Tag: jokes

Great Comedians You Probably Haven’t Heard Of Week: Day One

I’m trying a thing to see if people like this sort of idea, and the thing is called “Great Comedians You Probably Haven’t Heard Of Week.”

I tried to make the title as straightforward as possible so that I don’t have to waste this paragraph explaining what I’m gonna do. You get it!

Some notes, though:

  • If you know about comedy, you might have heard some of these names before. If you don’t then you probably haven’t.
  • I chose comics that weren’t too unknown (all have been on tv) because it’s better that way.
  • I’m mostly sticking to NYC comedians. Why? I’ve seen more of them. It makes it more personal! (fake enthusiasm)

Day One: Michelle Wolf

I remember hearing about Michelle Wolf about a year ago and didn’t really know much about her. Well, she’s all over New York City and if you don’t know who she is then you’re crazy! (sorry) A few months ago, I saw her at Hot Soup, one of the best free stand up shows in the city. And she absolutely killed. She’s a lot of fun and her voice is pretty wacky.

She got her break performing at the Just For Laughs festival a few years back and she’s worked as a writer on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Why Are You All Trying To Be Ghosts?

Not everybody thinks I’m funny.

When people boo me on stage, I’m just like, “Why are you all trying to be ghosts? Why are all these ghosts at my comedy show? This must be my demographic.”

They’re all like, “Booooo…Boooooo!” Shut up, ghosts. You’re dead. Because I killed you with my comedy. Because I’m so funny. I’m killing it up here.

Who Invented Stand Up Comedy?

Someone on twitter asked about the origins of stand up comedy, and I realized I didn’t know as much about it as I probably should. Which lead me to this article that explains all of it pretty interestingly.

Didn’t know about this “The Humor Code” on Slate, but some of the other entries about humor are pretty fascinating too.

Gentleman And A Scholar

People are always complimenting guys saying, “He’s a gentleman and a scholar.”

Those are two things I’ve never wanted to be.

If I want to compliment someone, I say, “He’s a pimp and he runs a charity.”

That way, you can’t even be jealous of him. All you can say is, “He’s a great guy…he deserves all those hoes.”

Music Open Mics In NYC

I found this little ditty about going to your first music open mic in NYC. I just looked up the meaning of ditty, and it’s “a short little song.” Sorry for my inaccuracy; it’s an article, not a song. I could have just deleted what I wrote and then I wouldn’t have been wrong, but you know what? I like it this way. I feel more transparent. You can see how the cheese is being made.

Shit. It’s sausage isn’t it? I meant sausage. You know what? There’s no reason why I can’t make cheese AND sausage. They go very well together.

Well, this has some tips about going to open mics in NYC and it’s interesting. The ideas about “bombing” and meeting people are very similar to comedy. It also reminds me about how one of my friends always goes to these music open mics in the city and does comedy at them. He says they’re a very different, more engaged crowd and they can be pretty fun. I went to one once and I pulled to go 24th. Everyone got 10 minutes of stage time. Seeing as how I didn’t want to stick around a small bar exclusively filled with musicians for 230 minutes, I decided to leave. But, it makes me want to check out a better music mic, try it out, and see how good they are for comedy. Maybe I’ll write about that.

p.s. I love the picture I found for this post

 

Glibert Gottfried Quote on P.C.

A comedian friend posted this quote on Facebook. I couldn’t find the source, so who knows if Gottfried actually said it. Either way, I think the quote is pretty funny.

“I think standup comedy these days should come with instructions for people that’s all…if u think it’s funny laugh, if u don’t don’t laugh.” – Gilbert Gottfried

How To Look Like A Serial Killer

My room used to be all white with totally white walls, all white furniture, and white bed sheets. And I just recently realized that that is not normal.

So I called up my friend on the phone who is a photographer and I said, “Hey, why don’t you send me a picture so that I can put it up on my wall.”

So he sends me the picture, and I open it up and see that what he sent me is this giant print of…what looks like an empty, white room.

The only thing creepier than having a totally white room with all white walls and white furniture is having a totally white room with all white walls and white furniture, where the only thing on the wall is a picture of an empty white room.

Trying to seem less serial-killer-y, I decided to pin up my comedy notecards on the wall, too. Not that weird, right? After organizing them, I realized that all of the notecards are white as well. And they have the names of all my jokes on them. And the more you look, the weirder they sound, especially because you’d have no way of knowing why I wrote the phrases on these notecards without asking me.

“Make someone care about you?”

“Shower Ritual”

“Bill Cosby Cover”

“I think State Farm is there”

Normal people do not write these things on their wall.

I also acquired a new mattress. Not knowing what to do with my old one, I shoved it against the inner wall of my closet, thinking “Oh wow, I bet this would totally sound-proof the closet.”

Stop! Stop being a serial killer! How does being boring make me so creepy?! An all white room, one artsy photo, joke notecards, and a mattress are just boring things!

Maybe I should just embrace my inner serial killer and buy some tarps and an axe in preparation for my American Psycho-esque meltdown. The only problem is that I have no idea where they would sell axes in New York City.

You know, it really doesn’t make sense how having a really white room makes you seem crazy. It would just be way harder to clean when you do axe-murder someone. Just saying.

 

Sometimes when I don’t want to use a silly photo I found on the interwebs, I use my own pictures of NYC venues as a feature image. Greenwich Village Comedy club is in the heart of the West Village on Macdougal Street, just down the street from the Comedy Cellar. It’s where I’ve had my worst set: a grueling five minutes of complete silence. So it holds a special place in my heart. 

Randy Liedtke On Conan

Once in a while I’ll look to share a cool stand up set from a comic I find cool or interesting. This is one of those times. Right, now. It’s happening, people!

This set that Randy Liedtke did on Conan was not your typical late night set, which I think makes it really cool. For part of it, he grabs his iPad and plays his “audiobook.”

Not your typical stuff. Check it out! Liedtke recently recorded his Comedy Central album. You can learn more about Liedtke here.

The Worst Jim Gaffigan Ever Bombed

I remember my worst time quite, quite clearly. It was a five-minute set in the darkest, quietest room I’ve ever been in. It was horrible for me, and I don’t even mind bombing that much.

It’s refreshing to hear big time comics talk about their worst bombs, because it’s humanizing. They weren’t always awesome all the time.

Here’s a little video of Jim Gaffigan talking about his worst bomb, I believe was filmed right before he went on The Tonight Show. I actually don’t really consider his story a “bomb,” even though that’s how he sells it, since he saved it and the audience was fine. But hey, maybe Gaffigan never bombs.