Mike Lukas, Standup Comic Author & Comedy Coach Show #275

Mike Lukas is a dynamic and multifaceted comedian who has significantly shaped the comedy landscape through his work in improv, stand-up, and television. Reflecting on his career, Lukas views it as a blend of teaching, writing, performing, and expanding his reach across various comedy clubs in Texas, including venues like TK's and Sharks Comedy Club. After taking a break to prioritize family, he returned with a renewed outlook, using experiences from his personal life to enrich his comedic material. Lukas advocates for clean comedy and emphasizes the importance of diversification in income streams, leveraging his expertise as an author and educator to teach budding comedians at the Dallas Comedy Club, while also offering innovative online resources like his "Funny Muscle" methodology and AI-powered tools (CARL) for crafting unique comedic voices.

(00:01:25) "Comedy Journey of Mike Lukas in Dallas"

(00:06:44) Balancing Comedy and Parenthood: A Comedian's Journey

(00:10:04) Elevating Comedy Through Originality and Cleanliness

(00:14:46) Crafting Punchlines with Humor Blueprints

(00:18:46) Diverse Revenue Channels in Comedy Industry

(00:23:48) Personalized AI Joke Generator: Meet Carl

(00:29:50) Enhancing Comedy with AI Co-Writers

Transcript

R. Scott Edwards: 0:04

This is another episode of Stand Up Comedy. Your host and emcee celebrating 40 plus years on the fringe of show business stories, interviews and comedy sets from the famous and not so famous. Here's your host and emcee, Scott Edwards. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the podcast. We're so happy to have you here. Welcome. I want to thank you for joining us today. I do want to remind you that if you haven't heard, I have a new video podcast called the Tag Team Talent Podcast where you get a chance to actually see and hear lots of stand up comedy and other talents like singing and dancing from around the world. If you get a chance, check it out, the Tag Team Talent Podcast. Or go to the website www.tagteamtalentsearch.com and sign up. Maybe we'll get your video on the air. Hey, it's so great to have you here because we have another fun interview. I had a chance to interview this gentleman earlier. Turns out we have a lot in common. He comes out of Dallas, Texas, but he's been in Chicago and Florida, Los Angeles. He's really worked the country when it comes to comedy, but let's talk to him about it. Ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome back to the show, Mike Lucas.

Mike Lukas: 1:25

Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Wow. Yeah. As they taper off there.

R. Scott Edwards: 1:32

Short lived appreciation.

Mike Lukas: 1:34

Yeah, your envelope is a little quick there. I appreciate a little bit of a fade on that applause, so it makes me feel a little bit better.

R. Scott Edwards: 1:41

Well, Mike, let's catch people up. You've been doing all kinds of comedy. You've done improv, you've done stand up, a little bit of TV lately. After taking some time off of comedy to help raise your kids, you got into teaching comedy and helping people in the Dallas area. And from that you've come quite the prolific author. You've got the book I just finished reading, which if anybody's in the comedy industry and wants to be a comic, you gotta read the Business of Comedy by Mike Lucas. I hope that book's doing well for you.

Mike Lukas: 2:18

It really is. People are beginning to catch on that it's got some vital information in it and it's told in a way that a comedian can read it. It's not that we're not good readers, but we tend to ignore pamphlets and anything that's helpful. So it's not hard to read and it's fun and there's not too many attempts at humor so you don't have to cringe too much.

R. Scott Edwards: 2:42

Well, it is just the most recent thing you've done because you did the My Daily Joy strategy. You have Spin Kick. You have a whole series through your platform called Funny Muscle, which where you help people. In fact, there's a book called Finding youg Funny Muscle. I mean, you've done several books, you've done a lot of online Internet style training and you're an active live trainer and work a lot of shows at the Dallas Comedy Club. It sounds like it's all going really well for you.

Mike Lukas: 3:16

Yeah, the resurgence back into my career has been really nice. The Dallas Comedy Club has certainly been a great resource for me. They have really gotten behind me and they love what I do and I'm teaching there and I'm performing there. I'm on their house improv team. I get to go every week to their open mic and hop on that stage and it's been really great. And tonight I'm going to TK's, which is another club. So I'm starting to branch out. I've been at the Sharks Comedy Club here in town and also Mic Drop. So the last time I talked, I think I was just at the Dallas Comedy Club. And now I'm branching out. Scott, I've got my claws into all of these.

