Update

I have not updated for quite a while because of the pandemic and all. Actually my laziness is the reason. A lot has went on in the past few years. My waistline has expanded, my mother has passed and oh yeah, Im traveling as a road feature. I was lucky enough to have Katrina Brown, a multi year headliner take me on the road and “break me in” as a traveling comedian. I have been blessed for opportunity and realize that I have a lot (everything) to learn. I am truly living my dream. I will have more later and will try to keep this blog current. As for now please be well.

I'm a comedian?

Well, this weekend was my first paid weekend hosting at a comedy club. I had done single nights before but this was my first full weekend. I hosted at Wiley's in Dayton for John Mulroney. The feature was Jack Legg. I had three very different shows. Friday night we had a very sparse crowd with less than 15 in attendance but they were a high energy, enthusiastic group. Great show. Saturday we had to two very different shows. The first show looked to be better thank the night before because it had a lot more people. This unfortunately was not the case. They were a low energy, quiet bunch. Neither myself, the feature, nor the headliner could get much out of them. The 2nd show on Saturday made up for everything. Big crowd and they were too laugh! Boy did we have fun! 

But the best part of the weekend was post show Saturday night just hanging out and spending time with the Headliner, feature and club owner talking about comedy. These "BS" sessions have taught me so much about comedy. It's always cool to hear road stories from people who have been there and done that. 

The staff at Wiley's could not have treated us better! Gary Wood was very generous in hiring me, thank you sir! Erika, Heather, Raffine'e, Nick, Ed and Jeff are the bomb! If you're in Dayton and want a great night out, Wiley's won't disappoint!

Lessons learned

Only had one show this weekend. The Hotel Lafayette in Marietta Ohio  ( Lafayettehotel.com ) is where I have my standing winter gig. I am the host of their Comedy Club ever Saturday in November through March. It's an amazing historic hotel and you should check it out sometime. It is an amazing opportunity in a really cool hotel staffed by the greatest people in the world! It's especially cool for me because I get to work with some of the funniest traveling comics in the country. 
This weekend was no exception. My friend Adam Dodd from New York came in and we had a great show! The feature was a very funny friend from Cleveland named Rob Ward. Ant Morrow, also from Cleveland did a guest set.

On to the show. I called the Hotel on Friday and there were only 40 tickets sold. Between Friday and Saturday at showtime, they sold out the show! I went on and did 9 minutes. I have dome the same set before and I thought I had a solid 10 minutes. Luckily, I video'd the set and upon review, realized that I was very rushed and spoke too rapidly. I still had a solid set. I give myself a B+.

So what have I learned this week? Always video your sets. Slow down! And Adam Dodd is a beast!

Three shows this week starting with Rocky's Pizza Ring tonight, Marysville, Ohio VFW on Friday and Marietta Saturday for their Valentines Day Extravaganza!

 

My first time stand up.

This was originally written on November 9th 2011, the day after I went on stage for the first time.
 

Here is the story of ym first attempt at stand up.

Ok, last night I tried standup for the first time.I had always had a thought in the back of my mind that I wanted to try it but it was a vague interest.

The after a 2 year fight, my fatherdied from cancer in September.This hammered home the idea that we have finite timehere on earth and I was determined not to have any regrets.I was fortunate enough to meet comedienne Lori Graves via FaceBook through a mutual friend.She hosts a stand up open mic night at The Crosskeys Tavern in Chillicothe every month.She is an accomplished performer and definitely worth a trip to see.Shortly after I met, also via FaceBook Comedian Mike Boyle and Mike Bova who have an established internet radio show and are both very talented.

I made an investigatory journey to Crosskeys in October and was very pleased with what I saw.Lori could not have been a more gracious and funny featured performer.The other comedians were very funny but the were average people, just like me!So, with the encouragement of Lori, Mike and Mike, I started to put together "an act".I had no idea how to write comedy but I had confidence that I knew what was funny.As the days until the next open mic went by, I wrote and re-wrote. Each day the "Fear Factor" ratcheted up a notch. Finally I had enough material to fill the amount of time that I was alloted.

Well, last night was the night! I got a haircut, shined up my shoes and went over to Chillicothe. My faithful friend, Jared Sims went over for support and filming purposes. Thanks Jared! I'm not gonna lie, I was a s scraed as I have ever been.I got there about 2 hours before the show and oredred a beer. I didn't want to get drunk but I needed something to calm me down. I was a nervous wreck!I bet I dodn't say 5 words on the 35 minute trip over there.Luckily, Jared is a motor mouth and didn't shut up.I don't think he even noticed. After another beer, still not drunk, the time was getting closer. I'm not gonna lie at 25 minutes before showtime, I was so nervous that I went into the bathroom and got sick. Ha ha I'm a real tough guy. After cleaning myself up, it was showtime.

I went on to a very gracious round of applause from the awesome Crosskeys comedy crowd.Immediately, I felt a high like I have never felt before. I made a wise crack and heard some light laughs out in the crowd. Yes!

As I went through my prepared jokes I grew a little more confident.Soon I was laughing aling with the crowd and we all were enjoying it together. All too soon my set was over and my shining monet (for now) was gone.

All the way home, I silently basked and savored the memory I had just made. All i can say is, if you have a dream you should pursue it.

RIP Easy Ed. It wasn't as good as you would have done, but it was the best that I could do. I miss you Dad

Two out of three ain't bad

01/29/17
Sunday morning. Setting here with a Captain America movie on, reflecting on my comedy weekend.
Thursday night I went to Chillicothe to The Dock at Water's monthly open mic hosted by my comedy mama, Miss Lori Graves. Full house as always. My pal Tobbi went with. She's a good friend and huge supporter.  Got to see my pals, Tyler Stewart, Bruce Leonard Michael Moore, Blair Harsha, Justin Wood, Ian Zanni, Tazz Pauley and Dante Piccolo. The other names escape me and I apologize for missing you. Huge crowd and a little bit talkative as bar crowds tend to be. I had an "ok" not a great set. Tried a new bit that got nothing. Back to the drawing board on that one. I give that set a C.

Friday night I went to Court Street Grill in Chillicothe for a show that I produced. This was a booked show. If you get to Pomeroy Ohio, go to the Court Street for a great atmosphere and incredible food! The bar was pretty packed for our show. There were 5 comedians on the show, and I was slated to feature with Ian Nolte headlining. The first 2 comedians had a really tough audience and were unable to get them calmed down. The third performer, Angie Davis from WV came onstage and immediately regulated the talkers about ad perfectly as I have ever seen. She had a better time then the first two. I went onstage and did really well. No new bits, but the ones I did, really landed well. I did a longer set than I normally do, 20 minutes. I was very pleased with my set and give it an A.

Saturday night I went to my Steady Saturday night gig, The Hotel Lafayette in Marietta. This is the third week in a row that we have sold out the room. 140+ people in the audience. I host/emcee their comedy show every week and get to work with nationally touring comics. Last night we had a Headliner from Louisville, Ky. named Mark Klein. Very nice, funny man. It was my first time meeting him. The feature was a friend of mine named Tony Wendland from Cincinnati. I was excited to see him and get feedback on my set because he has been there since the beginning and would be able to see any progress I had made. I had a great set and as I introduced him to come on stage, he grabbed me and hugged me and told me I had a great set and thanked me for setting him up. " I can't fail now" he said. It felt good. I give that set a B+/A-

I will try to update this blog regularly and give you a glimpse into my attempt to chase a dream.

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