Here’s the wind up

Oh it’s been a crazy week and I still haven’t been to sleep.  Too much excitement to sleep.  It all started out on Tuesday we made a run up to Cincy and did a set at go bananas at the Annual Funniest comic in Cincinnati contest, which is always a blast with just the right amount of performance pressure. After that show we had a nice dinner back at the hotel and that’s when we noticed that the premiere date for the lifetime movie that we did last summer had been announced.  Kidnapped in a Small Town will be premiering this next Sunday, July 6 at 8 PM and i am very excited.  I honestly have barely slept a wink gearing up for my Lifetime Television movie debut.

   I got to visit with my daughter while we were up there around Cincy which is always a plus and then before we even had the bags unpacked and it was home that’s when I got a message from the boss the owner of the comedy club and he was asking me if I was available to host the two shows on Saturday night for John Heffron, who had won season 2 of NBC’s Last Comic Standing  And as tired as I was and ready for a nap I said yes instantly and so it’s been a fun week.  Those were some fun shows good audiences.

  and now we just sit back and wait for the world to see Reggie for the first time.

Here’s the link: https://www.mylifetime.com/movies/kidnapped-in-a-small-town

Fool For The City

I have been working this past week on selling off everything I own in order to cast off old spirits and vibes that might be weighing me down and blocking the new luck and progress. I feel lighter, but after talking and dealing with people through marketplace I’m also a bit aggravated that I have so much junk and treasures to cast off. The dream is alive.

Foghat - Fool For The City, give it a listen. Its been stuck in my head

Also, I did a thing, possibly a big thing. Guys I need a change and I ain’t talking about no haircut. I feel stuck where I’m at and all signs are pointing to yes…chase the dream…

HELP CLAY CRUMP CHASE HIS COMEDY DREAM IN NEW YORK CITY!

When I get to New York I have a plan. Provided I can secure a decent place to stay somewhere I won’t have to worry about waking up in a tub of ice missing a kidney, I plan to hit the ground running.

Week 1- Hit an open mic everyday. Comedy Village, Producers Club, Grisley Pear, etc. Go see a show at the Comedy Cellar. Start to network and meet the comics there on the scene. Work on new material and hammer out the existing material. Look for side jobs and keep an eye out for opportunities.

Week 2 - Hit at least 1 open mic a day, trying for a second late mic if I can. Broadway Comedy Club, Rodney’s, NY Comedy Club. Have a 5 minute set that is NYC ready for showcases. Start trying to get on a showcase. Network with a least one club owner or booker.

Week 3 - Continue with as many mics as I can a day, focusing on trying to get on at the late night mic at the Comedy Cellar. Look into side work at any of the comedy clubs. Try to get passed at whatever club has become my favorite. Make some videos about life in New York.

And so on. If I can get a foot hold in that city I just know I can do it…… If I can just make it there, then take a nap, I can get myself on the comedy map.

It’s a brave new world

Yes, its been awhile. I’m still working at the comedy club as a doorman, but I’ve seen the world now, and how are you going to keep a girl like her on the farm after she’s seen the likes of Karl Hungus. Yes, friends, NEW YORK CITY. Its calling my name, telling me to sell everything I own and move to the most expensive place where all the action and opportunities are.

Realistically speaking I’ve been trying to get myself together, my affairs in order because things around me are changing fast; friends have past on and I’m still here pondering the world and wondering where my place is. Those memories of talking to James Gregory before a show are seared into my comedic soul. I close my eyes and I can see Donnie Baker trying to pronounce cinnamon in front of an ecstatic sold out crowd. I’ve gotten to host a single show at the club for Katherine Blanford, from which I have that cancelled check proclaiming me a paid comic. Where do I go from here? Onward, ever upward.

October is here

So, I’ve been to the new comedy club in Louisville a few times since we last spoke. I’ve also been back to Cincy at Go bananas and had a great set. https://youtu.be/1r9S-IPxc58

In the past 24hours I’ve hugged Theo Von after he did a Tuesday -Friday visit in Lexington, then not 10 minutes after Theo split I was shaking hands with Kevin Farley and trying to wrangle his audience who were tired and a little drunk.

Last week we had Greg Warren at the club and on the Saturday shows he taped his new special. Not only did he tape it, he had a production crew come in and transform the showroom with curtains, lights, candles, smoke machine, 5 cameras, 2 dollys, a tent for the director. The director was Nate Bargatze. The feature and host was Tim Convy. In the audience were Chick McGee, Josh Arnold, Henry Phillips, and Nikki Glaser.

Its been a little busy.

