Join us for a deep dive into the unique approach to comedy with Benny Blue, who shares insights on his groundbreaking special, "Live from My Mother's Funeral." This episode explores the intersection of humor and grief, highlighting how Benny transformed a deeply personal experience into a captivating performance that resonates with audiences. He discusses the creative process behind his special, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and finding your unique voice in comedy. Benny also reflects on the challenges of navigating the competitive landscape of stand-up, particularly in major markets like Los Angeles, and offers valuable advice for aspiring comedians looking to hone their craft.

Watch Benny's special here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrVl7ggCc7I&t=966s

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What's goody?

Hot breath verse.

Welcome back to Hot Breath Live, your weekly comedy tune up with comedian Joel Byers and Yoshi.

So we do these every Tuesday on our YouTube channel where we answer your questions live on the air and bring on some special guests every now and then.

And this is a very special occasion.

As we've been talking about comedy specials a lot, this cat just dropped one of the most unique specials I've ever seen that you're definitely going to want to check out.

Available on YouTube.

Hot breathe called live from my mother's funeral, hot brethren and sister.

And welcome to the hot breath verse.

Yeah, special Benny blue, everyone.

Yeah, my mom's dead.

What's up?

Yeah, yeah, what's going on?

Let's go, gentlemen.

We're here.

We're live.

We're officially live.

Everybody troll Joel in the comments.

Yeah, forgot to hire a production intern.

And you know, we're raising the budgets here on hot breaths of.

So we'll get a GoFundme going.

Yeah, go join that Patreon, that patriot.

Ah, here we go.

Same.

But thanks for joining us, Benny.

Before we start mentioning enjoying the show.

So we appreciate the kind words as well.

Yep, hot breath guy put on a t shirt down with the cause, man.

We're all about comics, helping comics here.

So this is your first time listening to hot breathe.

Go ahead and join our email list where I will send you updates on when we go live every single week and all the other cool stuff we have going on.

But right out the gate, you know, we've had a few comics on where they've kind of done specials based on grief, like Glen Tickle and Winston Hodges, based on different family member deaths.

And they did specials around them.

What, besides it being about the death of your mother, like, what kind of inspired this and what made you think to take this format?

Because I think what I find really interesting about it is just with everyone having accessibility to do comedy specials now, it's we're all thinking, how can I make this uniquely mine?

How can I take the format and make it uniquely me?

Which is what you achieved beautifully.

So maybe kind of take us through, oh, I want to do a special about this topic and then how do you start to work it out to then get it onto YouTube?

Yeah, for sure.

Well, no, I appreciate you checking it out and the kind words, it means a lot.

And to be honest, I think it was kind of a confluence of different factors that just sort of passed each other at the right time.

I think Covid had a lot to do with it, because, you know, by the time Covid hit, I was probably about, I don't know, five years in chains, you know, into this racket.

And I kind of.

I was actually grateful for it because it kind of forced me to stop and think about, like, you know, what do.

What do I really want?

What do I really want to do with this and what's going to be kind of the next thing to sort of get me to where I want to go?

Not necessarily, you know, what we.

I'm sure you've talked about here on hot breath many times what we consider kind of the sort of linear path for success that's been sort of the traditional way to do things.

So I was very, like, aware of that.

And then also kind of to the point that you just made about the approach to stand up in terms of making specials.

Now, I knew going into this that I wanted to do something that was equal parts funny and interesting.

There's a million funny people.

There's no shortage of funny.

But I think to really get people on board, especially with something longer form, certainly something longer than you're just gonna, you know, scroll through while you're on the toilet, you need to do something that's gonna be a little bit more of a hook, and I think, bring people into your story.

So when I, you know, my mom was, you know, essentially in the process of dying, you know, that was kind of the catalyst for me to really examine my life, examine my life with her, how I grew up, how that affected my sense of humor, you know, some of the things that she did or didn't do and how that all kind of ties into, you know, the place that I got to by the time I actually wrote the special, because, you know, as you watch, it's very autobiographical.

It's not just me, you know, me having conversations with my mom.

I'm taking you on this ride about, you know, these stages of my life and how she, you know, affected it one way or another.

So I think.

I think for a lot of it, it was just kind of right place and right time going into it, because I knew that I just wasn't.

I wasn't just going to compile some jokes about, you know, dating is hard in spirit airlines.

I mean, I just.

We just.

We need it.

We needed to.

We just.

This is my day.

We need opportunity.

We need to do something.

We need to do something to come out the gate swinging and offer something that's a little just, you know, just a bit more interesting.

And honestly, man, like, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

And the intended.

The intended kind of takeaway that I was hoping people would get from it has been that to almost a 100% clip.

People are understanding.

Like, it's funny, but also, you know, they are catching on to the emotion and finding a way to connect with it, you know, in terms of, you know, their own grief and, you know, their.

Their own experience of loss and that sort of thing.

So that's all kind of went into the gumbo of, you know, my motivation to make this thing.

Yeah.

And I'm gonna put a link to it in the show notes for people to check out because everyone definitely needs to watch this.

I'm sorry if I cut you off there, Yoshide.

I just want to let.

No, no, no.

I mean, I think when we got the link, we were like, this is so different, so far from the norm in what a special is.

Did you think about, like, I guess, what was your motivation behind the special in terms of what you wanted to put out to the world?

What do you want people to get.

Out of it so for.

So the first part of that, I mean, the main thing, you know, I did, of course, want to honor my mom.

That was the main thing.

And I wanted to make sure I did right by her.

And I've had a couple people ask me whether it's just, like, talking to other folks or even just, like, people in passing about how I thought she would feel about it.

And I do genuinely think, you know, she would really enjoy it.

She never actually, my mom was disabled, and she fought cancer, and she ultimately died of cancer.

So I didn't grow up with, like, a quote unquote regular mom in that sense.

So she never got to see me do stand up live.

She saw, like, clips and stuff, but she did get to see me on tv, which was really cool.

And obviously, you know, her being kind of a, you know, redneck lady from Michigan that's like.

That's like the bar for success.

Your son moves to California.

Is he in tv or is he, you know, is he in a movie?

You know, hopefully not smoking crack, doing porn, but, you know, that's adjacent.

And fortunately, it didn't get that low for me.

Came close.

We got real close with some, like, choices, but thankfully, we did all right.

And I got on tv so she could flip between, you know, seeing the same episode of criminal minds and big bang theory, whatever she's watching.

And then she would see me.

She saw me on several episodes of a tv show, which is really cool.

So I think, you know, you know, I know one of my favorite things about this podcast is I think the show gets into kind of the inside baseball of comedy, but like, in a good, meaningful way, not just like work hard and do this.

And I think that's what I really.

Enjoy about the, we stopped telling people to work hard.

Like.

