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Nicole Yates's avatar

Death to bringer shows (and paid mics!)!!!!

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Parker's avatar

Hey Jay, I read the article. I enjoyed it.

I have a bit of a different take on bringer shows. For me, they were an absolute godsend early in my comedy career and played a big role in my development as a young comedian.

I might be in a different boat than a lot of people. But I started doing comedy when I had a pretty large social circle outside of comedians—which made it much easier for me to bring people out when asked. I was fortunate enough to be able to consistently bring 2, 5, sometimes even 10 people to shows. These people were friends or people that I worked with.

And those bringer shows led to real opportunities and regular (non-bringer) shows. For example, I now host about once a month at HaHa Comedy Club for Guyz Nite. I’ve done door spots at Fourth Wall, a guest spot at the Ice House California Room, and I’ve performed at the Jimmy Kimmel Comedy Club in Las Vegas and Mic Drop in San Diego. Every single one of those specific opportunities can be traced back to a bringer show I was part of. All of them were non-bringers.

Here’s what I’ll say: if you’re new to comedy and reading this comment, I believe that stage time is the most important thing. If you’re clever and you find a way to get booked on a lot of quality shows quickly without having to go the bringer route, that’s amazing—you should absolutely pursue that. But if you’re someone who has a large social circle or you’re willing to get creative—whether that’s barking or figuring out how to draw a crowd in unconventional ways to hit the audience numbers you promised—then I think bringer shows can be a great stepping stone on the way up.

That said, it's important be smart: the best feedback on how good of a comedian you are onstage is from an audience that doesn’t know you, has never seen your face, or heard your jokes. Network your way into non-bringer shows as much as you can. Avoid sleazy producers who’ll put you on a three-hour lineup just to do five minutes. And get on stage as much as possible—whether that’s paid open mics, free mics, bringers, guest spots, door spots, or producing your own shows.

In my experience, Guy runs a tight ship. The shows tend to run no longer than an hour and 50 minutes. Guy himself generally does 12 minutes. And there are opportunities with who he introduces you (and not to mention who you meet) to do bringer shows and non-bringer shows. Of course, you must network and put in hustle yourself.

As for the sales-y, gamified language in Guy’s messages—I get how that might turn some people off. Personally, when I did Guyz Nite, Guy never used that language with me. Maybe the feedback you are giving him will help his approach over time.

I won’t condone everything he does—nobody’s perfect. But it would feel wrong for me not to speak publicly and thank him for the opportunities he’s given me. He’s helped me get a foothold in the comedy scene, and I’m genuinely grateful for that.

And just to be clear, Jay—none of this is a knock on you. From what I’ve seen, you’re an incredible comic with way more experience than I have. I’ve enjoyed your sets at the Belly Room a lot, especially the roasts. Maybe I’ll see things differently when I’ve been doing this as long as you have. But for now, I wanted to offer my perspective, especially because I want to give credit where credit is due.

If there is someone who has actually done a Guyz Nite show and had a negative experience, I hope they post it up here.

But I hope more people who also had a more positive experience also comment.

(Posting this on Instagram too)

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