Tuesday July 6th, 2010 - St. Charles, IL Another outstanding comedy class session at Zanies tonight, this time in St. Charles, IL at Pheasant Run Resort. This was the last week of this particular series, and all the people in it were extra sharp students. They’d either missed a class or two in the past or wanted a chance to get back into it, and I offered it at no cost just to create some goodwill business. I love teaching anyway, especially to students who want to soak it all up like I did when I was starting out. I brought Bill Gorgo with me and together we always have fun and are able to feed off each other’s creative energy and teaching vibe. We make a splendid team. Performing comedy is still my biggest thrill, but teaching is running a close second. It’s extremely satisfying to be able to help someone live a dream, but also a challenge to earn someone’s trust and have a person buy in to what I’m trying to teach. It never gets boring. Every person is different and that makes every class different, and that keeps it fresh on a teaching level. Some students are better than others, but this group had some top quality people who wanted to learn. Even though I did it for free, it was worth the weekly drive. Eric Hedman is an example of a top flight student. He’s a couple of years younger than me, and a fireman in one of the Chicago suburbs. He’s married with kids, and being a dad is the basis of his stage persona. He was in a previous class session and his act grew every single week. He was hungry to learn, took to heart what I said and it sped up his progress. He came back again and did the same thing. Bill and I were pummeling him pretty good but that’s exactly what he needed to hear. Kudos to him for standing on stage and taking a verbal beating from two different sides of the stage. That’s how to really get better. Fast. Eric gets out in the open mike scene in Chicago and sees how it is. He loves comedy on a level higher than most people, but also has a family to support. I think there are so many Eric Hedman types in North America, I couldn’t begin to count them all. I’d love to have the chance to let them all come out of their shells and grow in a good way like Eric has. Younger people are fine too, but someone older has life experiences to build upon and a completely different way of putting their comedy together. It’s fun to watch them grow up as performers, and in many cases it adds excitement to their entire life. What a thrill to be part of something like that, and an honor too. In my mind, that’s the way to spend a life. Bill is winding down his real life teaching career, and would love to do more events like this. I would too. We’ve got a comedy writing one day full seminar coming up on August 1st, at a place to be determined. The guy promoting it hasn’t chosen a final destination yet. He will, and we’ll show up ready to teach. That’s never the hard part. The hard part is to find people to fill the seats. We’re starting to do that too, even though it’s not taking place fast enough. It never does. All I can do is keep growing as a teacher and see where it goes.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Magnificent Monday
Monday July 5th, 2010 - Kenosha, WI/Chicago, IL
Back to the kind of Monday schedule I love. Most people hate Mondays, but when mine are like this it’s my favorite day of the week. It’s jam packed with things I love to do, and I get to hang around quality people who are of a like mindset. Who wouldn’t enjoy that?
First it was lunch in Kenosha, WI with Mark Gumbinger’s regular lunch group. Mark is the movie director I worked with in ‘Dead Air’, and he has a regular lunch scheduled at a Chinese buffet for all who can attend. My friend Lou Rugani from WLIP played the main character in the film and he’s a regular along with Mark’s brother Mike. It’s a fun group.
They’ve taken me in their circle of friends and I’m glad to be included. We enjoy each other’s company and laugh a lot, and the food is reasonably priced too. I ate right and was a good boy at the buffet. Lots of vegetables and salad and melon for dessert. Lots of water too. It’s getting easier and easier to eat better, mainly because I want to make it happen.
Tonight it was back to Zanies in Chicago for a double dose of comedy class and hosting the Rising Star Showcase show. Both were absolutely stellar, and that kind of energy will keep me going all week. This is how every day should go, and it’s a great way to start any week. Being around creative people gets my own vibe flowing and it’s a win/win for all.
This was an especially good class, according to Bill Gorgo who taught it. The members were a little older, and had more life experience which is always good. They got their four weeks of lessons as promised, but I like to give bonus classes whenever I can and this was one of them. Since I was going to be there anyway, I wanted to have a session with them.
