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HB! Live #038 - How Benny Blue Turned His Mother's Funeral into Stand-Up Special
Join us for a deep dive into the unique approach to comedy with Benny Blue, who shares insights on his groundbreaking special, "Live from My Mother's Funeral." This episode explores the intersection of humor and grief, highlighting how Benny transformed a deeply personal experience into a captivating performance that resonates with audiences. He discusses the creative process behind his special, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and finding your unique voice in comedy. Benny also reflects on the challenges of navigating the competitive landscape of stand-up, particularly in major markets like Los Angeles, and offers valuable advice for aspiring comedians looking to hone their craft.
Watch Benny's special here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrVl7ggCc7I&t=966s
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Transcript
What's goody?
Joel Byers:Hot breath verse.
Joel Byers:Welcome back to Hot Breath Live, your weekly comedy tune up with comedian Joel Byers and Yoshi.
Joel Byers:So we do these every Tuesday on our YouTube channel where we answer your questions live on the air and bring on some special guests every now and then.
Joel Byers:And this is a very special occasion.
Joel Byers:As we've been talking about comedy specials a lot, this cat just dropped one of the most unique specials I've ever seen that you're definitely going to want to check out.
Joel Byers:Available on YouTube.
Joel Byers:Hot breathe called live from my mother's funeral, hot brethren and sister.
Joel Byers:And welcome to the hot breath verse.
Yoshi:Yeah, special Benny blue, everyone.
Benny Blue:Yeah, my mom's dead.
Benny Blue:What's up?
Benny Blue:Yeah, yeah, what's going on?
Yoshi:Let's go, gentlemen.
Benny Blue:We're here.
Benny Blue:We're live.
Benny Blue:We're officially live.
Benny Blue:Everybody troll Joel in the comments.
Benny Blue:Yeah, forgot to hire a production intern.
Benny Blue:And you know, we're raising the budgets here on hot breaths of.
Benny Blue:So we'll get a GoFundme going.
Joel Byers:Yeah, go join that Patreon, that patriot.
Benny Blue:Ah, here we go.
Yoshi:Same.
Joel Byers:But thanks for joining us, Benny.
Joel Byers:Before we start mentioning enjoying the show.
Joel Byers:So we appreciate the kind words as well.
Benny Blue:Yep, hot breath guy put on a t shirt down with the cause, man.
Joel Byers:We're all about comics, helping comics here.
Joel Byers:So this is your first time listening to hot breathe.
Joel Byers:Go ahead and join our email list where I will send you updates on when we go live every single week and all the other cool stuff we have going on.
Joel Byers:But right out the gate, you know, we've had a few comics on where they've kind of done specials based on grief, like Glen Tickle and Winston Hodges, based on different family member deaths.
Joel Byers:And they did specials around them.
Joel Byers:What, besides it being about the death of your mother, like, what kind of inspired this and what made you think to take this format?
Joel Byers:Because I think what I find really interesting about it is just with everyone having accessibility to do comedy specials now, it's we're all thinking, how can I make this uniquely mine?
Joel Byers:How can I take the format and make it uniquely me?
Joel Byers:Which is what you achieved beautifully.
Joel Byers:So maybe kind of take us through, oh, I want to do a special about this topic and then how do you start to work it out to then get it onto YouTube?
Benny Blue:Yeah, for sure.
Benny Blue:Well, no, I appreciate you checking it out and the kind words, it means a lot.
Benny Blue:And to be honest, I think it was kind of a confluence of different factors that just sort of passed each other at the right time.
Benny Blue:I think Covid had a lot to do with it, because, you know, by the time Covid hit, I was probably about, I don't know, five years in chains, you know, into this racket.
Benny Blue:And I kind of.
Benny Blue:I was actually grateful for it because it kind of forced me to stop and think about, like, you know, what do.
Benny Blue:What do I really want?
Benny Blue:What do I really want to do with this and what's going to be kind of the next thing to sort of get me to where I want to go?
Benny Blue:Not necessarily, you know, what we.
Benny Blue:I'm sure you've talked about here on hot breath many times what we consider kind of the sort of linear path for success that's been sort of the traditional way to do things.
Benny Blue:So I was very, like, aware of that.
Benny Blue:And then also kind of to the point that you just made about the approach to stand up in terms of making specials.
Benny Blue:Now, I knew going into this that I wanted to do something that was equal parts funny and interesting.
Benny Blue:There's a million funny people.
Benny Blue:There's no shortage of funny.
Benny Blue:But I think to really get people on board, especially with something longer form, certainly something longer than you're just gonna, you know, scroll through while you're on the toilet, you need to do something that's gonna be a little bit more of a hook, and I think, bring people into your story.
Benny Blue:So when I, you know, my mom was, you know, essentially in the process of dying, you know, that was kind of the catalyst for me to really examine my life, examine my life with her, how I grew up, how that affected my sense of humor, you know, some of the things that she did or didn't do and how that all kind of ties into, you know, the place that I got to by the time I actually wrote the special, because, you know, as you watch, it's very autobiographical.
Benny Blue:It's not just me, you know, me having conversations with my mom.
Benny Blue:I'm taking you on this ride about, you know, these stages of my life and how she, you know, affected it one way or another.
Benny Blue:So I think.
Benny Blue:I think for a lot of it, it was just kind of right place and right time going into it, because I knew that I just wasn't.
Benny Blue:I wasn't just going to compile some jokes about, you know, dating is hard in spirit airlines.
Benny Blue:I mean, I just.
Benny Blue:We just.
Benny Blue:We need it.
Benny Blue:We needed to.
Benny Blue:We just.
Benny Blue:This is my day.
Benny Blue:We need opportunity.
Benny Blue:We need to do something.
Benny Blue:We need to do something to come out the gate swinging and offer something that's a little just, you know, just a bit more interesting.
Benny Blue:And honestly, man, like, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
Benny Blue:And the intended.
Benny Blue:The intended kind of takeaway that I was hoping people would get from it has been that to almost a 100% clip.
Benny Blue:People are understanding.
Benny Blue:Like, it's funny, but also, you know, they are catching on to the emotion and finding a way to connect with it, you know, in terms of, you know, their own grief and, you know, their.
Benny Blue:Their own experience of loss and that sort of thing.
Benny Blue:So that's all kind of went into the gumbo of, you know, my motivation to make this thing.
Joel Byers:Yeah.
Joel Byers:And I'm gonna put a link to it in the show notes for people to check out because everyone definitely needs to watch this.
Joel Byers:I'm sorry if I cut you off there, Yoshide.
Joel Byers:I just want to let.
Yoshi:No, no, no.
Yoshi:I mean, I think when we got the link, we were like, this is so different, so far from the norm in what a special is.
Yoshi:Did you think about, like, I guess, what was your motivation behind the special in terms of what you wanted to put out to the world?
Yoshi:What do you want people to get.
Benny Blue:Out of it so for.
Benny Blue:So the first part of that, I mean, the main thing, you know, I did, of course, want to honor my mom.
Benny Blue:That was the main thing.
Benny Blue:And I wanted to make sure I did right by her.
Benny Blue:And I've had a couple people ask me whether it's just, like, talking to other folks or even just, like, people in passing about how I thought she would feel about it.
Benny Blue:And I do genuinely think, you know, she would really enjoy it.
Benny Blue:She never actually, my mom was disabled, and she fought cancer, and she ultimately died of cancer.
Benny Blue:So I didn't grow up with, like, a quote unquote regular mom in that sense.
Benny Blue:So she never got to see me do stand up live.
Benny Blue:She saw, like, clips and stuff, but she did get to see me on tv, which was really cool.
Benny Blue:And obviously, you know, her being kind of a, you know, redneck lady from Michigan that's like.
Benny Blue:That's like the bar for success.
Benny Blue:Your son moves to California.
Benny Blue:Is he in tv or is he, you know, is he in a movie?
Benny Blue:You know, hopefully not smoking crack, doing porn, but, you know, that's adjacent.
Benny Blue:And fortunately, it didn't get that low for me.
Benny Blue:Came close.
Benny Blue:We got real close with some, like, choices, but thankfully, we did all right.
Benny Blue:And I got on tv so she could flip between, you know, seeing the same episode of criminal minds and big bang theory, whatever she's watching.
Benny Blue:And then she would see me.
Benny Blue:She saw me on several episodes of a tv show, which is really cool.
Benny Blue:So I think, you know, you know, I know one of my favorite things about this podcast is I think the show gets into kind of the inside baseball of comedy, but like, in a good, meaningful way, not just like work hard and do this.
Benny Blue:And I think that's what I really.
Yoshi:Enjoy about the, we stopped telling people to work hard.
Yoshi:Like.
Benny Blue:Yeah, if you need to know how to work hard, go to target and get a Walmart gift card.
