fbpx

Tag: Interviews

Posted on

Hi-Tech Comedy: Adam Ray

Today I’m interviewing Adam Ray. Adam has been touring the country with his standup, opening for acts such as Sinbad, Greg Giraldo, Harland Williams, and Bobby Lee. His TV credits include ABC’s “According to Jim,” and MTV’s “Human Giant.”  Adam has created a large online following with the popularity of his web videos that are frequently featured on Funnyordie.com and Youtube. His Kermit the Frog reaction video to “2 girls 1 cup” hit over 5 million views on Youtube.

1. How are you using the internet / social media to promote your career?

adamrayThe biggest thing that I’ve used it for is for my videos. When one thing can go viral, it can really do wonders for getting your name out there. I started doing web videos before YouTube really blew up. So I feel like that’s one reason I’m working for FunnyOrDie now and have my videos featured on Digg and College Humor, etc. I started doing video before things blew up. So I started honing on it early, before it became a necessary thing for comedians to do.

When I started out, I was putting it up and sending links out, now it’s amazing how many people you can hit with one video. It’s not just you sending it to your people, if people like it, those people send it to their friends, and their friends, and so on.

Video has been the biggest because most comics are actors and when acting is slow you gotta have other things to market yourself and stay creative. You gotta continue to put your name out there and web content is the best way to do that. I’ve had some videos have a lot of success and I’ve had videos that I thought where better and they didn’t do as well. What goes viral is up to universe.

I see comics posting quick little videos for the sake of having videos, some people say ‘if the content is good the quality doesn’t matter” but I disagree. I’ve seen funny stuff on webcam, but if you’re trying to do a sketch, you’ve put some time into writing it and the lighting is bad and video is grainy, it definitely reflects on the comedian.

Having videos helps for shows. I’ve built a good online following cause of the videos and people go to the shows because of the videos. I was at a show and these girls recognized me from the ditzy girl video. They tell their friends, see my standup and subscribe to my YouTube. Ultimately that’s my goal: I want my own show. These networks look online and say, “Well clearly millions of people are following him so that would translate to TV.” You keep doing it and keep building a following. So once stand up and everything else hits you can fuse them together and take over the world.

The internet lets you connect with an audience the way you couldn’t do 15 years ago.

2. “Fat Camp” is your debut album but you had a previous album, “In Your Boobs”, is debut misleading?

“In Your Boobs” was an album of songs I wrote in college. That album is the “I graduated and I need something to do to keep myself busy” project. It took 6 months to create. It was really cool to do and I’ve been doing musical theatre and music my whole life, and I always wanted to do that. I don’t want that on my tombstone though, “Creator of In Your Boobs”. I wanted good music with funny lyrics, some of those songs I wouldn’t have written now though.

And then Fat Camp is stand up. It was my first stand up CD I recorded in San Diego. I started doing stand up in 2001 and did it 20-30 times until 2006. I never made a commitment to doing it until 2007. I don’t think comics should count how long they’ve been doing it until they’ve been doing it consistently 4-5 nights a week, going on the road, really making a commitment to it, etc. I only feel like I’ve been doing it 3.5 years. So “Fat Camp” is basically the first CD, about forty minutes of jokes. It was something I felt I was ready to do. I felt I had enough material I was proud of. A lot of it has changed since recording that but I had people ask me about CDs after shows so I put it out.

3. You have a lot of stand up and sketch videos online, do you think one of these comedy forms lends itself better to internet video than the other?

When I did the Kermit video, I had no idea it’d get 6 million hits and get on all these shows and sites. I had no idea it would happen. A viral sketch or spoof can really blow up and go everywhere, especially if it’s topical. At the same time, Angela Johnson, I just saw her Comedy Central special, and she has her video of her standup of the nail lady character and that really bumped her up. Next thing you know, she’s headlining clubs. I think that happened with her before everyone was doing it. Now you type in “stand up comedy” and get 6,000 videos. I know I see a bunch uploaded on Facebook daily. I think it depends on the timing and what people are looking for, there’s so much out there now, it’s tougher to do. There’s still value in having video of your stand up online, cause people wanna see that. If they can’t make the club, or people who see a sketch of mine, might be curious to see stand up and wanna come out. It definitely doesn’t hurt you to have a little clip of your stand up there to give them a taste if you want them to come out. People like that might pass a clip along to their friends and ask, “do you wanna see this guy with me?” There’s no reason not to take advantage of it and have that stuff accessible to people.

4. Kermit The Frog’s reaction to 2 Girls 1 Cup has gotten over 5 million views, did you think it’d be that popular? How much has the popularity of that clip helped your career? Have there been any negative effects from that?

It was one of those things that was topical, and I saw a bunch of clips of people reacting to the video and I watched the actual one, and I thought it would be really big before it became well known. It was 2007 and we were just now having girls film pooping, you’d think that would be something that would’ve happened already. I guess the country hasn’t evolved that much. I thought, “everyone’s doing reactions of people, how can I make it different?” And I thought, “Nobody’s expecting Kermit” and then I thought, “How can I make it more surprising?”

What really helped out was the YouTube subscribers. It definitely bumped me up a level as far as recognition in the comedy world. Comics knew about it. Joe Rogan messaged me that he liked it. It was cool in that it bumped me up a level in people taking me seriously, which is weird to say cause it was the most beloved character of all time jerkin it to girls shitting on each other. It was funny that people were saying “mad props dude”. It just goes to show you how tough it is to come out with something topical and really have it be different and hitting the issue on a point of view that people haven’t really struck yet. Right now, there’s still comments on it daily and I still get YouTube subscribers from it.