We talked about the big picture of comedy and some people asked questions and I had a few guests sit in like I usually do. I like to offer people a chance to sample the class as it’s the best commercial I could possibly do. They get to feel the energy that flows when class starts hopping and we had a great one today. Bill and I and the students totally hit stride.
The same rang true with the Rising Star Showcase. WOW, what an audience. It was one of the best I’ve seen in a long time, and it was packed all the way to the back of the room. Maybe it was the weather, and people wanted to escape the heat. Zanies is air conditioned and it was comfortable in there all night. Whatever the case, this was a super hot crowd.
My job is easy when it’s like this. All I really had to do was say ‘That was’ and ‘This is’ and sit back and watch them laugh. It’s not always like that, but when it is it’s a night off. Nobody heckled. Nobody left early. I wish these people would all follow me on the road, or at least tell their friends. They had the vibe all audiences should have. It was a blast.
Nights like this give me hope. I love being in class and feeling that energy and to follow it right up with the high of a hot crowd is a combo platter I could handle every night. In a perfect world, I’d be able to do it every night - not just Mondays. I feel productive and on point with my life’s purpose. I wish every day was like this, but I’ll settle for Mondays.
A Ship Comes In
Sunday July 4th, 2010 - Kenosha, WI It’s only been four days, but I‘m starting to feel noticeably better about myself on every level. I’m not going to get cocky, but I am pleased I made it even this far. I’m making the daily decisions I should have been making decades ago, but took until now to finally do. Even if I do manage to stretch this out into weeks, months or even years, I still blew all kinds of opportunities to have been a lot farther along than I am now, and I have to forget about that and focus on whatever time is left. That’s SO not easy to do though. It’s almost impossible not to imagine what could have been had I been on a path like this years ago. Had I had this kind of focus when I was 30 or even 35, who knows where I could have ended up? I should have all kinds of CD and DVD projects finished and movie scripts in the can and all kinds of other creative and entrepreneurial stuff that’s paying me off now. Instead, here I sit with my education, trying to salvage at least a little scrap from all the wreckage that I can hopefully use to build into some kind of makeshift shelter to keep me protected from any more storms that may decide to come my way. I didn’t expect to be in this situation this far into the game. I thought for sure I’d have it al figured out by now. I received word today I’m going to get my trial run on a cruise ship. They want to send me out in a couple of weeks for four days. I’m not sure where I’m going, but it’s a chance to prove myself to this particular cruise line. Allegedly, they’re looking for regular acts. The pay is decent, and I know I’ll nail this. Much of it requires that I work clean for one 30 minute set and the other I can do pretty much whatever I want. They also might want a five minute teaser set at the top of the run to attract passengers to one of my two shows. I know how to work clean and still get laughs, so that won’t be an issue. What might be a slight concern is if they want to send me out all the time. Am I ready for life on a boat? I won’t know until I try it. Maybe. Maybe not. I’ve heard all kinds of stories about how it is and it’s not for everyone but neither is comedy itself, and I’ve lasted in that for 25 years. This is a very big step that I need to think through before I make any commitments. It’s a career milestone that could either be an answer to my problems or the cause of a whole lot more, like radio was. I wasn’t prepared before I dove head first into that cesspool, and I’m still paying for it all these years later. This is different. I’m a lot more seasoned now. I’m sure these decisions are much easier for an outsider looking in, but from where I’m sitting, it isn’t so cut and dried at all. There are options on each side and I have no idea of what the correct choices are. Had I known years ago, I’d have made a lot better choices. I guess it’s all part of the learning process, but that knowledge doesn’t come cheaply. It sucks valuable time out of the prime of life, and by the time whatever wisdom that comes from it my grandmother’s old saying rings true. “Too soon old, too late smart.” SO true.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
A Sixty Minute Success
