Ups and Downs

My last blog post pretty much consisted of me whining about losing a gig, and talking about how hard I think I work. Maybe a little (lot) obnoxious, but it was therapeutic at the time.

I don't regret writing it. But, I want to point out that while it made not have seemed like it based on that blog, I'm very aware of (and immensely grateful for) all the opportunities I've had so far in stand up. I've been incredibly fortunate to do some of the things I've done over the last couple years. I was just frustrated that I lost out on one of those things.

I've been told over and over that stand up comedy, much like any walk of life, is full of ups and downs. Every time you think you have it figured out, something will bring you down. And every time you're down, hard work and persistence will pull you back up. I was down a couple weeks ago. Right now I'm in the clouds. I've had a fantastic run of shows since that last blog.

*On a side note, before I get into said shows, if you're "down" right now (in comedy, work, life, whatever), it sucks. But it'll go back up. Put your head down, work, keep moving forward. What goes down, must go up!*

Two weeks ago, I spent a Friday on the road to Medicine Hat with Simon King. I haven't had a chance to work with Simon before, but I know he has a good reputation, and all the comics that do know him speak very highly of the man. We had a great conversation on the drive down about comedy (I love picking headliner's brains), and he introduced me to coffee with butter in it. Fucked if I can remember what it was called, but it was outstanding. We got to Medicine Hat, started our show, and about 2 minutes into my set, the microphone checked out. It put me in the enviable position of working a corporate show, with a dance floor in front of the stage, without a microphone. (A comedian's dream!) I got through it, though. Had fun with the crowd and it turned out to be a good time.

The next morning, Simon and I hit the road back to Edmonton pretty early. He had another show to get to that night, and I had to meet up with Mike Dambra to hit the road up to Cold Lake for a sold out Saturday night show. I really liked rolling with Simon, the dude LOVES to talk comedy, and he gave me some great advice. We're working together again in the new year, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Saturday night, Mike and I had a show in Cold Lake. We did a couple gigs there back in April, and they were 2 of the best shows I've been a part of so far. I graduated High School up there, and it's always great catching up with old friends. We only had one show this time around, at Bean Trees Cafe's new Grande Parlour Theatre (pop in if you find yourself in Cold Lake. Incredible food and great people!). The show was sold out, and the crowd was red hot from the get go. In addition to some familiar faces (Victor & Lisa) coming by, a couple friends from my old job at the Canex out there came to the show. I worked there when I was 16 or 17, and working with some of the ladies at that store was one of my favourite memories. After Dambra DESTROYED the room, I went on stage to close it out and thank everyone for coming, and two of the fore-mentioned ladies, Jody & Darlene, surprised me with some baked goodies for my birthday. The audience sang happy birthday, and it was a really dope way to end a great night.

Jody, me, Darlene, and Bob Mattice  at the end of the show in Cold Lake. :)

I took Sunday off and hung out with Shay and my dog, and went back to my day job Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday night, I was fortunate enough to get to open for America's Got Talent runner up Drew Lynch at The Comic Strip in West Ed. The shows were packed, and the audiences were so excited to see Drew that getting them hyped off the top was as simple as saying his name. We had 3 great shows, and after each show, Drew hung around, shook hands and took photos with everyone that wanted to. Watching the way he interacted with his fans, and getting the opportunity to talk comedy with him for a little while was very eye opening for me. He was just a normal dude that found a way to make his mark in this business, and he seems genuinely grateful to be where he is. I can only hope if ever reach anywhere even close to his level of success, I handle it with that kind of class and humility. 

Drew rose to fame after appearing on America's Got Talent. He's a comedian with a severe stutter. I opened each show by saying "Who should we get to open for the kid that can't talk?? How about the kid that can't see??"