I was concerned about the Henson company contacting me cause I don’t own the rights to it. But if you’re not selling it’s less likely to be an issue. I spliced an Oprah interview to make it look like I was being interviewed with her and they asked me to take it down. But this one there hasn’t been any backlash. If something were to happen, it would’ve happened already. If they ask me to take it down I will, but I’m glad it hasn’t happened yet. It’s like the moon landing, it was a big deal at the time and people won’t forget. I guess I should make a video of Kermit jerkin to Neil Armstrong landing on the moon.

5. iTunes vs regular CDs, what are your thoughts?

I think you’re stupid not go digital. People still use CDs but it’s like when everyone moved from CDs to MP3s and iPods, we turned the corner. I think it’s easier for comics to carry around and sell digital. People spend so much time at their computer anyway. We’re in that digital age, especially with the younger generation. My demographic isn’t 50 and 60 year olds. They download one track and send it to a friend and it’s already named. It’s about being accessible. My CD is gonna be only digital. Maybe my next one I’ll do actual CDs. Maybe even down the line I’ll get hard copies of this one, but right now the digital way is easier and cheaper too.

6. What do you think about posting videos of your stand up performances online?

I think I have one 8 minute video and I’m debating taking it down. I put other stuff up of 3-5 minutes to kinda have and for people to check out. Also, I had to put it up to send the link to a few people. I don’t think having a 20 min set online is ever good. You wanna give people a taste and show them how funny you are in a few minutes. If you show the whole thing, why would they still want to come see you? You’re not leaving anything there.

Stuff on the web doesn’t translate as well in person. There’s something about being there and in the moment, being a part of what’s happening at that time and the energy of the room, it doesn’t translate. You can still see if someone’s funny though. Plus 20 minutes is a long time. The internet attention span is 2-3 minute videos. That’s why I keep mine short. I wish I could chop down 4 minute clips to less. You wanna make it easy to pass around. When they put specials up there, it’s different, when it’s Robin Williams and people know who he is. But not when you’re undiscovered. You don’t wanna put all your shit out there. When people are trying to get to know you, ten or twenty minutes they’ll be in and out and get distracted and won’t give you their full attention. And they’re not giving you a fair assessment for that. They mighta missed half the endings of jokes.

7. How do you think digital tools will change comedy?

It’s already pretty clear what it’s doing. It gives anyone an opportunity to create and market themselves. I know comics and people who don’t have websites and only one video or something. But it’s giving more people opportunities. I think more people have jumped on in trying to make content and get discovered but at the same token, it’s pretty clear what’s good and what’s not. YouTube isn’t the mecca of comedy of producing the biggest stars but you can use it to your advantage to get some instant fame and capitalize on that into bigger things and that’s what some people have done. That’s why I keep doing my videos. Not just to stay fresh but to keep writing and to keep my mind conditioned in that mind set of listening and paying attention to things. You always wanna be in that mind set. You put them out and you don’t know. Every time I put out a video, I get more subscribers. You never know which one will resonate enough that people will send it to ten people instead of two people.

People are trying to capitalize on the web series stuff, there’s a lot of good stuff out there but there’s a lot of shitty stuff out there too. People are paying money to make it look good but the content sucks and vice versa. I know every agency has web divisions now. In the next 5-10 years, once the internet is part of TVs, more integrated, things will probably take another turn, in a good way for comedians.
When I first started out, I was sending out links and I was self conscious about what I was putting out there and look at my stuff and accept whatever comes like “stop sending me these” which actually happened, or something like “that was funny.” And even one of those compliments is enough to keep going.

I’d say be careful and don’t put up crap, cause if people only see one video and don’t like it, they won’t check out another one. At the same time, it’s how I started. I didn’t put up everything I did. Stuff is better quality now, but there’s funny stuff from the old stuff too. The quality and execution has improved the longer I’ve been doing it though. It was a different time though, there weren’t as many people doing it, so I got away with it more. There wasn’t as much competition so I wasn’t being held to a higher standard.

8. How much information do you tend to share on the social networks?

I’m trying to get more of the Twitter thing. I can’t make myself write daily things that I think people actually care about. If I think it’s funny, I’ll spit it out. I mainly use it for shows and videos to let people know about that. I’m not gonna go against it, so I’m trying to do it more. It’s definitely another way to promote and market yourself. People are featured on sites for their tweets. Doing it every fifteen minutes seems tough. I read them and am like, “wow, do you really think people care to know what you’re thinking every ten minutes?” Although there is some funny shit.

In some ways it can be helpful to write a joke. A comic buddy will put stuff out there and if people respond, it’s like a behind the scenes way to test out if people respond to a joke without going on stage. It’s the immediate attention and gratification thing too, it’s like when you perform and do well in stand up. The immediate satisfaction you get from doing well. Twitter is even quicker. If someone retweets or comments on it, it’s immediate gratification. I’m trying to bring myself to do it more, I know it’s helpful but at the same time, I forget about it because my mind isn’t consumed with trying to make my career off of funny anecdotes. When it’s a positive marketing tool, you shouldn’t deny it.

9. What’s your weirdest online experience involving your comedy career?

I did this three part series “Cock Eyed Breakup” and it was featured on the front page of MySpace when that still meant something. It got 500,000 hits or something. The video was about a one night stand, and this girl was cock eyed and I’m trying to break it off with her and its awkward and uncomfortable. And I got messages like, “My daughter is cockeyed, you son of a bitch, how can you make fun of others misfortunes? You’re going straight to hell!” and I messaged them back, “I wasn’t trying to make fun of your daughter, I don’t even know who your daughter is.” This is people that are super sensitive. I don’t think everything is a joke, but you gotta have a sense of humor about most things in life. Of course, it’s easier to say when you don’t have the things you’re joking about I guess.

