well i'm a little late on this one. at least that gave me a little more time for me to think about what i want to write. and something actually happened the last couple of nights that i'd like to write about.
of course, this blog will include me talking about comedy. but before i get to that i just wanted to mention how cool it was to have my friend joseph visit from the US and show him and his wife around. they got along pretty well with my friends and my girlfriend. and we even went to a place i've never been before, temple of 10,000 buddas. what a long walk up that hill! after the first few hundred i was like "ok. i get it. there are a lot of buddas." but they just kept on going. i don't know what the point of that is.
anyway it was fun being host.
as for the shows this weekend, they were interesting to say the least. first off, on friday i tore it up. i killed the audience and that was fun. it's nice to go up with the kind of confidence when you know you can deliver. at least i thought it was until last night, which was the exact opposite from the show where i could do no wrong. saturday night i hosted and to say the audience loved me would definitely be a lie. they kind of hated me, but in a really good way. i don't really know how to explain it but i think ryan put it best when he said that i was the guy "they loved to hate." and its true. they weren't really laughing at my jokes, or anywhere i wanted them to laugh. but they seemed to love it when i made fun of myself not being funny. they ate that up! and then as soon as i'd get down every comedians first joke got a great response! never felt that before. i don't hate the feeling, don't get me wrong. it's just not the goal in your head when you're goin up to perform.
that said, i did the hosts job. the comedians looked good, and the show was held together. i felt like i was the only one pattin myself on the back for a while until a couple people pointed that out. one audience member even made a point of telling me that i did a great job. i don't think she was just talking crap either because she went out of her way to tell me that. taught me that you can't always judge and audience by their laughs.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
important lesson in dating
if you treat your girlfriend more important than you're friends, make sure she knows it. that's my lesson from yesterday. i mean i thought that's what i was doing for the past two weeks. nope! i was way off! and sometimes the problems can all boil down to the words you choose.
"ok babe I'm gonnna go see my friends now."
"why do you put them ahead of me?"
"i don't. i just haven't seen them in two years."
"whabout me?"t a
"i see you a lot. we live together." (this is a very bad thing to say. expect something bad from her now)
"maybe we shouldn't live together."
At that point consider your night over. Either you'll blow up and call out the threat or try to get really, really comforting to make her feel better.
It's tough. It really is. Every guy wants to be a nice guy ( well most) but there is always the inner battle between that and the guy who doesn't get pushed around. You never know where to draw the line.
I guess the toughest thing i've had to learn about the whole relationship thing is the compromise. you just can't win every battle. and i'll admit i'm usually never the first one to give up in any disagreement. that's not really a good thing because i'll contradict anybody about anything, even the dumbest, minute deal. that attitude really helps in comedy, but freakin sucks for girlfriends.
"ok babe I'm gonnna go see my friends now."
"why do you put them ahead of me?"
"i don't. i just haven't seen them in two years."
"whabout me?"t a
"i see you a lot. we live together." (this is a very bad thing to say. expect something bad from her now)
"maybe we shouldn't live together."
At that point consider your night over. Either you'll blow up and call out the threat or try to get really, really comforting to make her feel better.
It's tough. It really is. Every guy wants to be a nice guy ( well most) but there is always the inner battle between that and the guy who doesn't get pushed around. You never know where to draw the line.
I guess the toughest thing i've had to learn about the whole relationship thing is the compromise. you just can't win every battle. and i'll admit i'm usually never the first one to give up in any disagreement. that's not really a good thing because i'll contradict anybody about anything, even the dumbest, minute deal. that attitude really helps in comedy, but freakin sucks for girlfriends.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Right on time
Here I am writing a blog after 10 days just like i said i would. Maybe it's not that hard after all. 10 doesn't come around too quickly and leaves just enough time for stuff to happen that can write about.
Anyway today's post comes from San Francisco where I'll be for another two weeks. I was really looking forward to come out here for a number of reasons like visiting family & friend, and showing my girlfriend around my hometown.
But one thing I was really looking forward to do was perform some comedy out here and I did that last night a cool little place called the Clubhouse (clubhousecomedy.com). This place is the comedy club extension of the San Francisco Comedy College. I was suprised by how nice it was. With a nice big stage and capacity to hold up to 180 audience members I can tell this place is great to perform.
