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I recently was on set for an acting job and they asked me to bring in some different pants options, besides jeans. I only wear jeans now, but I had some freshly dry cleaned pants from 2020 when I still practiced law so I brought some of those to the set. Well, when they asked me to change into the other options, they did not fit. And it wasn't just the button, but the entire waist area of the pants was laughably small. I knew I gained some weight but did not realize that I had gone up almost 2 waist sizes in 3 years! One thing that really sucks about being a night owl and doing comedy full time is food options after shows. Very limited. I always know what is open late in the main cities I perform in and usually head there after my show. I don't eat before my shows because it makes me feel bloated and lethargic and for an already somewhat "low energy" comedian like me, I can't afford less energy. Sadly, not a lot of healthy options exist after 10pm, especially in smaller cities. When I was last in Iowa I asked people after my show where I can get food and they laughed at me. Fast food is always an option but sadly, that is not very healthy. And I also have a sweet tooth. I always work out and when I was younger, I could afford to eat unhealthy but clearly now, I can't. I am going to try to avoid my bad food habits on this next tour of shows, but if you know of healthy food options in your city, especially Milwaukee, Slinger and Washington DC (where I am heading next), please let me know what they are! #standup #roadtrip #formerlawyer 
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"Well, you can always go back to practice law, right?" I hear that from time to time time at my comedy shows. I guess its true I can. Weird to bring it up after a comedy show, right? Like, are you saying I should? LOL Believe me, I think about it sometimes, especially at less than capacity shows (read as small crowds) or after a show that doesn't go well (bomb) or when a booker doesn't email me back. But I made this bed and I am happy to rest in it, for now. I had a good run as a lawyer and I hope to do the same with comedy. Some people pursue the arts first and then go to something "stable". So many friends I knew as lawyers were musicians before or chefs or whatever. I myself was a musician too. I just happen to do this later in life. I hope it never comes to that and I hope that something big happens soon so I stop hearing about my safety valve of law. I have faith good things will happen and I worked so hard to get to a higher level of success and am starting to see the fruits of that work and, to some extent, talent. In the meantime, I keep trying to do cool things with comedy, whether its stand up or podcasting or hosting one of my interview shows. Hope you can make it to a show soon and thank you for spreading the word about my shows, social media or podcast, if you have. If you have not, thats ok too. See you in court? #formerlawyer #bettercallpaul #standup #comedy  It's amazing how much time and energy social media takes for creatives these days. Instead of shooting the breeze backstage at shows and making jokes, comedians are trying to master the algorithm to maximize their reach and sell tickets to their shows. "I post at 9AM for maximum reach." or "Use hashtags like ..." No matter how much experience you have or how many laughs you can get, without ticket sales, we are worth little to most comedy clubs. For better or worse, comedy bookers now look at your social media to see how many followers you have before even watching a clip you may send. Its a business and as a former music promoter I get it. I would receive some amazing artists submitting their music to get on a music showcase I booked at the various venues in Chicago as part of Shoeshine Boy Productions. If they were good but did not have many facebook followers (this was before Instagram), we had to try them out as a smaller room. But at least we would give them a shot. Ironically, we also sometimes gave bad acts stage time because we knew they would fill a room. Its a business after all and the days of great music or comedy reaching the masses are greatly affected by how much music and comedy there is out there. Its interesting to think about if George Carlin or the Beatles would make it today. I have hired experts to help me figure out why, all of a sudden, certain sites are burying my content, sometimes the same content that a year ago would be seen by half a million people. #standup #socialmedia #laughs #comedy  This week, the comedy dynasty Just for Laughs was cancelled as the owners sought bankruptcy protection. Just For Laughs in Montreal was the premiere comedy festival that created huge opportunities for comedians and launched the careers of hundreds of comedians. Gatekeepers, managers and agents from all over the world would travel to Montreal for this fest and thousands of comedians would audition for the opportunity. People outside of the comedy bubble never knew what it was but for comedians it was a ultimate credit to "get JFL". I auditioned over a handful of times for JFL and was never accepted, although I was always thankful to be even considered for an 'invite-only" audition. Talking to veteran comedians, Just For Laughs used to be about who was the funniest comedians with the more promise for careers, no matter what they looked like or discussed. When someone "got" Just For Laughs, it always made sense. They were the funniest comedian on every line up. In recent years, it felt to some like sometimes, it was more about a "look" or something specific they were looking to market for the future, focusing on diversity instead of funny. And maybe thats more a reflection of society and there is definitely more of a benefit for inclusion and diversity, giving a voice to those who traditionally did not have one. Especially when most of today's audiences are something other than "white." But funny is funny. Stand up comedy should be about laughter first. Sure, its good and necessary to have a point of view but can you make a room full of strangers laugh and then later have them quote your jokes or stories to their co-workers? Some people argue that Just For Laughs failed because they lost focus of the funny. I am sure thats not the case as I know so so so many comedians who recently did Just For Laughs and were hilarious. Hopefully this bump will not harm the comedy bubble we are all benefitting from. If you are in Chicago, I am headlining Zanies Comedy Night Club on Tuesday April 2nd. Then with Paul Ollinger I co-headline The DC Comedy Loft in Washington April 19-20. Hope to see you there and please tag your friends in these towns. #standup #justforlaughs #formerlawyer #bettercallpaul  |
AuthorPaul Farahvar is a comedian hailing from Chicago, Ill. Archives
January 2026
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