You also get girls messaging you and wanting you to come perform in certain functions. There’s a church group that wanted me to come and I was like, “Have you seen my videos? They’re not super-Christian-y”.

I’ve also had weird responses. I had a guy at The Improv who hit me up on collaborating. He was like “I wanna make a comedy music video, but I don’t have an idea, or a crew, or anything, but we should collaborate.” He was basically like, “I want you to write, provide a crew and shoot a video and put my name on it with you.”

Posted on

Hi-Tech Comedy: Nick Cobb

Today I’m interviewing Nick Cobb. Nick recently filmed “Live at Gotham” for Comedy Central and has done commentary for MTV’s “FN MTV”, the worst show ever on MTV.   Nick was also filmed a “Carmax” commercial that aired during the Superbowl (regionally).  When not performing, Nick is usually obsessing about his last show.

nickheadshotlowjp1. How are you using the internet / social media to promote your career?

I was actually reading some of your previous interviews like the one with Judy Carter and I ended up feeling really bad (that I’m not doing enough). I have a website and I use Facebook of course, and there are thousands of little things I do like going on this blog site, that blog site, what have you. But I don’t keep a blog myself (it would feel like homework, and I’ve always considered myself more of a performer than a writer), and I’m not overly concerned with my lack of stuff online.

You’ve really gotta have a lot of time to do that thing, or a web guy that you trust. And, I don’t trust my web guy.  You may be thinking “why is he saying that out loud?” to which I would say “I just fired him,” which is weird, because I also just fired my psychiatrist.  But I digress… I like the website itself, but there are so many updates and so much maintenance. A lot of times, in my head, I go “I can go home, do the calendar, do all the admin stuff for my site, blah blah blah, or I can go do a couple of shows” and 9 out of 10 times I’ll go do the shows.  I’ve convinced myself that’s the key to succeeding.  Working on my act.  Having a really good act that isn’t as well- advertised is better than very well advertised decent act. Of course, I could be dead wrong.  I probably am.  I am constantly hearing I need more internet “presence.”  But, I’m kind of addicted to doing shows.

2. Have you noticed the payoff yet?

I have gotten booked at a few colleges just off of my website.   And, I’ve been amazed that you really don’t need that long of a video.  They’ll call and say “we loved your video,” and find out later they only watched three minutes.  Maybe that’s just the way we’re wired now. We don’t want to sit there and watch a ten minute video anymore. You can put it there, but it probably won’t be watched. Maybe the first minute or so. The beginning of the video in particular really has to be sharp, different and unique.  A lot of comics will say “it gets good four minutes in.” Unfortunately, people don’t watch it that long.

I almost feel like to have a website now, it has to be really nice, or it’s not worth having at all. If you just have an okay site, you might as well just be on Facebook.  But if you have something really nice to reference to people, and they’re impressed by it, it’s really helpful. Something with good, crisp video and an updated calendar.  Great.  When I had just a run-of-the-mill, I think it ended up hurting me.  I would’ve been better off just not having one at all.  I think people will look more favorably on you if you don’t have a site than if you have just an okay one.

I remember I was in Austin, and the club didn’t know who I was. Big surprise.  I asked if I could get up, directed them to my website, and the guy said, “Well, you don’t have any bookings coming up, so we can’t put you up.” I thought I had updated my calendar, but I guess it didn’t work. I probably forgot to click ‘publish’ or something.

3. I noticed your site has a user registration section, do you find that it helps build a fan base?

I haven’t taken advantage of it as much as I should. It would probably be really helpful if I did. It’s unforgivable and it’s laziness. A lot of comics swear by the mailing list.  On the other hand, there are so many options online that it’s just overwhelming sometimes.  There are only so many hours in a day and I would much prefer spending at least a little bit of that time writing and performing, rather than spending my entire day sending off a constant barrage of show invitations from every site imaginable, only to have people come out and see the same material because you never spend time writing or performing.

It’s getting to the point where it’s too much though: I gotta put it here, there, send it to this email list, that mailing list, it’s like I need to hire somebody just to do that. It’s a ton of admin work, and my philosophy is “if it’s between shows and sending emails, I’ll do shows.” In my experience, I have gotten more work from doing a good show (and someone sees me/books me) than I have from online stuff. But, that’s not to say I haven’t gotten anything online.

Plus, I don’t know that bookers really trust video all that much anymore anyway. Now to get booked, video isn’t enough.  It has to accompany a live guest spot. You try to get a gig at a club down in the South, for example, it used to be just a video, then a DVD, then an emailed link, but none of that is good enough anymore. Now you have to send a DVD just to get the guest spot. They won’t book you unless they’ve seen you live, a couple of times, plus referrals. Referrals have been more valuable to me than my Live at Gotham video. I don’t even know what to say about that. Maybe the clubs did try booking acts off the DVDs they were getting in and then got burned a few times.  From a booker’s perspective, with video, you never know if a performance has been sweetened. Referrals and guest spots, you can’t go wrong by that.