Saturday July 3rd, 2010 - Chicago, IL/Dyer, IN Jerry Agar called and asked if I wanted to be on the air with him today as he had a shift on the radio. We weren’t able to do a Kidders show because Ken Sevara’s voice is acting up and Tim Slagle was preparing for his yearly 4th of July weekend party he likes to host. Any time I have a chance to spend an hour on WGN radio in Chicago, I take it. That’s a monster station, and it’s always worth being on it because of the exposure to hundreds of thousands of people all over the Midwest I’d likely never get in front of any other way. That truly is a broadcast, going out all over the place to all different types of people. It’s an opportunity to do a sixty minute commercial for myself I’d never be able to pay for, so that’s a chance I had to take. I know I have projects going, but this was worth my time. Jerry decided it would be a good topic to talk about traveling America for the 4th of July week so he picked the right person to kick it off. I bet I’ve seen more of the United States than 99.999% of anyone other than truck drivers or hitch hikers. I’ve spent my entire life on the road, and seen all four corners of the continent and most every crevice in between. We had a fun segment, and it lit up the phones. That’s the great thing about a big station like that, virtually ANY subject will light up the phones because it relates to someone that happens to have a radio on. We didn’t need phones though, Jerry and I know what to do. We used to go off on stuff like this all the time when we first met twenty years ago back at AM 1480 WFXW, the tiny station he worked at in St. Charles, IL. That station isn’t on the air anymore, but we sure had fun while it was. We knew nobody was listening, but we still tried to do entertaining radio anyway. We used to dream of being on WGN someday. Neither one of us are rich or famous on a large scale, but we sure did live our dreams of being on WGN. Had someone told either one of us twenty years ago we’d achieve that, it probably would have blown our minds right out of our ear. I enjoyed every minute of our time on the air today, even if it wasn’t exactly the way we thought it would be. It was fun. Jerry has to be back in Toronto and I am doing what I’m doing, but for an hour we were exactly where we dreamed of twenty years ago. Yes, the Kidders were and are a blast, but this is what we both wanted back then - the two of us bantering back and forth on WGN. Jerry had to be on the air until 9pm, but I left and went to Tim Slagle’s house in Indiana for his yearly blowing up of mass quantities of legal fireworks. Ken Sevara also came out with his wife Lori and Jerry showed up after his shift. We had a Kidders reunion anyway. We all know we could probably be doing better, but we could all be doing worse too. It was great to be together as a group, and we enjoyed blowing up all the heavy artillery Tim bought. Good times with good friends are never a bad investment. I spent this day well.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Alone On The Throne
Friday July 2nd, 2010 - Lake Villa, IL Boy, am I getting old. I had all I could handle to crawl out of the rack this morning after one little lap in the mall yesterday, and I was ashamed of myself. I did some stretching for a while before I walked, but still - my wiry nimble body of youth is gone. Rest in peace. I didn’t have much time to dwell on my shame because I had to get to the bathroom in a hurry. I started a two week inner colon cleanse yesterday and those fiber pills don’t waste any time. I woke up and knew immediately I hadn’t been cheated. That stuff went through me like a Canadian quarter in a vending machine, and I thought it was going to get ugly. It’s only about a dozen steps from my bed to the toilet, but I really didn’t think I’d make it. I felt cramps in places I’ve never felt them before, and walking made them worse. I had to really concentrate on taking every single step, and also on not laughing too hysterically. That could have lost it too. I don’t know if I’d have laughed afterward, but thankfully it wasn’t an issue. I made it, barely, but somehow I knew I’m doing the right thing here. Not just with taking some fiber pills, but with my life in general. I really feel I’ve got the right vibe, and good things are going to start happening soon. I don’t know why, but I feel that. I’ve felt it before, and I admit I’ve gotten away from it somehow. If I knew why, I guess I wouldn’t be in the situation I am. But that’s life - ups and downs, and how we all handle them. Timing is everything too. Can we have an up time and parlay it into even more? I’ll bet that’s totally true, and I hope to find out. I want