Benny Blue:Like, just like, feel, like, get, like, you know what I mean?
Benny Blue:Like, it's gonna be on, it's gonna be on a card.
Benny Blue:At this point, you don't need us to tell you to work hard.
Benny Blue:But the thing I think about it, you know, for the position that I was at as a comic was to be honest with you, man.
Benny Blue:Like, I'm, we're all competitive as comics, but, like, I try to tamper it back because I can be extremely competitive.
Benny Blue:And I was just like, for me, kind of not only being in LA, but just kind of like the, you know, the world at large, you know, I wanted to put out a body of work and show people, like, listen, I can do this at a high level.
Benny Blue:I don't think I'm by any means great at comedy yet.
Benny Blue:I still think I have years off of that.
Benny Blue:But the one thing I wanted to prove mostly to myself and others is like, I can put out a really good body of work that's going to be funny from top to bottom, but it's also going to be memorable and be like, oh, man, I remember when, like, Benny, like, did that thing and that was like, I remember when I first put it out there, a bunch of comics commented on it and they're like, they're like, I remember one buddy specifically, he was like, dude, if you land the plane on this, this is actually going to be really, really good.
Benny Blue:And I'm like, well, spoiler alert, I did.
Benny Blue:So just wait till I drop it because I'm not playing around with this.
Benny Blue:Like, yeah, I do.
Benny Blue:And you guys can relate to this running material like this at bad bar shows and open mics and the occasional club shows when everybody's trying to be punchy.
Benny Blue:And I get it.
Benny Blue:I totally get it.
Benny Blue:But, like, this is just not that type of thing.
Benny Blue:And sometimes it'd be great and sometimes they would look, they were looking at me like I had, like, a dick coming out of my forehead.
Benny Blue:You know what I mean?
Benny Blue:It was just like, and it's just, and even to the point when I was, like, doing, like, early dry runs of this, I was like, and this is like two or three months out, I'm like, man, if I, if I, if I shoot myself in the foot on this, I have one show and one take to get this, it's, I'm gonna be so frickin in the gutter, you don't even understand.
Benny Blue:So I was worried even a couple months out, and then I think, and that was just kind of like, my motivation going in is kind of being able to prove to myself that I was ready to do something like this.
Benny Blue:And I think the second part of what you're saying, yoshi, I mean, I think the big takeaway is, but it's not even really so much about you getting invested into me as a comic.
Benny Blue:I hope that's obviously a byproduct.
Benny Blue:And when we do things like this, of course, selfishly, we want this to in some way, one, you know, some shape or form or another, advance our career, whatever that means to us.
Benny Blue:But I do think I would like people, and the feedback I've been getting pretty much across the board and all the platforms is I want to be able to hit people in a certain place in their heart where they're like, you know what?
Yoshi:I'm.
Benny Blue:I went through something similar to that.
Benny Blue:It was really freaking hard to talk about in the moment.
Benny Blue:But as a comic, anytime I'm faced with that sort of stuff, of course I can be serious once time to be serious, but I use jokes and stories to navigate the craziness of watching somebody die or, you know, bad things that happen to you in life.
Benny Blue:And I think I.
Benny Blue:It can honestly kind of be, like, an undervalued thing about how we present comedy to the marketplace.
Benny Blue:I feel like it's a great way to connect with people.
Benny Blue:And I think it's deeper than just saying, hey, man, I saw your funny joke about Biden on Instagram, and it's like, that's great if that's how you find me, cool.
Benny Blue:But I feel like this is going to create a more lasting relationship because I feel like this allows me to kind of build trust with an audience because I'm going to a place that's hard for a lot of people to talk about.
Benny Blue:Grief and death is, like, the hardest stuff to joke about.
Benny Blue:I mean, other than the.
Benny Blue:Other than grape.
Benny Blue:But beyond that, it's like, this is, like, what people don't want to talk about, and they avoid it.
Benny Blue:And I think it was really.
Benny Blue:It's been really cool to get that experience from talking to people, whether it's, like, in the comments of the DM's about that being their takeaway, because that's exactly what I was going for.
Benny Blue:So lets me know I was on the, on the right track for sure.
Yoshi:Yeah.
Yoshi:I mean, I think at the end of the day, your special, I know just starting it, I was like, instantly transformed to the last death that I dealt with and the last funeral that I dealt with.
Yoshi:And I think that's what made it really, really fun to watch, was you took a moment that everyone has experienced and you found a lot of joy for however many minutes your special washing.
Yoshi:And I truly appreciate it.
Yoshi:You're like, oh, not only were you telling stories, you were self deprecating.
Yoshi:You were telling stories about your, your history, her history.
Yoshi:You're growing up, like all those things, and then you're, you also remember, you're also at a funeral, like, and it's just like the, just that element of sort of just bringing it back to your.
Yoshi:And I think for me, it reminded me, I was like, this is how funeral should be.
Yoshi:Like, that's what I, like, really felt, julian.
Yoshi:Like, I mean, I know for me, I've told my wife, I was like, whatever happens to me, we better have a good time.
Yoshi:Like, and yes, I want a lineup.
Yoshi:Like, go through the list, get a lineup of people to either roast me, talk about me, whatever, but I want people to have a good time even in my death.
Yoshi:And so it, like, brought back a lot of, like, just subtle memories of going through people who've died, going through, like, trying to figure out how to, like, feel about it, but ultimately, just the fun that you had.
Yoshi:And you're right, people don't necessarily associate fun and funerals together.
Yoshi:And I think you really accomplished that with the special.
Benny Blue:No, I really appreciate you saying that.
Benny Blue:And that, that's a, that's a great observation.
Benny Blue:And something I haven't really talked about a lot is that's, I think even really the, the overarching takeaway is that when you go to real funerals and it's to be, you know, understood, it's, you know, it's people's highlight reel.
Benny Blue:And especially when you're in a church, there's going to be a certain level of respect and just, you're not really going to go for the gusto so much in certain settings now, you know, people have different funerals.
Benny Blue:You know, like you said, like, people can have more fun and treat it more like a party, but using this as kind of like, the backdrop of, like, obviously you're looking at the stage and you see the urn and you see the wreath and you see the pictures and I'm in my suit, and it's, the presentation of it is tinged in that one man show way where it's like, hey, this guy's giving a eulogy, but then he's turning it into a stand up show.
Benny Blue:And that was the big thing I wanted to.
Benny Blue:There was a real funeral, which obviously I touched on the special, but then there's this kind of packaging about all these different things about this person's life and how I felt about it and our family and everything that you're just not going to say in that real kind of setting.
Benny Blue:And this was kind of that outlet to be like, no, this is the real deal.
Benny Blue:Like, I'm giving you the good, bad, and ugly, and I'm still going to put a bow on it and make sure I show this person the proper love and respect.
Benny Blue:But I'm also not going to be fake.
Benny Blue:Like, we're going to kind of bring it all together in that way.
Benny Blue:So that's a great observation.
Benny Blue:Like, that's exactly what I.
Benny Blue:What I was going for.
Benny Blue:And I think it's why it's connecting to people, because it's like, like you said, like, when you do you think about, like, when you die, like, you don't want some, like, you don't want, like, a bland, like, everybody, you know, standing by the casket and throwing the dirt on and saying, well, that's it.
Benny Blue:And you just kind of keep it moving.
Benny Blue:It's like, no, like, Yoshi want.
Benny Blue:Yoshi wants a lineup.
Benny Blue:This needs to be something that would be representative of your life.
Benny Blue:And I get a lot of my sense of humor from my mom.
Benny Blue:And so I know these were jokes and styles of jokes that she would like.
Benny Blue:So, like, if I'm gonna write this, I'm gonna be sarcastic.
Benny Blue:I'm gonna be biting, because that's what she liked and that's what we like together.
Benny Blue:So I'm hopeful.
Benny Blue:I'm glad that you noticed that.
Benny Blue:And that's something that I really, really wanted to come across and how I, like, presented this and shot it.
Yoshi:So mission accomplished, dude.
Yoshi:That was.
Yoshi:This is nice.
Yoshi:I just.
Yoshi:Because it's so different.
Yoshi:No one, you know, we talked about, we've talked about specials and just how.
Yoshi:How do you stand out in the sea of all the specials?
Yoshi:And, you know, obviously, the comedy game is changing, but this is so different, dude.
Yoshi:This is so next level, but also so heartfelt.
Yoshi:And I think that's a difference in the comedy game is you brought heart to funny, but you also brought yourself into it.
Yoshi:Right.
Yoshi:And brought like your story into the whole thing.
Yoshi:So very memorable, man.
Yoshi:I big fan of it.
Joel Byers:It's also a great writing exercise for to be working towards like a specific topic or theme.
Joel Byers:Like, okay, I know I want to do a comedy special about this topic.
