Clean Comedy Chats
Join Drew Davis as he interviews members of the Clean Comedy Collective each week and gets to know each individual better as a person and as a comedian!
Clean Comedy Chats
Danny Tran
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Danny Tran is a comedian based out of Dallas TX, who has experience working from several other scenes as well. In our interview, Danny chats about being and becoming a headlining comedian, the importance of saying no, what headliners look for with openers and features, and more!
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He had any headline. I didn't even send it to nothing. He just said he's file as part of CCC. He said, hey, come on, I'll headline micro shelf. Just after this organization got me the book, and so I appreciate that.
SPEAKER_01Welcome back to the Clean Comedy Chats podcast with your host Drew Davis. That's me. We do it every week. We have a new episode that we drop every Saturday where I get to interview a comedian who's part of the Clean Comedy Collective, which is a virtual network that's across the nation. We have about 250 comedians from about 39 states. And some of them I've known for a long time, and some of them I literally meet on this podcast. Our guest today is someone who I kind of know. We've had a few gatherers, we've had a few get togethers, we've done a few shows together, but I'm really excited about this podcast episode today because he's a really cool guy. And I get to talk to him more and you get to hear about it. So uh before we get into our interview with uh Danny Tran, who's our guest for today, uh just a friendly reminder, check out our website, cleancomedycollective.com. It has everything you could possibly want in life. You can listen to previous episodes, you can uh go to the uh you can see uh which comedians are in the clean comedy collective. If you're a comedian, you can apply for the clean comedy collective and you can see what shows we have coming on. And you can also give us all your money. There's a donation function. So it's just like I said, everything you could possibly want. Uh Danny, how do you think about my sales pitch? How's that work? I'll send you money. Drop the Venmo. I got you, brother. Yeah, there we go. From Dallas, we have Danny Tran. Danny, how are you doing today?
SPEAKER_00I'm great. Hey, thanks for having me, Drew. I appreciate you, man. I'm I'm feeling great today. It's weekend, got shows lined up, and I was ready to have some fun conversation with you. Yeah, where where are you gonna be tonight or this weekend? Yeah, tonight I'm just featuring for uh Eric Knowles. He's gonna be at a theater in Frisco. I I forgot the name of the theater, but there's some theater he rents it out, black box. So uh yeah, should be a good time. Those are always fun shows.
SPEAKER_01Those are always uh well, I should say theater shows and black box theater shows are always fun if you have if it's half capacity or more.
SPEAKER_00I feel like theater shows when there's less than half, it kind of feels like you're doing comedy in a black hole, but and I I love black box theaters, like the 80s theaters, those are kill rooms, and you know, I feel like clean material is appreciated there because like I think people that attend those like you know fan of the arts, so it's like you know, they really let you go through your old premise there. So I'm very excited.
SPEAKER_01They want to, yeah, they want to see your because there it's it's if it's there's definitely different um styles of audiences for comic, different types of listeners, and and some of them are really there for the jokes that you write, some of them are there to hear like the art the skillful artistic and you're you're a good joke writer, by the way. I was re-listening to some of your stuff today, uh, and just real really well thought out punchlines. And so I wanted to, I made I made a note that's like, oh, I if it comes up, I want to let them know. I appreciate uh one of the ones I really appreciate though, I was just going through some of your reels. Um, and uh well, one of the reels I really appreciated was when you you have a you you were talking about uh you made a fast and furious reference to one of your one of your jokes. Um and and I absolutely loved it. I was you're talking about getting a ticket and you and how you uh you you're a white guy now, and so you're not Tokyo Drift, you're fast and furious. So uh and it are are you a fast and furious fan, or was that just good for the joke?
SPEAKER_00That was just good for the video, I'll be honest with you. I think even the comments are like roasting me for not doing the proper terminology for it because I think like Tokyo Drift is fast and fear, or something like that, like the same franchise.
SPEAKER_01So like I mean they 100%, but but that's but and that does sound like a fast and furious fan. Like, I don't know if he knows this, but of course, like, well, it's a joke.
SPEAKER_00That's the yeah, it's a play on words, like uh I wrote that skit like pure anger because I remember I featured for a weekend out of town, and you're making like a hundred bucks a show, breaking even or whatever. And then on the way back, I got the speeding ticket for like $250. And then I was like, Oh, I just lost my I should have stayed home that weekend, I would have made more money sitting in my driveway while leaving the house. And then uh wrote the ticket. Yeah, called me a white dude on there. I was like, huh, I wonder if I can like people are like leaving paragraphs on my Facebook post, like, you can argue this, they'll give your money back, you're clearly Asian, and I was like, uh, not worth the house. That's fine.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's funny. In my one of my old podcast, which was a Fast and Furious movie rewatch podcast, uh uh in the very first episode, I accidentally mentioned your name like a ton of times. Yeah, it was uh, and the the same people that were getting on to you about Tokyo Drift being a part of Fast and Furious were like, uh no, it's Johnny Tran. All right, I can't, but but I guess it might have been not long after we had performed in the same place. So like Danny Tran was in my head, and like three or four times at least I said it and and without even knowing it. But like I was nervous, like it was my first time doing a podcast. I was gonna I was like, so you know, but um, but boy, did people let me know. Like, hey, like if you're gonna watch a movie, like maybe remember the you know main villain's name. So and I knew it, but anyway, so so you're immortalized in my uh podcast history now.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so so I get I get confused all the time. Like, I think I moved here recently to Dallas, and then I remember I was having a good set. And what one guy comes up, he's like, dude, you are phenomenal. I saw you years ago in Dallas, and you're terrible, now you're great. And I was like, I just moved here, dude. I don't know what you're talking about, I don't know who you're confusing with. It's just like an Asian thing, I guess. Like, you just associate with Daners.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna say, Did you like take it and be like, Thank you so much for that improvement? Or did you be like, dude, you're you're thinking of a different person?
SPEAKER_00I had to clear it up because I'm like, I don't want you to think I used to suck and I made a comeback story. I'll remember it. No, I'm I'm good and off the jump, you know, so let's figure that out. But uh yeah, you apologized. He was so embarrassed. It was funny, it was very funny.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so you're in Dallas now, but when we met, you were an Atlanta comedian. So when did you move to Dallas? And like, are are you from Atlanta and Dallas is like a new place, or is like Dallas home and you moved back? Like, how did we get from Atlanta to Dallas?
SPEAKER_00It's been crazy, man. Like, I'm from I'm born and raised in Houston, Texas. So I started comedy in Peori, Illinois after college, so middle nowhere.
SPEAKER_01One one's the capital of comedy, man. That is where all great names get started.
SPEAKER_00One club, and I'm grateful I started there because I I think people there like they don't care about making it big, they're just killers having fun. So I did two years there. Um, home of Richard Pryor, fun fact. Richard Pryor's born in the club. Yeah, and I remember I saw uh Roy Wood Jr. headlining the club, and then I he said the advice was like every year he runs a special, he runs his hour in Peoria, the Midwest, and then he runs in Atlanta, Georgia to make sure it travels. So I told my girlfriend all the time, I was like, we gotta move to Atlanta, Georgia. I gotta see make sure my material travels too. So that's what got me to Atlanta, did two years there, and then uh I did a couple festivals after that, kind of figure out where I want to make my home base, and I did the Houston Festival, Dallas Festival, and I just fell in love with Dallas. I think there was like 10 comedy clubs here, and uh I might at that point I was trying to be a better feature act, so I was like, I need more clubs to feature more, and I picked Dallas ultimately, and um now I'm headlining out of Dallas, so I'm pretty happy.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's so awesome. And and I uh I have not yet done comedy in Dallas, but I I've heard such great things about it. I've heard that there's a lot of options, there's a lot of cool places to perform. I have several friends that I feel like have moved to Dallas or whatever, and they they say that it's a great place, so it's on my like list of getting to eventually, you know.