Yeah, if you need to know how to work hard, go to target and get a Walmart gift card.

Like, just like, feel, like, get, like, you know what I mean?

Like, it's gonna be on, it's gonna be on a card.

At this point, you don't need us to tell you to work hard.

But the thing I think about it, you know, for the position that I was at as a comic was to be honest with you, man.

Like, I'm, we're all competitive as comics, but, like, I try to tamper it back because I can be extremely competitive.

And I was just like, for me, kind of not only being in LA, but just kind of like the, you know, the world at large, you know, I wanted to put out a body of work and show people, like, listen, I can do this at a high level.

I don't think I'm by any means great at comedy yet.

I still think I have years off of that.

But the one thing I wanted to prove mostly to myself and others is like, I can put out a really good body of work that's going to be funny from top to bottom, but it's also going to be memorable and be like, oh, man, I remember when, like, Benny, like, did that thing and that was like, I remember when I first put it out there, a bunch of comics commented on it and they're like, they're like, I remember one buddy specifically, he was like, dude, if you land the plane on this, this is actually going to be really, really good.

And I'm like, well, spoiler alert, I did.

So just wait till I drop it because I'm not playing around with this.

Like, yeah, I do.

And you guys can relate to this running material like this at bad bar shows and open mics and the occasional club shows when everybody's trying to be punchy.

And I get it.

I totally get it.

But, like, this is just not that type of thing.

And sometimes it'd be great and sometimes they would look, they were looking at me like I had, like, a dick coming out of my forehead.

You know what I mean?

It was just like, and it's just, and even to the point when I was, like, doing, like, early dry runs of this, I was like, and this is like two or three months out, I'm like, man, if I, if I, if I shoot myself in the foot on this, I have one show and one take to get this, it's, I'm gonna be so frickin in the gutter, you don't even understand.

So I was worried even a couple months out, and then I think, and that was just kind of like, my motivation going in is kind of being able to prove to myself that I was ready to do something like this.

And I think the second part of what you're saying, yoshi, I mean, I think the big takeaway is, but it's not even really so much about you getting invested into me as a comic.

I hope that's obviously a byproduct.

And when we do things like this, of course, selfishly, we want this to in some way, one, you know, some shape or form or another, advance our career, whatever that means to us.

But I do think I would like people, and the feedback I've been getting pretty much across the board and all the platforms is I want to be able to hit people in a certain place in their heart where they're like, you know what?

I'm.

I went through something similar to that.

It was really freaking hard to talk about in the moment.

But as a comic, anytime I'm faced with that sort of stuff, of course I can be serious once time to be serious, but I use jokes and stories to navigate the craziness of watching somebody die or, you know, bad things that happen to you in life.

And I think I.

It can honestly kind of be, like, an undervalued thing about how we present comedy to the marketplace.

I feel like it's a great way to connect with people.

And I think it's deeper than just saying, hey, man, I saw your funny joke about Biden on Instagram, and it's like, that's great if that's how you find me, cool.

But I feel like this is going to create a more lasting relationship because I feel like this allows me to kind of build trust with an audience because I'm going to a place that's hard for a lot of people to talk about.

Grief and death is, like, the hardest stuff to joke about.

I mean, other than the.

Other than grape.

But beyond that, it's like, this is, like, what people don't want to talk about, and they avoid it.

And I think it was really.

It's been really cool to get that experience from talking to people, whether it's, like, in the comments of the DM's about that being their takeaway, because that's exactly what I was going for.

So lets me know I was on the, on the right track for sure.

Yeah.

I mean, I think at the end of the day, your special, I know just starting it, I was like, instantly transformed to the last death that I dealt with and the last funeral that I dealt with.

And I think that's what made it really, really fun to watch, was you took a moment that everyone has experienced and you found a lot of joy for however many minutes your special washing.

And I truly appreciate it.

You're like, oh, not only were you telling stories, you were self deprecating.

You were telling stories about your, your history, her history.

You're growing up, like all those things, and then you're, you also remember, you're also at a funeral, like, and it's just like the, just that element of sort of just bringing it back to your.

And I think for me, it reminded me, I was like, this is how funeral should be.

Like, that's what I, like, really felt, julian.

Like, I mean, I know for me, I've told my wife, I was like, whatever happens to me, we better have a good time.

Like, and yes, I want a lineup.

Like, go through the list, get a lineup of people to either roast me, talk about me, whatever, but I want people to have a good time even in my death.

And so it, like, brought back a lot of, like, just subtle memories of going through people who've died, going through, like, trying to figure out how to, like, feel about it, but ultimately, just the fun that you had.

And you're right, people don't necessarily associate fun and funerals together.

And I think you really accomplished that with the special.

No, I really appreciate you saying that.

And that, that's a, that's a great observation.

And something I haven't really talked about a lot is that's, I think even really the, the overarching takeaway is that when you go to real funerals and it's to be, you know, understood, it's, you know, it's people's highlight reel.

And especially when you're in a church, there's going to be a certain level of respect and just, you're not really going to go for the gusto so much in certain settings now, you know, people have different funerals.

You know, like you said, like, people can have more fun and treat it more like a party, but using this as kind of like, the backdrop of, like, obviously you're looking at the stage and you see the urn and you see the wreath and you see the pictures and I'm in my suit, and it's, the presentation of it is tinged in that one man show way where it's like, hey, this guy's giving a eulogy, but then he's turning it into a stand up show.

And that was the big thing I wanted to.

There was a real funeral, which obviously I touched on the special, but then there's this kind of packaging about all these different things about this person's life and how I felt about it and our family and everything that you're just not going to say in that real kind of setting.

And this was kind of that outlet to be like, no, this is the real deal.

Like, I'm giving you the good, bad, and ugly, and I'm still going to put a bow on it and make sure I show this person the proper love and respect.

But I'm also not going to be fake.

Like, we're going to kind of bring it all together in that way.

So that's a great observation.

Like, that's exactly what I.

What I was going for.

And I think it's why it's connecting to people, because it's like, like you said, like, when you do you think about, like, when you die, like, you don't want some, like, you don't want, like, a bland, like, everybody, you know, standing by the casket and throwing the dirt on and saying, well, that's it.

And you just kind of keep it moving.

It's like, no, like, Yoshi want.

Yoshi wants a lineup.

This needs to be something that would be representative of your life.

And I get a lot of my sense of humor from my mom.

And so I know these were jokes and styles of jokes that she would like.

So, like, if I'm gonna write this, I'm gonna be sarcastic.

I'm gonna be biting, because that's what she liked and that's what we like together.

So I'm hopeful.

I'm glad that you noticed that.

And that's something that I really, really wanted to come across and how I, like, presented this and shot it.

So mission accomplished, dude.

That was.

This is nice.

I just.

Because it's so different.