Thursday night, I was back at The Comic Strip, hosting for Nigel Lawrence and Brett Forte. Working with people you like can make a good show into a great show. I was feeling really dialled in after the last week of opening, and fell right into crowd work. I'm still a white belt when it comes to talking to the audience but I feel like I'm getting better at it every time I host. I think the key is just believing in yourself and going all in. If you half-ass it, they have no reason to come along with you. Some guys hate hosting, but I'm really starting to enjoy it. And as a new comic, if you can get a grasp on MCing, you make yourself a million times more employable. 

Friday I did a a show at CFB Edmonton with Paul Sveen. My Dad is ex-military, and still works on the base, so he popped by with a couple friends for the show. And for the second Friday night in a row, I got to open without a microphone. This time it didn't quit mid-set, the entire sound system just wasn't working from the get go. We ran with it, and actually had a pretty good time.

Saturday, I went to Red Deer for a show at the Legion with Brent Ayton and Todd Ness. The turnout wasn't what we were hoping for, but we made it through. Brent and Todd are both a real pleasure to watch on stage. Brent's writing might be the best in the city, and Todd is a great comic and a great guy. I struggled a little in the middle spot, but the guys covered for me, and I think everyone that came out felt like they got their money's worth and had fun.

All in all, it might have been the best week of my comedy career so far. Getting a chance to work with so many great headliners, and having the opportunity to study their acts, and talk stand up with them is invaluable. 

*Tomorrow (Friday) night, I have a corporate show with Mike. Who wants to bet something goes wrong with the mic?*

A couple weeks ago, I was down. Right now, I'm as up as I've ever been. Like I said, in any walk of life, you'll have peaks and valleys. When you're on a peak, take a second to look around and enjoy it. When you're in a valley, put your head down and start grinding. You'll find your way out.

Thanks for reading, and supporting me. I appreciate it more than you know.

Adam

Why bother?

I'm in a frustrated mood. I usually try to be as positive as possible in these blogs, on my podcast, and pretty well anytime I open myself up to the public at all. But today has been frustrating, and because this is my blog, I'm going to rant and complain for a few minutes. 

I lost out on a gig today. It wasn't anyone's fault, and it certainly isn't anything to lose sleep over, but it was a show I was really looking forward to. Normally, I would look at something like this with a glass half full mentality; "at least I was considered for the show in the first place". But for some reason today it's really bringing me down. A festival that I'd really, really like to be a part of is currently accepting applications, and I'm pushing myself harder than I have since the Funniest Person back in May to study my act, punch up (make funnier) everything I can, and really get my act polished up. I think maybe the pressure I'm putting on myself is starting to take a toll, and whether I like it or not, my mind is slipping into "why even bother?" territory. At least as far as comedy is concerned.

(You were warned. This blog is going to be whiny. I half expect to wake up tomorrow morning and wonder why I wrote this blog to begin with. But I want to vent tonight).

My 2 year comedy anniversary is in January. And going into my third "season" as a comic, I have my mind made up that I want to take bigger steps than I did my sophomore year. A headliner I look up to recently told me that I have a very "old school" approach to stand up and dealing with a headliner. I try to stay out of their way. If I know he/she likes to tell jokes about a certain topic or touch on certain things, I try to avoid them. Things like that. Not because I don't think they can follow me, but because I'm of the mentality that they're the main event of the evening. My job as the opener or emcee is to help set the stage for them to have as easy of night as possible, and for them to do the absolute best they can, so people go home happy, and want to come back for another show. And while I still believe that, I feel like in this upcoming year, I need to start looking out for myself a little more. I want to buckle down, push myself harder than ever, and really take that next step toward becoming a headliner myself.

That brings me back to the festival I mentioned earlier. I showcased for a different festival a couple months ago, and while I didn't mail it in or anything, I went into the show with the mentality of, "I'm playing with house money. This festival is for headliners. I'm not supposed to be there, so I have nothing to lose." I went in with the idea that I probably won't get it anyways. And I think you could see it in my set that night. I don't want to make that mistake again. I'm 100% focused on getting to the next level. I can see the gap between my act and the way a headliner crushes, and I'm obsessed with trying to close it. 

