And just like that, 2019 is over. 2020 is now here (cue all the terrible “hindsight” jokes). The New Year is a time of reflection just as much as it’s a time to move forward. It’s great to resolve to achieve new goals or go after previously failed resolutions, but with the “I’m serious this time” attitude. I’m certainly not above it. I’ve played the “diet starts on Monday” game for 18-months straight. For me, it would always start small like: I eat good on Monday and Tuesday, but then on Wednesday I have something shitty for breakfast so I say “oh well, fuck it, this is my cheat meal” and then I’d get back on the healthy bandwagon for lunch and dinner. Then, a few weeks into that, I’d eat something shitty on Wednesday morning and my attitude would be “well, fuck it, this is my cheat day” and then I’d throw the rest of Wednesday away. Before you know it, this type of attitude compounds and I would eventually eat something shitty on Monday for lunch and be like “well, fuck it, this is my cheat week, I’ll get on it hard next Monday”…and then one day I look and I’m almost 20 pounds heavier and I’m blaming it on my age and metabolism. I don’t have an anecdote for this, I’m just letting you know that I’m not better than you and I understand if your resolution is the same thing you tell your self every Monday, every Lent, or every year. Sticking to goals are fucking difficult.

But just as much as we can get down on ourselves for what we don’t accomplish, it’s also good to reflect on the previous year and look at what you did accomplish. Often times you’ll find that these accomplishments were things that you didn’t even overtly set out to do; they organically happened, or you manifested them in non-goal form. In an effort to keep myself from bathing with a toaster, I want to go back and look at my Top 5 Comedy Moments of 2019.

Number 5 - I Launched a Podcast

I have been wanting to launch a podcast for years now, but couldn’t figure out what I should talk about. Then I started listening to a bunch of podcasts and realized, that never stopped anybody else! This past September, one of my mentors said: “When you have an idea or creation, launch it at 40%. If you wait until 80%-100% you will never get started. Launch it at 40% for version 1, make version 2 about 70%, and then slowly work your way towards 80%-100%.” That was a pivotal moment for me. Upon hearing those words this past September, I decided to get moving with my podcast. I originally wanted a co-host, but ultimately decided against it as that was one more possible delay in my launch. I came up with a name for my podcast called “Peek Behind the Curtain” and a simple concept where I would just give some insights and behind-the-scenes of my comedy career since I started Improv in July of 2000, and I was off and running. I created a quick 3-minute trailer for my podcast in September and officially launched my first episode in October - since then, I have launched a new episode every week. This will allow me to figure out the podcast space to improve to that 70% version 2, while also allowing me to dig up memories from my career that I would ultimately like to put into a book form one day.

NUMBER 4 - I WON A “BURBIE”

The “burbies” are an annual award ceremony put on by the Chicago Suburban Comedy Scene. This started back in 2014 as a way to have an annual gathering of the suburban comedians, while also recognizing our peers in a variety of comedic categories such as: Best Social Media, Best Producer, Best Open Mic, Best Showcase, Best Bit, Best Host, Best Comedian, and more. I remember back in 2014 I was still performing on the road all the time and wasn’t actively a part of the Chicago suburban comedy scene, even though, by proximity of where I live, I am a part of that scene. A few of my friends were performing locally more and one of my good friends won a burbie that year. I remember telling him that one of my goals for the next year was to be more involved in the scene (as I had just had my first child and wanted to be local more), and to win a burbie. Well, that goal was for 2015, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen for me that year. Over the next few years, I was nominated for a burbie, which felt like a great honor, but would ultimately lose a few years in a row to another comedian. This year, I was nominated for “Best Comedian” and even though I expected this year to follow the path of the previous few, I ended up winning. It was a great accomplishment for two reasons. The first being that I set out to be a more active part of these scene years ago and this was proof that I was finally a part of it. Secondly, and more importantly, it was a recognition from my peers. Comedy has been the only place in my life where I feel like I fit in, and sometimes even that can be on the fence. The acknowledgement from my peers made me feel accepted, and I was honored. I know it’s a silly little award ceremony that we put on, but sometimes it’s those little things that can help give you a confidence boost. Don’t dismiss these moments, instead, accept them and embrace them as those are the little pieces of the puzzle that add up to it being complete.