Mark Normand gave me all of the left over stuff from the green room from his rider which included Patron, Almonds, Airborne, bananas, etc after 6 sold out shows.

Erica Rhodes came back and she is the coolest ever.

Jessica Kierson was there and was so awesome and inspiring to not care so much about it all.

Jaime Lissow was cool. So was Reno Collier, and Chris Franjola and Heather Land and Taylor Williamson.

Coming next week is Sam Morril after the open mic (which I’m on for the first time since May!)

comedy-

That’s gonna be a no from me dawg’

I didn't advance to the final in the Funniest Person in Cincinnati contest, but neither did a lot of other people. Its funny how we still process it as rejection, just as if we had been dumped by a lover. Its frustrating knowing that you gave it your best and the audience or other person still chose someone else over you. I know I had a great set, I have the video to prove it, but people's tastes are different and not everyone is for everyone.

I may try this new club in Louisville next. I had an issue with the transmission in my truck driving up to Cincy last night. I am going to have to work out some sort of plan if I am to seek out new audiences to do comedy in front of. My 97' Chevy work truck is a classic and I'd like it to still be drivable as antique. I can’t be out there on 5 lane highways dodging cars 20 years newer. I'm thinking like a Honda civic or accord around a 2010-2015 maybe could be a good comedy car to make runs in up to Indiana and Ohio and down to Nashville. we'll see, I've gotta do better and not lose anymore contests.

The Cho Show

Henry Cho was a lot of fun. The shows started a little earlier than normally scheduled and ended up selling out. He didn't do a Friday late show, which I understand, because those audiences can be rough around the edges.

The late show Saturday is almost the same, but fortunately no one caused any problems

Henry Cho had Aaron Weber feature for him, which was a treat for me to watch and study. He's one of these guys who has hustled and worked clean and has gotten work and a good Saturday.

Henry did bits that jogged my memory from when I was younger and I was watching him on tv. The first time I saw Henry was on the MTV half hour Comedy Hour. I wish I could see some of the names of comics on those shows. They influenced me apparently, even if subliminally.

Now I start to gear up for Cincinnati and the next round of this contest. I'm excited.

Wednesday, July 20th at 7:30 PM - Go Bananas !!! Come Watch

Summer Fun

It was a good weekend at the club. Dusty Slay really brought in the crowds and It was the busiest we had been in a few weeks.

Dusty did a lot of new material and did a long show, which for me was awesome. His feature, Drew Harrison did 30 minutes each show, which isn't a marathon, but it is a long sprint. I have a lot of work left to do just to get to where Drew's is at, and seeing them both in action was motivational to say the least.

Coming this weekend to the club is Henry Cho. He's a guy I remember seeing do stand up on TV when I was a kid. This will be my second time seeing him/working his shows and I'm pumped about it.

My next gig is at Go Bananas on July 20th. Its the 4th and last semifinal round of the Funniest person in Cincinnati contest. Show is at 7:30. I hope to see you there.

Horton Hears A Clay

Proof of Life!!! I am HERE!!

This begins my third month of having this website.

Sorry about the lack of blog posting. Life is busy, gas is expensive and people are losing a grip. Life is full of tests and trials.

Since my last post summer has started, my daughter graduated high school, I’ve been working a bunch, writing. I've just been trying to hang on and stay sane. I've gotten to do 2 comedy shows recently, but my electrician life has been trying to claim the majority of my time and mind. Gotta pay the bills.

Dusty Slay is coming this weekend (July 7-9) at the club and I am excited. Come watch him Slay!!

I have a set in a comedy contest on July 20th At Go Bananas in Cincinnati OH The show is at 7:30. Hope to see you there!

Why am I still alive?

Should I keep writing here? Everyday it feels like nobody cares about me but me, and the bill collectors. At least they call.

So, the last two weeks haven't been a complete WTF head scratcher. I did get signed up for the Funniest Person in Cincinnati contest, was invited to be on a paid show at a place in Frankfort, KY, and was invited to be a guest on a podcast.

Two of those these things have had to be rescheduled already, and I have to find a way to get to Hamilton Ohio from Lexington to be in the contest at Go Bananas, but I will find a way, and I am grateful for any opportunity to perform. I need a little comedy car. Lack of reliable transportation has been keeping me down too long

Other than those nuggets of light at the end of the tunnel, we had Brent Terhune at the club this past week. He filled in for Adam Ray whom I was really looking forward to seeing, but had to reschedule ironically. He and Jeremiah Watkins did a bit on his show, Jeremiah Wonders, that I watched a hundred times. It got me through christmas and new years which were brutal. I wanted to tell him that they're mere minutes worth of silliness got me through a time when I had given up.

