Recently I did a 'spoken-word' thing at The Dial's semi-regular "Night Of Words" event on May 24; many times these events are either all-comedy or all-poetry but this particular night was a consciously even split between the two. I ended up being the final performer for the 'poetry' section of things so it didn't take too much waiting around to catch the comedy portion that came after.
Although many Dial regulars were there to see collective mainstays Kyle and Brandon try their hands at their stand-up, it was being curated and 'headlined' by a few up-and-coming comedians from San Diego. I had a few friends in college who did improv stuff and they talked about getting 'gigs' and strife within their circuit much like all my musician friends do, except the two realms operate in different clubs to different crowds and with different expectations. These dudes had clearly done this comedy stuff before and I wanted to get their viewpoints on how the 'underground scene' works for them; to gain some insight into that I went and talked with the three out-of-town dudes after their sets were done.
Unfortunately, I didn't plan on doing this interview whatsoever, so much like my recent 'interviews' with The Frights and Four Minute Mile, this was done without a voice recorder and what you read here are my interpretations of the chickenscratch I jotted down during our conversation.
(Fun Fact: The Frights returned for Night Of Words and were playing inside the warehouse while this intervew took place. Small world, huh?)
The three comedians I talked to were Paul Arena, a bald dude who had acted as the host for the comedy portion of the night; David Zafra, whose closing set was probably the best of the night; and Jeffrey Berner, who had actually performed first in the comedy section of the night despite having more experience than the aforementioned Dial heads. All hailing from the general San Diego area and having been in the comedy world for about a year each, they listed the La Jolla Comedy Store, the Madhouse, and the American Comedy Store as the best places to perform/see comedy in the Downtown area, because the crowds are receptive and regular. According to Arena, local SD comedians can get onstage up to 10 times a week if they're trying because there are open mics every day.
On the subject of open mics, while emphasizing that they are always "grateful for the stage time," the general consensus amongst these guys was that doing 'music open mics' can be very rough. I would suspect this is because of the lack of a 'receptive' audience; I've seen it happen before and it's harsh. Nevertheless, Arena said he appreciates dedication and art whenever he sees it, and Berner made the point that's it's all okay as long as people are being attentive. "All you really need is a few people to not talk." As an aside, one of them mentioned that most open mic-er's do "hokey comedy." I can't remember who said that but it's in my notes and it's the spot-on truth.
Another type of show they had gripes with, but appeared to still participate in, was something called a "Bringer Show." A 'bringer show' is one in which the comedian who brings the most people gets the most stage time - even if they suck. The result is that the shitty comics who just bring a bunch of drunks to the bar get headliner-length set times and a bunch of inexperienced shmucks who suckered their friends into coming to the show - despite their disinterest - make up up the majority of the lineup. The risk, as they put it, is that you yourself don't want to invite a bunch of your friends to watch your set if the rest of the show is gonna be terrible and they're gonna have a terrible evening outside of your own (hopefully worthy) set. It's a catch-22: do you embarrass yourself by inviting a ton of friends to a shitty show so you can get a good set time, or do you spare your friends and embarrass yourself by bringing no one and getting a minimal time to perform? The whole situation reminds me of the degradation a "Pay-To-Play" show demands in the music world, just with the added bonus of demanding that your paying friends buy drinks as well.
As a remedy to situations like this, Zafra ran a DIY comedy venue that endured from August 2012 until 4/20/13. Converting 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu in Vista into a 'comedy club' by removing the mats and replacing them with chairs and a microphone, they called the space "Daves Of Our Lives" because the guy he founded it with was also named Dave. According to Zafra, during their run there they had some of the best crowds in San Diego DIY comedy, hosting 'top comics' such as Zoltan, Christian Spicer, Jesse Egun, and Billy Bonnell. (I've never heard of any of those people). He also remarked that for younger comics it had acted as an easy way to get some exposure.
Other venues they listed as places they've performed included laundromats, bowling alleys, hotel rooms, and conference rooms "that looked like A.A. rooms." "If you're sane it's really hard," Zafra related, noting that after awhile everybody knows each other and they've all heard each others' sets before.
On the points of being underwhelmed/dissatisfied with the more capital-driven modes of performing and creating alternative spaces to address alternative needs, the points of struggling to stay sane while being broke and unnoticed, even the quip about hearing the same sets all the time, it all reminds me of the underground/DIY music world. Comedy and music appear to experience similar banes within their spheres and yet for whatever reason the 2 worlds do not really cross paths much at all. I'm not familiar with any of the people or places they referenced as if common knowledge, and I'm sure they would be just as lost if I started listing off my local favorites as well.
It's strange how subcultures can be so parallel in certain aspects and also be almost completely ignorant of each other as well.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
Zafra said he doesn't really like breakfast (whatever dude) but said juevos rancheros would probably be his favorite. Arena said he'd prefer some French toast,and I have Berner's favorite breakfast written down as "cinnamon rolls/babies." I don't know if that slash is for an and or for an or.
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