• There is officially no in-person comedy left. There’s mics and shows online which is great. Performers may revolutionize the industry and get paid for working online. Glad to see everyone adapt so quickly; this might be the next great comedy boom. Unfortunately, there
is a whole industry of people in the entertainment industry being left behind and those are the servers, the coat checkers, the door people, the cooks, the chefs, the food runners, the bartenders and barbacks, the security, everyone. Most comedy clubs are starting GoFundMes and it’s inspiring. People are donating slowly but surely. I’m partial to one in particular. It’s the Carolines GoFundMe. I worked there for the past two months before the Club had to close due to, you know. Well, in the wake of that, our resourceful staff led by Kendall Keener set up a page for people to donate to staff members. We don’t expect people that are in the same boat as us (newly unemployed millennials) to donate nor do we expect them to. We just hope that you share it to increase visibility so big name comics who have performed at the Club check it out. If you’d like to share, the link is in the comments and it would be really cool if you made a status about it. I’ll owe you a social media favor in return!
• This is obviously a very strange footnote in history that I think will end up being the defining moment of our generation’s lives. And in said moment, it’s really cool to see how many positive, generous things are happening on the internet for content creators. Here’s a select few that I spotted this week:
1.) If you have Adobe, you can get three free months. Just call this number: 1 (800) 833-6687. It might take awhile for customer service to get back to you but worth it. Just opt for the “Call back later” option and they’ll handle your account ASAP.
2.) One of mine and Anna Paone’s fave NY comics Neil Rubenstein started a Facebook group called “Artist Support Group - Beta.” Here’s the conceit. Neil has two group members a day promote themselves however they like. You can share your Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, podcast, website, etc. Then, all the group members just blow up all of that person’s content. We all fave everything they post, comment, follow. It’s a really cool thing and makes you feel special for a minute. If you’re looking for something nice to do that’s easy, join the group!
3.) I’ve loved ComedyWire for such a long time. Always said it was the only productive way to waste time on the internet. And now, it’s my absolute favorite way to do comedy in this time of love and corona. You can write a ton of topical jokes and get paid for winning challenges. Didn’t want to promote them in this time because the competition will only get fiercer on the site but here to spread the love.
4.) Sets Entertainment is doing a new project where they share videos of comics and attempt to get them paid. They shared mine which I thought was pretty righteous. Didn’t make anything (nor did I expect to) but it was still cool and I urge all comics to be a part of it (just search Sets Entertainment on Facebook). Why not? Sounds like a sick new credit.
5.) Every now and again, I read some Seth Simons. He’s the UCB comedy journalist/whistleblower. Never met the guy but I love his stuff. This week, he put out an “article” where he calls out UCB’s CFO for not paying the staff severance after they were layed off. It’s written as a transcript of his phone conversation with the guy and makes for a riveting read. Link is in the comments (kind of a long read but fun).
6.) A few comics have gotten COVID-19. So far, they’re all doing well which is excellent news! Noah Savage was the first comic I knew of to have a confirmed case and he recorded a podcast about it. He’s totally good now but if you’re worried you’re infected, you should listen to his episode about having it and what it’s like. Link in comments.
• My peers are still making some damn good content and not letting the quarantine get to them. Here’s just a few highlights of the many (my apologies for not highlighting everyone that’s killing it):
a.) Bret and Jordan Raybould had Anna and me in their parody of Gal Gadot’s “Imagine” video featuring NYC comics. They got the vid out in MERE hours after the original was posted and this included Anna’s lengthy conversation with Bret about the last night’s “Survivor” episode. Link once again where you expect it.
b.) Isabel Hagen had the last true Late Night set that I know of on “Fallon.” It’s an amazing set, the first time someone who beat me in a Roast has been featured on network television that I know of and a great way to spend five minutes thinking about anything that’s not the present. Yes, another link.
c.) Finally, Carmen Lagala and Sam Evans are making the absolute best quarantine sketches I’ve seen (my apologies to Sam Morril and Taylor Tomlinson). The most recent NSFWFH one was jaw droppingly funny and made me jealous of how good it was. Mixture of silly, raunchy, infectiously joyful and satirical. Everything I want everything to do. Tip of the hat to you both and definitely watch it. Link in comment.
We all think we’ve gotten to the bottom of Netflix, right? Seen it all? Nah, there’s so much good stuff that’s not on the homepage. Here’s a few things I saw that are fairly high profile this week along with a few weird rarities to scratch your comedy itch.
Marc Maron’s “End Times Fun” (2020): Eerie that Netflix released this special the week this all went down. Too coincidental. Either way, this is an amazing, amazing hour. Maron is so incredibly self assured and able to make tangents feel fully fleshed out in a way that you don’t really see. I especially loved the bit about getting all worked up about not having enough turmeric. There is a weird lapse at the end where Maron does a bit that Pete Holmes originated on Conan years ago but I’ll give him a pass. DEF, DEF RECOMMEND.