Number 3 - I Played the Las Vegas Strip

For years, I’ve wanted to play on the Las Vegas strip. I’ve played all around the strip over the years, starting when I was 27-years old. However, I’ve never been able to make my way ON the actual strip. I had a chance back in 2009 to host at the Riviera Comedy Club on the strip, but I had to turn it down due to another obligation, thinking that I would have another chance immediately. Little did I know it would take another 10-years to get that chance. I had ultimately chalked it up to “My act isn’t the right fit” or sometimes even “I don’t even want to play on the strip”, just to keep justifying why it wasn’t happening. Then, this past year, a series of events went in my favor and I got the email asking me if I wanted to feature at Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club at the MGM on the strip in March of 2019. I covered this in length on my podcast, check it out here "Episode 4”. I got to perform with Brad Garrett the entire week and me & my family were treated like royalty at the club. I felt such a high being there all week with my name on the signs. Sometimes the victory happens over night and sometimes it’s a 10-year over night success story. In this case for me, it was the latter - and it was worth the wait.

NUMBER 2 - I WON “BEST OF THE MIDWEST”

Every year in Grand Rapids, MI there is a festival called Gilda Radner’s Laugh Fest - which is a multi-week comedy festival that brings in some of the best comedians from across the country. There is a segment of the festival called “Best of the Midwest” where the bookers of the festival hand-select up to 8-comics from the Midwest area to perform multiple sets and compete for a cash prize and the honor of being voted “Best of the Midwest”. This past March, right before I went out to Vegas, I was selected to be a part of this showcase at this festival. I competed against six other comedians and had such a great time performing with them. I put on two lights-out shows and ended up winning the showcase. I’ve been doing stand-up comedy since 2001 and have won multiple competitions in my career, more-so when I first started and competitions were the only way you could get stage time. Winning this award 18-years into a stand-up career to me was such an honor. All the hours of being on the road, all the shows where barely anybody showed up, all the clubs that banned me from playing there, all the clubs that never took a chance on booking me, all the comics that have talked shit about me and all the audience members that have walked out during my shows became worth it in that moment. It was a $2500 prize and a plaque in terms of physical awards, but the mental and emotional awards that came along with this moment were second-to-none. I got a chance to show this festival what I could do and I was ready for when the moment came. At one point in your career experience becomes instinctual, and this was one of those moments. Listen to my podcast for the full details on this: “Episode 11”

NUMBER 1 - I RECORDED MY 5TH ALBUM “VINCECTOMY”

On December 12th, 2019, I recorded my 5th comedy album “Vincectomy” at Zanies in Rosemont, IL. This was a highlight for me for several reasons.

1. This was my 5th album in the last 12-years, which put me on pace for an album every 2.5 years. It’s a goal of mine to release a new recorded hour every 2-3 years and I was able to accomplish this.

2. I worked my ass off immediately following my 4th album “I Plead the First”. I started working on the new material right away and within a year, I completely turned over an entire hour of material. Now, it would take another year for me to refine that material and edit some in/out to get it down to the 65-minute album that I just recorded, but I also wound up with about another 30-45 minutes of funny, usable material, that just didn’t fit into the story I was telling on this album. It can be used for bonus footage, or it might even have a home on my next album.

3. I told a story from start to finish on my album, which is something that I tried to do on my last album, but came up a little bit short. There is a good flow and pecking order to my previous album, but it still got a little splatter-shot in the middle. From the moment I start on Vincectomy I am talking about my kids and what a challenge that is, then I go into the lessons I am trying to teach my kids while I am struggling to learn how to handle the youth myself, I pivot slightly to discuss the older generations and their struggle for acceptance with the youth of America and how that differs from how I am trying to handle it, and then I conclude with a bit about Gay Marriage, which is a spin off of certain generations and types of people not being accepting of others. The whole show flows like one big story and I truly enjoyed the experience of taking the listener on that journey week-in-and-out.

4. I recorded this album in one-take. Usually I would perform 3-4 shows, record all of them, and then stitch the best parts of them together. But, in order to be able to do my show at Zanies in Rosemont, which was important to me, I was only able to secure the room for one show on one night. I promoted the living hell out of the show and ended up with a crowd of 200+ that were such great laughers. I put a ton of focus and preparation into recording this and I walked away the most proud I’ve ever been with a recording of my own.

Those are my top 5-moments of 2019 in relation to my comedy career. There were plenty of other highlights and fun moments along the way, but those were the moments that stuck out that I didn’t have planned when the year started. Resolutions are great, but don’t feel that because you didn’t hit your resolution that you didn’t achieve greatness. Reflect on your previous year and pat yourself on the back for the good that you did. Those new moments are just around the corner and it’s important that you stay in a good state of mind so you can truly appreciate them as they are happening. Go crush 2020!