Every time I check my e-mail....there they are. The invitations to do bringer shows. I can be seen by the top person at club xyz or the top top guy at the best talent booking agency if I bring 4 or 6 or 10 or yes even 25......the balls of that last one,to see me perform. I know many people in NJ but they need a passport to go into the city to see me. If its a week night forget it. They would love to see me but.... I'm not worth missing the Apprentice, or Survivor and hiring a babysitter for there 15 year old....uggg. Not to sound ungrateful many of them have come to see me, at great expense I might add. Between gas, tolls, dinner, sitters, and cover and drinks....you know. It feels like a recital. I cant ask again. Unfortunately many of the bringers I have done have offered false promises. Really only one I did that required 10 people was worth it. It was at Gotham for Jessica Kirson, I did it for the tape. The booker offered no promises she couldn't keep. But I will say it was a fantastic show. Full of really good talent new and top draw. But Im tapped out. Im ready to join a few 12 step programs in the city just to meet new local people. "Hi, Im Robin it been 3 months since my last bringger". So now day after day.....they arrive in my email in- box to mock me. Bringer emails " Ha! No one will see you, you will never get a chance to perform for the booker, producer, agent (real or imagined ).....HA HA HA HA ( insert evil laugh sound) you have no more FRIENDS. Bring me the witches broom.........or 6 people...dont have either...to bad.... Now go back to your open Mic in Jersey. We have 200 people enrolled in comedy classes all over the city and surrounding areas who soon will graduate and we will use them to fill our rooms.....NOT YOU.....HA HA HA HA HA HA"
Comments are below
YOU GOT IT
Posted on 05/04/2005 at 07:25 PM by Charles s. Smith
I know what you mean Robin i Hate Bringer shows too.
The Great Irony of Bringers...
Posted on 05/05/2005 at 10:45 AM by Greg Manuel
Growing up, I NEVER had 10 friends all at one time. That was one of several reasons WHY I became a comic. Now I go to get some stage time, whaddayou need? 10 friends.
You ever get the feeling like there's a creative bottleneck nowadays? Seems like every generation of artists BEFORE this one had a much easier time breaking into wherever...it's not just me, is it?
There's a certain logic to it....
Posted on 05/05/2005 at 11:01 AM by Chris McDevitt
And it comes from the Music Industry... No matter how wildly talented an artist is. Very few are actually discovered. You have to put in the paces and pay your dues. One of which, aside from honing your craft, is to build up your own, completely independent local following.
It's almost impossible for ANY BAND no matter how awesome they are, to be signed to a major record label without at least having a faithful following in their home town, state, area, etc. Bringers are the halfway point of this in comedy. Start a mailing list, get a website, get out there, promote yourself. It doesn't just have to be friends, fill the seats with people from Myspace, or let your friends set you up on all those 'blind dates' with their 'personable' friends from work on a night when you have a show.
Bringers suck but they're a necessary Evil. I'll be performing at a 3-person Bringer at the Comedy Cellar on Friday the 13th. And if I can't get three people, I'll pay for strangers to see the show and their drinks. I've done it before. The cellar costs me about 50-70 bucks everytime I go into the city. But I like the room.
WE all agree that bringer's suck, but they're a necessary evil, and while you may never meet the booker, or an agent at a bringer, you may meet a comic who can help you down the road. It's all about networking. At least that's my take on it. Networking, building a fanbase, and lazy promoters :)
Bringers...
Posted on 05/05/2005 at 11:45 AM by Sean O'Connor
A bringer has helped me not only create a kick-ass tape but actually get a call back with VH1 so I mean not all is lost. There are certain bringers that I would rank over other ones. Then there are the bringers that you might as well be doing stand up on a street corner and this way no one's paying 8 dollars for a splash of jack in their coke. OH I DON'T KNOW.... NEW YORK COMEDY CLUB!!!!
