Finger Lakes Comedy Festival

Had an amazing time at the Finger Lakes Comedy Festival in Ithaca, NY this past weekend. I did 5 shows in 2 days during the festival, but the best part to me was just making new friends and hanging out with the other comics. Comics came from all over NY to be a part of the festival and 2 comics even came from as far as Dallas, TX (Thomas Nichols, real funny guy, one of my favorites from the festival) and L.A. It helped me put into perspective just how many funny people are all over the state (and country) and I was just motivated so much to write more and just keep getting better!

I missed out on the last day of the festival to head to a gig that I had booked already in Waverly, NY which is a small town in the middle of-the middle of nowhere! (Not a typo! That means it was DEEP in the middle of nowhere.) Definitely enjoyed performing there with Aaron Ward and his ‘Not Too Far From Home Comedy Tour’. The crowd at the Railhouse was great, but the drive home after that show was NOT! Got caught up in the snow storm Saturday night and that added another hour onto my already 2.5 hr drive. I got home safe so that’s all that matters I guess.

Now I’m sitting at my desk on my lunch break typing this quick blog up, thinking to myself “OFIM!” After that long weekend, I’d much rather be curled up in bed at home right now, but bills must be paid. I complain about Mondays all the time, but I’m no fool. I know I’m blessed to even have a job and be able to support myself. (And I’m not just saying this because my boss is following me now lol) Thankful that I wake up healthy every morning and I never stop counting my blessings. Still… just one of these snowy Monday morning, it would be nice to wake up to a text, an email (hell… even a tweet!) from my job saying that we’re closed. I don’t think I’m asking for too much.

My next show will be this Wednesday at Helium Comedy Club in Buffalo, NY. Really hoping the weather cooperates that night. I am worried that another heavy snowfall might happen that night and I really don’t wanna have to cancel on this one because I’m looking forward to it, but safety first. Tickets and info can be found HERE or just check out Helium’s website at www.heliumcomedy.com/buffalo

I’m Facebook Friends with My Boss

So I got a friend request from my boss last week. I accepted it because, why not? Then I posted a lil joke about it on Facebook and the majority of responses were telling me how much of a mistake that was. Well, it’s been about a week now and I still have a job so I feel good about that at least. Oh, and I haven’t changed anything about the way I post on FB or the things I say. I’m just gonna continue being myself.

My thing is, at that point when I received the notification of the Friend Request, it was already too late. I have to see this man every day and denying that pending request would be much worse than just accepting it in my book. Rejecting that connection makes it seem like I have something to hide (which I really don’t). I never post anything that would jeopardize my employment. I’m pretty careful with my public image. I actually care much more about what my mom and the rest of my family will have to see on my page than my boss and work colleagues.

I’m at a much different point in my comedy career and life in general than I was about 2 years ago. Back then, I would’ve dreaded seeing that notification, but I also took much more precautions to make sure no one from work even found that facebook profile (I had 2 accounts at the time, not anymore). Now I openly discuss my comedy life at work, I’ve got a bunch of other friends from the workplace so I knew this day was coming. As long as he keep approving my time off requests, he’s fine by me!

As far as I’m concerned, he wanted to connect to me as a “fan” and not as my boss. He’d just like to read some of my posts for laughter and stay updated on my gigs around here like a normal person. Pretty sure he’s not gonna monitor my every word like big brother and write me up for inappropriateness. I’ll be fine folks.

Speaking of inappropriateness, Black History Month just began and in celebration of my African heritage, I will be working like a slave this week. Pretty packed schedule for the next 4 weeks. In addition to the normal day gig + part time training at Powerhouse, I’ve got multiple stand up gigs each week, starting with several appearances at the Finger Lakes Comedy Festival this weekend in Ithaca. Show schedule and more info about the whole festival can be found HERE!

Panera Bread

So I went to Panera Bread for lunch a couple days ago. Nothing exciting about that at all right? I even had lunch alone. How much more boring could I be, right? People may think that sounds pretty lonely, but there’s a huge difference between being alone and being lonely. Being lonely is when you are alone and you actually WANT to have someone there with you. I actually enjoy having lunch alone sometimes. It’s calming to be alone with my own thoughts.