Probably the coolest part of being on the show was being able to perform with some real talent in the comedy world. Two of my favorite comics named Reggie Steele and Kevin Avery were there and I was kind of in awe that we were sharing the same stage. When talking to them I have to remind myself to act normal and gush over how awesome their skills are.
As for my set I was pretty happy with it. It was short as hell but I didn't want to risk going over on my first time at that club. And as for the audience I give them an "A." They had that infectious lingering laugh that I like a lot, really helps me relax.
Now that last night's show is over I'll probably only perform at open mics the rest of the time I'm here. That's not the best but it's a hell of a lot better than doing nothing. And I'll at least be able to meet some other comics in the San Francisco scene.
Also I'll need to keep on top of my writing while I'm here. In Hong Kong it's easy because it's part of my regular routine. But while I'm on vacation I'll need to make a special note of it because I have no schedule here to keep me on track.
Anyway today's post comes from San Francisco where I'll be for another two weeks. I was really looking forward to come out here for a number of reasons like visiting family & friend, and showing my girlfriend around my hometown.
But one thing I was really looking forward to do was perform some comedy out here and I did that last night a cool little place called the Clubhouse (clubhousecomedy.com). This place is the comedy club extension of the San Francisco Comedy College. I was suprised by how nice it was. With a nice big stage and capacity to hold up to 180 audience members I can tell this place is great to perform.
Probably the coolest part of being on the show was being able to perform with some real talent in the comedy world. Two of my favorite comics named Reggie Steele and Kevin Avery were there and I was kind of in awe that we were sharing the same stage. When talking to them I have to remind myself to act normal and gush over how awesome their skills are.
As for my set I was pretty happy with it. It was short as hell but I didn't want to risk going over on my first time at that club. And as for the audience I give them an "A." They had that infectious lingering laugh that I like a lot, really helps me relax.
Now that last night's show is over I'll probably only perform at open mics the rest of the time I'm here. That's not the best but it's a hell of a lot better than doing nothing. And I'll at least be able to meet some other comics in the San Francisco scene.
Also I'll need to keep on top of my writing while I'm here. In Hong Kong it's easy because it's part of my regular routine. But while I'm on vacation I'll need to make a special note of it because I have no schedule here to keep me on track.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
getting a bit serious
Ok. I have to be honest and admit that I’ve have been very bad about keeping up this blog. There is only one thing to do about that. Get serious with it. I usually read a blog by a friend named Vivek Mahbubani (It’s easy to spell his name. I don’t know why many people have a problem with it) If there is anything I’ve learned from him it’s to wear deodorant. The other thing I guess I’ve learned from him is to make a plan and stick to it. For example he does a blog entry every 10 days so I think I’ll try something like that myself. So starting today, that’ll be my new rule (I’m actually scared that I won’t follow this one. Wait and find out!)
I do feel a little self-conscience about writing this blog, although I probably shouldn’t because nobody is reading it anyway. If you are then please leave a comment so that I know that you were here. And as long as your doing that you might as well tell me what you liked didn’t like about my blog. Believe it or not I’d like to improve this a lot so that I actually get some readers.
Why do I want a blog you ask? You probably didn’t do that but I’ll answer since I’m rudely assuming you did. Well I want a blog because I’d like to do some regular writing that can be viewed by the public.
“But Chris” you say, “Why the hell would you want to do that?” Well I’d actually like to be a professional comedian someday and I think one good thing to help with my popularity would be to keep a blog that is updated all the time.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not putting everything into comedy. I think that for the next few years I’ll be fine just doing my regular teaching job while performing stand up on the side. Regardless, it would be a good idea to get started in the habits of what a comedian should be doing. Such as regular joke writing (30min a day for me), as much stage time as possible, and trying to build a name for yourself (blogs help).
In the meantime though I’m just concentrating on having fun with comedy. I don’t want to lose the love I have for it. Cuz then what’s the point?
I do feel a little self-conscience about writing this blog, although I probably shouldn’t because nobody is reading it anyway. If you are then please leave a comment so that I know that you were here. And as long as your doing that you might as well tell me what you liked didn’t like about my blog. Believe it or not I’d like to improve this a lot so that I actually get some readers.
Why do I want a blog you ask? You probably didn’t do that but I’ll answer since I’m rudely assuming you did. Well I want a blog because I’d like to do some regular writing that can be viewed by the public.