R. Scott Edwards: 3:56

Crawling your way back into the industry? Well, we should remind people that you did have a pretty solid career going. Bounced around working for Disney in Florida to Chicago and Second City, down to LA and doing some tv. But you took a break to raise your kids. How are they doing and have they survived, you being their father?

Mike Lukas: 4:19

They're no longer with me. They're gone. No, I'm kidding. Wouldn't that be horrible? When I began to isolate my talent on them, I ruined the entire thing. They were actually great. They're both teenagers now. I set aside, I hung up my comedy cleats for a while to be with them during their formative years. And now they're teenagers. So they basically want me out of the house.

R. Scott Edwards: 4:39

Right. Right. Once they reach the teen years, they have no interest in their parentage.

Mike Lukas: 4:45

No. Then they sort of, as they get into the later high school years, I've heard that they start to drift back. So that's good. They're doing well. My daughter's in high school and she's at a performance art high school, like the movie Fame. And so she's doing all her final performances this semester before they get out for summer. And my son just got a certificate of participation in his sixth grade class. So I thought that was kind of interesting, as did everyone else in the class. So it made Them all feel super special, you know, to. Yeah, but it was funny because it puts them up on stage and it puts them in the center spotlight for a moment. And so I guess in that sense it was valuable, but it was making me laugh.

R. Scott Edwards: 5:27

Yeah, it is. It's a different world. I raised a couple kids. They're in their 40s and 50s now. Because I'm old. It wasn't quite that everybody gets a trophy moment when they were growing up, there was more merit based. And I think that. I personally think that's a stronger way to go. But I'm sure with you being home and focusing on being one of the two important parents, I know your wife has been very supportive of your comedy career over the years, but having you around to help with the kids, I'm sure was a blessing to her and the marriage. And I'm just saying that from a married guy point of view. I don't know your personal case, but I know that my wife appreciates a little help.

Mike Lukas: 6:15

But you, it looks like you might have a camera set up in my house here. You're observing exactly how it's going down here because that's dead on. But it's kind of funny where it takes a village and it's true. It takes a bunch of people to raise kids. And that's the interesting thing about being a comedian is your take on parenting has a definite different angle than most. And so it's, I think, a valuable part of their parenting and their childhood.

R. Scott Edwards: 6:44

Yeah. And I know this is going to sound strange for the parents out there because I know kids don't listen to this, but I think it's good for the parents as well. I know that I was a bit of a loose cannon and then when kins came around, it made me kind of focus and realize the responsibility necessary to run a family. And I think that that's beneficial to not only the kids to have somebody stable around, but to also to the parents, because you learn so much as a parent. I think raising kids is not only one of the toughest challenges. You can learn so much. And as a comedian, there's a lot of comedy that comes out of the family dynamic, wouldn't you say?

Mike Lukas: 7:31

Oh, for sure. That's where a lot of my humor comes from now. And it's just the idea of adjusting to their ever changing phases. That's the thing about the kids is they grow up and every three to six months is a new phase that they go through. So it's like brand new material pops up over and over. Again. Now my daughter's into the goth phase. So she dresses up in the black and, you know, has a lot of leather and loves. She's an artist, so she loves painting fake tattoos on her body and, and so it's interesting to have her dressed in her costume, or whatever you want to call it, her attire. And then the rest of us are dressed like normal, you know, just regular people. So here, here's like this goth, you know, popping into our world while we were at Tom Thumb grocery store, you know, and so it's like I'm buying, you know, fiber and ground beef and my goth child is with me pushing the cart.

R. Scott Edwards: 8:33

It's just kids help make the world just a little extra crazy. But I think that's the fun in it. So we should move on and talk about comedy. But let's hear it for all the kids.

Mike Lukas: 8:46

Listen to them.

R. Scott Edwards: 8:47

They're so happy to have us around, right? Maybe not really.

Mike Lukas: 8:51

Well, they're happy that you opened up the window for just a second into that hot room that you got some stuff in.

