Back In The Saddle Again

I never officially retired from comedy.     I kind of faded into the sunset.  I suppose I could trace the time back to when Jay Leno quit the Tonite Show.  He tried to help me get together with Jimmy Fallon, but it just didn’t work out. And when I stopped writing jokes every day for Jay,  maybe the sense of urgency to “think funny” stopped.  

  

But I firmly believe that the cumulative effect of my son’s drug addiction, coupled with him being shot, arrested, and spending 7 years in a federal prison, caused something to die in me.  It was comedy. What used to be a burning desire to write and perform shrunk to a pilot light. It didn’t seem to matter anymore. I have told close friends that dealing with all the problems my son had raped me of my spirit.  It was collateral damage from his drug use. Addiction sucks.  

So, aside from the occasional smart alec remark on social media, I left comedy alone.  Oh, I would occasionally find some things that are funny.  I still liked to make my friends laugh. And to some degree, blog posts do scratch the writing itch. But stand up comedy left me. I never watched standup on television, or darkened the door of a comedy club. The desire to get on stage and tell jokes wasn’t there.

After retirement from my day job, I would occasionally consider a return to comedy, perhaps even completely reworking my act. Jay Leno was always quick to remind me that comedically, Rodney Dangerfield was a late bloomer. And, I was certainly not starting from ground zero. But it seems my comedy tank was on empty, drained by years of dealing with my son’s addiction, near death, and imprisonment. In addition, comedy gigs were becoming hard to get, and I didn’t want to take away money from a full time comedian who really needed it.

So when I got a text from comedian Truett “Killer” Beaz, asking me to open for him at a one nighter in Mobile, Alabama, I hesitated. But there was a lot to think about. I consider Beaz and his wife Terri good friends. I opened for him when I first started doing standup. He’s a nice guy who always seemed eager to help me. We’ve worked together a lot over the years, from comedy clubs to one night events in theaters. The shows always seem to have a good chemistry when we work together. So why not go? I reminded myself that one of my retirement goals has been to reach out to old friends, and Beaz certainly fits that category. I began to think of this gig being less about comedy, and more of seeing two people who are dear to me. I texted them back. It was a go.

Now, I began to worry. I would probably need 25-30 minutes to warm the crowd up for Beaz, who would probably do an hour or so. That was a snap - in the old days. But what about now? Would I have a lot of rust from inactivity that would ruin the timing and pace of my act? It didn’t help my confidence when I pulled up an old set list only to discover that not only I had forgotten some punch lines, but whole bits entirely!

I decided the best thing to do is pick out a list, sort of a “Joe’s greatest hits”. This was a time to play it safe. So I chose about 25 minutes of basic material, wrote it down, and began rehearsing. And rehearsing. I did not want to screw this up. Of course, in keeping with what I’ve always done, I broke my vow and added 3 new jokes. Old habits die hard. I’ve always been a tinkerer.

The night of the gig had a stressful beginning. My GPS sent me to a place in downtown Mobile that looked like somewhere the Mafia would go to carry out a hit. I circled the block no fewer than 4 times trying to find the club before someone with a flashlight guided me to the parking lot. Not a good start.

That wasn’t the end of the problems. Once inside, I was told the sound system wasn’t working. I offered to use a megaphone, but for some reason, that wasn’t well received. After a delay of a half hour, everything was finally in order. It was showtime.

As far as shows go, well, they were just OK. These weren’t hair-raising, scream and holler, this is Elvis kind of shows, but they were all right.  Doing stand-up comedy is not like riding a bicycle. I couldn’t expect to go on stage after a long layoff and be as sharp as if I had been working frequently.  Beaz hadn’t been on stage in about four weeks, and even he showed a little rust.  During the second show, he mistakenly repeated the same joke twice in a row.  I howled.  In case you don’t know it, when one comic laughs at another comic,  it’s typically not because a joke was funny; instead, it’s usually because they have screwed up a line or they’re bombing.  I remember a bad show I had with Beaz once, and when I brought him on stage, he looked at me and said,” Nice drama!”   Even I had to laugh at that one. 

My greatest fear going on stage wasn’t that I wouldn’t get laughs.  No.  I knew that by using tried and true material I should get a decent audience response.  However,  stumbling over set ups, messing up punch lines, and getting things out of sequence was a fear.  But the rehearsals paid dividends.  During both shows, the gaffes went mostly unnoticed by everyone but me. 

At the end of the second show a gentleman walked up to me, shook my hand, and told me how much he enjoyed my act. Then he shared a very profound insight.  He told me to never forget that I was one of the very few people in the world who got to stand on a stage, speak, and make people laugh.  I just nodded silently.  I had never considered that before.  It’s truly an exclusive club.  

In keeping with a personal comedy tradition, I got up early Sunday morning, packed my car and got on the road. I find that there is something especially peaceful about driving on a near deserted interstate while listening songs from the 60s and 70s. It’s always had a restorative effect on me. After an hour or so, I stopped at a Waffle House, ate breakfast, and reflected on the performance. It was within my tolerance level. But there was definitely room for improvement. So did that mean I will dip my toes back into the comedy pond? I think so. Doing the show made me realize that I do indeed miss performing. So when the right situation presents itself, I’ll be back in the saddle again. Looks like a few gigs with Beaz will be coming on the horizon. I’m looking forward to it.

If I can find the club with my GPS.

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