#NerdsUnite: I can haz funny (one nerds journey around the comedic circuit)
<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Brandon. We started talking on the Facebook not too long ago, and lemme tell you, this guy can throw in quite the few kneeslappers in his emails. Yep, see Brandon is a comedian who is here today to tell you the real deal on what it's like being "on the circuit." I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT BRANDON!!! </editorsnote>
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @BrandonComedy
October 14th for me marks 3 years of doing stand-up comedy. And as I reflect on the first few years of my comedy career, I look back at all the advice I should have heeded, should have avoided, all of the friendships sacrificed, all of the bridges burned, and one thought permeates most of those memories: could have done that better!
I’ve done a lot of things smartly in comedy:
Constantly wrote material
Didn’t sleep with comedy club waitresses
Developed a decent web presence (Bonus points, I’m on every social media using the same username)
And lots of things could be improved:
I was way too honest/public about how shitty my time in the OKC comedy scene was
I wasn’t ever really that “nice” to most people after shows, I mostly just focused on getting paid and getting home
I don’t have enough good sets on film
I don’t have enough clean jokes
For year three, I’m working on some new things, obviously, I’m not going to go back to OKC and play nice with those guys, but going forward I won’t be so public with my distaste for bad booking policies, lame politics, and bad comics. There are bad comics in every city, and at the end of the day they know they are bad without me pointing it out.
I’m going to focus on hanging out after shows, talking to people in the crowd, getting them more involved. I’m always amazed when I see an audience member and they say it is there xx time seeing xx comic. I’m going to work harder at building those relationships, and also hanging out with my peers after shows. I have a good little group of comic friends here in KC, and hanging out after shows with these guys is sometimes more fun than being on stage.
I’m going to work at filming more sets, more video you have on the web, makes you more accountable to bookers. If someone hears you have a good 30 minutes that’s good, if someone can see it, well that’s infinitely better.
I need to write more clean jokes, I hate writing clean, it’s insanely hard for me, but to work with more regularity clean is the way to go. Dark/edgy/offensive humor is great, but most colleges (the people who book the shows, not the students) want their comedy relatively clean.
As for smaller changes, I am going to focus on developing original content in addition to live shows. Maybe a web series, I don’t know. Something people can watch, after they watch me kill on stage. I need to blog more, and finish this screenplay. I love you all.
Also, if you’re in LA hang out with Chelsea Quinn, she’s fun, and is a witness to my awesomeness (and ability to hit on women).
Also follow me on twitter: @BrandonComedy and check out my new website www.BrandonComedy.com
#nerdsunite
click here to follow Brandon on twitter & don't miss his blog over yonder!