I’ll Regret This
“What was I thinking?” That is the phrase that I use every time I see footage of myself from more than a couple of months ago. (There are even times that I use that phrase while listening to my sets later the same night.) Judging my past work using my current level of knowledge and experience is an exercise in frustration. Of course I am not a fan of what I’ve done. It was poorly timed, poorly written, poorly performed, or some combination of all three. However, it got me to where I am today. And where I am today is standing at the beginning of a project that will, one day, leave me regretting the final product.
I don’t think I’m alone in this view of the path that I have walked. George Carlin shares a similar lament about his own work in Last Words (which I wrote about two weeks ago). Letting the knowledge that “I’ll regret this” control my decision making, however, is not an option. Instead it simply becomes a lesson in forgiving myself for my mistakes and remembering that I (hopefully) did my absolute best at the time. Easier said than done.
At the end of August (specifically August 26 to 28), I’ll be appearing at Calgary Yuk Yuk’s, and using those sets to create my first comedy album. I’m considering this a “beta project” – one to get my feet wet and help me to learn what works in this format and what doesn’t. The final product will be sold by donation (you could download it for free if you like) through my website and I’ll make up a couple of hard copies for my public shows. My personal goal is to reach a 30 minute long recording, which will allow me to keep some material for live-shows only.
Many details have to be taken care of before then. Not the least of which is selecting which material to perform and working to refine it in limited stage times between now and then (it’s a remarkably slow summer for comedy). My most recent challenge has been to put a structure and arc on the whole show/recording. So far, I’ve had some success with this and think that I’m close to getting that figured out. Then it will be on to the logistics which will include figuring out the recording equipment, getting some graphic design done, creating the pay-by-donation system and download site, and making sure that there is a good audience in the club each night.
I’ll have more posts online as the process continues. For now, put a note in your calendar for August 26 to 28 here in Calgary. I’m hoping to “stack” the audience a bit to get the best taping.
Finally, you may be wondering, “What will the album be called?” I could think of no title more fitting than: I’ll Regret This.