to experience the best life has to offer. I thought about that as I sat on the toilet, wondering if I’d have to call either a plumber or an ambulance. Or both. What IS the best life has to offer, and how can I get it? What’s my true heart’s desire? Does anybody know their own answer? I’d bet not all that many. I want to be a servant. I want to be a mentor. I want to be a world class creative genius. I want to be challenged to the fullest of my abilities. I want to be an encourager of people and their dreams. I want to be a great friend, lover, partner, husband, father and provider. I want to work every single day of my life doing exactly what I love. I want to be in the best of health physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally. I want to help others find a way to heal their dented can past, as I’m working on healing my own. And I want peace. Maybe I won’t achieve any of it, but that’s what I want. I sure didn’t expect to be jarred awake by erupting bowels to cause me to think about it, but I was. And I did. And I put in a good day of work today trying to keep the positive momentum going. I went back to the mall for another lap, and felt each step of it. I ate very well and also drank a lot of water. Two days of this is not enough. I’ve done it before. It’s turning that into weeks and then months and then years. THAT’S what true success is, at least in my eyes. A nice chunk of money would be nice, and a special woman too. I’m preparing myself now to get all that.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Hot Fudge Hiatus
Thursday July 1st, 2010 - Stevens Point, WI
Here we go with the second half of 2010. Nobody works New Year’s Day, but I wanted to start laying a foundation for everything I want to get done in the next three months and then the next three months after that. Without a tight battle plan, all of this will fall apart.
The first thing on the docket is exercise. No matter what I do career wise, in a nutshell I need to move more and eat less. Period. And, I need to eat different things that don’t taste as good as what I’ve been eating, but won’t make a permanent home in my aorta or lower colon. Fruits, vegetables and water, get used to your new customer. Please be good to me.
I started it all off with an apple, and washed it down with a bottled water. I tried hard to imagine it as an Egg McMuffin and a Pepsi, but it didn’t work. It was an apple and water, but it felt good that I was consciously choosing to have that rather than what tastes good.
I also went back to the Gurnee Mills Mall for my first of hopefully many daily walking assignments. I like it there. The atmosphere is positive and there’s a lot of room to stretch out and lose myself in deep thought as I reflect on life. Nobody ever bothers me in there.
After my walk I went to meet up with Jerry Agar at a hotdog joint that’s about halfway between where each of us live. He’s back from Toronto for the week and we hadn’t seen each other in a while so we hung out and talked about each of our situations. I ordered the chopped salad, and Jerry laughed because we both love their chili dogs. But not today.
Jerry and his daughter Kaelin had hot fudge sundaes, and I ordered a bottled water to go with my salad. I’ve had lots of sundaes and I was fine with it, but they both raised a brow when I passed on one. I used to think life was short and to be enjoyed to the fullest. It may be true, but at this point that sundae would help to make my life shorter. Time for a break.
I then drove up to Stevens Point, WI to see my cousin Leah and her husband Rob. Their daughter Janine has been asking me to come up and visit and today was the day. I told her I was going to be busy for the next few months, so we made time to hang out for a dinner at the Golden Corral. Again, I had lots of vegetables and a water and didn’t go nuts at all.
I know it’s only one day, but I see how it works. It’s not all that hard, but it does take an effort and some discipline to choose to eat the right things, even when the other stuff is all over the place in plain site. I’ve had years of going nuts with it, now it’s time to taper off.
All the way up and back I planned and tweaked and thought of what I need to do to with these next three months. My priority is getting the ‘Schlitz Happened!’ show up and ready for October 1st at The Schauer Center in Hartford, WI. That’s the main point of my focus.
I also have Uranus Factory Outlet, comedy classes and my comedy career itself to get to as well. That’s a whole lot of projects, and any one could take my focus for three months. This is no easy task, but I took it on willingly. No excuses. Day trip over. Back to work.