That is, until the girl at the table next to me is talking so loud on her cell phone that I can hear all the details about her best friend’s uterus infection. Nothing calming about that at all. Definitely not comforting to have that visual pop into my head while I’m eating white cheddar mac & cheese. What’s up with these people? I’m often told that I’m too soft spoken at times, but maybe that’s just out of fear of being one of those people who talks so loud that everyone under the same roof as them becomes apart of their not-so-private conversation.

Maybe it’s just me, but when I’m talking to someone, I like my volume set at an appropriate level where only they can hear me and no one else can. Even if it’s not such a private conversation as my best friend seeking medical attention because her insides are rotting out, I still think it’s a common courtesy to everyone else to not force them to listen to your chat because you’re too loud to even tune out. Yea I could’ve put some headphones on if it really bothered me that much, but that’s neither here nor there.

But that wasn’t even the most interesting part of this solo lunch date. I posted a Facebook status commenting on the incredibly jacked dude working behind the counter at my local Panera. I’d noticed him there a few times before, but I thought it’d be funny to ask my friends and followers if they’d seen him before too. And they had! I mean, he’s pretty hard to miss. Dude is like 6’4″ and the only way to accurately describe him is if the Incredible Hulk was black and had to get a job making sandwiches.

So I’m chuckling it up with my friends about how this dude is too swole to be making paninis for a living and then something incredible happens! Someone TAGS the guy on the post! A mutual friend is like “oh hey, that’s my boy So-and-So” and in slow motion I’m like “nooooooooooooo!” Everything comes to a screeching halt because I’m imaging him throwing a ceaser salad in my face next time I go to dine at his workplace and I can’t beat him because like I said, he’s the black Incredible Hulk.

So needless to say, I’m taking suggestions for new places to go eat lunch alone and listen to chats about uterus infections! Kidding! That Frontega Chicken Panini is worth an ass kicking so I’ll take my chances at Panera. I honestly don’t believe the dude would be mad at me anyway. It was all in good fun. I’ve said much worse about other people and lived to tell the tale. I guess it comes with the territory of being the “funny-man”. Like our mutual friend said, he might even give me a discount for complimenting his physique (no-homo). So if you somehow managed to get this this blog and you read all the way to the end, hook a brotha up Black Panera-Hulk!

Side Note:
This weekend I’ll be at the Syracuse Funny Bone from Thursday 1/29 – Saturday 1/31 opening for John Heffron, winner of NBC’s Last Comic Standing Season 2. Hit up http://www.syracusefunnybone.com for tickets!

The OFIM Blog

I’m back! Happy New Year since this is my first blog post of 2015. I’ve got a new plan. I wouldn’t call it a resolution, but I want to make this blog and my website much more active. In an effort to give people a reason to keep coming here, I’ll be posting more content more often; starting with a weekly blog entry. Most of the time it’ll just be some short anecdote, something funny that happened to me throughout the week, but my goal is to post something on hear at least once a week.

Since everyone hates Monday’s so much (especially me), I figured “what better day to try to put a smile on people’s faces and bring some joy to the world than every Monday?” So this first entry really should’ve been posted yesterday, but in true procrastinator fashion, I’m a day late. Already a bad way to start off, I know! I’ll do better. Look forward to seeing new post from me every Monday at noon.

Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday that my job doesn’t recognize. So here are a few posts about my misery from working on a day that Dr.King dreamed I would have off.

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APCA Baby!!!

So I showcased at my first APCA Conference this past weekend and what an experience it was. I’ve had a few days to sit down and reflect on the event now and all I can think about is how much I can’t wait to do it again!

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t kinda nervous. I was the “new kid on the block”, showcasing after so many other experienced performers of all kinds including a few well known comics that I have a great deal of respect for (i.e. Ronnie Jordan, Louis Ramey, Alingon Mitra). We were all there with the same purpose though. The goal was to entertain this large group of college kids representing their respective campus activities planning boards for a shot at getting booked to come perform at their schools.