“But Chris” you say, “Why the hell would you want to do that?” Well I’d actually like to be a professional comedian someday and I think one good thing to help with my popularity would be to keep a blog that is updated all the time.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not putting everything into comedy. I think that for the next few years I’ll be fine just doing my regular teaching job while performing stand up on the side. Regardless, it would be a good idea to get started in the habits of what a comedian should be doing. Such as regular joke writing (30min a day for me), as much stage time as possible, and trying to build a name for yourself (blogs help).
In the meantime though I’m just concentrating on having fun with comedy. I don’t want to lose the love I have for it. Cuz then what’s the point?
Friday, July 11, 2008
1 year and counting
well, i've been doing stand up comedy for one year now and i feel pretty good being up on stage now. when i first started i felt so stupid. i hated everything. my jokes, the way i acted the, audience. no i never hated the audience, but i really hate it when they don't laugh. especially if it was a joke that worked for the last 20 times in a row. when that happens i want to tell them that the jokes funny- that they just don't know it and that's their problems not mine. but obviously you can't say that and you just have to smile and move on to the next one. it's kind of weird how when a joke bombs and you just move on. after a while that becomes so easy because you're basically used to getting embarassed so after a while you don't feel bad about it.
take the last gig i did. i did 5 minutes of english for a mostly non-speaking english crowd. i knew they weren't going to understand let alone laugh. but i did the 5 minutes anyway, and some people did laugh and that really made my day. anyway the point i'm trying to make it don't do drugs. unless you can afford it. cuz it sucks to be in debt.
take the last gig i did. i did 5 minutes of english for a mostly non-speaking english crowd. i knew they weren't going to understand let alone laugh. but i did the 5 minutes anyway, and some people did laugh and that really made my day. anyway the point i'm trying to make it don't do drugs. unless you can afford it. cuz it sucks to be in debt.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
opening for paul ogata
last saturday i opened for paul ogata. i haven't had that much fun doing a set in a looooooong time. it only lasted for eight minutes but wow, the audience was great!
comedy seems like a roller coaster though and that week was definitely a good one. i was able to write a bunch of new stuff that all worked and it felt great. but then this week came and made me realize that comedy is extremely hard and sometimes you're not so lucky. that feeling came to me when i was trying out new stuff at open mic a couple of days ago. now i know open mics are completely different than a regular audience, but it always sucks when you don't get laughs. still trying to get used to that after a year of doing comedy. i guess it will take a while longer.
the thing that got me most about the open mic was this guy just staring at me from the third row. i'm used to it if there are people in the audience that aren't laughing, but this guy looked downright angry! i felt like my jokes were pissing him off! his face was stern and he was frowning. at the same time he had his leg folded on his chair with his arms wrapped around it. so that made him look even more uncomfortable. i wish i could tell him to relax.
this reminded me that audiences have no idea how much they actually contribute to making a quality show. if a show is good or bad i think a lot of that boils down to the audience. but they don't know that, and we can't tell them. so we have to do the best we can to make it a good one. tough job
comedy seems like a roller coaster though and that week was definitely a good one. i was able to write a bunch of new stuff that all worked and it felt great. but then this week came and made me realize that comedy is extremely hard and sometimes you're not so lucky. that feeling came to me when i was trying out new stuff at open mic a couple of days ago. now i know open mics are completely different than a regular audience, but it always sucks when you don't get laughs. still trying to get used to that after a year of doing comedy. i guess it will take a while longer.
the thing that got me most about the open mic was this guy just staring at me from the third row. i'm used to it if there are people in the audience that aren't laughing, but this guy looked downright angry! i felt like my jokes were pissing him off! his face was stern and he was frowning. at the same time he had his leg folded on his chair with his arms wrapped around it. so that made him look even more uncomfortable. i wish i could tell him to relax.
this reminded me that audiences have no idea how much they actually contribute to making a quality show. if a show is good or bad i think a lot of that boils down to the audience. but they don't know that, and we can't tell them. so we have to do the best we can to make it a good one. tough job
Monday, January 14, 2008
Shaq can stop bullets
carlos mencia is a big name in stand up. but his name has been tainted somewhat since he's been accused of stealing material from various comics. that's why when i read his contribution to the book i killed: true stories of the road from america's top comics, i couldn't decide what to think of it's credibility. read it for yourself and decide
Carlos Mencia
Shaq can stop bullets
Around 1996, Freddie Soto was on the Comedy Store stage and some black guys were making fun of him, heckling him bad. I really liked Freddie. He was young, but you culd see he had something. I walked up onstage in the middle of his act, looked at the hecklers, and said, "Listen, he's and amateur-it's amateur night. Be nice. I'll be up here in about three minutes, fuck with me." I left the stage, Freddie finished, and the emcee introduced me.
