Back Up North

Sunday October 26th 2008 - Seymour, IN/Kenosha, WI

I was scheduled for another night in Nashville working with David Alan Grier but Brian Dorfman let me out of it so I’d be able to get back on time for the Mothership Connection radio show in Kenosha tonight. He didn’t have to do that and he didn’t even cut my pay.

Sometimes I don’t think he does enough for me with all the connections he has but I did catch a break this time. There were only two shows last night where normally it’s three on a Saturday. I would have had to close the last one which is usually a drunk ugly mud pit.

It can get like that everywhere but especially in that room. Third shows are not always a fun experience and I was prepared to earn my whole week’s pay on that one show but this time there were only two. The club had been doing a lot of extra added special shows and the staff needed the time off to rest. I happened to catch it on the right week and I’m glad.

I really didn’t have it that difficult at all. The feature spot is the easiest spot in the whole comedy business. I hadn’t done it in a long time and I’d forgotten how gravy of a job it is. I basically got paid to drive to Nashville and hang out. My sets really didn’t matter much.

Like I said earlier though this wasn’t about my sets. This was a test. Brian was testing to see how my attitude and spirit is right now. He’s got all kinds of stuff going all over and I could benefit from it if he thinks I can do the job without making him look bad off stage.

I left right after the second show and got as far as Seymour, IN where I started nodding out a little so I got a room at the same Motel 6 I stayed at on the way down on Tuesday. It isn’t worth crashing my car or sleeping in it to save $40 so I splurged and got a warm bed.

The weather was sunny but pretty cold as I drove back the same way I came on Tuesday of last week. It’s a very easy route - straight up I-65 to and through Chicago to Lake Villa. I didn’t go home though. I went straight to the radio station to prepare for the radio show.

This was probably our best show ever. We’re improving all the time but tonight we had even more fun than usual. We had Stanton Friedman on for over an hour and he’s always been one of my very favorite guests on many radio shows including Coast To Coast AM.

I am in awe of his vast knowledge of UFOs and he was a fantastic guest. Scott Markus is really doing a super job arranging the guests and keeping the website up and running as well. He also arranged one of his heroes Ursula Bielski who inspired his being an author.

We’ve got a good thing going here but like Jerry’s Kidders I know it could also end any time. I’m not getting cocky at all but I am very encouraged at our progress. If we can keep growing I really think we could turn this into something special but there’s no guarantee.

This week was a stopgap. I made some money but now I need to knuckle down and get back to work on all my projects. I’m falling behind. Again. There just isn’t enough time.