HeadSpill

Heady times, Saturdays show was full, and it really was a belter, best one yet. My dad came to see it, which was pretty important to me, as did my girlfriend Bron. Bron’s upset that she’s not in it, and it honestly didn’t occur to me in the edit the way it turned out, but the truth is she spurred me on to do the show and runs through it like letters in a stick of rock.

You can tell it’s a good one when the hour just flys by and the cheer at the end drowned out the last few lines, but it didn’t seem to matter. Yesterday I made a fiver on the door, today I was into three figures of donation, the crowd really do vote with their pocket, (even if on other days they’ve been somewhat tight). I never made eye contact with my dad for fear of getting a bit emotional, there’s bits in the show that are pretty close, and I’m sure he remembers that they were utterly unfunny at the time. I may be doing the free fringe, but doing this show, a show in a sea of shows that are sexy and trendy and all topics populist. My little hour about growing up with eczema, being a geek and smiling through it is really one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in my whole comedy career.

Casualty
Saw my first comics death on saturday night too, I was closing the gig and the first act did 20 minutes of what went past stage death, into therapy, and out the other end where he was sweating so profusely I thought osmosis would take place.

Phonebooth
Edinburgh had another one of it’s instant downpours and I ran to take refuge in a phone box, just as I got their another chap had the same idea and we both squashed together as strangers in the cover. Unfortunetly the door had been ripped off and I had to wedge it in front of the exposed door frame giving the whole incident a survivalist overtone of man against the elements. We talked about the festival awkwardly and halfway through clunky conversation, and with him being quite taller than me, I noticed I small bogey sticking out of his left nostril which I couldn’t take my eyes off. He noticed my staring which made it more awkward. Eventually the rain ease and we went on our way with a firm handshake. I can’t remember his name, I lost the flyer, but I’ll never forget where I was for 3 minutes on Sun 10th August.

It’s saturday and I’m a bit stressed. On Thursday I was a Santa, for Jason Cook’s show, along with Lee Fenwick. The last time I dressed as Santa for Jas was with Lee at the Soup Xmas show in Newcastle back in 2004, ah the memories. Thursdays show rocked, last nights show was a bit quiet and it didn’t help that I was knackered. Been taking on lots of extra gigs, I’ve done I an outdoor stage, a show called ‘comedy for kids’, and a mc’ed a midnight show all on the same day, which, after a previous night on the man-pop, left me drained before I even went on for my own show. It was fine, but I felt like I was under performing. The lesson there is ‘pace yourself’ which I’ve heard said often, but now understand as the level of opportunity presents itself and neccessity to be focused and consider which gigs are worth doing is important.

Wor lass turned up early and surprized me, I figured she might to something like that, it was just a case of when and how. but after the quiet gig, she put a nice smile on my face.

Day 5. Did a couple of extra pick up gigs before my show, one of which on an outdoor stage was cancelled due to the rain. My 7.15pm show goes on after PBH (Peter Buckley Hill) who runs the free finge and is doing a brilliantly shambolic show of how, at bus pass eligable age he has used said pass to get from London to Edinburgh, just using buses. PBH is a bit of a legend on the fringe, but today was his day off and taking his spot was the lovely Josie Long, which was top.

Went for drinks with Jas, Lee, The Peter Vincent, Karen, and Wendy Wason. The rain pissed it down, as it had all day and the bar we shored up in had a big rainbow flag outside and the full of only men. Longley joined us and I wanted to do picture stuff with nipples, but Jas pointed out it was a bad idea.

Had a review from Three Weeks, not for my show though, just a spot I did at Pear Shaped in the Afternoon (edited for effect): “Gems came from John Cooper, who read hilarious passages from his diary, … just go and see John Cooper “. Not bad.

Been a belting Fringe so far, and really loving the venue. The Free fringe may not be as slick the well established places like the stand, but it’s still far better than some of the big paid venue’s. Averaging about 25 peeps per show, and everyone who’s seen it is leaving with grins and praise. Today got my first crowd that consisted of those who’d picked up on the Eczema theme of the show, and it was the best show I’ve had. I’m loving the fringe. It’s not going to my head though, there’s always room for improvment, upping the gag rate, and I’m here to work. I closed ‘PBH and some comedians’ which was top, and have been picking up as many up extra gigs as possible.

On the second night I got a bit drunk and there’s a bit in the show about….well, come and see it, but I’ve been collecting as many flyers as possible with comics faces on, tearing the nose out and getting other comics to put their nipple in the hole and taking a photo.

I thought it was so funny I went and bought the domain www.nipplenose.co.uk. Maybe I’ll do a quiz on facebook when I get enough pictures, and people can play gues the nipple. Like I say Edinburgh hasn’t gone to my head.

The first show is in the bag.

Good for a first show, the drummer from dodgy reckons it was the best thing he’s seen. I’m guessing he meant in the context of ‘in Edinburgh’ and ‘today’. After the final two previews; late freewheeling in Liverpool and a very tight show at the lovely Wolverhampton little civic, the first show was nice and comfy, but still needs tweaking.

I was mistaken for Lee (Martin), today while dressed as Danny (Pensive), which was odd. I’m going to use this month research a sitcom called ‘Gigs’n'Digs’ about a happy go lucky comedian who lives with his agent.  Hilarity Ensues.

Got up at 5.30am. Drove to Newcastle and picked up an Amp for the free Fringeand after seeing my folks in Sunderland, arrived in Edinburgh at 2pm . I set to work putting up some posters at the free fringe venues (I’m at canons gait). I’d over loaded the pockets of my ill fitting cut off combat pants with flyers and on reaching up to apply the publicity piece, they fell down in full view.

bought a new belt.