No one, you know, we talked about, we've talked about specials and just how.

How do you stand out in the sea of all the specials?

And, you know, obviously, the comedy game is changing, but this is so different, dude.

This is so next level, but also so heartfelt.

And I think that's a difference in the comedy game is you brought heart to funny, but you also brought yourself into it.

Right.

And brought like your story into the whole thing.

So very memorable, man.

I big fan of it.

It's also a great writing exercise for to be working towards like a specific topic or theme.

Like, okay, I know I want to do a comedy special about this topic.

So all my writing is in this direction.

So it can help with writer's block maybe, or just I don't know what to write about today.

Well, I know this is the end goal.

I'm writing a special about this one theme or event.

So that may have helped with the writing and overall just remaining productive and online because I can be like, oh, here's a bit.

There's a bit, and be all over the place.

But as I've been more thinking of having the next special being more of a themed special about a specific topic, because I think the first time I talked to Steve Byrne about it is what he said.

That's what he does with all his specials.

He starts with the end and then works backwards.

So seeing you execute this was something very easily not funny, but you making it funny and cathartic for people that watch it.

It's.

Yeah, I don't, I don't know what my question is.

Maybe how did you decide what to add and what to get rid of to help the story arc and still.

Be your writing process to get, for sure.

So a lot of it, a lot of it felt like Beethoven sitting on the floor at the piano feeling for vibrations and dumping buckets of cold water over my head.

Like, dude, like, if you, if you look at my, if you look at my Google, my Google Doc for the actual special, it's like, it's like v five, v six.

You know what I mean?

Because like, it's just like, it's just, it's just chopping wood, carrying water, folding the sword, hammering it, all of that.

And I, you know, to Joel, to your point, I mean, I think I, that's what made it not only interesting but also motivating for me was that I knew that I was going to write this thing, obviously, when I started writing it.

You don't know quite the shape it's going to be in.

You just kind of know the area that you might live in if you're doing it kind of about one central theme or a big theme and then kind of things sort of orbiting around it or whatever.

So that kind of gave me, that kind of gave me the goal.

And then when I also gave myself a, you know, a shooting deadline, I shot this in December of last year.

Also.

I like you know, I like to kind of, you know, be a little bit of a pressure player.

Like, okay, you got a deadline, man.

Like, you can't.

You put the deposit down in theater.

You can't get out of it.

You got a director, you got rented cameras.

You got to do the thing.

Whatever the thing is going to be, you got to do it.

You're, you know, doing hello, my baby, hello, my honey spinning plates figured out so that those kind of two things were big motivating factors.

And then actually writing it, um, I was able to sort of start with the, you know, central stories, and then from there, what I would kind of do is not only work on the flow, but then also get even more granular and then start to work on, like, the punches and, like, the sub punches.

A good thing that I actually.

And you guys will appreciate this.

So when I was kind of rounding third on writing this, a big inspiration for me was the hot breath episode with Maple Gotzi.

And I remember a specific thing that he said.

There you go.

There it is.

Children's claps.

We love it.

And it was a big motivation for me because there's a clip, and I'm sure you can link it in the chat or in the show notes and stuff, but you took a jolly, you clip something.

It was a section, I think, when you're just kind of getting into advice.

And there was one thing that really stuck out to me that was really motivating for how I really filled out these stories and the punches, and it was Nate.

And, of course, I'm butchering and paraphrasing, but Nate said something to the effect of, when you're telling a longer story, the longer that you go without a joke, he said something to the effect of, like, it's like filling a balloon with air or something like that.

And it's like, just kind of you, the more you can kind of, like, punch it up and kind of take people along with you, the less pressure that you have, you have for that kind of big bang at the end of the story.

And that's kind of what I was avoiding with writing this.

So by the time I got to the final material for the special, I felt really good about, okay, there is a cohesive narrative.

There's jokes without, and I felt really good about how things could tie together with callbacks, that sort of thing.

And I did kind of the Louis ck method where I took my strongest bit, and I started with that.

So I think the funniest bit is the one that I start with.

It's the cousin Kathy bit.

So right, right out of the gate, I'm hitting you at a high, and then I'm kind of bringing you down, and then I'm taking you back up the roller coaster slowly but surely to hopefully kind of peek at, you know, sort of peek at the end in that way.

So that was all kind of the part of the process.

And then the urn spots that basically, for those who haven't seen it, I would do joke stories.

And then I go kind of over to the urn, and then I'm sort of reading things and saying things to the urn as if I were saying them to my mom that I wanted to say when she was still here.

To be honest, from pure comic brain, I didn't want to do that at first.

That was my friend Matt who directed it.

That was his influence to push me to add that section of it.

So I wrote those things, but I just wanted to.

I.

At first, I just wanted to keep it strictly jokes and stories.

But I'm so glad that he pushed me to add that because I think that's what kind of adds that sort of interesting and unique sort of tie in about what are we really talking about here and what is the kind of the overall theme.

And I think that also kind of brought viewers back in to the fact that, oh, this is supposed to be at a funeral.

It's not this guy just going willy nilly and just saying a bunch of crazy stuff and then saying, all right, good night.

It brought it all back to, I think, the emotion and the connective tissue of all the stories, rather than just, like, you know, just telling a bunch of jokes and kind of getting out of there.

Would it have worked?

Sure.

But I do think it elevated it to another level to kind of have that element in this with the whole presentation.

And so by the time I got to kind of the final spots, like, you know, I really got it tight.

I really drilled it.

There was nothing from when we shot it that I cut.

Everything that you see in there is what was shot.

The only thing that we edited was, like, the transitions from the jokes to the earn spots to the ending poem and all that stuff.

So I didn't have to cut any material, which was great.

So everything that I did there, we kept.

So, yeah, like, that was really kind of, like, the overall, you know, sort of process of.

Of writing it and, like, kind of like, my experience of, like, how am I going to take this big overarching thing and just get it to its best points and get it, you know, just get it into shape to perform as best as I could.

So just out of curiosity, is this your first special?

Yeah, it's my first one.

Okay.

So when you decided to do a special, did you take any of the material that you already had just as a comedian, or did you think this theme and then said, I'm gonna write around this theme for just this special?

So what was your process of your old jokes versus stuff for this material?

Because I didn't, I guess.

What was your thought process when you thought about doing this special around the, this topic?

And did you take your old stuff and try to smush it in?

Or did you say, I'm just going to write based on this theme and work it out?

And how long you been doing comedy?

So I'm in.

I'm depending on how you count the COVID recess, I am about eight and a half years, nine ish, give or take.

But yoshi, to your question.

So it was kind of a combination of both.

So for the most part, it was all new stuff from scratch.

The only bits that I were kind of considered older bits that I would do kind of standalone that would work well, but I sort of refashioned them for.