SPEAKER_00I'll take care of you. Let me know when you're here, I'll get you on some shows, it'll be good time.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that'll that'll be fun. And and gang, that's how you do comedy, like you meet people at different places, and then and then you you connect with them on social media, and then when you're in their town, you're like, Hey Danny, I just happen to be in Dallas. And then that's how you get booked on those shows. People are always like, how because especially for those of us that are independent bookers and we don't have an agent or whatever. Um, oh yeah, uh, that's how you get booked is you you through doing comedy, you make connections, you add people on social media. Uh, if you're like me, you make a list of you you have a spreadsheet of who's where so you remember who to reach out to because I don't I don't remember it. Well, how long have you done comedy? Because you we'll we'll get into talking about headlining and and and how you're where where you're at as a headliner now. Um, but first, how long have you done comedy?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, coming up on six years now.
SPEAKER_01Six years okay.
SPEAKER_00In like a month or two will be six years.
SPEAKER_01So okay, very cool. And you um you actually have a headlining tour coming up. I saw that on your social media, yeah. Like I think July 11th through like I don't know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's like 10 shows now. It's kind of crazy. Like, I never imagined it because once you get booked on a couple of headlining gigs, people see you as a headliner. And like I featured these rooms plenty, so they're like, Oh yeah, just headline. So it's uh it's been been stacking up. We got about like 10 dates, and then I got a couple colleges I'm gonna try to headline at. Uh, so I'm doing a circuit now, that's where I'm at my career. So doing the apta circuit.
SPEAKER_01Well, we might be in a similar position here, uh, where like I know in the for me in the past year or two was when I really started to say, like, you know, you know, locally and stuff like that. I'm okay like hosting, I'm okay featuring people asking to feature, but like really my heart isn't doing more of the headlining shows, like more uh there, and I feel like as a comedian, there comes a point where you kind of be like, okay, I'm ready to, I'm, I can close a show now. You know, like I did you did you kind of get to a point where you're because you had talked about you were featuring before? Did you get to a point where you're like, no, I'm gonna start marketing myself as a headliner, or I'm gonna start like how did how did you do the transition from feature to headliner as far as not just marketing yourself, but like when did you feel like you were ready?
SPEAKER_00Kind of it's happened it happened this year. Uh I was featured a lot, and then I like wanted um make comedy a living. Like, I was like, how can I make this a career? So I looked into like the college circuit, like NACA and APCA, and I submitted a couple agencies, heard back from a couple, and I like signed with an agent, and then um they're like, Yeah, we're gonna book you to these colleges, they are gonna expect a clean hour from you. So I was like, Okay, well, I better start headlining now when before fall comes. So I just uh started vocalizing, like, hey, I want to start headlining more, and then people you know that respect me are like, hey, yeah, headline lab room, low stakes, like bar shows, you can do a 45, and then you know, it's like you get those reps, and then more clubs buy into you because they're like oh, you do the time. And then truthfully, there's not that many like clean headliners. A clean 30 changed my life, like a clean 30-minute set, and then people are like reaching out to me. I'm not even reaching out to them. They're like, we need you to feature clean for this show, and then we can headline next time. So a lot of that was happening. I'm not I was like selling itself almost, and then uh, you know, I do some marketing to push a couple tickets on my end to support the cause, but overall, like I think the shift in mindset once you have like clean 45 changed your life, man. It's all itself. My first couple headline shows like at bar shows and like Oklahoma. So I like traveled far for it. You're there for like a free show, you know. And then uh I recently just headlined Dallas for like a show. Like I ticketed, like they knew I was headliner, it was my crowd that came, home base, and it was like it was amazing. You can like there's like applause breaks, you can really set up the premise. So it's like, you know, it's uh the first couple headline games are definitely a little rougher on the edges, but they're good and they're definitely necessary for sure.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's cool. Um, what advice would you give? Like if you had some because actually you probably do have new comedians listening to this podcast and listening to this episode. So like um uh if you if you have someone who's getting into comedy and maybe and and maybe they're looking to turn it into a profession, like maybe they're just starting now where it's just like a side hustle and something fun, but they're like, Well, maybe one day I want to make it a thing. Like, what what advice would you give them?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, of course. Uh you know, I asked myself this question because I heard it from an interview, it was like, would you pay money to see yourself? And that really struck a chord in me. I was like, huh. Like at the time, I was like two years in, and I was like, Yeah, I got like 20 minutes material, but like half it's dirty, half of it's terrible, you know. So it's like I wouldn't pay money to see myself at that point. And then then you start being more deliberate, like writing jokes that is unique, clever, and it's like, and I work a day job, like you get off work, you don't want to spend 20 bucks to see something you can see on the internet, like memes, yeah, regurgitated. So I think just being honest yourself with that um with that measuring stick, like, hey, would you pay money to see yourself? And then writing an act to support that answer, you know. So I think that's good. And just be original, man. You know, I think uh you can do these lines like Atlanta, you're in Tennessee, it's a lot, it's a lot of showcases, right? I would be on these showcases, like I don't want to sound like the next guy. Like we all sound the same.
SPEAKER_01We're doing the same dirty material, like you know, just trying to be unique and um be worth paying for, especially if you're doing like a contest, like you want to stick out a little bit, you want to you want to be just as funny, but like if everyone's doing jokes about this topic and you have other stuff that's funny about something else, maybe go that direction because you know it you want to be memorable, you know.
SPEAKER_00And to new comics, I know it's hard too. Like, I mean, I start I was in Atlanta for two years. That's a city that has a very conversational delivery, you know, and it's like probably on the dirtier side of comedy, so it's kind of hard to follow that sometimes. That's a clean comic. Like, they don't want to hear like your Buddhism joke at midnight, you know. Like they got right, they just want to hear like getting drunk and parties, so it's like it's tougher, but I promise you, like now I'm on the other side of it, and now I'm in colleges where like the reviewer of that kind of comedy, and then yeah, they they tell you you can't not be clean on their shows for a lot of yeah.
SPEAKER_01So do you only work clean, or do you uh or do you only do clean shows, or you do you do like clean at whatever shows, or do you like have a is your at kind of variety where like there's stuff you do at a clean show that you wouldn't do, or other way around, there's stuff you do at a not clean show that you wouldn't wouldn't do at a clean show.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, great question. It's funny, it's very timely because I just got offered to work on a cruise, but it's like for a cruise, you need a clean hour and a dirty hour. So I I'm at a point now where I have to write dirty material for this opportunity. So now like it's almost like I'm a hacky dirty comic because I don't haven't thought like that in like five years now. Right. I I am working on both sides. I don't want to um brand myself as a clean comic, even though my material gravitates toward clean, but it's like you know, I think it's good to be able to do both because you get opportunities in comedy, man, especially if you want to make this a living, you know, you don't want to turn on the cruise market.
SPEAKER_01I'm the um I'm the same way, by the way. Just I don't want to market myself as a clean comic, but I feel like I I say it all the time, I don't have the face for dirty comedy. Like when I try to be harassed, like you can visually like you can I see the women uncomfortable in the audience. Like I just so I learned that a long time ago. But uh, do you think with like so you're uh first of all, congratulations on the offer for the cruise cruise lines? That's that's a disposal. Oh, well, never mind. Well, congratulations about the idea potentially to get the cruise.
