal version of real-time and I was able to become more aware of the audience and when I should pause for laughs as I went on. As the laughs continued, I became progressively more comfortable and at ease. Within that 4-5 minute span, as I was entertaining the masses any nervous energy that I initially started with dissipated and I just embraced the cathartic moment. I wasn’t perfect by any means but I was able to ride the tide of mirth in the room and continue directing its ebb and flow.

Before I knew it, I ran out of material and time, the host came back and away to the Green Room I went. It was at that moment, when I was surrounded by my fellow classmates, cheering in uproarious applause, happy with my accomplishment, that the realization sank in. I did it. I got on stage and made people laugh. It wasn’t a reaction that I was accustomed to. If anything, the previous six classes I attended before the graduation showed me that I wasn’t funny at all. So it was quite a rush to garner this unexpected and pleasant reaction that I was trying to attain the previous 6 weeks.

I was imbued with a ridiculous amount of glee. In this euphoric zombie-like state, I gathered my belongings and shuffled out of the stage area and headed to the audience. I gave a quick greeting to my supporters in the crowd (my wife, my brother, his girlfriend and 3 old high school buddies) and went to sit with my teacher, Cory Kahaney to support the rest of my classmates. I was in disbelief that the deed was done. When the show ended I spent some time with my supporters, graciously thanked them and then went back in for the second show to support the rest of my classmates. Before I knew it, the night was over and I was waking up for another day of work.

A few days have gone by since that momentous event. It still hasn’t fully sunk in. I think I finally found something I want to pursue. I really enjoyed that night and I’m craving more. I’ve rekindled my love for going to comedy shows the past few months and now I’ve sparked a calling to actually do it as well. I will be taking another class soon to get a better understanding of the craft and of course I’ll get some reading material and definitely continue watching stand-up. I feel a close connection and kinship to the comedy scene and for once, my future doesn’t seem too unclear or without any purpose other than to just live in the moment.

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Show Notes for Episode 45: Try Try And Try Again

-My Blog Entry: Not Even Scientology Could Save My Career As A Standup Comic

Track List:

Blinding Me by Merry Ellen Kirk
Complicated by Citizens of Contrary Knowledge
Come On Forest Fire Burn by Rae Spoon

Dragonette
“Pick Up The Phone” (mp3)
from “Fixin to Thrill”
(Dragonette Inc)

More On This Album

Circulatory System
“Round Again” (mp3)
from “Signal Morning”
(Cloud Recordings)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Rhapsody
More On This Album

Get Over It by Stars Go Dim

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So last night was quite a night for me and I’ll get into it in a later blog post but I first want to promote the hell out an upcoming comedy show.  Thanks to comedian, Ray Devito, I recently got into comedian Doug Stanhope.  And within a month of listening and enjoying Doug’s albums, “Something To Take the Edge Off” and “Sicko” I came to find out with glee that he’s going to be performing in New York City at Comix Comedy Club in the first week of November.

Earlier this week, after seeing a great comedy show that commemorated Punchline Magazine’s 4 year anniversary, I was told that there was also a discount code people could use to get a great discount on a great show.  I figured the best way to promote this discount would be to put a page on my blog and here’s the link for it. Doug Stanhope is a great nitty gritty comic and I encourage anyone and everyone to take advantage of this promotion code to save some money as well as just enjoy a great show.