Joel Byers:So all my writing is in this direction.
Joel Byers:So it can help with writer's block maybe, or just I don't know what to write about today.
Joel Byers:Well, I know this is the end goal.
Joel Byers:I'm writing a special about this one theme or event.
Joel Byers:So that may have helped with the writing and overall just remaining productive and online because I can be like, oh, here's a bit.
Joel Byers:There's a bit, and be all over the place.
Joel Byers:But as I've been more thinking of having the next special being more of a themed special about a specific topic, because I think the first time I talked to Steve Byrne about it is what he said.
Joel Byers:That's what he does with all his specials.
Joel Byers:He starts with the end and then works backwards.
Joel Byers:So seeing you execute this was something very easily not funny, but you making it funny and cathartic for people that watch it.
Joel Byers:It's.
Joel Byers:Yeah, I don't, I don't know what my question is.
Joel Byers:Maybe how did you decide what to add and what to get rid of to help the story arc and still.
Yoshi:Be your writing process to get, for sure.
Benny Blue:So a lot of it, a lot of it felt like Beethoven sitting on the floor at the piano feeling for vibrations and dumping buckets of cold water over my head.
Benny Blue:Like, dude, like, if you, if you look at my, if you look at my Google, my Google Doc for the actual special, it's like, it's like v five, v six.
Benny Blue:You know what I mean?
Benny Blue:Because like, it's just like, it's just, it's just chopping wood, carrying water, folding the sword, hammering it, all of that.
Benny Blue:And I, you know, to Joel, to your point, I mean, I think I, that's what made it not only interesting but also motivating for me was that I knew that I was going to write this thing, obviously, when I started writing it.
Benny Blue:You don't know quite the shape it's going to be in.
Benny Blue:You just kind of know the area that you might live in if you're doing it kind of about one central theme or a big theme and then kind of things sort of orbiting around it or whatever.
Benny Blue:So that kind of gave me, that kind of gave me the goal.
Benny Blue:And then when I also gave myself a, you know, a shooting deadline, I shot this in December of last year.
Benny Blue:Also.
Benny Blue:I like you know, I like to kind of, you know, be a little bit of a pressure player.
Benny Blue:Like, okay, you got a deadline, man.
Benny Blue:Like, you can't.
Benny Blue:You put the deposit down in theater.
Benny Blue:You can't get out of it.
Benny Blue:You got a director, you got rented cameras.
Benny Blue:You got to do the thing.
Benny Blue:Whatever the thing is going to be, you got to do it.
Benny Blue:You're, you know, doing hello, my baby, hello, my honey spinning plates figured out so that those kind of two things were big motivating factors.
Benny Blue:And then actually writing it, um, I was able to sort of start with the, you know, central stories, and then from there, what I would kind of do is not only work on the flow, but then also get even more granular and then start to work on, like, the punches and, like, the sub punches.
Benny Blue:A good thing that I actually.
Benny Blue:And you guys will appreciate this.
Benny Blue:So when I was kind of rounding third on writing this, a big inspiration for me was the hot breath episode with Maple Gotzi.
Benny Blue:And I remember a specific thing that he said.
Benny Blue:There you go.
Benny Blue:There it is.
Benny Blue:Children's claps.
Benny Blue:We love it.
Benny Blue:And it was a big motivation for me because there's a clip, and I'm sure you can link it in the chat or in the show notes and stuff, but you took a jolly, you clip something.
Benny Blue:It was a section, I think, when you're just kind of getting into advice.
Benny Blue:And there was one thing that really stuck out to me that was really motivating for how I really filled out these stories and the punches, and it was Nate.
Benny Blue:And, of course, I'm butchering and paraphrasing, but Nate said something to the effect of, when you're telling a longer story, the longer that you go without a joke, he said something to the effect of, like, it's like filling a balloon with air or something like that.
Benny Blue:And it's like, just kind of you, the more you can kind of, like, punch it up and kind of take people along with you, the less pressure that you have, you have for that kind of big bang at the end of the story.
Benny Blue:And that's kind of what I was avoiding with writing this.
Benny Blue:So by the time I got to the final material for the special, I felt really good about, okay, there is a cohesive narrative.
Benny Blue:There's jokes without, and I felt really good about how things could tie together with callbacks, that sort of thing.
Benny Blue:And I did kind of the Louis ck method where I took my strongest bit, and I started with that.
Benny Blue:So I think the funniest bit is the one that I start with.
Benny Blue:It's the cousin Kathy bit.
Benny Blue:So right, right out of the gate, I'm hitting you at a high, and then I'm kind of bringing you down, and then I'm taking you back up the roller coaster slowly but surely to hopefully kind of peek at, you know, sort of peek at the end in that way.
Benny Blue:So that was all kind of the part of the process.
Benny Blue:And then the urn spots that basically, for those who haven't seen it, I would do joke stories.
Benny Blue:And then I go kind of over to the urn, and then I'm sort of reading things and saying things to the urn as if I were saying them to my mom that I wanted to say when she was still here.
Benny Blue:To be honest, from pure comic brain, I didn't want to do that at first.
Benny Blue:That was my friend Matt who directed it.
Benny Blue:That was his influence to push me to add that section of it.
Benny Blue:So I wrote those things, but I just wanted to.
Benny Blue:I.
Benny Blue:At first, I just wanted to keep it strictly jokes and stories.
Benny Blue:But I'm so glad that he pushed me to add that because I think that's what kind of adds that sort of interesting and unique sort of tie in about what are we really talking about here and what is the kind of the overall theme.
Benny Blue:And I think that also kind of brought viewers back in to the fact that, oh, this is supposed to be at a funeral.
Benny Blue:It's not this guy just going willy nilly and just saying a bunch of crazy stuff and then saying, all right, good night.
Benny Blue:It brought it all back to, I think, the emotion and the connective tissue of all the stories, rather than just, like, you know, just telling a bunch of jokes and kind of getting out of there.
Benny Blue:Would it have worked?
Benny Blue:Sure.
Benny Blue:But I do think it elevated it to another level to kind of have that element in this with the whole presentation.
Benny Blue:And so by the time I got to kind of the final spots, like, you know, I really got it tight.
Benny Blue:I really drilled it.
Benny Blue:There was nothing from when we shot it that I cut.
Benny Blue:Everything that you see in there is what was shot.
Benny Blue:The only thing that we edited was, like, the transitions from the jokes to the earn spots to the ending poem and all that stuff.
Benny Blue:So I didn't have to cut any material, which was great.
Benny Blue:So everything that I did there, we kept.
Benny Blue:So, yeah, like, that was really kind of, like, the overall, you know, sort of process of.
Benny Blue:Of writing it and, like, kind of like, my experience of, like, how am I going to take this big overarching thing and just get it to its best points and get it, you know, just get it into shape to perform as best as I could.
Yoshi:So just out of curiosity, is this your first special?
Benny Blue:Yeah, it's my first one.
Yoshi:Okay.
Yoshi:So when you decided to do a special, did you take any of the material that you already had just as a comedian, or did you think this theme and then said, I'm gonna write around this theme for just this special?
Yoshi:So what was your process of your old jokes versus stuff for this material?
Yoshi:Because I didn't, I guess.
Yoshi:What was your thought process when you thought about doing this special around the, this topic?
Yoshi:And did you take your old stuff and try to smush it in?
Yoshi:Or did you say, I'm just going to write based on this theme and work it out?
Joel Byers:And how long you been doing comedy?
Benny Blue:So I'm in.
Benny Blue:I'm depending on how you count the COVID recess, I am about eight and a half years, nine ish, give or take.
Benny Blue:But yoshi, to your question.
Benny Blue:So it was kind of a combination of both.
Benny Blue:So for the most part, it was all new stuff from scratch.
Benny Blue:The only bits that I were kind of considered older bits that I would do kind of standalone that would work well, but I sort of refashioned them for.
Benny Blue:This was the bit where I'm talking about going to music school and then the bit where I'm talking about walking in on my parents having sex.
Benny Blue:Those had existed, but I had essentially rewrote those and kind of just did them in a way that fit better with the, with the special.
Benny Blue:Yeah.
Benny Blue:Pretty much everything else was, you know, a year out was like, you know, shoddy versions of what they eventually became and then obviously working them out as best they could.
Benny Blue:Because, you know, it's like when it's your first thing and nobody really knows who you are and you have a limited budget and limited resources, you got to kind of, you have to work with the tools that you're given.
Benny Blue:So it just took me, it just took a lot of work and a lot of trust in myself to, like, have my instincts to really tighten the writing and all that.
Yoshi:What was the time period between when you thought you were going to shoot it to when you shot it?
Benny Blue:Um, probably like a year and a half.
Yoshi:Okay.
Benny Blue:Give or take?
