Laugh After Death

Thursday September 25th, 2008 - Lake Villa, IL

Back at the Blackthorn Grille in Lake Villa tonight. The people who run the place are as nice to work with as it gets but I don’t think shows will fly there on a long term basis. The people who go there to drink don’t want to listen to the show and that makes it impossible to quiet them down for the people who do. It was again a major issue we had to address.

That’s a very delicate situation because if the people are spending money they feel they should have a right to do whatever they want and since this isn’t a comedy club it’s not an easy sell to ask them to keep it quiet while the comics are on stage only one night a week.

There weren’t that many people who were there for comedy either though. There were a pair of baseball games on and there was a singles’ club mingling and they wanted no part of comedy. A few listened but the rest of them drifted off to watch ballgames or cocktail.

It wasn’t a total loss though. My friend Steve Purcell came down from Madison and did a great job for the situation. He is one of my few students that has really tried to chase his dream and he’s developed a lot over his several years since class. He went up tonight and used the stage as practice time and that’s what this gig is for. He sure did a very solid job.

Another guy who showed up was Bart Barello. He is just starting out and is as Italian as one can get. He is a very polite and nice guy but he’s a little naïve as to how the business works. He’s only been doing it eight months but thinks he’s a lot farther than he is. I tried to tell him in a nice way he needs to pay some dues but I don’t think he was ready for it.

To make it even worse he told me he’s taking the class of one of the idiot brothers who are trying to make my life hell and he said he really isn’t learning anything in the class. Of course he isn’t, they’re not interested in teaching anything. They’re interested in his cash.

He was still a good guy and he did what he could in that situation. I tried to hide how all of this infuriates me but I don’t think I did a good job of it. He told me he learned more in an hour of talking to me than he has in the whole class so far. It doesn’t surprise me at all.

I’m through whining about it though. I am going to DO something about it. I know I am not qualified to do a lot of things but both being a comedian and helping others to achieve the most out of their ability is something I can do in my sleep. I have the skills to do this.

What I am really lacking is the marketing part of it. That needs to change and I received an email today that just might allow that to happen. Tom Sobel in Louisville has been one of my favorite people in comedy for many years. He is a good person and I’ve always had a positive interaction with him and his entire staff. That’s why I recorded my CD there.

His assistant Kerri is a total sweetheart. She’s very smart and on top of things and wrote me about handling a website for my classes. I was thrilled to get it and I wrote her back as quickly as my fingers would type. She would be someone who could really make this go.

She sent me a return email with about five or six excellent ideas on it and I immediately knew we were on the same page. My old partner had no idea about comedy. He was just a marketing guy who I knew and I had to train him about comedy. Kerri is already around it every day and she’s very hip and understands what I’m trying to do. This could really fly.

Wayne Dyer always uses the phrase ‘When the student is ready the teacher will appear.’ I really feel I’m ready to take these classes to the next level and I feel great about Kerri as a person to help me do that. I think this would be a win/win/win situation. Not only is it a good situation for Kerri and me - it’s great for the future students too. I’m very excited.

Linda Perret is also someone who has offered to help out. She is Gene Perret’s daughter and Gene was Bob Hope’s head writer for many years. They are fantastic people and have been unbelievably nice to me over the years. They see the insanity that’s going on and are both willing to help me any way they can. These are all people I know I can work with.

My friend and ex student Shelley can still help me work on my own site and Uranus too but Kerri is perfect for the role of heading up the comedy class site. When I got her email I knew it was a good match and I will now start laying the foundation to get it all started.

What I want to create is a solid community of like minded funny people who want their comedy skills and contacts to constantly improve. I want to nurture talent and give them a sounding board of someone who has BEEN through the wars, not thinks they’re a comic.

I want to make it fun and entertaining and useful and even something that can be useful long after I’m dead. Just like Laurel and Hardy made me laugh decades after they passed away I want to be one to teach people who aren’t even born yet. It’s ‘laugh after death’.

Technology sure is available for me to do that and everyone else too. We can all write a book or make a CD or a film and produce it ourselves for as low of cost as has ever been. In the past only a precious few ever got to do any of that but now it’s open to everybody.

If I don’t have a fantastic package of my comedy class available with all the latest state of the art technology then it’s my own fault. It might take a lot of work but that’s where I will beat those other jabronies. I’m willing to work at it and I know how I want it to look and sound and be. I’ve got fifteen years of solid teaching under my belt. They sure don‘t.

The real money with this will be in duplicating myself. I have the outline of a book with my class notes and they’ve taken me years to perfect. I also can put the basics of all of the lessons on both audio and video. I can package it for specific needs of specific customers and there are several markets to hit. I’ve had these ideas for years. It’s time to DO them.

Maybe having this whole ugly breakup was a positive thing after all. It does free me up to do this how I always wanted to do it but my other partner let it stagnate. He didn’t do a damn thing until I had to amputate him and then he took my ideas and tried to bastardize them behind my back. I won’t let that happen without a fight. Kerri will be able to help.