SPEAKER_00I think that's a good tip for new comics too. It's okay to say no to things, I think that's very valuable. You know, it's like nothing wrong with stretching your legs. Like, you know, I I said yes to 20 minutes when I had 15. There's nothing wrong with that. But some of these people give me these opportunities like close at a show for 30 and they have 10 minutes, and you really burn a bridge that way with like first impressions.
SPEAKER_01So it's good to good to tell the kids one of the yeah, you want to think about the what's the next step. Like, if I go do this and I'm very much not ready, that might, like you said, burn a bridge. Um I was a new comic, I would have never uh never thought about that. In fact, I was like reading books or and or hearing advice that was the exact opposite. It was like, say yes to everything. I know, and I don't know, and and now when I produce shows, it I actually have a lot of respect. Occasionally I've had some comedians say, like, I'd be like, Hey, can you do 15? And they're like, could you just give me 12? Could you just give me 10?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01And like that that makes me like them a lot better because it shows that they have some moderation, and as they continue to build their act, I'm gonna be more likely to work with them more.
SPEAKER_00100%. We're in this for life, you know? We're truly in this for life. I just had a I asked a guy to feature for me, he didn't have 30. And he's like, Okay, I'll I'll ask you again in a year, man. No, no pressure at all, you know. So it's uh a lot of respect that way if you say no to things. That's cool.
SPEAKER_01So then um see, like you seem like a normal, like okay guy, like a guy. Like you don't seem like like I'm just wondering how someone like you got into comedy, like what like usually like like my life was falling apart, so I tried stand up comedy. That's how I got there. But you seem like you seem pretty chill. Like, I don't know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I was a good kid, man, only child, you know, never really was an extrovert. And um went to college, I have a degree, you know, mechanical engineering degree. I was a smart kid, and then uh went to Illinois for a job, Peori, Illinois, and I had no I knew nobody there, right? It's like it's a random city doing for just a day job money, and then I looked up things to do around town. It was like a jujitsu gym and then a comedy, very Joe Rogan-esque environment, I guess. But uh, I just started doing both just to get out of the house because I had no friends. So I'd go to open mics like every they had one open mic a week. Yeah, that's all sparse it was. So I'd go every week, I just fell in love with it. But the the comedy bug got in my head initially because I was in college. I watched like um a comedy show at the improv back in Houston, and the opener was an Asian guy, it was a Vietnamese dude. And his name is Victor Tran, and he lives in New York now, still does it, he's a killer, and he murdered being Asian, but he didn't mention the Asian thing at all. And then that was the first time in my life where I saw like an Asian comic not be the butt of a joke while killing. And that like expanded my mind. But you know, you live in Houston, your hometown, you never want to try it because you're scared who might see you. But uh, I moved to Illinois and that kind of got in like the bug bit me. I was like, Oh, dude, just try it. No one knows you here. You bomb, no one recalls, and then uh just started there. And uh, I'm a normal guy, I just fell in love with it, you know. And then you you meet a lot of misfits and uh, you know, they're do well around here, like in this business. But yeah, I'm I'm pretty put together guy, I'd say.
SPEAKER_01It's good, that's good. That's so everyone's looking at you like he's so weird because he's normal. He's there's nothing. I think what goes a long way in the comedy scene is whether you're put together, whether you're eccentric, whether you're, you know, even a little crazy. Like, I think with comedians, what they really respect among each other is just accepting each other, you know, like uh accepting the differences, you know. Everyone, everyone comes into the comedy scene a little nervous about being liked and being viewed and being, you know, and so so just being someone that's just like, whatever, I'm just here to tell jokes. We're just gonna have a good time.
SPEAKER_00We all fell in love with the same theme, maybe people laugh, right? And yeah, it's funny I just had Line of San Antonio and I do a 10 p.m. show right afterwards, you know, it's like uh just for fun showcase thing. Yeah, and I'm gonna met a comic. He's talking about he's going through a divorce right now, like all this crazy stuff about loses house. But he has a great joke that uses the word tepid. And I was like, I would have never pinned that on him to know the word tepid. And it's like, oh, we're all just wordsmiths basically, even though you know we have very different backgrounds, but it's uh it's great.
SPEAKER_01But we have this big significant thing in common, so that's really cool. So you've done comedy in Texas, you've done comedy in Georgia, uh, you've done comedy in Illinois. Talk about uh, have you did you notice any big differences in regarding style styles or audience or bookings or just comedy in general and the different places that you've performed at? Uh like the different places you've lived, you know, doing comedy.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, I went in with that life plan so I can experience different crowds if I want my material to travel. So Midwest, you know, it's like very blue-collar, like the average man, you know, like it's like this is what most America is, you know. And then you go to Atlanta where it's like more conversational delivery, where you you almost need like more like edgy material. Because it's it's a very edgy town in Atlanta, like it's like a lot in your face. So you can't like walk in there with like a slow premise in Atlanta. You have to hook them fast. And then with Dallas, you know, major city, a lot of white-collar folks, like corporate, they are appreciative, like good comedy, like cleverness, because it's like they have patience as well. Like it's like they're they're in like the workforce, where like they're stuck in round fives. So it's like, yeah, it's fun seeing what travels, but the the whole through line of all, like what makes it work in all regions, you gotta have like quick hitting premises. I think that's like a safe bet across the board. Um, quick hitting clever and then uh relatable. I think I was thinking relatable. Midwest is the probably the one that you need to be the most relatable with, Midwest for sure. Because I'm headlining there next month, and I'm not gonna go in there talking about like subways and stuff. It's like they don't care, you know. It's like they they swing a hammer for eight hours a day.
SPEAKER_01You mentioned subway, and I'm like, yeah, I could go for some lunch.
SPEAKER_00Like yeah, transportation, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so I think Midwest is the most relatable town, like requires the most relatability. Atlanta, probably the most like theatric, more like energy. And then uh Dallas is probably uh cleverness. I think cleverness goes a long way in Dallas.
SPEAKER_01So which do you feel like there's one that you kind of gravitate towards or your material does better in out of the theme, though, so far?
SPEAKER_00Man, I think Dallas has been great for me, man. I'll be honest. It's like it truly feels like I don't know if you're a sports fan, but it's like sometimes a player changes the team and like they become like the star guy because they get the ball more. Like, that's also in Dallas.
SPEAKER_01Like, oh, that's wonderful. Also, it's funny, it's funny because anyone who knows me is like he is yeah the op he's not gonna be able to do that.
SPEAKER_00I see the marble I see the marble poster back then. I'm like, yeah, he probably doesn't get this, but we'll keep a broad.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I get I've heard of sports and I've heard people tell I can I can understand that the the it was a great metaphor, I got it. But I just love that you started with like, I don't know if you're a sports fan. I'm like, if anyone was wondering how well we knew each other, but it's like respect to you too, because I know you from afar.
SPEAKER_00I I noticed I gravitate towards comic that take this seriously and professionally, and like they're right. It's like if you check those boxes for me, we can be friends in a green room for sure.
SPEAKER_01Very sure.
SPEAKER_00Approaches like like you had to live off this money, you know, and let's build together. Yeah, being easy to work with is like I'm telling I'm booking openers now, like features, and it's like, man, if you could just send me your bio and headshot off the rip, because you don't want to ask for it, so just give it to me and don't make me chase this down because the bookers asking me, so we post a ticket link so I can sell tickets, you know. So just be like a day job, you know.
SPEAKER_01Oh, so and for any comedian listening, have have your headshots and your bios and your credits and a video link so easily accessible that like, yeah, at the very least, in one of your like Facebook cover pictures or your Instagram pictures, like have a headshot there because I can't tell you how many times I'm booking comedians for local showcases and you're like Facebook scrolling them and trying to find and like if it's too hard, I'll just I'll just book someone else. Like, I'm just like it's like it's it's fine.