As I walked to the mike, one of the black guys yelled out, "What are you gonna do? Some of your taco-bender jokes?"
I said, "No, actually I'm gonna do some nigger jokes."
He said, "Whut?!!"
I told him,, "Hey, you can't get racial on me and think that I'm not gonna get racial on you. I'm not fucking white, I'm from the ghetto, so if this is what you fuckin' want, let's fuckin do it."
The audience went with me, so i started picking on them.
It turned out that the hecklers were Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and the D.O.C., who had lost his voice in a car crash. He was one of my favorite artists, so i knew all of his music. He tried overpowering me, but I had the mike and he had this raspy little frog voice. I told him, "SO why'd you stop rappin'? You should have used a voice box." I started singing all of his songs as if I had a voice box. I put the mike to my throat and did one of his songs-I think it's called "Torture of a Masterpice." I had the beat and the words down, and the audience was just going fucking nuts.
Then I hear, "I'm gonna bust a cap in your fuckin' ass," and it was real. It' didn't sound funny, it didn't sound like we were kidding, ha-ha. It sounded like, "we're gonna fuckin' shoot you."
I started to get scared, and then from the other side of the room I heard a deep voice: "Naw, you ain't, bitch. You started that shit, view it." I looked over, and there was just this mass of darkness. It was just getting bigger and bigger and bigger. When I finally got to focus, I realized it was Shaq, who then told them to shut the fuck up.
I sort of crept over to Shaq's side of the stage. I wasn't stupid enough to nail the guys anymore. I just did a couple of quick ha-ha jokes and it was time for "Thank you and good night."
Like five years later, Dr. Dre was at The Comedy Store. He came up to me and said, "You're incredible. You're one of the funniest guys out there. I also want to apologize because we were gonna shoot you that night. If Shaq hadn't stepped in, you were gonna get shot."
I didn't know what to say. The man complimented me, but then said Shaq was the only thing that had kept me from getting shot onstage.
That's when I realized that jokes can be some powerful shit. Not as pwerful as Shaq, but enough to get your ass shot.
Maybe it's true, maybe it's not. But it sure is one damn good story.
Carlos Mencia
Shaq can stop bullets
Around 1996, Freddie Soto was on the Comedy Store stage and some black guys were making fun of him, heckling him bad. I really liked Freddie. He was young, but you culd see he had something. I walked up onstage in the middle of his act, looked at the hecklers, and said, "Listen, he's and amateur-it's amateur night. Be nice. I'll be up here in about three minutes, fuck with me." I left the stage, Freddie finished, and the emcee introduced me.
As I walked to the mike, one of the black guys yelled out, "What are you gonna do? Some of your taco-bender jokes?"
I said, "No, actually I'm gonna do some nigger jokes."
He said, "Whut?!!"
I told him,, "Hey, you can't get racial on me and think that I'm not gonna get racial on you. I'm not fucking white, I'm from the ghetto, so if this is what you fuckin' want, let's fuckin do it."
The audience went with me, so i started picking on them.
It turned out that the hecklers were Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and the D.O.C., who had lost his voice in a car crash. He was one of my favorite artists, so i knew all of his music. He tried overpowering me, but I had the mike and he had this raspy little frog voice. I told him, "SO why'd you stop rappin'? You should have used a voice box." I started singing all of his songs as if I had a voice box. I put the mike to my throat and did one of his songs-I think it's called "Torture of a Masterpice." I had the beat and the words down, and the audience was just going fucking nuts.
Then I hear, "I'm gonna bust a cap in your fuckin' ass," and it was real. It' didn't sound funny, it didn't sound like we were kidding, ha-ha. It sounded like, "we're gonna fuckin' shoot you."
I started to get scared, and then from the other side of the room I heard a deep voice: "Naw, you ain't, bitch. You started that shit, view it." I looked over, and there was just this mass of darkness. It was just getting bigger and bigger and bigger. When I finally got to focus, I realized it was Shaq, who then told them to shut the fuck up.
