Stand-up comedy is an intense art form. In the last four years it has taken over my life physically and emotionally, and I've loved every second of it. It's full of ups and downs, being in the right place at the right time, split second decisions, and making your own luck with hard work.

            August, 2011 was definitely a rollercoaster ride, which is horrible for someone with motion sickness. You know what else is horrible when you have motion sickness? Tourette Syndrome.

 Within one week I got first place in the Xbox Kinect Comedy Festival, I didn't get asked to be on Russell Simmons Presents Live at the El Rey for Comedy Central, I headlined my first weekend in LA, and I had a great showcase for Lopez Tonight, but unfortunately it was recently cancelled.

            A week after all of this news, I was disappointed in missing out on both TV debut opportunities. I had to get out of the house and knew that Bobcat Goldthwait was performing at Flappers in Burbank. I've been following his career for years, so I was pretty excited about finally getting to see him live. I arrived at the club ready to be an audience member for the first time in a while, and got asked if I wanted to do a ten minute set before him because he didn't bring an opener. I said yes immediately. I honestly don't know if he would've let me go on, had he initially known what my act was about. The first thing he said on stage was "who the (insert lots of dirty language) would have a guy with Tourette Syndrome open for me?" He followed it with "Nice job kid. Tourette is a good hook, but you can stop the act now." I thought he was hilarious, and the crowd loved him. After the show he had nothing but kind things to say. He was one of the nicest people I've met, and it was an honor sharing the stage with him.

As if performing with Bobcat wasn't cool enough, sitting in the back of the room happened to be Ray William Johnson (aka "The Youtube King"), Katers17, Cory Williams, and Steve Greene. They're all youtube sensations and were there to interview Bobcat after the show. After I got off stage, RWJ (his show =3 has the most subscribers on youtube) came up and asked if they could interview me as well. I was completely overwhelmed and very thankful that they enjoyed my performance enough to put me on the same interview with Bobcat. Within a week of the interview being posted (check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXmQ5JUCjVE) I went from 4 subscribers to 11,000 plus and counting. They gave my career a huge boost and put me on a worldwide scale. I was in the top 100 most subscribed in Australia, Canada, Sweden, South Africa and the USA last week. I've been consistently posting videos every Thursday since the interview buzz (subscribe to my channel http://www.youtube.com/user/samueljcomroe?feature=mhee) and trying my best to take advantage of this incredible opportunity.

I told my Dad "I got lucky that I was just in the right place at the right time" and he responded "yeah, but you made your own luck with hard work and preparation for the last four years."

I'm just sitting here in my bubble bath, masticating on some Big League Chew and taking in the last month.
We've done it again America! We made it past the Rapture, Judy Moody and The Not Bummer Summer, and Carmageddon. What agonizing pain do you plan on putting us through next world? Grocery Stores everywhere are going to run out of Lean Pockets? Vitamin Water actually has zero signs of vitamins in it? The US Women's soccer team will get close to winning the World Cup, but Japan will score in the 81st minute and end up winning in a penalty shootout? Dogs will start turning on their owners, because they'll finally realize that "man's best friend" is not dog, it's Xbox? Brett Michaels is actually a robot, because a real person doesn't contain the proper amount of creativity to come up with "Every Rose Has Its Thorn?"
SJC TIP #1 - Insult yourself before anyone else can! "Hey Sam, we get it. You enjoy writing stupid lists as an attempt to milk a joke. You've done it in almost every blog. Get a new method." "Well, that was rude, but accurate."
The majority of interesting and exciting news this month came on one day in particular...July 14th. I had three showcases and I was lucky enough to have them all at the same location (Flappers in Burbank).
The first showcase was put on by Microsoft. It was an Xbox Kinect Comedy Contest, where they created 15 avatars for 15 comedians, and we each got 90 seconds to perform. It began at 12:30pm, which is usually a horrible time for stand-up comedy. People seem to hate breakfast foods and comedy, which is awful news for me, because I'm planning on taping my HBO Special at the local IHOP. There was a huge camera crew in the main room of the club, and they set it up like a TV taping. The audience ended up being incredible. They sat through the full taping and gave the comedians a lot of energy. It was hilarious to be performing and then look at the monitor and see my avatar doing my act. Every time I twitched, my avatar would open its mouth in a fish-like motion. I ended my set by saying "even my avatar looks pissed, because I gave him Tourette Syndrome." It was one of the coolest experiences of my comedy career and I think it has great potential to be the next big thing. I honestly thought that all of the comedians did really well, and the entire process gave me a lot more respect for the 3-minute open mic. Microsoft will choose the top 6 this week, and then the public gets to vote for the winner! 1st place gets an Xbox, Xbox Kinect, and their video will be distributed to millions via youtube.
The second showcase was callbacks for Comedy Central's Russell Simmon's Presents Stand-Up at the El Rey. I was selected to go first in that line-up and the room was packed. I felt very confident about my set and just brought as much energy as I could. The most memorable part of the showcase was the fact that I got to perform with a lot of comedians who I've been looking up to for quite some time.
The third and final showcase of the day was for Lopez Tonight. I was the host and did my best to keep the energy high throughout the evening. A lot of the audience was industry, and they all seemed to have a lot of fun. I'll keep everyone updated on any results I find out within the next few weeks

