Do More See More Be More

Ah, my death year. I did creature modeling, been hitting the stage for open mics, and it is not enough. I need to do more to grow faster.

Gotta put out more narrative stuff again, little music videos, work my way up to regularly doing improvised songs onstage.

Just learned that the Comedy Store has in-person potluck signups, that the old email system (that I have reminders to send every week) is no longer in service. How helpful!

America's Got Talent has easier auditions now, emphasizing virtual submissions. All I need is a good clip from a live show, and I'm set! Or maybe not, depending on their programming.

And one of the discussions happening on twitter lately is that there has never been a funny live action Joker in Batman. Maybe Heath Ledger, but he is dead. Then I realized that it is me. I can play that role, and I would be incredible. Lean into every odd quirk, all the instincts that I typically suppress, including the cruel joke ones... Could be fun...

Invited to a Filmed Open Mic

I had my first standup comedy open mic experience in over a year, and I kind of killed it. I was great. 5-ish minutes of little songs and one-liners. And critically, it was fun. Felt loose, natural. The show's sponsor pulled me aside afterward and asked me to go to a taped open mic the following week (this upcoming Wednesday). They are doing a version of Kill Tony (which I have never enjoyed) called Open Micers. And yes, I think that they should have thought for a split second about SEO because their event will not stand out in an internet search. But you know what will pop up? A reddit post warning about this standup show producer not paying up the promised prize for standup contests. But I digress.

I have since written down that five minute set as I performed it, then edited to optimize. I did voices that I had not even planned on, but it was great!

Now I need to memorize it really well (I consulted notes in that performance), then I can play it loose and fun for the filmed thing.

Oh, and the documentary! Since my onstage persona requires some degree of dialogue with myself, I think it is a good habit for me to get used to talking to the camera. So I have been doing so more, trying to get plenty of footage stashed away before my (presumably) inevitable rise to fame.

Showing Initiative

I released another EP or album, or whatever we wanna call it. Boosted the volume a little, but nothing else.

But a fun fact I just remembered is from my time in med school. There was such a learning curve, not just with the academic side, which was overwhelming enough, but also with practical basics on the island. How do you go grocery shopping if you do not have a car? Where should I live? A fancy apartment? A dorm? What is travel like? Are they serious when they say to bring cash for food? Because I did not. So at some point fairly early on, I wrote down everything that I wished someone had told me. And that very long Word document would later be revised and incorporated as a standard part of student orientation.

Kinda neat. I tended to take initiative as a leader in so many areas, not because I love being in charge, but because I wanted to spare anyone else from suffering as I had, assuming that they had the patience to read what I wrote. A big assumption, I know.

Released an EP

Slipping back into the throes of sobriety. It is cruel how much better I am when sober. Cannabis products kill my productivity, ruin my attempts at basic bodily maintenance. Want to stay in shape like you always have? Sorry, edibles will ruin that for you. A couple days off of edibles and I am waking up at decent times, saving so much money by having a decreased (normal for me) appetite, and craving pacing on a treadmill while my electronics charge. Booze is a mixed bag though. On the one hand, it kills, ages, makes you have to pee. On the other, you can be super functional up until your skin and various organs die.

Released an EP this week. Mostly for funzies. Edible had kicked in one night, but I still had the presence of mind to record some stuff. I have had enough friends release music to know that it is largely inconsequential, that no one will notice or care, and you will not make money on it. Therefore, I opted out of paying for studio time, for mixing/mastering, and instead just released the tracks in their raw, original format, including false starts.

I have been sitting on a few of my favorite tunes for awhile. I mean, I posted them on socials, but I did so like a year ago. The irony there is of course that I think I tried harder at fun storytelling back then, and now I am better as a musician but potentially worse in the narrative department. Ain't that just the way.

I went to a networking event aka free pancakes on a lovely Sunday. The host is a comedy director buddy of mine who has won loads of awards, and there was another comedy director in attendance (also award-winning, which is how they met). They are currently working kind of normal jobs, because the industry continues to be dead for the foreseeable future. This means that they are hungry to work on fun and easy projects, which is why I pitched the idea of filming a no-budget music video. I of course pitched by playing the first verse of it, "it" being a song I had improvised a year ago in Texas. They LOVED it. Both directors interested, so now I am trying to find/write more songs to fit their flavor.

See, to win those awards, these directors shoot a film. They submit that film to a billion festivals. Regardless of success or lack thereof in these festivals, it takes a year or two for their art to make it through the festival circuit, like, just to find out if they are in. And as an incentive for festivals to help them, they will give a festival exclusivity for a premiere or whatever.

All of that translates to years of waiting for anyone in the public to see what kind of work they do. Sure they post promos, little posters and teasers, but when your short film is already short, there is only so much to be done with that.

But music videos? Immediate release. Lots of room to play and create, without having to worry about audio. I know this is easier because I have been making my own little music videos, and have noted the simplicity of just focusing on visual gags while the music takes care of the narrative. And this is a chance to work with directors on set as a writer/actor, which is WHAT I WANT TO DO, and is also THE BEST WAY TO GET TO KNOW SOMEONE YOU WANT TO WORK WITH PROFESSIONALLY.

So for this month, my comedy director buddy Roe will be working out in Wyoming, but we tentatively plan to shoot the music video next month. This means that I need to finish writing it. Will the third verse be from the perspective of a waiter? A dog? A dog waiter?

Oh, also, I have been filming sorta video blog things for what I hope will be a fun documentary someday.

