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writing things again

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:05:00 +0000

I am currently out west working with comedian Andy Haynes and futurologist Scott Moran on some new science experiments. Andy and myself will be in Vancouver this weekend and then starting a road trip to San Francisco where we will be taking part in the San Francisco Comedy Competition. Wish us luck. In the meantime here is something I'm working on. My good friends Hugo and Erin Biggar are in need of some financial help for their son Jonah. Since 3 days old he has been diagnosed with multi-cycstic displastic kidney. He has been in and out of doctors offices since this disease was diagnosed and now is the time for him to finally have his left kidney removed. The medical bills over the past 3 years have piled up for the family and they need to raise 5000 dollars in order to get the initial tests paid before the surgery. If anyone is interested in making any sort of a donation to this cause, be it 1 dollar or higher, everything is welcome. I can provide more info if you want to email me at rory.scovel@gmail.com

NOWHERE

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:21:00 +0000

Andy Haynes and I have posted our new web series on youtube. Up right now is the trailer and episode one. These will probably be monthly episodes. Please send a request to rory.scovel@gmail.com if you want to be on the mass email about updates on this web series. It will only be a once a month email letting you know that a new episode is posted. Please check it out and let us know what you think. NOWHERE

For those yet to audition.

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:45:00 +0000

I just walked out of my 8:30 am audition for Season 6 of Last Comic Standing. It was the most awkward experience. Going into the audition I had reservations. I wasn't sure I wanted to be on a reality contest show that greatly misrepresents what its really like to be a comic and struggle to become a full time working comic. I've thought about this a million times leading up to today. Do I want to be on a show like this? I know that I don't decide if I get to be on the show or not but still I didn't know if I would be happy if I were selected. People say that being on a show like that can be great exposure and help get you booked at clubs around the country as a feature and sometimes even a headliner. This point in the game seems to be the weirdest spot. You don't make enough money working comedy throughout the year but yet still can't hold a permanent 9-5 because when you do get a call from a club you have to go. You have no health insurance or extra cash in your pocket ever. You just have to hope that the shows and auditions you go out for are the right moves to help your career. So what do you do when you get the chance to audition for a show you aren't that excited about. Do comics lose respect for you because you are trying to win a contest to gain exposure? I have no clue. The main problem for me is that all the elements that make up this show aren't reflective of what you actually need to do or learn as a performer. I walked up to Gotham Comedy Club at 8 am. I had a booked audition for 8:30am. As I approached the club I noticed that there was a line of comics that was a block and a half long. People had been waiting for hours, spending the night on the sidewalk, just to get inside and showcase their comedy for 2 minutes. Who do they showcase for? The first audition round is in front of 2 producers of the show. I don't know these people. I don't know their names or their backgrounds. One was a an older woman and the other was an older man. I walked on stage around 8:40. I walked up to the microphone, stated my name and began my first joke. About 10 seconds or so into my first joke I realized that these two people had yet to look up and acknowledge my presence. They were discussing something and looking down at some papers. Perhaps it was my polaroid headshot that they took in the lobby or the meaningless personal info I had to fill out. Very warm and inviting posture. The one gentleman has a look on his face like you are about to take his only daughter on her first ever date and he has a time machine and already knows that later you end up touching her boobs and videotaping it for myspace pornography. This is how he stares at you before he even knows how funny you may or may not be. COMEDY. The fact that he is a judge is a joke within itself. Now keep in mind as I write this. I'm not angry that I wasn't selected for this show. I had reservations going in and honestly was on a fence about the whole thing. I just don't like the process. You go into a room with 4000 cameras and 2 people with angry faces. Thats worse that performing at an empty open mic in the middle of nowhere. I did 4 jokes and I knew as I did each one of them that I wasn't actually performing them or giving any life to them at all. I sounded like I was reading off someone elses jokes from a sheet of paper that I'd never seen before. So not being selected for this show is fine by me. I didn't give them much to cheer for. After a minute and fifteen I think, I stopped performing. The woman said that I had well written material but guessed that I wasn't performing it the way I normally do. She pointed out that it was 8:30am and a bit weird and I said it was weird and there is noone in here. However what I wish I would have said was "sir, perhaps you could sit up and force a fucking look of delight as we get up here and perform our material for you. There is a block and a half of people outside (which I already felt like a dick for getting to go straight into the club) waiting to come in here and perform, the least you could do is actually show some gratitude for their time and their effort. Without any of us, you don't have a show at all." I didn't say that on stage nor in my postperformance interview. I wish I would have said that though. Oh well. For anyone that is auditioning today or later this month, do not let those two people ruin your own vibe and energy. They aren't comics and in my opinion they aren't an audience either. Stare right through them and do what you do.

