I read a post on Facebook where a guy who said he was a comedian stated that open mics are a waste of time. He said every time he hits the stage he knows he will make money, because he knows what he wants to do with his talent.
Turns out he's actually an actor, because he posted some YouTube clips of him in commercials and on a TV show. I tried to watch them, but the sound was messed up. All I could hear in each clip was the sound of someone sucking their own dick.
He was at first trying to make the point of, don't wait around in open mics to be discovered. Okay. Pretty obvious, but thanks for helping. Then it just turned into a very sad display of placating his own ego. It's all about money to him, I got it. Fucking actors using stand-up to further their career...makes me wish the bottom would drop out in comedy again...run off everybody who don't have the passion for stand-up comedy as an art form.
Because it is, you know. All self-deprecation aside..."I'm just a dancing monkey to sell booze"...it's still art. I am an artist...and I need to remember that. New people starting off in open mics here need to ask themselves why they do it. Do they truly love the art form? Do they have a passion for performing in front of people, even if those people are the bartender, the waitress, four other people going up and one of their girlfriends who won't be coming back next week?
The problem with this guy is not that he only wants to perform for money. Hey, if money is your motivator and your god, that's just who you are. Cash rules everything around me, whatever. The problem is that he was trying really hard to convince other people that what he was doing was the way to go, and that they needed to do the same. That's self-doubt eating away at him, and his ego was trying to protect itself from the realization that performing for money alone makes you more of a whore than an artist.
Gotta watch the ego, man. That's why I posted this on a blog instead of arguing with him on Facebook. My immediate desire to tell him off and be right was my ego trying to run me. A little ego is awesome when performing and writing for entertainment purposes, but not necessarily when attempting to interact with others.
I should have known better than to read posts in a Facebook group anyway. What a waste of time. I needed to interact with real people to wash the social networking funk off of me.
I stopped by open mic night at the Velveeta Room tonight and had a nice conversation with a new guy who was going up for like his 5th time. The kid had the nervous energy as he was pacing outside, and he had that thing...what was it? Hope. Yeah, that's it. Hopes and dreams. It was kind of annoying, actually.
He said his friends asked him if he was making any money...and he stated that it was more like he was paying $30 to do it with all the drinks "and stuff".
Me: "Do you like performing, though?"
Him: "Yeah, it's why I keep coming back."
Me: "Good call. Hang with the comics you think are funny and are writing. Avoid the assholes."
I wished him luck on his set. And I meant it.
