One Night Standing

Wednesday November 7^th, 2012 – Clinton, WI

   With all the boring details that have to be looked after constantly and all the fires and potential fires that need to be put out, it can be all too easy to forget just how much fun comedy should be. Nights like tonight are a sweet reminder of why I have continued to stay in the game for so long.

   I had a fantastic time in Clinton, WI of all places, and I wish every single one nighter could be even half this well run. Everything about this gig was on the money, and it all has to do with the people running it. I wish I could clone them to make every gig run as smoothly as this one does.

   The place is called ‘Boxcar Pub & Grub’ and I worked here once before. I’m not exactly sure when, but it was maybe a little over a year ago. I was impressed with the entire operation then as I recall, but I was even more impressed tonight. This is a well run establishment and I love that.

   I’ve been around so many mismanaged hell holes in my life that when something runs like it’s supposed to it screams out at me. There was a warm feeling of welcome from everyone from the time I walked in the door to the time I left, and I felt it last time as well. It’s not always that way.

   The owner’s name is Tim Pogorelski and he’s a former musician that loves live entertainment of all kinds. He’s been a performer himself, so he knows how important promotion is. I thought he did a spectacular job last time, and it was even better tonight. He had a full house that paid a $10 cover on a Wednesday night in a bad economy in Clinton, WI – a town of probably 2500.

   To his extreme credit, he knows his market and plays to them very well. He has done comedy shows on the first Wednesday of the month for a couple of years now, and has built an audience who looks forward to it and supports it. It would be all too easy to get greedy and try to stretch it to weekly shows, but that would burn it out in a hurry. Tim knows exactly what his market bears.

   He maintains the perfect mix of promotion, frequency and quality of shows and that’s why he’s been able to last as long as he has. He pays a very fair wage – especially for a middle of the week show – but that allows him to get some very good acts which in turn keeps people coming back.

   To make it even better all around, the opening act had to bail out at the last minute and I found out Jim McHugh was off and was willing to drive up and join me. That gave the audience a huge bonus as it was a double headliner kick ass show and then some. They got their money’s worth.

   Tim was smart enough to know it was a break for him, but it was a break for Jim too. He pulled in a payday on a Wednesday, and I had a great opening act who got the crowd red hot for me and made my job easier. It was win/win/win, and Jim and I talked all the way home about how much fun it was and how we wished every one nighter could be run this well. It was a treat for us all.

   Jeremy Danley is the booker of this gig, and he’s also a comedian. He knows what it’s like also so between him and Tim and Jim and me there were people in charge who had a clue as to how a show should be run correctly. I’d work with and for any of these guys at anytime and anywhere.

Posted via email from Dobie Maxwell's "Dented Can" Diary

One Night Standing

Wednesday November 7^th, 2012 – Clinton, WI

   With all the boring details that have to be looked after constantly and all the fires and potential fires that need to be put out, it can be all too easy to forget just how much fun comedy should be. Nights like tonight are a sweet reminder of why I have continued to stay in the game for so long.

   I had a fantastic time in Clinton, WI of all places, and I wish every single one nighter could be even half this well run. Everything about this gig was on the money, and it all has to do with the people running it. I wish I could clone them to make every gig run as smoothly as this one does.

   The place is called ‘Boxcar Pub & Grub’ and I worked here once before. I’m not exactly sure when, but it was maybe a little over a year ago. I was impressed with the entire operation then as I recall, but I was even more impressed tonight. This is a well run establishment and I love that.

   I’ve been around so many mismanaged hell holes in my life that when something runs like it’s supposed to it screams out at me. There was a warm feeling of welcome from everyone from the time I walked in the door to the time I left, and I felt it last time as well. It’s not always that way.

   The owner’s name is Tim Pogorelski and he’s a former musician that loves live entertainment of all kinds. He’s been a performer himself, so he knows how important promotion is. I thought he did a spectacular job last time, and it was even better tonight. He had a full house that paid a $10 cover on a Wednesday night in a bad economy in Clinton, WI – a town of probably 2500.

   To his extreme credit, he knows his market and plays to them very well. He has done comedy shows on the first Wednesday of the month for a couple of years now, and has built an audience who looks forward to it and supports it. It would be all too easy to get greedy and try to stretch it to weekly shows, but that would burn it out in a hurry. Tim knows exactly what his market bears.

