20240711_This is a fucking cool comedy scene. Not without its issues, of course.

Me and Ikese at Eem grabbing lunch before we went to see DL.

The comedy scene out here in Portland is so fucking cool, y'all. It's crazy to me that every night of the week there are fantastic open mics with funny ass people of all makes and models doing their thing, or thang. You should try it or at least go watch it somewhere if you're looking for something different.

The current drama out here in the scene is crazy sometimes too, like almost Tiger King crazy, as a fellow comic said to me the other night. Would I would want to show that in the documentary, I was asked? Yawn. I've no time for that BS, I am here for the comedy scene, not the Maury Povich show. That is a distraction.

I am going back to Charlotte, NC area in August. My sister is having her 50th birthday party in Raleigh. She's kind of a big deal so I am making the trip. But I want to do some mics while I am visiting.

As I am trying to find open mics in Charlotte and realizing there's dick about it in one place like we have here with LaughsPDX.com it reminds me again how cool this scene is. Hell, I found LaughsPDX resource the day I decided to do an open mic for the first time, one year ago almost to the day today. There's another good site pdxfunny.org which has a pretty up to the mic listing.

Both will tell you about Montavilla Station on Tuesday nights which is so much fun. This week at MVS I was trying to do a couple of interviews before the mic, but my car didn't charge fully so I had to audible. I was only able to get the mic. I thought about canceling but decided I had hired a camera person for the night so let's do this thang. Glad I did.

It was soooo worth it. On a 104 degree day Lucas Copp and Brandon Wayne Little broke their own record putting up 58 comics (unaudited) in a single night for 3 minute sets. The mic went from 7 -11PM and I captured every comic, including my penultimate favorite comic and camera person, Milo Loza. This kid is funny, kind, has a great eye for film, and is just a joy to be around. When you see his name on a marquee somewhere, don't be surprised if its long before his "10th year". It would not surprise if above, or below, it said Lucas Copp and Juan Denmark with special guest Ronnie Mackaroni. And believe me, there are more names like that here in the PNW. Gabriel Rutledge, Sam Miller, and Imani Denae.

I don't know them all personally, but I know their comedy. I know their work ethic. I've heard their jokes. I believe you will too.

Okay, "revenons aux nous moutons". I am a "Redneck Francais" after all.

I set up the camera for the stage where Milo would capture the comedians and get experience behind the viewfinder. I would set up outside to do man on the street style interviews. Then, the magic happened, and you have to go with it. Comics started getting more comfortable with the camera outside and began engaging. Before long they were interviewing each other and talking to the camera. The G-Wade, Q, and Sir Lance Edwards showed up and the entertainment value went through the roof. Not surprising when you have vets show up. It made me so happy to see and be a part of and it's great to see everyone get accustomed to the cameras.

It took a minute for folks to acclimate when I started filming sets too. I could see it but I knew it would pass and I knew there was a story here. Every night I do comedy here it proves it more and more. And providing sets at no cost, donation only, really helps out comics who rely on good footage to try and build a following, provide to comedy bookers/producers for paid spots, and also get better at what they're doing be seeing themselves. Having said that I do appreciate the donations which are made that help me offset a small percentage of the costs associated with filming a documentary. Thank you.

Well, this is crazy fun (and stressful) and I've been doing comedy now for almost a year. But, because I am from a dog show family, I am working in dog years. So, it feels like it has been 7.

It's crazy the stuff I've done in my Freshman year of comedy/entertainment:

July 2023 - Attended my first open mic hosted by Brandon Wayne Little. Also Grant Leavitt was there, he is a future household name in comedy. I will bet all my Dogecoin on it.

October 2023 - Started filming a documentary about the open mic scene here in the PDX area at Montavilla Station. When I asked Lucas Copp (Bullet pull on Kill Tony, Episode #670 - Shane Gillis and James McCann - Big Joke Book) if I could film a documentary there he just said "You're so weird. And yes."

Also my first "killer set" was 10/31/2024 at a costume-based open mic night. I did this bit as a redneck that I thought destroyed. I kept a copy of the script and made a note "1st Killer Set". It felt good.

November 2023 - Started producing an open mic in McMinnville, OR at a place called the Cabana Club. The first night I had one other comic show up, Jeffrey Epstein, to do the mic with me. That's another cool thing about being in comedy in Portland. I have a friend named Jeff Epstein that is the best guy I know with the worst luck with names.

December 2023 - Produced my first ticketed show at the Cabana Club

Had to build "Network Attached Storage" (NAS) hard drive to store the massive amounts of data needed to record in 4K @ 24FPS. Every 2.5 hours of filming is about 100GB of data. I currently have over 8TB of footage. Yes, not Netflix or HBO or PBS. Me, I have over 8TB of 4k open mic comedy, interviews, behind the scenes, and other footage and photos from the coolest fucking comedy scenes in the West, if not the country.

January 2024 - Kept up with filming a documentary, running a mic and showcase, and a full-time job. Oh, and I created the pdxComedyDocumentary.com website. It's a work in progress with about 300 hours invested so far. I've had 20 comedians submit their stories and photos. I use this to get to know them and prep for interviews.

February 2024 - First canceled showcase due to low ticket sales. I still paid all comedians half what they would have made if we did the show. Not because it was contractual, because it was the right thing to do. I wish I could have afforded the 100% coverage because it's a booker's responsibility to sell tickets.

March 2024 - Started doing interviews for the documentary

June 2024 - Started advertising the documentary website on LaughsPDX.com to get more exposure. Started an open mic podcast to talk about open mic comedy. Will start loading to YouTube as I get going.

July 2024 - Ended my open mic in McMinnville temporarily but have plans to do something cool with it and continue theLeaderboard and an eventual filmed theater show.

Every day is a school day and I wonder what my sophomore year will bring in year 47...

Cameras: Panasonic AGDVX-200 and a Panasonic XC-180

Audio:

Channel 1 is a camera mounted Panasonic/Sony shotgun mic

Channel 2 is mostly from the mic/mixer with an in-line gain reducer of -15dB

I am not a professional. I am an accountant but I like to figure stuff out.