I did something I haven't done in literally years the other night. I went out to a local comedy show merely to watch. It was Terry Jones' DVD taping, and it was a really fun time. I don't have any recent recollection of being as happy for someone as I was for Terry that night. The room was absolutely packed with his friends, family, and even a few fellow comics out to support him. He is the hardest working comic I know, and his natural comedic ability combined with that work ethic is going to take him very far in this game. He's only twenty-two, and he's far, far better than people who've been around for a decade. What makes Terry a unique and rare comic talent is the fact that he is a genuinely nice, pure soul. He likes life, and himself, and I think, no, I know, a lot of comics in this town are jealous of him for that.
Although our styles couldn't be much more different, we've become great friends based on our shared opinions about comedy. We are both students of the great Masters, and we try to apply their lessons in our art.
And we're both artists. The other night, Terry talked about comedy as an art in his webcam chat, and he was spot on.
Stand up is the hardest performing art. You have no band, usually no collaborator or visuals, and it's expected that you're writing the material in addition to performing it. We both want to see comedy get it's due as an art form. Great art, regardless of medium or form, moves the public watching it. Comedy does that through laughter, which somehow makes it seem less legit than painting or reciting lines that you have no emotional investment in.
Terry is like a Terminator. Others sleep and he's out killing.
What do you mean you've got no more chips!?-BK
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