People!
Back home for a minute. I’ve been out there doing the road jester thing pretty hard the last few weeks. I’ll be doing it for few weeks more. It’s good. I like the time away sometimes. There’s something about being in a hotel room in a strange town that is relaxing.
I was in Bloomington, Indiana. That town is not strange to me. I’ve been going there for years. It is a strange town in general, though. I’ve never been able to quite figure out why but it is. Something weird always happens when I’m there. Not this time, though. It might be me. I think I'm less of a magnet for weirdness than I used to be. I’m a bit more grounded. I think if you exude the weird, needy vibe, the weirdness will come try to fill it.
I had a very productive, relaxing time there. I got work done. Big work. Did the thinking. I wandered around scribbling the thoughts in my notebook. Stopping on sidewalks and parking lots when they were being delivered. I finally got some reading done. Just the act of sitting and reading. I read almost an entire Baffler which is not light fair generally. Great magazine. Just thinky. I locked in though. Felt good to put new ideas in the head. It lights up my creativity. Spreads my mind out. I also have an advance copy of the new Sam Lypsite book ‘Hark.’ It's fucking hilarious. Very excited for him. He’s my pal.
I had no car there so I was just walking around in heat and rain. Smoking cigars. Thinking. Processing. Pulling things together for the shows I was doing at night. I would push my brain pretty far out there and try and hold it out there and get on stage in that place. Riffage. I’ve been to the Comedy Attic many times. I can’t quite explain why but for me it’s a magic space. It’s a tight little room and I can one-brain it on a good night. Get into the deep groove. No filter. No second guessing. People come there from miles around, literally. Fans were there from Detroit, St. Louis, San Diego, Chicago, Cincinnati, Philly. One guy was seeing me for the 11th time. He brought his kid who was finally old enough to come to the show. It’s crazy. Very humbling. Some of them know though. They know that’s where shit happens. A small, tight room. Best kind of space to do real club comedy. The deep stuff. Taking the risks.
The crowds are amazing. It feels like I’m visiting friends I haven’t seen in while when I work there.
It’s a totally different pace there. It’s nice and slow. I napped, ran, went to a local gym in a corrugated steel structure. Walked back and forth to the Kroger to stock up my mini fridge with shit I can eat. I ate good food at The Farm. Bought some wax at Landlocked Records. It’s nice knowing a town a bit. How to do it.
Today I talk to a behind-the-scenes guy. Dan Schlissel has been running Standup Records for years. He’s put out two of my CDs and re-issued another. He’s recorded so many great comics. Today he talks to me. On Thursday I talk to guy who was in a great band back in the day, The Beatles. I was able to talk to Paul McCartney at a Capitol Records event in front of a crowd that didn’t know he was the surprise guest. The deal was I’d do it if we could release it as a podcast. So, dig that on Thursday. Great talks!
Enjoy!
Boomer lives!
Love,
Maron