That said, it's still a pretty big gap. Im not looking for anyone to blow smoke up my ass, I'm just being honest. Still, I take pride in the improvements I've made on stage this year. Instead of going into this festival with the "nothing to lose" ideology, I'm trying to have a "make it as hard as possible for them to say no" thought process. I'm not a headliner, and I think maybe some would say that I don't belong on a show like this yet. But at some point, every opener needs to open (awful pun, I'm sorry) a door or two for themselves. I want to start pounding on those doors. If I don't do something to move even a *little bit* closer to doing that every single day, I feel guilty. Like I'm slacking off. It's a good mentality, but it eats away at you sometimes. 

Comedy is fun. I enjoy the creative process of writing, testing, working on my act. And frankly, if it wasn't fun, it wouldn't be worth doing. It certainly isn't from a financial stand point yet. I could go back to just working a normal job, and make a lot more money. But it wouldn't fun. I desperately want to get good at this. To be able to call this a career is something I dream about almost every day. I've accepted that that dream is totally obtainable, but it comes with a lot of work attached. I know that inevitably I'm going to have days like today, where the work doesn't seem worth it, and the dream doesn't feel worth chasing. I know/hope that tomorrow when I wake up, I still have that "kick down doors" mindset. 

Every week, I record a podcast that about 50 people listen to. I work on jokes that I can tell to a room of 15 people on a Wednesday night. I see my girlfriend and dog for about an hour a day, and my friends and family even less. I chalk all of it up to paying my dues, with the end goal of making a living telling jokes. Some days I can't help but wonder why I bother. And then I write a blog like this, and it reminds me. 

I'm going to go listen to my set from last night. Thanks for letting me vent. 

( I just read this back before I hit "publish", and it's just a mess of me whining, and bragging about how I think I work hard. But I haven't posted a blog in a while, and it motivated me. So fuck it). 

Adam

Drinking and Blogging 10/8/17

As I type this, I'm sitting in the Ottawa Airport drinking beer and watching my fantasy football teams "suck the hind banana".

I just finished a 2 week run at the Absolute Comedy clubs in Ottawa and Kingston. The clubs were great, and it was a really fun time. I got to visit with some family that I very rarely get to see, many of whom made the trip to Kingston to check out one of our shows, and I met some great comics and people as well.

I was going to write a hokey "What I'm Thankful For" blog, but honestly I got about half way through it, read it back, and decided that it sucked. Everyone that has ever read even one of my blogs knows I'm forever grateful to have my girlfriend Shaley in my corner, and that my friends and family are very supportive of what I'm doing. You don't need to read that stuff for the 100th time (101st, if you count this paragraph). So instead, I've decided to just ramble a little bit about what's going on in both my world, and the one we all hang out in, while I enjoy this delicious beer.

Grinding.

Like I mentioned, I was lucky enough to get a chance to perform at a couple of the famed Absolute Comedy clubs in Ottawa and Kingston (massive thank you to Mike Dambra for dropping my name and getting my foot in the door). The shows were incredible, and it was a lot of fun to get to work with some new comics and meet a bunch of new people. And it was great getting a chance to catch up with Shannon, who I haven't really seen since High School. Thanks for coming out!

I also used some of the down time out here to start designing my first potential business card. The feedback on it has been really positive!

Work in progress.

As fun as the shows were, the highlight of the entire run for me was getting to spend a day with my Grandma. I rarely get to see her, so I took advantage of the one day off I had out here and drove out to Trenton to visit with her, and the rest of my family. We had dinner at my Aunt and Uncles and caught up, and it was a really great night. Being a military kid, I moved away from most of my family at a very young age, and haven't had too many opportunities to see them over the last 25 years. So I really look forward to any chance I have to see any of them. Several of my Aunts and Uncles, along with some family friends, made it out to shows in Kingston as well, and I'm grateful for all of their support. Thanks to all of you, and I hope you had fun at the show(s)!