new trailer for new webseries

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 23:41:00 +0000

check it. HERE

Congratulations

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:14:00 +0000

are in order for one Mr. Mark Ramirez. Last night he was able to clear the song "orange crush" by R.E.M. on Rockband. Big deal you say. Well he did it playing the drums and guitar simultaneously on easy. He is a superhuman and you should all look to him when you realize the end is near. He will have the answer. He does hold the key.

Beauty Bar

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 15:12:00 +0000

This is a great show on Sunday nights in Manhattan. Check it out if you are ever in the area. Vince Averill and Jesse Popp do a great job of booking very funny up and coming comedians. The show is free and starts at 9pm.

here is stuff

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:06:00 +0000

Thank you to everyone that came out to the Christmas shows in Greenville a few weeks ago. We raised over 1200 dollars for Clement's Kindness. Jay and I appreciate the support we get from our hometown and we hope to keep bringing you guys great comedy throughout the year. I'm going to be heading out west for a 2 weeks run. If you are in the following areas please come out and check out a show. Pasco 1/24-1/26, Spokane 1/27, Sun Peaks 1/30, Nelson 1/31, Klamath Falls, OR 2/1 or Santa Cruz 2/3. I know you will need to know locations but just email me if you actually read this and are in those areas and I'll give you more info. Or go to my myspace.com/roryscovel calendar and check out details there. Hope you're all well and having a great 08.

New Charity for Christmas Show

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 20:17:00 +0000

After a dispute with the Susan G. Komen people over the R-Rating for our Christmas Show this year, we thought it best to find a new charity. Thanks to Bern Dupree (a friend of mine from Greenville) we will be donating 50 percent of our ticket sales to "Clement's Kindness". Here is a bit about the charity... "Clement's Kindness Fund for the Children was established at the Community Foundation of Greenville to help address the medical, psychological, social, emotional, and financial needs of Upstate families impacted by pediatric cancer and other serious blood disorders. The fund provides assistance to families facing the tremendous challenges surrounding a child's diagnosis, treatment, and recovery." Please go HERE to find out more details about Clement's Kindness. Tickets are still on sale at the Warehouse Theater for our 7pm and 9:30pm shows on Thursday December 20th.

Watch this now

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:49:00 +0000

Amazing guitar legend Woody Quinn (also from the amazing city of Greenville, SC (sister city to Bergamo, Italy)) just sent this to me. It should be watched by all. Let your heart soak it in and then slowly put a warm blanket over it.

Christmas Show 2007

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:24:00 +0000

Jay Hastings and myself will perform in Greenville, SC on 12/20. This year our event will be a bit different. There will be 2 shows this year instead of one and our venue will be The Warehouse Theater in the West End. Also this year we will be donating half of each ticket to the Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure" Foundation. Shows will be at 7pm and 9:30pm. Each will be about an hour and a half. Tickets are currently on sale for $20.00 with $10.00 of each ticket going towards the charity. There will only be 184 seats available for each show so if you intend to come out and support the charity and live comedy please reserve your tickets asap. Last year we had 400 people come out to support the show so don't wait to reserve. The easiest way to reserve tickets is to call the box office at (864) 235-6948. The theater will also be serving drinks before and during each show. Prices are very low with beer at only $2 and wine at only $4. Doors will open at 6:00pm for the 7:00pm show and the lobby bar will be open to all 9:30pm ticket holders at 8:30pm.

