In one week from today I will embark on another return trip to a comedy paradise.

I’ll land my comedy ship in NYC, and then on April 11^th I’ll set sail for Los Angeles, giving me the perspective I need to continue doing what I plan on doing for the rest of my life, and that’s making people laugh.

Making people laugh is a tough job, mentally.

To be consistently funny in small rooms, in big rooms, in shitty rooms and great rooms takes its toll on the mind.

It’s work to continuously evolve material without giving in to the ego that’s constantly tugging at your sleeve, telling you how hilarious you and your material are.

Being critical is not easy.

Keeping a critical mind toward your own art is the secret to some day being very good. It’s not possible to be very very very good at something if you have no idea what very very very good is.

Knowing what’s good is being critical of the bad.

Someday being good, starts today with, “That’s bad. I don’t wanna do THAT.”

The first step toward learning what’s good, is certainly accepting what’s not good.

If I think I’m good at stand up comedy, because I make 50 people laugh once or twice, or even 10 times, well, then I won’t really push myself to get better. That desperate desire to not fail will not kick in and I’ll stay content and stale with my little cliche material for as long as I can get booked for 50 euros a gig.

This is where NYC and LA come into the picture.

There’s no time for a pat on the back in New York City or LA. You swim with the sharks. It would take an idiot and a half to think one is a great comedian in the comedy waters of New York City.

Guys you’ve never heard of make mince meat out of crowds of people three to five times a night and not only that, the audiences are seasoned in a comedy culture that knows cliches and rewards them minimally.

For sure, I believe a comedian like myself can get in the mix in NY and LA, but it will be a battle of my desire, patience and work ethic against the raging waters of the true comedy seas that can send any man adrift into the abyss.

It is war.

I’m not disillusioned by the slight success a few years under my belt has givin me. There are rough seas ahead, and not even necessarily the audiences, but mainly the mental stamina it will take to push myself to be a true comedian, with honest and original material.

Do you push yourself in that way? Are you critical of yourself? Do you work on your craft, desperate to be a true pioneer or at least someone willing to accept a pat on the back, because you truly tried to climb the mountain?

Have a critical mind. Do not fear the consequences. Do not worry about the droves of zombies who will get mad at you for being honest and critical of their bullshit.

Call a spade a spade, but make sure you look in the mirror, because you can only control the output of one person, and you’re gonna need to clean that mirror off everyday, just like John Coltrane says.

Clean that mirror off and have a good look at yourself.

Then…..

Close your eyes. Set huge goals for yourself. Be critical.

Work Hard.

Succeed.

REPOSTED FROM: March 5, 2010.

Dear snow,

I’m not exactly sure how to say this without possibly hurting your feelings, but I’m just going to have to say it, because you’ve gone and over stepped your boundaries. Get the fuck outta here. When I invited you to come around and hang out back in November, I knew it was gonna be months and months of cold, wind, cold wind, slushy ice, loneliness, darkness, and an over all miserable vibe, full of darkness. I figured some snow here and there wouldn’t be so bad, it might even cheer me up, so to speak. Snow, you’re a lot like those over eager graffiti kids who don’t know when and where to start and stop tagging. When those kids show up at the over priced yuppie bars, They bring me cheer. I love the thought of the owner getting a call about a bunch of “ugly tags” all over the bathroom, but you guys show up at my house, when I’m having a party and don’t realize that me and my friends have the same exact artist, “fuck the world” kinda vibe, well, snow, you ruin the party, point blank. I suppose, snow, that you failed to notice, that when you left last week, and the sun peeked out a bit, and everyone had that first ice cream, and drank a coffee outside, right before walking through the park to look at the other bear like people who had just left their cave like dwellings for the first time in months. I guess you failed to notice that those people where happy. If you didn’t see that, you’ll never understand the next thing I’m gonna tell you snow, which is a shame. They where happy, snow, Because you where fuckin gone! You’re like that guy who shows up at a party, and no one cares about him right away, but by the end of the party, he’s gotten so obnoxiously drunk that he’s managed to chase off any cool girls that where there, and he never gets the vibe that he’s ruining the party, and even though he was kicked out, he manages to sneak back in, right in time to puke on the dance floor. Listen, snow, seriously, since you’re here now, stay for a few days, but come the fuck on, there’s no need for you to be here anymore. You’re pissing me off. That’s why I pissed on you tonight. TWICE! When you leave this time snow, don’t come back until next November or so, and I swear snow, I’ll forget this little incontinence happened. Shit, I’ll even welcome you with open arms, like I do every time I’m on a mountain with a piece of fiberglass strapped to my feet. But you never seem to want to come around much then, do you snow?

BECAUSE YOU’RE A FUCKIN DICK, SNOW!                                                                                                                                                      Fuck off.

David.

Hello Berlin friends,

Now here’s a sentence I never in a million years thought I would be writing you, but I am writing you, the morning after performing stand up comedy, in a sold out theater, In Brussels, Belgium.

Yes, I said it, Brussels. Sold out. Performed.

Am I dreaming? TESTING, TESTING. Is this thing on?

I don’t have much time to brag, actually, because a sold out show awaits me tonight, in Antwarp, then we’re off to Dusseldorf, and then, that’s right my friends, this is the part where you can get very excited, if you’d like.

We’re coming to Berlin.

I know, I know. The hype of stand up comedy in Berlin was over before it even started, and I know, I know, techno reigns supreme, and yes, you can drink on the streets and I know, you saw me do stand up three years ago and yawn and boring and I’ll do a show next week and the week after that, but I can say this, my friends, and please listen, I’m with friends, and they aren’t from Berlin, and they don’t perform in Berlin all the time like I do, and if you ever loved me, you would do me this one favor.

If you ever loved me, you would stand out on the streets and tell everyone you meet to come out to the shows we’re doing either Friday or Saturday.

You would stand on the corner, deep in Lichtenberg, and yell at the top of your lungs,

“COMEDY! STAND UP COMEDY! REAL DEAL STAND UP COMEDY! RIGHT HERE, RIIIIIIIGHT HEEEEEEEERE!”

And then you’d hand everyone you saw a flyer and hug them and jump up and down, with tears in your eyes, and everyone would be freaking out, like comedy was some army infantry, sent to save us all from the hells of life, and give us a mental freedom that life has taken away from us.

But alas, reality calls me.

RING RING.

“Hello.”

“Hi David, it’s reality.”

“Oh no. Please. No. Just five more minutes. Please! Please! Don’t make me come back.”

“I’m sorry David, you have to come back to reality.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOO.”

“Come on David, look on the bright side, you’re getting on a train to Antwarp in an hour, where a sold out show awaits you, and who knows, maybe Berlin will sell out too. It’s always a possibility.”

“Yeah, you’re right, it’s not so bad!”

“YEAH! People love you.”

“OK, reality, now you’re just being ironic.”

“See you Berlin, David!”

CLICK.  (Speaking of click, click photos for Facebook event.)