There's a new weekly late night internet talk show based out of Rochester called "BRICKNiTe with Bricknet" (co-hosed by Nick and Brett - thus Bricknet).  I was invited to be the guest on their second show.  The interview and most everything else (besides my set) is unscripted - so enjoy the mass chaos.  It's a little strange at first - but I'd like to think it's kind of like "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job" - either you get it or you don't.  5 parts: part 1 is their opening monologue, part 2 is my stand-up, part 3 is an awkward interview, part 4 is chaos, and then I just hijack the show in part 5.  Below is Part 1 (the show monologe) - you can view the whole show by clicking here and watching it from a YouTube playlist. 
Also, the next 5 days are going to be kickass.... check it.

TONIGHT (Tuesday 7/28) - Doin' Time Comedy Showcase at Nietzsche's (248 Allen Street, Buffalo) - It's a "Best of Doin' Time" showcase and The Buffalo News will be there covering it.  10 of the best comics Buffalo has to offer for only $3.  Show starts shortly after 8:00pm.
WEDNESDAY 7/29 - I'll be on 95.1 The Fox doing The Wease Show LIVE from Buffalo Bills training camp.  They'll be interviewing me at 7am and I'll be hanging out on-air until 11am plugging Open Mic-a-Palooza and the Bob Nelson shows happening this weekend at The Comedy Club.
THURSDAY 7/30 -  Chet Wild's Open Mic-a-Palooza (Facebook event link) at The Comedy Club in Rochester.  Show starts at 8:00pm and is free to get in - come check out some of the best up-and-coming comedic talent in Western New York.   
FRIDAY/SATURDAY (7/31-8/1) - Bob Nelson is headlining at The Comedy Club and yours truly will be his opening act and MC for the weekend.  7:30pm and 10:00pm shows both nights.  I have a limited number of free tickets, so drop me a line if you're interested.

....livin' the dream, kids.
CW


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While out in LA last month, I had the opportunity to do a set with Chase Roper (Punchline Magazine), Bret Ernst (Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show), and Kyle Cease (1st place winner of Comedy Central's Stand-up Showdown).  No one in the crowd knew what we were doing before hand, and everything that came out  of our mouths was improvised.  Confused?  Just watch and you'll have a better idea.

Chase is a very funny guy - you can check out his blog n' whatnot at www.ChaseRoper.com. 

Also, take a listen to The Wease Show in Rochester on 95.1 The Fox this Wednesday morning.  The show broadcasts live from Buffalo Bills Training Camp and I'll be on air to plug Chet Wild's Open Mic-A-Palooza at 7am and will be hanging out on air throughout the morning. 

Thanks for reading, internet.
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So I keep saying to myself “Oh, something awesome happened – I should write about it” . . . I’ve been saying that for 6 or 7 weeks and now I’m going to give the “Readers Digest” version of what’s been going on with me since the end of May.  I also realize that I receive some scrutiny for rambling about whatever I’ve been doing . . . for those it bothers, just stop reading… cool?  Cool.

In May I set a goal for myself . . . at the end of the month (when my contract for my job ended) I was going to challenge myself to see how much stage time I could really get when I didn’t have to worry about work being in the way.  Needless to say, I started off doing 9 paid shows and 3 open mics in a 10 day period, not too shabby for a summer start, eh?  I got to do my first show booked by Danny Liberto  with Joe Cumbo and Patt Duffy at a nightclub  in Hornell, NY.  This was particularly cool for me because Hornell is right down the road from where I went to college – and I was able to incorporate some of my college experiences into the show.  I also hopped up to Dan’s new open mic the following week in Rochester . . . I was 8th on the list and the room was a little slow (a couple attentive comics and some people zoning out at the bar) . . . however, right outside the door was a back patio full of 20+ softball players.  So, when I was brought up to the stage I quickly unplugged the amp and set myself up right outside the door and started doing stand-up for the beer-leaguers and their ladies . . . I don’t even know what jokes I told, I was just having fun seeing the confused-as-shit looks on everyone’s faces.  They ended up brining a spotlight out on the deck and the other 6 or so comics finished out the night with an attentive (albeit drunk) crowd . . . . comedy outside under the lights, pretty sweet – right?  Everyone seemed to have a good time with it, unfortunately a few bitter old guys in the back (who are hardcore patrons) bitched about it so the open mic there already got canned.  It’s all good though – Dan’s got 2 new rooms in Rochester now . . . all he needs is a heavier PA so I can’t plug-n-play, ha.  I’ve only been to 2 of Dan’s open mics – and the other one was in a wrestling right where I ripped off my shirt and did a topless set . . . I don’t know what it is about a Dan Liberto room, but they tend to bring out the crazy in me – thanks for being a good sport and all the support, Dan!