4. You post your cell phone on your website, have you had any issues with that?

No, it hasn’t been an issue.  There are booking sites like gigmasters where comics compete to book a gig. And, when you submit for a gig and put in your pricing and such, the site sends the client an email and sends you their email address and phone number.  Sometimes, if you haven’t booked anything, you think “Oh I’m not getting these bookings, I’m getting beat out by people who have been at it longer.” But the reason might be that some of the more aggressive comics just don’t mind actually picking up the phone and following-up with clients. While a lot of us younger guys are sending a follow-up email, somebody else is already on the line booking the gig.  I think it’s an advantage to be a bit more aggressive. I’m still learning, and forcing myself to do these kinds of things. The best, of course, is when you get a feel for how technologically savvy the client is beforehand. Some prefer not to be called at all, and others will only speak over the phone.

5. What do you think about posting videos of your show online?

I think it’s necessary at this point. I think the question is, does it suffice to just put your videos on your own website? And the answer is no. People aren’t going to spend a ton of time searching for you. So you have to spread the videos around.  That’s what I was mentioning before, it’s a real pain that you have to put each and every clip on so many different sites. You gotta do the event invites in all the different places and videos too. People will say “I saw you online” and I ask “where?” They say “YouTube” and I know it’s an old video, so I immediately start apologizing because I know that’s old stuff.  “On Youtube? No! I don’t do that material anymore!” But if they say they saw my video on my site, I still apologize (“that stuff’s no good either!”), but not as much as if they saw it on YouTube. But it’s not one of those things you think about too much. Generally I think about “I wanna book my next gig” and not about making sure all my videos are being perfectly maintained.  I’m kind of always about the next thing.

6. How do you think digital tools will change comedy?

I still think that comedy shows are best live in intimate settings – those are the best. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen somebody on TV, and I don’t think much of it, but then I see the same guy in a club or a smaller room and I’m just blown away. I don’t think that we’ve come so far that we can replace how much better a live show is. I think that’s the one downside about online videos – when people see them as a substitute for the real thing instead of a preview.

I just hope online clips don’t discourage people from going out. I hope instead of people saying, “Hey, I saw Ben’s video online, let me go watch every single other video he has,” they say “Hey, I saw Ben’s video online; I’m going to go see him live.”  But they might just stop at watching all of your online stuff. Their friend will be like, “Well Ben’s coming to town to perform” and they’ll go, “Nah, I’ve already seen his whole act on YouTube.” Then what’s the point of putting clips up in the first place?  There’s so much upside about getting your comedy online and out to so many, but there’s downside. Because there’s so much video out there, people may only watch 5 or 10 seconds of your clip. At a show they’ll watch the whole thing and really get you.

7. How much information do you tend to share on the social networks?

I try not to go overboard with it. I try to only plug big shows for my Facebook profile updates.

Sometimes you can look at your newsfeed and it’s like the boy who cried wolf. “This person put in their 5th status update today about their toes…” It’s constant minutia. Which is fine, but I prefer to just put down a bigger show and not put down shows that there’s no chance people can come to. Like if I’m doing a college in Idaho, I probably won’t put it down there, because you know, who’s gonna see the status update and say “let’s go book some tickets.  Nick’s gonna be in the middle of nowhere”?  But if it’s in The City, I’ll put it down, and maybe people will come out.

8. What’s your weirdest online experience involving your comedy career?

I had a few in the beginning where people would find me online after seeing a show and email me, which is nice, but I just have nothing to say to them.  Aside from the typical thank you’s and such.  I thought fans were reserved for people who were doing it forever and on TV. It’s so weird to go to a show and hear “I heard you’d be on this so I came out.” It’s really strange.  Of course, that hardly ever happens so I don’t really have worry about it.

I’m always in awe of the number of friend requests you can get after doing some show in the middle of nowhere where you didn’t think anyone was even listening.  The kind of gig where you have to ask the band to stop setting up (or playing).  And you even get friend requests from people who didn’t like the show. “You just wanna friend me to tell me you didn’t like it?” I guess I just wanna control what I put out there, and I’d rather put out smaller amounts in an environment I understand better – stand-up.  That’s why I don’t do that many status updates or tweets. Although perhaps I should.

I’ve also had negative experiences where people will book me based on video (let’s say, for the sake of argument, it’s even a video I really like) and I’ll go in and do the gig, and the material is completely inappropriate for the gig they want me to do. I’d be like “oh they like this video, so I’ll be sure to do that material from the video,” and it turns out to be completely inappropriate for the show.  I don’t mean it’s dirty when it should be clean, just that it’s not what they wanted.  Well, why did you book me based on the video then?  Because I did that exact same stuff for you!  A guy actually said once that I didn’t perform “the video material” with the same intensity that I did in the video.  But, in the video, I was in front of a couple hundred people, and his show maybe twelve.  So, you still need to ask questions, ‘cause so many things will be taken out of context, which is why clubs are still based largely on referrals and guest spots. They’ve been burned too many times.  So, I still think word of mouth and reputation are the most important things in comedy.

Posted on

Hi-Tech Comedy: Eric Blake

Today I’m interviewing Eric Blake. A regular at BET’s Comic View, Eric Blake is regular headliner at comedy clubs across the nation, including: The Improv, The Comedy Store, and The Punchline. Eric has been selected to The Best of Comic View on BET for four consecutive years.

1. You don’t seem to have a domain name like EricBlake.com, any particular reason?

eric_blakeI had one, I had to let it go. It wasn’t doing anything for me at the time. I do own the domain though, there’s just no website on it. I’m not really trying to do stuff like that until I get my career to the point where I want it. I’m one of those comics that’s constantly on the road. One show, one day, and I’m up and gone the next, then I’m back home with my family and then out the next day. The website is just stuff I can’t concentrate on.