Benny Blue:Yeah, probably about a year and a half.
Yoshi:So then you worked out all the new stuff within that year and a half?
Benny Blue:Yeah.
Benny Blue:Really?
Benny Blue:Yeah, really.
Benny Blue:Within, I would say, like eight months to a year was when I really was like, you know, nose to the grindstone, really working hard on getting all that stuff together.
Benny Blue:So that was, that was probably about the timeline.
Yoshi:Yeah.
Yoshi:That's awesome.
Joel Byers:Well, we have a question here from Matt Gill, and those of you watching live, please do hit the like button.
Joel Byers:Share this on Facebook, on your social media.
Joel Byers:Share these live streams as we're doing them so we can get more and more people in here, because we're.
Joel Byers:I mean, it's just so real out here.
Joel Byers:The hot breath verse.
Joel Byers:I was just in Raleigh this weekend and there I met like six people that were like, all like, came to the show just to like, connect and say how helpful the show was.
Joel Byers:So let's keep spreading that love.
Joel Byers:So the question from McGill, I've been doing twelve open mics a week for three months.
Joel Byers:I get the strong impression that open mic comedy is more about standout shock than comedy that kills at a show.
Joel Byers:How do you thread that?
Benny Blue:Interesting.
Benny Blue:Should I do it?
Benny Blue:Should I, should I take this one?
Joel Byers:Go for it.
Joel Byers:Yeah.
Benny Blue:Well, first of all, wow, lots of, lots of mics a week.
Benny Blue:You've clearly abandoned your whole family and I admire that, to be honest with you.
Benny Blue:You're all in.
Benny Blue:Here's the thing about open mics.
Benny Blue:I don't know where they're at.
Benny Blue:Maybe they can put that in the chat.
Benny Blue:But open mics, definitely, once you start getting a bit longer in the tooth and stand up, they start to, the diminishing value starts to kick in in terms of what to expect out of them and what you're going to get out of them.
Benny Blue:Now, when you're really, really new, great to go to mics, particularly if you're still figuring out your voice or you're still getting comfortable on stage.
Benny Blue:I mean, that's not anything you probably haven't heard either from this show or anybody else, but it's definitely true.
Benny Blue:I do think, though, once you get to a point where you're secure with some of your writing, particularly if you have like a, a short set that you feel really good about, that, you know, can do well in different types of rooms and you've just worked out a lot.
Benny Blue:One thing I would say to be careful of, because it can be deceiving, and I've went through this in spades, is that, you know, you can, you can do stuff in a room full of comics that falls flat, that kills in front of an audience and vice versa.
Benny Blue:It's true.
Benny Blue:And the, our ears, and it's only just because we've been doing it for a long time.
Benny Blue:It's just harder to, it's harder to make us laugh out loud, but it doesn't mean it's not funny what you're saying, because we're just so.
Benny Blue:I mean, Joel has apparently volunteered to sit through open mic comedy lately, and he knows it's, it's, it could be hell on wheels, man.
Benny Blue:You're listening to a lot of people who are not practitioners of the craft yet, and it can be hard on the ears.
Benny Blue:So that's not necessarily a good barometer always of what, what a good joke looks like.
Benny Blue:But on the same token, particularly when you're really new, it can also kind of force you to really sharpen your pen in terms of a very specific reference or a very specific way of saying things, which, to his question doesn't necessarily have to be shock value.
Benny Blue:It could just be something that is very specific and very observational and funny in that way that's going to, you know, catch people off guard.
Benny Blue:Like, that's one of my big goals even still as I'm writing stuff is particularly if just more, I don't know, topical stuff or whatever you want to call it.
Benny Blue:What's that thing that I'm going to say or how I'm going to say it that's really going to kind of get people say, oh, I didn't, you know, whether it's like a misdirection or, you know, whatever kind of tactic you're taking, being an open mics kind of helped that because it kind of forces you to think about it in a deeper way.
Benny Blue:It can be very easy to get lazy on stage in front of an audience and get people to laugh at just a premise and all that sort of stuff.
Benny Blue:But when you are around comics, you do have the opportunity to really sharpen your punchlines, and it just kind of, it just kind of puts the calluses on your hands.
Benny Blue:So if you can deal with that, then you know you're going to be better off once you're in front of audiences because you just know, you know, what a room of disapproving people feels like, so it becomes less scary.
Benny Blue:So now, again, you have to manage the bad habits you can take away, because you can absolutely take bad habits away from open mics.
Benny Blue:But there is that value, I think, particularly as a writer, that forces you, I think, to think a lot more about your jokes.
Benny Blue:So by the time you get, you do get to a real audience, you know, you should already be comfortable on stage and have a good idea of how you want to sound and what you want to talk about.
Benny Blue:But that's going to be like the extra, especially if you're working that hard.
Benny Blue:Like sometimes, listen, we all know comics who go to a zillion friggin mics a week who do not get better at stand up at all.
Benny Blue:It is astounding.
Benny Blue:And, and if you're going to work that hard, you got to come in.
Benny Blue:You got to come into it.
Benny Blue:Even with every set about, like, what is that thing?
Benny Blue:What is that small thing?
Benny Blue:I'm going to get better about me as a comic or about that set.
Benny Blue:So hopefully that wasn't too much of a bullet point presentation, but that would be, like, my main takeaway for someone in, in their shoes, for sure.
Yoshi:No, that's, that's solid stuff.
Yoshi:I always tell people, comedians are not real.
Yoshi:We're not real people.
Yoshi:We are different.
Yoshi:We've got some here.
Benny Blue:He's not real.
Benny Blue:Look at this.
Benny Blue:He's a ghost.
Joel Byers:My wife was texting me.
Joel Byers:I'm sorry.
Yoshi:Yeah, we're not real people.
Yoshi:And so I always say, like, don't use us as the barometer for how your jokes are.
Yoshi:Yes.
Yoshi:Are there times when comedians feedback is good?
Yoshi:Yes, but not 100%.
Yoshi:So if everything's working in a room full of comics, don't believe that it's going to work in a room full of actual people.
Yoshi:You got to test your stuff out in front of real people.
Yoshi:And so.
Yoshi:And you got to find that barometer of, well, I did it at an open mic.
Yoshi:And if you're only going to open mics where there's nothing but comedians, you're doing yourself a disservice.
Yoshi:You got to find real people to actually, like, consume your material.
Yoshi:And so I think it's helpful to get out into the real world.
Yoshi:As I say, yes, it's good if you've got mics with comics, but, man, that combination of comic of mics without comics is good for your soul as well.
Joel Byers:But some people only have access to those shows, especially starting out.
Joel Byers:So it's making the most of those shows.
Joel Byers:Even if it is all comics, it's still not phoning it in.
Joel Byers:And why bother?
Joel Byers:What does it matter?
Joel Byers:But, like, having an intention for that set, what are you gonna get better at at this one set?
Joel Byers:And it's a marathon, and it adds up over time, but it really is.
Joel Byers:Yeah.
Joel Byers:Making the most of each set, regardless of the setting, and performing as if it was a really good show and creating that habit.
Yoshi:Yeah, I just don't want people to get in the habit of thinking that because they've done twelve mics a night for two years, that what they're getting from feedback perspective is real audience members.
Yoshi:When you go to a real mic.
Yoshi:I mean, when you go to a real showcase show, right.
Yoshi:I just think you have to have some combination where the people that have heard your jokes are actually potential audience members.
Yoshi:That's what I mean.
Yoshi:I mean, like, that's reality, right.
Yoshi:And I always warn people.
Yoshi:That's why I think when you get to a point where you're doing a lot of comedy, you gotta travel.
Yoshi:You gotta see if your jokes work in other spaces.
Yoshi:You gotta test your stuff out in different rooms, like, we talk about it.
Yoshi:See if your joke works in an urban room.
Yoshi:See if it works in an alt room.
Yoshi:See, it works in a white room.
Yoshi:See, it works in the latin room.
Yoshi:I think just knowing and feeling like how actual, real people consume your material is so important.
Yoshi:Yes.
Yoshi:If that's the only thing you can get, great.
Yoshi:But I would say try your best to get your jokes said in front of actual, real human beings that are not comedians.
Joel Byers:Good stuff.
Joel Byers:Yeah.
Joel Byers:So just treat each show.
Joel Byers:Take each show seriously.
Joel Byers:McGill.
Yoshi:Yeah.
Joel Byers:You know, if it is all comics, just perform as if it was, like, a real audience and really just start to create that muscle that I'm performing as if this is the show I wish it was.
Yoshi:And I would say this, too.
Yoshi:I would say one of my favorite things about open mics is not being on stage.
Yoshi:It's the stuff of working on your jokes with other comedians that you didn't do on stage.
Yoshi:I think there's so much value that a lot of comics don't have.