R. Scott Edwards: 8:56

Exactly. Well, Mike, I wanted to go back to what we talked about previously because it was so important for the comedy industry. First you talked about your five tool player used a baseball reference and how comics have to be more than funny. They have to be a writer, they have to direct themselves, they have to produce their shows. And the very important part is they have to run the business of being a comic and how travel blends into that and adds challenges. But also you pointed out the importance of being clean. Now, as a producer, I produced shows for over 30 years. Still producing. I just did a fundraiser a couple weeks ago and I've always pushed comics to be clean because not only is it harder and better to be funny when you're clean, but if you're going to make any career at all and be able to work all the different kinds of gigs, from television to corporate to a church show, whatever you're going to do, there's the, you're going to have way more opportunity if you're clean. Wouldn't you agree?

Mike Lukas: 10:04

Yeah, I think it's an important thing, especially in the beginning, to not depend on the low hanging fruit of dirty material. It's the easiest ways to get laughs because they're basically, you're doing dirty puns is what you're doing. If you break it down to its essence. And I think in the beginning, as you are trying to make it in the business, it doesn't serve you well to be dirty because people have to follow you. And so while you're new, you're always going up first. You're always going up in the beginning of the show. And so people want, you know, other comics and bookers want to ensure that the audience doesn't get trashed before the main acts are even up on stage. And so that's why I think it's beneficial in the beginning to be clean. And as you get more sophisticated with your work, you can begin to be a little bit more risque, if that's your personality. But then you do it with. It's a real choice and it's a real clever, high level approach to that, not the cheap laughs that you get in the beginning.

R. Scott Edwards: 11:11

Well, you've worked a lot of festivals, not only a lot of clubs and improv stages, but a few comedy festivals around the world. Did you find that the dirty acts did better or struggled, or does it make a difference if funny is funny? I mean, what's your take?

Mike Lukas: 11:33

Well, I think by the time you get to a festival, it's so hard to get into a festival that if you are at all dirty, you're there because you are dirty. Like at the Chicago Comedy Festival, when I did that years ago, Doug Stanhope was there and Tom Rhodes was there and they were edgy comics, Billy Gardell was there. And so they had a whole show that was geared around a rougher edge. So they all got to be what they really were in front of these crowds. And the crowds loved it because they were expecting it. And so in that sense, with the festival, they tend to book you based on who you are and put you in a group that's similar so that the crowd know what to expect.

R. Scott Edwards: 12:16

Yeah, that's like if you're going to have Bill Hicks or Bobcat Goldthwait, you kind of. There's an image, there's a reputation, and the audience is expecting that. But going back to the importance of being clean, unless you have that success or you have that hook that you're known for, you're going to get a lot more work and a lot farther in your career if you can at least adjust and be clean when you need to, is my two cents.

Mike Lukas: 12:44

I agree. And I think that it's a higher road to take, it's a more difficult road to take. And therefore it should be the road that everybody wants to take. Because comics aren't in it for things to be easy. That's not the nature of this work. And so if you're already committing to a lifestyle of that kind of choices, then go the Distance in the beginning especially create material that's clean and that forces people to think outside the box a little bit. Because what's gonna make it funny is if you're original, if you have a clear comedy lens, if people know what angle you're coming from and then you're consistent with that, they're gonna get to know you and they're gonna get to love your angle and it's gonna be very original and memorable and shareable. And it doesn't have to be dirty for that to be true.

R. Scott Edwards: 13:32

Well, yeah, you're a great example of that, Mike. I believe the term your wife used was enchanted, in that you have the ability through physical humor and good writing to bring inanimate objects to life and make that part of your comedy. And I think that that's your hook. That's one way that you use to bring the audience into your world, which I think enchanted is a great word for, because people want to. The whole idea of comedy entertainment is they want to escape their life, which is bills and work and relationships and all that stuff. And if you bring them into your enchanted world where the bed is talking to you or the chair or your hair or whatever, or in your case, lack of hair, it is an escapism that I think is important entertainment. Now, I know that you've been doing lots of online training based on the book following finding your funny Muscle. You have funnymuscle.com I believe, and I've even seen some short stuff on TikTok and some reels where you're giving advice, you're really giving back to the industry. How's that going for you?