SPEAKER_00Like, I'm I'm telling you, yeah. So like a bio and headshot off the jump will put you like in the top tier posts right away. Like you can easily skip the line, just have that, you know.
SPEAKER_01At some point, when you have it all together, comedians, you're gonna want to have an electronic press kit, which is all of your stuff all together in one thing, so that people so that if if if I'm reaching out to get your information, you send me that site and I have everything I need, and then it's super easy. The comedians that will shoot you, like, hey, I want to be on your show, and they don't send you a video like. Link as well. I'm just like, I don't want to do extra work to potentially put you on this.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and the EP, I love that you said the website link for EPKs. Yes. Because a lot of comments have these PDFs. And I'm like, what do you want me to do with the PDF? Do you mean like you mean yeah?
SPEAKER_01You want me to copy and paste it? You want me to write that?
SPEAKER_00You want me to they like embed some YouTube video inside the PDF? I'm like, you're gonna crash my MacBook. Do you try to open this thing? There's no like just get the website link. I mean that's the best way for sure.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, put it on site. And if you need help, this is a shameless plug for my own brand. If you need help, I make EPKs for comedians. So if you're someone with a if you're listening to this and you have a PDF that's annoying all the bookers right now, and you're like, hey, true, I need help. Let's talk.
SPEAKER_00You know, so I'm telling you, man, like the money make so every every year I spay like 150 bucks for my square pace, uh, squarespace, like domain, whatever, right? College has reached out to me through my contact form, and they pay way more than 150 bucks a year. So it's like just it's worth it. Yeah, be easy to reach out to just all your resources together. So when people want to buy, just make it easy for them, you know. Yeah, like you go to TJ Maxx, you try to buy something, you see the lines like 50 people, you just walk out. I don't even buy anymore. It's like easy to shop at. So that's the main thing.
SPEAKER_01But what you one thing you also said though, that's so true, is uh being just easy to work with, being relatable, being nice. Uh when when we're looking at comedians to consider for the for the clean comedy collective, you know, there we look at we look at if they're working, we look at their if they're funny, their videos and stuff like that. But then there's a third thing we look at that I I can't quantify. But like I'm scroll, I'm reading your bio, I'm looking at the set, I'm watching you as a person, and it's basically, are you not a jerk? Like, are you like like and and it's one of those things you can't quantify, but everyone who watches and reads your stuff will come to the same conclusion. 100%.
SPEAKER_00And it's like dude, I open for some of these headliners, like you know, over the years, they're like so jaded, they don't want to be there. It's like I don't forget those feelings. Like, no, that's like embedded in me. Like, I will never want to work with this guy again because he's there wearing a suit jacket, he's like, Oh, I don't even want to be here, I just want to be home right now. I'm like, what are we doing here then?
SPEAKER_01Like, yeah, why I literally had an experience uh recently, I don't want to give too many details because people will be able to like point exactly where the place is and then go look at the lineup and pick out like yeah, so like I gotta be very vague, but I think that's really important because I was thinking about this. I was like, this is something I feel like will come up in the podcast at some point, uh, in the green room with the comedians, the people closing out. Um, and like this is like like to I mean, we can both appreciate uh what an honor it is when you get to be able to headline, like when you get to be the main event for the event, like you've worked so hard to get to that. You're on a show with people who are working equally as hard. Like, and it is it is a privilege, you know. It is a privilege that someone said, Okay, you get to close out the show, you know. I believe in you enough to um, and yeah, I'm sitting, I'm you know, I'm I'm mid middle of the middle of the show. I'm sitting there with the headliners, a few other people in the green room, and like the guy was just like, Man, I just wish I could go home. It's been a long day. And I'm like, are you kidding me? Like, like you've reached this point where like you know, and like everyone out there kind of is here to see you, you know?
SPEAKER_00Seriously, so these are like real people. Like, I see that complaint a lot when it's like in a smaller market. Like, you know, uh, there's a comedian in Dallas named Paul Verghiz, he he gave a great example. Like, Dallas is a flyover city, like it's not like LA, New York. So, like, you see the headliners' true colors when they're in Dallas. Oh, yeah, how they treat the weight staff because they're not trying to impress execs here, you know. It's like now you see who actually loves the craft, or it's like it's just a paycheck for them with a door deal, you know. So, yeah, like a lot of small towns have like headliners so they'll show their true colors, like, oh, I don't even like my act anymore. Like, I just want to grab this thousand dollars and get home, you know.
SPEAKER_01So, yeah, it's yeah, and and yeah, because you'll either have people that like don't appreciate that it's a small show and that, but still that these people came to it, which early on in my comedy career, I was I was I don't even know if I was a feature. I might have just been the opener for a show, but I do specifically remember I was doing a club and there was just a handful of people, and I don't know why I had the guts to just turn to the head like, man, this is gonna suck. Like, I was like this, which I don't like in hindsight, don't be that guy, but that's I did and he like scolded me. Like he like he was like, never say that. He's like, Everyone who showed up to this show is your best friend when you're on stage. He's like, Don't take it out on them that other people didn't come. Like they they did the right thing, they showed up, and that honestly changed the trajectory of like how I view audiences. There is there is something about headlining and comedians as they're as you're all building to the point where you're headlining. This is something you need to be aware uh just aware of. Is like there are the people that can close out a show and they have like a good it's a good set, but then you see the people that just absolutely kill and it's a whole experience. And it's like it when they get on stage, it takes the show to the next level. Like those are the headliners that get rebooked, those are the ones like there's the because and I've and I feel like I've um I I I'm I'm I'm trying to become the latter of the two. But I know for a fact when I started headlining, like I had a good act, people were cool with it, but like you, but I've also booked plenty of headliners as well on my shows, and I've been like, oh, that's what I need, that's where I need to get to, you know, like that is yeah, and and I really think uh it just takes repetition, continuing to headline, time, experience, you know, fine-tuning your act, and just getting better stage presence, which comes with experience.
SPEAKER_00Stage presence, it's like you get the right mental headspace right there. The before a show, it's like, you know, as like a feature and opener, you can get away with reciting your material. Truly, you can get away, which doing a killer 20 minutes. But as a headliner, if you want to make a memorable night, you have to have like a through line to the set. You gotta connect with them, and then like you know, I gauge it with how many shirts I sell after my set now. It's like how many people want to come meet you after the show and buy a shirt from you and support you, you know. It's like that that's kind of my gauge lately. So it's it's been good.
SPEAKER_01That's like a good, and that's good healthy to have because you do when you start doing this night after night after night, uh, you beat audiences that have like different um volumes of laughter. And it's like I know as a comedian, like the best the best metric is where they laughing at my jokes, like that that when you leave, like that's like yeah, that's pretty like you can't fake that. Were they laughing at my jokes? If they were, then I did well. If they were not, I did not. But like sometimes you have quiet laughers or a hard crowd. But if they're coming up to you and talking to you and buying your merch after the show, if they're following you on social media, yeah, I believe you can still leave that show being like, No, that was a good one, you know.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah, they'll they'll come again. Like they felt a connection to you, they felt it resonated with them, you know. So, yeah, it's uh for yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_01Um, so and then speaking of shows, we we talked uh before we almost started talking about before the podcast, but I was like, Oh, let's talk about during the podcast. I thought uh, but you recently did a show with other clean comedy collective comedians, right?
