So I recently watched "Comedian", an independent documentary following the likes of Jerry Seinfeld after the hit TV show became syndicated and he made gobillions of dollars. Everyone wanted to know what he would do next... He started over doing stand-up using all new material going back to clubs in New York. Awesome...
If you haven't watched this movie then I would highly recommend you do so... especially if you are having trouble with your identity, job, happiness, life etc. etc. etc. if you are reading this then I will go ahead and tell you that YOU DO in fact fall in this category.
Fascinating thoughts from a guy who's made millions and been on stage a lot of his adult life. The movie also follows another comic,"Orny Adams" I think that was his name. Who, like Jerry, is trying his hand at stand-up, but is completely miserable. Mainly because he is too caught up in wanting fame and fortune to enjoy what he does. It's a really great parallel.
Jerry talks about watching some construction workers in New York "trudging" back to work after their lunch break. He talks about how ridiculous it is of him to complain about the difficulty of working the crowd, starting over with new material, and becoming a comic again when he's been doing and getting paid to do what he loves all the while the construction guys hate what they do.
The amazing thing when watching this movie is seeing this amazingly talented comedian sweat off stage and be nervous about coming out with new material and also watching him laugh and make fun of this other young guy (orny) who is completely miserable while HIS new career is just starting to take off.
Thinking about that makes me have a little bit more pride about playing at "Churches" - HA - By the way - Playing at church for me as much as I love being a part of the "worship" band (we are pretty damn good - probably the best band I have played in by far) and with a killer singer/songwriter... it's kind of like winning the special Olympics to a degree - please don't misunderstand me - I think you know what I'm getting at...
Anyways - chew on that!