   He maintains the perfect mix of promotion, frequency and quality of shows and that’s why he’s been able to last as long as he has. He pays a very fair wage – especially for a middle of the week show – but that allows him to get some very good acts which in turn keeps people coming back.

   To make it even better all around, the opening act had to bail out at the last minute and I found out Jim McHugh was off and was willing to drive up and join me. That gave the audience a huge bonus as it was a double headliner kick ass show and then some. They got their money’s worth.

   Tim was smart enough to know it was a break for him, but it was a break for Jim too. He pulled in a payday on a Wednesday, and I had a great opening act who got the crowd red hot for me and made my job easier. It was win/win/win, and Jim and I talked all the way home about how much fun it was and how we wished every one nighter could be run this well. It was a treat for us all.

   Jeremy Danley is the booker of this gig, and he’s also a comedian. He knows what it’s like also so between him and Tim and Jim and me there were people in charge who had a clue as to how a show should be run correctly. I’d work with and for any of these guys at anytime and anywhere.

Posted via email from Dobie Maxwell's "Dented Can" Diary

America Is Dead

Tuesday November 6^th, 2012 – Fox Lake, IL

   After a long, slow steady decline, I do believe America as we know it is finally dead. Gone is a mass population hungry for success with a work ethic beyond belief, and replacing it is a crew of arrogant, stupid lazy fat cats who think they’re entitled to everything just because they were born in a place they were always told was “the greatest country in the world.” Those days are OVER.

   However it happened, it now seems to be locked in place with the reelection of the incompetent boob that personifies the generation in which we live. He’s an amalgamation of the Kardashians, American Idol and Honey Boo Boo rolled into one. It’s lack of substance with no basis in reality.

   Nobody wants to face the cold hard facts of how life really is. They’re all looking for the latest Ralph Kramden or Lucy get rich quick schemes so they don’t have to work very hard or struggle for anything. I suppose we are all at least a little bit guilty, as that’s how human nature operates.

   Our whole existence has been a constant process of lessening our work load and making things easier or at least more efficient. Progress and technology have evolved over centuries to the point things are now, and I’m not sure if we’re better off as a species. Struggle can be a useful process.

   Having a large problem to solve tends to focus one or a group’s energies into getting it solved. There’s no free time to bitch or complain as all available energy is thrown into what needs to be done to solve the problem. I look at the building of this country as exactly that. There needed to be railroads and roads and cities built, and we as a country knuckled down and made it happen.

   Immigrants came from all over the world with a similar mindset and all they wanted was a fair chance to build a better life for their children. They were willing to work their butts off for it, and work hard. They built the greatest country in the world because they paid the price to achieve it.

   They sacrificed their time and effort knowing that’s what it took to get what they wanted. They had goals and aspirations, and were thinking of their children and children’s children. They were an amalgamation of races and nationalities and they proved that the human spirit can be GREAT.

   They handed our generation world dominance on a silver platter, and here we are screwing that up worse and worse by the minute. We should be ashamed of ourselves, but instead we continue to boast and gloat like we actually had something to do with any of it. “U-S-A! U-S-A!” My ass.

   We’re like the character Spaulding in the movie Caddyshack. He was the spoiled oafish second or third generation clueless offspring of wealth, and he didn’t know how to function properly in a world where he never had to work for anything. We are now a society of pampered Spauldings.

   I’m not saying Mitt Romney was the answer, but he at least had some practical experience with actually running something successfully. I lived in Utah when he fixed the Olympics mess and it was a remarkable accomplishment. What did our esteemed figurehead ever do besides be elected to Congress so he could run for President? This whole scenario makes me puke. America is dead.

Posted via email from Dobie Maxwell's "Dented Can" Diary

One Of Those Nights

Monday November 5^th, 2012 – Chicago, IL

   One of the unavoidable pitfalls of standup comedy is that once in a while an audience just plain stinks. There’s no way to escape it, and the only alternative is to plow through it and get yourself to the next one. It happens to us all, and there’s no way to predict when or where it will pop up.

   It happened tonight at Zanies in Chicago as I hosted the Rising Star Showcase. I enjoy hosting those, as it lets me stay in touch with who’s coming up the ranks these days. The quality of those shows have been quite high as a whole, and tonight was no exception. I felt for their situation.

   The Rising Star Showcases are basically an audition for work in front of Bert Haas who books the three Zanies clubs in the Chicago area. To his credit, he actually comes out and watches all of the acts in person and offers face to face feedback afterwards. That’s unfortunately not common.