But Adam had show business stuff to do and couldn't make it, that's show biz.

I'm re learning that life is alot like show biz. You can't stick to close to a dream or an idea because things change. You need to stay open to it otherwise every little change of the direction of the wind is gonna break your heart, and there are professional heart breakers out there huffin' and puffin' and tryin' to blow your house in.

That's enough Doogie Hoosier M.D. journaling for now... Keep Yourself Alive…. and please consider me for your show

Love Stinks, yeah yeah

J.Geils Band said it best.

This past week was some straight up bull shit, but its over. I'd like to blame it on mercury retrograde, pluto retrograde, the full moon, the eclipse, and your mom's asshole, but my fate and happiness is really nobody's responsibility but my own.

Here's the most recent joke I've put in the notebook:

"I met a girl recently I liked, but I didn't see the red flags and it didn't work out

She was dealing with a lot of change when we met and was emotionally unavailable.

That's what I get for asking girls out who are waiting in line at the CoinStar.

The timing was off.

I'll ask her again when she's in line at the pop machine.

The only stable situation in my life right now has a horse in it. I wired in its light and fan"

yeah its horrible. I’m looking to get on some shows.

Monday

I hate that I missed a day or two on my blog here, but the reality is that we get busy. Sometimes we get busy doing nothing because we are tired, sometimes because we are sick and tired. I was just busy.

The rest of the weekend with James Gregory went well. I couldn't help but feel some of the energy of being on stage in a sold out room as I sat at the stage and waited for the last couple of bits that he has been closing with.

There was a lot of waiting and listening for those vocal cues, the bits that have been polished like tumbled stone. I would stand with James in the lobby as he waited to go into the showroom. He knew when to start heading to the stage in a groundhogs day type experience.

And I couldn't help but feel the energy too; walking to the stage, seeing the crowd from his perspective as they stood and gave an ovation at the end of each show, then praising him as we walked back through them and on into the tiny make-shift green room downstairs.

If ever I could draw a crowd like that, I will have already known the feeling of being amidst every comedian's dream and I'll feel at home remembering being there before helping James.

Back to the real world of mowing and installing ceiling fans for awhile longer.

The weekend has begun (for comedy)

We have the legendary James Gregory at the club this weekend. Tonight's show was sold out. I've already gotten to talk with him a bunch.

I love this doorman job. The owner has assigned me to walk with Mr Gregory to and from the stage because the aisles can get narrow with knees and feet.

There are four more shows this weekend. I look forward to just being in the presence of a comedian with more years of experience than I've been alive.

His rhythm and beats are right on time. Set up, punch. Consistent. Funny. A great example of how to do it right.

Ari Shafer is at the Louisville club. I wonder how that’s going.

wed-nes-day

Change has been in the air for some time now. I've been trying to get organized and de-cluttered so there's less to debris floating around when the flood of change comes fast.

Sometimes life is like surfing. You have to swim out to meet a wave, or an opportunity that you know is coming.

As it comes everything around you starts rising and moving,

you have to turn and start paddling to match the speed of the wave.

Then when it becoming the most turbulent you have to rise up on your feet to stay on the board and ride with the wave that is pushing you forward.

Even then forces are trying to knock you off the board till the wave runs its course.

Each wave is different, but the motions and the staying balanced stay the same.

You get stronger.

I've never been surfing. Maybe I heard that in a movie or a dream

Late 12:30am post

I’m getting to this late, but only because there were a million other things going on.

The Open mic was interesting to say the least. Small crowd, no rowdy people. I should have been rowdier, but I think I was probably full of myself enough as it was.

If I ever get to sleep May 4th should also be eventful.

Day 1 of managing a tiny website

The site has been up for almost 24 hours now and I have made about a thousand changes and corrected a ton of typo's.

I'm hoping this site will serve as a central hub for any future endeavors. I'll try to keep it updated as soon as things begin to happen and I get moving again.

Tomorrow night is the open mic/ showcase at Comedy Off Broadway. I don't know who all is on the show, but I do know my friend Madison will be closing it out. I'm not sure where I'll be in the line up. Last month I got to go first. Always a fun time. Show is at 7:20, wish you could be there.

Welcome to my page

This is my brand new webpage! I’ve been saying, “Hmm, well that’s how that works”. and “How do I do that?”

I have a lot of organizing to do, but this is where I am starting this. Open mic is this Tuesday the 3rd at Comedy Off Broadway. I’m on the show. I hope we have a nice crowd like last month.