It’s been a bit since I’ve performed any stand-up, but I’ve got a veritable whirlwind of activity with two shows in two nights!  I am just going to collapse on Friday morning.   Tonight I’ll be hosting a really fun line-up of comics at Punk House at Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica.  Then tomorrow, I will be doing a set at The Merrill Davis and Friends Show at El Cid in Silverlake.  There is an all-star line-up including Eddie Pepitone and Maria Bamford among several other comics I really enjoy.  Attend!

Firstly, please forgive the delayed post.  It was not my intent when writing the “Crazy Randy” python piece below to have it be the Pièce de résistance of the site for up to and including several weeks.  But it was, and now all we can do is let the dust settle.  Now, some news.

A couple of exciting upcoming shows to put on your calendar:

Mortified San Francisco
San Francisco, Friday, June 19 and Saturday, June 20th,
8:00 PM @ The Make-Out Room (3225 22nd St, 94110)
Tickets | More Info
I’ve done this show a couple times in LA, and it is without a doubt one of the most fun events I’ve ever been part of.  There’s something strangely exhilarating about reading my terrible high school journal entries to a crowd of strangers.  Come squirm!

Be-Bop Heroin Hour
Los Angeles, Friday July 10th
10:00pm @ The M Bar
More info to come, but I am super-pumped to bring the show back to LA!  We’re going to have a really sweet line-up, new band, new location, and if all goes well the plan is to bring it back regularly.

Other cool news:

It’s not “funny” per se, but I shot and edited a video for clothing company Revolve to promote their new Spring line.  The model is Rumi Neely of popular fashion blog FashionToast.com.  So if you like fashion, or are drawn to my vast Final Cut Pro editing skills, take a look!

A couple weeks ago I was a featured guest on popular podcast The Second Column.  It’s a weekly roundtable discussion with a bunch of funny fellows.  Per their website:

“Comedian Jamie Flam stopped by to talk about barcades, gangs of old people, men who sit when they pee and why Carlos would not only survive, but thrive, in prison.”

I like being described as a comedian by someone other than myself.  I had a great time doing it.  The other guys are hilarious and comfortable behind the mic.  But I don’t think I was very funny.  You be the judge!

Stand-up
I’ve been performing a lot of stand-up in recent weeks, with gigs in San Diego, the new Westside Comedy Theater, The Comedy Store, and The Improv.  Whereas the past few years I’ve gone up sporadically and generally unprepared, I’ve really been honing my act of late, and really enjoying the art of crafting jokes and seeing how they work.  It’s been a lot of fun, and I think it’s something I plan to do a lot more of the next few months.  I will be starting a stand-up log soon to start documenting my growth.  It’s part of my new, exciting life plan to “focus” and “take charge” and “not be dead broke when as an adult.”

Speaking of which, can anyone recommend good organization software for mac?  I am experimenting with Things and OmniFocus right now.  Thought you should know.

Finally, I am loving this live re-creation of the video game Paperboy.

As much as I hate to move the last post from the top spot, I must get my last second promote on for my Wednesday night Mortified appearance.  For those of you who don’t know, Mortified is a monthly show in which participants read from old diaries, journals, love letters, or anything else they wrote as a youth that could be classified as mortifying.  Hence the show name!  I read at the show in August, and it was easily one of the most fun experiences I’ve had as a performer.  The place is packed, and the energy is awesome, and all the readers are great.  Adding to the excitement, National Public Radio will be there to cover the show for their “Day to Day” segment.  Look out liberal America, I am already preparing sound bites for my inevitable interview!  Such as:

“Mortified isn’t as much a show as it is a lifestyle.”

and

“MEEEE SOOOOOOO DUUUUUUMB!!!”

So stay tuned.  Now, the important details.  Show is tomorrow night (Wednesday, December 10th), at 8pm at King King (6555 Hollywood Blvd.) in Hollywood.  As far as I know, online tickets are sold out, but if you get there by 7pm there should be a few left at the door.  So come on out, and listen to me read from the mouth of 16 year old gangsta Jamie:

Up next: December WOW! The Westside Eclectic Sketch Show that I directed with Lloyd Ahlquist, which goes up this Thursday at 10pm and Saturday at 8pm.

This Wednesday evening at 9pm I will be doing a non-stand-up performance at a new show called “Knuckle Sandwich” at The Mandrake Bar in Culver City.  Knuckle Sandwich is the brainchild of close pal Kenny Stevenson and Stephanie Escajeda.  The idea, as Kenny explained to me, is that two stand-up comedians bookend or “sandwich” the rest of the acts, who do NOT do stand-up bits.  I am not sure where the “knuckle” part of the title comes from, but I can only assume that it is some type of endearing reference to the “knuckleheads” who will be performing in and attending the show.  Fun fact: this first show will be celebrating Kenny’s 32nd birthday.  Also fun fact: Yours truly designed the flyer!