Today

I cannot describe how annoying it is that I am so much more talented when sober. Churned out four songs the other day, plus a few intro jingles for a comedian buddy. Every time I post a requested song, people ask for more, and I get more followers. In other words, my approach is working, ever so slowly.

Had my first birthday celebration since I got to LA. Celebrated with other improv friends first by performing in a show, then by going to karaoke. I am still typically a pretty distinctive performer, but it is so nice to not be the only one who goes hard! I love my current life. I am soaking up every minute as I live it, in part because I feel like it must end soon. Too good.

I have been LOVING this open mic. I get footage that makes me look like a paid performer. And multiple clips have now gone viral on Instagram. And today, I bought a carbon fiber ukulele. Not as resonant as my wood one, but the strings are spaced better, and apparently you can run over these carbon fiber ukuleles with a car (but the strings might get damaged).

Just finished editing clips from today's open mic. One of these might put me over the top. Clickbait editing and everything. But now I am high and exhausted, so I hesitate to post. But also, what the hey? It is posted.

Got a song request asking me to say why OnlyFans is ruining a generation. I think it is making the best out of a bad situation. Off the top of my head, here are lyrics that come to mind.

I don't think that Onlyfans is the problem.

I say that 'cause you have to pay to watch 'em

And because there are very few jobs,

But this one is a type

That lets women (or whoever)

Work as much or little as they like.

Just from the fact

That they are incredible

Viral Post

I finally had an organic viral post, and it was the best kind, taking the form of some open mic footage of me introducing and then performing a joke song. I messed up a lot, but still had good footage for a 23 second clip. And six days and over 30,000 views later, I realize that I have broken through the algorithm, and tomorrow's musical open mic (which I have been attending for the past couple weeks) requires me to show up and perform another song, in the hopes of having another viral video. View counts on other videos have definitely gone up! Oh, and this is Instagram, not TikTok. All organic.

I attracted comments from the always-toxic standup community, which is now filled with white supremacists and Nazis. I am responding to mean stuff with silly whenever possible, but I also want to try making fun of white supremacists more by making fun of myself. As a friend said, "they can't help themselves" when it comes to hate watching.

Since I acquired the ability to shoot in 4k with external sound, I have decided to use my most underutilized resource, time, to make actual narrative songs.

Additionally, a ten minute drive from where I am tip-tapping away at this laptop, comedy legend Kyle Mooney will be playing a free show today. Then, it is my favorite show in LA, Duo It Again.

Remembered that I need to buy stilts (a critical step in learning how to walk on stilts). I do have a fear of heights, though I am not sure if it will kick in. Good for me to face that.

Since I have money in the bank and work ethic, I have decided to offer free work for friends more often, to collab. And with a viral post, I can now offer some degree of visibility too!

Back in LA (not Louisiana)

Oh, boy howdy. My big plans to form a musical comedy duo ran into some snags. Criston, who should have already gotten famous for his music, voice, and looks, was somewhat open to the idea, but then he went on got motorcycle wrecked into getting his jaws wired shut. I asked my other friend Jake, but he could not fathom doing creative work while he spends his days doing manual labor. He dislikes the manual labor, and it is negatively affecting his physical health, but it is so occupying that it is a never ending venture. What stinks is that he is one of the most naturally gifted improvisers, one of the accidentally funniest people I know. And like Criston, he knows music far more in-depth than I do.

I really should write to catch up on things, because a lot did happen. I flew to Dallas, left my mom's Prius in street parking that would go on to become a temporary tow-away zone. This would cost me much stress and money upon my return to LA. While in Dallas, I met the SFX MUA who would be working with me on this short film. After we got a mold of my fingies, I drove to Arkansas. Fun time there, always feels like a vacation. It helps that they sell cannabis products at the border with Missouri half an hour north. I of course was happy to simply chomp one from my friend's neighbor.

Then upon my return to the Dallas area, we did a test shoot with the prosthetics. This is when it starts to feel crazy, because for this test shoot, I wore $500 of prosthetics. Then later, at the actual shoot, I wore that same amount of prosthetics again. We did not get the shots the first night, so I voluntarily stayed in makeup while I slept, then we shot my stuff late the next day just before a thunderstorm stopped us from shooting more. Now they have that footage, but have rewritten the script to avoid requiring me when they reshoot it, since I am typically out of state.

Then I bought a used iPhone 12 mini via fb marketplace for $150. Game changer. I can now film in 4K, and I already have good professional dynamic mics, so suddenly, my usual posts can be in high quality, and I can start considering making short films and content on my own.

Then that SFX MUA agreed to do a life casting of my face, which is something I had wanted for a year. And she also wanted me to act in a short film she was making. So I got a free haircut a life casting, and 4K footage of the latter, along with some creature contortionist moves from both films. And I was able to connect those artists with my buddies in LA who are more experienced/knowledgeable.

So today, back in LA, I sent a clip to a local buddy who is great at improv and, as he put it, "plays basically every musical instrument." He is a chubby, bald, bearded latino guy. I love his sense of humor, and I think we could work great together, but I just have not known him for that long. I have known him for a year, but have only sat down to chat over a meal once. This is in part because I have a crush on his close friend and collaborator. Very distracting.

And I also finally went jogging yesterday. It reprograms my brain. Right now, I feel driven, performative, like I want to make stuff rather than settle in with writing. But this state is also a more distracted one. Something I realized I strongly dislike is the fact that when my work ethic is up, edibles are less effective. The brain-wrecking power of an edible is not as potent against my horrifying level of focus. Still hyperfocused, just not aimed well at the moment.