Yoshi:Like, take advantage of just asking another comedian that you respect or someone that you, like, want to get their perspective.
Yoshi:Hey, what'd you think about that joke?
Yoshi:I think is such an invaluable aspect that a lot of people don't do.
Yoshi:That I think is very helpful of just know, hey, was that stupid?
Yoshi:Like, not necessarily was that stupid, but, like, what do you think about that material?
Yoshi:Or what do you think about that punchline?
Yoshi:Or, you know, I always tell people, hey, if you got a tag for me, let me know.
Yoshi:Like, I'd appreciate it, for sure.
Benny Blue:Yeah, absolutely.
Benny Blue:No, that.
Benny Blue:That's a.
Benny Blue:That's a great point.
Benny Blue:I take advantage of that.
Benny Blue:You know, I don't go to mics a ton at this point, but when I do, I for sure take advantage of that, because I like to go to rooms where I can be around people that I respect, and particularly when I'm working out, like, brand new stuff.
Benny Blue:That's typically when I'm going to.
Benny Blue:Not always, but to mics where I can just kind of like, gut check some of the stuff, and I think that's good.
Benny Blue:But let me add an addendum to what I was just saying real quick that I wish somebody would have told me when I was first starting, or maybe they did and I had been drinking or something like that.
Benny Blue:But, you know, we all make mistakes.
Benny Blue:Don't strive to be, especially if you're in a big market, because, like, I already lived here.
Benny Blue:So this is where I started.
Benny Blue:But, like, if I.
Benny Blue:If I had my druthers, I probably would have preferred to start in a smaller market.
Benny Blue:But don't strive, particularly if you're still at the pretty much all mic stage.
Benny Blue:Don't strive to be the funniest guy in the room.
Benny Blue:Strive to be the best version of your voice, because, believe it or not, one of the biggest lies in the stand up business is that hard work is just automatically rewarded.
Benny Blue:And it's not.
Benny Blue:What is rewarded is the people who can find the best way to connect with an audience.
Benny Blue:That's who's rewarded.
Benny Blue:So that's why you'll see people who've been doing this for a year or two, and they'll blow up.
Benny Blue:And the reason why they've blown up is because they found a specific thing about them, whatever that thing is, that has resonated with an audience at a high level, and they've been able to leverage that, whether it's, like, bigger gigs or people coming out to see them or going on tour, opening or featuring for somebody.
Benny Blue:So that's why if you've been doing this for a minute and you're like, I was like, why is that person feature every night?
Benny Blue:It's like, it's because they figured out that thing about them doesn't mean that they're taking something away from you.
Benny Blue:They're just figuring out that thing about them that works so they can translate that into people wanting to see them.
Benny Blue:Like, there are a zillion funny comics out there in every market, but the problem that most of us have is that we're still trying to find our way to.
Benny Blue:How do we translate that from being like, man, I really killed at that club spot.
Benny Blue:But then, you know, you're kind of going home, and you're like, well, dang, like, what?
Benny Blue:What's really happening?
Benny Blue:Versus.
Benny Blue:Okay, I know I figured this out.
Benny Blue:Now, how can I.
Benny Blue:How can I get that to connect?
Benny Blue:Because at the end of the day, look, man, like, these clubs, these theaters, whatever.
Benny Blue:Butts in seats, they want butts in seats.
Benny Blue:That's what it comes down to.
Benny Blue:However we like to spin cycle it for our own eagles egos.
Benny Blue:That's what they want.
Benny Blue:And you have to be able to find your way to get to that if you're going to be a professional comedian, because if not, then you're just, you're.
Benny Blue:Even if you're doing clubs or Jerry's yuck yuck room or whatever, you're still a hobbyist.
Benny Blue:Until we actually get to the point where people, even if it's ten people, people are actually, like, coming out to see you.
Benny Blue:So don't get confused with, I'm pounding the mics and doing this with necessarily advancing your abilities, your career, because they're not directly correlated.
Benny Blue:So you have to kind of navigate that, too.
Benny Blue:But that takes time.
Benny Blue:It takes experience.
Joel Byers:Shout out to the yuck, yuck hut.
Benny Blue:Yep.
Joel Byers:There next weekend, I'll send my avails.
Joel Byers:Yep, I'll let you veil.
Benny Blue:Me and Joel Yoshi opening for Gallagher four.
Benny Blue:Yeah, yeah.
Yoshi:Who books that?
Yoshi:Let's get that email.
Joel Byers:So we have a question all the way from India.
Joel Byers:So we want to make sure we get this one.
Benny Blue:All right.
Joel Byers: It's like: Joel Byers:over in India, but the hot breath of verse is strong in India.
Joel Byers:We got strong, strong presence over there.
Benny Blue:Brush your teeth after this.
Benny Blue:Good lord.
Joel Byers:Aditya Verma, should a new comic practice the performance and material separately?
Benny Blue:Um, well, I'm trying to understand that question.
Benny Blue:Get.
Benny Blue:I mean, I would.
Benny Blue:At first blush, I would say no, because it's all kind of one thing if I'm getting the question right.
Yoshi:I think.
Yoshi:I wonder if it's more like there's some people who say their jokes and then some people who perform their jokes.
Yoshi:Sure.
Benny Blue:Okay.
Yoshi:And who sound a little different when they're saying the joke versus when they're actually performing.
Benny Blue:Got it.
Benny Blue:Okay.
Joel Byers:I mean, I would reverse, like, do all the one in the same.
Joel Byers:Sorry.
Benny Blue:Yeah, no, no, I mean, I would say this if I'm understanding correctly, and I've.
Benny Blue:I've run into this as well.
Benny Blue:There are, there are things that you write that they could be just on paper, on their face, it could be very funny.
Benny Blue:But if you haven't made that sort of, like, like, mind body connection of, like, the.
Benny Blue:And I've run into this.
Benny Blue:I run into this now with new stuff that I'm working on now.
Benny Blue:It's incredibly frustrating, but it makes it fun.
Benny Blue:You.
Benny Blue:If you can't find that connection about what you're writing versus, like, how you want to perform it or say it, you could be sitting on something that's very funny.
Benny Blue:You just have not connected the dots, put the puzzle pieces together to actually make that translate on stage.
Benny Blue:So you could be in your mirror right now reciting things that you were just crushing, crushing the stuffed animals.
Benny Blue:You know what I mean?
Benny Blue:Standing.
Benny Blue:Oh.
Benny Blue:Applause breaks just for laughs.
Benny Blue:Bedroom addition.
Benny Blue:You're crushing it.
Benny Blue:But then you get on stage and you just, you, you brick like a masonry.
Benny Blue:And, you know, because you don't, you haven't made that connection between what you're writing and how you're gonna perform it.
Benny Blue:And by the way, it doesn't have to be that hard if you can be natural to who you are and what you're trying to say.
Benny Blue:The other thing you also have to reckon with, which is something that I've had to deal with, is, like, as just like a writer, like, I know that I could be, like, in a writer's room writing for other people or like Yoshi, like, you're talking about, like, when you're helping other people tag stuff up.
Benny Blue:Like, you can totally help people write stuff that's funny.
Benny Blue:But there are, there are plenty of instances where you and another comic could have the same joke.
Benny Blue:And it could be equally as funny just as a joke, standalone.
Benny Blue:But it could be extremely funny from that person and bomb horribly from you because it doesn't sound or look right coming from you, by the way, that's not code for saying the n word on stage.
Benny Blue:I'm just saying when.
Benny Blue:It's just awkward sometimes.
Benny Blue:And believe me, we see plenty of people in our travels who go for it off the top rope and you're like, no, abort mission.
Benny Blue:But, like, that's the thing.
Benny Blue:You have, you also have to reckon with, like, I've had, I've had to put jokes to the side or rework them or just say, I gotta put this aside because it's just not gonna work coming from my voice.
Benny Blue:And you have to kind of find that way with your audience as well.
Benny Blue:So the overall answer, I, for my opinion, feel free to jump in.
Benny Blue:But, like, write, do your best to write.
Benny Blue:But also, you just, there's no way of knowing until you get away from the stuffed animals and do it for real people.
Benny Blue:Yeah.
Joel Byers:Yeah.
Joel Byers:That's when you really know.
Yoshi:Yeah.
Joel Byers:He got his answer.
Joel Byers:So, yeah, thanks.
Joel Byers:Got my answer.
Benny Blue:So he's like, he's like, benny, I got my answer two minutes ago and you're still rambling.
Benny Blue:Thanks a lot.
Benny Blue:I'm going to bed.
Joel Byers: It's: Joel Byers:no, it's, it's all a process.
Joel Byers:Sometimes I figure out the physicality first, and then I'm like, oh, how can I do that voice on existing jokes?