SPEAKER_00You mentioned that yeah, headline in uh San Antonio for uh Daniel, probably the clean comedy collective. He goes by Ariba dude, yeah, good guy. And uh he had me headline, I didn't even send in a tape, nothing. He just said he saw I was part of CCC. He's like, Hey, come on out, headline my show 35 minutes, squeaky clean. I mean, it's like people from church wrote the show.
SPEAKER_01Was it at Refuge Coffee? Was it that show? Yeah, yeah, it was, yeah, it was. That's that's cool. I uh he yeah, it's part was one of the shows under our umbrella. He's been doing it for a while. He does it every month, and yeah, we post it on our site, and uh I haven't I've only had one conversation with him on the phone. Uh, I want to, I'm gonna have him on the podcast eventually, but he he just seems like a very cool dude, um, very positive guy.
SPEAKER_00And then you know the CCC thing, like just the credit got me booked on that, which is like he didn't see he didn't ask me to see a tape, he just trust me to do 35 minutes squeaky clean on his show, which is like crazy. And then you know, you get there, and uh, they were initially gonna put the show outside, but they actually found an event space, so it was like a perfect little like wedding venue-esque room, and like chairs sound was perfect. Like, that's a great venue. I recommend to I mean it's a clean headline, to be honest with you. Like very receptive fans of the clean comedy, so it's uh yeah, it's a good situation down there, but just off this organization got me the booking, so I appreciate that.
SPEAKER_01I love that. That and that's like a big part of what what we're here for. I'm I realize we realize this as because I mean the Clean Comedy Collective just started out as a few people in Middle Tennessee booking shows in Nashville and working together. Like it wasn't like it wasn't like that what we are now was not the original plan. I mean, it will, I mean, it just wasn't even thought, but I've really what's it's it's evolving into is the community and the network of comedians working together.
SPEAKER_00Shout out to Daniel, too. I mean, he's a very positive guy. I I mean I drove into San Antonio, five and a half hour drive because this traffic get there headline an hour later. So it's like, you know, I'm not like sitting the night before, I'm like driving in, going right to headline. I was I was burnt out from the car, and he uh had like a pre-game speech, like a pre-show speech. He's like, hey, let's just be present here, guys. Thank you, God, for the show. And like Ariba dude, like to save it for the show. And like we did a little group chant thing. I was like, oh dude, I was like, I'm in now. I was gonna do a good time, and now I'm gonna do a good time. That's so cool. That's so cool. It's so refreshing being around, and a lot of times, I'll be honest, I'll book openers, like my host had booked. It's like I just want to be around a cool person, like a bubble, a bubbly gal, bubbly guy. Like, I don't really care how funny you are, to be honest. It's like just don't do any heinous act and it'll just be good to be around. And I promise you'll get a lot of work in this business.
SPEAKER_01Because as a headliner, you know, like no matter what happens in the act before, you can turn them around. Like, that's that's I think that's one of the reasons. I think that's one of the in my head. When you if you're ever thinking, like, am I ready to be a headliner? If once you get to the point where you're not concerned about the person before you because you know, I'll get them. Exactly. Exactly. That might be a sign that maybe you're ready to be a headliner. Um, but no, you're so right. Because I do, I when I when I book openers, um, you know, I want them to be funny. I want to, I want, I if I want to enjoy their act, I don't just like, you know, yeah, not listen to their act or whatever. But yeah, I feel like there's a lot more to can I would this person work well with me? Would yes, sometimes it's do I would I want to sit in a car and drive to the place of this person?
SPEAKER_00Like those being an opener comedy is like an internship for like a company. It's like a lot of people can do that job because it's very low stakes. Like anyone can have a 10-minute that, like, even though you bomb the 10 minutes, no one really cares. Yeah, let's be honest. So it's like, you know, it's like you just want a good, happy intern that's excited to work, you know, that's all you want. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01That's and one that one that will do better, like one that if they do bomb, then they'll okay, well, let me fix that, and then the next time they do better. Yeah, and uh, but yeah, I got I I got a year's worth of work with it working with a national headliner solely because um I gave her good Taco Bell advice on like a like like we we ate there after one show, and we'd worked together a few times, but we went to Taco Bell after one show, and she got like a soft taco. I was like, Have you ever ordered nacho cheese so that you can like extra nacho cheese to dip the soft taco in? And and and you would have thought I gave her a million dollars because she was like, This is amazing. Look, you're gonna track, this is amazing. I know, like my food opinions have done so good for me, but like I'm not exaggerating when you say the next day she called me up and had like a list of tour dates. Like, would you want to? And like, I don't know, I would have liked to be cooked because I'm funny, but like good taco bells counseling, I guess, is the next best thing.
SPEAKER_00I mean, a lot of my feature work early on was just because I was a clean 30 minutes. It wasn't like floor-breaking, it wasn't groundbreaking material. It's like, yeah, he he can do the job, and that's better than most people. So it's like, yeah, yeah. And dude, honestly, man, all these like it's easy to get like caught up in the gossip and like drama of each scene, but you know, just be true to yourself. Be just a happy person to be around. I promise you, you'll get a lot of work. I know there's a lot of young comments listening to this, so it's uh yeah.
SPEAKER_01What do you do when you're not doing comedy?
SPEAKER_00Like, what who who are you minus comedy and like I'm I'm big in uh I got a house like two years ago, so I'm huge in like garage gyms. Like I love my garage gym setup. I'm working out a lot now, and uh I used to have a day job where you work like from seven to three thirty in an office. So I was up at like 5 30 going to work, you know, with comedy. That's basically my whole day. But then now I just left that job, starting a new remote job, which is like should free up a lot of time.
SPEAKER_01So oh yeah, yeah. I feel like for a lot of comedians, that's the dream is finding a remote work where because I know that that's something that's like on my horizon. Like, I'm keeping my eyes peeled and ears open for potential options of that, you know.
SPEAKER_00I tried to make it work with an in-office job. I tried, but it's like at some point, you're like, I mean, the college after thing, I had to go to Hershey, Pennsylvania, and then you fly back, and then you had to go to work at like you had to wait by 5 30, you're sleeping like two hours. I'm like, well, at some point you're gonna crash your car trying to get to work, you know. It's like this is impossible. And then um, I knew I had to leave because I used all my PTO days, like mid-year to like go to these road games. So, like, yeah, there's there's no so I just looked for a remote job, you got got a way out.
SPEAKER_01So that's cool. That and so that that that I was I was full time for a few years, and then I just got a an uh uh it's not really an office job, but it is a you know eight to eight to four thirty Monday through Friday job. And so uh and it's uh and but it and so that was then that's how I'm doing I you know I have my weekends for comedy, but honestly, like if I'm traveling, it's usually just for like a Saturday gig. I'm using Friday and Sunday to travel back, you know, and um, but and then I use my PTO for the longer hauls, and but that means it's limited, you know, like and you have to limit it. Uh yeah, so but they I mean my job gives me decent amount, which was but see, here's the thing for comedians who uh I I definitely don't think everyone who's done comedy for a year lets you just go quit their job after listening to this podcast and go like I like like I think there's merit to like working a day job and then also perfecting your comedy craft. And like you were saying earlier, Danny, get it to the point where like you have a marketable product, you have something that you would pay to see, and someone else, more importantly, someone else would pay to see, you know, that oh yeah, that's important. Um, but there is there is a trajectory you can follow. Like you you can intentionally pick jobs that give you space and time to do comedy, and then another part of it is you gotta be willing to like, yes, after you're tired, after a day's work, you still need to do comedy stuff. Uh oh the past two days. I'm tomorrow, by the way, I'm probably gonna have a crash day because the past two days have been like work the whole day, go do comedy, get back late. And then it looks like yesterday I I did uh I worked a whole day, I drove an hour and a half for a comp to a comedy show, finished it up. I did hang a little bit because I had some friends that I hadn't seen forever that came and saw the show. So I could have left a little bit earlier, but then I hung with them. Then I drove an hour and a half back home. Then I was like, Oh, I have a podcast episode to edit. And uh I I you know, my side gig is the entertainment brand. So I was like, I'll have to uh edit someone's graphic and fix that up. I didn't go to sleep till like three in the morning, and and I'll be honest, I didn't finish editing the uh episode that aired last week, so like I set my alarm for five to make sure that I finished it up so it could post by Saturday at seven. And yeah, and you know, yeah, that's exhausting, but that's life right now. That's because I have a full-time job, but I'm also caring about being a comedian, you know.
