Hullo, Folks-
Hope you had nice Jesus weekend. I did.
First things first. I will be doing two more shows at The Trepany House at The Steve Allen Theater tomorrow, Tuesday, April 22 and next Tuesday, April 29 at 8PM. Come if you can. They’re fun shows.
Flying back from Raleigh, North Carolina, as I write this. I did four shows with Ryan Singer at Goodnights. They were great shows. The more I go to the South, the more I like it. It was Easter weekend so I really didn’t know what to expect but the shows were packed for the most part and the audiences were amazing.
I did some thinking about Jesus over this Jesus weekend. I have no point of reference for Jesus in my life. I’ve never had him my heart or mind as anything other than a guy I’ve seen paintings of that some people think is God. It’s odd when you have never had a relationship with God that functions the way that type of relationship is supposed to function. I really have had to engage empathy to understand faith in specific ideas of God. I actually thought about Jesus all of Good Friday. I did a little research because I don’t have the events of that day plowed into my brain like I imagine some Christians do. The events that are in the bible that is. What really happened is anyone’s guess. I never thought I would be able to relate to Jesus as a comic but after reading the story of Good Friday (which was clearly the absolute worst day for Jesus) I understood a few things about humanity and related as a comic.
From what I gather Jesus was in trouble. Pilate didn’t think he was in the kind of trouble that he should die for so he sent Jesus over to the Jew judges and let them take the case. They didn’t think he should die either so they sent him back to Pilate who had a very rambunctious crowd on his hands. He didn’t want to take the case so he let the crowd decide. If I understand the story it seems that Jesus was crucified because of a shitty crowd. I can relate to that. Been there. Obviously I’m not comparing myself to Jesus in any real way. I wouldn’t die for anyone’s sins but I have crashed a few relationships and made a few bad decisions along the way and I think too much and I think some people get some solace out of that. Happy to help. Hope you all had a good Easter and Passover. I can’t even talk about Passover. Sadly, I didn’t even think about it. I am a bad Jew.
On Monday I talk to the infamous Alan Bursky. He may not be a name you recognize but in some circles he is an important character in the history of modern standup. I had never really met Alan but I had heard his name for years. The story was that it was his gun that Freddy Prinze used to kill himself. What I found out from talking to him was that he is like a dark Zelig that was there at the birth of The Comedy Store for all of the early weirdness and is still out there doing it. Great talk. On Thursday I get the lowdown on the music that set the stage for punk rock. Wayne Kramer of the MC5 lays it out: Distortion, The White Panther movement, the sixties, Jazz, Iggy, drugs, jail and staying alive. Amazing. Dig it.
Enjoy!
Boomer lives!
Love,
Maron
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