Canadian Money

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:44:00 +0000

So right now the Canadian dollar is worth more than the US dollar. This turn happened just as I was entering into Canada for my tour. The Canadian dollar has not been worth more than the US dollar for a really really really long time. I remember last year when I deposited all my checks from the tour the conversion sucked. Depositing 1000.00 dollars canadian became 940 US or something like that. Bank of America was sure to examine the checks and tell me the checks were in Canadian dollar amount. They did not let this slip. However now that the US dollar is down Bank of America has told me that my checks are in US dollar amount and not Canadian. This despite the fact that the checks do not say USD and are clearly from a Canadian company. I just went to convert 460 dollars Canadian cash which comes to 477 US cash. The Bank of America teller told me the conversion was only 458 dollars. I don't usually write blogs on stuff like this and I am fully aware that people could probably care less what the exchange rate is right now as it doesn't effect them in any way. Im just shocked that this can actually happen. A bank can decide what the exchange rate will be? After depositing all my checks that I have saved over a month and a half its the difference of me getting 200 dollars taken from me by my Bank that dollars honor currency from around the globe and its exact value.

Just fishing

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 20:29:00 +0000

Myself and Jay are trying to book a show in Charleston and/or Charlotte for this upcoming Christmas. We've performed in Greenville the past 2 holiday seasons and we are going to be doing a 3rd show as well this year. We thought we'd try to get one or two extra shows in either Charleston and/or Charlotte leading up to the Christmas show in Greenville. Our only problem is getting a venue. At this point we are testing the local interest. Anything that lends itself to becoming a good performance venue is fine by us. Bars with karaoke setups, lights are actually plenty to get the show underway. We know we have a good amount of friends in Charleston who would probably support a big show. We just can't seem to nail down a venue thats interested in having us do standup for 1.5 hours. If anyone has any suggestions please contact us. We have a few weeks here to get something together but we want to jump on something quality right away.

a few shows in DC

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 00:25:00 +0000

On Wednesday December 5th I'll be doing a 30 minute set at Dr. Dremos in Clarendon. Also on this show are my best buds Jay Hastings, Jon Mumma and Kojo Mante. Please come out and support this weekly open mic. Especially on this night. On Friday and Saturday December 7 and 8, I will be headlining the Hyatt in Bethesda. Please come out and check out the shows if you're around. I'm not sure who else is on the Hyatt shows.

hola

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 23:51:00 +0000

A few things... The third installment of the apartment is up now. Head to this link to see it...(insert link here) I'm going to be performing for 3 more weekends in Canada. I'm excited about the upcoming weeks of work and cutting more episodes of "The Apartment" (six total). I'm also really excited about getting back to Hoboken. Just announced. Jay Hastings and myself will be performing this Christmas in Greenville, SC. We've done a Christmas show in Greenville for the past 2 years and this will be our third one. We're both really curious to see if people in Greenville find this event to be something they want annually. We're willing to keep doing it if people are interested in it. This years show will be at The Warehouse Theater on Thursday December 20th at 9pm. I don't know if tickets are on sale but there will probably be about 200 to 250 seats for this show. Doors open at 7:30 and the drink prices at the theater are very low. Definitely come out early for that. In fact come out as early as this announcement is coming out for the show. Here is a picture of the drive back from Cranbrook to Calgary...

Webisodes

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:56:00 +0000

My Canadian comedy buddy Casey Corbin and I have decided to put a webisode together while we are in Calgary. Its called "The Apartment". Episode one is already on youtube here. Please check it out and let us know what you think. The entire season will be 5 episodes and we are working on all five over the course of this week. Episode 2 should come out this Wednesday. Thanks for checking it out.

Upcoming Somethings

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 04:23:00 +0000

Hello all. Jay and I are currently attempting to set up a show or two in SC for this upcoming Christmas holiday. Unfortunately this year we won't be performing at the Handlebar but we are seeing if we can get something to happen at the Warehouse Theater again. There is a chance we will be doing a show in Charleston about a week or week and a half before Christmas. Speaking of the Handlebar...If you are around Greenville on 11/16, check out Todd Barry. He is an amazing comic and definitely deserves the attention of many. Go check it out, I promise you won't be disappointed.