This was the bit where I'm talking about going to music school and then the bit where I'm talking about walking in on my parents having sex.

Those had existed, but I had essentially rewrote those and kind of just did them in a way that fit better with the, with the special.

Yeah.

Pretty much everything else was, you know, a year out was like, you know, shoddy versions of what they eventually became and then obviously working them out as best they could.

Because, you know, it's like when it's your first thing and nobody really knows who you are and you have a limited budget and limited resources, you got to kind of, you have to work with the tools that you're given.

So it just took me, it just took a lot of work and a lot of trust in myself to, like, have my instincts to really tighten the writing and all that.

What was the time period between when you thought you were going to shoot it to when you shot it?

Um, probably like a year and a half.

Okay.

Give or take?

Yeah, probably about a year and a half.

So then you worked out all the new stuff within that year and a half?

Yeah.

Really?

Yeah, really.

Within, I would say, like eight months to a year was when I really was like, you know, nose to the grindstone, really working hard on getting all that stuff together.

So that was, that was probably about the timeline.

Yeah.

That's awesome.

Well, we have a question here from Matt Gill, and those of you watching live, please do hit the like button.

Share this on Facebook, on your social media.

Share these live streams as we're doing them so we can get more and more people in here, because we're.

I mean, it's just so real out here.

The hot breath verse.

I was just in Raleigh this weekend and there I met like six people that were like, all like, came to the show just to like, connect and say how helpful the show was.

So let's keep spreading that love.

So the question from McGill, I've been doing twelve open mics a week for three months.

I get the strong impression that open mic comedy is more about standout shock than comedy that kills at a show.

How do you thread that?

Interesting.

Should I do it?

Should I, should I take this one?

Go for it.

Yeah.

Well, first of all, wow, lots of, lots of mics a week.

You've clearly abandoned your whole family and I admire that, to be honest with you.

You're all in.

Here's the thing about open mics.

I don't know where they're at.

Maybe they can put that in the chat.

But open mics, definitely, once you start getting a bit longer in the tooth and stand up, they start to, the diminishing value starts to kick in in terms of what to expect out of them and what you're going to get out of them.

Now, when you're really, really new, great to go to mics, particularly if you're still figuring out your voice or you're still getting comfortable on stage.

I mean, that's not anything you probably haven't heard either from this show or anybody else, but it's definitely true.

I do think, though, once you get to a point where you're secure with some of your writing, particularly if you have like a, a short set that you feel really good about, that, you know, can do well in different types of rooms and you've just worked out a lot.

One thing I would say to be careful of, because it can be deceiving, and I've went through this in spades, is that, you know, you can, you can do stuff in a room full of comics that falls flat, that kills in front of an audience and vice versa.

It's true.

And the, our ears, and it's only just because we've been doing it for a long time.

It's just harder to, it's harder to make us laugh out loud, but it doesn't mean it's not funny what you're saying, because we're just so.

I mean, Joel has apparently volunteered to sit through open mic comedy lately, and he knows it's, it's, it could be hell on wheels, man.

You're listening to a lot of people who are not practitioners of the craft yet, and it can be hard on the ears.

So that's not necessarily a good barometer always of what, what a good joke looks like.

But on the same token, particularly when you're really new, it can also kind of force you to really sharpen your pen in terms of a very specific reference or a very specific way of saying things, which, to his question doesn't necessarily have to be shock value.

It could just be something that is very specific and very observational and funny in that way that's going to, you know, catch people off guard.

Like, that's one of my big goals even still as I'm writing stuff is particularly if just more, I don't know, topical stuff or whatever you want to call it.

What's that thing that I'm going to say or how I'm going to say it that's really going to kind of get people say, oh, I didn't, you know, whether it's like a misdirection or, you know, whatever kind of tactic you're taking, being an open mics kind of helped that because it kind of forces you to think about it in a deeper way.

It can be very easy to get lazy on stage in front of an audience and get people to laugh at just a premise and all that sort of stuff.

But when you are around comics, you do have the opportunity to really sharpen your punchlines, and it just kind of, it just kind of puts the calluses on your hands.

So if you can deal with that, then you know you're going to be better off once you're in front of audiences because you just know, you know, what a room of disapproving people feels like, so it becomes less scary.

So now, again, you have to manage the bad habits you can take away, because you can absolutely take bad habits away from open mics.

But there is that value, I think, particularly as a writer, that forces you, I think, to think a lot more about your jokes.

So by the time you get, you do get to a real audience, you know, you should already be comfortable on stage and have a good idea of how you want to sound and what you want to talk about.

But that's going to be like the extra, especially if you're working that hard.

Like sometimes, listen, we all know comics who go to a zillion friggin mics a week who do not get better at stand up at all.

It is astounding.

And, and if you're going to work that hard, you got to come in.

You got to come into it.

Even with every set about, like, what is that thing?

What is that small thing?

I'm going to get better about me as a comic or about that set.

So hopefully that wasn't too much of a bullet point presentation, but that would be, like, my main takeaway for someone in, in their shoes, for sure.

No, that's, that's solid stuff.

I always tell people, comedians are not real.

We're not real people.

We are different.

We've got some here.

He's not real.

Look at this.

He's a ghost.

My wife was texting me.

I'm sorry.

Yeah, we're not real people.

And so I always say, like, don't use us as the barometer for how your jokes are.

Yes.

Are there times when comedians feedback is good?

Yes, but not 100%.

So if everything's working in a room full of comics, don't believe that it's going to work in a room full of actual people.

You got to test your stuff out in front of real people.

And so.

And you got to find that barometer of, well, I did it at an open mic.

And if you're only going to open mics where there's nothing but comedians, you're doing yourself a disservice.

You got to find real people to actually, like, consume your material.

And so I think it's helpful to get out into the real world.

As I say, yes, it's good if you've got mics with comics, but, man, that combination of comic of mics without comics is good for your soul as well.

But some people only have access to those shows, especially starting out.

So it's making the most of those shows.

Even if it is all comics, it's still not phoning it in.

And why bother?

What does it matter?

But, like, having an intention for that set, what are you gonna get better at at this one set?

And it's a marathon, and it adds up over time, but it really is.

Yeah.

Making the most of each set, regardless of the setting, and performing as if it was a really good show and creating that habit.

Yeah, I just don't want people to get in the habit of thinking that because they've done twelve mics a night for two years, that what they're getting from feedback perspective is real audience members.

When you go to a real mic.

I mean, when you go to a real showcase show, right.

I just think you have to have some combination where the people that have heard your jokes are actually potential audience members.

That's what I mean.

I mean, like, that's reality, right.

And I always warn people.

That's why I think when you get to a point where you're doing a lot of comedy, you gotta travel.

You gotta see if your jokes work in other spaces.

You gotta test your stuff out in different rooms, like, we talk about it.

