Dane Cook receives a rock star’s welcome from a packed arena in this stand-up concert originally broadcast on HBO.

But the jury may still be out on whether Cook is phenomenally funny or simply a phenomenon.

He is certainly a master of the new media. Cook has deftly marketed himself on the Internet to his target college-age audience, and they have embraced him as a fellow “bro” and “dude,” who would seemingly be awesome to party with. In his timbre and physicality, he has the shaggy, likeable quality of Will Farrell, another frat boy favorite.

Cook is a man of his people. At one point, he is interrupted by a drunken Boston Red Sox fan who wants to shake his hand. Cook then leaps off the stage and chases him up the aisle to give him a send-off hug, all the while being clapped on the back and offered high and low fives by the cheering audience.

Cook comes complete with arrested development lingo, such as “Here’s what drove me banana sandwich,” that will no doubt b (more…)

For more information about Steve Roye, author of this blog and the Killer Stand-up Online Course, click here.

Most comedians won’t recognize this before it’s too late, but just know that you heard it here first…

We are at the beginning stages of the next stand-up comedy boom.

How do I know that? Here’s how…

I have been studying stand-up comedy trends for years. Historically, stand-up comedy “booms” typically occur in the US when the economy takes a turn south, like we are experiencing now.

The last comedy boom started in the early 80’s, when inflation was rampant and interest rates were at an all time high. Because stand-up comedy is a relatively inexpensive entertainment option, more folks head to live stand-up comedy.

But wait, it gets better…

As the economy continues to soften and hard ecomonic times are present, more and more folks will also stay home more and focus on TV as opposed to going out. You only have to look at the significant increase in stand-up comedy over the last 12 months on Showtime, HBO and Comedy Central to see what I am talking about.

Now you will hear many comedians say that it was TV that killed the last stand-up comedy boom. In reality it was unfunny stand-up comedy on TV that helped to squish the last stand-up comedy boom.

I worked with comedian Mick Lazinski who told me that in 1984 the demand for stand-up comedians was so high that if you lived in New York and had a head shot—you were a comedian.

But there were other factors as well that lead to the demise of the last stand-up comedy boom…

As more and more less than funny stand-up comedy was being shown on TV, the price of TV’s and VCR’s was plummeting, which took away the home group dynamic for watching TV.

Inferior stand-up comedy on TV, coupled with an emerging trend of individual TV viewership from dropping TV and VCR prices is what killed the comedy clubs and stand-up comedy on TV.

So, it has taken over 20 years and a crappy economy to get to this juncture again.

The good news is that there has been a glut of very talented comedians since the last boom. The Killer Stand-up Comedy System was developed since the last boom.

The bottom line:

If you are truly funny and have developed your stand-up comedy skills to a high level…

There are, and will continue to be, more and more TV opportunities now and for at least into the near future–24-48 months I would venture to guess.

So, you had better be prepared and ready for the “big game” if getting on TV is your goal. New stand-up comedy stars will be born from this boom. Will you be one of them?

Like I said, just know that you heard it here first.

Cheers,
Steve Roye
The Professor of Funny for Money

For more information about Steve Roye, author of this blog and the Killer Stand-up Online Course, click here.

One of the most memorable stand-up comedians for me when I was making the decision to jump into stand-up comedy in 1992 was Ritch Shydner. Talk about funny!

Well, comedian-turned-movie-director Jordan Brady made an introduction to Ritch for me and I got to ask him the same interview questions I asked Jordan, which are provided below.

Here’s some background info about Ritch Shydner before I get to the interview…

Ritch began his stand-up comedy career in 1978 (the year I joined the Navy). Ritch has made numerous appearances on the David Letterman Show,  the Jay Leno Show and before that,  Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show. 

He was featured in his own HBO half-hour special called One Night Stand.  Here’s a video clip of comedian Ritch Shydner in action on that special:

He later played Al Bundy’s co-worker on Married with Children and made guest appearances on many other TV shows, such as Designing Women and Roseanne. Ritch was able to translate his modest success on TV into a modest film career as well, appearing in Steve Martin’s Roxanne and Eddie Murphy’s Beverly Hills Cop II among a host of other films.

Ritch also became a staff writer on such sitcoms as Roseanne, The Jeff Foxworthy Show, and Titus. Most recently, Ritch was the Co-Executive Producer and head writer for the HBO show The Mind of the Married Man. He has also written comedy material for Jeff Foxworthy’s Grammy nominated comedy albums Totally Committed and Big Fun. 

As Ritch likes to put it, he has worked very hard at avoiding work for over thirty years.

Here are Ritch’s responses to my interview questions:

Q: What are some of the most significant or exciting things you have done as a result of your stand-up comedy career?

Ritch: I came from a small New Jersey town, and a family with no show business aspirations or connections but ended up on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.  Never while I was watching that show as a kid or young man did I ever consider that possible.   Stand-up comedy paid me to travel to every part of America, Canada and England.

Q: What advice would you give to those looking at jumping into the game of stand-up comedy?

Ritch: Get on stage as often as you can and only listen to your mind and audience’s reaction to tell you what is funny.

Q: The next stand-up boom is upon us. Jordan said that he feels the same way. How should a comedian make the most of this boom?

Ritch: Oh, the next stand-up comedy boom is here.   Stand-up is bigger than ever.  Write and perform as much as possible – get as much stuff on YouTube as you can.  Never worry about people seeing your material, just write new jokes.  The biggest challenge is enabling your audience to discover you. Sometimes gathering the horde takes a lot of blasts on the ram’s horn.

End of interview.

Now for the really cool part…

Ritch is writing a book on the history of stand-up comedy. He will also be narrating Jordan Brady’s documentary about stand-up comedy, which I will be featured in! As a matter of fact, I’m leaving for LA soon to complete the interview/filming.

Thanks for the interview Ritch and I look forward to meeting both you and Jordan when I hit LA!

Cheers,
Steve Roye
The Professor of Funny for Money

For more information about Steve Roye, author of this blog and the Killer Stand-up Online Course, click here.