So, the pertinent details:

December 3, 2008 at 9pm
Mandrake Bar
2962 La Cienega
FREE FREE FREE

Jason Nash (Guys With Feeling)
Zack Oldham (October Best of “Dirtiest Sketch” Winner, Groundlings Sunday Company Alumni)
Jamie Flam (The Be-Bop Heroin Hour)
Dorien Davies (Fries on the Side)
more to be added

hosted by Kenny Stevenson and Stephanie Escajeda

Click here for Facebook Event Page.

It’s 1:45am, and I am getting home after another successful Be-Bop Heroin Hour Show. And I am just kvelling.  We’ve done 16 of these shows now, and there’s certainly been a couple clunkers in the mix, but there’s no greater feeling then when a show is over and you know it went well.  Tonight was one of the rare occasions in which I was without my co-host, the always hilarious Hugh Moore.  It’s always an uphill battle when I am without his signature charm and our care-free banter, but tonight I challenged myself to do some new material, a more personal set based on the recent writing I’ve been doing for my Uncabaret classes.  I told some stories, talked about my recent foray into unemployment, my angst with being 32 and still trying to find my place in the world, and my issues with the way my sandwiches are prepared at Subway.  I had a lot of friends in the audience tonight which can be a good or bad thing.  Good in that you have a built in support base of people that really want to laugh.  But bad in that there is an added pressure to show them how you’ve grown as a comedian since the last time you got them out.  But it worked in the good way tonight, so thanks friends, for coming to support, winkyface smile.

For those of you reading who have never been to a show before, the deal is this: Every month I book a jazz band (to date we’ve had three different bands, and on one occasion my cousin accompanied me with guitar), and try to book top notch stand-ups, and the idea is to have a comedy show that evokes the spirit and vibe of a 1950′s jazz club.  The Westside Eclectic is a great spot for it, with it’s in-the-alley feel, high ceilings and brick walls (just like NYC, 1952!), and to add to the vibe we encourage all of the performers to play with the band, be it by singing a jazz standard, having them play some walking bass behind the music, or anything else the comedian can dream up.  Only a handful of the shows we’ve done have really embodied everything I dream of for the show on all levels, but tonight was one of them.  The first comic was the very funny Ron Babcock, who eloquently used the drummer’s rim shots to supplement his scintillating array of struggling artist related jokes.  Paul Cibis, who is the genius behind one of my favorite parody commercials ever, followed with a great set including a great bit about the deeper regions of porn shops.  My good friend and wonderful comic Michelle Miracle told a great story about her porn star neighbor, accompanied by some impromptu background playing from the band.  Brent Forrester, who has written for holy quadfecta of comedy television (Mr. Show, The Simpsons, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and The Office), gave some absolutely intriguing insights into the world of comedy television writing, and the night was capped off by the always hilarious Jason Nash, who brought the house down with a great energetic set started in character as stand-up comedian/healer Raul Esteban.  Classic times a million, I tell you.

Perhaps the greatest feat of the night was that it was all over by 11:30pm, with a total running time under 90 minutes.  If there’s one issue with the show since it started two July’s ago, it’s that it has the tendency to run a little long.  So keeping it tight was a bonus, and people that had been to past shows noted that the compressed running time was appreciated.  Thanks, people that have been to past shows.

So there you have it.  I am a brilliant man, and surround myself with other brilliant people, and as an expected result we created a brilliant night for everyone who attended.  It’s always a good feeling to know that you have touched other lives positively, and that these people will forever owe you a debt of gratitude for the joy you’ve brought to their otherwise meek existences.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I must inquire into the whereabouts of my pending unemployment check.

Click here for pictures from last night’s show, courtesy of comedian/photographer Tom Becker.  More pictures to come soon!

It’s the Friday night after Thanksgiving and you know what that means, right?  FOOD HANGOVER!  [insert zippy cartoon noise]  You could just sit at home digesting leftovers while watching old episodes of M*A*S*H on DVD.  Or you could join me and several hilarious people for an evening of stand-up comedy and live jazz music!  The ultimate digestive!  The details:

It’s tonight, The Westside Eclectic Comedy Theater in Santa Monica, 10:00pm.  With me as your host (my usual co-host Hugh Moore is out of town) and:

Jason Nash (Guys with Feelings)
Brent Forrester (writer on The Office, Mr. Show, The Simpsons)
Paul Cibis (Team Atrox)
Michelle Miracle (Small Gravy)
Ron Babcock (Modest Proposal)

Check out the facebook show listing for more information.

Hope to see you all there, and stay tuned for more frequent jamieflam.com postings soon! (maybe)