Another blogpost?

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 08:50:00 +0000

Thats right. Lucky you. Another blogpost. Here we go. So today I woke up around noon and joined Andy Haynes for a lovely morning ride across Seattle, over to Capitol Hill. There we went for a coffee and exchanged ho hummeries. Then I was informed he was going to get lunch with his girlfriend and I couldn't play the 3rd wheel. The shit really did hit the fan. I threw my cup of coffee right into his face cause I thought it would be funny. Turns out the coffee was way hotter than I predicted. He starts screaming for dear life yelling out "it burns, oh fuck this burns." Meanwhile the rest of the coffee shop sees whats going on and they love it. They think we're some sort of 2 man street act that just got to town and wanted to test out our new material. They are having a rip roarin good time and I decide to start passing out DVDs of my standup. Andy is in deep tears on the couch, trying to regain sight when bam Shock G walks into the coffee shop. He was carrying a keytar and a bad attitude and boy did it really get the room jumping. Andy was doing is best to dial an ambulance on his laptop cell phone but he still couldn't see straight and wasn't getting very far. I thought to myself, "well, we do have the time while Andy recovers...Shock G, do you wanna play a jam with me real fast?" Of course he says yes cause I'm standing there with a smile the size of smiles in Texas and just looking scrumptious. We start off with a slow jam and the crowd starts coming to their senses. We clearly aren't a 2 man road show. We're clearly a 3 man circus. Thats right. They all start crowding around me and Shock and just start snapping pics with camera phones and cameras and just phones without cameras. It was unreal. After our 5th encore, the people refused to leave without letting us take their money. We did, lots of it. Andy's share is probably going towards some sort of facial reconstructive surgery. I'm probably gonna put mine down on a laptop. Shock told me he was going to buy a robe for me. I told him thats foolish, thats his money, he should take the robe. Well one thing leads to another and suddenly we're fighting it out like ninjas in the parking lot. He does not see a decline of offer as a nice gesture. He is pissed that I would deny his kindness. We're both there in tight hipster jeans and no shirts. He has 3 bandanas and I'm wearing a backwards Cleveland hat. Not a particular team just a hat that reminds people that Cleveland exists. We each have a sword and by now a rather large crowd has gathered around us. Just before I take my first swing in his direction...poof...he turns into Humpty Hump and everyone starts dancing. He's pegging me in the face with confetti and everyone is having the laugh of the night. Andy comes running outside with a huge smile on his face and he's removed his fake Andy face and everyone realizes he never was hurt by the coffee, thanks to Latex. I turn to Shock G and we hug just to show that the previous ninja battle was merely our closing sketch. The three of us take hands and bow to the gracious audience. I've never felt like this before in my life. The road really is awesome. Seriously, this is what the road is like.

gone again

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 12:07:00 +0000

tomorrow i leave for another 2.5 month adventure. Its hard to believe that it was just a year ago that I took this exact same trip. Time flies. Not really sure where it goes. I am excited to see old friends from Seattle and Canada. I'm really hoping to learn as much this tour as I did last year as well. For all the people that sent me well wishes, I appreciate it. I will see you all very soon. Just remember one thing..."Don't stop..."

Free show this Monday and VOTE or DIE

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 12:00:00 +0000

If you were unable to make it out on the 13th of this month for the greatest comedy show in history, guess what? You get another chance to be my friend. This Monday 8/27 at Sound Fix Records in Brooklyn we are doing our 2nd installment of "Free Comedy". We are also going to be giving away free smiles to the first 15 audience members. In other news... Dawan Owens, former DC comic now LA comic, is doing a contest through Comedy Central and you can vote for him. Go HERE and cast your vote for DAWAN OWENS immediately. You are allowed to vote once a day. So get in the habit of logging on everyday and clicking DAWAN.