Joel Byers:And then other times it's, oh, this church.
Joel Byers:The words are working now.
Joel Byers:How can I perform it as opposed to just reciting it?
Joel Byers:It's.
Joel Byers:Yeah, they're all like kind of one and the same, but they all happen at different times.
Joel Byers:It's not like it all clicks and you're like, oh, this joke works physically and as written.
Joel Byers:It's.
Joel Byers:It kind of.
Joel Byers:It's an evolution.
Yoshi:Yeah.
Yoshi:I always say you have to know how a joke feels coming out of your body.
Yoshi:Like, you just have to know how it feels as you're saying it and all the things and all the parts and pieces that you want with the joke, you gotta know how it feels coming out.
Yoshi:And I think, yeah, to your point, it's important just to, like, the performance of it is very different than just the written word of it.
Yoshi:And we all sound different.
Yoshi:You know, I've, I've told Joel a bunch of jokes and they haven't worked for him because he's not a nigerian dad.
Yoshi:You know what I mean?
Yoshi:I was like, dude, this perspective is so next level, but it just doesn't work for him.
Benny Blue:So more of a south african dad to me.
Joel Byers:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Joel Byers:I'm definitely an apartheid, for sure.
Benny Blue:By the way, by the way, quick extension for the previous question and this one.
Benny Blue:And because it's something that I have to remind myself as well when you're writing one of my biggest things and I would shoot myself in the foot a lot is overwriting, putting too many words into a joke or a setup of a joke or even the punch of it.
Benny Blue:Leave yourself some space, and it depends what type of performer you are, but leave yourself some space to organically punch up the joke in the moment rather than being like, I wrote it this way and this is how I have to say it because it's on the page.
Benny Blue:Like, I even still fight that bad habit of, like, give yourself some breathing room to perform it and just like, let something, because I'm very good about, like, just finding something and just like, saying it.
Benny Blue:But I can definitely shoot myself in the foot when I feel like I'm quote unquote too committed to the page, if you will.
Benny Blue:And it's like you just have to kind of give yourself a little bit of space, especially when you're only, you're only allowed like five or seven minute sets.
Benny Blue:It's so easy to be like, I'm going to cram all these great ideas into five minutes, and then you say one and a half of them, and then you get the light and you're like, shit.
Benny Blue:Now your set is all completely disjointed because you're trying to do too much.
Benny Blue:So it's like, that was something I've had to kind of tell myself, which I think would be good for those last two questions.
Benny Blue:Like, give yourself a little bit of space with your writing because it's going to make you more comfortable and it'll probably make what you're trying to say better because it's just going to feel more natural to whatever your stage presence or Persona is.
Yoshi:I like that.
Joel Byers:So let's get to the last few questions here.
Joel Byers:We could do a little lightning round.
Joel Byers:Yeah, we may go a few minutes over.
Joel Byers:We started a few minutes late.
Joel Byers:I thought I hit go live, and then eight minutes later, I was like, oh, we're not live yet.
Joel Byers:All the problems that has never happened.
Joel Byers:Out of all the tech issues, that's a first.
Benny Blue:So live from South Africa, thank you for.
Yoshi:It's good to know that Benny Blue brings the best out of you.
Yoshi:So.
Joel Byers:Yeah, yeah.
Joel Byers:Dubs general called you Benny boom because you were dropping.
Joel Byers:Dropping so many gems here.
Yoshi:Oh, yeah.
Joel Byers:Benny boom.
Joel Byers:So, Zach Newford, what's the craziest place you've ever performed?
Joel Byers:And you're in LA, right?
Joel Byers:I think that's.
Joel Byers:I don't know if we established that.
Joel Byers:So you start in LA, but, um.
Benny Blue:Yeah, yeah.
Joel Byers:What's the craziest place you ever perform there, Benny?
Benny Blue:Oh, wow.
Yoshi:Or period.
Yoshi:Even if it's not in LA.
Benny Blue:No, yeah, for sure.
Joel Byers:For sure.
Joel Byers:Yeah.
Benny Blue:I'm trying to.
Benny Blue:You.
Benny Blue:I mean, God knows we perform.
Benny Blue:It just people's keats and euros, for God's sake.
Benny Blue:I mean, there's everywhere.
Benny Blue:I would say that's a little bit of an on the spot question, but I respect it.
Benny Blue:I would say the one that kind of comes to mind is I perform.
Benny Blue:I had a good set, so thank God this is pre Covid.
Benny Blue:I performed at a.
Benny Blue:For sure, like, sent, like, straight out of central casting, like, biker bar.
Benny Blue:And they were very, like.
Benny Blue:They were.
Benny Blue:They were giving off strong vibes.
Benny Blue:Like, make me.
Benny Blue:Make me laugh or you're gonna be.
Benny Blue:We're gonna drag you behind our Harley, basically.
Benny Blue:Like, that was strong vibes.
Benny Blue:Like, like, for sure.
Benny Blue:Like, that.
Benny Blue:Like, the butterfly knife is, like, in my boot if you say the wrong thing.
Benny Blue:And they were like, they.
Benny Blue:And, like, they were, like, to the point where, like, I didn't remember the jokes that I was doing.
Benny Blue:But I remember.
Benny Blue:I remember audible quotes of, like, this dude's crazy, right?
Benny Blue:They were enjoying themselves.
Benny Blue:When they say, this dude's crazy and they're laughing and slapping the bar.
Benny Blue:You're like, all right, I bought myself 15 more minutes to get out of here once this is over.
Benny Blue:So, yeah, that was probably, that was probably a place where I was like, if I, if I try to go too roast heavy and they're not on board with me, this could get real hairy real quick.
Benny Blue:And it was great.
Benny Blue:They actually were a fantastic audience.
Benny Blue:Despite the fact that I look like I thought, I thought Arnold was gonna walk in and demand someone's clothes and their bike.
Benny Blue:George thoroughgood was going to start playing.
Joel Byers:Over the speaker, so it was a Terminator reference.
Benny Blue:That is a terminator.
Benny Blue:Two reference.
Joel Byers:T two.
Joel Byers:Oh, t two.
Joel Byers:That is when he's naked.
Joel Byers:I'm sorry.
Benny Blue:Come on.
Benny Blue:Edward Furlong from salute your shorts.
Joel Byers:Come on.
Joel Byers:No, that's it.
Joel Byers:Yeah, that's a winner there.
Joel Byers:Yeah.
Joel Byers:All of y'all will have those shows you just never forget.
Joel Byers:So that's definitely a good example there.
Joel Byers:And the final question here coming from dubs general.
Joel Byers:Oh, this will be a good one.
Joel Byers:If you can tell your younger self, comedian, a gym that you know now, what would it be?
Joel Byers:And who was your og or someone you looked up to?
Benny Blue:Oh, I like that first part for, for my younger self.
Benny Blue:Stop wasting time and enjoy the process.
Benny Blue:I feel like when we all get into stand up in one way or another, we're trying to, like, we're trying to prove something to ourselves or prove something to other people, and we're trying to get good really fast and blah, blah, blah.
Benny Blue:All that stuff you hear.
Benny Blue:But the thing that I've learned over time is like, dude, you're not.
Benny Blue:You're not on anybody else's scale for success.
Benny Blue:I mean, you know, there, there's so, especially being in a market, like, where I am, it definitely can feel like a cattle call.
Benny Blue:And sometimes it can feel like it's hard to kind of build community and really get a gauge of, like, where you're at in the scene and, like, how you're really doing.
Benny Blue:Like, I know my bad habit is, like, flyer watching.
Benny Blue:Like, oh, man, that guy got booked on this.
Benny Blue:And it's just, it's that thing that we all do when we're fighting our kind of insecurity about where we stand in this whole racket.
Benny Blue:So the main thing, if I were to go back, is be like, yes, I was kind of in the shoes of that first question.
Benny Blue:I was doing a ton of mics and all that stuff, but it's like you got to understand when you feel like you're kind of spinning your wheels and what are you really doing to get the most out of your time to get better and then also how you're going to enjoy it.
Benny Blue:And then to the second part, kind of a sort of mentor og, my friend to this day, I think he's in Cleveland now.
Benny Blue:His name is Quincy Jones.
Benny Blue:Not no relation to the, the famed music producer.
Yoshi:I love Quincy Jones, but, yeah, when.
Benny Blue:He, well, when he first, when I first started, he was one of the first comics that I met and actually, like, really talked to me about stand up.
Benny Blue:And this was when, and which I guess he's still technically battling cancer, but for those who don't know, he actually did an HBO special, and he was able to raise money and get a production team, you know, together.
Benny Blue:And he did a really cool special for HBO, which I'm sure you can find on Max.
Benny Blue:It's called Burning Light.
Benny Blue:And I was there.