Mike Lukas: 14:46

It's good. Part of what I learned about marketing yourself and selling books and selling your services as a coach or one on one advisor, comedy advisor or whatever you want to call it, you have to develop, you have to nurture your audience. You have to give them, without trying to sell yourself value. And if you can give them value, then they're going to associate your name with that and then they're going to trust you with other things like their credit card. And so you know what I mean? Otherwise you're a stranger to them and the only time you are around is when you're asking for money. And if you're that guy, then you have to question why you're in the business. Are you in this to try to make money? Are you in this is to try to create a bigger and better stand up comedy realm. And that's why I'm in it. I just absolutely love the World of stand up comedy. I love everything about it. I love the performance of it, the writing of it, the producing of it, and just all the television aspect of it. And I feel like everything I do is to broaden that and to hopefully nurture the audience in a way that makes him feel like, hey, this guy has had a lot of experience, he's done a lot of things, he made a lot of mistakes and learned from them, and now he's a writer and he's able to tell us about it. And so I'm going to save you some time, I'm going to save you some effort and energy, and hopefully it'll make your journey a lot more pleasant than at times mine was because I was learning the hard way.

R. Scott Edwards: 16:19

Well, in the school of Hard Knocks is how a lot of us gain our success or knowledge about the world. But I think it's really great. I mean, partially the whole idea of this podcast was supposed to be purely entertainment and share some of the comedy and some of the people I interacted with over the decades. And yet I've had people get ahold of me, listeners and say, well, I learned this and this and this by listening to the comics or to the interviews or somebody actually said that my podcast is kind of a history of standup comedy because it goes back to the late 70s and all the way up to present day. So there is always something extra that you can get out of content that you're sharing with the public. Now, in your case, you bring up a good point. And it kind of goes back to your book, the Business of Comedy, that our job, I'm a producer, you're an entertainer, is to entertain an audience. And we make money doing that. But that money is very inconsistent. It's not like a 9 to 5 job, which we appreciate and we enjoy, but can be a struggle financially, especially when you have a family and children. So I think it's interesting that in your particular case, and everybody finds different roads to financial comfort, but in your case, you're giving back to the industry, giving back to the public with all your books, you know, all your Internet stuff with the funny muscle, your books like Finding youg Funny Muscle and Spin Kick and the Business of Comedy, it really is a way to not only share your knowledge and content, but let's be real, it is. Also, we want to bring in some extra income from our knowledge and from what we learned from the road of Hard Knocks. And by giving back and getting a couple bucks for it helps our financial balance. Does that sound true to you and what's next for you.

Mike Lukas: 18:24

Yeah, I definitely have to make a balanced decision about all that, which is what part of me is a creative person and what part of me needs to pay the bills. And that's a struggle that every artist faces, because if it was up to us, we would get grants from the King, and then we would just produce.

R. Scott Edwards: 18:44

That's a great way to put it, Mike.

Mike Lukas: 18:46

Right. I mean, wouldn't we just all do that? And then we would take the idea of money and bills and all that off the table, and then it would just be, you know, I'm here to entertain the people. And unfortunately, there is no king, and. Well, not yet. We're getting too close, but we're not quite there yet. And the comics are out to have to make a living for themselves. And as every comic has learned over the past several decades, you have to have your fingers in a couple of different pies. You have to have passive income coming in different ways, and you have to have different multiple income streams coming in, like merchandise and performances and selling your show through specials and stuff like that.

R. Scott Edwards: 19:29

Well, you've succeeded so well. I don't mean to interrupt, Mike, but you've succeeded so much because you do have your Internet training, you have your books. You're doing some personal training out of the Dallas Comedy Club, but as you mentioned earlier, you're also performing in a lot of different clubs in the Texas area, and all those different streams of income, and I don't think any one of them is huge, but you bring them all together, and you could be the breadwinner for your family. And that is so important that people in the comedy or any entertainment industry, whether you're a dancer, a singer, a magician, or whatever, you have to find that way to make a living or it doesn't work.

Mike Lukas: 20:14

Yeah, it's important. Exactly. And then the world is without your creativity if you're not able to provide that, your bills and stuff in the background. So that's what we are all forced to do, is we're all forced to make a decision as to, you know, one for the real and one for the meal is what my wife calls it.

R. Scott Edwards: 20:37

Oh, that's great. I like that.

Mike Lukas: 20:38

Yeah. Sometimes you have to do it to pay the bills. Sometimes you do it because you're trying to do something creative that you're proud to do. And if you can get a bunch of both of those on the plate, that's the. That's the key. And that's what I've always tried to do. And by Writing books and selling books. It's a way that I can make money without actually having to spend my time hour by hour doing it. Those books sell based on the ads that I run and based on the classes I teach and such. So, yeah, and it's a journey into the future. We're right now on the edge of a brand new technology, this artificial intelligence. And I'm really trying to begin to tap into how we can use that as creatives.