I focus on the people individually by going to towns. The people are the ones that control the business. That’s who industry can’t control. They can’t control who people like and who they want to go see. They can’t control the things that the people want to hear and support. That’s what I concentrate on. You can have your fan base in one place, but it’s about getting out there and getting seen and getting my DVDs in their hands. That’s how I do it, old school.

2. How are you using the internet / social media to promote your career?

I use twitter to get my name and my jokes out there. I try to get my voice heard. That’s what I use it for. I also use Facebook and everything in between. You gotta have all the media outlets that you can think of. I use MySpace to but really Facebook is my favorite. I like to interact and talk to people on there. Whenever I visit different countries, I always leave Facebook posts. I like to post about how McDonald’s are different in different countries.

3. Have you noticed the payoff yet?

Not really. I don’t really focus on those things. I just do it and let it go. Things like YouTube, I hear a lot of people toss my videos up there.  My DVD that I have out gets the most response. I try not to focus on those things too much, the online stuff doesn’t count unless you can put asses in seats; that’s what counts at the end of the day. You can never really gauge what’s happening until you put together a show and see how many people come out to see you.

4. What do you think about posting videos of your show online?

I hate it but I know it’s necessary. I hate it because every time I look up someone has a joke similar to mine. My wife just emailed something somebody emailed her about one of my jokes that was similar to some stuff that I wrote or have been performing for the past few years. And that pisses me off because it’s hard being original. You come up with a beautiful concept, beautiful jokes, I write and perform them, they become part of my act, and then you got ten comics doing the same thing you’re doing and you’re scratching your head with, “How did he come up with something so similar?” Then the dude sees you and is like, “You’re one of my favorite comedians, I’ve seen you on YouTube.” And you can’t really say anything cause he thinks the jokes are his. He thinks it’s okay to write a joke similar to yours and then perform it. It’s kinda hard but you know, you need the videos out there, you gotta get your stuff out there so the people can catch on. But it’s very hard for me.

5. How do you think digital tools will change comedy?

I think that it will make it harder for comedians to be original because with digital tools, videos get out there so fast that everybody gets wind of it, and if it’s really funny, it’s so easy to take. And next thing you know it’s not yours anymore. I think it’ll hurt comedy in some ways but maybe the younger comics can think of stuff faster. You gotta be more clever about how you put stuff out there and grow your fan base quicker. It helped some comics.

Some comics have blown up within a year just because of one joke. And one joke has gotten around and now this person is a mega star and they’ve only been doing comedy a year or two. As opposed to someone like me, that’s been doing it for thirteen years and is trying to be a real standup comedian. I don’t care how big you blow up, the truth is in the pudding. You blow up and go on the road and you can only do five or ten minutes and the audience has paid to see you do forty five minutes or an hour. Then you got a cocky feature blowing you off the stage. It all depends on how fast you develop yourself. You gotta do the work, get on stage and put the time in. I don’t care who you are or how fast you blow up, you gotta put the time in.

6. Do you think lots of comics used to have similar material but just didn’t know it, and now they see it quicker on the internet because there’s only so many concepts, or is comics stealing material?

I think it’s definitely harder to be original because comics pull from the same pool. You’re thinking in the same rhythm, that’s possible. 1-2-3 setup, punch. That’s the vehicle jokes are written in. But to come up with an original concept is a very hard thing to do. Something that you thought of personally, to say that another comic might’ve been doing that before you, is a very rare thing. By rare, I mean, the odds in that are really, really low because there are definitely so many concepts we can talk about. Anyone can do kids, relationships with wives or parents, those are general concepts that everybody has.

There are very few comics who can talk about selling drugs and making a lot of money or being on the streets when they were fifteen and dealing with crack addicts from a dealer’s perspective. And then dealing with life and the transition from big time drug dealer to comedian. Those are hard concepts to develop as a comedian, I learned to develop those and to take the things I know from my life and put them in a joke form. It took 5-6 years to develop a whole act about that. Then to see someone get on stage and do something similar when you can tell it’s not from the same perspective, but they’re trying to emulate what you’re saying because they’ve heard you say it. You can clearly see it, that is no mistake. You’ll know because that person will see you and walk up to you and tell you that you’re their inspiration. You see ten thousand Mitch Hedbergs that try to emulate him. That’s fine and beautiful, he was on his way to greatness and being a legend and he wasn’t here for that long. You see it in comics that emulate him. That’s okay, but to a comedian that’s still out there you can’t have the same style as Chris Tucker or Dave Chappelle, not just style but doing jokes like he does with his punches and concepts, you can never be you because Chappelle is Chappelle. I’m Blake. And the guys that emulate me, that’s fine, but wait til I’m gone! I don’t wanna see my jokes on TV before I can put them there. That’s the thing about comedy, we police ourselves.

7. How much information do you tend to share on the social networks?

A lot. The things that are off limits are my wife because she asked me not to, everything else, I’m an open book about. I share just about anything. Although at some point, my wife won’t have a choice.

8. What’s your weirdest online experience involving your comedy career?

This wasn’t really weird but inspiring. I had an email from a guy from when I was doing my drug thing, and he told me that I probably didn’t remember him, but years ago, I was a drug dealer in his town in Denver and he was like, “I remember you used to be this tough street cat, and one time you did something bad to someone in an altercation, but I saw you on TV and that inspired me.” When he heard I was a comedian and it inspired him to change. He decided if I could change, he could change, and he just wanted to thank me for that. He saw an interview with me about how I changed my life and he remembered that, and he went to the navy, enlisted, got out and he works with youth and kids now. And he just wanted to thank me. I thought that was kinda weird but also inspiring.

