Sunday June 29th, 2014 – Island Lake, IL
Since I was already on the far south side of the Chicago
area yesterday without a gig, I decided to call some of my friends to see if I
could find anybody home. I don’t get that far south as much as I probably
should, and I have a lot of people I haven’t seen in a while. Why waste the chance?
Tim Slagle was the first to call back, so we got together at his house
in Dyer, IN. Tim and I are a lot alike in that we tend to polarize people, and
then make it worse by not caring what anybody thinks. We have both burned a few
bridges in our time, but that happens with a lot of performers no matter the
genre. People with strong opinions who don’t have power tend to become pariahs.
If and when these people happen to catch a break, their past sins are
often forgiven because of their newfound success. Everyone wants to jump on the
bandwagon then, and that’s just how the game works. Tim and I are two examples
of many who made a living, but never hit our jackpot.
Personally, I really like Tim both onstage and off. He is brilliantly
funny, and even though his style is completely different than my own I am a
huge fan of his work. He’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, and sometimes
more than a few. That takes gargantuan testicles, and I respect him.
We are part of the unenviable fraternity of comedians that came through
the boom years of the ‘80s but never got a sitcom. It seemed like everyone did
– and there were quite a few – but there were a lot more of us that didn’t find
our pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and are now in our 50s and 60s
wondering how we’re going to pay our bills next month. That’s not the place to
be.
At least former athletes have a pension plan if they played long enough.
I’ve been around three other genres of the entertainment business in standup
comedy, pro wrestling and radio, and none of those three have any kind of
financial security. One either makes it big or they starve. Period.
I was trying to figure out the actual number of long time road dog
comedians that are now in a similar position, and I would guess it to be maybe
three to five thousand. I am not talking about part time weekend warriors, as
there are thousands more of those scattered across the continent.
I’m talking about people like Tim and me and all the others that came up
during the boom and are now struggling to stay booked every week. That was
never a problem before, but times have changed drastically in the last few
years and that includes a new generation of wannabe comics.
The newbies of today don’t have the opportunity we did to get out on the
road and earn a living at a young age. The work isn’t there for them either,
and the whole business is changing. It’s the law of supply and demand in full
effect, and unfortunately the demand has gone down while the supply has
exploded. There isn’t enough quality work for everybody and there needs to be a
cull.
I’m sure this process has happened in other businesses too, but I can’t
think of any because this is the one that I have chosen. I was a ring announcer
and promoter in wrestling and I’ve seen that business go through changes too.
It takes a very specialized set of skills to succeed in that racket. Radio is
another business on the slide for many reasons. I guess I just don’t know how to
choose a career very well. I’ve had a long run in comedy, but I see the future and
know I need a change.
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| Tim Slagle does comedy for smart people. He's one of my all time favorites. Check out his hilarious CD 'Europa'. It's a classic! www.timslagle.com |
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