Away from comedy, I'm about 2 weeks out from my first tattoo appointment in 7 or 8 years. And I figured jump into the deep end, I'll be starting on a sleeve for my left arm. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time, but hesitated for 3 reasons:

1) My arms are skinny. But after 33 years, I've come to the conclusion they just aren't going to get much bigger.

2) I'm cheap.

and 3) I'm a pussy. Needles are the worst.

But I'm finally taking the plunge, and I'm really excited to get started. I think I've found the perfect artist for this project, and I think/hope it's going to turn out great. I'll post pics on here as it progresses, because I know that's the kind of stuff you all read this blog for, right? 😬

Me aside, shit has hit the fan in the rest of the world over the last 10 days or so. I try not to watch the news, because it focuses way too much on the negative for my tastes, but a couple stories have been impossible to get away from. First there was the "terrorist" incident in Edmonton, which obviously hits close to home. I don't understand how on Earth someone could do something like that, but at least nobody was killed, and the piece of shit behind it will face the music.

Then the Las Vegas shooting took place. I don't know what to say about it. Thoughts and prayers is the cliche, and obviously I wish all the victims and their families the best, but aside from that.....I don't know. I'm not perfect, and frankly sometimes I can be kind of an assshole, but I will never be able to comprehend how someone could kill another person. Much less 50+. Innocent people that are just out trying to enjoy life and have a good time. There's been a ton of debate about whether or not it should be classified as a "terrorist attack". Frankly, I don't care what you call it, it's a psycho being a psycho, and it's tragic. There's also been a lot of debate about guns since that night....

I posted a Facebook status myself, saying that I don't understand why on Earth anyone needs to own an automatic gun of any kind. It got some replies from different people, and it prompted me to comment that I don't agree with guns, period. I don't think they serve any real purpose, and I hate them. I stand by that comment. People brought up protection, and hunting, and I understand what they're saying. But it won't change my mind. Guns serve no purpose other than to kill whatever they're pointed at. And I hate them. I don't have an answer. I know it isn't as easy as simply making guns illegal. But just like people are entitled to their right to own and defend guns, I'm entitled to my right to speak out against them. I didn't post my status to start a debate about gun laws, but simply to voice my thoughts on what happened. I hope the people involved in this tragedy find peace, and they're able to, eventually, get on with their lives.

On a lighter note, hockey's back! Montreal is fucked. They will go as far as Carey Price can take them, which has pretty well been their story for the last 7 or 8 seasons. I'll watch when I'm home and they're on, but if the comedy plan stays on course, that won't be often.

Apparently Odell Beckham Jr just broke his ankle. Yikes.

Before I wrap this up, I want to mention that I have an SNES Classic waiting for me at home. I was lucky enough to snag a pre-order, and it arrived while I was in Ottawa. If you're one of the people buying things like this up just to re-sell it, you can go fuck yourself. I hope you get stuck with them, have to sell them for a loss, and you get pink eye.

That's it. I started this thing 3 beers ago, and now I feel great. I'm going to go play some Switch and wait for my plane.

Thanks for reading, and supporting me. Keep an eye out for an adamblank.com or something along the lines soon. I have a feeling something like that is going to pop up in the near future.

And for fuck sakes, be nice to each other. The last 14 days have proved that there are enough shitty people out there already.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Adam

I Quit My Job Today (One Year Later) 10/1/17

I walked out of my day job on October 3rd, 2016. I wrote a blog about it, which you can find here:

 I Quit My Job

As I type this, it's October 1st, 2017, 2 days short of one year later. When I wrote the blog above, I was excited to not have to go to a job I hated anymore, but I was really struggling with the idea of not having a regular job. It's funny, because even though I knew I was miserable at Uline, when I got out, I felt like a loser. 15 years of playing by the rules and pulling the 9-5 (or fucking 5am-whenever, like it was at Uline) had my mind programmed to think that was the only option.