See if your joke works in an urban room.

See if it works in an alt room.

See, it works in a white room.

See, it works in the latin room.

I think just knowing and feeling like how actual, real people consume your material is so important.

Yes.

If that's the only thing you can get, great.

But I would say try your best to get your jokes said in front of actual, real human beings that are not comedians.

Good stuff.

Yeah.

So just treat each show.

Take each show seriously.

McGill.

Yeah.

You know, if it is all comics, just perform as if it was, like, a real audience and really just start to create that muscle that I'm performing as if this is the show I wish it was.

And I would say this, too.

I would say one of my favorite things about open mics is not being on stage.

It's the stuff of working on your jokes with other comedians that you didn't do on stage.

I think there's so much value that a lot of comics don't have.

Like, take advantage of just asking another comedian that you respect or someone that you, like, want to get their perspective.

Hey, what'd you think about that joke?

I think is such an invaluable aspect that a lot of people don't do.

That I think is very helpful of just know, hey, was that stupid?

Like, not necessarily was that stupid, but, like, what do you think about that material?

Or what do you think about that punchline?

Or, you know, I always tell people, hey, if you got a tag for me, let me know.

Like, I'd appreciate it, for sure.

Yeah, absolutely.

No, that.

That's a.

That's a great point.

I take advantage of that.

You know, I don't go to mics a ton at this point, but when I do, I for sure take advantage of that, because I like to go to rooms where I can be around people that I respect, and particularly when I'm working out, like, brand new stuff.

That's typically when I'm going to.

Not always, but to mics where I can just kind of like, gut check some of the stuff, and I think that's good.

But let me add an addendum to what I was just saying real quick that I wish somebody would have told me when I was first starting, or maybe they did and I had been drinking or something like that.

But, you know, we all make mistakes.

Don't strive to be, especially if you're in a big market, because, like, I already lived here.

So this is where I started.

But, like, if I.

If I had my druthers, I probably would have preferred to start in a smaller market.

But don't strive, particularly if you're still at the pretty much all mic stage.

Don't strive to be the funniest guy in the room.

Strive to be the best version of your voice, because, believe it or not, one of the biggest lies in the stand up business is that hard work is just automatically rewarded.

And it's not.

What is rewarded is the people who can find the best way to connect with an audience.

That's who's rewarded.

So that's why you'll see people who've been doing this for a year or two, and they'll blow up.

And the reason why they've blown up is because they found a specific thing about them, whatever that thing is, that has resonated with an audience at a high level, and they've been able to leverage that, whether it's, like, bigger gigs or people coming out to see them or going on tour, opening or featuring for somebody.

So that's why if you've been doing this for a minute and you're like, I was like, why is that person feature every night?

It's like, it's because they figured out that thing about them doesn't mean that they're taking something away from you.

They're just figuring out that thing about them that works so they can translate that into people wanting to see them.

Like, there are a zillion funny comics out there in every market, but the problem that most of us have is that we're still trying to find our way to.

How do we translate that from being like, man, I really killed at that club spot.

But then, you know, you're kind of going home, and you're like, well, dang, like, what?

What's really happening?

Versus.

Okay, I know I figured this out.

Now, how can I.

How can I get that to connect?

Because at the end of the day, look, man, like, these clubs, these theaters, whatever.

Butts in seats, they want butts in seats.

That's what it comes down to.

However we like to spin cycle it for our own eagles egos.

That's what they want.

And you have to be able to find your way to get to that if you're going to be a professional comedian, because if not, then you're just, you're.

Even if you're doing clubs or Jerry's yuck yuck room or whatever, you're still a hobbyist.

Until we actually get to the point where people, even if it's ten people, people are actually, like, coming out to see you.

So don't get confused with, I'm pounding the mics and doing this with necessarily advancing your abilities, your career, because they're not directly correlated.

So you have to kind of navigate that, too.

But that takes time.

It takes experience.

Shout out to the yuck, yuck hut.

Yep.

There next weekend, I'll send my avails.

Yep, I'll let you veil.

Me and Joel Yoshi opening for Gallagher four.

Yeah, yeah.

Who books that?

Let's get that email.

So we have a question all the way from India.

So we want to make sure we get this one.

All right.

over in India, but the hot breath of verse is strong in India.

We got strong, strong presence over there.

Brush your teeth after this.

Good lord.

Aditya Verma, should a new comic practice the performance and material separately?

Um, well, I'm trying to understand that question.

Get.

I mean, I would.

At first blush, I would say no, because it's all kind of one thing if I'm getting the question right.

I think.

I wonder if it's more like there's some people who say their jokes and then some people who perform their jokes.

Sure.

Okay.

And who sound a little different when they're saying the joke versus when they're actually performing.

Got it.

Okay.

I mean, I would reverse, like, do all the one in the same.

Sorry.

Yeah, no, no, I mean, I would say this if I'm understanding correctly, and I've.

I've run into this as well.

There are, there are things that you write that they could be just on paper, on their face, it could be very funny.

But if you haven't made that sort of, like, like, mind body connection of, like, the.

And I've run into this.

I run into this now with new stuff that I'm working on now.

It's incredibly frustrating, but it makes it fun.

You.

If you can't find that connection about what you're writing versus, like, how you want to perform it or say it, you could be sitting on something that's very funny.

You just have not connected the dots, put the puzzle pieces together to actually make that translate on stage.

So you could be in your mirror right now reciting things that you were just crushing, crushing the stuffed animals.

You know what I mean?

Standing.

Oh.

Applause breaks just for laughs.

Bedroom addition.

You're crushing it.

But then you get on stage and you just, you, you brick like a masonry.

And, you know, because you don't, you haven't made that connection between what you're writing and how you're gonna perform it.

And by the way, it doesn't have to be that hard if you can be natural to who you are and what you're trying to say.

The other thing you also have to reckon with, which is something that I've had to deal with, is, like, as just like a writer, like, I know that I could be, like, in a writer's room writing for other people or like Yoshi, like, you're talking about, like, when you're helping other people tag stuff up.

Like, you can totally help people write stuff that's funny.

But there are, there are plenty of instances where you and another comic could have the same joke.

And it could be equally as funny just as a joke, standalone.

But it could be extremely funny from that person and bomb horribly from you because it doesn't sound or look right coming from you, by the way, that's not code for saying the n word on stage.

I'm just saying when.

It's just awkward sometimes.

And believe me, we see plenty of people in our travels who go for it off the top rope and you're like, no, abort mission.

But, like, that's the thing.

You have, you also have to reckon with, like, I've had, I've had to put jokes to the side or rework them or just say, I gotta put this aside because it's just not gonna work coming from my voice.

And you have to kind of find that way with your audience as well.

So the overall answer, I, for my opinion, feel free to jump in.