R. Scott Edwards: 21:23

Are you going to continue your writing skills and your teaching skills and somehow blend AI with comedy? I haven't heard of that.

Mike Lukas: 21:35

Yeah, that's what I'm in the middle of doing right now. I've gotten really informed on ChatGPT, the AI industry as a whole, and I realized that we could battle it. We can just like the horse and buggy whip people battle automobiles for a long time and the mathematicians battled calculators and computers as dangerous things to the future. And we've seen how that works out. They're tools. Everything that we work with is a tool. And it doesn't replace humans, it just makes humans life easier. And that's what AI is. And if people begin to have a better understanding of that technology, they can see the different ways they can get it to work. Like with my self publishing my books, I can use AI to help me get categories for my books, keywords, tags, descriptions, things that I would have to hire people to do. And I couldn't afford to have that kind of a budget. I can now have AI do it for me. Now you might say, well, you're replacing people with computers. Well, we kind of did that with a lot of things. Like I said with the buggy whip people, they were out of work, but they had to move with the future. And that's what's happening now.

R. Scott Edwards: 22:56

Yeah. What about the people that made typewriters?

Mike Lukas: 23:00

Well, exactly. You have to move forward.

R. Scott Edwards: 23:02

So here's the thing that the question that I'm thinking is that I've used some ChatGPT. I understand that AI is a tool and it's a great way to. And people should understand that it is a tool to be used for good, not for evil.

Mike Lukas: 23:19

Not for evil.

R. Scott Edwards: 23:20

But what I am wondering is, can you get the crossover or explain to me in the audience how you're taking a tool that is very logical and straightforward and blending it with the creativity of comedy. That puzzles me.

Mike Lukas: 23:40

Yeah. That's why when you use CHAT GPT to try to make jokes, it's really lame. You know, CHAT GPT is there.

R. Scott Edwards: 23:46

Yeah. I'VE heard of a couple.

Mike Lukas: 23:47

Right.

R. Scott Edwards: 23:48

It doesn't work.

Mike Lukas: 23:48

Right. It's a lot of puns, a lot of real simple stuff. And what I came to realize about CHAT GPT is it's trainable. You have to train CHAT GPT to do the things you want it to do. And then that's where it gets challenging, is to see how. How do you know, like, how can you learn how to train this artificial intelligence to do. To work in a way that you want to work? And the only way I could figure out how to do that is through my methodology. I use in my funny muscle books. I have the comedy lens, I have the humor blueprint, I have humor heightening devices, and I have the way the system that uses those that works to create laughs like a pro. And so what I did is fed my system into the ChatGPT to its permanent memory, which is tricky. You have to learn how to do that. And then I created a custom GPT called Carl. Carl AI Bot.

R. Scott Edwards: 24:44

You named it Carl. Is that an acronym for anything or just. You like the name Carl?

Mike Lukas: 24:51

Well, I was trying to think of the funniest guy I know, and it was Bill Murray's character in Caddyshack. He was Carl. So I just named him Carl just because I figured it's a funny name. Yeah. So no acronym, but it would have been cool. Maybe I'll have to come up with a reverse engineer an acronym out of it just to satisfy the masses.

R. Scott Edwards: 25:09

Now, is Carl available through ChatGPT, or is this your own? I mean, are you coding?

Mike Lukas: 25:17

Yeah, it's a form of coding, but you're above the depths of the code there. You're training it in a way that I use my books. It can read a book. It's funny how I've tried to get people to read my book, and it takes them weeks to do it. And then Carl can read it in like, half a minute, and he's done. So it's very satisfying.

R. Scott Edwards: 25:39

I didn't know that you could ask an AI to read a book.

Mike Lukas: 25:45

Well, it's my book. It's my book, so it's allowed to look at it because I own it. But if you try to get it to read my book, you couldn't get it. It would say, no, I can't do that. It's against policy.

R. Scott Edwards: 25:57

Yeah. Copyrights and all that.

Mike Lukas: 25:59

Yeah. And so I was able to feed my books into ChatGPT and create a custom GPT called Carl that I sell for 20 bucks online. And you can use his. It's basically like having me on your shoulder. But the unique thing about Carl is he. Before he'll do any work for you, you have to train him with your comedy lens, your angle, your brand, and then your delivery style, how you deliver comedy. So every time I use Carl, I have to tell him, my name is Mike Lucas, I am a clumsy ass behole and I'm a fun bunch of guys, and that's how I deliver my comedy. And then it goes, oh, hey, Mike, how you doing? And then it. And then it begins to create material based on those lenses.

