Saturday, October 30, 2004

Working Pit Row...

If you are a comic trying to get booked at the Punchline you have tried at one time to talk to Kathe. She is the gatekeeper for all things talent related.

She also reportedly has a thing for Dale, Jr. Now in an effort for full disclosure she also has an 8X10 of Donald Rumsfeld by her desk - so if you are looking for dates and want to schmooze her you might consider sending a glossy of Cheney.

Needless to say, it may just be coincidence that she took Jon Reep to the Atlanta Motor Speedway for his media appearances.

I'd like to say thank you to 96Rock and Kicks 101.5 for having Jon on. Thank you as well on behalf of Jon to the station in Chattanooga who also had him on.


Thursday Night Parties...

I want to say thank you to the three groups that had their events at the club last night.

To the doctor celebrating her birthday - thank you.

To the insurance broker treating her top producers - thank you.

To my peers in the Atlanta Council of Younger Lawyers meeting for happy hour and a show - thank you.

I hope you enjoyed visiting with us as much as we enjoyed having you.

Friday, October 29, 2004

Where were we?

It's been a pretty hectic couple of days....

First, congratulations to the Boston Red Sox for a dominating performance. I also want to congratulate them on not totally screwing up our ticket sales for the weekend. I could see it so clearly, game 7 and a great comedy show not getting the attention it deserves....

Second, if you are in town for the race this weekend - you really need to make the time to come and see Jon Reep. You will recognize him as the "Dodge Hemi Guy." I would suggest that those people who like Anthony Clark will really enjoy Reep. High energy, enthusiastic, and side-splittingly funny.

Third, if you are away at the world's largest cocktail party, you'll have plenty of time to get home (win or lose) and come out to the show. Who needs to trick or treat?

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Gift Certificates.....

I have been getting a lot of calls lately about our Punchline gift cards. I suppose that this means that people are starting to draw names for the office "Secret Santa" - if your company still calls it that.

I am really glad that people are thinking that we are such a good gift or stocking stuffer.

In case you are curious about our gift cards, each card can be charged in any amount and can be used toward a ticket purchase or food and beverage. Each can also be recharged for use a second and third time.

Send us an email or call the club to get yours.


Jon Reep on Rodney tonight......

You've got take the opportunity to check out Jon Reep tonight on Rodney at 9:30pm on your ABC affiliate (Channel 2 for those of us in Atlanta).

We are happy that Jon is experiencing continued success. The ticket sales for this weekend are moving along pretty quickly, so consider getting yours now.


Monday, October 25, 2004

Monday Morning Quarterback.....

Another great weekend is in the books. We weathered the brief loss of our exhaust fan (turns out the belt failed).

I did refrain from making any bad hypnosis puns, as it really isn't all that Ricky does. However, it would have been nice if Ricky, or any hypnotist for that matter would make a quick little joke about how everybody in attendance now will think of The Punchline when we hear the jingle........

Monday Night Just For Laughs Showcase

Tonight is a great night to see some terrific comedians.

Alice Jankowski is our host.

The roster for tonight is as follows: Eric Hunter, Mike Speanburg, Stewart Huff, Keith Alberstadt, Pat Dixon, Will Marfori, Scott Kalvi, Jason Kanter, Karl Rimi, James Sibley, Tom Pecora, Jeremy Pierce.

This will be a really fun show. Not only will it be fun, it is a terrific value. We have departed from our regular policies and procedures and are allowing guests 21 and older in for free.


Sunday, October 24, 2004

Sunday Night Just For Laughs Showcase List....

Host - Sherman Golden

Showcase Comedians: Pat Brown, Henry Welch, Special K, Ray Grant, Zooman, Doo Doo Brown, Diesel, Nica Russell.

Ricky Kalmon set to follow.

Just for Laughs...not a palooza's worth.

Laffapalooza is in town this weekend and while I hope it was a success under the theory that successful comedy events help all comedy clubs, I am admittedly a little disappointed that we aren't involved in it.

