20250827_Update on Life and Documentary

This is Bo Delegato and Ethan Trimble captured by the talented Lindsay Strecker.

I am overwhelmed at the moment. I am working hard and diligently at my day job and feel like I am barely making progress. I sit on the Board of a local non-profit, I am trying to produce a documentary, produce a live comedy showcase and maybe soon an open mic in Mac, and still trying to do stand up. It's honestly too much. I can't keep this up much longer on all fronts and not have a stroke or a heart attack. Just kidding. I think. Life tends to be like being an open mic comedian. It has ups and downs, ebbs and flows, highs and lows. Especially high when you get one of Noah Bustos's bangers. You never quit. It is always there in your mind. It's like dope.

I have been producing a show that started in Newberg and landed primarily in McMinnville called the Stand Up Comedy Showcase Showdown which features 4 comedians competing against one another for 15-minute sets creating an hour-long comedy competition. In between sets we have some fun interactive games to reset the room and give folks a chance to get another beverage. I am trying to pay around $600/hour for those comedians and using all my would-be profits to shoot the shows. The shows are finally making enought to almost cover my costs. Being able to hire out the camera work to much better talents. It is a labor of love. Because I haven't made a damn dime from it yet. In fact, I am all assets, no profits in the comedy world. I am scared to admit how much money I have invested. But hey, at least I have a show that is almost break-even so I get to host my peers out in wine country. It's a room outside of Portland, a testing ground if you will. Portland is a great comedy town but people can be a tough crowd. Especially at an open mic. So having a fresh room of paying customers is a treat in and of itself but being able to make $150 for 15 minutes and some wine and fresh air is well, priceless.

Right now we are creating some really cool video from it as well. I edit those videos when I have time but honestly takes me a long time to do and only after I've worked 45-50 hours and maybe had a chance to make one mic. So I am in a holding pattern on the documentary but I think it may be time to focus on that for a bit, like its my bit. Maybe I can start to generate more revenue and pay an editor but for now it is all me. It is a sacrifice but I think it will be worth it. I can probably help a lot more doing this than the stage. That ship has sailed but I can still do some sets like Judd Apatow. Actually that would be tight. I would rather be remembered as a Mitzi Shore type who can spot and promote talented people but also someone who can do comedy and make my comedian friends laugh. That is important to me. Hopefully soon I can invest in some audio improvements to drive better capture for the videos at the shows. Not a lot of investment because I don't have it. I have invested so much time and money in this I am deathly afraid it is going to fail like my food truck which was a fricking disaster but fortunately didn't break us. It was probably a blessing. Had it taken off we probably would have lost everything during 2020. Remember when we thought that was a bad year? Sheesh, makes this year look like 1984. Anyway... It didn't work, I failed but landed on my feet at Wells Fargo for a spell before we moved to Oregogne. Wine country. McMinnville. Where, in the summer of 2023 while unemployed I decided to go to an open mic. I got hooked. I wanted more. I wanted to learn to get better. I wanted to be like Lucas Copp, Sir Lance Edward, Jaren George, Mx Dahlia Belle, All J Ward, Joe John Sanchez, Juan Denmark, anyone who was a finalist at Portland's Funniest Person, anyone who hosts an open mic or produces a show in this region.

I wanted to be able to follow Ronnie Macaroni and not feel so intimidated. The first time I did it she barely knew who I was and as she confidently strolled off the stage and gave me a fist bump I said "Thanks, I have to follow that." Ronnie looked at me and said "Just ride that wave, baby. You got this." or something to the effect of that and I tried and survived but I didn't make it into the pipe, if you will. Now, while I may not be as good as her (and probably never will be), I love to follow her whenever I can. Not only because that will make you better but because she's been around and knows and respects the grind and effort. She isn't afraid of you being good too, she knows she's got it. That is more often than not the case in Portland. Now, we talk shit about you when you make it, but that is a different conversation.

Let that be a lesson for you out there from Coach. Follow people who are hard to follow. If you can do it you know you're getting better.

It is addictive AF to quote DL Hughley. Indeed sir.

Being here is all by chance by the way. I met Brandon Wayne Little and Grant Leavitt my first night at an open mic. Grant's balls had barely dropped. Now he's got Lipton tea. BWL encouraged me by saying I had "stage presence" and for some reason I believed him. Thanks for that.

When we moved out here we had hoped to buy some acreage and plant some vines, make some wines. But, after we got out here and realized how much money it was going to take and the financial investment to do so I think we both were okay to buy a house in town and I would keep CPA/Consulting while Shelby worked her way up the wine business ladder. That's all good but I missed people too. Working from home is good but not all the time in my book. Comedy is another way to have a community outside my day job. It's weird when you see someone from comedy out in the "wild." You don't know what to talk about and its weird. It's just like running into someone from the office unexpected.

Brain interruption. Writing this I feel like I am once again a young man living in France and blogging about my experience. Check it out at chezstgeorge.blogspot.com if you want to see me, read my thoughts from when I was 27-28 years old living in Lyon or 31 and in Copenhagen or somewhere else in Europe. I am starting to understand what people mean about the "good 'ole days."

Okay, that's good. I am probably putting too much out there for ChatGPT to use on AI.

Sean Murphy aka "PDX Comedy Documentary" but my friends call me "Coach."