R. Scott Edwards: 26:40

That is fascinating, Mike. That is.

Mike Lukas: 26:42

Isn't it something?

R. Scott Edwards: 26:43

Yeah, that is just crazy. And again, much like a lot of the world, it's really fascinating and interesting, but it is also a little scary in that because. Go ahead.

Mike Lukas: 26:56

Yeah, you don't want. I was gonna say you don't you. It's scary because everything like an automobile, scary because people will get drunk and use it to kill people. Right. But. But the automobile is a great thing in general. And so it's the same with AI. It's scary. It's scary because people that you know don't mean well are going to use it in ways to cheat, in ways to steal. And so that shouldn't, though, eliminate the technology as a tool in itself. And that's what I think. Carl is great. He's like a co writer. And some people will say, well, does he steal material? No, he's trained not to take anything from anyone else. The whole point is he's taking your idea, your premises, and he's using your kami lens and your delivery style, and he's using my methodology and he's creating material like you would with a writing partner. And just like you would. I don't know if you feel guilty writing with somebody and then using the bits they come up with for you in your act and claiming them as your own, but it's the same thing because comics do that all the time. But we do that with other humans.

R. Scott Edwards: 27:58

Yeah. No interaction with another human being is one of the best ways to write because you're bouncing ideas, you're extrapolating thoughts that somebody might see something you don't see and you share it and you grow it. And it sounds like Carl is that person to, as you said, co write. Well, tell our audience. How can they maybe touch base with Carl or use Carl?

Mike Lukas: 28:25

Well, you just got to go to funnymuscle.com and there's a funnymuscle AI section. And in that section is where you can go and get linked up to Carl.

R. Scott Edwards: 28:33

Do I.

Mike Lukas: 28:34

In the month of. In the month of May, he was 1999, but after that, he's back to his regular price of $29, which is still a deal. It's like you're getting Mike Lucas in your on your shoulder.

R. Scott Edwards: 28:44

That sounds a little scary, right?

Mike Lukas: 28:47

I'm a big guy, so it'd be a little rough to carry me around, but this is an easy way to do it.

R. Scott Edwards: 28:52

Well, now, I could be wrong, but it sounds like there could be another book coming out. Wouldn't you want to share this with the public through your publishing? Oh, there is another book coming.

Mike Lukas: 29:04

Yeah, it's called Funny Muscle AI. It's already out.

R. Scott Edwards: 29:07

Oh, it's already. Oh, my God. You wrote another book? Mike Lucas, author extraordinaire.

Mike Lukas: 29:14

Well, this one is how to train chatgpt to write jokes like you. And it is basically a book that allows you to train your own Carl, and it teaches you how to train your chatgpt to be Carl. And the book is like $10.99, so it's a lot cheaper than buying Carl himself.

R. Scott Edwards: 29:32

So you're not actually just selling the fish, you're teaching people how to fish.

Mike Lukas: 29:39

Exactly. There you go. I like that. I'm trying to give people the option to do either so that they can see what goes into how Carl makes his decision.

R. Scott Edwards: 29:50

I just think this sounds so incredible, Mike. It's so interesting, and I don't mean to blow up your polished, beautiful head, but the idea of taking something that's so personal and creative, like stand up comedy, where you're really baring yourself to an audience and trying to engage with them, to entertain them, which is the basics of stand up comedy and finding these tools like your books and the Internet and now AI to not change it, but enhance your own image, personality, and material for onstage. Very cutting edge, Mike. I'm very impressed.

Mike Lukas: 30:38

Thanks, man. Yeah, it's really exciting. And we're at this. We're at a real cutting edge time in our history right now. We're at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to using this AI and it's for the first time, to me, trainable in a way that's useful. Whereas before it was like a cute little thing, like a toy that you could say, oh, that's cute, but it's not going to really help me now it's able to help me now I can have it help me generate punch lines and show me the different world maps of the material I'm going to do. And then it allows me to use my own skills and my own writing to piece those things together like I would with a writing crew. You know, like any professional comedian who's on TV ends up having a writing crew. And this Carl's like your own writing crew. The only difference is he doesn't sleep, he doesn't eat, and he doesn't have his own act that he's trying to squeeze in while you're trying to get your act.

