A Seattle Times article (“Seattle’s amateur stand-up comedy scene is alive and kicking”), is a nice hit for the folks who make up the People’s Republic of Komedy.
We met and hung out with and performed with some of those comics when we headlined the Mainstage back in February. (Click here to read about that experience and actually see photographs of some of those mentioned in the Times piece.)
According to the Times’ Haley Edwards, “the scene is led by a tight-knit group of young hipsters (most of them in their 20s) who perform for free at bars and cafes from Ballard to Kirkland.”
And, of course, no article on standup comedy is complete without the headscratcher quote– the statement that leaves one wondering the motivation behind it… or whether it may have been horribly mangled… or if it’s been violently wrenched out of context… or all three! Delivered by FOS Ron Reid, this one is about the recent changes in the Seattle scene:
It’s a little more indie and artsy than it’s been in the past. The shows are either free or 5 bucks, so… there’s not this push to be exclusive or ‘make it big.’ I think the hipsters like it because no one’s ‘selling out.’
Huh? (Ron, we luv ya… and we’re glad you remain a friend, even though we’re always busting your chops!)
Like we said, we met a good chunk of these comics. Some of them are good, solid, traditional standup comics (whether they want to be plastered with that odious label or not!) and they are just as interested in ditching the day job as comedians have always been since the dawn of Funny Man.
All this nonsense about “selling out” is amusing.
All you who waste your time muttering through clenched teeth about those who sell out and all those who tell reporters that you’re not interested in selling out, heed this: David Cross has third billing in “Alvin And The Chipmunks.”
The. Game. Is. Over.
KITFO with the selling out thing!