           I found out a few weeks ago that I wasn't chosen to be a part of the 2011 Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival. I made it to the Final Showcase, but didn't have what they were looking for this year. I was pretty upset at first, but if you can't handle rejection, then the following are probably not for you: the entertainment industry, speed dating, telemarketing, dating in general, being a Mormon, and college (or at least that's what I told my parents, but in reality you can't get rejected if you don't apply). I was extremely fortunate to make it as far as I did, and this experience has definitely motivated me to work harder for next year.
         When one door closes, another door is really easy to break into, because the homeowners are focused on the first door. That was a very silly way of letting you know that I also had some success in the month of June, and I understand that saying it was very silly makes it less silly, but I don't enjoy confusing my readers. Last week I got to showcase for the second season of Comedy Central's Russell Simmons Presents Stand-Up at the El Rey. The show was hosted by the hilarious James Davis who introduced me as "that white guy you let play basketball with you, because he's just that good" and later called me the "Dirk Nowitzki of comedy." The line-up was jam-packed with talent (Tony Baker, Sydney Castillo, Maronzio Vance, Dov Davidoff, David Arnold, Leslie Jones, Jasper Redd). It was a privilege sharing the stage with these comedians who continue to inspire me. I'd like to thank Amber Bickham for this incredible opportunity. I'll make sure to keep you updated, and let you know if I get asked for a Callback in next month's blog!
           I also have a showcase for Lopez Tonight on July 14th and I'll be Headlining at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank on August 5th and 6th (8pm AND 10pm shows both nights). A wise man once said "go to flapperscomedy.com and purchase tickets immediately." This was actually just a drunk at the bar, but I still believe we should listen to him. You're not going to want to miss this! I plan on thrusting at the audience for the first 42min, and telling jokes for a hot 3min. If that isn't enough to intrigue you, I will also be wearing tear away pants...you're welcome.

I don't know about you guys, but on May 21st at 6:01pm I set off fireworks in a JC Penny, a giant Slim Jim piñata fell from the ceiling in honor of Macho Man, I started tackling old people in Burbank out of excitement (they tackled me back, so it was fair), I asked the pet store for 101 Dalmatians (they gave me three), and I hired an all Tourette Syndrome hip hop group to follow me around and sing their hit song "I Got 99 Problems, but a Twitch Ain't One." At 6:02pm I was kicked out of the Mall.
This past month has been full of great news; I won the first round of the Laugh Factory Fresh Faces contest and they put my video up on youtube. It racked up 50,000 plus hits in a week and got some really nice feedback. Check it out and spread the word http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjGdow6gcUk
Last week I entered the LA Contest at The Ice House Comedy Club. 72 comedians were chosen to compete from Sunday through Tuesday, and the Finals took place on Wednesday night. The top 3 out of all 72 comedians won a spot in the 2011 Boston Comedy Festival in November, and first place also received $2,500. The contest was judged by bookers from Conan, Lopez Tonight, Chelsea Lately, The Montreal Comedy Festival, and many top comedy agents. I made it to the Finals, had a great set, and took first place! The entire experience was fantastic. I got to perform with some of the most talented comedians in LA, and received a lot of valuable advice from some of the top industry. Huge thanks to the Ice House and Jim and Helen McCue for putting this entire event together!

IT TAKES LESS THAN 30 SECONDS...FO REALZ!

Go to http://laughfactory.com/contests/FreshFaces/voting and vote for my video all the way through April 15th! You can vote once a day!

Just click the link above...click my video...click VOTE. It's that easy!

Also, copy and paste the link to your twitter, facebook, email, etc...and tell your friends to vote for me too. I'm trying to get to 2,000 plus votes as a personal goal.

