10 Sep Cole’s Comedy Corner – Never Meet Your Heroes
Comedy Blog – Never Meet Your Heroes
That’s what they say anyway, isn’t it? Never to meet your heroes? For this edition of Cole’s Comedy Corner, a comedy blog for The Comedian Company, I Dustin Cole am going to expound on what it is like for a stand-up comic to meet one of the greats.
As a stand-up comedian, I have a few heroes. Eddie Murphy is why I fell in love with stand-up comedy as a kid. Delirious was the first comedy special I ever remember watching, albeit at a much too young age to be hearing all that filth-flarn-filth (inside joke for all my fellow Delirious fans).
Dane Cook was the reason I wanted to BECOME a comedian and inspires my style quite a bit. Listening to his debut album – Harmful if Swallowed, and hearing how much fun he was having on stage, made me go “THAT’s what I want to do!”
But another hero of mine that I’ve always admired was Bobcat Goldthwait. As a kid I was always drawn to him and his characters because he was like a cartoon brought to life, with his anxious voice and excitable mannerisms. But even as I got older, and then eventually became a comedian, I started to appreciate him even more.
The guy is a comedic genius! And not even just as a stand-up. He’s an accomplished writer, director, and actor as well. He is the very definition of a multifaceted artist. As he grew as a person, he also did so as a comedian.
Eventually moving on from the voice that made him so famous, he evolved as a comic as well. If you listen to some of his earliest work, like Meat Bob and then compare it to his latest – Soldier for Christ, the styles are so different, but both are on the same level as far as substance goes and are absolutely killer!
So when I saw that he would be performing at a venue near where I lived in Michigan a couple years ago, I had to find a way onto the show! Luckily it was booked by The Comedian Company, who I have a great working relationship with, so I reached out to Jason and he got me a guest spot!
The Comedian Company helped make my dreams come true!
I met Bobcat before the show and the guy couldn’t have been nicer. I’ve been doing stand-up for nearly 19 years now, and I try to be the consummate professional before, during, and after shows at the venue and with the other comics. I couldn’t help but fanboy out a little bit with Bobcat though. He could have told me to beat it or to give him some privacy, but he talked to me like an equal. And after about five minutes of talking, I honestly forgot I was talking to someone that’s as big a legend as he is, because he’s just a sweet guy that immediately makes you feel comfortable.
That night, I was just doing a quick 7 minute guest set before the feature – Sal Demilio (great comic, even better guy) was to go up. As fate would have it, I was working on a new 7, so my plan was to go up and do just that. And as any comic will attest, new and unproven material doesn’t always go the way you want it to. Even bits that make it into a comic’s set as a staple, never starts out perfect. And this material was no exception. It actually IS a bit that I tell every night on stage now, but this was when it was in its roughest form. It went ok. I got some laughs, but there were some pockets that still needed work and it was far from being labeled as a great set.
Anyway, Sal went up and did his thing and then I watched Bobcat go up and absolutely blow the roof off of this little club. I’d never seen anything like it in person. I’d seen comedians kill before, myself included (or so I thought). Bobcat was REALLY killing though.
It made me think everything else I’d labeled as killing before this, would now be placed into the “Good set” category. Leaning on a wall in the back of the room as he performed, I could feel the building vibrate everytime he’d hit a punchline. I was in awe.
After the show, Bobcat, Sal, and myself went up to the green room and chatted for a while. The club owner brought some VIPs up to meet Bobcat, but eventually it dwindled down. Sal said goodbye and left. And then it was just Bobcat and myself. I didn’t want to hang around and be a bother so I started to say goodbye to him, and he stopped me. There was only one way in and out of this venue, as it was small. He told me that he was gonna stay for a bit to let the crowd thin out downstairs before he left, and that I should stay and hang with him for a while.
We talked for another solid hour or so. Not just about comedy, but about our lives. He talked about living near Chicago with his then girlfriend at the time. He asked me about my family. Real stuff. And the whole time we’re talking, I’m thinking to myself “You dumbass. You just got to work with Bobcat fucking Goldthwait. He’s the coolest guy ever. And you did a BRAND NEW seven?!” I was beating myself up for it.
Eventually we walked down and to our cars. We took a couple pictures (I couldn’t NOT ask for a selfie) and we went our separate ways. And that’s where I thought the story ended.
But Jason called me up a couple months later and asked if I’d be up for featuring for Bobcat on another run of shows in Michigan! Of course I said yes. So in the fall of ‘22, we did the State Theatre in Bay City, Captain Joe’s in Whitmore Lake (with Sal again!), and then the world famous Machine Shop in Flint! It was a lot of fun and I really got to know Bobcat, which was great. I had great sets all weekend, and I don’t need to tell you, but the dude killed every show! And as it turns out, it was the start of something really cool.
We started working together a few weekends a year for the past couple years. We’ve done a few comedy club weekends, some theaters, and the random bar here or there. The most recent weekend being Quezada’s Comedy Club in Albuquerque NM last June. And I’m always looking forward to the next one on the books – which in this case happens to be November 30-December 1 in Niles MI at the Underground Laugh Lounge. He’s even met and gotten on a first name basis with my wife Sarah and my daughter Aurora. Actually buying some art from Aurora, to help her raise money for something she was saving up for! I can’t say enough about how top notch the guy is.
I gotta tell you though, my most memorable moment working with Bob (Yes, Bob. It’s even crazy to ME that I’ve gotten to that point with him) was when we did a New Year’s Eve gig at the Hobart Art Theatre in Hobart IN. The emcee had come down to the green room a few minutes before showtime to get our introductions. Bob gave him his first. Then I started to speak up for mine (the usual “High energy comic from Flint MI, Dustin Cole!”) before he interrupted after I’d only gotten to “High en…” and he said “Just tell them he’s one of Bobcat’s favorite comedians” And that was 100% the coolest moment in my almost two decade long career.
As far as the title to this comedy blog, forget all that. ABSOLUTELY meet your heroes. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.
Speaking of The Comedian Company, they truly are the best company to work with when booking a comedy show. Always professional and easy to work with. Check them out.
Check out more comedy blogs in the future about my adventures in the entertainment industry.