Here we go with the second half of 2010. Nobody works New Year’s Day, but I wanted to start laying a foundation for everything I want to get done in the next three months and then the next three months after that. Without a tight battle plan, all of this will fall apart.
The first thing on the docket is exercise. No matter what I do career wise, in a nutshell I need to move more and eat less. Period. And, I need to eat different things that don’t taste as good as what I’ve been eating, but won’t make a permanent home in my aorta or lower colon. Fruits, vegetables and water, get used to your new customer. Please be good to me.
I started it all off with an apple, and washed it down with a bottled water. I tried hard to imagine it as an Egg McMuffin and a Pepsi, but it didn’t work. It was an apple and water, but it felt good that I was consciously choosing to have that rather than what tastes good.
I also went back to the Gurnee Mills Mall for my first of hopefully many daily walking assignments. I like it there. The atmosphere is positive and there’s a lot of room to stretch out and lose myself in deep thought as I reflect on life. Nobody ever bothers me in there.
After my walk I went to meet up with Jerry Agar at a hotdog joint that’s about halfway between where each of us live. He’s back from Toronto for the week and we hadn’t seen each other in a while so we hung out and talked about each of our situations. I ordered the chopped salad, and Jerry laughed because we both love their chili dogs. But not today.
Jerry and his daughter Kaelin had hot fudge sundaes, and I ordered a bottled water to go with my salad. I’ve had lots of sundaes and I was fine with it, but they both raised a brow when I passed on one. I used to think life was short and to be enjoyed to the fullest. It may be true, but at this point that sundae would help to make my life shorter. Time for a break.
I then drove up to Stevens Point, WI to see my cousin Leah and her husband Rob. Their daughter Janine has been asking me to come up and visit and today was the day. I told her I was going to be busy for the next few months, so we made time to hang out for a dinner at the Golden Corral. Again, I had lots of vegetables and a water and didn’t go nuts at all.
I know it’s only one day, but I see how it works. It’s not all that hard, but it does take an effort and some discipline to choose to eat the right things, even when the other stuff is all over the place in plain site. I’ve had years of going nuts with it, now it’s time to taper off.
All the way up and back I planned and tweaked and thought of what I need to do to with these next three months. My priority is getting the ‘Schlitz Happened!’ show up and ready for October 1st at The Schauer Center in Hartford, WI. That’s the main point of my focus.
I also have Uranus Factory Outlet, comedy classes and my comedy career itself to get to as well. That’s a whole lot of projects, and any one could take my focus for three months. This is no easy task, but I took it on willingly. No excuses. Day trip over. Back to work.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Halfway Home
Wednesday June 30th, 2010 - Kenosha, WI
2010 is half way gone. Wow. I feel like life is passing me by, and I’m not able to take it all in. I’m on the big clock and it’s ticking faster and faster. I can chose to march with the rest of the ants, or veer off and take my own path. Either way will end in eventual death.
That being the case, why not veer off and go my own way? I’ve never fit in with the rest of the ants anyway, so why would I start now? Maybe I’ll find a new group of ants I could fit in with better, or maybe be the only ant in a group of something else. Either way, it’s a total race against time no matter what I do, so I need to pick something and give it a shot.
I could beat myself up about what I didn’t get done, but what would that prove? On the positive side, I did get a new CD out and it’s getting very good reviews from all kinds of sources. Larry Wilde, a guy who spent his life studying comedy wrote a flattering email.
He called Hard Luck Jollies “the best self depreciating humor since Jack Benny.” Larry wrote the book “The Great Comedians Talk About Comedy” and interviewed most of the very top names in comedy in the 20th century. A compliment like that coming from him is as high as it gets, especially since I didn’t ask for it. I had no idea he’d even listened to it.
That’s a big plus for the first half of this year. I’m sure I’ll get a lot more mileage out of it for the foreseeable future, and it’s DONE. It frees me up to do other projects, and that’s my focus for the next three months. I intend to work feverishly for the next 90 days to get myself prepared for the big debut of ‘Schlitz Happened!’ in Harford, WI on October 1st.
