In 1982, I started doing stand up comedy at open mics in the Bay Area at places like Cobb's in San Francisco, The Last Laugh in San Jose and other little venues from Santa Rosa to Morgan Hill and everywhere in between.
I remember a weekly open mic at a place called Emerson's in Palo Alto where the Stanford students and locals enjoyed heckling all the comics relentlessly. I also recall emceeing a show one evening in San Jose when a huge fight broke out with one comic and a crowd of young jocks from San Jose State that ended with all of them grappling on the floor in a puddle of cheap beer.
Ahh, the memories.
I remember a weekly open mic at a place called Emerson's in Palo Alto where the Stanford students and locals enjoyed heckling all the comics relentlessly. I also recall emceeing a show one evening in San Jose when a huge fight broke out with one comic and a crowd of young jocks from San Jose State that ended with all of them grappling on the floor in a puddle of cheap beer.
Ahh, the memories.
I was inspired by some of the best--George Carlin, Richard Pryor (the best comic of all time, hands down) and the Smothers Brothers, just to name a few.
The stand up scene in the eighties was amazing and I got to see a lot of up-and-coming comics like Dana Carvey, Kevin Pollock, Will Durst, Larry "Bubbles" Brown, Rob Schneider, Bob Rubin, Brian Copeland, Tree, Steven Pearl and many more.
At that time, there were 3-4 comedy clubs in San Francisco that did open mic nights and comedy showcases, so you could get on stage. Sometimes it was at 1 a.m., but if you hung in there, you could at least perform for the other 5-6 comics still in the room.
Now, with a series of significant events happening in my life, I feel compelled to get back on stage. I've always believed that I could do this and make people laugh, but it's the hardest thing in the world I've ever tried to do.
But, now I am almost 60, and to honest, I don't really care whether I bomb or kill. Maybe now that I literally have nothing to lose, I will be funnier than ever. They say pain and tragedy brings out the sense of humor in some people, so I am going to find out.
I will write a blog here about my experience, including video clips, art and more on a regular basis. Follow my journey to success or failure, because either way I think it will be at least entertaining.
My last set 8 years ago shortly after I had a stroke and lost more than 100 lbs.
