Nashville Politics

Wednesday October 22nd, 2008 - Nashville, TN

Back in Nashville to play both Zanies and politics this week. The Zanies here is run by Brian Dorfman who I know from Chicago. He used to run the club in Vernon Hills before moving here around ten years ago. It was a risk at the time but it’s paid off for him nicely.

More than nicely. Brian has gotten himself into a position of power and influence in the comedy business. He booked the Bob and Tom comedy tours from the start and talks with Tom on a weekly basis. He has transformed this place from a comedy club to a venue and every single week there’s some big name from TV or movies or Bob and Tom headlining.

That’s why I can’t. He doesn’t waste time with no name headliners and that’s how it is. If I want to work here I have to take the opener slot and do a two act show with someone and it’s painfully obvious how unimportant I really am. But the pay is good and I need the cash so when Brian called and asked me to work this week I swallowed my pride. Gulp.

This is a test. I can feel it. Brian has come a long way since he started and is now one of the players in the game. He knows everyone and hangs with everyone and everyone likes him. He’s a likeable guy but I like him for who he is, not because he can help my career.

Brian Dorfman is a master politician. He plays the comedy game well and he’s made his name which in turn has made him money too. I’m thrilled for him but I don’t think he has helped me as much as he could have. Part of that is because his perception of me is one of being a loose cannon. I guess that’s partially true at times but I‘m also a very solid act too.

We’ve talked quite candidly in the past of why I’m not where I want to be in the game. I don’t have a very high tolerance for idiots and unfortunately show business is loaded with them. I want to do my show and go home. Period. I don’t want to drink or shmooze or get high with the staff or hit all the nightclubs after the show. But that‘s not playing the game.

My big test in the past was the Bob and Tom appearance with two live shows afterward. They were in smaller towns but the pay was great and I know I would have torn everyone a new one had I had the chance. Then my little incident went down and it was all a blur.

No matter if the whole thing was BS (and I still think it was) it doesn’t matter. They are still pissed about it and Brian and I talked about it tonight. He said he heard the show that day and I said the wrong thing on the wrong day and it hurt me. I failed that politics test.

I didn’t want to jump on him because he was the one who put me in a position to have a shot at getting on that tour. IF it would have gone differently I would probably be on their A-list tour by now raking in big bank. Instead I’m here opening the show to pay my rent.

I’ve resisted coming back here because opening is very humiliating to me at this point. I am a strong headliner and it’s taken a lifetime to earn those stripes but closing the show at some barn dance in Topeka is not going to get me seen by anyone who can make me rich.

Being around Brian and his connections has a chance to put me in touch with somebody who can actually advance my career. I think it’s probably the only way I’ll ever mend that broken fence with Bob and Tom too. Brian could go to bat for me if he really wanted to.

I don’t think he will right now though and that’s part of the reason I’m here this week. It is his way of seeing how my mindset is right now. If he thinks I’ve matured and am where he thinks I should be attitude wise he just might put my name out there and try to help me not only with Bob and Tom but with other people too. He’s got his finger in a lot of pies.

I really do like Brian as a person and whether he gets anything for me or not isn’t going to change that but I can just feel him feeling me out. We visited for a while tonight and he is always busy with ten projects but he asked me some questions that I felt were all tests.

If Brian Dorfman thinks I am a good bet to make money and won’t make him look bad I bet things will start popping very soon. He knows places I don’t that need people who are able to do the job and I know I can do it onstage and off. I can write and perform and if an opportunity comes I know I won’t blow it. The problem is that Brian isn’t sure of that yet.

Liking someone and going to bat for them are two different things. Jerry Agar said that I wouldn’t be on his radio show if I couldn’t do the job no matter how much he likes me. It makes perfect sense. The same holds true with Brian Dorfman. I know he likes me but he is also in business and has to be smart. If he feels he can’t trust me I’ll never get his help.

This week is an opportunity for me to at least help begin that process. I might not make him change his mind 100% but if I can have a solid week and not complain and just do an outstanding job without incident that will go a long way toward getting another chance at a Bob and Tom tour or something else that would haul me out of my financial quicksand.

Tonight I opened for John Valby aka ‘Dr. Dirty’. He’s one of Brian’s favorite acts and I opened for him back in Vernon Hills many years ago. He’s a piano player with the dirtiest songs around but in a bar crowd it’s very popular. He’s also a wonderfully nice man and I always like sharing time with gentle people. After the show he told me how funny I was.

I got to visit with Brian and Dr. D for a while and another comedian Todd Link came to hang out with us too. We had fun and some laughs and it was low pressure and I played it exactly how I needed to. It wasn’t forced and I genuinely enjoyed hanging with everyone.

The rest of the week will be a bigger test. I’m opening for David Alan Grier. He’s really hot right now with a new show on Comedy Central and is all over My Space as the comic of the month or whatever they call it. He’s getting a lot of face time right now and is a big deal to a lot of people. He hasn’t worked here before and Brian said he doesn’t know him.

Tomorrow will be the big test. He could be a sweetheart or he could be Satan. I will just do what I do and see where it goes. Hopefully we can hook up and stay in contact but I’ve always been shy about stuff like that in the past. That has to change. Struggling isn’t fun.