But, like, write, do your best to write.

But also, you just, there's no way of knowing until you get away from the stuffed animals and do it for real people.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's when you really know.

Yeah.

He got his answer.

So, yeah, thanks.

Got my answer.

So he's like, he's like, benny, I got my answer two minutes ago and you're still rambling.

Thanks a lot.

I'm going to bed.

no, it's, it's all a process.

Sometimes I figure out the physicality first, and then I'm like, oh, how can I do that voice on existing jokes?

And then other times it's, oh, this church.

The words are working now.

How can I perform it as opposed to just reciting it?

It's.

Yeah, they're all like kind of one and the same, but they all happen at different times.

It's not like it all clicks and you're like, oh, this joke works physically and as written.

It's.

It kind of.

It's an evolution.

Yeah.

I always say you have to know how a joke feels coming out of your body.

Like, you just have to know how it feels as you're saying it and all the things and all the parts and pieces that you want with the joke, you gotta know how it feels coming out.

And I think, yeah, to your point, it's important just to, like, the performance of it is very different than just the written word of it.

And we all sound different.

You know, I've, I've told Joel a bunch of jokes and they haven't worked for him because he's not a nigerian dad.

You know what I mean?

I was like, dude, this perspective is so next level, but it just doesn't work for him.

So more of a south african dad to me.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm definitely an apartheid, for sure.

By the way, by the way, quick extension for the previous question and this one.

And because it's something that I have to remind myself as well when you're writing one of my biggest things and I would shoot myself in the foot a lot is overwriting, putting too many words into a joke or a setup of a joke or even the punch of it.

Leave yourself some space, and it depends what type of performer you are, but leave yourself some space to organically punch up the joke in the moment rather than being like, I wrote it this way and this is how I have to say it because it's on the page.

Like, I even still fight that bad habit of, like, give yourself some breathing room to perform it and just like, let something, because I'm very good about, like, just finding something and just like, saying it.

But I can definitely shoot myself in the foot when I feel like I'm quote unquote too committed to the page, if you will.

And it's like you just have to kind of give yourself a little bit of space, especially when you're only, you're only allowed like five or seven minute sets.

It's so easy to be like, I'm going to cram all these great ideas into five minutes, and then you say one and a half of them, and then you get the light and you're like, shit.

Now your set is all completely disjointed because you're trying to do too much.

So it's like, that was something I've had to kind of tell myself, which I think would be good for those last two questions.

Like, give yourself a little bit of space with your writing because it's going to make you more comfortable and it'll probably make what you're trying to say better because it's just going to feel more natural to whatever your stage presence or Persona is.

I like that.

So let's get to the last few questions here.

We could do a little lightning round.

Yeah, we may go a few minutes over.

We started a few minutes late.

I thought I hit go live, and then eight minutes later, I was like, oh, we're not live yet.

All the problems that has never happened.

Out of all the tech issues, that's a first.

So live from South Africa, thank you for.

It's good to know that Benny Blue brings the best out of you.

So.

Yeah, yeah.

Dubs general called you Benny boom because you were dropping.

Dropping so many gems here.

Oh, yeah.

Benny boom.

So, Zach Newford, what's the craziest place you've ever performed?

And you're in LA, right?

I think that's.

I don't know if we established that.

So you start in LA, but, um.

Yeah, yeah.

What's the craziest place you ever perform there, Benny?

Oh, wow.

Or period.

Even if it's not in LA.

No, yeah, for sure.

For sure.

Yeah.

I'm trying to.

You.

I mean, God knows we perform.

It just people's keats and euros, for God's sake.

I mean, there's everywhere.

I would say that's a little bit of an on the spot question, but I respect it.

I would say the one that kind of comes to mind is I perform.

I had a good set, so thank God this is pre Covid.

I performed at a.

For sure, like, sent, like, straight out of central casting, like, biker bar.

And they were very, like.

They were.

They were giving off strong vibes.

Like, make me.

Make me laugh or you're gonna be.

We're gonna drag you behind our Harley, basically.

Like, that was strong vibes.

Like, like, for sure.

Like, that.

Like, the butterfly knife is, like, in my boot if you say the wrong thing.

And they were like, they.

And, like, they were, like, to the point where, like, I didn't remember the jokes that I was doing.

But I remember.

I remember audible quotes of, like, this dude's crazy, right?

They were enjoying themselves.

When they say, this dude's crazy and they're laughing and slapping the bar.

You're like, all right, I bought myself 15 more minutes to get out of here once this is over.

So, yeah, that was probably, that was probably a place where I was like, if I, if I try to go too roast heavy and they're not on board with me, this could get real hairy real quick.

And it was great.

They actually were a fantastic audience.

Despite the fact that I look like I thought, I thought Arnold was gonna walk in and demand someone's clothes and their bike.

George thoroughgood was going to start playing.

Over the speaker, so it was a Terminator reference.

That is a terminator.

Two reference.

T two.

Oh, t two.

That is when he's naked.

I'm sorry.

Come on.

Edward Furlong from salute your shorts.

Come on.

No, that's it.

Yeah, that's a winner there.

Yeah.

All of y'all will have those shows you just never forget.

So that's definitely a good example there.

And the final question here coming from dubs general.

Oh, this will be a good one.

If you can tell your younger self, comedian, a gym that you know now, what would it be?

And who was your og or someone you looked up to?

Oh, I like that first part for, for my younger self.

Stop wasting time and enjoy the process.

I feel like when we all get into stand up in one way or another, we're trying to, like, we're trying to prove something to ourselves or prove something to other people, and we're trying to get good really fast and blah, blah, blah.

All that stuff you hear.

But the thing that I've learned over time is like, dude, you're not.

You're not on anybody else's scale for success.

I mean, you know, there, there's so, especially being in a market, like, where I am, it definitely can feel like a cattle call.

And sometimes it can feel like it's hard to kind of build community and really get a gauge of, like, where you're at in the scene and, like, how you're really doing.

Like, I know my bad habit is, like, flyer watching.

Like, oh, man, that guy got booked on this.

And it's just, it's that thing that we all do when we're fighting our kind of insecurity about where we stand in this whole racket.

So the main thing, if I were to go back, is be like, yes, I was kind of in the shoes of that first question.

I was doing a ton of mics and all that stuff, but it's like you got to understand when you feel like you're kind of spinning your wheels and what are you really doing to get the most out of your time to get better and then also how you're going to enjoy it.

And then to the second part, kind of a sort of mentor og, my friend to this day, I think he's in Cleveland now.

His name is Quincy Jones.

Not no relation to the, the famed music producer.

I love Quincy Jones, but, yeah, when.

He, well, when he first, when I first started, he was one of the first comics that I met and actually, like, really talked to me about stand up.

