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
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
posted by Andrew Evans at 10:23 PM
4 Comments:
Hell, Bill Hicks used to crib Woody Allen jokes when he started. The truth is, everyone is initially inspired by someone. I honestly don't know any artist, regardless of the medium, who just woke up one day, for no particular reason, and said, "I'm going to be an (insert artistic medium here)." No fucking way. Someone's got to introduce you. Someone's got to be so good at it that they inspire you to want to do it, too.
I like to use old blues, soul and country lyrics for inspiring comedic riffs
I like to eat dead orphans before writing sketches. They taste lonely and impudent. It's very inspiring. Their stem cells taste like caviar. That's a lie; I've never tasted caviar.
DARRON FORST!
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