Incredible stuff!!! Inspires me to make things happen and chase my dreams…

Just saw the announcement a few days ago… Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will release a new album, and begin a World Tour in 2012.

Now, I know none of you (except Erin) know me, but this is a big deal for me. Nothing inspires me more as a person, and a performer than seeing The Boss live in concert. The trick this time around will be finding a way to afford to see as many shows on the tour as I’d like. One of these days, I swear I am going to make it to Dublin to see him live! That is my ultimate goal!

Anyway, most or all of you may not be excited about this news…but it really got me pumped up…can’t wait to experience it all first hand!

I was on KIK, but it caused some issues with my phone, so I hd to un-install it. I hope to reconnect to it soon though

Sitting at home having a glass of red wine. I should be writing new material…maybe sending emails to clubs trying to fill my schedule for 2012. But, I have decided, that since I have busted my ass for so much of this year, I am going to give myself a few days to slow the pace a bit.

I am working this weekend…hopefully, I will get to see Erin at one of my shows! It’s been way too long since I’ve seen her, so I can’t wait!

I agree, I think she is absolutely amazing! Thanks for following me!

friends laughing

Here’s a commercial I did for US Water Systems…check it out.

I’m one of the luckiest guys I know. I am one of the few people who can say that I am following my dream every day.

As early as 7th grade, I can remember a buddy in one of my classes asking me what I was going to do when I grew up. Without batting an eye I said “I’m going to be a comedian”. Now, at that point in my life, I had no idea what that even meant. I knew that when I watched comedians on Carson that they made me laugh. I had started buying comedy albums (yes, vinyl) with any money that I had saved. George Carlin, Richard Pryor, etc.

One comedy album that stood out was by a guy who I had never heard of: Kip Adotta “I Hope I’m Not Out Of Line”. This album came along a few years later…I was probably a freshman in high school. I had won this album at the local town-carnival that we had every summer where I grew up. I had no idea who Kip Adotta was, but that album made me laugh….hard! My buddy, Harold Mundy and I memorized that album from beginning to end. In fact, I bet today I could still recite many of those jokes.

My friend Bruce Dunn and I started going to comedy show at Clowes Hall on the Butler Campus. Bruce’s mom was very cool and would drive us anywhere we needed to go. I will always be grateful to her for that!

By the time I graduated high school, I had seen George Carlin twice, Dana Carvey, Kevin Nealon and Dennis Miller on an SNL package tour, Louie Anderson and Roseanne Barr when they toured together, Robert Klein, and Sam Kinison twice. This was all before I was 18 years old. There were so many others that just have slipped my mind.

In the early 90s (I don’t remember which year) I saw George Carlin perform in the State Theater in Anderson, IN for $10.00. Then in 2004 I got to stand on that very same stage and perform at the State Theater opening for John Fox. Carlin had nearly a packed house…we had a crowd of 700. But it was still incredible to be performing on the same spot where I had watched one of my idols perform only a few years before. Goosebumps.

I wonder how often somebody finds themselves part of a fraternity that they idolized during their formative years. It has to be a low percentage. There are so many kids that, when asked what they want to be when they grow up, say they want to be a baseball player or a fireman, etc. I wonder how many of those kids get to where they wanted to be.

I bet a kid never says “I want to have an office job where I stare at a cubicle wall every day, doing my best to avoid any contact with my boss so that I can just go home at 5 and see my family or have a beer with my friends.” I’m gonna guess that percentage is even lower. But which of the two happens with more frequency? It’s really a shame.

So, I’m not telling you that I am living my dream in an attempt to brag or make anyone else second-guess their decisions or where they are in life. I’m stating it because I want everyone to know that it is possible.

Being a comedian has been my dream since I first sneaked down the hallway at night and eavesdropped on my parents watching the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. I started working in Corporate America in 1987 and didn’t start doing stand up for over 10 years after that. I didn’t start doing it full time with no job to support me until 2011.

So, maybe you aren’t living your dreams now…but the truth is; you still can! I hope you all find a way.