At 5PM PST tonight, our friend Kerri Pomarolli will be performing stand-up comedy in front of 1,800 wild church girls at the Gateway Church in Southlake, TX. Performing for this many people is actually nothing new for Kerri. She does it all the time. What is interesting about the show is that it will be streaming live on the internet at GatewayLive.
There are three takeaways from this:
1. Kerri Pomarolli is a genius for taking her clean, Christian comedy to remote locations where locals don’t get a ton of stand-up comedy. Genius. She went to the University of Michigan by the way…so that should tell you why she is so smart ; ).
2. Does anyone else find it bothersome that a church is more willing to spread laughter live on the internet than a comedy club? How is it they have the ability to get their act together and broadcast shows to the entire country and the Laugh Factory and the Improv can’t?
3. I’m not a church goer. But I respect the way they spread the gospel. The passion they have for it. It’s time people start spreading laughter in the same manner. We need to spread laughter to as many places and to as many people as possible. It’s good for the world.
Tune in to watch Kerri lay it down tonight at 5PM PST.
Apparently “The Hills” Holly Montag lost it on our buddy Chris Franjola the other night at the Laugh Factory. Check out the details over at Hollywire.
I didn’t even know there was a Holly Montag. I think its ridiculous that there is a Heidi Montag. Now we have to deal with this bitch too. People are insane! Needless to say Franjola is at his best in these situations.
Right after I talked with Lachlan Patterson last week, I talked with Josh McDermitt. Yeah…I doubled up on podcasts in one day. That’s what happens when you aren’t working. You have time to do more podcasts with comedians.
Josh is a really funny guy. I had a great time talking with him. Who knew he scored a radio gig at 16 in Phoenix by just calling into the show? Plus he reads and supports this blog which I appreciate. It’s always cool to know people are listening and reading.
It’s fun getting to know these folks away from the stage. I hope people are sending these podcast to their friends in “the biz”. Often times, you can get a better sense of who these performers are by just listening to them chat.
A few quick notes from Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge last night:
1. Matty Balaker’s writing continues to get better and better. He’s always topical and probably writes as much or more than any comedian out there. He only did 5 - 7 minutes last night but it was solid. Matty will be performing 15 minutes at my birthday show on the 18th at Red Rock, so I’m excited to see him do a longer set for the first time in a while. I know he has the goods.
2. Discovered 2 new comedians last night - Mark Daviau and Danny Bevins. I had not seen either. Mark was a funny dude. His joke about wearing a wig of an Italian artisan was very funny. I’ll get out to see him more. Danny Bevins had a tough set…not because his jokes were bad…but because the crowd seemed to deflate after Ari Shaffir got off stage. It’s a weird dynamic that happens at shows sometimes. Can’t really explain it. It must suck for a comedian. After the show, everyone said they really thought Bevins was a good comedian…but something happened to the crowd. Trying to make people laugh is rough sometimes.
3. Jacob Sirof really stood out to me. He has a lot of good jokes and solid presence on stage. You can tell the guy is a seasoned comedian. If you have a chance, get out and see this guy.
One last reminder…when you are at a live comedy show…and you are in the audience…keep your yapper shut. There was this douchebag in the front row that felt it was necessary to “assist” the comedians with their jokes. If you feel that urge…leave. You may be kinda funny at parties…but you are not a pro. You’re a dick. You might as well have a sign on that says, “I’m a douche.”
Before the Fourth of July, I had a chance to talk with Canadian comic Lachlan Patterson…while he was in Canada…on Canada Day. That’s the Canuck Trifecta if you’re playing at home.
Lachlan is an excellent comedian and a great writer. I’ve seen him perform 3 times and each time the entire crowd really laughed its ass off. He’s a cool, low key dude who gives it to you straight. I really enjoyed our talk. Hope you dig it too.
OK folks…busy week for me in the comedy world (and technically I’m not even in the comedy world…maybe one day). In addition to podcasts with Josh McDermitt and Lachlan Patterson and a video interview with Bill Lucas of CandorTV, I’m headed out to the following shows. Join me if you can:
Tuesday - June 30th
8:00PM
Ice House - Pasadena
FREE
Paul Ogata and several other comedians are filming a special for Comedy.TV. Byron Allen’s new network. Email Paul for free tickets: paulogata@yahoo.com. Or you can pay $14 at the door. Your choice. Actually, don’t be a douche…just email Paul for the tickets. If you missed Paul’s podcast…when he was locked out of his house…it’s here.
