The Spesh is Out
I’m glad I stuck with this thing. I’ve done comedy for 13 years, and the comedy scene in the PNW is thriving. I’m just some comedian in Eugene that doesn’t book a ton of shows, who’s never lived in a major market, and never had the opportunity to really grow in one of those big, bustling, potential-filled comedy landscapes. I’ve always been part of DIY scenes. We’ve done comedy in bars, outside of bars, on train cars, in basements, and wherever else someone can chuck a microphone. Because comedy happens in random ass places for a lot of people. But it happens everywhere. And it can be pretty fun (or awful). And that’s part of what I wanted to capture with this thing.
I’m not some big comedian with a bunch of credits and achievements. I’m just some guy who has told jokes for as long as I have been able to. I don’t really plan on stopping, and I’m constantly writing and performing new stuff, and I wanted a place for some of my jokes to live. I’m kinda silly, kinda hacky, kinda genuine. And that’s this special. (I made it myself but I’m just calling it a special.) I hope, if you watch it, you find something to giggle at. It shouldn’t be too hard.
But the point of the night wasn’t even the special, honestly. The point of the evening (2.17.23) was to: 1) put on a show on my 13th comedy anniversary, 2) have that show be fun for the people in attendance, and 3) record that show. So yes, I wanted to make something, but once I had confirmed the team who would be filming (Travis and John, to whom I’m eternally grateful), I kind of just focused on the production and preparation of the show.
As an independent comedian who produced his own show in front of a bunch of people he knew, I sold something like 100 presale tickets. We had to turn people away at the door (thanks, Angie and Logan). People typically paid five or ten bucks. Most of the tickets I sold in face to face interactions with people who came to my shows or mics before the big show, or online, or whatever. Some people I knew. Many I didn’t.
But I do comedy in my hometown, and there was a place that I absolutely loved and wanted to honor (the legendary Luckey’s), and I haven’t seen a comedy special with a comedian in their hometown quite like this. Heck, I wrote a TV show about this very thing during the pandemic, so I figured I’d just make the comedy special itself. I dunno. Maybe I’m a psycho. Ha. You kinda gotta be, though.
With this show, I did about twenty different jobs. As long as I’ve done comedy, I’ve also produced comedy, and my skills as a producer have probably outstripped my skills as a comedian. But I don’t have the heart to give comedy up. I couldn’t do it. To focus on what? Producing? I’m good at that, but it sure doesn’t bring the same thrill as performing at your favorite venue or working out a new bit.
But I know what it takes to put on a great show. And I wanted to challenge myself by producing, promoting, and headlining a show celebrating the comedy communities I’ve been a part of. I’ve seen so many great headlining sets from some of the world’s best comedians up close for some 10 or more years, and I’m lucky that I’ve been able to dip my toes into longer sets as well. Lives! In Eugene isn’t 65 minutes of bangers, but it’s 65 minutes of relatively entertaining standup (hopefully). The people there that night stayed throughout the entire two hour show. My friend Kyle Kinane came to the show. A lot of people even told me they had a good time.
Have you ever seen a bad movie? Well, even if you enjoyed it, this special is that bad movie. Now you might say, “Oh, Rudy, don’t be so hard on yourself. I liked it!” Yeah, okay, thanks Mom. But what I mean is it’s just a little thing. It’s pretty much one guy, writing and editing and working and promoting and wrangling and performing and working and writing and selling and performing and emailing and confirming and moving chairs and hosting and so many things all at once. So, if I looked kind of haggard in the special, it’s because I was tired as hell. If some of the jokes seem half-baked, it’s because I probably got to perform them a quarter of the number of times I would’ve liked to leading up to the special. If things seem a little disjointed, it’s because I was doing a dozen jobs at once, many of them for the first time. And that’s okay. They got done. I think.
And you know, the fact that I stuck with this thing as long as I did and completed it is a minor miracle. I went into much of this in my post on Mental Health and My Special, but after I filmed this I got fired from my day job (first ever firing), got diagnosed with depression and ADHD (at just under 40 - fun!), and edited about half of this thing on my own, all in the last three months or so. It’s been…something. But I never thought about stopping. Not really. Not sure why. I think it’s because I just wanted to make something.
I wanted to make a little time capsule of comedy that night. In my hometown, at one of my favorite places, with many of my favorite people. I just wanted to make something. Because so often we talk about doing something, and we do nothing, or life happens and plans change, and we do something else. And what else am I gonna do? Wait for something to happen for me in Eugene? Of course not. That’s kinda the joke. Pack up and move to a big city? Not really an option at this point.
I’m sure some things I’ve done throughout this process have been dumb or shortsighted or naive or thoughtless or damning, but I dunno man. It’s not worth waiting to me. I’m not about to move or get some big shot or something. But I do comedy and I have the chance to share some of it. So I’m doing that. I could croak tomorrow, and I’m glad I spit up this thing before it choked me.
So I do what I can where I can. At this point, it’s my hometown of Eugene. I don’t know what I could be if I’d have moved to a place to focus more on comedy, but I’m glad I didn’t wait to find out.
I hope the blood, (armpit) sweat, and tears come through in Lives! In Eugene. At the end of the day, I do have a lot to be excited about living here. Family, cats, friends, community, comedy, allergies. It’s great. It’s great. It’s great.
I hope you enjoy Rudy Tyburczy - Lives! In Eugene. I’m definitely trying to.