And this was when, and which I guess he's still technically battling cancer, but for those who don't know, he actually did an HBO special, and he was able to raise money and get a production team, you know, together.

And he did a really cool special for HBO, which I'm sure you can find on Max.

It's called Burning Light.

And I was there.

I was there at the taping, and he was kind of one of those, it was definitely subconscious.

I didn't really think about it too much.

I was writing the special, but he was one of those guys where it's like, it was definitely kind of one of those, like, take this seriously, respect the craft.

But also there is going to be an element of, like, when you're doing this, like, you know, effort go for, you know, what you want to go for.

And a lot of people were, you know, talking crap behind his back and saying, oh, did he, did he really have cancer?

And all this sort of stuff, and he, he was really, really hard working and he, he deserved, yeah, like, he deserved to actually have that platform because he was really funny and he put in the work as a comic and he didn't let anybody around kind of, like, sway him to be like, oh, my, am I, am I really deserving of this opportunity?

Am I ready?

And, and he kind of put on, you know, blinders and tunnel vision and he, he did the thing and it was great.

So that was one person.

Yeah.

And that was, one person was just like, oh, man.

Like, people, people.

You can actually, there's not, for all of us, there's not going to be too many, but there are that handful of comics that we can, like, really lean on and be like, I get it, man.

You just started.

You got, you got, you got a ways to go.

But, like, this is what, this is where I think you could, this is why I think you could be, and I think this is what you could focus on.

And someone like Quincy was like, definitely someone in my corner early who was, like, really valuable to just kind of like, talk shop with, but not like, in a annoying, desperate kind of way.

Like, it was like, oh, this is, like, really enriching and, like, motivating.

So there you go.

Yeah.

He's such a good person.

I'm so glad you brought his name up because he's from here, he's from Georgia, and when he was doing about to do the special, he came down here to, like, do the run of those shows, so.

Yeah, yeah.

He's such a good person, such a good soul.

But that's awesome.

Yeah, it's such a blast.

Really, really focus on what you can control.

You know, that's the thing.

That's what it comes down to.

Not worrying about who's on what flyer where and all of that that we can all get caught up in.

Yeah.

Just focusing on what you can control is gonna lead you everywhere you need to be.

But we did just get a super chat, so I think we do have one.

Whoa, is that like, onlyfans adjacent?

What are we.

What are we doing?

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's exactly what it is.

Yeah, yeah.

We only fanning for comedy right here.

Funny.

Only fans.

That's off for this one.

What do we.

YouTube is telling me this is their 10th super chat that they've sent us.

Thank you so much, McGill.

McGill knows the game.

They know that if they do a super chat, the question gets answered.

So all three of us will be able to split $5.03 ways.

I will tell my wife when she gets home from work.

You don't have to go back to work tomorrow, honey.

We got a super cup.

Licking some cream, baby.

Thanks, Miguel.

Hilarious.

So, McGill asked, do you think open mics will naturally lead to showcases or is there extra effort necessary?

There's extra.

There's extra effort necessary, for sure.

Because now you're talking about.

Now you're talking about kind of what I had referenced and we sort of talked about earlier with, like, the.

What you consider, like, the linear path of success in comedy, where if you were to kind of break this down into a series of steps, I think, for how most people look at it, which, again, is relevant, but it's not going to be like, kind of what, like Joel was saying about your own path.

Like, it's not going to be a, B, C, D, e.

It's not.

It's never going to work like that.

But from the stage that you're at, it's for sure going to be open mics.

I don't know what market that you're in, but if you're getting hit with your fair share, bring your show is probably going to be part of the game.

Thankfully, I move past bring your shows pretty quickly, but there can be value, particularly if you just need real shows because, you know, they can be real shows.

Granted, you can either be, you know, the toast of the town or get, get, you know, pepper sprayed for not bringing enough people.

It's kind of dealer's choice there, but you figure that out.

But if you're talking about like, legit showcases, particularly at clubs now, like, you have to do the mics at clubs that are going to be like in front of like the booker or people producing shows because that's who's going to see you.

You just have to be in those rooms where people are actually going to see you and book that which, you know, some, depending on your town, they may be going to.

If it's not a big market and there's only like, you know, three or four open mics available in town, chances are that cross pollination is already going to be there.

But if it's not, then you probably have to, you actually have to go to those rooms to be seen by those people.

So that would, I think would be the answer to that is like, you, you do have to put in that extra effort because really, and I've still faced this to this day, it's just, it's nothing.

It's never as simple as working hard and being funny.

It's never that simple.

You do have to be, have an element of shaking hands and kissing babies and it's part of the game.

Not my favorite thing to do, but it is a necessary evil if, depending on what type of opportunities you're trying to get and if you're trying to get into clubs and get into showcases, that is 100% a Facetime.

Yes, be funny in front of them, but you also have to, you know, hey, how you doing?

Not be a creep, be personable, be professional, and you can usually get at least one opportunity from that.

So there you go.

Even going to, like, if there's a showcase you want to be on, just going and watching that showcase.

Yes.

Being around the big.

Yeah, being around, introducing yourself to the host.

Hey, I'm so and so.

I'm a local comic.

I'm a big fan of what you're doing here and even, what's the, I'm curious what the booking process is.

Or what's the best way to contact you about maybe performing in the future?

That goes a long way.

And even when you're at open mics, it's like being nice to the other comics, complimenting.

If you're a fan of a comic, you know, go compliment their set.

Get a conversation going, because you never know.

They may be like, oh, you're top of mind.

Actually, I have a showcase next week.

Would you be interested or.

I know, so and so.

Like, just being around and more sociable, even at these open mics, it's all comics.

I just.

Still networking can help you to get on those showcases faster as well, which is something I did not do as intentionally early on that I may be more.

I would be more intentional about in hindsight, but it all worked out.

But, yeah, that's very valuable.

Being around is valuable.

Absolutely.

Whoo, man, we did it.

$1, please.

Which, after fees, it's gonna, like, negative $0.37.

So maybe not.

Yeah.

Hey, guys, make sure you send me your venmo so I can get you that.

So you can charge it on your taxes for next year as well.

Yo, how many advice on the schedule?

C.

Yeah.

Oh, my God.

But, yeah, I know.

We talked about ten, ninety nine s.

I'm not surprised.

Are we doing this?

Are we doing this?

Am I gonna report this?

I think I am now.

You know, there's a.

There's a kind of theme of question that kind of popped up about people not living in a scene with a lot of shows or struggling to balance a busy work life with getting on stage.

I don't know, Benny, if you have any points of view on that kind of struggle.

No, for sure.

In many ways, I actually envy those people, because when you're in, particularly when you're in, and, you know, I'm sure every major comedy market has their own version of this, but I think it's particularly true in a place like LA.

When you're in a place like here, you don't really have a lot of opportunity to fail.