“Dolemite Is My Name” (2019): Started this movie months ago and told myself I would finish it someday. Here we are. It’s a fun, slight flick with no real, discernible conflict or stakes (Eddie Murphy’s character solves almost every problem immediately) but it’s a movie with a murderer’s row of comedians (Mike Epps, Luenell, Craig Robinson, Titus Burgess, Chris Rock, Keegan Michael Key were a few standouts) and Eddie kills it. The movie-within-a-movie scenes were very funny and the scenes at the end from the real Dolemite movies only made the thing better. This is a CASUAL recommendation.
“Mr. Mike’s Mondo Video” (1979): This has been on my list of things to see for a long time. Always thought it would be super hard to find. Actually, it’s just on YouTube. For those not in the know, Mr. Mike is Michael O’Donoghue, SNL’s first superstar writer. He’s known for transgressive, violent and dark material. Some isn’t even close to funny. Always weird and different though. The same is true of this special which is a one-hour mishmash of sketches, asides to the camera and strange “dream sequences.” Kind of like Andy Kaufman’s special back in the day. While not super enjoyable, this is pretty much the template for “Tim and Eric” (this was pointed out by a YouTube commenter and I agree) and also there’s a sketch called “Laser Bras” that “Austin Powers” (which I also rewatched this week and features a John Mulaney lookalike that Anna spotted) blatantly stole from. If you want something different, GO FOR IT (streaming on YouTube).
“Big Time Adolescence” (2019): I’ve got mixed feelings about Pete Davidson but man, he is VERY good in this movie. To catch you up, here’s the rub: Davidson goes out with a girl in high school, they break up BUT he remains friends with her younger brother. The movie is the story of their friendship and age gap. This is excellent background viewing and would have been a box office smash if it was released in 2005. There’s a lot of worse ways to spend 90 minutes, so I’d say CHECK THIS OUT (streaming on Hulu).
“The Laundromat” (2019): As slight as all the other movies I saw were, this one is light and heavy at once. What was once supposed to be an Oscar contender directed by Steven Soderbergh, this didn’t really make a splash and is just chillin’ on Netflix. Basically, it’s all about evil corporations hiding their corruption and the heroes who are trying to take them down. Way more complicated than that but I’m a simpleton. If it sounds preachy, it’s not. It’s super fun. You got Meryl Streep as a tourist in a shocking scene, a father who tries to bribe his daughter into not exposing an affair with a surprisingly funny button to the scene and Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas explaining everything in inventive tracking shots. Soderbergh makes everything great. Bet he’s shooting an amazing quarantine flick in his house now (streaming on Netflix).
• With all this free time, I was productive this week. Got my business cards delivered in the mail (see the comments if you want a peek at what they look like), curated my sketches into a playlist (bit.ly/mattlevysketchplaylist Lance Pauker taught me the power of making your YouTube link a bit.ly instead of a long link; everyone should be doing this), updated my mattlevycomedy.squarespace.com site to have every single Comedy Stray Notes if you want to read them all in a row AND have my Lizrdmail account fully set up. Now, I have to put in real work and be creative on new projects. That sucks.
• This was a sad week in comedy as well. It should be mentioned that the New York comedy scene lost two comics in one day which I’d never seen before and was doubly shocking. The first was a comic I’d never met but heard a lot about. His name was Brian Baron and reading what folks wrote about him was truly moving. He was the guy that made new comics feel welcome which is something that is very rare in NYC. The first six months are usually horrible and it’s nice to know that there was someone who helped people feel at ease. The second was an acquaintance of mine that I always loved to see perform, Clint Nohr. He had a very laid back persona onstage and I just knew he was a vet who didn’t need to be at open mics. I really wish I knew him better and hope his family is OK during this trying time.
• Don’t have a ton of comedy stuff going on this week. Honestly, I hope nothing crazy in the world happens for once.
See you next week. I just farted while Anna E. Paone was attending virtual Mass
Carolines GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/carolines-employee-relief-fund?pc=em_dn_contacts_r&rcid=r01-158489034083-356cf204a60d4e5f&member=3999952
Seth Simon’s article:
https://sethsimons.substack.com/p/a-conversation-with-ucb-cfo-daryl
Noah Savage’s podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cDovL25vYWhzYXZhZ2UubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M&episode=YmJkNDNlYjctMWI0NC00ZDIxLTlmNzktNmRkNjc2OGQ3N2Uw&hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwies7CRzq7oAhVIiOAKHY2kDZAQjrkEegQIAhAE&ep=6
Bret and Jordan’s “Imagine” parody: https://twitter.com/BretRaybould/status/1240725622730698752
Isabel Hagen on Fallon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl1Kf3eVRDw
Carmen and Sam’s video: https://www.facebook.com/carmen.lagala.7/videos/10104084776681650/
Anna’s Tweet with Mulaney in “Austin Powers:” https://twitter.com/AnnaPhilomena/status/1241453292661678080
