Treat every gig like it matters. Because if you don’t respect the stage, why the hell should anyone else? You don’t pack up your jokes and pout just because you’re not playing a theater. You bring it. For 12 people. For a dog. For whoever the hell is listening.

Now let me tell you something, folks… trying to do stand-up comedy twelve yards away from a country legend with 30 top ten hits is like trying to tell knock-knock jokes during a hurricane.

Every time I walk into a venue and see that dead zone right up front—you know, those six empty chairs that might as well have yellow caution tape and a biohazard sign—I know exactly what’s goin’ on: Front Row Phobia.

The hard truth about stand-up comedy: not every joke is meant for every person—and that’s perfectly okay.

Why The Pub & Grub Comedy Tour™ consists of professional comics over social media “stars” — and how one YouTube hotshot just killed comedy at another venue forever. Don’t miss this behind-the-scenes truth bomb from the frontlines of the bar comedy scene.

You ever meet one of those comedians—or hell, a business owner—who says, “I’m just trying to figure it out as I go!” Yeah? You know what we used to call people like that? Unemployed. Everybody’s trying to reinvent the wheel. Newsflash: the wheel works just fine. You just need to learn how to drive. Too many comics—and business owners—are out here trying to freestyle life like it’s a jazz solo. No structure. No strategy. Here’s the truth: business should be treated like a science project, not an art project. The ones who make it in this game are not the ones who are the funniest. They are the ones who follow a system.

Stand-up comedy… is NOT background noise. It's not elevator music. It's not the jukebox. It's not karaoke. So next time you’re at a bar and you see a comedian take the stage, maybe turn to your buddy and say, ‘Hey man, shut the hell up. The funny guy’s talkin’.’