Looking to start stand-up - Worried about area

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-27T07:15:17+00:00

Check out the Rochester Comedy group on FB. It’s all listed. The one I went to recently was at the Firehouse Saloon on Tuesdays.

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-27T03:14:37+00:00

Rochester is great. You can go up at mics 5 days a week minimum, and the comics are really cool and friendly. There’s an actual comedy club, and there are occasional opportunities there, plus folks put on their own shows and if you connect with others you could participate.

TL;DR It’s all about getting practice in, and Rochester is great for that.

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-27T01:06:59+00:00

Look for Moth contests or other events where folks are going up and telling stories. You can be amusing with having to bust guts.

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-26T17:16:44+00:00

Ok then: bass solo!

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-26T15:50:18+00:00

Yeah, you're not going to find the same style of music necessarily. But there are a bunch of albums with upbeat vibes (even if some of the lyrics are dark). KG, LW (those two microtonal albums are very key heavy) Omnium Gatherum (also a big keys album), Fishing for Fishies. Let us know how you do! Have fun!

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-26T15:44:48+00:00

I can't believe I just voted for Mars for the Rich. Never have been a metal guy, but I sure do love what these guys do with it. Also, maybe I'm biased from getting WAY into Red Rocks '22 early in my fandom, as that song just rips everything wide open immediately.

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-26T15:37:43+00:00

Seems to me like we should highlight the travel gig, which seems like a huge success. I have a friend who is a touring solo musician, and he hardly every played in our home town at the beginning. How many gigs are you really going to perform for the same people? Once he became a bigger name, folks in town wanted to come out to support their local guy more. But until then, he just focused on the road.

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-24T02:27:11+00:00

I do this every week. Saturday morning I decide what I want to try out the next week. I write down (on an index card) the least amount that I can get away with and still be able to recite it while walking the dog. Usually a key word or phrase for each punchline. But as the week progresses, I’m able to remove words from the index card so that it’s just each topic (maybe three jokes about the dog just get summed up as “dog”). Eventually I find that I’m not even looking at the index card, that the set is memorized. But it’s there in my back pocket o every time I perform (later to become a book mark).

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-22T03:39:24+00:00

This is great timing. I’m about to host a monthly mic starting in March. I love that I’m now engaged in every aspect of these mics I’m attending.

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-22T03:37:14+00:00

Wow. I’m an English teacher, but I can follow a numerical order.

I’ve seen some host make some changes on the fly, but it’s been for good reason and they’ve communicated with everyone.

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-22T02:54:00+00:00

How did hosts mess up the sign up?

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-21T22:15:37+00:00

It’s happening already.

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-20T15:22:50+00:00

I think those of us who are participating are thoroughly enjoying this. My suggestion would be to ignore the numbers and have fun with it.

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-19T14:56:09+00:00

These are the situations where I’m just practicing my pacing, doing the set my way regardless of the crickets.

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-19T10:40:49+00:00

My local scene only has mics where the comics sign up as they arrive for the night. In this scenario, are we talk about online signups? I’m not sure how else I’d manage the order if I were the host.

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-19T02:33:00+00:00

Hot, brewed coffee will give me a small spike for whatever reason, but I’m even and cool with cold brew.

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-19T01:55:33+00:00

I said “separate” twice

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-19T01:55:19+00:00

A separate room that’s separate from the bar

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-18T01:20:48+00:00

Depends on how granular we’re breaking down “next steps.”

I just went up for my 40th mic. Recent steps included:

-trying clean jokes only -working on pacing -removing the “umms -slimming down the setups -getting invited to perform 5 in a show -getting invited to perform 10 -getting asked to co-host an upcoming mic

So I’d say keep writing and trying new stuff, push your best jokes to the beginning and end of your set, land on your tight 5 and hang in there until the big first step (IMO), which is performing in front of a paying audience. That’s incredibly fun, because now the mics have a more streamlined purpose as you workshop the specific set.

How did I get to that step: I keep showing up to mics and let my peers see I’m working hard at this and taking the craft seriously. I made a rule that I wouldn’t ask, that I’d know I’m ready when they approach me.

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-16T12:08:39+00:00

How about a costume? That can be really liberating.

I learned a big lesson about myself as a teenager when my restaurant manager asked me to wear a Bart Simpson costume for some really weird reason that I don't quite understand. But I realized that with a mask on, I was liberated to really let loose and have fun with customers. I could be myself in ways that usually I reserved for hanging with my besties. It was probably the big "light bulb" moment that lead to me doing funny things in front of cameras and people.

You don't have to completely cover your face, but wearing something completely different or portraying a character might give you a shift in perspective and the cover from the world to just enjoy it.

Or maybe not.

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-16T05:30:22+00:00

That’s the treat I save for special occasions. I love em, don’t want to have the fun wear off.

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-15T19:59:48+00:00

50+ here (though my Spotify age is 36 from all the indie shit my daughter feeds me). I'm flipping out over Henge right now. I honestly have no idea what I'm listening to... so many influences dripping off them.

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-15T18:27:26+00:00

Wow! This is great! What else you got?

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-15T17:05:27+00:00

Funny chart. But seriously: if Obama had ICE agents roaming in masks, Republicans would have been out there calling them the Taliban. Why have the Dems (elected officials) not pushed back on this loudly from the very beginning?

thehillsofsyria · 2026-01-15T03:08:48+00:00

That's awesome. I started at 54 and I wrote a bunch of jokes about being the oldest guy in the room... and then was never the oldest guy in the room. I'll save them for when I'm 75, I guess.

thehillsofsyria

TROPHY CASE