Posted on

Clayton Fletcher: Auditioning Q&A

Today I’m talking to Clayton Fletcher about auditioning. Clayton Fletcher has appeared in countless productions for TV, film, stage, and radio over his 16-year career as a comedian, actor, singer, and musician. He headlines The Clayton Fletcher Show at New York Comedy Club every Friday and Saturday at 8PM. He auditions regularly for opportunities across all media, and once in a while, when all the stars align perfectly and the comedy gods are on his side, he gets that magic ‘yes.’ For more info, visit his website.

Who are the different types of people you will audition for in your career?

The three types are jerks, egomaniacs, and wannabes. Just kidding!

The people involved vary depending on the type of audition. If it’s a TV audition, there is a collaboration between the producer, who puts up the money and therefore has the final say; the casting director, whose job is to narrow the talent pool to only those in whom the producer may be interested; and the agents and managers who fight to get the talent in front of the casting director. So as you can see, a lot of people have to say “yes” before you end up on TV.

In a comedy club audition, we audition for the talent booker. It is often done in the form of an “audition spot” in a normal show in front of a paid audience who may or may not know they are watching an audition. Sometimes the talent booker is the owner of the club, as in the case of New York Comedy Club, which is where my show takes place every weekend. Other clubs have a manager or assistant manager act as talent booker, although even in those clubs having the owner on your side doesn’t hurt.

In an audition for a festival, such as the prestigious Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival or Melbourne International Comedy Festival, there is an Executive Director. His or her job is to fill the festival will a wide range of comedians who fit into the themes of the shows lined up. These themes may be “New Faces” or “Alternative Comedy” or even “Hot Gay Comics” to name a few. A festival director typically has a small team of scouts and advisors assisting him/her in finding talent. This team may include bookers, managers, agents, producers, casting directors, and comedy club owners. Many of them also scour the internet and viewing different comedians’ websites.

How do you get an audition?

Getting any audition is much easier with the help of an agent or manager, people who make much of their living through helping comics get auditions! But for comics without representation, there are other means such as contacting the casting director or producer directly for television, submitting a video in the case of a festival, or being referred by another comic in the case of a club.

At New York Comedy Club (home of The Clayton Fletcher Show each Friday and Saturday at 8PM), we have a bimonthly showcase for Al Martin, the owner. New comics who climb the ladder at the club by performing in our Sunday Open Mic and our 8pm weekend shows may be asked to audition for Mr. Martin. Outstanding performers are offered opportunities such as being passed for guest spots and paid spots, entering our groundbreaking Development Program, or even auditioning for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, as two of our new guys did last month!

What do you do different in an audition set vs a regular set? Does this depend on who you’re auditioning for?

It does not depend. Nobody wants to see you improvise or do crowd work in an audition set. Unless you are specifically asked to do improv, you should stick to your material. Generally audition sets are very short, so you need to make an impression. Pick the jokes that show your point of view, emphasize your persona, and most of all make the crowd laugh their butts off. For most things it is best to keep it clean as very few club owners are impressed nowadays with your thought-provoking revelations about your penis. They have heard it all before, so make sure your stuff is absolutely original.

How do you choose what jokes to do for your audition?

It varies based on the genre. I would do a much different set for Conan than I would for Playboy TV. And NYC-based material could work for a comedy club audition in town but nobody in Canada knows much about the F train so I wouldn’t try that for Montreal. You need to find the balance between being yourself and giving yourself a chance to get the gig, so pick the material that is appropriate for the job. It is a business after all, especially when you are auditioning!

I’ve found I’m more nervous when I know I’m auditioning then when I’m doing a regular set, I’m sure others are the same way. Do you have any tips for how a comic could control their nerves?

I think everyone gets those jitters, Ben, but I’ve learned that those butterflies are actually friends of mine! Being nervous gives me focus and energy, improves my concentration, and lets my brain fire on all cylinders. At this point, I accept that I am nervous and just do my best to turn it into a positive. If I am so nervous that I have no fun onstage, the audience has no fun either! But the good news is typically crowds do not see the nerves, they just feel the energy and sense that the comic is really into giving the performance.

If you’re not sure you’re ready to audition, is it better to say “no” and hold off or try the audition anyway? In other words, how bad is it to be seen too soon versus getting that additional stage time and experience auditioning?

This is a tough question. I never auditioned for anything in my first seven years of comedy! I honestly felt that I wanted to hone my craft and have a big unveiling when my act was ready. I have mixed feelings about this decision, looking back. The positive is that when I do finally get in front of people now, the first impression they get is hopefully a good one. But the downside is that I have been around a long time but many in the industry have never heard of me despite my ten years in stand-up. Still, I have a much better shot at booking something now than I would have years ago due to my growth as an artist over time, so I guess I am happy with the way I played it. Time will tell how much it all ends up paying off for me I suppose…

Other Comedy Tips:

[wp_list_bookmarks category=”2″ & categorize=”0″ & title_before=” ” & category_before=” ” & category_after=” ” & title_li=”0″]

Posted on

Hi-Tech Comedy: Ray Ellin

Today I’m interviewing Ray Ellin. Ray was honored as one of New York’s “Best Emerging Artists 2009” and “Ten Standout Stand-Ups Worth Watching” by Back Stage Magazine. Ray is a comedian, television host, actor, producer, writer, and filmmaker. Ray is the host of LateNet with Ray Ellin,, the first live comedy/variety show to combine both in-studio and interactive online audiences. The show features A-list celebrities, top comedians, and musical guests including Chevy Chase, Hank Azaria, Leonard Nimoy, Paul Shaffer, Fran Drescher, and many more. You can find it on DailyComedy.com/latenet. In addition to LateNet with Ray Ellin, Ray has also been the host and writer of the syndicated television shows The Movie Loft, Premium TV, and currently BrainFuelTV. Ray executive produced and directed the film The Latin Legends of Comedy. Distributed by Twentieth Century Fox, the movie received the Best Documentary Award at the Boston International Film Festival.

