SEVEN GIGS IN ONE DAY — BUT I WAS MUCH YOUNGER

Published by Rick on Tagged Uncategorized

I’m usually good at remembering days like this one more succinctly, but given it was at least 30 years ago, maybe I can cut me some slack. What I do remember is getting out of the house before 9:00 am to drive the 70+ miles from my place in Park La Brea, Hollywood, to the city of Lancaster, and to be there in time for my first 30-minute spot at 11:00 am. I know it was around this time of year because the first four of those seven gigs had a Christmas vibe to them, and I moved out of Park La Brea in the summer of 1995 to Brentwood. I also remember it had to be a Friday.

The exact nature of the Lancaster gigs escapes me as well, but I know it was a local government facility, and it was an annual Christmas party. But for some reason, I would be doing three shows at 11:00, 1:00, and 3:00, with lunch thrown in between the second and third shows. I can only assume there were different factions of the same council, or whatever governing body it was. I also remember I couldn’t go full throttle with the language, but didn’t have to do a completely G-rated show either. The toughest part of the day was that wait between the first and second shows, as I didn’t have a meal to carry over some of the down time. That hour and a half between felt like 3 or 4. It was also a bit too early in the day to be drinking alcohol, and given the fourth gig that day, it was good to remain sober, given what I knew I’d be dealing with.

After leaving Lancaster, it was about an hour’s drive to get to my next gig, which began around 5:00, but they were pretty lenient there, as it was a private office party. The people that booked me had never seen me, but they had called the Comedy Store and asked if they could recommend a musical act that could improvise. Well, it was nice of the Store to think of me, but once the gig was booked, they didn’t have to do a thing afterwards, except take their 10% booking fee. It was me that had to deal with a Christmas office party in the banquet room of a restaurant in Encino, or some other equivalent San Fernando Valley bedroom community. I’m pretty sure they worked in a bank, there was that vibe, and by the time I got there around 4:30, they were already a couple hours and many drinks ahead of me.

There was a buffet offered to me, but A) It didn’t look that appetising, and B) It hadn’t been that long since I had eaten in Lancaster, so I passed on it. I’ve done gigs within a half hour of having a full meal, and I swear it would be easier to go up onstage stinking drunk or completely stoned than to do a gig on a full stomach. I learned that very early in my career. My “stage,” such as it was, was right in front of the hallway leading to the toilets. Which meant that anytime anyone had to go, which was frequently, they had to pass right by me, and of course there was a joker or two that thought it would be funny to put their hand on the neck of my guitar to temporarily stifle the sound. Thankfully, I was only expected to endure this for about 45 minutes, and was paid quite well for it. When I declared myself done with the gig, I was given what I thought was courtesy applause, but then some people came up to me to tell me how clever and talented I was. Can’t hate them for that, though I sure hated performing for them.

I left the party at around 6:30, and had a couple hours to kill before my next gig. My remaining three gigs for the day would be the trifecta that was LA Cabaret in Encino, followed by the Comedy Store and Laugh Factory, both on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. Usually on nights where I had the latter two booked, they would both have me closing the show at each venue, meaning I had to do a bit of juggling to squeeze both gigs in. For some reason, maybe because they knew I was doing that party and figured I might be exhausted, the Store booked me at 11:30, early for them, while the Factory had me down for the usual 12:30. LA Cabaret had me down for 10:00, and I managed to kill an hour at one friend’s house in Encino, though because I showed up unexpectedly, and he got a call from his mom, he wound up talking to her for an hour while I sat on his couch. He had a major TV gig at the time so I was hearing how much he was making, and thinking how hard I’m working this day and making about 1/20th of his weekly salary.

I managed to do all my gigs, finishing up at the Laugh Factory at around 1:00, and heading home after that, completely fried. I had my longest day of comedy ever, leaving home at 9 am and getting back 16 hours and a couple hundred miles later. Still I managed to have some extra money to get me through Christmas. But it being a good thirty years ago, I was in my 40’s and could handle it, though I would do the same kind of shuffling about a decade later when I was working the UK circuit. I’m about to test my mettle this New Year’s Eve, when I’m DJing at the Shaftesbury Pub where I do my Tuesday quiz, but I go on at midnight, and play until 2:00 am. Wish me luck, and meanwhile I wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope that 2026 is good to you.

December 21st, 2025



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