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We lost another soul in comedy. It seems that Stand Up comedians never die a natural death. So many die way to soon. When I was a lawyer for almost 20 years, I can only remember one unnatural death. Just over 10 years in stand up comedy, I can count well over 10. Every year, we lose at least another one well before their time. Unlike other jobs where you may get a yearly review, we get reviewed every 30 seconds. You don't laugh at a joke, that's a bad review. You don't have a good show, that's a bad review. There are even customer reviews which can result in bad reviews. There is self doubt daily and comparisons to not only yourself and your other shows, but your peers and their success as well. It's hard to deal with, especially if you started comedy at a young age with limited traditional structures of a job or a career. Then there are the coping mechanisms. I saw a lot of substance abuse as a musician, band manager and also as a lawyer, but nowhere near the levels I see in comedy. We get paid with free drinks for Christ-sake! Drugs and alcohol are a big part of any creative, but for some reason, it seems that comedians always have the most "fun" and the most use of substances to "enhance" or "heal" us. Dealing with this career leads to all sorts of unhealthy habits. Like timing on stage, timing for your career often depends not only on talent but luck and circumstances beyond your control. When those align, you can have some success. Unless you are undeniable. When you are undeniable, all the gatekeepers and forces cannot stop you. Your talent guides you to new levels where the world can see you shine. And that's what Ken Flores was. Undeniable. He took off like a rocket and never looked back. He was a unique voice who took chances on stage with no fear. Even with all his success, he stayed humble and kind. He was only 28 and we lost him this week. He will be missed. Take care of yourselves and each other. hashtag#standup hashtag#kenflores hashtag#rip 
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I don't think there is any topic off limits, so long as you can handle the topic in a funny, unique and/or intelligent manner. Trying to talk about something just to "shock" your audience is just not funny to me. I love dry and dark comedy but it has to be funny. If you are gonna punch down on a group or a topic that is sensitive to people, it should be funny. Same if you are being political or punching up. If your punchline is "Shut up, that was funny!" when people moan, that's not funny. Do better. On the flip side, I also hate comedy that just looks for applause. That's not funny, thats "clapter." If you want to make a point, political or social, it should also be funny, in my opinion. Otherwise, its just a speech or a soapbox. You may be brave for making a political point about your cause or your political candidate, but people paid money for you to make them laugh. They can agree or disagree with your cause or politics online, for free. And yes, they can watch comedy for free there too but its better live! What do you think? Love these questions. Hope to see you at a show. #standup #comedy #clapter  100% not true. To begin with I did use all my degrees in a traditional sense, as I had a political science and speech communications background and my law degress which was used when I practiced law and worked on various campaigns and for various cities as a lawyer. And of course, the speech communications degree honed my skills as a litigator and public speaker. That being said, all of my degrees are so vital to my comedy career. I'm not saying you need a law degree to do stand up comedy but it helps. Einsten said "education is not the learning of facts, but the training of minds to think." My legal mind helps me dissect observations I may write about and of course, my training allows me to think on my feet and respond to changes I face at shows. I love the fact that my undergrad and legal education provides me with the ability to think critically and use my logic and reasoning, not only when I write jokes and perform but it reading everyday news and responding to politically charged news articles. I used to think that a college degree was not needed unless you used your major, but thats simply not true in today's world. We see it with false narratives spread daily and a push to keep people uninformed on the issues facing the world. Oh and college also helps with organization and planning, allegedly. I'm still working on the latter as my friends will tell you, I can't plan anything. Thanks for reading and hope to see you in Oak Park this weekend and Little Rock and Sarasota later this month! #standup #comedy #formerlawyer Photo by Connor Daly No. When I first started comedy, I needed a shot to even get through a set. Then for the first 2 years I did comedy, I "needed" to have a few drinks before I performed. Then I watched a set I did when I thought I was crushing but was too intoxicated to have sell-awareness that i was not doing as well as I thought. From that point on, I never drank before a set, unless it was the "Midnight" show at Laugh Factory, where everyone was intoxicated and I thought I could "match" the energy for a while but I don't do that anymore either. For me, alcohol was a crutch to calm my nerves and help me perform but in reality, it lessened my awareness of what was happening. I missed so many social cues or opportunities to engage with the audience instead of just giving a speech. As for being high, never. I once did a music show when I was in college playing in a band after a few hits and I was so in my head that I could not perform. I would play all the parts correctly, or as correctly as I did sober, but I was not bringing anything to the table, in terms of stage presence. Great question. Keep em coming! hashtag#standup hashtag#comedy hashtag#formerlawyer Photo by Connor Daly  Nah. I am the same as I was last year and I probably will be the same next year. Maybe better. Maybe worse. I am hoping this will be a big year to complete goals I had last year as well, including performing a set on a late night show, finding a manager, growing my social media presence for my stand up and my podcast and headlining more "A" rooms. One thing I was to change is the amount of days I take off and to have goals with every set I perform. I did 398 shows this year. That's averaging just over a show a night. I need to take more days off. For the first time in my career, I experienced true burn out. I remember working with headliners early in my career and they would not take shows on weekdays so they can rest. I did not understand that. Now I do. I can think of shows were I was only on stage to fulfill an obligation that I agreed to previously. It was only a handful of shows, but that is no way to perform. I used to look at nights off on my calendar, especially if it was two nights in a row, as holes that needed to be filled with shows and I now will use those days to refresh. And I think its also important with every show to grow and intentionally take chances or try something new to keep it fresh for you and the audience. I recently did a show where the crowd was very tight and I was hesitant to do a new joke because I thought it would make them less likely to laugh. I did the new joke and it did better than the rest of my set. I think my enthusiasm shone through and the crowd felt it. I hope to keep taking chances like that on stage. New me, afterall. #standup #newyears #careermoves  |
AuthorPaul Farahvar is a comedian hailing from Chicago, Ill. Archives
February 2025
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