Rust Belt (www.RustBeltComedy.com) has been keeping active over the summer as well and we kicked off a series of monthly summer comedy shows at both The Blue Wall in South Buffalo and The Beachcomber on Conesus Lake.  The Blue Wal has been  a particularly fun room and hopefully something we can continue to do year-round. 

After doing a series of opening and guest sets at The Comedy Club in Rochester, I got a break and was offered to MC for 5 main even shows with Dave Coulier (yup, Joey from TV’s “Full House”).  Little-known fact: Dave Coulier is a chick-magnet.  At the first show, 3 strippers from The Klassy Kat showed up and, well, showed things . . . like 5 minutes into his set Dave was bombarded with bras and shortly after, panties.  The funny thing is, this was the one weekend The Comedy Club let kids come to the show given the Full House fan base.  Whether you like his comedy or not, Dave Coulier is honestly one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met.  I got to spend a lot of time just shooting the shit with him and honestly, it was like hanging out with Joey from Full House – it was surreal.  Here’s a few pics from those shows (and yeah, I got dragged on the bull again):

Unfortunately, my good friend Gately, who was the main house MC, was let go from his radio job (despite winning 2nd place in Rochester Radio Madness) – and decided to move to Chicago.  As it turns out, the 5 Dave Coulier shows were kind of my audition to get a regular MC spot at the club.  I did a 10-minute clean opener for each of the shows, and it turns out I did so well that the club decided to make me their new main house MC . . . . so, starting in August, I’ll be working 3-4 weekends a month at The Comedy Club – that’s 15-20 shows in front of a live comedy crowd a month – I am totally freakin’ pumped.  I’ll get to work with Jim Florentine, Dom Irrera,  and Jamie Lissow – just to name a few…. So let me know if you want tickets to any shows and I’ll try to set you up. 

I’ve also been working on a new project, BuffaloComedy.com, which is a website dedicated to promoting the local talent of Buffalo comedy scene (standup, improv, sketch, and otherwise).   The site launched at the start of June in conjunction with promoting the roast of Buffalo Sabre hockey legend Rob Ray.  I was able to write a few jokes for the roast as well as produce a video for it (see below).

I wasn’t able to attend the roast myself as I decided to attend a comedy bootcamp Kyle Cease put together out in LA.  Due to stormy weather, it took me 30 hours from the time I set foot in the Buffalo airport until I finally got to LA – I actually slept in a San Francisco baggage terminal, but the shitty flights were totally worth it.  I got to spend 4 days with a group of ridiculously awesome people where we worked on our craft at the new Jon Lovitz Comedy Club at Universal Studios in Hollywood.  All 4 days, including our showcase, were filmed with a 3-camera shoot for a DVD that will eventually be released.  I got to appear on KTLA morning news, work with a whole bunch of big-name headlining comedians (even met 2 guys who got their start in Buffalo), and most importantly – I was able to spend time with an amazing group of newfound friends who are a wonderful source of both support and inspiration.  I could write page after page on the experience, but instead – I’ll point you to an article in Punchline Magazine written about the event – check it out HERE. 