SPEAKER_00I told myself that too when I was in the office job, I was like, these two years, this is what life looks like for the next two years. But now you will get a remote job and then it all works out. But yeah, it's like don't don't quit your day job. I I promise you, I was that guy where like you know, I had a couple college bookings. I'm like, I can live off 20 G's a year. I I could do that, you know. And then I'm like, you know, you got a wife, and it's like you don't want to you don't want to skip breakfast every day, you know what I mean? It's like there's nothing wrong with like a part-time situation, but uh or remote jobs, you know, there's many solutions, but uh you'll know when it's time to quit your job, like because these college gigs are in the middle of the week, they're like on Tuesday, so that you have to fly out like on the Monday. You don't want to fly the same day because it's a lot of trouble happening. So it's like you'll you'll know when to quit. You'll know.
SPEAKER_01And and you'll know, and you you know, I don't know. I I think you'll know, but also sometimes maybe I don't know if there'll be a a a ray of light from this sky that will tell you when it's time to quit. Uh, you do have to take that jump, but there are signs, um, and it'll be fine, you know, and there's no rush, also, you know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think honestly, yeah. Oh, go, go, go, go, please.
SPEAKER_01Well, I just I remember the advice I got about when it's time to quit the day job. They said, uh when you're turning down enough work because of your day job, like when you're returning significant amount, and then also, and this is what you already said when you when you have something that's marketable. And I know for me, like eight, eight, nine years ago, um, I wanted, I would have loved to quit my job and do full-time comedy, but like I remember taking an honest look at my act and be like, I it was the second one. I don't know if this is marketable yet, you know. I don't know if people would pay to see this, you know, or pay a lot to see this, you know.
SPEAKER_00Right. So and honestly, I'm trying to romanticize the life of like this remote job and comedy because like now I can work from home, like I could work out my garage gym, and it's like you don't have to depend on the money from comedy. Because if if I were to be comedy my full-time living, I would go all in on the college circuit. I would pander to college kids, I'll be like, What are these kids? You start talking about six, seven jokes and what are the you know, it's like you're making jokes just to pay the bills, and it's like, yeah, then I would force myself to do cruises, and then it takes away the it takes the fun out of it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I if inherently I love jokes about like you know, clever written jokes, right? And then now I'm on a cruise, you gotta, you know, kind of simplify it down a little bit just to pay the bills. It's like you don't wanna you start questions like what am I living to do this for? Like right, you know, there's nothing wrong with just clocking in remotely, and then then you gotta do what you truly love afterwards.
SPEAKER_01And and maybe there's wisdom in like your job never being your greatest fashion because then you can still enjoy it. Because what anytime when it's I know for me, for the for the previous five years, four years or whatever, there were time there were plenty of things that I had to do for comedy that's like I do not want to do this. This isn't fun, this isn't what I got into comedy. But then the other then I would think like, but this is my job now, and yeah, everyone has things they hate about their job. Um but then also in the past year, uh it's it I can't tell you how amazing it's been to like get a gig request to do like a roast of like a 16-year-old girl's birthday party where they just want to be roasted, but it has to stay clean. And yeah, uh, and there was a time where I'd be like, that's a paycheck, I'll do it. Yeah, now I'm just like, I can I can say no to that. That's that's the most picture-perfect gig salad gig, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you get all kinds of yeah, isn't that yeah, I just painted the perfect picture of the gig salad gigs right there. Yeah, yeah. I remember recently I got offered a feature for in Arkansas for the weekend for like $200. I was like, no, I'm not gonna like you can say no to these now because you don't have to live off this. So there's a lot of pluses, man. You know, get your head sharp and then uh get some rest to write the jokes you want to write.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, yeah. So that it so the the important I think the important takeaway for comedians listening to this is like there is no wrong answer. Full-time comedy, part-time comedy, having a day job, not having a day job. Uh, there are pros and cons to both, and you just gotta figure out what works out for you, you know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, for sure. And what helped me with my career too is like I think I submitted a festivals like three years in, and I got I sent like eight applications, I got accepted like seven of them. Yeah, and that like any little like checkpoints like that is good for like career, just to keep you like motivated to have like a next goal. A lot of my friends now they're like the same timeline as me, they're not they're kind of stuck in like still trying to get past the clubs, not getting much work. And it's like you start kind of questioning like, hey, is this even for me? Like because now like the young guys are taking my spot. It's like you know, I think it's always good to like every year set a goal and like submit to something, see like you know, an outside party.
SPEAKER_01So glad you mentioned festivals. So I was sitting here thinking, like, before I kind of come came to the end of the podcast, I was like, I feel like I'm skipping something here that I wanted to talk to you about. And and when you mentioned festival, like that's exactly it. I want to, I said I saw that you you've been a part of a lot of comedy festivals. Um, I know we actually met at a comedy festival in Japan at Lookout, um, and Lookout Comedy Festival is where we met. Um, so I just wanted to take some time and talk a little bit about comedy festivals. I'd love to hear your experience, your advice for people who want to consider doing uh comedy festivals. Uh, maybe if you had a favorite comedy festival experiences you've had, um and just yeah, just just because uh I I do love comedy festivals. They're uh I I've applied to a lot and not I haven't gotten into a lot. Uh I mean I've got I've applied to more than I've gotten into for sure. Yeah, yeah. Um, but the ones that I have been able to go um kind of make it to like some of my favorite experiences in comedy. So yeah, I'm a big I'm a big festival fan.
SPEAKER_00So I so yeah, I'll start off the top. Like found like uh comedy festivals are so important because it's like a third-party booker. Because you know, there's so many local politics in your scene, you know, like that they might judge you off like a midnight set that's not hot, you know, they always remember that. But you can submit your five-minute tape to outside party, pay them 20 bucks, and you'll get like honest feedback if you're one of the top 20 people on this list or not. And you know, it's a good way to get vouched for. Um the experience is great because you meet other like-minded comics that are chasing it. Like, I think you know, it's like these are people that have the resource to travel for a free weekend, let's get that straight. And then it's like, and then the they have the intention of like submitting a good take, you know. So and a lot of comics that come to me, they they ask me, like, hey, can I review their tape for them? A lot of comics, man, their tape is like a little loose. I'll be honest with you. It's like if you were watching 200 tapes, would you want to watch this all the way through, you know? Right. I love the Fountain City Festival out in Kansas City. I mean, it's like they booked some killers on that one, and it's like, you know, did a couple don't tell shows there and like crashed the couch one of the bookers, and like at an after party, you know, like I'm not even a party kind of guy, but it was it was nice to be around all that. It was just it felt like a good vibe, man. Like, I remember they're just like sending me emails, like just you know, keeping the loop of things, but um you know most all most of my festivals have been great, man. Like, I haven't really had too much of a bad experience with uh festivals, but it's been great.
