Our first Craigslist posting.

I was on Craigslist today posting for some job opportunities and I saw this:

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/tlg/80579559.html

How neat is that?

Well, it's neat to me.....

Stand up for diversity

We are hosting a show tonight for NBC/Universal called "Stand-up for Diversity." It is a program designed to find nontraditional talent which may be underrepresented on network television.

The people from NBC have been terrific to work with.

For those of you who don't know, I started my comedy career at the old Comedy Act Theatre in midtown Atlanta. The Comedy Act was a comedy club that billed itself as "Atlanta's Premier Black Comedy Club." The interesting part of this story is that I had decided to become a comedian earlier that day. It never occurred to me that a business, never mind a comedy club, would choose to focus on one particular market in that way. Shows you what I know.

What I am always a little uncomfortable with is the idea that there needs to be a specific identification with any particular group identity in order for the material to be funny.

Does that make any sense?

Regardless of my ability to make sense this should be a great show, it's also being hosted by Don Curry.

An Elephant in Pajamas...

AFI came out with their list of the TOP 100 Movie Quotes and if you ever thought people were passionate about the best third baseman of all time, wait 'til you start talking movie quotes.

I don't have the inclination to note that Jerry Maguire gets two mentions before you have a true comedy film mentioned - "Animal Crackers." Some might suggest that is a little serendipitous that our logo draws a little inspiration from something so notable.

Father's Day....

Happy Father's Day to all of you out there with children. For whatever reason I am always able to remember that old slogan - "Anyone can be a dad, but it takes a man to be a father." I would guess that is what they wanted.

Bring your favorite dad out to the club on Sunday. We've got a great show for him with Chelsea, Speanburg, and Daniel Tosh.

Tosh has really been great to watch this week. I was told by someone earlier this week that he might take the Mitch Hedberg spot in the grand scheme of things, but I would disagree with that assessment for now. I think that Tosh will definitely continue to develop a following.

Showcase Shoot Out.....

We are going to relaunch some of what we do on Wednesday nights.

We are going to have a cash award that goes to the winning showcase comedian on Wednesday nights.

As we flesh this out, start polishing your material.

Sapphire Valley

I did a gig last night at Sapphire Valley with Chris Kauffman.

It is an interesting little gig in the mountains of North Carolina. The ride was beautiful if not a little treacherous on the way back.

I know that not ever comic is willing to work in a room that is partially filled with children, or in a room in which the lights are not really turned off and no food and drink are served. Nonetheless this was a pretty cool crowd.

At the club we had our fundraiser for Outward Bound. The event went very well, and all had a good time I am told.

Sunday Night - Chris Tucker Guest Set....

Good night tonight. Darren Sanders stopped by to tape a set for submission to BET and then Chris Tucker came out to do some time.

Chris was extremely gracious and very professional. The crowd really seemed to engage with him.

We talked about having him back for a full week, or perhaps some Sunday night regular gigs.

We'll see what happens.....

Playing Catch Up

We've been without our DSL all week at the club, which has gotten me out of my regular blogging schedule.

So here I am. Jeff Justice did his thing with his graduating class on Monday and then Al Ernst and the Carnival Crew took over the club for two days while they explored who in the Atlanta Comedy Scene was ready to work the ships. There was a great deal of interest from comedians and the finals was just simply quality comedy.

Ron White closed our shows on Thursday and both on Friday. He is just so huge right now. Funny as ever.

Jim Gossett, Al Ernsst and I round things out for this weekend. Tonight's shows were pretty strong with some great crowds.

Real Grassroots Outreach....

I spent a little time today speaking with some of our customers who came to see Tom Rhodes the last time he was in town. I really enjoyed it. I was trying to get a sense of whether or not we are able to make contact with our guests in a way that allows for the timely communication of information.

I was pleased to learn that there was a great deal of uniformity in the expressed happiness with how we execute at the club. I was not as pleased to learn how many of the people who came to see Tom last summer didn't know that he was back in town this weekend.

I will have to continue thinking about tweaking our outreach methods.

I am always open to hear your comments about the way or ways we reach out to our guests.

Generalists or Specialists?

I saw this quote surfing around on some blogs:

“We are in an age that assumes the narrowing trends of specialization to be logical, natural, and desirable. Consequently, society expects all earnestly responsible communication to be crisply brief. Advancing science has now discovered that all the known cases of biological extinction have been caused by overspecialization, whose concentration of only selected genes sacrifices general adaptability. Thus the specialist’s brief for pinpointing brevity is dubious. In the meantime, humanity has been deprived of comprehensive understanding. Specialization has bred feelings of isolation, futility, and confusion in individuals. It has also resulted in the individual’s leaving responsibility for thinking and social action to others. Specialization breeds biases that ultimately aggregate as international and ideological discord, which, in turn, leads to war.” - Buckminster Fuller, “Synergetics”

Now I suppose that one might not obviously see the connection to stand up comedy in this quote, but I did.

From time to time I find myself in conversation with a fellow comedian and the talk turns to whether or not it is the comedian's responsibility to go to the audience or should the audience go to the comedian. It is my personal belief that it is always the responsibility of the comedian to find where the audience is an entertain there. This is not simply the result of some blind adherence to the "customer is always right" mentality, though that is part of it. A professional performer should be able to modify, even if only minimally, the presentation of their material in such a way that the main goal, laughter, can be accomplished. In this way, I think the comedians who have the ability to be generalists have an advantage over comedians who are specialists.

What is interesting is the fact that it seems that if in fact more people are becoming specialists in that we read only what we want to read and watch or listen to only those things which reinforce those things we believe - it makes us less of the generalist a comedian would prefer us all to be.

Making A Pitch or A Call To Action.....

I have debated doing this, but in the end felt that I should go ahead and go for it.

As many of you know I host a program with George Stein on 640 WGST here in Atlanta, which now is known as Braves Radio 640GST.

The station is in the middle of a search for a new host or host team to fill the slot from 9 to Noon. George and I are being considered, but I think our time is growing short and the station may have already reached a decision.

I believe that if given the opportuntity we could succeed, but I am also willing to accept the station going in a different direction because George and I really enjoy our spot on Saturday nights as well. All of the candidates currently under consideration would be a strong addition to our programming.

If you have ever listened to our show and like what we do, go here to cast your vote who should be the next host, as in "I haven't heard him yet." Maybe George and I will get the opportunity to try out in the time slot. Let GST hear your opinion.