I want to be really ready for that night on many levels. I want the show to be razor sharp and funny, but I want to be in an exercise and good health groove too. Three months is an eternity, and if I can exercise and eat better I bet I’ll feel like a million bucks by October.
I’d also like to have as many products as I can finish ready to go by then. If I do it right, I’ll have a nice little publicity buzz and get some attention from people who haven’t seen or heard of me before. I need to have something to sell, because I know they’ll enjoy what I’m doing on stage. I’ve already seen it, but wasn’t ready. This is a 90 day total makeover.
I think deadlines are good, and I’m putting one on myself effective immediately. I have a 90 day window to get myself as ready as I can for a gigantic night of fun at the Schauer Center in Hartford, WI on Friday October 1st. I’m vividly visualizing it in my mind‘s eye.
I’m going to give that audience my best show ever. They’re going to love it. I’ll be in a positive groove and all the years of sacrifice will come together to make that night one to remember forever. I’ll be on top of my game, and everything will come off as expected.
I don’t think I’ve ever thought about any one show this far out, but I know I can do this and I won’t be happy unless I give my absolute best effort. I want to EARN it all the way. Let’s see how closely to my vision I can pull this off. I have a goal and I’m on a mission.
2010 is half way gone. Wow. I feel like life is passing me by, and I’m not able to take it all in. I’m on the big clock and it’s ticking faster and faster. I can chose to march with the rest of the ants, or veer off and take my own path. Either way will end in eventual death.
That being the case, why not veer off and go my own way? I’ve never fit in with the rest of the ants anyway, so why would I start now? Maybe I’ll find a new group of ants I could fit in with better, or maybe be the only ant in a group of something else. Either way, it’s a total race against time no matter what I do, so I need to pick something and give it a shot.
I could beat myself up about what I didn’t get done, but what would that prove? On the positive side, I did get a new CD out and it’s getting very good reviews from all kinds of sources. Larry Wilde, a guy who spent his life studying comedy wrote a flattering email.
He called Hard Luck Jollies “the best self depreciating humor since Jack Benny.” Larry wrote the book “The Great Comedians Talk About Comedy” and interviewed most of the very top names in comedy in the 20th century. A compliment like that coming from him is as high as it gets, especially since I didn’t ask for it. I had no idea he’d even listened to it.
That’s a big plus for the first half of this year. I’m sure I’ll get a lot more mileage out of it for the foreseeable future, and it’s DONE. It frees me up to do other projects, and that’s my focus for the next three months. I intend to work feverishly for the next 90 days to get myself prepared for the big debut of ‘Schlitz Happened!’ in Harford, WI on October 1st.
I want to be really ready for that night on many levels. I want the show to be razor sharp and funny, but I want to be in an exercise and good health groove too. Three months is an eternity, and if I can exercise and eat better I bet I’ll feel like a million bucks by October.
I’d also like to have as many products as I can finish ready to go by then. If I do it right, I’ll have a nice little publicity buzz and get some attention from people who haven’t seen or heard of me before. I need to have something to sell, because I know they’ll enjoy what I’m doing on stage. I’ve already seen it, but wasn’t ready. This is a 90 day total makeover.
I think deadlines are good, and I’m putting one on myself effective immediately. I have a 90 day window to get myself as ready as I can for a gigantic night of fun at the Schauer Center in Hartford, WI on Friday October 1st. I’m vividly visualizing it in my mind‘s eye.
I’m going to give that audience my best show ever. They’re going to love it. I’ll be in a positive groove and all the years of sacrifice will come together to make that night one to remember forever. I’ll be on top of my game, and everything will come off as expected.
I don’t think I’ve ever thought about any one show this far out, but I know I can do this and I won’t be happy unless I give my absolute best effort. I want to EARN it all the way. Let’s see how closely to my vision I can pull this off. I have a goal and I’m on a mission.
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