Thats what kills me
Posted on 05/06/2005 at 12:40 PM by Robin Fox
I know that there are many wonderful opportunities out there. And Chris is right you do need to network. Thats why it kills me. I have a huge network of friends but the biggest problem I face is that they refuse to come out on a week night to the city. In the 80s there were no bringers... And there were half as many clubs and they were opened only on the weekends. Bringers have become a way of NYC comedy life. I envy you Sean that you can find people during the week. You are getting the necessary exposure. You are also showing the clubs that you have some kind of following. I do the shows in NJ on weekends and always have 4-6 people who want to see me. Then when I do pile 4-6 people into the Mommy van to make sure they show up at a NYC show. It is so frustrating when what was promised is not there. When the booker isnt even in the room. So for now its local one nighters, barking and road work... we do what we have to do.
Fuck Bringers
Posted on 05/06/2005 at 01:01 PM by Morgan Gold
I gave up doing bringers back in the fall. It was the best move I could have made. I got sick of that weird parasitical feeling that you get when you've got to convince family and friends to show up and pay a $10 cover and fill a two drink minimum. Worrying that somebody won't show up and you'll be short of your required five people. It's all bullshit.
Bringers started only after club owners realized that they could shirk some of their responsibility and make the comics responsible for making the audience show up. Ken Pringle wrote a great article on Chuckle Monkey about the whole thing. http://wwww.chucklemonkey.com/Newsroom/Riffing100104.htm
I'm with you, Robin. I go from one crappy bar to another playing local shows in all sorts of assbackwards parts of CT and Western Mass. I sit outside, barking (thank God it's spring time). I hit up as many open mics as possible.
And I think I'm a better comic for it.
Its grueling....
Posted on 05/06/2005 at 02:12 PM by Robin Fox
Thanks Morgan.... I did read that article on chuckelmonkey it is excellent. Yet I have to say I have seen some of my good friends get tremendous breaks by doing these shows. I cant help but feel envious...I am happy for them. Yet Id be lying if I said I get sad because I know by my set of circumstances I will not get the chances they will. But all is not lost. Lorrie Kilmartin and a sweet funny guy named Logan both gave me great advice. Lorrie said...Just get funnier thats all you can do. And Logan said.... If you consistantly Kill and do well they eventually cant deny you, your in. Those 2 thoughts are what keep me going. What else can I do?? Its all I have control of. If that.
Posted on 05/06/2005 at 04:46 PM by Sean Harvey
If you don't do bringer shows at a decent club, how do you eventually get to perform legitimately at said club?
Open mikes are good for stage time and comfort, but only four or five other open mikers will see your stuff. How on Earth would you ever get booked at any club by performing in front of nobody?
My question is, where is the leap from having to do a dreaded "bringer show", or even more dreaded open-mic, to performing at a comedy club, legitimately?
What is the sound of one hand clapping???
Posted on 05/07/2005 at 01:18 AM by Robin Fox
That is an excellent question. My solution has been to do the audition at the Comic Strip...where hopefully if you got what it takes you pass. I also have come in the finals of three really great contests. One which got me passed at a Sal's Comedy Hole, The Ladies of Laughter Contest where I was a semi-finalist. I got a few really great gigs off of that. I also by word of mouth and a strong recommendation by a top comic a guest spot at a club outside of Philly where I got passed. I also do shows at 88 keys which I was booked at by knowing the bookers who are great comedy pals. I got several guest spots at Porkeys in NJ and do paid spots as a feature there now. I guess the answer is you just get funnier and when they need someone who they know can "Get the job done" you get the work. I still have a long long way to go. Sure I would love to be on rotation at a Major NYC club...but it wont just happen because I have 4-10 people willing to come out to see me. Even then You have to have the "goods". I hopefully when the right opportunity comes to do a bringer that will give me a shot at the next level I will have built up the following or really can convince my friends to come on out. That my friend is the big question. Till then all I can do is work on getting funnier.
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