And in terms of, like, the consequences of failure, because obviously, failing is a part of stand up, but the consequences of failure in a place like this are much greater, particularly when you're given certain opportunities and you want to be able to rise the occasion.

And I'm more so speaking, like, when you're first starting out.

So what I kind of envy about comics that are in smaller markets is that right off the bat, you're going to have more opportunity to do longer time.

When you do go to open mics, it's funny.

And I'm sure you guys noticed this from, like, you know, being around the country.

A lot of, I don't know what it is, but a lot of, like, shows are marketed as open mics.

Like, they call them open mics, but then when you show up, it's like an actual show.

I'm like, there's like, there's like, 150 people here, and you're calling this weird that's billed like that in, like, in, like, smaller places.

So, and the other thing, too is, like, when you're, when you're in a smaller market, there's more of a direct pipeline to opportunities to, like, open or host or feature for, like, a bigger comic that's coming into town versus, like, when you're in a place, like, here, it's like, well, they're, you know, they're at the improv or they're at the comedy store, the laugh factory, working something out.

So it's not, you don't have that same kind of, like, visibility to, like, you're really fighting upstream with a lot of other people to kind of get seen and have that opportunity.

So even though it may feel like you, you have less opportunity, you can actually maximize that more.

And I actually think it's, I actually think it's a better place to start.

Like, if I had to, quote unquote, do it over, I would have much rather started in, like, maybe not like a small town, but, like, a smaller city, because I think that would have kind of gave me an opportunity to get better in a way where, yes, I could have some good opportunities, but I would have been able to kind of, I don't know, fail in obscurity a little bit more than, as opposed to being in a place like this that has much more of a spotlight.

And I, you know, it's just a lot more competitive.

That's not to say that, you know, I'm not confident in my abilities and can't rise, you know, rise to the occasion, but it's just like, everything is just higher stakes when you're starting in a place like this because there's just so many people trying to compete for those, those limited opportunities.

Whereas if you're, you know, you're in, you know, whatever, like Bloomington, Indiana, I mean, you can, you can get good there, but then it can be much more noticeable when you're good there.

So then you can understand when, okay, I've been doing this for a few years.

I'm really crushing it in this market.

Maybe it is time for me to move to Chicago or this place where it kind of makes sense for you to elevate.

And that's the other thing.

It's like if you're in the midwest or the south, as opposed to the west coast, where we do have travel opportunities, kind of like, I'm from Michigan.

Like, people, my comic friends are in Michigan.

It's like they can bop around from, like, I'm going down to Indiana, I'm going to Ohio.

And they can go, they can go all these places wherever.

They can do spots at clubs and get paid.

They can get kind of, like, bigger opportunities, but they can do it in a way where it's like, it's not as, like, consequential to the people in LA and New York, where it's like they're the twelve Mike a night guy and they're really grinders.

It's like, it's okay if you have a family and other stuff going on.

I just think it kind of gives you more opportunity to care about those opportunities more because even though they might seem fewer and more far between, I do think you can get a lot more out of that chance to be in front of people for 15 or 20 minutes at a clip.

Even if you don't necessarily feel ready, it's still good batting practice.

And if you bomb, the world's not going to end.

You're not going to be in front of the booker of all the improvs across the country.

Like, damn it, I blew my shot.

It's like, dude, you're in fricking Toledo, Ohio.

You're going to be fine.

You're going to live another day.

So, yeah, and get creative.

You can produce your own show if you're in a small town.

And also, is there like a karaoke night?

Is there a music, open mic?

Different places.

They're already doing live entertainment.

You could maybe squeeze on, like, I mean, I've done stand up at karaoke nights before and was like, do you mind if I do some time?

And they're always open to it.

People love comedy, so, yeah, get creative if you're in a smaller town and seek to find your own opportunities and creating your own show or connecting with comics and other cities, you can then travel to.

But speaking of chicken, Joe clark just said, I just signed my first w nine for comedy, and I'm so stoked.

This show has definitely helped me.

Yeah, when you get from chicken fingers to w nine s, that's next level, baby.

Yeah.

That's how you know you're on the right path.

Yeah.

And benny, thank you so much.

Well, one, I'm just, I'm just over the moon that you even enjoy this show and now you're on here and that you dropped such a impactful special.

I mean, I, I love where comedy is headed.

And you really pushing it forward with taking the format and kind of making it your own, which I think is the future of comedy.

And all of us trying to create our own opportunities.

Whoa.

What do I wish existed now?

Let's go have it exist on our terms.

And you did that and you knocked it out of the park.

So the, the special is live for my mother's funeral.

It's available on Benny's YouTube channel.

I will definitely link it in the show notes, and I linked it in the live chat as well for people.

And Benny, is there anything else we can help promote or anything else you'd like to say while you're orbiting the hot breath verse?

Listen, big, big hot breath guy, huge fan of the show.

It was a true honor and a pleasure to, to be on here.

I mean, talking, talking some shop, talking about the special.

I greatly appreciate it.

And yeah, I mean, shameless plugs.

Like, you know, like Joel said, it's on my YouTube.

Best place to find me.

Bennybueis.net dot.

You know, you can find all my socials.

You can listen, you know, if you care to the special on Spotify, apple music and yeah, man, if you enjoy it, give it a, like, give it, you know, give it a supportive comment.

You know, it would mean a lot.

And yeah, hopefully people dig it.

And slowly but surely I can, I can find, I can find the people that are into, into what I'm doing.

So I appreciate you giving me the platform to push it out there.

Talk the brethren and sister.

And so there you go.

Of course.

Well, thank you, everyone, for hanging out during this live stream.

eastern Standard Time.

We're going live to be your weekly comedy tune up, so.

Absolutely.

And don't forget we're also releasing the Yoshi special at the end of the month.

People have been asking, oh, buried the lead.

Come on, man.

No, no, we wanted to talk about you, Betty special.

We were gonna release it last, last, like last Monday and I, but after, honestly, it's been after.

We've been talking to people about specials.

We were like, man, we got to do this thing right, and we sort of just doing a lot of marketing behind it.

Getting the trailer right, getting the thumbnails right, and all these things.

So, like, stuff that we're like, I think it's important that we do that.

And so, yeah, we will release it at the end of the month.

October 28 is the date.

All right.

We'll do a live premiere on our YouTube channel and everything.

I'm following you.

I'm sharing it in the story.

Come on, Mandy.

We gotta.

We gotta get.

We gotta get it out there.

Yes.

I love it.

Specials?

Absolutely.

It's happening.

It's happening.

Yep.

So mark the calendars, kids, and join our email list, where you'll get updates on that and our weekly livestreams and much more.

Boom.

But until next Tuesday, we'll see y'all next week on hot breath.

Bye, y'all.

Hot breathe.