Below are a few pics from my trip:

Upon getting back from LA, I began packing up my belongings, as I needed to be moved out of my apartment in Geneseo by the end of June.  I threw all my stuff in a storage unit and have now been living at ‘home’ with my parents for the past 2 weeks.  It’s a little weird; it’s the first time I’ve been home for more than 3 nights in a row in over 6 years.  I was holing off on moving into a new apartment until I landed the GA position I wanted.  Fortunately, I was offered the position I wanted last week.  So I’ll be going back to school full-time this year to finish up my Master of Science and will be working part-time as a GA to cover tuition and hopefully pull enough money to keep some cable on the TV and food in the fridge.  I’m apartment shopping this week and start my GA work next week – Buffalo here I come!  It’ll be nice not having to drive an hour and a half each way to do comedy in Buffalo as well as having the opportunity to be more active in the comedy scene.  Coincidentally, I’m now about an hour and a half away from The Comedy Club in Rochester which I’ll be at 3-4 weekends a month . . . oh well, I’ll just have to suck it up and get some good tunes to rock the weekend road trips. 

It’s been a little under a year since I first stepped on stage and gave stand-up comedy a shot.  I still can’t believe how many awesome people I’ve gotten to meet and work with only being less than a year in, but I’d like to take a moment to thank some people who’ve been tremendously awesome to me.  First and foremost, Kristen Becker and Rick Matthews in Buffalo – without you two, I wouldn’t be doing this at all.  If this is where we are almost one year in, I can’t wait to see what lies ahead for us a few years down the road.  Nigel Larson, Billy Anglin, and Ralph Tetta out in Rochester – shootin’ the shit and pickin’ ideas off of you guys has been great thus far, and I hope to continue to regularly cross paths with you guys.  Joe T. and Mark at The Comedy Club – thanks for giving me a chance and putting your faith in me, I won’t let you guys down!  Ben Delozier for keeping me sane at work and also being my chauffer when I totaled my car but still needed to get to shows.  All Buffalo and Rochester comics for their influences.  Miche’ Fambro – all this craziness kind of started with our guitar lessons and all those discussions about what I’d really like to do on stage.  Stephen Rosenfield, Greg Colett and all my friends from ACI – it’s great keeping in touch with you guys and you’re all awesome.  Vinnie Cocca – for finding me that tiny coat.  Ted Greenberg for going out of his way to provide insight and advice from NYC.  Tim Young for having me do a bunch of opening spots at college shows really helping me get some valuable college stage experience.  Kyle Cease for taking me under his wing as well as Kevin Cease, Julie Kline, David Lew, Don Zollo, Eric Chollo, Chase Roper and EVERYONE from my trip to LA – the support and inspiration you provide is simply awesome, I truly can’t wait to see each and everyone of you again – and the great part is, I probably will!  Casey and Andy – you guys help keep me grounded, and also put a lot of time and effort into ridiculous projects, I can’t thank you enough!  Pete Johnson – good things to come man!  Nick Johnson and everyone else working on “Harold” long-form in Rochester, we need to get together more often!  Spencer – all the encouragement in getting my feet wet with college shows as well as being safety net for my ideas.  My parents – for the future money I’ll likely need to loan if I really want to make this thing happen.  PLUS all of my friends from high school, college, Geneseo, and wherever else that have come out to support comedy shows, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been surprised by people I haven’t seen in years showing up to shows because I posted something on facebook  -simply amazing. 

For these first 11 months, I’ve focused largely on getting my name out there some and finding lots of stage time to work on my comfort on stage.  Now that I’m starting to feel more comfortable with my stage presence, it’s time that I get to the real work and start writing more – a lot more – and a lot deeper.  It’s time to start digging and figuring out who I am and what I want to say, because to be completely honest – I still don’t know… I just go up on stage and have fun.  But it’s time to start opening up and hopefully providing a shared experience that audience members can both laugh at and connect with.  I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but nothing worth doing is (yup – cheesy after school movie advice).  Chapter 1 was just an introduction and is now in the books . . . Chapter 2 starts now . . . 

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