R. Scott Edwards: 31:38

It's so funny you mention that, because what comes to mind, and we recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live. And what was so and still too true, is that the writers of Saturday Night Live are basically a bunch of comics and actors that come up with ideas and they share them and bounce them around a table and they're trying to help build each other's acts into a bit that can be on the show. But at the same time, it's very cutthroat in that they have to fight to get their bit on the show. So it's interesting that way. Well, Mike, you're an incredible human being. I'm very impressed with what you've been able to do with your time on this planet. Please, before we let you go, share with the audience just out of your voice, about Funny Muscle online, about Carl and your books, how they can interact with you and take their training in learning about this unique industry to the next step.

Mike Lukas: 32:42

Yeah, the first step you got to do is go to funnymuscle.com and that's sort of the home of all this stuff. And you can find your way through my blogs, my free nurture articles, and my CDs. There you can listen to my ad for free. But more importantly, you can begin the journey of the Funny Muscle methodology, which is finding your own comedy lens, which gives you an original take on the comedy world. Learn how to use the humor blueprint and then use the heightening devices effectively in combination with each other to get your punchline. And that's what I teach, is that everyone that gets a laugh uses these heightening devices. And so if you can begin to reverse engineer that a little bit, you can begin to see more clearly how to get your laughs. And Carl, in a way, helps you learn that even though he's a robot, watching him work and watching how his mind works forces you to learn that same thing. And I think that's a very valuable tool. So you can get that@funnymuscle.com and I also have another site called Mike Lukas L U K A S mike lucas.com and that's where I have all my other books like Spin Kick and the Joy Strategy. I got Revenge of the Loup Garou just came out, which is a novella, a werewolf novella, which is good. And then I also have a set of children's books that is just releasing now, which is.

R. Scott Edwards: 34:03

You just go in like the ever ready bunny. That's incredible.

Mike Lukas: 34:06

I do. Yeah. They're called the Tiny Wilds. It's two little lizards called Scout and Pip and they. One of them is from the pet store and one of them is from the backyard. So the one from the pet store is all nervous and scared of getting eaten. And the one from the backyard is adventurous and she's. And they end up in the same cage together. So they have adventures. And so that's for like 6 to 10 year olds. So any of our listeners who have kids or grandkids or nieces and nephews, it's a great escape for them and a great way to read to them to sleep. So that's mike-lucas.com and that's it. That's all I got. That's how you.

R. Scott Edwards: 34:45

That's all. I think you filled the bucket. And I do want to bring it all together. And back to our original conversation. You have now taken that five tool player and added AI Carl, and now it's a six tool player.

Mike Lukas: 35:04

Yeah, that's a good point. Carl can be used in the fifth tool, which is the business person. But Carl can also be used in the first tool, which is writing, comedy writing. So he actually acts as a sixth tool. That's a good point. He's an addition to the team.

R. Scott Edwards: 35:25

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I'm so happy to bring Mike back on the show. I loved his book the Business of Comedy. It is a mainstay for anybody that wants to get into the industry. He now has Carl that can help somebody that wants to get in the industry kind of figure things out and help people find their comedy lens. I think is really advantageous for this generation that somebody from, you know, your generation, my generation, is giving back and making this so much easier. Thank you so much, Mike, for what you're doing and just keep doing it. Ladies and gentlemen, be sure to go to funnymuscle.com and you can figure all this stuff out. Mike, thanks so much for being on the show today.

Mike Lukas: 36:15

Thanks, Scott. It was wonderful talking to you once again. Anytime.

R. Scott Edwards: 36:19

Well, ladies and gentlemen, you're not going to get any better information or more entertainment out of somebody like Mike Lucas. If you're ever in the Dallas, Texas area, go by and catch him at the Dallas Comedy Club. Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for joining us on the show, Mike. We hope we'll have you on again on your next book.

Mike Lukas: 36:37

Anytime. Coming soon.

R. Scott Edwards: 36:40

Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for joining us. We'll be back next week with another great show. Bye. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Stand Up Comedy. Your host and emcee. For information on the show merchandise and our sponsors or to send comments to Scott, visit our website at www.stand upyourhostinmc.com. look for more episodes soon and enjoy the world of Stand Up Comedy. Visit a comedy showroom near you.