Sunday December 23rd, 2012 – Kenosha, WI
I’m going to have my hands full and then some schedule wise this next week or so, and I’m not thrilled about it. The constant nerve wracking pressure of having to get somewhere on a deadline puts me on edge, but that’s part of being an entertainer. If I don’t get to the gig, I don’t get paid.
I’m working in Reno this week at Catch A Rising Star in the Silver Legacy hotel. I’m happy to be working there, as I’ll bet I have been trying to get in there for at least ten years. I had a contact with the former booker there, but we just never hooked up on a week that worked for both of us.
Dave Mencarelli is a comedian who also manages the club. He was just starting out when I had a radio job there in 1996, and apparently I was nice to him. I’m glad I was, since he’s been trying to get me in there since he got the gig. That’s how it works, and I’m very grateful for his efforts.
This was the week the booker offered, and I have little choice but to take it. I know I’ll rock the room, and that’s not bragging. I lived in Reno and am comfortable there, and I’m at the tippy top of my game comedy wise. All I needed was a push to get me in there, and Dave did that for me.
The difficult part is going to be getting there and back on a busy holiday week. I have to do my Mothership Connection radio show tonight from 8pm to midnight, and then get to the airport for an 8am flight to Reno. Unfortunately, I’m flying out of Midway Airport instead of Milwaukee or O’Hare. Midway is the least convenient airport from where I live, but that’s how it worked out.
To make it even more tenuous, I picked up a fallout at Zanies in Rosemont, IL for New Year’s Eve. Rosemont is close to O’Hare Field, and if my flight was out of there I’d be golden. But it’s not. So I’m going to be cutting it close because the earliest return flight I could get was at 4pm.
Do I park my car at Midway and incur the expense or take my friend Jim McHugh’s kind offer and park at his house in Hoffman Estates, IL and take a train to downtown Chicago and make the transfer to another one which gets me to Midway for $2.50? That sounds good in theory, but Jim is going to be working New Year’s Eve and won’t be able to pick me up from the train station.
This is a one man sequel to Planes, Trains and Automobiles, but I’ve got to work it all out for a chance to keep working. I’ve also got to do it as cheaply as possible so I make at least some kind of a profit or it’s not even worth going in the first place. It’s a lot of effort with a minimal payoff, not to mention there are all kinds of unforeseen pitfalls that could jump up and bite me in the ass.
Weather could be an issue at some point, and that could delay either my flight or my trip to get from the airport to my car or Zanies. I’ll have minimal time to shower, shave and get ready to do shows on New Year’s Eve, which can be hectic enough as it is. This is not the option I’d choose.
Too bad I don’t have any say in the matter. This is how it’s working this time, and I’m going to shut my mouth and do my best to be where I need to be when they call my name. If I don’t, I will not get paid. If I do, I will have earned every penny I get. This showbiz thing can wear a guy out.
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