Maybe next year.

Tonight is our showcase for Just for Laughs. A couple of the showcase comedians performed as part of laffapalooza.


Friday, October 22, 2004

Four Questions (Rotary Club Related)

I did a gig tonight for the Chattahoochee Rotary Club.

Since this was my first Rotary meeting, I did not know that four questions are asked at the beginning of every meeting.

It cause me to realized belonging to Rotary is a lot like being a comedian, at least to the extent that we too ask four questions before taking any gig.

1) Am I available?
2) Who I am working with?
3) How far away is it?
4) How does it pay?

In any event, it was a nice event. It was originally scheduled for during Hurricane Ivan, but was moved. President-elect Jeffe Herrick was a pleasure to work with. I wish this newly formed chapter continued success.

How I got in the pizza business......

I learned tonight that the people who come to the club roll with the punches when given the chance.

After Ricky and I finally made it to CSS, Eric (the kitchen manager) called to tell me that the exhaust fan in the kitchen wasn't working properly. He'd called the emergency number on the side of the hood, but no response as of yet.

It is a little difficult to run a kitchen without an exhaust fan, primarily because kitchen exhaust doesn't mix well with comedy.

We opted to order pizzas and serve our non-exhaust producing menu. And that is how I got in the pizza business.

A special thank you to our team tonight for adapting and adjusting on the fly.

The kitchen will be up and running at full bore tomorrow, and the fan will be up and sucking.

As it turns out, the fact that your exhaust fan isn't working doesn't quite qualify as an emergency to the numerous businesses that cater to the 24 hour exhaust fan emergency niche.

I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you....

On the way to CSS tonight with Ricky (thanks to the whole Comcast team by the way), we got stopped for making a right hand turn the wrong way.

The officer who was so kind as to explain to me the error of my ways asked me if I would prefer a ticket or to get my as* chewed out. Needless to say I didn't get a ticket......

How weird is that?

What is an "X-Rated" Show?

Every so often we book an act who will offer a show that pushes the boundries of their regular fans.

This week for example, Ricky does an "X" show at 11 on Saturday. This doesn't mean that there are people taking off their clothes or doing other graphic things....it just means that when under he takes them to a place that is a little more suggestive and a little more outrageous.....

Watch Ricky Kalmon on CSS tonight...

That's Comcast Sportsnight program for those of you who aren't regular CSS watchers.

It's their version of Best #$@ Sports Show....

In any event, it is rebroadcast a number of times tonight, so if you don't catch it at 6, you can catch it later....

Thursday, October 21, 2004

So close and yet so far...and a simple thank you.

Atlanta Magazine has come out with the ranking of the top 40 Power Players in Atlanta. It turns out that I was 43rd*.

That wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that it comes right on the heels of being 45th* on the list of 40 under 40 in Georgia Trend.

Neither really sooths given it has been three consecutive years at 68th* on the People Magazine list of the 50 Most Beautiful People.

In point of fact, I want to say thank you on behalf of all of us here at The Punchline for the support we received in winning each of our categories in the recent "Best of" issue of Creative Loafing. We are honored to be recognized by both the critics and the readers as "Best Comedy Club" and "Best Place to Hear Stand Up." Occasionally you hear people comment that awards don't mean much. That isn't our perspective. Each time we are recognized by our customers and the community for doing something right we take it very much to heart. We really appreciate it.

*To my knowledge, I have never even been nominated as a "power player", one of the "40 under 40", or a "beautiful person", so I do not suspect that I placed 43rd, 45th, or 68th respectively.

The Punchline Neighborhood Comedy Series.....

We are excited to be launching a new program in the next several weeks called "The Punchline Neighborhood Comedy Series." This program will be a great opportunity for establishments in communities more remote from other entertainment venues to add comedy to the type of events that are offered by that establishment.

