Wednesday May 16th, 2007 - Flint, MI

The Midwestern United States of America has three armpits. In no particular order they are East St. Louis, IL, Gary, IN and Flint, MI. Guess where I am tonight? Flint, MI. I have my agent working on getting me Gary and East St. Louis to complete the trifecta of terror. Maybe I can scoot overseas and do some shows in Afghanistan and Beruit while I’m at it.

Actually I have been to Flint many times before. My first radio job was in Lansing and I dated a girl who lived in a suburb called Grand Blanc. That was 1990. I used to come and see her whenever I could and got to know it very well. It’s very ugly and downright scary in some places but actually pretty nice in others. They haven’t painted since the late ‘60s.

This is the place they make fun of in Detroit. I’ve seen some t-shirts in the past that said ‘I’m so tough I vacation in Flint’. If you’ve ever been to both places you’d know just how funny that really is. I’ve been to Gary and East St. Louis too, but not to do any comedy. It was kind of an accident. Those are the kind of places people go only when they get off on the wrong freeway exit. That’s what I did. I’m glad I made it out. I came here on purpose.

Actually this should be a fun week. It’s a brand new club and it looks like they’re doing a whole lot of things right. It’s owned by the former manager of Stanfords in Kansas City. His name is Ron and he’s a great guy. I liked him when I worked in Kansas City and he’s got a great work ethic and is very likeable. I was really flattered when he called me to get me booked in his first few weeks of being open. He said he looked back on all the comics he saw in his ten years in Kansas City and picked the ones he thought would do the best. I made his top ten list and that feels really good. I told him I’d be glad to do it so I’m here.

I even caught a break before starting. He told me to be here tonight and I assumed there would be a show to do. Wrong. He just wanted me in to do radio tomorrow morning and I had tonight off. There is a great restaurant attached to the club and they serve lots of meat dishes and that’s never a bad thing. They have barbecue but Ron suggested a steak so that worked just as well. We sat and ate with the feature act who is from Kansas City and he is a very nice guy and funny act. His name is Johnny O and we worked together when I was at Stanfords. This is how it works in show business and life too. I got in at Stanfords with a recommendation from my friend Jerry Agar. I did an audition and got booked. I then got booked again. Ron was the manager and now he left and booked me here. Stanfords is not over with yet either. They’re opening a new club soon and I’ll be booked back there also.

This is how it’s supposed to work and I couldn’t be happier. I will give my all this week onstage and off. I will do whatever media they need me to do and I will be extra nice to as many customers as I can so they can get this room running. I hope it’s a regular stop again like it was for many years in the past. The old club closed when new owners took over for whatever reason and I think Ron can do well here and I hope he does. He’s got radio lined up and that’s huge. He’s also got a gorgeous showroom with a great sound system. He has a few big names booked too so he’s going all out. Good for him. That takes guts and he is an experienced comedy guy who just might pull it off. I’ll do all I can to help him do it.