   I can’t count the times I’ve made a several hundred mile trip at my own expense to audition for some booker only to find out he or she ‘won’t be coming in tonight’ for whatever reason. Seldom if ever does anyone ever give an actual reason, and it turns out to be a complete waste of energy.

    Bert shows up every time, and even gives the lineup a speech beforehand about what he would be looking for in a potential act if they passed the audition. Whether the acts know it or not, he is doing them a favor and a courtesy by letting them know what the deal is and I respect him for it.

   I try to go out of my way to give every one of those who go up a stellar introduction and allow them the best chance to succeed. I’ve had to go up to horrible intros from incompetent hosts for a lifetime, and that can make an already difficult and potentially intimidating situation even worse.

   People in the audience don’t realize how hard it is to break in with a booking agent, and I guess it’s not their job. They’re there to be entertained, but often there’s a lot more at stake going on at any given time. Their role in all of it is a lot more important than they realize. They have impact.

   Tonight’s lineup was loaded with young comics who I thought were filled with potential. One of them was a kid from Iowa named Jack Lewis. He took a bus to Chicago to do a ten minute set, and that’s very refreshing to see. I did stuff like that when I started, and I know what it feels like.

   There were other acts on the bill like Andrew Burcastro, Anne Root, Peter Kim, John Thomas and Dan Ronan who all have a spark of real potential, and I enjoyed watching them work. What I didn’t enjoy was watching how hard they had to work to try to squeeze laughs from a dud crowd.

   They just weren’t into it, and it wasn’t the acts’ fault. Sometimes it can be easy for a comedian or any other performer to blame an audience when indeed it’s not their fault at all. Tonight was a different story. These people never gelled the entire night. It wasn’t in the cards, and it happens.

   I wish all these up and comers the best, and I tried to tell them all that all anyone can do is keep showing up and doing what they do. It’s never easy or fun to have to plow through a dead crowd, but it’s something every performer has to face and it helps build a thick skin we all need to have.

Posted via email from Dobie Maxwell's "Dented Can" Diary

One Of Those Nights

Monday November 5^th, 2012 – Chicago, IL

   One of the unavoidable pitfalls of standup comedy is that once in a while an audience just plain stinks. There’s no way to escape it, and the only alternative is to plow through it and get yourself to the next one. It happens to us all, and there’s no way to predict when or where it will pop up.

   It happened tonight at Zanies in Chicago as I hosted the Rising Star Showcase. I enjoy hosting those, as it lets me stay in touch with who’s coming up the ranks these days. The quality of those shows have been quite high as a whole, and tonight was no exception. I felt for their situation.

   The Rising Star Showcases are basically an audition for work in front of Bert Haas who books the three Zanies clubs in the Chicago area. To his credit, he actually comes out and watches all of the acts in person and offers face to face feedback afterwards. That’s unfortunately not common.

   I can’t count the times I’ve made a several hundred mile trip at my own expense to audition for some booker only to find out he or she ‘won’t be coming in tonight’ for whatever reason. Seldom if ever does anyone ever give an actual reason, and it turns out to be a complete waste of energy.

    Bert shows up every time, and even gives the lineup a speech beforehand about what he would be looking for in a potential act if they passed the audition. Whether the acts know it or not, he is doing them a favor and a courtesy by letting them know what the deal is and I respect him for it.

   I try to go out of my way to give every one of those who go up a stellar introduction and allow them the best chance to succeed. I’ve had to go up to horrible intros from incompetent hosts for a lifetime, and that can make an already difficult and potentially intimidating situation even worse.

   People in the audience don’t realize how hard it is to break in with a booking agent, and I guess it’s not their job. They’re there to be entertained, but often there’s a lot more at stake going on at any given time. Their role in all of it is a lot more important than they realize. They have impact.

   Tonight’s lineup was loaded with young comics who I thought were filled with potential. One of them was a kid from Iowa named Jack Lewis. He took a bus to Chicago to do a ten minute set, and that’s very refreshing to see. I did stuff like that when I started, and I know what it feels like.

   There were other acts on the bill like Andrew Burcastro, Anne Root, Peter Kim, John Thomas and Dan Ronan who all have a spark of real potential, and I enjoyed watching them work. What I didn’t enjoy was watching how hard they had to work to try to squeeze laughs from a dud crowd.