Benny Blue:I was there at the taping, and he was kind of one of those, it was definitely subconscious.
Benny Blue:I didn't really think about it too much.
Benny Blue:I was writing the special, but he was one of those guys where it's like, it was definitely kind of one of those, like, take this seriously, respect the craft.
Benny Blue:But also there is going to be an element of, like, when you're doing this, like, you know, effort go for, you know, what you want to go for.
Benny Blue:And a lot of people were, you know, talking crap behind his back and saying, oh, did he, did he really have cancer?
Benny Blue:And all this sort of stuff, and he, he was really, really hard working and he, he deserved, yeah, like, he deserved to actually have that platform because he was really funny and he put in the work as a comic and he didn't let anybody around kind of, like, sway him to be like, oh, my, am I, am I really deserving of this opportunity?
Benny Blue:Am I ready?
Benny Blue:And, and he kind of put on, you know, blinders and tunnel vision and he, he did the thing and it was great.
Benny Blue:So that was one person.
Benny Blue:Yeah.
Benny Blue:And that was, one person was just like, oh, man.
Benny Blue:Like, people, people.
Benny Blue:You can actually, there's not, for all of us, there's not going to be too many, but there are that handful of comics that we can, like, really lean on and be like, I get it, man.
Benny Blue:You just started.
Benny Blue:You got, you got, you got a ways to go.
Benny Blue:But, like, this is what, this is where I think you could, this is why I think you could be, and I think this is what you could focus on.
Benny Blue:And someone like Quincy was like, definitely someone in my corner early who was, like, really valuable to just kind of like, talk shop with, but not like, in a annoying, desperate kind of way.
Benny Blue:Like, it was like, oh, this is, like, really enriching and, like, motivating.
Benny Blue:So there you go.
Benny Blue:Yeah.
Yoshi:He's such a good person.
Yoshi:I'm so glad you brought his name up because he's from here, he's from Georgia, and when he was doing about to do the special, he came down here to, like, do the run of those shows, so.
Yoshi:Yeah, yeah.
Yoshi:He's such a good person, such a good soul.
Yoshi:But that's awesome.
Yoshi:Yeah, it's such a blast.
Joel Byers:Really, really focus on what you can control.
Joel Byers:You know, that's the thing.
Joel Byers:That's what it comes down to.
Joel Byers:Not worrying about who's on what flyer where and all of that that we can all get caught up in.
Joel Byers:Yeah.
Joel Byers:Just focusing on what you can control is gonna lead you everywhere you need to be.
Joel Byers:But we did just get a super chat, so I think we do have one.
Benny Blue:Whoa, is that like, onlyfans adjacent?
Benny Blue:What are we.
Benny Blue:What are we doing?
Yoshi:Yeah.
Joel Byers:Yeah.
Yoshi:That's exactly what it is.
Yoshi:Yeah, yeah.
Yoshi:We only fanning for comedy right here.
Yoshi:Funny.
Yoshi:Only fans.
Benny Blue:That's off for this one.
Benny Blue:What do we.
Joel Byers:YouTube is telling me this is their 10th super chat that they've sent us.
Joel Byers:Thank you so much, McGill.
Joel Byers:McGill knows the game.
Joel Byers:They know that if they do a super chat, the question gets answered.
Joel Byers:So all three of us will be able to split $5.03 ways.
Joel Byers:I will tell my wife when she gets home from work.
Joel Byers:You don't have to go back to work tomorrow, honey.
Yoshi:We got a super cup.
Benny Blue:Licking some cream, baby.
Benny Blue:Thanks, Miguel.
Joel Byers:Hilarious.
Joel Byers:So, McGill asked, do you think open mics will naturally lead to showcases or is there extra effort necessary?
Benny Blue:There's extra.
Benny Blue:There's extra effort necessary, for sure.
Benny Blue:Because now you're talking about.
Benny Blue:Now you're talking about kind of what I had referenced and we sort of talked about earlier with, like, the.
Benny Blue:What you consider, like, the linear path of success in comedy, where if you were to kind of break this down into a series of steps, I think, for how most people look at it, which, again, is relevant, but it's not going to be like, kind of what, like Joel was saying about your own path.
Benny Blue:Like, it's not going to be a, B, C, D, e.
Benny Blue:It's not.
Benny Blue:It's never going to work like that.
Benny Blue:But from the stage that you're at, it's for sure going to be open mics.
Benny Blue:I don't know what market that you're in, but if you're getting hit with your fair share, bring your show is probably going to be part of the game.
Benny Blue:Thankfully, I move past bring your shows pretty quickly, but there can be value, particularly if you just need real shows because, you know, they can be real shows.
Benny Blue:Granted, you can either be, you know, the toast of the town or get, get, you know, pepper sprayed for not bringing enough people.
Benny Blue:It's kind of dealer's choice there, but you figure that out.
Benny Blue:But if you're talking about like, legit showcases, particularly at clubs now, like, you have to do the mics at clubs that are going to be like in front of like the booker or people producing shows because that's who's going to see you.
Benny Blue:You just have to be in those rooms where people are actually going to see you and book that which, you know, some, depending on your town, they may be going to.
Benny Blue:If it's not a big market and there's only like, you know, three or four open mics available in town, chances are that cross pollination is already going to be there.
Benny Blue:But if it's not, then you probably have to, you actually have to go to those rooms to be seen by those people.
Benny Blue:So that would, I think would be the answer to that is like, you, you do have to put in that extra effort because really, and I've still faced this to this day, it's just, it's nothing.
Benny Blue:It's never as simple as working hard and being funny.
Benny Blue:It's never that simple.
Benny Blue:You do have to be, have an element of shaking hands and kissing babies and it's part of the game.
Benny Blue:Not my favorite thing to do, but it is a necessary evil if, depending on what type of opportunities you're trying to get and if you're trying to get into clubs and get into showcases, that is 100% a Facetime.
Benny Blue:Yes, be funny in front of them, but you also have to, you know, hey, how you doing?
Benny Blue:Not be a creep, be personable, be professional, and you can usually get at least one opportunity from that.
Benny Blue:So there you go.
Joel Byers:Even going to, like, if there's a showcase you want to be on, just going and watching that showcase.
Benny Blue:Yes.
Benny Blue:Being around the big.
Joel Byers:Yeah, being around, introducing yourself to the host.
Joel Byers:Hey, I'm so and so.
Joel Byers:I'm a local comic.
Joel Byers:I'm a big fan of what you're doing here and even, what's the, I'm curious what the booking process is.
Joel Byers:Or what's the best way to contact you about maybe performing in the future?
Joel Byers:That goes a long way.
Joel Byers:And even when you're at open mics, it's like being nice to the other comics, complimenting.
Joel Byers:If you're a fan of a comic, you know, go compliment their set.
Joel Byers:Get a conversation going, because you never know.
Joel Byers:They may be like, oh, you're top of mind.
Joel Byers:Actually, I have a showcase next week.
Joel Byers:Would you be interested or.
Joel Byers:I know, so and so.
Joel Byers:Like, just being around and more sociable, even at these open mics, it's all comics.
Joel Byers:I just.
Joel Byers:Still networking can help you to get on those showcases faster as well, which is something I did not do as intentionally early on that I may be more.
Joel Byers:I would be more intentional about in hindsight, but it all worked out.
Joel Byers:But, yeah, that's very valuable.
Joel Byers:Being around is valuable.
Yoshi:Absolutely.
Yoshi:Whoo, man, we did it.
Benny Blue:$1, please.
Benny Blue:Which, after fees, it's gonna, like, negative $0.37.
Benny Blue:So maybe not.
Yoshi:Yeah.
Yoshi:Hey, guys, make sure you send me your venmo so I can get you that.
Yoshi:So you can charge it on your taxes for next year as well.
Joel Byers: Well, I'll be sending a: Benny Blue:Yo, how many advice on the schedule?
Benny Blue:C.
Benny Blue:Yeah.
Yoshi:Oh, my God.
Joel Byers:But, yeah, I know.
Yoshi:We talked about ten, ninety nine s.
Yoshi: I got a: Joel Byers:I'm not surprised.
Yoshi:Are we doing this?
Yoshi:Are we doing this?
Yoshi:Am I gonna report this?
Yoshi:I think I am now.
Joel Byers:You know, there's a.
Joel Byers:There's a kind of theme of question that kind of popped up about people not living in a scene with a lot of shows or struggling to balance a busy work life with getting on stage.
Joel Byers:I don't know, Benny, if you have any points of view on that kind of struggle.
Benny Blue:No, for sure.
Benny Blue:In many ways, I actually envy those people, because when you're in, particularly when you're in, and, you know, I'm sure every major comedy market has their own version of this, but I think it's particularly true in a place like LA.
Benny Blue:When you're in a place like here, you don't really have a lot of opportunity to fail.