After hearing about President Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, I was motivated to write a blog entry discussing the irony of such an event.  Upon further retrospection, I realized that this past year has been full of ironic events and I went on making a list tallying them down.  I was rather enthused about making this blog entry but my podcast episode took longer to post than I anticipated.  Because of this and also the fact that the year isn’t quite over, I decided to stall that blog entry for a later date.  In the meantime, enjoy these YouTube clips about D Rep. Alan Grayson’s stance on the Republicans stalling tactics and Keith Olbermann’s moving op-ed piece on Healthcare:

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Show Notes for Episode 44: Just Another Day

Track List:
Just Another Day by Queen Latifah
Move Ya Body by Nina Sky
Can You Feel The Beat by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
S.O.B.s Opener by Nola Darling
Talk About Some Bullsh* by Nina Sky
Boom Boom Pow Remix by Nola Darling
Beautiful People by Nina Sky
Old School by 2pac
The City by Rideout & Terry Cole
Children’s Story by Slick Rick
Regrets by Jay-Z
Everyday Struggle by Notorious B.I.G.
Lose Yourself by Eminem

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So I’ve been keeping the whole comedy class under wraps for the most part. But now that my graduation date is drawing near, I felt it was time I made a page for it and announced it into the internet ether.  So everyone’s invited, if they caught my tweet or facebook status and we’ll see how it fares.  That’s pretty much it for now. Not much else to say.

For those of you who don’t listen to my podcast, I’ve been taking a 6-week stand-up comic course out of curiosity and just to see how good my sense of humor is. Well this was my second time up in front of class and once again, I just bombed. If they were there you would’ve heard crickets in the room. So this time around, my teacher finally spoke to me face to face (for those in the know, she is Cory Kahaney), and she had something interesting to say. She basically said that my stuff sounded ok, there was humor in it but it would’ve been more suited in the pages of The New Yorker versus on stage. It was more like an essay and wasn’t succinct enough with just setup and punchline. So even though it bombed in my class, I think it’s still worthy enough to at least be on my blog (if it’s good enough for The New Yorker…). So without further ado, here is my routine that did absolutely horrendous in class. Be honest and let me know what you think:

So I’ve been wondering if Tom Cruise was always crazy or if Scientology made him that way. And after doing some research, well I still couldn’t figure it out. However I did realize that those fuckers were nuts out of their gourd.

For instance, they believe that all humans are possessed by immortal aliens called Thetans and if you worked hard at it and make yourself “clear” you’ll transform or evolve into this Thetan form and become gods. No wonder actors are so drawn to this religion. These camera whores just can’t get enough adulation.

That’s also their explanation for evolution. They believe these aliens were brought into our world 75 million years ago by an intergalactic emperor named Xenu. And once these aliens possessed our ancestors, we got the knowledge to create civilizations and evolve from our primordial animal state. It kinda makes creative design seem sorta plausible don’t you think?

Of course you don’t want to call them crazy to their faces. Cuz if you do these fuckers will rain down on you worse than any curse of plagues you ever read in the Torah.

They’re so scary, even the IRS will leave them alone. The only organization that even intimidates gang lords and mob bosses doesn’t want anything to do with Scientologists.

I can just imagine L Ron Hubbard and Al Capone having a conversation in Hell’s cafeteria, cuz lets not kid ourselves if there’s such a thing as an afterlife, those assholes are down there. So anyway this conversation would go something like this:

Al: Hey there. Have a sit down with me. Let’s chat for a bit. I wanna get to know you. My enemies call me Scarface, but you can call me Al. I’m sure you’ve heard me. I was big time gangster in the streets of Chicago in the 30’s. A real terror see. So who are you?

Ron: Uhm, I’m just a two bit science fiction writer who came up with a brilliant idea to make it big.

Al: Oh really? do tell.

Ron: Well uhm. Not much to it.. I just made up a crazy religion with aliens and reincarnation and stuff and people dug it and gave me bundles of money for it.

Al: Wow. what a racket. I dealt with booze . I was real untouchable see. That is until the stupid IRS got me locked up on tax evasion. So how long before the IRS got you?

Ron: Oh they never did.

Al: What? How’s that even possible?

Ron: Well uhm I had a team of lawyers who kept suing them for 26 yrs straight til they finally let me be.

Al: You mean to tell me instead of guns, death threats and intimidation, it just took a group of pointdexters to shake down the IRS?!

Ron: Uhm… yeah.

Al: Well I’ll be damned.