The Big Picture
In three conversations on The Joe Rogan Experience, Austin comes up as a place where stand-up has taken hold [1][2][3]. Joe Rogan and comedian Deric Poston reflect on the chain of events that turned Austin into what Joe calls a destination for comedians [1]. Joe notes that when the pandemic shut Los Angeles down, LA stayed closed for about a year and a half, while in Texas shows came back after roughly six weeks [1]. Their conversation covers how the pandemic and the Comedy Store's closure led to Austin's comedy boom and the Mothership [1].
The Comedy Mothership appears in all three passages [1][2][3]. Talking with Pauly Shore, Joe explains the history of the building that now houses it: it has carried the Ritz name since 1927, and over the years it was a pool hall, an adult movie theater, a punk rock club and an Alamo Drafthouse [3]. The club has two rooms [3]. Talking with Andrew Schulz, Rogan credits the comics who moved early to Austin for helping build it [2].
Where the Experts Agree
- The pandemic opened the door. Joe's comparison is about time: about a year and a half of closure in Los Angeles against roughly six weeks before shows came back in Texas [1]. Deric credits his wife with pushing them to move after seeing comics performing in Austin, and he arrived in March 2021 [1].
- Comics built the scene by coming. Rogan credits the comics who moved early to Austin, including Tom Segura, Tony Hinchcliffe and Derek, for helping build the Comedy Mothership [2]. Deric's own move followed the sight of comics already performing in the city [1].
- This is a good time for stand-up. Rogan and Schulz both call this the golden age of stand-up [2]. Schulz says, "I think this is the legitimately the golden age of comedy," and adds that he feels comics can say more now than a few years ago [2]. The conversation with Deric speaks of Austin's comedy boom [1], and the one with Pauly covers how the Comedy Mothership and Austin's growing club scene are making comics sharper [3].
- Comics are backing each other. Joe and Deric discuss the shift from a competitive, hater culture in comedy to one where comics support each other, along with the mentality of rooting for others and why jealousy only hurts you [1]. Pauly opens by praising Joe, comic to comic, telling him how proud he is of how far Joe has come since they came up at the same time [3]. Rogan, for his part, hands the credit for the Mothership to the comics who moved early [2].
Where They Differ
The three passages largely agree; they differ in what each one dwells on.
The conversation with Deric is about how the scene came to be and what it asks of a comic. Alongside the boom, it treats comedy as a long, brutal path on which you have to be undeniable, and it goes into the craft: building bits slowly, catching ideas and reviewing your sets [1]. That is a harder note than the golden age Rogan and Schulz describe [2].
Schulz's emphasis is on caring about the subject. He and Rogan agree the best comedy comes from caring about your subject, and Schulz says he took time off before his last hour until he felt strongly about something, because then the material pours out; without that, it's a job rather than an art [2]. They praise Joey Diaz as a comic who delivers each bit as passionately as the first time, and Patrice O'Neal's tiny subway bit as the kind of observation they aspire to [2].
The conversation with Pauly looks back as well as at Austin. It takes in Mitzi Shore's methods for building comedians and Pauly's childhood at the Comedy Store, next to the Mothership and its building's history [3]. It also names a cost that the other two passages do not: the stress of running a comedy club as an artist [3]. And where the other passages celebrate what Austin offers, Joe's writing process, as that conversation describes it, has him avoiding anything that makes him too comfortable [3].
Practical Takeaways
- Go where the stages are: Deric moved to Austin after his wife saw comics performing there, and arrived in March 2021 [1].
- Build bits slowly, catch ideas when they come and review your sets [1].
- Expect a long, brutal path, and aim to be undeniable [1].
- Root for other comics; the conversation with Deric holds that jealousy only hurts you [1].
- Wait for a subject you care about: Schulz took time off before his last hour until he felt strongly about something, because then the material pours out [2].
- Deliver each bit as passionately as the first time, which is what Rogan and Schulz praise in Joey Diaz [2].
- Be wary of comfort: Joe avoids anything that makes him too comfortable [3].
Sources
- Deric Poston on the Austin Comedy Scene, Staying on the Path, and Killing Your Inner Hater · The Joe Rogan Experience
- Joe Rogan and Andrew Schulz on Power, Incentives, Doing Hard Things, UFOs and the Craft of Comedy · The Joe Rogan Experience
- Pauly Shore on Mitzi Shore, the Comedy Store and the Comedy Mothership · The Joe Rogan Experience