I'm happy to say that 363 (or 364, is this a leap year? Daylight savings? The Illuminati?), not only have I adjusted to life after a normal day job, but I'm loving it.

I still have a day job. As I've mentioned in this blog before, my old friends at Pro Am Sports brought me back into the fold last Christmas after I left Uline, and I'm still there now. In a casual capacity, however. Whenever I'm in town, I work there and do whatever I can to help out, and they've been ridiculously accommodating of my increasing comedy schedule. It's really the best case scenario; a day job that I enjoy going to, but that still provides me the freedom to chase this crazy comedy dream.

As far as comedy goes, the last 12 months have been absolutely incredible. It doesn't seem real, to be honest. And while in the grand scheme of stand up, I haven't really accomplished anything yet, in my mind, I'm already living a dream. Anything else that comes along is gravy :)

I would say 50-60% of my monthly income is now comedy based. I'm really, sincerely, not motivated by money, but a guy has to eat. More and more weekends are filling up with paid shows and opportunities to perform in clubs and on shows, including a lot of out of town stuff, which is awesome. Be it Calgary, Kelowna, Regina, Cold Lake, or as I write this, I'm sitting in Ottawa, I'm getting paid to travel. That's something I've always dreamt of, but didn't think would ever happen.

(I know, I know. Regina? Cold Lake? It's a start, ok?)

I got to be in a movie that was shot in Edmonton. I still have no idea how that happened! I'd never experienced anything like that before. And while it isn't a Hollywood blockbuster, it was a REALLY cool experience. I even got to be in a fight scene with UFC fight "Cowboy" Cerrone! AND, he knocked me the fuck out! How many people can tell that story??

On the set of "Puppy Love" with Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. I hope his elbow is ok....

And above everything else, I've made a ton of great friends. I can list on one hand the number of comics I've worked with that I haven't enjoyed being around. So many of the comedians in Edmonton have become very close friends, and every city I've had the opportunity to travel to has been full of more smiling, supportive comics that I've sincerely enjoyed meeting and working with. Just last weekend, I did a run through Saskatchewan with a comic from Calgary, Chris Gordon. Saturday night we were sitting at a pizza place in Regina after a great show and a lot of beer, and we just started talking about how fun this job is. It was a cool moment; realizing that my "job" is to tell dick jokes, laugh, drink beer and have fun. It's what I dreamed about doing when I was on my forklift last Fall.

If this blog comes across as a guy with an ego, just bragging about stuff that, again, on the World's comedy map isn't even a village on the side of the road, that's not my intention. But don't kid yourself, I'm proud of what I've done over the last year. I've decided, after 32 years, to chase a dream that I wish I'd gone after a long time ago. And to be honest, I feel like I've already achieved it. I'm a comedian. If I become a headliner someday, or fall into another movie, or end up at Just For Laughs, or anything else, it will just be icing on the cake. I'm doing what I want to do with my life, and I have fantastic friends and family supporting me. If that isn't the dream, I don't know what is.

Thank you to all the comedians and bookers that have given me opportunities to perform. I'm sincerely grateful for all the opportunities, and your friendship.

Thanks to Jack, Ken, and the guys at Pro Am for working with my schedule and being so accommodating to my stupid schedule. I hope you guys figure out football pick 'ems soon.

Thanks to my friends and my family for supporting me, and picking me up whenever I need it.

And most importantly, thanks to Shaley for being my rock. I would be a homeless train wreck without you. And I wouldn't have any material. I love you.

I can't wait to see what happens over the next 12 months. If it's even 1/2 as fun as this past year has been, it'll be a fantastic ride.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for supporting. Do what you want to do with your life, and have fun doing it.