It has been our experience that when done properly, comedy is can be a nice change of pace for a place. Unfortunately, these nights are too often not executed in a way that leads to long term success, and probably harms comedy in the long run. You get fly-by night or out-of-state bookers and talent that isn't well suited to the gig. Our program changes that equation in several significant ways.

If you would like additional details about how your establishment can participate in this program, please contact us at comedy at punchline.com and put Neighborhood Comedy Series in the subject line. Participation in this program is limited and certain restrictions do apply.

We'll keep you updated on the progress of this program as it develops.

A note of introduction.....

It occurred to me that I should probably take a moment and welcome our visitors to the new and improved Punchline website and blog.

As many of our regular visitors know, the old website was a little bit dated. After what seemed to be a brutally long process, we were finally able to switch to what you see now. It is our hope that you will give us feedback regarding what new features you like and which parts don't do it for you.

We will continue tweaking over the next several weeks, and it is our intention to reach a point where we are a regular part of your day. We're working on bringing you interviews with our comedians, streaming video, a regular newletter, and links to what is happening in the world of comedy. Feel free to liberally forward a link to our site.

Thank you for visiting and we hope to see you again soon at the club.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Ricky Kalmon starts tonight.....

There is every indication that this will be a real busy week for us here. I am watching the stage crew load in the risers that Ricky uses so that the audience can view the people who are hyponotized more readily.

Hopefully you'll consider coming out to a show this week, especially if you've not seen a hyponotist before.

Also appearing with Ricky are Jeremy Pierce and Wynn Reichert. Both are talented comedians and an excellent compliment to Ricky's show.....

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Ricky Kalmon on Good Day Atlanta

Our headliner this week, Ricky Kalmon, will be on Good Day Atlanta Wednesday morning. We think his segment will air around 8 or 8:30 in the morning.

Ricky is a top notch hypnotist. Check him out if your interested in seeing what the fuss is about.

I'll refrain from "you are getting sleepy" references......for now.

Big Gig at Rich's

Special thanks tonight to Keith Alberstadt, Alice Jankowski, and Special K. for helping make the comedy portion of the "Fashion is No Joke" event at Rich's, or "Rich's-Macy's" as some call it.

I participated as well, and we all got some new fall clothing as a result of our participation. Comedy is clearly not meant for the catwalk. Well, maybe that's overstating it, but we comics are not used to having a runaway to work with.

I was wearing Claiborne. Thank you for asking.

The event was really a great deal of fun and it was enjoyed by an attentive crowd. Tom Sullivan from Star94 hosted.

Thank you to Kyla and the gang for including The Punchline.

Monday, October 18, 2004

Monday Morning Quarterback

Pretty good weekend.

"The Punchline Presents:" put on a great show at the Coca-Cola Roxy with Tammy Pescatelli and John Heffron. It's too bad that John didn't get to take a real victory lap after winning Last Comic Standing: The Second Season (I'm not sure that's what it was called -ed.). Nonetheless, the concert was a real demonstration of why both Tammy and John should have a bring future in comedy.

At the club, Tim O'Rourke headlined. Tim has long been a favorite of Punchline audiences and this weekend again proved why. In a little change of plans, I took him around to media on Thursday and Friday. We spent a good deal of time talking about how people respond to "SpongeBob SquarePants". Tim is a writer for the show and really offers a wealth of information about how that part of the business works. Ray Grant and Greg Lausch rounded out the show and I did a guest set during the late show Saturday. I want to say thank you to Tim , Ray and Greg for a successful weekend.

Congratulations to Alonzo....

Alonzo won "Last Comic Standing: Battle of the Best" (My title for this season, not NBC's - ed.). While we could be counted among those who weren't exactly certain that rushing another season out made a great deal of sense, we think that all of the comedians who participated in season three demonstrated true professionalism.

We hope that Alonzo is able to enjoy his victory. I suspect that his travels will bring to Atlanta. Maybe someday we will see him here at The Punchline.