Humility (in this business) Gets Me Nowhere

For the longest time I’ve been putting off being more aggressive at promoting my stand up. For some reason, even though I LOVE the attention, I hate to shamelessly seek it. Kind of ironic huh? I perform on the stage in front of a live audience where everyone gets a look at me, yet I won’t go out of my way to promote myself and proclaim, “Hey, you should really take a look at me!”

From now on, I will approach this journey with my own words of wisdom: “Self promote shamelessly and accept the attention humbly…” – Omar Tarango

Wow, I just quoted myself! Anyway, click on the following link to view my new press kit! I’ll be submitting this to comedy clubs everywhere I can find them!

http://www.powerpresskits.com/PPKs/indexC.aspx?PPK=10096#.T2036YR4wqU.facebook

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The Creating Process of New Joke

A radio ad is now marketing Hooked on Phonics to illiterate adults. An illiterate adult had to either be skipping school at an early age or their teachers called in a lot.

I’m sure admitting to being illiterate is as embarrassing as showing up to school the next day after losing a fight.

Doesn’t illiteracy only happen in 3^rd world countries like, Somalia, Ethiopia or Alabama?

And what could be more embarrassing than being illiterate and having to call to order the program by dialing 1-800-ABCDEFG?

The School of “Hard Knocks”

The city where I live only has one comedy club. I have been keeping myself sharp by performing at a local bar on Tuesday nights. The audience is usually not that attentive but it’s my job to get their attention, and for the most part, I do just that!

People that go to bars are not expecting to see a stand up comedy show. Knowing this, I consider this experience as the “Hard Knocks” school of stand up. When performing at a bar, a comic has to deal with the TV’s being on, loud conversations, intoxicated people and every comics’ favorite….HECKLERS!

I have welcomed each and every one of those distractions. During the past few years I have learned how to quiet a crowd, fill the room with laughs and ultimately, destroy hecklers! I am currently booked to perform at Laffs Comedy Club in Tucson at the end of this month and at The Comedy Spot in Scottsdale, Arizona at the end of April. Having paid my dues on the local scene have enabled me to totally kill at the pro clubs!

My advice to any comic looking to get better at this craft is; Perform everywhere and anywhere. Take the stage as often as you can. Take every on stage experience and learn from it. Pay your dues and above all, NEVER QUIT…

The Anatomy of a Joke and Why You Laugh

The spoiler in me likes to take the fun out of things. Take magic, for example. We all know it’s trickery or illusion or slide of hand yet, we’re amazed every time we’re fooled. I’ve always made it a goal to dissect and figure out how a magician does what he does, and in today’s high speed Internet world, that’s not too difficult to do. I’ve learned some of those tricks and can even perform some of them. I simply love to find out what makes something tick!

Stand up comedy is no different. From the very beginning, I knew that stand up involved more than just a clever speaking person taking the stage with their sharp wit and humor. I knew they couldn’t just be “winging it”! So, I did what I’ve always done, I researched it. I found out why it is that we laugh at jokes! Without boring you with too much detail, here it is in it’s simplest terms:

A joke contains a set up and a punch.

The set up involves creating an assumption in your mind about something….anything…then

the punch SHATTERS that assumption…then

we laugh!

That’s it! That’s all there is to it! Take some of my original one-liners. They’re not necessarily classics, but they use the aforementioned formula to reach the final result… your laugh:

I like going to the library to check out books that teach you how to get out of debt. Then I forget to return the book and I get into more debt.

I’m against that new racist Arizona state law. That ANTI-MEXICAN LAW…  mandatory car insurance.

“Rich Dad Poor Dad” is a great financial self-help book. In the Latino community, we call it “Real Dad Step Dad”

They may not be gems, but if you mustered up a chuckle, my work here today is done!

Omar’s Patreon Site. Pledge your support!

Nothing is a Joke to Me

Sleep doesn’t come easy when a million things are running through my head. Hopefully this entry will help my mind settle in for the night.

It’s a frustrating feeling when I try to channel any of my thoughts into something funny, but can’t. The best material comes from tough times in life and I certainly have had my share. I try to use those painful and awkward experiences when coming up with new material. I’ve noticed that when I write something, just to be funny, I usually tend to miss the mark, but every now and then, I look back to a painful moment in my life, that I’m completely over, and I use THAT to come up with some pretty brilliant stuff!

I can sum up Stand up Comedy best with a line from one of my all time favorite movies, “Punchline” with Sally Fields and Tom Hanks. After a tense moment at a local diner, when Hanks refuses to help Fields write jokes for free, Fields proclaims, “Oh, everything is just one big joke to you!” Hanks then casually looks at Fields and says,

“Nothing is a joke to me. That’s why I do stand up comedy…and that’s why you don’t”

Stand Up Comedy, (Before I Knew it had a Name)

My mom got us connected with cable when I was 9 years old. The first channel I was hooked to was Mtv, when they actually played music videos all day long! Our cable box was a manual one and no remote existed for it so, finding a good program and sticking to it was crucial if we wanted to enjoy our new television experience! Before too long, I stumbled along a channel known as A&E. Every evening, A&E would air an hour long program called, “A&E, an Evening at the Improv”. The show was set in a comedy club where 5 performers would take the stage and talk. Just, talk. Then I began to notice that at the end of almost every sentence, laughter would ensue! These performers were just talking and cracking the audience up with what seemed to be every syllable! I began to really pay attention, and soon, I was laughing too! Yes, although my mind at the time only contained the memories and life experiences of a 9 year old boy, every now and then, the performer on TV was making me laugh! Heck, The Bugs Bunny Show and The Tom & Jerry show never did that!

I watched that show religiously when I knew it would be on. Every performer I watched never disappointed me. NEVER! Some of those jokes stayed with me for years to come. I could recite most of them word for word. Now, with the boom of the Internet and sites like youtube.com, I could revisit some of those old shows and performers. The search wasn’t difficult, and when I located the shows and jokes I was so fond of remembering, I was amazed, that even though I never realized it, the comics that uttered all of those magical words have since become household names! Here are some of those names:

Ellen Degeneres          Ron White

Martin Lawrence          Brian Regan

Bill Engvall                  Rosie O’donnell

Andre Dice Clay          Jeff Foxworthy

Adam Sandler             Jeff Dunham

If It’s Funny, You Don’t Have to Laugh. If You go to a Stand Up Comedy Show, You’ll Have no Choice.

I remember my childhood days watching Saturday morning cartoons with my little brother. We would sit there, emotionless, watching The Bugs Bunny show. The show was hilarious, yet my brother and I never opened our mouths and uttered anything remotely resembling a laugh! Our old man would walk in and shout, in Spanish, “Rianse’!” (“Laugh!). I didn’t hold back my laughter on purpose and even though I watched the same episodes over and over again, I still found the show funny. I was watching cartoons with my little brother, and why would he care if I laughed or not? I’m sure he felt the same about me. Have you ever watched something really funny on TV, while you’re alone, and not uttered a peep? There is no need to do so. Think of the old adage, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it…” Now apply it to this situation and rephrase that to, “If something is funny and no one is around to hear you laugh…”‘

What I just described illustrates why, going to a Live Stand Up
Comedy Performance, is an experience unmatched by no other! Next time you’re debating on where to go on your night out, consider taking a detour to a comedy club near you. The laughs will not only be contagious, but guaranteed! Start your night out with some laughs and watch how much more fun you’ll have as you continue your after party!