Benny Blue:And in terms of, like, the consequences of failure, because obviously, failing is a part of stand up, but the consequences of failure in a place like this are much greater, particularly when you're given certain opportunities and you want to be able to rise the occasion.
Benny Blue:And I'm more so speaking, like, when you're first starting out.
Benny Blue:So what I kind of envy about comics that are in smaller markets is that right off the bat, you're going to have more opportunity to do longer time.
Benny Blue:When you do go to open mics, it's funny.
Benny Blue:And I'm sure you guys noticed this from, like, you know, being around the country.
Benny Blue:A lot of, I don't know what it is, but a lot of, like, shows are marketed as open mics.
Benny Blue:Like, they call them open mics, but then when you show up, it's like an actual show.
Benny Blue:I'm like, there's like, there's like, 150 people here, and you're calling this weird that's billed like that in, like, in, like, smaller places.
Benny Blue:So, and the other thing, too is, like, when you're, when you're in a smaller market, there's more of a direct pipeline to opportunities to, like, open or host or feature for, like, a bigger comic that's coming into town versus, like, when you're in a place, like, here, it's like, well, they're, you know, they're at the improv or they're at the comedy store, the laugh factory, working something out.
Benny Blue:So it's not, you don't have that same kind of, like, visibility to, like, you're really fighting upstream with a lot of other people to kind of get seen and have that opportunity.
Benny Blue:So even though it may feel like you, you have less opportunity, you can actually maximize that more.
Benny Blue:And I actually think it's, I actually think it's a better place to start.
Benny Blue:Like, if I had to, quote unquote, do it over, I would have much rather started in, like, maybe not like a small town, but, like, a smaller city, because I think that would have kind of gave me an opportunity to get better in a way where, yes, I could have some good opportunities, but I would have been able to kind of, I don't know, fail in obscurity a little bit more than, as opposed to being in a place like this that has much more of a spotlight.
Benny Blue:And I, you know, it's just a lot more competitive.
Benny Blue:That's not to say that, you know, I'm not confident in my abilities and can't rise, you know, rise to the occasion, but it's just like, everything is just higher stakes when you're starting in a place like this because there's just so many people trying to compete for those, those limited opportunities.
Benny Blue:Whereas if you're, you know, you're in, you know, whatever, like Bloomington, Indiana, I mean, you can, you can get good there, but then it can be much more noticeable when you're good there.
Benny Blue:So then you can understand when, okay, I've been doing this for a few years.
Benny Blue:I'm really crushing it in this market.
Benny Blue:Maybe it is time for me to move to Chicago or this place where it kind of makes sense for you to elevate.
Benny Blue:And that's the other thing.
Benny Blue:It's like if you're in the midwest or the south, as opposed to the west coast, where we do have travel opportunities, kind of like, I'm from Michigan.
Benny Blue:Like, people, my comic friends are in Michigan.
Benny Blue:It's like they can bop around from, like, I'm going down to Indiana, I'm going to Ohio.
Benny Blue:And they can go, they can go all these places wherever.
Benny Blue:They can do spots at clubs and get paid.
Benny Blue:They can get kind of, like, bigger opportunities, but they can do it in a way where it's like, it's not as, like, consequential to the people in LA and New York, where it's like they're the twelve Mike a night guy and they're really grinders.
Benny Blue:It's like, it's okay if you have a family and other stuff going on.
Benny Blue:I just think it kind of gives you more opportunity to care about those opportunities more because even though they might seem fewer and more far between, I do think you can get a lot more out of that chance to be in front of people for 15 or 20 minutes at a clip.
Benny Blue:Even if you don't necessarily feel ready, it's still good batting practice.
Benny Blue:And if you bomb, the world's not going to end.
Benny Blue:You're not going to be in front of the booker of all the improvs across the country.
Benny Blue:Like, damn it, I blew my shot.
Benny Blue:It's like, dude, you're in fricking Toledo, Ohio.
Benny Blue:You're going to be fine.
Benny Blue:You're going to live another day.
Joel Byers:So, yeah, and get creative.
Joel Byers:You can produce your own show if you're in a small town.
Joel Byers:And also, is there like a karaoke night?
Joel Byers:Is there a music, open mic?
Joel Byers:Different places.
Joel Byers:They're already doing live entertainment.
Joel Byers:You could maybe squeeze on, like, I mean, I've done stand up at karaoke nights before and was like, do you mind if I do some time?
Joel Byers:And they're always open to it.
Joel Byers:People love comedy, so, yeah, get creative if you're in a smaller town and seek to find your own opportunities and creating your own show or connecting with comics and other cities, you can then travel to.
Joel Byers:But speaking of chicken, Joe clark just said, I just signed my first w nine for comedy, and I'm so stoked.
Joel Byers:This show has definitely helped me.
Yoshi:Yeah, when you get from chicken fingers to w nine s, that's next level, baby.
Joel Byers:Yeah.
Yoshi:That's how you know you're on the right path.
Joel Byers:Yeah.
Joel Byers:And benny, thank you so much.
Joel Byers:Well, one, I'm just, I'm just over the moon that you even enjoy this show and now you're on here and that you dropped such a impactful special.
Joel Byers:I mean, I, I love where comedy is headed.
Joel Byers:And you really pushing it forward with taking the format and kind of making it your own, which I think is the future of comedy.
Joel Byers:And all of us trying to create our own opportunities.
Joel Byers:Whoa.
Joel Byers:What do I wish existed now?
Joel Byers:Let's go have it exist on our terms.
Joel Byers:And you did that and you knocked it out of the park.
Joel Byers:So the, the special is live for my mother's funeral.
Joel Byers:It's available on Benny's YouTube channel.
Joel Byers:I will definitely link it in the show notes, and I linked it in the live chat as well for people.
Joel Byers:And Benny, is there anything else we can help promote or anything else you'd like to say while you're orbiting the hot breath verse?
Benny Blue:Listen, big, big hot breath guy, huge fan of the show.
Benny Blue:It was a true honor and a pleasure to, to be on here.
Benny Blue:I mean, talking, talking some shop, talking about the special.
Benny Blue:I greatly appreciate it.
Benny Blue:And yeah, I mean, shameless plugs.
Benny Blue:Like, you know, like Joel said, it's on my YouTube.
Benny Blue:Best place to find me.
Benny Blue:Bennybueis.net dot.
Benny Blue:You know, you can find all my socials.
Benny Blue:You can listen, you know, if you care to the special on Spotify, apple music and yeah, man, if you enjoy it, give it a, like, give it, you know, give it a supportive comment.
Benny Blue:You know, it would mean a lot.
Benny Blue:And yeah, hopefully people dig it.
Benny Blue:And slowly but surely I can, I can find, I can find the people that are into, into what I'm doing.
Benny Blue:So I appreciate you giving me the platform to push it out there.
Benny Blue:Talk the brethren and sister.
Benny Blue:And so there you go.
Joel Byers:Of course.
Joel Byers:Well, thank you, everyone, for hanging out during this live stream.
Joel Byers: ast, join us every Tuesday at: Joel Byers:eastern Standard Time.
Joel Byers:We're going live to be your weekly comedy tune up, so.
Yoshi:Absolutely.
Yoshi:And don't forget we're also releasing the Yoshi special at the end of the month.
Yoshi:People have been asking, oh, buried the lead.
Benny Blue:Come on, man.
Yoshi:No, no, we wanted to talk about you, Betty special.
Yoshi:We were gonna release it last, last, like last Monday and I, but after, honestly, it's been after.
Yoshi:We've been talking to people about specials.
Yoshi:We were like, man, we got to do this thing right, and we sort of just doing a lot of marketing behind it.
Yoshi:Getting the trailer right, getting the thumbnails right, and all these things.
Yoshi:So, like, stuff that we're like, I think it's important that we do that.
Yoshi:And so, yeah, we will release it at the end of the month.
Yoshi:October 28 is the date.
Benny Blue:All right.
Joel Byers:We'll do a live premiere on our YouTube channel and everything.
Benny Blue:I'm following you.
Benny Blue:I'm sharing it in the story.
Benny Blue:Come on, Mandy.
Benny Blue:We gotta.
Benny Blue:We gotta get.
Benny Blue:We gotta get it out there.
Benny Blue:Yes.
Benny Blue:I love it.
Benny Blue:Specials?
Yoshi:Absolutely.
Joel Byers:It's happening.
Yoshi:It's happening.
Joel Byers:Yep.
Joel Byers:So mark the calendars, kids, and join our email list, where you'll get updates on that and our weekly livestreams and much more.
Yoshi:Boom.
Joel Byers:But until next Tuesday, we'll see y'all next week on hot breath.
Joel Byers:Bye, y'all.
Joel Byers:Hot breathe.
