Guerrilla Album, Small Bits of Good News and Featuring…

Well this week has been an eventful one, even though I have not gotten the stage time I sought.  First let’s start with the bad news – not one, but two CD producers have passed on marketing Keep My Enemies Closer.  Upon listening to the album I was paid what I believe to be a compliment (but I could be wrong) from a producer saying “you seem to be the type that wants to blaze your own path…”  However, it will have to be another guerrilla production by yours truly.  Of course now I am armed with the best album of my career (by far), as well as a lot of increased exposure from various media forms, but it is still a disappointing, uphill climb to try and get bigger sales by pleading to be on podcasts, radio shows and hoping friends, fans and supporters get the word out (that’s your cue to get the word out).  I realize when you Do It Yourself (which I thought was the new model of comedy) folks in the comedy album business do not want you (or at least are not as enthused).  It seems the familiar model is they hook you up with upfront costs, bookings and recording equipment and then take a healthy slice of the sales money.  Now to comedians in my position who have the chops, but not the cash, the upfront part of the deal is hard to resist.  But I am doubly screwed because in addition to already handling all the upfront work (so no leverage for me to give up as much loot on the back end), this album is not easily molded into a role or a roster spot on a label.  This album is if Giraldo and Patrice had a baby and then left the baby at an orphanage and it grew up angry.  I am not accusing or suggesting anyone I pitched the album to had ulterior motives; maybe they just did not like it, but I give you my word as someone who tells you when I suck and tells you when I rock, this album is a fu*king beast.  The set rocked both the comedians in attendance and the strangers that wandered in not knowing what to expect.  And yes I know sharing my failures is not the best way to market an album, but this blog has always been truthful and I am telling you they are wrong (they may have valid reasons, but passing on this album is a mistake).

Tomorrow I film the promo video for the album (release date – 9/24/13), which if you know the following scene from Breaking Bad, should be very entertaining (or at last entertaining – I won’t be going make-up, etc. but the writing will be worth the watch):

But in other comedy news for fans or readers of mine, I am in the running for a web series movie review show (which would yield a nice weekly payday and free passes to movies, which would be a nice upgrade from unpaid and $14/week) and my web series with Discovery, Dumb in the First Degree (I offer humor and actual legal information regarding YouTube’s dumbest criminals), launches in two weeks, if not sooner.  Lastly, I got a W-9 from Official Comedy, which means my clip from The Stand, recorded this past Sunday, will air on their channel soon.   So that is the good news portion of the blog. Naturally it is short and without much editorial cheer.  Probably because I am still owed $500 from a group of comedians I toured with.

As far as gigs I have spots Friday and Saturday (both 8pm) at the Creek and the Cave in Long island City, as well as a headlining performance at the Muslim Brotherhood’s “Day of Anger” Friday in Egypt.  I think they want me to work clean, but to maintain my usual tone.  But this week was bereft of gigs because a) I don’t have management; 2) I am a little fatigued from all the work I have been doing and most importantly 3) I am house sitting my 82 year old father.  It is sort of like opening for him because everything from walking, to eating, to falling asleep I seem to do in less time and before him.   My Dad was always left leaning, except on certain hot topics (think elderly black man from a third world country – not a Glee fan) and what is weird is now that he is a little more physically and mentally weakened from his peak he just sounds like a mix of Chris Matthews and Michele Bachmann in a Herman Cain body.  Next week I will be selling highlight DVDs of my three day stint in Riverdale called Cane & Disabled.

For more opinions, comedy and bridge burning check out the Righteous Prick Podcast on Podomatic or iTunes. New Every Tuesday! This week’s episode was a fantastic one on stand up comedy with Josh Homer.