I sort of crept over to Shaq's side of the stage. I wasn't stupid enough to nail the guys anymore. I just did a couple of quick ha-ha jokes and it was time for "Thank you and good night."
Like five years later, Dr. Dre was at The Comedy Store. He came up to me and said, "You're incredible. You're one of the funniest guys out there. I also want to apologize because we were gonna shoot you that night. If Shaq hadn't stepped in, you were gonna get shot."
I didn't know what to say. The man complimented me, but then said Shaq was the only thing that had kept me from getting shot onstage.
That's when I realized that jokes can be some powerful shit. Not as pwerful as Shaq, but enough to get your ass shot.
Maybe it's true, maybe it's not. But it sure is one damn good story.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
a little about comedy
Excerpts from Comic Insights by Franklyn Ajaye
It's pretty rare to get some good insight about standup so below I've listed some that's held a lot of sway with me. These quotes are snippets of interviews conducted by Franklyn Ajaye who then compiled them to create his book about comedy.
Jerry Seinfeld
In regards to writing or performing, Jerry Seinfeld is known for his persistence. Here he gives and example of how he approaches writing.
How long do you try to write or sit?
I say, "I'm going to sit for an hour." I always consider sitting the accomplishment. If I could boil it down to the essence of becoming a really fine comedian, it's just getting your ass from upright to seated."
Now some of you might not be impressed with the idea of sitting for an hour and writing. But keep in mind that this is joke writing we're talking about, not some birthday card or anything like that. If you've never written a joke before or even if you have, sitting for an hour to write something funny and original is one of the most difficult things out there. Give it a try.
My favorite quote from Jerry Seinfeld is about why he likes the idea of being funny.
It's fun to be funny. It's great to be funny. It's as much fun to be funny as it is to have someone be funny for you. Being on either side of that equation is just the most wonderful thing in life.
I love that quote.
It's pretty rare to get some good insight about standup so below I've listed some that's held a lot of sway with me. These quotes are snippets of interviews conducted by Franklyn Ajaye who then compiled them to create his book about comedy.
Jerry Seinfeld
In regards to writing or performing, Jerry Seinfeld is known for his persistence. Here he gives and example of how he approaches writing.
How long do you try to write or sit?
I say, "I'm going to sit for an hour." I always consider sitting the accomplishment. If I could boil it down to the essence of becoming a really fine comedian, it's just getting your ass from upright to seated."
Now some of you might not be impressed with the idea of sitting for an hour and writing. But keep in mind that this is joke writing we're talking about, not some birthday card or anything like that. If you've never written a joke before or even if you have, sitting for an hour to write something funny and original is one of the most difficult things out there. Give it a try.
My favorite quote from Jerry Seinfeld is about why he likes the idea of being funny.
It's fun to be funny. It's great to be funny. It's as much fun to be funny as it is to have someone be funny for you. Being on either side of that equation is just the most wonderful thing in life.
I love that quote.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
first post of the new year
how many times have you seen people write it's been a long time since my last post. i gotta get more serious about this blog. and my donkey has the flu.
You haven't seen that? Really? What if i took out the donkey part? Yeah that's better. Well it has been a long time since my last one. And i guess there haven't been too many changes. Still doing stand up which is going pretty strong at this point. Now by strong I'm not saying i'm hilarious. No no no. I'm just saying that I'm starting to feel confidant that I can get onstage and not bomb. I bomb from time to time. But it is infrequent enough for me not to get all upset and emotional. I won't freak out and end up in the bathtub with a toaster over my head and plunge it into the water only to be miraculously saved because the power cut off just in time last night. on another note i'm late with the electric bill.
You haven't seen that? Really? What if i took out the donkey part? Yeah that's better. Well it has been a long time since my last one. And i guess there haven't been too many changes. Still doing stand up which is going pretty strong at this point. Now by strong I'm not saying i'm hilarious. No no no. I'm just saying that I'm starting to feel confidant that I can get onstage and not bomb. I bomb from time to time. But it is infrequent enough for me not to get all upset and emotional. I won't freak out and end up in the bathtub with a toaster over my head and plunge it into the water only to be miraculously saved because the power cut off just in time last night. on another note i'm late with the electric bill.
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