Adam

Writer's Block 9/4/17

As you may or may not know, my favourite comedian of all time is Jerry Seinfeld. I love the show, and I really enjoy his stand up. Being my favourite comic, I'm always on the look out for any little tidbits of wisdom or advice he offers up for aspiring comedians. One thing he's said in the past that I really took to heart after I started getting on stage myself is:

 "Writer's block doesn't actually exist. It's just an excuse for people that don't want to do their work."

That statement has really hit home with me over the past couple months or so. I'm in the midst of the worst joke "drought" I've experienced since I started stand up. I've had lots of nights where I've taken a new bit on stage and it hasn't worked. But it feels like over the past 6 or 8 weeks, other than a few small tags and tweaks to my pre-existing material, nothing I'm writing is working. I've been desperately trying to get a new premise work on stage, and it just doesn't seem to be taking. And I don't mean a singular new premise. I mean pretty well every new idea I've come up with lately. Throwing everything I can against the wall, and just praying SOMETHING sticks. Unfortunately, it all seems to be ending up sliding down the wall and landing at my feet.

And it isn't the bombing that's getting to me. Telling jokes to silence isn't fun, but I know it's part of the learning curve. It's the idea that night after night, I'm sitting down at my notebook, and filling page after page with garbage. I don't fish, but I can imagine this is how it would feel to sit in your boat casting hour after hour, and going home with nothing but a sunburn and a cooler full of empties.

Going back to the Seinfeld quote, I truly feel like I'm experiencing writer's block. But I love the way he has it worded. He calls joke writing, "work". And it is. I could totally chalk it up to writer's block, walk away for a while and just tell my old jokes. But the only way I'm going to break out of this slump is to keep doing the work. Write, re-write, test. And when I fall, I have to get up again and keep trying. A bad writing session that you get nothing out of is INFINITELY more productive than simply blaming "writer's block" and not trying at all.

In my short career, I've been quite vocal in stating that the thing that irritates me most is when comics waste stage time. They go up there and tell the same old jokes over and over again. Don't get me wrong, it's incredibly important to tell jokes over and over, but you should be tweaking. Tightening. Polishing. Add a tag, remove a line. Workshopping doesn't irritate anyone. But to go up there and read the same script over and over again isn't helping you at all. It's like bench pressing the same amount of weight. You'll never get any stronger.

The point of this blog was to vent about the writing slump I've been in this Summer. I did that. I'll get out of it. Fuck writer's block.

Or I can always do crowd work.

Adam

You Call The Shots 8/27/17

*This is a post I made on Facebook last year, a couple months before I walked out of my job at Uline. I haven't changed a word of it, because I still agree with all of it. I'm also very proud of the fact that I stuck to my word; Uline was trying to overtake things I had higher on my list of priorities, and I did exactly what I promised I would do if that day came. I hope you guys like it*

One of the guys I work with, probably the dude I like the most there, had his first child this week. Wednesday, his wife went into labour. And he was still working. I told him to get the hell out of there and get to the hospital, and he said we were too busy, and he'd go when he could. That's exactly what's wrong with society today.

Everyone has their own priorities. And if someone disagrees with yours, to hell with them. I think you probably spend the first 25 years of your life laying the foundation of that list, and then you tweak it as life goes on. I know for a fact that my buddies family was a much higher priority to him than his work, but he felt obligated to stay. That's not being honest to yourself. Do what you want, what makes you happy. 

A few years ago, I wasn't doing that well. Shay and I had just bought our house, we had some money. Health. No worries. But I didn't feel right. Like I was just going through the motions, wasting time. I made a very conscious decision to start eliminating things/people that I weren't making me happy, and to start cramming as much positivity into my life as possible every day. I quit a very good paying sales job to go do something that I thought would be more fun (and it was), and I started phasing some people out of my life. I just decided I didn't want to be around them anymore. If anyone ever feels that way about me, I would hope they'd do the same. And it worked. I feel much better about life these days. I'm very happy.