Photo credit: Asylum.com, Bonnie Biess

1. How are you using the internet / social media to promote your career?

After live shows, there’s always people who add me on Facebook, DailyComedy, MySpace, Twitter or just Google me. They want to find me and keep tabs on me, let me know they liked my show, or see if I have any merchandise available. It’s a great tool to stay connected.

Before social networking, you would have a sheet, and people would fill out their name and phone number or email address if they wanted to know about upcoming shows. Now, mass numbers of people can find and follow you fairly easily. It’s really been an invaluable tool. And it allows you to connect with people globally. I once did a TV interview and within three days, there were hundreds of Facebook requests. That’s incredible. In the past, if you did an interview, and someone seemed interested, hopefully they’d remember your name and if you did a show in their town hopefully they’d come. Now, they can keep tabs on you and to some extent you can keep tabs on them.

2. Have you noticed the payoff yet?

Yes. I find that now when I’m traveling through a specific city, it’s easy to target the people who live in that area. The nice thing about it, most of the time it’s people who looked for me on the websites, so that means they already have an interest. As opposed to me randomly saying, “Hi I’m a comedian, I’ll be in town.” These are people who saw you and chose to seek you out.

3. How does your show ‘Late Net with Ray Ellin’ use the internet?

‘Late Net with Ray Ellin’ really incorporates social media and social networking really well. We have done it in a unique and entertaining way. I have a monitor set up on my desk, and in real time, whoever has a webcam, can ask questions and communicate with me or the guests. It’s a live video feed – we can’t beam them into the actual studio. It’s not Star Trek (although Leonard Nimoy, the original Mr. Spock, was a GREAT guest on the show). It would be cool if you could teleport people, right? Anyway, my guest is sitting next to me, and on the monitor you see people watching the show from their homes and we can interact with them.

Late Net started as a late night talk show format: monologue, comedy sketches, celebrity guests, performances. I have a live studio audience and an interactive online audience. We have people watching all over the world, literally. I communicate with people from Belgium, Israel and Wichita, Kansas. The audience is really spread out. They can all interact with each other too. It’s a cool way to integrate technology into the talk show format. Right now the show has been airing and is archived on DailyComedy.com. DailyComedy.com has become the largest comedy specific social networking website with tons of original content. When people search for me, DailyComedy pops up. I’ve gotten an enormous amount of mileage from being a part of that community. People go there specifically for comedy; to find jokes on every topic and to learn about different comedians. From a social networking perspective, it’s been super valuable and allows me to showcase my content.

We also recently licensed the show to AOL. So it’s been broadcast on AOL’s Asylum.com. It definitely grows the audience.

We’ve had up to 100,000 people watching the show at once without it crashing. It slowed down, but it kept going. DailyComedy has crashed – when Michael Jackson died, it went down because everyone wanted Michael Jackson jokes. Tiger Woods jokes. Billy Mays jokes. Yesterday people were looking for Sandra Bullock jokes, and that brought the site down for a few minutes because it was huge traffic. But as far as Late Net goes, it didn’t crash yet. And when people watch the show archived, there’s no danger there.

4. How did you use the internet for The Latin Legends of Comedy?

In the past, before the web, you would make a movie, try to get it in the theatre, hopefully get a DVD deal, get it on TV, and that’s the end of it. Which is fine, it worked for years. With the web, just having a website is incredibly valuable. When people are searching for Latino comedy, having a MySpace and being able to interact with fans, it was incredible. And it was helpful with DVD sales. Just going on message boards, it helped. You could go on the message boards and let the people who might be interested in the movie know about it. It’s social and it’s networking, you meet people with similar interests and let people know about you or your film. You don’t just have to hope the studio will do a big marketing campaign anymore, you can take it into your own hands and spread the word. Even if it’s just with your friends, “My movie is done, take a look at the trailer.”

5. What do you think about posting videos of your sets online?

I think it’s okay to put some of your set or material online because you want people who might not really go to a live comedy club to learn about you and discover a little bit about you. And you want others to come out and see you in person. But you don’t want them to think, “I’ve seen him, there’s no need to come out.”

I don’t think you should put everything you’ve ever done online. At the end of the day, stand up is best when experienced live at the club. I think it’s the same with music, but especially with comedy. It’s best in a group setting in a theatre or comedy club. Hands down. But having a presence on the web is really great because someone can become a fan from watching some of your clips online. And by the same token, when someone goes to see you live, they then look you up for more. Let’s say they see a clip of something you just did at the live show, it’s like they have a souvenir from that. “Oh yeah, I love that bit, that’s so funny.” In some ways, for people who saw you live, it’s like a memento from the show. It’s additional material for them to reinforce why they enjoyed you.

However, online videos can also be very misleading, you might have someone post five decent minutes of stand up online, and that might be all they have. In those five minutes you’re like, “Wow this person is funny.” Then you go see him live and are like, “From minute six on, this is just awful.” It can really trick people. That’s why a web based following can sometimes be like the emperor’s new clothes.

