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The Comedy News For 05/18/12

Comedy Fan Corner [+]

The Saturday Stand-Up Spotlite: Week 25: Tamiko Kirkland

By Shayne Michael:
Tamiko Kirkland may be a little hard to find on the internet. That’s because if you leave off one letter [specifically the “O“] you’re no longer looking for a comic, you’re looking for a murder suspect. Tamiko, the comic, is the one you want. I know her to be bold, brazen, honest, in your face and exceptionally funny. She’s never anything less than herself on stage. There are no apologies that come with her material. That said, Tamiko is raw entertainment, like the best kind of def comedy jam. She's a person who won’t censor anything that’s on her mind. While that can make her material on the blue side, and not for the faint of heart. It also makes her one of the most brutally honest, vulnerable and heartfelt comics I get to see. You can Tamiko Kirkland her on Facebook here. If you want to follow her on Twitter or Like her Fan Page, come back. If you see a show with the acronym J.A.D.E. behind it, it stands for Jokes All Day Every Day, and there’s a good chance Tamiko and a few other exceptional comics will be there. If you‘d like to catch us both, we will be at Johnny Flower’s Anniversary Show at Tickles in Garden Grove on 04/28/2012.

Posted April 14, 2012 by Shayne Michael under Saturday Stand-up Spotlite for All | No Comments | Bookmark

Tomorrow At The Palms In North Hollywood

Comedy is not just specific to comedy clubs like the Comedy Store, the Improv, the Ice House and the Laugh Factory. Every day hundreds of smaller venues put on great shows with quality comedians on stages that often rival the set up of the very best comedy clubs. The Palms Bar is one of those clubs. The Palms Bar is deeply rooted in Los Angeles history having been a hang out for many performers like Ellen DeGeneres, Jim Morrison, Wynona Judd, Lea DeLaria and it is argued that the mullet trend began right here in this Los Angeles hot spot. Still a West Hollywood staple after nearly 40 years, It has weathered the storm of moody LA nightlife to endure as the trademark locale for the community. Tomorrow you can catch comedians: Joel, Bergen Matt Ralston, Caryn Ruby, Bryan Perkins, Aaron Putnam, Jim Coughiin and guest host Tracie Walker. Check out the Facebook Events Page for details.

Posted November 10, 2011 by Shayne Michael under Comedy Shows for All | No Comments | Bookmark

The Saturday Stand-Up Spotlite: Week 24: Natalie Gray

By Shayne Michael:

I actually knew who Natalie was long before she graced my Long Beach room. Natalie hails from England and moved to Canada in her teens. There she spent two years training with Second City before moving to Los Angeles where she continued her improv training with the Uptight Citizens Birgade. After equal time in Canada she recolated to LA, where she teamed with another British comic Jason Canning penning a film about British performers trying to make their way through Hollywood. The film entitled No Talent Required would also eventually turn into a production company of the same name. Natalie is an accomplished artist in addition to being an exceptional stand-up comedian. You can find her on Natalie's own person website, Facebook, her Facebook Fan Page, Twitter and MySpace. The MySpace link of course does require access to H.G. Wells Time Machine.

Posted September 10, 2011 by Shayne Michael under Stand-Up Spotlite for All | No Comments | Bookmark

The 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comic Trends

Richard Pryor: New Rank 2 +
Steven Wright: New Rank 3 +
Robin Williams: New Rank 4 -
Robert Klein: New Rank 6 +
Bill Hicks: New Rank 7 -
Jon Stewart: New Rank 35 +
Garry Shandling: New Rank 36 -

Comedian Corner [+]

The Fallacy Of Free Speech In Comedy

Many people like to argue that stand-up comedy is only about getting laughs. These are the comics who warn newbie comics, "If you want to teach anybody a lesson, you are over-thinking your craft." Ironically, a lot of the same comics will also say, you should never have to censor yourself because comedy is all about free speech. However, realistically, comedy cannot be about both at the same time. If comedy is indeed only about making the audience laugh, you cannot argue that if they didn't it's okay because I was making a relevant social point, and censorship is wrong.

If you say, that laughter is all that matters, you cannot rationally quote another goal like the evil nature of censorship, when the response you receive is not up to par. But the fallacy of free speech goes even deeper. Most comics do not realize comedy is a business. If a venue is hosting a show or and open mic, they are doing to increase business. Very few venues care about the nature of your art. If you know a venue that will sacrifice their business so that you can have the freedom to grow unencumbered by censorship you are probably at show that features more performers than audience members that isn't going to last that long. The first rule of any business is the customer is always right. When the customer doesn't like what a comic is saying, free speech does not exist.

That's just reality teaching the performer harsh lesson about business 101.

Posted April 17, 2012 by Shayne Michael under Censorship for All | No Comments | Bookmark

The Sophomore Slump Of Comedy Writing

By Shayne Michael:

Sometimes watching new comics can be intimidating to veteran comics. Especially, when they command the stage with little or no effort and their best material, kills, like yours hasn’t in years. Tonight, while watching a newer comic at Max Blooms, I counted at least ten lines that made me envious. I began wondering what happens to veteran comics when that spark goes out for writing; I have a theory. It’s the same theory I have as to why the sequel is never as good as the original film. It’s the same reason that great new band, whose first album was so amazing, is almost always disappointing by the second release.