I read something around that time that said "there is endless power in giving zero fucks." It's not the classiest sentiment ever, but it's spot on. I used to want everyone to like me. Now, there's a very small group of friends and family whose opinions matter to me very much, and if you're not in that circle, I don't really give a damn what you think. If I'm not hurting you, just let me do what I want. 

My current job demands a lot of hours from me, I work 55 or so in a 5 day a week, plus some weekends. I don't like it, but as of now, I've accepted the trade off, they get my time, and I'm happy with the money they give me for it. But if that job ever tries to overtake something that I feel is a higher priority (and there are a lot of them), then they'll quickly find out I won't be there anymore. It's a humble brag, but anyone that has worked with me would be quick to say that I'm a pretty hard worker (I think, anyways), and I do my best to help the team and pull my weight. But I've also switched jobs 4 times in about 12 years. Once because I felt they were trying to become to work their way to the top of my priority ladder, once because I just wasn't happy anymore, and once mostly for financial reasons. And even though the job I have now is very secure and well paying, I have no hesitation to quit, and no worry of getting fired, if it ever isn't a fit anymore. Because I just don't enjoy working. I like things that I find fun. And I wasn't out here just to let someone else tell me what to do all my life.

The moral of this ridiculously long post is that your life is a dictatorship. You call the shots. The only people that can get into your board of directors are your family, and your close friends. And that's only if you deem them worthy of a chair at the table. If someone doesn't like how you're running your business, then don't do business with them anymore. You have 24 hours a day to spend on anything you want. Don't let anyone spend even one minute of them for you.

*WWYD - What Will You Do?

Thanks for reading.

-Adam*

Watching yourself....ugh..... 8/10/17

Listening back to yourself, and watching video of your performances as a comedian is a fantastic way to get better. And it fucking.....sucks.

I have hours of voice recordings of my act on my phone, and quite a few videos of various sets recorded on my computer. I've only listened/watched about 1/4 of them. When you think you bombed on a show, and then listen back to it, you usually realize that you bombed even worse than you thought you did. When you think you did well on any given night, and then listen back to your set, you don't even notice what worked. But you can't help but pick out and focus on every little word that wasn't perfect. It's ridiculously humbling. 

That said, almost every time I've listened back to a set, I've found a way to improve on it. Sometimes it's a new tag or joke altogether. Maybe you notice that a joke might work better told slightly different. You may hear a couple words that are just dead weight, and can be trimmed out of a joke altogether, thus tightening up your act. It's one of those "no pain, no gain" situations. With a LOT of pain...

The inspiration for this blog wasn't to talk about listening back to my sets, though. I have (had) several video clips of my stand up on Youtube. After watching some of them back today, I decided to take them all down. Because frankly, I don't think they're very good anymore. I thought they were at the time, but I'm happy to say that as I've gotten on stage more and more, my standards have gotten higher and higher. And I don't feel they're up to that standard. 

I read early on that you should be careful about what you put online. Some people put their first ever set on the internet, and then keep pumping videos out. It's easy to understand why, they're (rightfully) proud of their act, and want to share it with people. The ego stroke from friends and family supporting you is a nice perk, too. But the reason people said be careful about what you upload is because if a booker searches your name, and the first video they come across is of your 3rd ever set, they aren't going to contact you. You might have thought it was good at the time, but if you're working hard at getting better, you should be able to watch it a couple months later, and realize how much you were doing wrong. 

I always keep a 5-7 minute clip uploaded and available to share, should someone ask for it. But every couple months, when I know I have a good show (in front of a good audience) coming up, I bring my camera along with the intention of updating my "demo" vid. It's worth it. If you're working hard, every new video should be better than the last. Not always by leaps and bounds, but one step at a time :)

So as an 18 month comic, if I could give any comedy advice, it would be to be careful about what you upload. You never know who's watching. 

Thanks for reading. Go Rays!

Adam