Thanks a lot!

...I said "vote" a lot of times in this blog...

It's been an incredible 2011 in comedy, and it's only February! The first Just For Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival Showcase went really well, and I got asked to callbacks (the second round of showcases) last night at The Comedy Store in Hollywood. I had the privilege of performing with some very talented comedians, including Tony Baker and Mal Hall. Everyone rocked the stage, and now it's just a waiting game. We should get emails letting us know who made it into the festival within the next month. You'll know if I made it, because you'll see lots of illegal fireworks in the sky, followed by my high-pitched unicorn giggles. Also, I'll most likely blog about it.

I found out last week that I'll be Headlining my first weekend in LA on August 5th and 6th (8pm & 10pm both nights) at Flappers Comedy Club (102 East Magnolia, Burbank, CA). I know it's far in advance, but that just means there shouldn't be any reason why I don't see you there! For some reason I'm still anticipating some excuses "Oh I thought you meant August, 2015...", "I was at Yogurtland all weekend", "I was taking care of my pet chinchilla farm from exactly 8pm-12am both evenings." Go to flapperscomedy.com and get your tickets now! Unless you'll be at Yogurtland...then get Blueberry Madness. It's scrumptious!

Finally...the big event has arrived! Tomorrow I leave for St Louis to Showcase at NACA Nationals with the NBC Stand-up For Diversity Tour. I've been trying to figure out what to pack all day in order to look as delicious as possible (delicious is an adjective that makes some people uncomfortable, which is probably the main reason I chose to use it). Velcro light-up shoes (check), lime green jumpsuit with turtle-neck option (check), animal print jeggings (double check). I've heard nothing but amazing things about this event, and can't wait to finally experience it. Spending time with wonderful people and performing stand-up comedy; life doesn't get much better.

The year has just started, and I'm already taking some big steps to make it a memorable one.

I was announced as one of the top 6 in The NBC Stand-up For Diversity Search and will be going on tour with them throughout 2011 (our first stop is the NACA Nationals Showcase Feb 19-22 at The Convention Center in St Louis), I was also chosen to write the Blogs on http://www.diversecitynbc.com/blog/ for 2011, I got to perform for the first time in Las Vegas for an entire week at The Four Queens Casino, I opened for the hilarious Rudy Moreno in Madera, CA on Jan 28 & 29 (Shout-out to Philip Medina for promoting the hell out of both shows and getting 370 people in seats each night), I showcased for the Just For Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival for the first time and did so well that they invited me to the callbacks (Feb 17th at The Comedy Store Belly Room on Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, CA), and I became a regular at The World Famous Laugh Factory and will be making my debut for their "Fresh Faces" show on March 23rd! All this and it's only February!

Things are really starting to pick up, and like I said, I'll be touring this year with NBC so make sure to catch me in LA when you can! I'm at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank EVERY Wed at 10pm AND I'll be there Feb 25 & 26 performing with the incredible Vanessa Graddick and Baron Vaughn from Comedy Central and HBO. DON'T MISS IT!

Thanks for all the support you've shown me so far, and I'll keep everyone updated on what happens next!

In September, I drove up to San Francisco to audition for The NBC Stand-up For Diversity Showcase with some of my comedy fam (Ralph Guerra, Chaz Rodgers, and Tony Baker). They held the auditions in 3 different cities (San Francisco, San Antonio, and New York), and were taking the first 100 comedians that showed up. Out of the 100 that auditioned in San Fran, 12 of us made it to The Semi Finals (including Tony Baker and myself).
We've been waiting a few months, and a couple days ago got an email with the good news! Tony Baker and I will be performing in The NBC Showcase FINALS on December 8th in The Hollywood Comedy Store Main Room at 8pm! A lot of great things have happened to comics from this Showcase, and I'm extremely excited just to be a part of it.

Thanks everyone for all of the non-stop support you've shown me...it truly means everything, and I wouldn't be so motivated without it.
I'll keep ya posted on how it goes!

...and they're doin ma booty all kinda of goodness!

Samuel J Comroe

p.s- Thank you Reebok

Thank you so much El Paso for being so good to me! I had an amazing time, and I appreciated all of the love and support I got from the fans, the staff, and the Comic Strips club owner Bart Reed. I couldn't have been treated better, and I can't wait to go back.

Also, a big shout-out to the Host S3 and Headliner Mike Robles for rockin the stage! Can't wait to work with you guys again.

Livin&Lovin Comedy