SPEAKER_01One of my favorite things about comedy festivals is I mean, any kind of festival contest, I mean, even at the open mic level, when you're just around comedians, what you're actually doing is you are networking, you're building your network of comedians, right? And what I love about festivals is it's a chance to meet comedians that are a little bit more serious than if you go to open mics or if you're just on your regular standard showcase. I mean, these people have paid, uh, they made the effort to pay and travel to this place. Uh uh, you like you said, a third party picked, you know, like uh said, like, oh, this person's good. And so they they were accepted. It in so the people you're sitting next to are comedians at your level, um, in your in your network. Uh, these people are gonna they are pursuing and they're gonna likely continue to grow their career, which means exactly you know, you know, some someday they might have a show that they want to put you on, they might want to go on the road with you, they might want you to go on the road with them. Uh, they some of these people may start comedy festivals later and then ask you to apply for their festivals. Like, these are and and and you know, uh a couple years in, these aren't things you think about, but like, um, you know, I'm closer to 15 years than I am to 10 years, and so I do have comedian friends who have been doing this for a while that like have started clubs, have started festivals, have like yeah, at some point, those people that you're just hanging out with an open mic, if they keep doing it, like are gonna be doing something pretty cool with what they're doing, you know.
SPEAKER_00Right, yeah. Anyone at a festival has a high chance of sticking this business and like you know, you won't know when so yeah, it's like a you're getting a fancier cut of meat with those people.
SPEAKER_01I don't know if you should call them fancy. I agree, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I know you're not a sports fan, so I can't think of an analogy to that, but uh yeah, easily, man. I mean, festivals pay for themselves in a long time. Now I'm at a port in my career. I'm only trying to do festivals like that are like S tier, like JFL, Moon Tower. Like I'm submitting to festivals, I'm gonna get rejected at, you know, but it's like it's good just to keep your you know, keep your shit.
SPEAKER_01It's good to get it because you you're always rejected until you're not, you know. That's the that's the reality. So and you don't and you might, you know, you might submit a clip and get rejected, but if you just go ahead and assume you're gonna be rejected, then you have no chance of exactly you don't submit, then you have no chance of getting it. But I do I that you something you said kind of that I think is important when you're thinking about comedy festivals is uh considering the benefits of like so you know the ones you submit to your these are the ones that want to be part of it. Um, I think I think also uh it's helpful to kind of know the festival, know the vibe, know try to do your best to understand what they're looking for because not every festival is gonna you know accept every kind of comedian. Yeah, um, I love it when they post um who who was in last year, who's in for the past few years, because I love to look back at that. And if it's a lot of people that don't look like me, I'm not, I'm I'm gonna save my 20 to 50 dollars.
SPEAKER_00I really am. Yeah, yeah. So it's fascinating. I have uh like white comic friends too, and they say, like, you know, I always get a look at my ticket because I'm Asian. It's like I always think I get a fair chance, like they watch me through because I'm different, which is such a blessing on my side in this business where everyone can sound the same. So yeah, I mean, I guess you have a good point. Like, you should see what the festival's looking for, you know, and uh see what your odds are based off that.
SPEAKER_01I mean, like, I mean, and and you hate to there's a there's a difference between like judging and stereotyping and being a little bit judicious with the fact that any booker from the local show to the comedy festival from the comedy club is they do have a different so so if it's if it if it's like an LGBTQ plus festival, right? That's like that that only books LGBTQ plus people is very progressive. And even though I align with a lot of those values, I know as a straight white guy.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01If I'm looking and there's no straight white guys on the lineup from last year, maybe I save my $20, you know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, of course, yeah, yeah. And it's good to set goals for these festivals. Like one year I was touring where I was gonna leave Atlanta, like, where do I want to live? So I did the Dallas festival, I did the Houston festival, you know, and it's like set intentions. Like, why are you applying this festival? Is it just to say you got in, or is it like because you want to work in the Midwest one day? Like, I I did a lot of Midwest festivals like in Iowa and all that, just so like I have a tour path now that I can go out of Dallas. So I think setting goals with like clear intentions, like don't don't waste a weekend doing this, you know.
SPEAKER_01Oh, what are examples of like goals you set for yourself each year? Um, I don't know if you want if it I don't know if it's superstitious, you can't say them out loud, otherwise it won't happen or whatever.
SPEAKER_00But like what like what are examples?
SPEAKER_01Yeah of the thing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'll look up with these goals. I I have a buddy named Jordan Meadows, based in Atlanta, and we talk about early.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so he's he's also in the clean comedy.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Great, great dude. But uh like writing goals. So I have this headlining tour this year, right? But like last year, I was like, oh yeah, so I'm at 30 minutes now. I better write at least three minutes every month so I can hit 45 minutes by February. You know, so it's like in clean, clean minutes too. So it's like you're just uh you set those like writing goals, and then maybe in six years you want to start headlining locally, which is what I'm doing now. And then next year I want to headline major cities once I have like a bulletproof hour, and then like now it's just up to selling tickets year seven. So like that, those are the kind of goals benchmarking. I love that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I love that. And man, selling tickets. If once you figure out how to do that successfully, you let me know because that to me is the hardest. That's like that's the when you I am I am now so impressed with like big name comedians that can sell out places because I'm like, people don't talk about how what a skill or gift or whatever it is to you know get to that point. Okay, so we are gonna do the ask a comedian section of the podcast. Uh, I already told you this before the podcast, you know. So for anyone listening who doesn't know, um, through any source of social media or email or just however people can get in in touch with me, uh, I always give them the option where you can send me in questions and then each week I ask the comedian three of them. Uh and I have them in a list. I numbered the list, and here in a second, Danny's gonna pick three numbers, and that's gonna dictate what questions uh we ask him. And some of them are related to comedy and some of them very much are not. And so it's just always kind of fun. Uh, we've gotten everything from like good comedy advice to like, I think one was like, what do you you don't have this isn't the one you have to answer, but like this is one of the I think the weirdest so far is like, what do you do if you're making out and you think of a good joke? Like, do you stop or do you write? You know, so we so we we never know what's going on. Um for anyone listening, uh, feel free to submit a joke. Um, and in in any uh way you're listening, or even on in YouTube, of course, obviously you can add in the comment section. If you're listening, there's actually a button when you scroll down, you'll see the episode description, you'll see the link to Danny's uh website, and then you'll also see like a send us a question, or it says something like that. Um, and just click that and you can send it, or find me on social media and send me it that way. That's all a lot of people do. So, all right, Danny. So I have I'm gonna ask you to give me a number uh between one and twenty six is what we got. So give me three numbers, give me three numbers one through twenty six, and that will dictate what question I ask you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'll do 13. You want all three numbers right now?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, give me like yes, with a uh little bit of space, like like so.
SPEAKER_00I'll do 13, 13, I'll do 18, and I'll do 21.
SPEAKER_0113, 18, and 21. All right, here are the questions. So number 13. This from uh this uh question comes from Chris Izzy, who's a comedian, he's also in the clean company collective. He's also from Indiana, probably kind of close to Peori. I know you uh are that's Illinois. Never mind. I don't know what I'm talking about. I thought I was making a connection between the two of y'all. Yeah, yeah. There's no connection. Uh um, okay. This is a uh we we I feel like we might have talked about some of this already, but you can really kind of laser in on it. Um, what's something you wish new comics now starting would know?