The flat is ace, and  I can see carl sagan’s massive face from my window (in a shop front advert).  Went to the free fringe meeting where PBH stated quite literally. ‘If the public come, we will kill them’. He rocks.

Went to see Longleys show. It is late, I am knackered.

People I met:
Kevin Gildea
Paddy Monahan
Don Moses
Paul Kerensa
Gav Webster
Matt Tiller
BethanyBlack
Longleyman

People I saw at a distance:
Mark Watson
Simon Munnery

People who I created an awkward showbiz silence with:
Teddy

First show tomorrow, hurray!

(Submission piece for The Scotsman)
August is fast approaching already I’m packing and racking my brains to make sure I’ve covered everything. clean underwear, check. Digs, check. Multimedia bells & whistles, check. Tightly written hilarious Show, check (I hope).
I’m taking my first full stand up show to the fringe, and to be honest the thing stressing me out the most isn’t submerging my brain into the all encompassing creative din of sound, colour and taste. Or my show, which still needs work, but is robust enough to set sail on the sea of competitive mirth. The cause of my furrowed brow is the multimedia elements that go with the show. Also being the control freak I am it’s all triggered by remote control instead of having a tech on hand.

Comedy and technology aren’t exactly a marriage made in heaven, one is born of sponteneity, adaptability and  tangents that creates humour, the other is about order and numbers, and safe predictability. Arriving at a recent preview show, loaded with AV gear like an powerpoint terminator, one of the others comics, armed with only a handful of written notes made the comment ‘how can I compete with that?’ and as much I as I understood the question, it’s a bit of a moot point.

Multimedia Bells and whistles are exactly that, and shouldn’t be a distraction. If anything he’s far better equiped, and purer to the art form of stand up. Good writing is the core of any show, and if the show can’t be done without multimedia, then arguably it’s not straight stand up.

Increasingly comics at the fringe are using projection and multimedia elements to enhance their shows, and I’m biting off a sizable of in mixing character comedy, stand up and multimedia together in a themed show about eczema. Did I mention my show was about eczema?

The previews I’ve done so far already I’ve pressed the wrong button good few times. Ironically pressing the wrong button is getting a big laugh, which is a result, but not what I’d planned at all. As long as I don’t do it too much, I might just keep it in the show.

‘John Cooper: The 30 Year Itch’ is on at the Canons Gait at 7.15pm from 2nd - 25th August and is free.

June and July have been pretty eventful. Most notably the nightmare that was logging in my PC to check my bank balance and finding £350 had disappeared out of it care of some gambling website and I’d become the victim of card fraud. Having pedalled it into town to go to the bank and get it sorted, one stressful ranty conversation later I came out to find my bike had been nicked. Joy. I decided to cheer myself up by picking up a copy of the fringe festival brochure to see my name in print only to find the show, but without my name in fromt of it, which on further examination was my fault. I went a bit mental and put some stickers I’d found on my face in an attempt to show the world my bellicosity.

In brighter news I went camping twice in the space of four days set foot in Maidenhead, Bracknell, Windsor, Newquay, Truro, St Austell, Cardiff, Coniston and Sunderland. First with wor lass, then on ‘Man & Nature 4′, the 4th Annual North West Comedians comedy camp, 2 fine days worth of drinking, bitching and riding motor boats on lake coniston while fishing and drinking and bitching. I put my tent up in the p****ng rain, the high wind tipped it over but after a couple of bottles of ‘Cornish Rattler’ bought fresh from a Cyder farm the previous day, I was half nakedly hammering the pegs back in with my bare hands and thinking nothing of it. Class.

Wor lass went away to the USA on sunday, so I’m is a bit sad. As evidence of just how accustomed I’ve become to living together, last night in her absence I drew a face on a balloon. Oh dear. (not that she looks like a balloon or anything). With loads of room and time to myself now though I can focus on banging my Edinburgh show into shape ready for August, and I’ll do another video blog for that shortly.

My first preview show went well, still needs a lot of work, but to be honest I more impressed myself driving slap bang through through the centre of London. Stopping at some lights I looked to my left to see big ben and the eye and let out an odd maniacal laugh.

I did cockup on a couple things in the show, as well as forgetting to turn my dictaphone on to record it (fail.) and the ‘aftershow report’ video I recorded for 4laughs was far to dark to be or any use. Generally though, I’m quite happy with the shape of it, just need to tighted a lot of the material up without strangling the funny.

I got the chance guest on the new Alfie Joey afternoon show on BBC radio Newcastle on friday, so I took it. We talked about the Edinburgh show, and it’s the first time I’ve tried to succinctly leap the verbal hurdles of ‘yes, it’s a comedy show about eczema’ and ‘eczema’s not funny’ its more about the experience of living with it and growing pains.

Before all that however, I remember I went to school with one of the presenter’s at the station, and on Alfies’ questioning, called Gilly Hope ‘posh’, which was probably not entirely true. I think I meant to say ’smart’, as she always had pig tails in, but then I had a big basin cut. Anyway, after the interview I called in on my mum, who as well as being a teacher at the school we both went to way back, was all to happy to dug out some embarassing old photos at my request.

If you’re reading this Gilly, it’s just a bit of fun.
Here you are behind and to the left of me. twice.

BEFORE.

AFTER.

oh yeah, my mum thinks Aflie is one of the ‘more sensible’ DJ’s on the radio.