6. How do you think digital tools will change comedy?

I think comedy is best live, in person. I think at some point, people will start doing more stand up experiences where it beams live into people’s homes. I don’t think that will be really popular though. At the end of the day, people want to experience it in person, not as a hologram. Late Net is actually a great example. We have a way to reach people who can’t make it to a show because they live in the middle of nowhere, so they can tune in and become part of the audience through the web. It’s an example of how it can expand your audience and bring them together at the same time.

I think digital tools will change comedy more in the sense of letting people keep tabs on you and allowing the artist to stay connected to their fans even when they’re not doing a show. With twitter, people can stay connected to their fans just while sitting on the toilet. They can sit there and send out a tweet, brush their teeth and send out a tweet. You can keep your fan base entertained and engaged from your living room.

But it’s a catch 22, because you also have to get people to know you’re on Twitter. They might see you live or on TV and wanna follow you, but they gotta know about it.

Digital tools are a great way to further the relationship you already established. I’ve had people who came to New York, and then they continued to see what I post on Facebook, and are always coming on Daily Comedy and seeing what new jokes or videos I put up. That’s incredible, to maintain that relationship, the comedian-fan relationship; that doesn’t exist in the club. That being said, if you post something really stupid, you can sorta bomb online. But you can send out links to stuff you did.

I was actually just in the Bahamas at Treasure Bay in Freeport, and this national uproar existed because I had people in the audience and they were infamous in the Bahamas for some illicit activities, and I didn’t know who they were, I had no idea, and it ended up being really funny. That show was taped and clips were spread digitally all over the Bahamas. People stopped me at bars, at the casino, at the airport – the customs official asked me about it. Totally serious. Now it’s been posted to my Facebook page and I did follow up interviews in the Bahamas about it. Because of the internet, Daily Comedy and Facebook, people who weren’t even at an event can suddenly experience that event. And now people will say, “Oh wow let me keep tabs on this guy and see what he’s up to next.” That’s how the internet works, people are gonna Google me, and the interview on BigBenComedy will come up. They’ll be like, “Wow let me read what Ray had to say when he was talking to Ben. Ooh, that Twittering in the bathroom thing was fascinating insight.” And now people looking for me also discovered you, and we might share the same magnificent fans.

7. How much information do you tend to share on the social networks?

It’s a mix. It irks me when people write completely boring minutia. Like, “Just flossed my teeth.” I doubt anyone will go, “Wow, I didn’t know Tony flosses his teeth. Look how hygienic he is. That is riveting.”

People wanna be entertained or given some valuable information. If someone posts a news story about a medical breakthrough or a funny anecdote, I think that’s what people enjoy the most. I post real things about my day, but put a funny spin on it. I never put, “Just bought a new pillow,” and that’s it. Why would you do that? No one gives a shit about your bedding. For some people it works for them, because they want to feel connected with the rest of their friends and that’s how they do it. But for the most part, people want to be entertained, interested, engaged. And a new pillow story isn’t gonna do it, unless it was a pillow filled with cash and you are giving it all away.

You want to post something ideally that will be interesting or informative or funny. In the Bahamas I posted something about swimming with dolphins, without anything funny, just how much I enjoyed it. But to me, that certainly was interesting, coming from an NYC boy. And the follow up posts and photos were funny and fun. It’s not just, “About to turn off my lights and go to bed.” I tend to share some humorous stuff that’s based on my own life or an observation about something else. Like healthcare, I’ll post something funny about that. Or maybe about a good charity or cause. I’ll also let people know what’s going on, if I have a certain show, or where I’ll be performing. I just posted, “Doing 3 shows at Dangerfield’s Saturday night, stop by if you want.” It’s both self promotion and an invitation. Basically, I probably do it the same way as every other human being on the planet does it. Except that people in Bombay aren’t promoting sets at Comic Strip.

8. What’s your weirdest online experience involving your comedy career?

Once I did a show, and someone who had been in the audience looked me up on DailyComedy and posted a couple of comments to my wall on DailyComedy. I replied “Thank you.” Then from that, she learned about Late Net, so she started tuning into Late Net. One night we had a contest, a “Send in a funny video” thing. And this girl proceeded to make the dirtiest videos I’ve ever seen in my life. Like filthy. And in the videos she’d hold up hand written signs like, “This is for you Ray.” The videos were totally pornographic. This girl could’ve made a fortune in amateur home videos. It was bizarre. I’m getting these emails thinking it’s just another video entry, and she was basically getting fully naked and had an arsenal of not just sex toys, but also various household objects that she incorporated into this video. Like a dildo, a flashlight, and an ice tray. Unreal. And every once in a while, the handheld sign would say “Hey Ray” then another sign would pop up, “Do you like this Ray?” It was so bizarre yet fascinating and entertaining at the same time. I never realized a clock radio had so many filthy purposes.

I read somewhere that the number one purpose for the internet is for porn, and even when it comes to a comedy show, that purpose can also creep up and happen. That experience was pretty out there. I get plenty of emails but that was by far the most interesting one I ever opened. I was flattered but slightly unnerved. I’m thinking, “If this girl is willing to do this, what will she do if she ever comes back to NYC and goes to a show. What will happen in the show room?” But as long as it’s not violent, it will be an interesting and welcome addition to the show. And at the end of the day, people are more comfortable doing outrageous stuff on the web, from the comfort of their own home. They can pull a candle out of their butt without anyone yelling at them or throwing them out of the club. Exactly the purpose Al Gore had when he invented it, right?

Verified by ExactMetrics