Thursday August 2nd, 2012 – LaCrosse, WI
Before anyone can successfully build a skyscraper, there has to be a solid foundation laid first. Chasing a dream in life is very similar. How high one’s success can reach depends on how deep one’s foundation is, but sometimes it takes so much work to lay that foundation there’s not much energy or resources left to build skyward. But without a foundation, any building will crumble.
I tried to remember that today as I rode for four hours in a car with Bill Gorgo to LaCrosse, WI to do a show at the Best Western Hotel. That place has been doing comedy shows in their lounge for years, and it’s been through several booking agents and ownership tenures during that time.
Tonight it was both. I got the booking through Doug and Dana MacCraw, a married couple that book a couple of random gigs to make a few extra coins on the side. There’s nothing wrong with that, and I’ve always had a good relationship with them. They’re honest and up front, and they’re fair with their commissions. The gigs aren’t horrible, and everyone can hopefully make a living.
This is all part of laying that foundation. Entertainers need to keep the bills paid somehow, and a lot of times these kinds of gigs are how it’s done. There’s not a lot of glamour involved, but it’s a way to make a buck doing whatever it is that entertainer does.
The LaCrosses of the world are a much needed resource, and I was glad to have a chance to score a paycheck on a Thursday night.
Neither side of this gig is ‘easy money’. There’s no such thing in entertainment or any business on Earth. Doug and Dana have to find people willing to drive to LaCrosse, WI on a Thursday for quite frankly not a lot of money. I’m not complaining, but there’s just no huge payday to be had.
In order for everyone to make out, the pie needs to get sliced pretty thin or we couldn’t do this. The club has to be able to make a profit too, and they have a budget they can afford. Comedians have expenses too. We have to get to LaCrosse, WI and that takes time and effort to accomplish.
Sitting in a car for four hours used to be something I could do without thinking about. I liked to explore new places, and gas wasn’t $4 a gallon. Now, four hours seems like an eternity and $4 is probably going to seem nostalgic in just a few years with the way the world is going. There isn’t that same spirit of adventure anymore because I’ve been to LaCrosse too many times to count.
Bill came along because we stopped in Sparta, WI to visit our friend Jim Wiggins. Jim loves to talk about comedy, and we wanted to record some conversations with him about his road stories from forty years of doing exactly what I’ve been doing for not many fewer years. We had a blast hanging out as we always do, and then Bill and I drove to LaCrosse to check in before the show.
The people in LaCrosse were all very nice as they usually are, and there was a full house in the lounge as there usually is. The opening act was a nice guy out of the Twin Cities named Shannon Thompson, and he’s trying to make a living just like I am. This was some cash in his pocket also. Jim came out and did a fabulous guest spot, and then Bill and I drove home. That’s a lot of work for not a lot of money - but that’s how most entertainers survive. It makes the big dreams wait.
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