To the West Coast

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 16:15:00 +0000

Hello Jon Mumma and Danny Rouhier and sometimes Ryan Conner. The only 3 people that read my blog. I could have just emailed you guys all the great things that are happening in my life but then realized if I don't go on my blog and say "noone reads this" then noone will leave a comment and say that they do. Without that comment I can't raise my self-esteem to get me through another week of new material that has little to no hope of being the foundation to a successful career. I am heading to Seattle on 8/29 to participate in the Bumbershoot Festival. I am really excited about this. I watched many shows last year with comic legends Andy Haynes and Scott Moran. This year we all 3 are appearing in the festival on the local's stage being headed up by People's Republik of Komedy. I love them. Here is a link to the Bumbershoot site for info and tickets. I will be appearing in a number of shows in Seattle after the festival. On the 20th of September I am off to Vancouver for the comedy festival there. I am really excited about this as many of the comics in the festival are the reasons I got into comedy in the first place. Here is a link to the festival. When the festival ends I am off to do the Yuk Yuks Western tour for the 2nd year in a row. This year will be a bigger challenge as I've been given the opportunity to co-headline many of the shows I'm doing. It will be great to see all the comics I met last year and catch up on how our Summer Fantasy Hockey Teams are doing. New York City so far has been a great place to live. There is a lot going on here but getting stagetime isn't the easiest venture. Granted I haven't put forth the necessary effort to gain any time but when I return from Canada I hope to really push myself to network and attend more shows as a fan of comedy and not just a jealous performer forced to sit in the back.

Blarberspittzles

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:19:00 +0000

Transformers, blah blah blah. Whatever, I'm over it. I heard that this movie would change my life. It hasn't. I do want to own a robot now, thats the only difference from who I used to be. Show tonight at Sound Fix Records in Brooklyn. I am the emcee for a show filled with awesome talent. Be sure to come out and check out the awesomeness that will grace the stage. Here is the address: 110 Bedford Ave in Brooklyn. L train to the Bedford stop. The show will start at 8PM. ABSOLUTELY FREE

Diana Pappas

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 18:31:00 +0000

if you get a second please take a look at my links page. The very last link is Diana Pappas. She is an amazing photographer that I met in Hoboken recently. I was smooth enough to talk her into a pro bono shoot and the pics are absolutely incredible. They aren't available for viewing in full but a few are on her link. Also she has tons of other projects on there and they are all amazing. Please take a sec and admire the amazing photography of Diana Pappas. She is going to be a megahuge-superstar one day and you can already begin admiring her work. Hope you enjoy it. Leave her a comment and let her know what you think.

Live at Gotham

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 18:50:00 +0000

Andy LoPresto has added my portion of the Live at Gotham episode to my website. I believe there is a link on the homepage and the video section. Be sure to check it out. Gracias. There are still a few tickets available for the Warehouse show in Greenville SC, one week from today. Please come and check it out if you can. We are going to be recording the show for a DVD that will be available in the early Fall. Please support this awesomeness. If you can't, we are performing the very next night as well at the Fiddler off Augusta Rd in Greenville, SC at 10pm.

ONE WEEK

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 22:52:00 +0000

In one week I'll be performing at the Warehouse Theater in Greenville, SC. Tickets are still available at the box office, please check the number in the previous blog for reservation info. Then we'll be performing again on Saturday night at the Fiddler on Augusta Rd. in Greenville, SC. We are really experimenting with trying 2 shows in 2 nights in Greenville. Please come out and support the show and the Rory Scovel Make a Wish Foundation.

Just announced

noreply@blogger.com (rory scovel) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 16:17:00 +0000

The tickets for the 8/3 show at the Warehouse Theater in Greenville, SC are now on sale through the box office. The only way to purchase in advance is to physically go to the box office at 37 Augusta Street, Greenville, SC 29601 or call the box office at 864-235-6948 or even email them at tix@warehousetheatre.com. There are about 100 seats available for this 8/3 8pm show. If this show sells out in advance, they will add a 2nd show for 10:30pm. Im not sure how ticket numbers will actually be but I do recommend purchasing in advance for the simple fact that the show may sell out. Here is the website for the warehouse theater.