Wednesday - July 1st
8:00PM
UCB - Los Angeles
$5 The Birthday Boys and A Kiss from Daddy hit the stage for some sketch comedy. I definitely don’t see enough sketch comedy, so it’ll be cool to get out and see these two groups. They are both supposed to be awesome. Plus Neil Campbell is in A Kiss from Daddy…I interviewed him for the podcast here.
Thursday - July 2nd
8:00PM
Laugh Factory - Hollywood
FREE or $20
Ryan Sickler is performing at the Laugh Factory at Tom Arnold’s weekly show. Sickler kills and Tom is the man. Both did interviews for LCLA here and here. You can get in for free if you are currently without employment. Otherwise it’s $20. You’d almost rather be unemployed at that price. Why is their pricing so out of whack? Not Tom’s fault…or Sickler’s for that matter. Holla at Mr. Masada on that one. He owns the joint.
Anyway, that’s the lowdown on the showdown for the week. Join me if you can. Hit me up on Twitter and we’ll try to connect if you are going to be out and about: twitter.com/livecomedyla
I talked with L.A. comedian Paul Ogata this week for the podcast. Literally, right when I called, he got locked out of his house. But, like a pro, he powered through our chat. Paul is probably the most professional comedian I have met. From arriving early to shows, to his communication via email, to his website, he just knows what it means to conduct himself in a professional manner. He’s also flat out funny. There is a portion of the interview where Paul has to click over and talk to the locksmith and I am on by myself. Don’t leave…he comes back. I just talk to myself in the downtime. You do it too…don’t lie.
He will be taping a show at the Ice House next Tuesday, June 30th. If you want free tickets, email Paul at paulogata@yahoo.com or hit him up on Twitter - twitter.com/paulogata. Hope you enjoy the interview.
Whoa…look who has an exclusive clip before it hits Hulu. I know…slowly becoming a legit blog.
The good folks over at CandorTV shot me this clip of Chelsea Lately regular Jen Kirkman at her most recent performance at Stand-Up at Candor a few weeks ago. Love Jen Kirkman. Plus, I got a half a second of camera time. Check it.
If you haven’t experienced a stand-up comedy show in the middle of a Thai restaurant, I suggest going one time. Just once though. That’s all you’ll need.
I went to “What’s Up Tiger Lily” for the first time last night at its temporary location - Pattaya Thai Restaurant. Mostly, I went to see Dana Min Goodman because I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hear her say “Titties in the house!”, while elderly Thai folks slurp down Tom Yum Goong. It’s priceless really.
Dana was excellent. Brett Gelman, who I hadn’t seen before, was also very funny. But two strange things about the evening stand out (as if random Thai folks being bombarded by stand-up wasn’t enough).
1. Natasha Leggero had trouble getting through her set because a table of Thai people kept talking during their dinner. Crazy…I know. Talking during dinner. Look…when you’re at a comedy show…you should keep your yapper shut and let the comedians do their work. But when a comedy show comes to a Thai restaurant, a block from Thaitown…all bets are off. You just have to power through that action. Lesson…don’t hold your comedy show in the middle of a restaurant.
2. Comedian Greg Barris from New York used the term “CAIDS” in a joke. Now…the only other comedian I’ve heard use CAIDS is Ryan Sickler. It’s one of my favorite jokes ever. He’s performed it for years and he’s performed it on Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham”. I was curious, so I asked Greg about it. He said he’s been using the term in his joke for 6 years and it has to do with the pinky slipping when typing in AIDS (his joke was about IM’ing a doctor). Not the combination of cancer and AIDS in Sickler’s joke. He also said he never heard of Sickler.
I don’t know what to think here because I don’t want to accuse Barris of joke stealing if he didn’t. According to Urban Dictionary, CAIDS was first defined on the site in 2005 as a combination of cancer and AIDS. So there is some frame of reference. Even if Greg Barris never heard Sickler do the joke, you would think the proper thing to do would be to change his wording from CAIDS to something else because Sickler has performed it on television. That would seem like the professional move to me. But who am I?
Any thoughts or precedents on this?
Good times all around though. I will definitely check the show out again at its normal location which is at Cuba De Oro.
Geoff Lott is relatively new to the L.A. comedy scene. He made the journey down to Hollywood from Seattle like several others before him about a year ago. I saw Geoff for the first time a few months ago and really loved his writing skills. He’s just a smart dude who works hard at his craft. You have to respect a guy like that. I think Geoff would be a great writer for a show because that’s what he is at the core. Although, if you check out the video above (and there are a few more on his Myspace page), you get the feeling he could be really good as the sarcastic best friend or neighbor in a sitcom or commercial. Anyway, hope you enjoy the conversation. And make sure to check out Geoff at the Westwood Brew Co. this Tuesday night. Show usually starts at 9pm I think. But call the Brew Co. to double check.