SPEAKER_00Hmm. Yeah, man. I think it's a new comic, so you'll be opening a lot. I think new comics should know how valuable it is to be a clean opener. Like, I'm telling you, I don't I hate following comics that like talk about like crazy heinous stories. It's like, yeah, I think I wish all my openers would be clean. I used to tell them like, hey dude, just have a clean 10 when you work with me, you know? Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01I think that'll help you get rebooked by those people you're opening for. And then clubs, clubs will oftentimes want their hosts to be clean.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, for sure. And it's like that's something I didn't know early on that I had like rewire my brain two years into comedy, you know, because I had to turn on a lot of gigs and I didn't have to clean 10 minutes. So uh yeah, I think just telling people like clean goes a long way early on in your career.
SPEAKER_01Perfect. That's great. Um this question comes from Cody Mack on Facebook. Uh this is number 17, and it is Isial technically a soup?
SPEAKER_00Is serial technically a soup? I don't see why it wouldn't be. Because you got like it's like uh alphabet soup to me. You know, like now I'm picturing like guitar and milk. It's like, yeah, you got like the pasta, the grain, same same thing, and then just in a liquid.
SPEAKER_01Okay, I'm gonna push back. I know this is about your opinions, but here's my opinion on this. Um, I don't think it is a soup. And here's why alphabet soup, you still have the soup, the the the flavor, what unless you're gonna call milk a soup, then you can call cereal a soup, but like milk is its own thing. But like when you do alphabet soup, the soup is actually a thing, and you have like the toppings in it, but really the the cereal is the the the dry stuff or the marshmallows the lucky drum drop, that's like the main event, but like tomato soup, you have like the soup, and then maybe if you put crackers or cheese in it or whatever.
SPEAKER_00Uh so you're saying the soup holds its own, but the milk wouldn't hold its own in like a bowl form.
SPEAKER_01No, no, it's just I mean, you can just get a glass of milk and drink it, and then it's a drink, but yeah, I mean oh okay, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I say milk is fluid, I feel like milk could do both, so it's uh who knows.
SPEAKER_01And that is true. Milk can do both, and the uh you soups are kind of both a meal and a liquid and a drink. Yeah, okay. Well, that's a that's a weird, that's a good and weird questions. Thanks, Cody. That's a good one.
SPEAKER_00That's a good one.
SPEAKER_01All right, last one. This one comes from James, uh Joshua Aubrey. Um let me just sir, I Sir Serrano. Anyway, it comes from Thread. So there's probably someone who I don't know personally. Threads, good for you, huh? Yeah, we go. Wait, Threads is interesting. What a weird way to put a put a comment out there and then just reach tons of people you I've gone viral. Yeah, like it's like people that comment to you, like, where who are you? Um but that is but in this context, it's fun because you do get some pretty good questions from complete random people. So um, oh, this is a this is a good one. Uh, and you probably have you probably are someone uh the perfect person to ask this question. Uh, so what is your end goal for stand-up?
SPEAKER_00Man, I uh this has changed. You asked me this like a month ago. I probably would have given you a different answer. It's uh truly, I just want to keep making good material where it's like that's timeless that I can look back on and be proud of. And that that's honestly, I don't care about the headlining selling tickets anymore. Yeah, I would love that. I'll love you know, sell out shows, people come to see me, headline. But like if I keep putting out like 10 minute sets where like it's like pieces of like my opinion that's a unique, that's my end goal. Like, that's all I want from this. I don't really care about money about this anymore, to be honest. So it's uh it'd be really nice to just keep making Thomas art.
SPEAKER_01I love that. I love leaning into the creative part of what we're doing as as entertainers. Um, there was there was a year where and I actually ended up doing it for a year and a half. I was really kind of trying to get blow up on social media. So my big challenge to myself was like, I'm gonna post a stand-up clip every day at the same time, you know, try to make it consistent. Um, and I my goal was to do it a year. I actually ended up doing about a year and a half. Uh, and I I ended up deleting so much of those clips because like it just got to the point where like the stuff I was posting, either the video quality wasn't great, but it was like what I had on hand for that time, you know, and um, or like I was like, I that wasn't the best delivery of that joke, and you know, I agree. I think I yeah, I think it was uh I think I now looking back, it's it's kind of with what you're saying. Like, I want good quality stuff.
SPEAKER_00I completely agree. You know, you we live in a world now where like people always preach like quantity, you post every day, three times a day, ages maybe.
SPEAKER_01And now they're saying five to six times times a day. I don't yeah, have I don't have the time for that.
SPEAKER_00You're posting more than a Muslim praise. You what are we doing here? You know what I mean? So it's like these people keep telling you, like, yo, keep posting, and then you're gonna be forced to post garbage. And it's like, I don't, I want to go the opposite way. I don't want to live in a quantity world, I'm gonna live in a quality world. So now my goal is like, I don't really care about like, you know, we see the headliners go viral and stuff. They have so much content out there, but it's like I just want to keep posting good content. When you see my name pop up, I always want to associate it with good quality stuff. So just be uh that's my that's my end goal now, just keep making timeless pieces. So I'm happy with that.
SPEAKER_01That's a wonderful end goal. Uh speaking of the end, before we go, Danny, tell us tell us about your tour. Tell us about promote yourself. Where can we find you? What um what do you got going on that you'd like people to know?
SPEAKER_00Sure, yeah. Well, first, thanks for having me, Drew. I really appreciate this conversation, man. And uh it's funny, I'm gonna shout out my tours after saying I don't care about selling tickets anymore. But my tour, yeah, I'm perfect time. I mean, we did that perfectly. All right, and June 12th, I'll be headlining. These are my headlining dates. So June 12th is Peakin, Illinois, June 13th is Bloomington, Illinois. It's a little Midwest run there. Then June 17th is Rockwall, Texas. July 10th is Terrell, Texas, July 11th is Weatherford, Texas, July 18th is Waco, Texas, July 25th is Grand Prairie, Texas, and then August 8th is Houston, Texas, and then October 10th is Orange, Texas. So I'm all over Texas. I mean, yeah, there. You know, all tickets are my website, Danytrancomedy.com/slash shows. Everything's there. So uh yeah, and if you reach out, say per CCC, I'll happily throw you a guest spot or something, or uh maybe a little discount tickets, whatever whatever it may be. That's awesome.
SPEAKER_01That's cool. Thank you for that. And you out, I think uh because I know on your uh Instagram you have um you have the graphic of your tour. So I think I'll uh on if you're if you're listening to this, um, on the Instagram like posts I make of uh of Danny's episode, I'll also have the second picture with his tour on it too. So check that out at clean clean underscore comedy underscore collective on Instagram and and give us a follow while you're there, you know. So um and but yeah, just uh for everyone, uh just for the the plugs on my end, uh cleancomedycollective.com has all the things. Uh if you if you made it this far into the episode, we would love a rating, a comment, a like, uh subscribe, uh, whatever nice thing you can do that helps us out. Um helps us get a little further in the podcast world. And it's also just nice. It's nice to see like a a five-star review or something. So um, but thank you all so much for listening. Danny, thank you so much for being here. Uh I've really I just really appreciated this conversation. You got gave a lot of wisdom, gave us a lot of good stuff here that people can listen to. Uh, and I just hope your tour goes amazing. Um, yeah, I noticed you didn't say Nashville, Tennessee. So I don't know if I'll be able to make any of those shows, but um yeah, yeah. But but if I find myself in Texas, I'll see if any of those towns are next to where I'm at. Sure, man. If you're in town, let me know. I'll take care of you, man. So I might look into going to visit Texas for a little bit because I it's a there's a lot going on there and I like to check it out. So well, cool. Thank you so much. And uh Danny, I'll see you around. Everyone else, we'll hope to see you back here next week and uh have a great life.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, thanks, Drew. See ya.
SPEAKER_01Everyone, see ya.
SPEAKER_00You're welcome.
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