   They just weren’t into it, and it wasn’t the acts’ fault. Sometimes it can be easy for a comedian or any other performer to blame an audience when indeed it’s not their fault at all. Tonight was a different story. These people never gelled the entire night. It wasn’t in the cards, and it happens.

   I wish all these up and comers the best, and I tried to tell them all that all anyone can do is keep showing up and doing what they do. It’s never easy or fun to have to plow through a dead crowd, but it’s something every performer has to face and it helps build a thick skin we all need to have.

Posted via email from Dobie Maxwell's "Dented Can" Diary

Near Death Experience?

Sunday November 4^th, 2012 – Fox Lake, IL

   I had another one of ‘those dreams’ again. I don’t have them often, but when I do they are very vivid and it feels like it’s actually happening. The last one I remember was last year after getting out of the hospital with my diabetes diagnosis. The owner of Zanies Comedy Club Rick Uchwat had recently passed away, and I had a vivid dream where he assured me my health would be fine.

   I had never had a dream about Rick before, and I haven’t had one since. Was it him? I have no idea, but it sure felt like his essence. Rick was a strong influence in my life, and I always had an enormous amount of respect for him. He took care of me at the exact the times I needed it most, and nobody I can think of besides my grandfather told it like it was as candidly or without sugar.

   In my dream, I could absolutely tell it was Rick before he spoke. It looked like him, and he was exactly as I remembered him in his prime. I felt a strong bond with him in life, even though we’d maybe see each other once a year on average if that. There was just something about his vibe that was magnetic. Jay Leno was friends with him for years, as was Jerry Seinfeld and many others.

   I have read in more than once source that if souls indeed do come back from the other side for a contact visit it happens in a dream. I’m not saying I totally believe that but I’m also not saying I discount it either. The truth is, I just don’t know. I don’t think anybody does, but who can say?

   The dream I had last night was completely different. Rick wasn’t in it, nor was anyone else I’d ever met. I was led into a room by a couple of big old knuckle scraping goon types who appeared to be mobster thugs. They told me to sit down at a table, and then they sat down on each side so I couldn’t go anywhere. There were more of them at the table, and none of them looked to be glib.

   One of them directly across the table pulled out a deck of cards of all things, and started to deal hands of blackjack to everyone including me. One of the ones at the table told me this was going to be my “last chance”, and if I didn’t get dealt exactly the right cards I would be dead very soon.

   They were all very serious, and I could feel a very real tension as the cards were dealt. I tried to take a quick peek at my cards but I couldn’t make out what they were. I’ve never been much of a card player anyway, so it was very strange to be in this situation at all. I felt totally out of place.

   After a few hands, apparently I lost and the game was over. Everyone left except the two goons who’d first brought me into the room, and they said in ominously somber tones my life would be coming to an end very soon and there was nothing they or I could do about it. Then I woke up.

   I don’t ever remember having a dream anywhere close to this, both in subject matter and how it felt. The situation was uncomfortably tense, and in such vivid detail it really seemed like I was in a real life situation. Most dreams are forgotten immediately upon awakening, but this stayed with me all day. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Did it mean anything? Was it real? Do I need to stop eating before going to bed? It sure did get me to think. I wanted to bring it up on The Mothership Connection radio show tonight, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to ruin the mood. It wouldn’t have fit.

   I didn’t want to bring anyone down, but at some point we’ll talk freely about it on the air. It’s a subject we all have to deal with at some point, but I don’t think it has to be negative. I’ve had all kinds of close calls with death, and by now I’m not afraid of it. I don’t want to feel pain before it happens, but who does? The actual process itself not only doesn’t scare me, I find it fascinating.

   There are only a few experiences that everyone on the planet is guaranteed to share, and death is one of them. Birth is another, but none of us can remember that far back. We can’t really share the experience, even though we have all gone through it. Death is something only the person that goes through it can experience, but it can affect those around that person in very different ways.

   Some of us prepare for it, and others don’t. Very few of us know exactly when it will be, and it can come as a big and rarely pleasant surprise. Look at all the random shootings that happen on a much too regular basis these days. It’s impossible to predict when or where life will cease to be.

   Then there are those who have a long illness and know how it will eventually end. I just had an uncle die of cancer on January 1^st of this year, and he had been dealing with it for years. He had a lot of time to prepare, yet he went out a defiant ass right to the end. He became stubborn as it got close to the end, and instead of making peace with his kids and family he chose to alienate us all.

