Hump Day Hiatus

Wednesday March 25th, 2009 - Lake Villa, IL

Sometimes there’s a Wednesday night show at Zanies in St. Charles but this wasn’t one of them. This is my only night off this week and in these times that’s a welcome situation. Work is good and I’ve been getting all kinds of it lately. I will take it all and be thankful.

This is my peak and I have no idea how long it will last so I am taking all the work I can get, but in the best venues I can find. This week I’m at Pheasant Run Zanies which is very familiar and comfortable to me. I love the room the manager Cyndi is a total sweetheart.

Next week I’m in Kansas City and there’s a new location of the club I work and I heard it’s really nice. I’ve worked Kansas City a few times and I like that place too. After that’s over I come back to do Zanies on Wells Street in Chicago and then I go to Laughlin, NV and Las Vegas for back to back weeks. The pay is decent and I’m working places I like.

This is all I ever asked for and I’m thrilled to be doing it. I’m going to use these gigs to keep working on my act in every way. I will polish up new material and keep working on my next 4 ½ minute TV set every night. I will also work on getting my marketing up to an acceptable level for a nationally touring headliner which is what I want to legitimately be.

I had yet another lunch with Marc Schultz today and that’s exactly what we discussed at length the whole time. He’s always been in my corner but I asked him how I can take it to another level and really make a run at the big money. Marc books all kinds of acts besides comedians and he said a lot of it starts with a promo package and that starts with a video.

It doesn’t usually work that way in comedy clubs but Marc has always told me that isn’t where the real money is in this business. I agree with that 100%. The real money comes in getting the big company bookings at their convention or yearly awards dinner or whatever they do that uses entertainment. Those are the gigs that have a check with a comma in it.

I want to at least be considered for those kinds of shows and if I don’t put myself out in front of the people who book them I’ll never get my chance. Marc has been doing his best to include me in his presentations anytime comedy is being bought but I need lots of other bookers around the country to know me too. That will take as much effort as performing.

I also need to renew my ties with all the club bookers as well. I’m still very behind on it and there is absolutely no excuse other than I’ve been too busy working to look for work. I’m fortunate enough that a certain amount of people seek me out but that’s not the route to real success. I’m surviving and my needs are met but I want to do more than just that.

I want to keep making my dreams come true. I love the excitement of achieving a goal like getting on national television. Most people dream of it and I did too but I played the game and I really made it happen. Why stop there? I want to keep cranking out products that my fans enjoy and I want to make more fans to enjoy my products. I want to do it all correctly and not cheat myself or anyone else in the process. I’ve got a lot of work to do.