I have a family and work full time but have been doing Stand Up Comedy for a year AMA!

What is the deal with airline food?

I know, right! I mean WHO would have a guest over to their house for dinner and just serve them a hand full of peanuts? Or two hand fulls if they seem really hungry. It's ridiculous and damn near discrimination!

I love you

I love you too

I assume you've dealt with a heckler by now, what was that like? I've never understood why the club manager / security staff don't pounce on assholes immediately for that.

I have experienced a little heckling. Most comics say that you can either ignore them or confront them. I chose to just acknowledge that they are there and that I heard them and kept going on with my comedy bit. It worked for me but I can't say that I've had to deal with a terrible heckler...yet.

Hey, OP! YOU SUCK!!

LOL! It's much easier to handle a heckler from the computer.

Am I the only person that thinks the security staff or bouncers should jump on some jerk the moment he decides to make the show about himself? Or in your case was it just a momentary thing then he STFU?

It really just depends on the situation. Sometimes hecklers can add to the comedy and sometimes they are belligerent assholes and should be thrown out. My case was momentary.

Has anyone ever asked you how you managed to keep your career going after you finished filming Napoleon Dynamite?

LMFAO! No but they should!

http://youtu.be/quoO6dgDzRU Tosh handling two drunks.

hahaha! He handled that pretty well. I've not had to deal with anyone that wouldn't stop yet but I hope I can do it that well.

What do you do for your full time job?

I work full time doing field admissions for a technical college.

How often do you get to interject comedy into your work?

For most of my job I don't get to at all but one part I do quite a bit. I give presentations to high school seniors about going to college and about the school I work for. When presenting I get to add in a lot of my own clean humor and practice different deliveries to see how they react. I did this for 4 years before I started doing comedy. I truly believe this is what gave me the confidence to try comedy for the first time and feel natural when I was up there.

How do you make the transition from open mics to paid gigs? I know it takes a lot of practice- I'm just curious about the process.

It takes a lot of time performing at as many open mics as possible and trying to get to know the other comedians there. The comedy scene in different cities always seems to be pretty tight knit and make people pay their dues before accepting them in.

I had to do a shit ton of open mic's and befriend some cool people and also some that I would really rather not be friends but I do because they run a few shows.

But over all you have to do well when your on stage most of the time. You need people to know you as a comic that usually does well rather than one the usually bombs.

Do you see yourself doing stand-up full time or is it more of a hobby? I have a friend who loves doing stand-up on his free time but has no interest in pursuing it as a career.

I would love to do it as a career but I have a family to think about as well and can't take too many risks.

My day job pays above what an average professional (non famous) makes so that also makes it hard to pursue comedy as a career. But I would love to go pro if it was made possible.

ive been thinking of doing stand up for a while, any key headers to help me get started?

Yes. The best advice that I can give to anyone trying for the first time is to step up to the mic with your material very well practiced. The worst thing you can do to yourself is write a great joke or bit and then go up and deliver it like shit and fail because you didn't have it down well enough to deliver it right.

Also confidence is key and its hard to be confident if you really don't have your joke very well memorized.

I work at a comedy club. We have amateur night frequently, for the local funny guys that are trying to get involved in the scene. Some of these amateurs MC or do the opening act during our regular Friday and Saturday night shows, mostly because of their familiarity with the club and club manager. It's all about getting your face out there.

Agreed. You gotta get out there as much a possible. I was only doing open mics once every couple of weeks and wasn't progressing much in my comedy or the comedy scene. Once I started doing them every week and then multiple times a week did I start to see some recognition and a couple shows come my way.

What's the funniest thing that's ever happened to you in real life?

I only grew to 5'6...

Good question but a tough one to answer to come up with the funniest one. I think there are a lot of ties. I grew up with a yard of pecan trees and every so often the yard would need to be irrigated leaving about 2 inches of standing water. This one time I ad the phenomenal idea that I could just float a piece of wood on top of the water, getting a running start and then jump on it and surf my yard! At the time it was the greatest idea that I'd ever had you know, it had to work!... and it would be awesome! Well... it was like when a cartoon character slips on a banana peel, the board slipped out from under me the moment I touched it, I flew in the air with my feet flying above my head and landed flat on my back in the pool of water. I felt like a moron and my mom was pissed.

Have you ever noticed that your family life gets in the way of your comedy?

