But
> in the main, at least in my travels, stand-ups are just fucking
> pissed off.
Hey! Whadday mean? Just because I'm a stand-up doesn't mean...oh yeah, you're right. I am pissed off most of the time. Never mind.
Seriously, though, if we compensate for the gross generalization you made, don't you think the majority of what you're talking about comes from burnout from the stand-ups who try to make a career out of it? It's a brutal biz. Delusions of grandeur and a sitcom or talk show make SOBs out of once kind people and demons out of those that never thought to pursue counseling.
Also, the 90's saw an explosion of stand-up comedy, and now everyone with a sick joke or an ex-spouse to diss thinks they, too, can be a stand-up. Really cheapened the form and brought in a lot of people for whom the phrase, "THEY'VE GOT MEDICATION FOR THAT," was coined.
I've been doing stand-up, off and on, for nearly 20 years. The comic that mentors me the most was mentored by Bill Hicks here in Houston. But the only way I've maintained my sanity and, in reality, my overall good nature, is by making it a part-time gig, not my life's career. That way, I can balance the outrage and the anger with having fun and making some laughs.
Hey, I gotta believe what I'm saying. I'm working on a new show I'm about to take to the stage in another month. Don't rain on my parade. Heh.
- Deborah
===== " How come people always flip and think they're Jesus? Why not Buddha? Particularly in America, where more people resemble Buddha than Jesus. 'Ah'm BUDDHA!' 'You're Bubba!' 'Ah'm Buddha now..All I gotta do is change 3 letters on ma belt...' " - Bill Hicks