   My father was the same way. He never made the effort even when he knew his time to live was short, and now it’s too late. He also left behind a trail of useless heartache, and that just seems to be such a waste in my opinion. All of us have limited time here, and when the end becomes near wouldn’t it make sense to at least end on a high note? I guess everyone doesn’t share my view.

   I can’t live for anyone else. I can only do what I can do, but I want to do it right. If indeed I am not long for this world, I’m totally fine with it. It really doesn’t bother me at all. I just hope there isn’t a lot of suffering and pain involved. Going to sleep and not waking up would be my choice, but I don’t know if anyone gets to make that call. We’re all on red alert, and it could be any time.

   The important thing is to make the most of our time alive, and I have been doing that very well as of late. Pulling off that benefit for Officer Albert in Milwaukee was a perfect example. It took a lot of effort to make it happen, but as it was taking place I sat back and watched it unfold and it was a no brainer that it was the right thing to do. If I do have a death bed, that will be a highlight.

   I look at my father and uncle’s lives, and neither one of them had many highlights to look back on. They both mishandled their relationships with their kids, and didn’t build any good will for a lifetime that they could look back on with pride and know they made a difference. They didn’t.

   I may not have made close to the difference I think I can, but I did at least make an attempt and at times even had a bit of success. That benefit show really spread some good vibes, and I would love to keep building on it in the future – however long that might be. It could all end tomorrow.

   Who can say if this dream I had was a ‘warning message from beyond’ or just a goofy reaction to what I ate for lunch? Whatever it was, I got the message. Life is short, and I want to live it all.

Posted via email from Dobie Maxwell's "Dented Can" Diary

Thrilling Boredom

Saturday November 3^rd, 2012 – Fox Lake, IL

   And the hits just keep on coming! Today I knocked out yet another chunk of work I’ve had full intention of getting to for months now but haven’t. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a big time roll like this and I feel like I’m winning my own personal Super Bowl or something. It feels ecstatic!

   It wasn’t any monumental physical accomplishment that anyone else would be the slightest bit impressed by, but in my own little cockroach world I can hear angels singing and life is about as peachy as I could ever hope for. I know it sounds crazy, but I’ve never denied being a wackadoo.

   All I did was spend a few hours sorting out mounds of paperwork, clothing and books I’ve had stacked up in my living and work area but it gave me an intoxicating feeling of taking full charge of my life and I absolutely love it. I wish I could explain why this is so important to me, but it is.

   I wonder what Albert Einstein’s desk looked like. Was it messy or organized? Did he have any annoying piles of clutter that bothered him or impeded his creative process? What about anybody else who has accomplished anything noteworthy? I have to believe I’m not the only scatterbrain.

   Planning and organization skills just haven’t been something I’ve naturally been good at. Ever. I’ve always gone with the flow and lived in the moment. Indiana Jones may be able to get away with that in the movies, but in real life it can be very inefficient. I’m working hard to get better.

   True greatness is all about working on what one isn’t good at, and I’m putting a big dent in my ‘things to do’ pile. I’m taking a lot of clutter out of my life, and rearranging everything from the ground up. There’s a momentum building like I’ve never felt, and it’s nothing short of thrilling.

   First it was addressing my tax situation, and then it was cleaning up my computer files. Today it was organizing my living and work spaces – oh and I cleaned my car out too. I always seem to have a backseat full of garbage from six road trips ago, and it looks like Oscar Madison’s room.

   Not anymore. One thing is leading to another in a very good way, and I have no intentions of it stopping any time soon. Of course I had no intentions of ever letting it get this out of hand either, but at least I’m DOING something about it. Action is the only thing that will truly bring change.

   I realize all of this is extremely boring to everyone else, but to me it lights a mighty fire deep in my soul. I’d love nothing more than to be able to write a daily diary about bedding centerfolds or climbing Mount Everest, but for now getting my taxes done and sorting socks will have to do. It might not be an exhilarating read, but it sure is sheer excitement to write. I feel like I’m winning.

   I’m clearing out all the useless claptrap in my life to make room to do the really exciting stuff I always pictured myself doing. I want to pull off red hot comedy tours to packed houses and make people laugh until they can’t anymore. I want to focus all my creative energy on fun projects, not on sorting tax receipts. But if I don’t get that boring stuff done and out of the way, how can there be any room to do what really matters? I’m getting rid of my excuses, and that’s what feels great.

Posted via email from Dobie Maxwell's "Dented Can" Diary