Yes absolutely! But understandingly so. If I didn't have them around I could do a lot more comedy and be much more involved with the comedy scene and get more shows and start my own open mic and maybe get somewhere. I often think that if I was single I could possibly make it as a professional comic. But we play the hand we're dealt. And I do love them of course... cause the provide awesome material!

Do you plan on one day leaving your full time job and doing stand-up full time instead?

No. No I don't. I wish that I did. I am lucky to have worked my way into a good job and I make a little more right now than what the average non famous pro comedian makes. I'll just have to hope that maybe one day I'll be good enough to get discovered and offered a deal to tour or write for a comedy show or something.

On a scale of 1 to Goodwin's Law, how much do you hate the kind of open mic where you pay + buy drinks + bring friends and get like 5 minutes?

If I bring friends out to come and see me I try to only take the to the ones that offer more time.

I hate open mics that won't let you do at least 7 minutes. But the short ones do offer some practice with building a very solid intro to doing longer time or a strong finish to a much longer set.

That's true, I can kinda see your point. I do Improv and I've always enjoyed stand up, but it's this situation that has really prevented me from doing it much.

I can understand. Just practice a ton and go up there with a very sold 5 minutes and kill it. Doing well is the best thing to open the door for doing longer time or getting invited to do other mics or shows.

Any comedy groupies?

No! Not like I thought there'd be! J/K There are some out there but I have a lot of bits about being married or my kids, and that seems to keep them away.

Why do you know any??

Hi. I also had sex this one time and as a result, have a bit of a family type deal going on and I've wanted to do stand up for a while. How do you juggle the family/spouse night at the club kinda thing?

Hi. It is a tough balancing act. Like the old saying goes, "Happy wife, happy life." I takes a lot of deals with my wife to take the kids out of the house to give her time to herself or cooking dinner and doing the dishes. As long as I'm giving a little and not just taking all the time she supports me.

Most of all my family supports me. My kids ask me the next day the my night went doing comedy. I've made it known to them that it is important to me and needs to be treated as such just like when things are important to them.

Lol!! Yeah it only takes one time doesn't it.

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Looks like corn, feels like a nut, tastes like shit. I have no idea.

1) What do you see as your next milestone in standup? Touring would be difficult with a job and kids, I imagine.

2) how would you describe your style, and what is your process for crafting new material? I imagine having kids would provide some great stories...

I would see my next milestone as being paid over $100 for doing a show to a larger crowd. Or to open for a touring comic.

I'm a story teller. I don't do one liners and I don't have many bits that are under 2 minutes. I like to draw from everyday life to write my material but then I let my imagination run a little bit and sometimes it's funny. I think I get my best stuff from every day conversations with people I interact with and shitting the shit with my friends.

Shitting the shit with your friends.... hmmmmm.

Oooops... well we're close friends.

What does it take to win over an audience? Personality? Confidence?

Is it easy to do clean humor and still have people laugh?

Thanks so much.

I say that if takes confidence first and foremost. You gotta be sure of yourself no matter what your style is. The crowd can pick up on it and be swayed either way depending on if you are confident or not. A very close second IMO is personality. You have to have a personality that they either like or hate. I think being liked is easier but either will get their attention.

Getting them to laugh at clean humor is all about your personality and reliability. If you are a clean humor kind of person in regular life then writing clean should be a little more natural than someone who is only trying to be clean.

How do you tackle nerves on stage?

Do you write and rehearse all your material prior to the show or do you do some improv as well?

I try to not do a comedy bit on stage that I haven't gotten memorized yet. I tend to go up very practiced. It's hard to be physically funny when you're trying to remember the words.

when you're trying to remember to words.

how many words? <ba-dum-tsss>

I'll be here all week.. try the fish!

Haha! thanks, I need spelling classes apparently.

As of now, I just do stand up.

The most recent time that I bombed I was trying to do material that I wrote that day and I didn't have it totally memorized and paid the consequences.

Hi - could you please provide some proof of your identity, other than this youtube link?

Ummm... sure. Like how?

A selfie of you with your username, upload it to imgur and pop the link into your description would probably be easiest and fastest.

Ok I think I put what you asked. I'm definitely me.

No way! I'm me too. High five!

High five!

I agree we need proof because your responses have not been that funny.

Yeah I guess my comedy isn't really for everyone

Why did you start so late and how your life changed since your first stand up?

