Alternative or Anti culture?

I went to a show last week in what is largely known in town to be a "trendy" venue. What makes something in this culturally bankrupt town trendy? When people with money hang out in a part of town that doesn't have money, then that is one way of being trendy. The room is filled with 20 somethings that wear protest or ironic message buttons on their goodwill store bought clothes. They ride bicycles, smoke pot and own ferrets. These are the same people that can be spotted at a fast food restaurant in Dad's SUV on the way to the G8 protest. With irony like this, who needs to put a 20 year old Barbie shirt on a fat girl?

I think recycling clothing and riding bicycles is responsible living. I think pot is better for you than alcohol and if we are going to own dogs, why not ferrets? They are better company than a cat.

What is my problem with this scene you ask? They do this shit to keep up with appearances, not necessarily because they want to. Social positioning. In the business world you are supposed to dress for the job you want, not the one you have. The same thing is true here. It’s just a different uniform and a different group of people you want to impress.

These fuckbags are willing to drink $7 beer because it’s "hip" to drink faux imported beer you can put a lemon in. Hey, why drink a beer if you can't subconsciously tell people that you are well versed in the school of drink? Its cooler to know how and what to drink than it is to have something that tastes good or gets you drunk. Let's do it on a rooftop in winter where we have the pleasure of sitting on purposely mismatched and broken furniture too. If the shitty furniture is on purpose, its ok, but if you can't afford better it’s just sad. $7 for a beer, but 50cents for the Mr. T T-shirt. If you look like you aren't trying, that's cool. A "feeling" of detachment from the mainstream. This IS the mainstream. The irony is they try very hard to give the impression of not trying at all. From the perfectly positioned gelled bed-head, to the horn-rimmed glasses (contacts would be tacky) I am even convinced they start smoking just so they can tell you, they are trying to quit. They have left wing literature on the book shelf that they haven't read, and bookmarks on the PC to the Onion or the Guardian they don't visit. We are worldly. No. Pierre Trudeau was worldly; you are an empty vessel drinking over priced beer in a plastic tent on the roof of a hotel.

They would never step inside a Holt-Renfrew, but would line up around the block to get a piece of shit broach from the Jamaican trinket tent at hippie fest.

The comedy scene is the same way. The less you try to be funny, the funnier you are. No. Referencing Steve Gutenberg or a Sitar is not a joke, it is just a reference. I don't care if your friends laugh. It isn't funny. They are only laughing to give the appearance to the roomful of hipsters that they are hip too. Like they know what the fuck is going on. Their heroes are David Cross and Patton Oswald, but what they seam to miss is the fact that those 2 guys actually have jokes, and they are funny. I have a feeling they really read the books they keep on their shelves too.

They donate to the Salvation Army because it gives the impression of being morally and socially conscious and then buy their clothes there.

Are there any TRUE individuals left on this planet?

Darren Frost and the Dynamics of a Jazz Musician

A couple of weeks ago, I saw Darren Frost headline his "Hate to Live" tour which means I was faced with yet another weekend without work.

This was a special night because Darren headlined a xxx show with the likes of Terry Clement and Shannon Laverty. I love xxx shows, not for the same reason drunk 18 year old college students do, or for the abundance of 4 letter words, or even the vivid descriptions of sex. I love xxx shows, because, this seems to be the only place left on earth for an honest exchange of ideas.

In mainstream culture, ideas are buried in music or hidden behind a painting, a character, or given the security of an educational setting a liberal arts college can provide. It is true that the ideas presented in a comedy club are cloaked in jokes, but I find the most important distinction with this medium and the others I have mentioned, is the laughter. Laughter is a way to release tension. Laughter is the audience's contribution to the exchange of ideas taking place in real time. Laughter is a way people can agree with your ideas in public without leaving the convicting evidence of words behind.

Darren brings it every night, something I'm ashamed to admit that I don't do. What I mean by this is his effort. Everybody runs into bad nights where audiences don't like what you have to offer. I mean he always gives them the best chance to like it.

The most important ingrediant for the growth of a comedian is stage time. There is no substitute for getting on stage and performing as much as you can. The second most important thing is writing. Write as often and as much as you can. It doesn't matter about what, just write, sooner or later ideas you can use will end up on the page. The third most important thing to do is something I see very few young comics do enough of. Watching the guys you respect. Not just on DVD or TV, but live. You must see them live. Good comedy is a two way conversation with the audience that does not translate very well on film. Often many of the important moments in a stage show get edited out if the performance is taped to air on TV.

I hear many guys say "Don't listen to other comics, you don't want to be influenced." Can you imagine if musicians took this advice? A world full of guitar players that never heard music. The best musicians in the world have a large and ecclectic taste in music.

I once ran into a couple of the guys from a band called the Pursuit of Happiness in a Sam the Record Man in Halifax. They were a rock band with moderate mainstream success in the late 80's. Dave Gilby, the drummer was buying an Ed Thigpen album. Ed Thigpen was the drummer for the Oscer Peterson trio and also toured with Ella Fitzgerald. Gilby, nor his band ever sounded anything like the Oscar Peterson trio, but I promise you listening to good music helped him to become better. What about writers who never read books?

Eric Clapton cites Robert Johnson, and Muddy Waters as influences, but would you confuse the music of Cream with one of them? No, but he's a better guitar player for it. Keith Moon and Michael Giles, were influences on Neil Peart. Led Zepplin influenced Rush and Rush influenced the Barenaked Ladies. In comedy Doug Stanhope told me that Andrew Dice Clay, of all people got him interested in comedy.

The point is, Gilby can learn about dynamics, and phrasing from one of the best like Thigpen without ever sounding like him. Thigpen is known for his brush work, I don't remember hearing any brushes in "I'm an adult now."

Influence and lots of it helps. The problem of influence is becoming a mimic. Using somebody elses act as a template for yours.

When I watched Darren perform, it reminded me how much the little things matter, and how good he was at using them to squeeze every last ounce of funny from his jokes. He orchestrates his performance with the ebb and flow of his voice inflection, intonation and volume, the same way good musicians do. He uses a combination of subtle and not so subtle body language to punctuate his jokes. Everything from a slight eyebrow raise, to a quick and animated "uppercut" is used to ad to a picture he paints in the mind of the audience which gives them a more vivid and full experience of the ideas he wants to communicate. Instead of just giving you directions to the punch line, he gives you a drive there.

This night inspired me to revisit my work. What more can I do to improve my stuff? The more I understand about comedy, the harder it seems to become, but I wouldn't change a thing. I love the challenge. I love stand up. It is the toughest thing I have ever done, and by far the most rewarding.

Check out Darren at www.comedywhore.com