An Interlude For Gratitude

Interrupting our regularly scheduled programming to say thanks.

Love to see a bunch of perspectives. (photo by Ian Zandi)

First of all I would just like to say hello and thank you to all the new subscribers in the wake of the bringer show piece. A few of you even paid to subscribe! The Absolute heroes! That essay has gotten a boatload of feedback—including from Guy, who sent me a very nice email last night—and I appreciate everyone who has shared their perspective privately and publicly.

I do intend to go back to the normal-ish format of this newsletter soon. I’ll also continue to publish the occasional longer piece designed more specifically for comics, because those seem to really resonate. But in the meantime, for those of you who are new here, or who’d like a little extra Jay Light lore, today I’m republishing a short piece I wrote back in 2021.

In the fall of 2021, the Los Angeles comedy scene was in a strange place. The vibes were still Covid-ish, and the sense of artistry and camaraderie that seemed to be abundant before the pandemic had not yet returned.¹ It felt like you could throw a rock and hit an open mic where you paid $5 to do 5 minutes. After seeing a friend who’d recently moved to LA express his disdain with this on Twitter, I decided to write a little something in my Apple Notes and post the screenshots. It picked up traction and started a conversation similar to the one that the scene seems to be having with itself now. At one point I was called “the Norma Rae of open mic,” which reminds me, I still need to finally watch that movie instead of just watching the infamous “UNION” scene over and over again.

I’m not reposting this because I think the scene hasn’t changed a lick in three and a half years; I’m reposting it because I want you, if you’re reading this, to feel empowered. I think comics should know their worth, which means they should have places to hone their craft that don’t feel exploitative or hostile. And the increasingly apparent truth of the LA comedy scene is that, after the pandemic, it’s fallen victim to a lot of bad habits for no reason other than a lack of knowledge on good practices.

So, if you’re a comic reading this, in LA or elsewhere, consider this my office hours. I have some projects and posts I’ll be to publishing as one-offs and series: some tips on producing, an Open Mic Scouting Report², etc. But if there is something you’re curious about or would like my 2¢ on, please feel free to comment, reply, or reach out. Even though I might think you’re misguided or wrong, I’m not asking you to agree with everything I’m saying. But I do think we can agree on this: a better scene is always possible, and it’s worth fighting for.

Thank you for your time and support. See y’all down the road. Without further ado, here’s me being pissed off at some things a few years ago.

SOME THOUGHTS RE: OPEN MICS IN LOS ANGELES

originally published September 2021

For every great mic in Los Angeles that’s free or “buy a drink” with hosts who put effort into hosting (and sometimes even an audience), there are a dozen soul-sucking pay-to-play mics. The scene is capable of better.

I say this, by the way, as a patron of the pay-for-play mics. I go to pay-for-play mics out of convenience, not because I enjoy going to them. My schedule is chaotic and I don’t always have time to hit my favorite rooms, so I wind up paying another comic’s rent instead and getting a boomerang of myself for my trouble. And, sure, I can luck into a good room at a pay-for-play mic every so often, but they make what should be fun feel like a chore.

The normalization of the pay-for-play model throughout the city is one of the worst things to happen to the LA scene. Sure, sometimes you need a place to put a bit up on its feet and shout into the void a little bit, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that there is a significant lack of the rooms we all need right now to make the scene better.

I miss rooms like Midnight Special and the Monday night mic at The Pack and Show Up Go Up. Rooms where comics can be good audience members without being blindly supportive. Where you can earn an honest response instead of watching your peers stonewall your jokes, or even worse, laugh at every piece of low hanging fruit in the orchard.

One of the things I was proudest of while producing Kinda Sketchy all those years was that even if it wasn’t always the most fun mic – especially in the summertime, when the room became an oven and the beer fridge threatened to drown out your set – at least the room was honest. I’m sure that rooms like this exist that I haven’t been to yet and I hope more people will run mics like this again as the scene rumbles back to life. Because they shouldn’t be the outliers any more.

Somehow, we all bought into the mindset that going to an open mic isn’t about having fun, it’s about work. Can’t open mics be a place where you can have fun, too? Can’t they be a fun hang AND a productive place to work on your material? Working on your craft with a bunch of like minded individuals shouldn’t be a fucking drag.

“The entertainment industry sucks but the standup scene doesn’t have to.”

- Steve Hernandez

A BRIEF DISPATCH FROM RECOVERYLAND

Made it to three meetings last week. Dove back into my step work. Tried to stick to some boundaries but had a little trouble. But you know the drill: around these parts, we’re all about progress, not perfection.

WHAT ABOUT ME?

This week, you can find me:

• on social media (mostly Instagram, a little on YouTube)

• doing shows in Dallas and New York City - full show calendar is here

• gearing up for a big month on the road with my comedy game show WRONG! – come check us out in San Diego, Boise, Portland, Seattle, and, of course, in Los Angeles at our new 8 PM time slot at The Comedy Store!

Oh, and if any of the inside baseball stuff I talked about up top sounds interesting to you, feel free to check out a couple other posts I’ve made on the subject.

Until next time, friends. Thanks for reading, I’m glad you’re here!

1. Did they ever return? Depends on where you look.

2. By the way: if you know of an open mic in the area that is worth checking out then please let me know and I will come check it out.