New comics aren’t competing with an older version of themselves. Because of this, they explore quicker. They take more chances. They fall and fail more often. And, when they stand out, they really stand out. Sometimes they are so impressive it leaves the audience asking, “Wow, twenty years and I never saw a set like that from you?” However, rarely is that audience member comparing the veteran comic to all that veteran’s years of experience. Usually the comment is based on that single show.

New material is simply harder to come by the longer you’re in comedy. It’s hard to get excited about new material when you have twenty years of history to compare anything new to. The new material may be good, but sometimes it just can’t pack the punch old material had. Good or not, it gets thrown out. That old material, while it might feel stale, evolved over twenty years. How could anything compare to a concept that‘s a month in the making? Enter surprise for surprise sake. If you’re a dark comic, you can only do so many lines that would make the Amazing Jonathan cringe. Eventually you have pushed so far past the edge of shock comedy, the only way you can surprise the audience is by telling a knock-knock joke.

In other words, the longer a comic performs, the deeper they need to dig to write anything new. The deeper you are forced to dig, the harder and longer the writing process becomes. I know what you’re thinking, look how easy it came from George Carlin. If you read his biography, Last Words, Carlin wrote six hours a day, every day. Then he spent an entire year working that material out before his next HBO special aired. The surface material newer comics are playing with was handled by veterans long ago, and now what’s left over is politics and current events. And only rarely, will you write something political that’s more compelling and personal story about your family as you were growing up. However, you probably already wrote that story when you first started, and now you have to move to the second thing that comes to mind. If that does happen, remember the new comers will experience the same sophomore slump, when every inch of their surface material has been scratched.

Posted April 14, 2012 by Shayne Michael under Writing for All | No Comments | Bookmark

The Value Of Throwing Everything Away

Louis C.K. is often compared to George Carlin. Why? Like Carlin he has a similar skill, or shall we call it a game plan. Louis C.K. tends to throw away everything he writes and start over. Of course the challenge is, throwing everything out will cost you your best material. The advantage is, it forces you to constantly write from a deeper place. Once you say everything you can about your relationship with your mom and dad, you must move further up the family tree. The more disconnected you are from the subject matter, the harder it will be to write about. That said, the harder it is to write about, the better writer you will become.

Carlin did this every year starting with his first HBO special. He spent a year honing a new act. Then he would bring it to a major stage, tape it for HBO and then throw out everything and start over again. This is part of the reason you look at Carlin awe-struck. How did he tackle subjects everyone else forgot about and do it so well? Every time Carlin threw out everything, he was forced to write from a deeper place. He was forced to look at older places from new angles. This made him so prolific his life-time of comedy had so much left-over material, that he was able to compile it into three books and one autobiography. No other comic has accomplished so much in one life-time, and it's doubtful any comic ever will.

Posted November 10, 2011 by Shayne Michael under Writing for All | No Comments | Bookmark

Upcoming Stand-Up Comedy Seminars

Kurtis Mathews: San Francisco, CA on 09/13/2011 6pm / FREE / Visit The Class Website
Greg Dean: Los Angeles, CA on 09/26/2011 7pm / FREE / Visit The Class Website
Joe Falzarano: Los Angeles, California on 11/03/2011 10pm / 325 / Visit The Class Website

Pending Comment: Road Comedy 1: Life On The Road

Before you start playing the road, you should be aware of a few things. Most are common sense. However, if you hear them before you start a tour you will still be much better off. Some of these rules are essential, like take care of your car. Other rules you can choose to avoid. For instance, there are no relationships on the road. One nighters don't lead to relationships, they lead to other one nighters. You can choose to ignore the advice, but you'll regret it later. Before I start, this series is meant mostly for people embarking on a tour of one night shows. It's still appropriate if you're touring comedy clubs. However, a lot of what I'm discussing here stems from moving from day to day. Hence, while appropriate to comedy clubs in general, it is more applicable to one night shows. The Golden Rule Of The Road: Care For Your Car I don't mean wash it. H... [Read Entire Article]

Posted November 0, 2002 by Shayne Michael under Road Comedy

Recent Biographies [+]

Ray Romano was born in Queens, New York on December 21st 1957 to Albert and Lucie Romano. He attended elementary and middle school in Forest Hills at Our Lady of Mercy School. After transferring from Archbishop Molloy High School, Romano graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1975, with fellow alumni Fran Drescher. After graduating in 1975, he worked as a gas station attendant, bank teller and futon deliveryman. He briefly attended Queens College in Flushing, New York, and had planned to become an accountant. He also lived with his parents until he was 29 years old. He left after gaining only fifteen credits in three years. In 1982 he met his wife, Anna, when they both worked at the Williamsburg Savings Bank in Queens. The two were married in 1987. His first comedy performance was in a comedy troop called No Talent when he was only 16 years old. He debuted his stand-up come... [Read Entire Bio]