March 2000

Mar 2 - Brainwash

I don't believe this stuff is happening. I get on stage with a rough idea of what I'm going to talk about, and I end up talking about things that I would expect having trouble telling a therapist, let alone a room full of strangers. This level of honesty makes me a little uncomfortable, but the audiences have been wonderful. Sometimes I think that they think I'm making this stuff up. I guess it doesn't matter what they think, as long as they keep laughing. The other thing that bothers me is that I might be exploiting the rough parts in my life for laughs. Maybe that's what being a real comedian is about.
 
Anyway, the topic for tonight revolved around the possibility of my wife committing suicide by eating a bowl of cornflakes. You'd think that talking about suicide would turn the audience off, but they were laughing. Weird.
 

Mar 3 - Booking Shows

OK, I never thought this would happen. Today I had to choose between two paid gigs. It was a great feeling.
 

Mar 4 - Java N More

Ragged set. Again the planned routine went out the window. I wound talking about my Deaf/Blind Foster daughter. Got some good laughs though.
 

Mar 4 - Mock Cafe

Didn't get on tonight. I got there late and the list was already full. Great show though. Many funny people.
 

Mar 10 - Brainwash Comedy Competition

Great Show. Many funny people. If you have a chance, go to the next round on March 24. And if you do, make sure you laugh at the fat guy.
 

Mar 11 - Java N More

Had a disjointed set. I had nothing planned. Bad week at home.
 

Mar 11 - Mock Cafe.

Even worse.
 

Mar 15 - Paradise

Great crowd tonight. My set wasn't fully back up to speed yet, but much better than last Saturday's sets. This was my first time playing the Paradise and I tried a bit too hard.
 

Mar 16 - Brainwash

The crowd was DEAD. Despite this I had a pretty good set. I seemed to keep every one's interest. I jumped from one topic to another to keep them interested. It seemed to work.
 

Mar 18 - Bear's Lair, Berkeley

I didn't do a set, but this was good show. The place was packed.
 

Mar 23 - Guest speaker at Comedy College

Thanks to Kurtis for inviting me. I had a great time.
 

Mar 24 - Brainwash Comedy Competition

I didn't win. Fortunately I never had a chance. Yes, I mean fortunately. You see I have an ugly competitive streak in me. Leading up to tonight I had several sleepless nights. I grew up with two older brothers that I was never able to beat at anything, so I always take competitive situations was too seriously. I've been in two other comedy competitions, and did bad sets in both because I was too tense. Then I was very angry at the comedians who did well. It's petty, I know, but hard for me not to think that way.
 
So why was tonight different? It started on my way to the show. I stopped to buy myself a coke, and after paying for it the clerk says to me, "You have really good energy." This threw me. I started thinking about my goals for tonight, and realized that I wasn't even trying to have a fun set. I was wrapped up on getting everything RIGHT. On working the judges. On beating the other comedians. So I shifted my energy towards having a fun set.
 
Then when it came time to pick the order, we picked numbers out of a cup, the comedian standing to my right pulled out two numbers and one dropped to the floor. I figured that the dropped number was for me so I took it. I got to go on first. Going first is tough on any show, but for competitions, especially with judges who are not comedy pros, means you have no chance of winning. And to my surprise I was happy about this. It took all the pressure off me. So I went up and did a pretty good set. Not great, but pretty good.
 

Mar 25 - Java N More

OK set. The crowd was only comedians. I had a pile of new material and not much of it worked. Some good laughs though.
 

Mar 25 - Mock Cafe

Very good set tonight. I threw everything out the window and talked about drinking. Something I know alot about. It came out to be a nice mix of prepared material and ad-libs.
 

Mar 27 - Paul K's

Had a great set tonight. Everything worked. I was relaxed, the material flowed, the audience laughed. This is a great room! Good sound, good lighting, good audience placement. I have to thank Nick and Larry and Mike the bartender for putting on such a great show. On a side note; if you are straight and you are playing to a gay crowd, do not try to pass yourself off as gay.