They say if you love your work, you never work a day in your life. That couldn't be more true with my "job." Not a lot of things you can bitch about when you can drink while at work.
Sure, some things can kinda suck, like always being on the road, away from friends and family, and the majority of our shows are in shit bars, in towns no one has ever heard of.
For the most part the "good" really out weighs the "bad!"
The fact that I'm even able to be living out what really was just a childhood dream, is amazing in itself! Much like most kids that wanted to be a ball player, or a super hero, my dream was to do stand up. As a boy listening to Bill Cosby and Eddie Murphy tapes, I always dreamed of what it must have been like to do what they did. Oh, how I hung on to every word, wondering how they came up with that, or thought of this.
Now at the age of 35, I find myself in a motel 6, in the small town of Independence, OR.
After one of the shittier shows I have ever been apart of, one of those shows where no matter what the comics do, the drunks don't care (most of whom didn't even know a show was going to happen).
They say its never the crowds fault.
For the most part that's true, but sometimes I have got to say, it can be. Whatever it was, I really can't say. Just one of the many nights that comics will have to face. It happens to all of us, and it will happen to me again.
The thing is, with this show, I was coming off of a great weekend at a comedy club in Tacoma. Now, the very next night, I find myself in a dive bar trying to shove it down the throats of non-care'n drunks while they played pool. It was a real ego check.
After the show, the middle act and myself had a few beers, and laughed it off.
We traded stories of other bad shows we have had to go though.
We then walked to our five star motel 6 and went to sleep, living to fight another day...
The next day I woke up still thinking about the night before. Wondering how the shows could be so different? It was the same act, same energy.
I went to my laptop and did my morning routine of coffee, email, and where in the hell am I going today (google maps)?
When I opened my email I got this from a guy who came out to see the show just a few nights before:
Joe,
my wife and I saw you last night (Saturday 1/22/10) at the Tacoma Comedy Club. I just wanted to say that you were fantastic! I laughed so hard I was crying half the time. I'm 57 years old and was not drinking at all. You took me by surprise. You were as good as the best standup comedians I've seen on TV.
I did stop and said hi on the way out and told you that you were hilarious (old grey haired geezer that I am).
Too bad I didn't see you on Friday night because I would have come to see you both nights.You are that good (in my opinion).
You have a huge amount of energy, and are just in total control.A very ploished act!
Thanks for a great show, and keep up the good work.
Jon ****
Puyallup
What sucks about this is that I wish I could remember when he came up and said hello. Cause it's stuff like this that keeps you going. Wish I could have thanked him!
As I faced the drunken college kids the next night, in yet again another dive bar, I thought about his email...