I had my first kid at 22 years old and I was focused on advancing my career. I also lived in Las Cruces, NM up until about a year and a half ago and there is no comedy scene in Las Cruces.

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Nothing funny happens in Las Cruces

Life is pretty much the same only now I get to to get out of the house a little more often to do comedy. Which I am ever so grateful for!

I've made some really good friends and now have some sort of a life outside of my home family life again.

I've wanted to try this. I've written comedy for ten years, some published, some YouTube videos (sketch or overdubs), about 1m total views. Then I gave up. It was going absolutely nowhere. I deleted everything. I have a wife and two kids and a full time job. My wife and kids think I would do very well at stand up and are really pushing me to give comedy one last go in the form of stand up or improv. Any advice?

In the words of Nike, Just Do It. It sounds like you owe it to yourself from the amount of work that you've already put in. I would recommend putting together some material that you really like, between 3-7 minutes and try it out at an open mic.

Open mic's are generally very friendly and welcoming and the expectations are not high from the crowd. It's an easy place to bomb if you do but you just might get a room full of people laughing.

What comedian would you compare yourself to?

Would you rather become a millionaire with shitty sell-out jokes or average with intelligent jokes?

I've had this question come up many times since I started doing comedy and it's never been an easy one to answer. I'd say I'm maybe comparable to Brian Regan with more cuss words or something like Louis CK.

The 2nd question is a tough one because with that kind of money I know that my family will be taken care of. But I also take a great deal of pride in writing all my own jokes and relish in the moments that I'm getting the crowd laughing at something I came up with. That would be a very tough one. If I was single I'd definitely say that I'd rather be average with intelligent jokes.

Whats the biggest performance you have ever done? Have you ever been nervous of the crowd and what they might think?

My very first was my biggest. I was to probably around 50 - 60 people. I was very nervous because it was my first show but I was also doing material that had previously worked at open mic's. I did excellent that night and then bombed two night later at my second show to about 30 people.

Do you still get nervous/butterflies before/while you're performing? How do you deal with it?

I still do if I'm trying new stuff cause I'm trying to remember it all but still deliver it right without tripping up on my words. To deal with the nervousness I usually get a little medicated (I'm also a mmj patient) and I try to practice in my head for the 15 or so minutes before I go on.

How do you keep a straight face? Is it because every line has been memorized until it isn't funny (to you)?

Yes in a sense. I still find a lot of my own jokes funny but probably because I actually lived them. But yeah I would say that is mostly it. I like to laugh while I'm writing the jokes. That gives me a good indication if other people will think that it's funny but the more I practice it I don't laugh so much myself but try to tell it in a way that other people will think is funny with different gestures or facial expressions.

Ever forgot the joke or the punchline you were about to use? if yes how did you overcome that awkward moment?

I have... a couple of times. The first time I just rolling along and I said the wrong word which fucked up the punchline and I didn't skip a beat and just said "Aaaaand I fucked up that joke..." The crowd actually laughed harder at that then I was expecting them to at the punchline that I did write.

The second time the crowd was really into my story when I lost where I was in the bit and they helped me back track a little to I could recover and continue.

What's your favorite kind of sandwich?

Well I don't always eat sandwiches, but when I do... I prefer vagina.

What is your favorite color?

Mostly different shades of blue. I like certain shades of green and a bright red from time to time, but mostly blue.

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I think we all need our some time to ourselves. When I go and do comedy it's usually after my kids are in bed already and then I'm only gone for 2-3 hours. So I guess I take about 6-9 hours a week for "me time" I don't think that's asking a lot and IMO all people should have a little time for self focus. You owe it to yourself... I know I do.

Do you have a version of The Aristocrats yet?

I do... but I haven't watched it yet. I really need to get around to that.

Gilbert Gottfried's version - prepare to laugh your ass off http://youtu.be/aGA0dIz9-Wk NSFW, obviously

Thanks! I'll definitely check it out.

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How did you know?? That only happened once and she had slender fingers! Who told you?!?!?!?!!!

Hey man good for you. I don't want to be a stand up comic, but one of the things I want to do before I die is some open mic nights.

How do you find places to do open mic? Ive tried googling my local area but its relatively hard to find anything..

I google (City Name) and then comedy open mics. That usually does the trick depending on the city and what's available. You may have to travel to the closest larger city to you to find something. Could be worth it....