I put a lot of pressure on myself to deliver the performance of a lifetime and make a huge splash on the scene and it may have been a little overwhelming. At the end of the night, I was feeling kind of down. I didn’t feel like I put my best foot forward and of course I wasn’t securing as many bookings as some of those big name acts I mentioned. I felt like a failure. But once I got home and watched the tape of my set, my spirits picked up a bit.

Reviewing that tape made me realize it wasn’t as bad as I initially thought. I did my best. I got laughs. I just didn’t get the flood of interest that I was anticipating so much. I looked forward to this event all year long and when things didn’t go my way, I got a lil sad. But of course it wasn’t a total loss. I had fun all weekend and I learned a lot from the experience. I’ve seen the structure of the conference and know what to expect next time. I know what I need to improve on as far as my showcase material and my overall presentation as well.

My favorite takeaway from the weekend was the message from a great motivational speaker there by the name of Bobby Audley. Two simple words: DON’T BE! Everything won’t always go your way. Maybe you’re feeling down and out. Maybe you’re not where you want to be and you’re depressed… but don’t be. DON’T BE! Those 2 simple words will motivate me to keep it pushing whenever I find myself slipping into a lil rut. I will continue working hard and putting my time in and my time will come!

So what’s next? I’m competing in the Last Comix Standing Finals at Foxwoods this Sunday. I really should be trying to book a room right now instead of writing a blog. Since I waited til the last minute, the Resort is all out of rooms and now I’m gonna be scrambling to find an alternative. Really hope I can walk away with that title. That will definitely give me a confidence boost moving on. Then I’ll be looking forward to my next APCA showcase, whenever that is. I may do the next Northeast Conference in Hershey, PA or wait for the National Conference in Jacksonville, FL this spring. Either way, they definitely haven’t seen the last of me. I got a taste and I’m coming back for more. APCA BABY!!!

The Unforgettable Champion

So I did it! I won the Syracuse competition. I am the 2014 Unforgettable Comedy Challenge Champ! It damn sure wasn’t easy even though a few people picked me as the favorite heading into it at the beginning of the summer. I think that actually made it tougher. It put a big target right on my back.

Of course everyone brings their A game when they’re competing, but I think it gave everyone else a little extra fuel knowing “people are picking AJ to win so I wanna take him out!” And knowing that some other comics would be gunning for me definitely lit a fire under me as well. I never once thought this would be a cake walk. I took my writing up to another level. I made sure my finals set so was tight and well rehearsed because I knew that everyone else would be doing the same. If I showed up half-assing and expecting a trophy to just be givin to me, I would’ve walked away sad and empty handed.

So thank you to all of the other comics in this who definitely made this a challenge because it made me better. We all made it a tough decision for the judges. I admire each and every one of you so much. From Aaron Ward, the consummate pro who has been in the biz for over 10 years and any young comic could learn a thing or two from. No surprise that he’ll be in this years World Series of Comedy in Las Vegas; to Sammy Ruddy, the relative newcomer with about as much talent and potential as anyone I’ve ever met in this industry. This girl writes her ass off and some of her jokes are just so clever and unique. I knew from the first time I saw her perform last fall that she was something special. I think she was the least experience comic in the finals and I was just as worried about her defeating me as anyone else.

So what now? Everyone keeps asking me what this win means for me and what my next move is. Honestly, not that much has changed. I’m still broke. I went home that night and ate 2 turkey franks with regular wheat bread because I didn’t even have any buns. And they were the ends of the loaf too because that’s all that was left in the bag. Then after I ate my struggle dinner, I went to bed and came right back to my job the next day. I won’t be quitting any time soon and running off to Hollywood like some people keep asking me.

Sure people, winning a competition like this is a nice credit to have for an up and coming comic, but Comedy Central isn’t exactly knocking my door down to give me my own special yet. I’ve still got a long way to go. This may open up some doors and give me some better opportunities for more work in the near future, but it’s not a total game changer.

I’ve still got a couple other similar competitions that I’m apart of. I’m actually about to hit the road for Connecticut for the Last Comix Standing competition at the Foxwoods right after I post this blog. Then Sunday night I’ll be back in Rochester for the next round of the Funniest Person in Rochester Competition. A few other nice gigs coming up in the next few weeks as I also get ready for my APCA showcase. Been a great year so far and I’d like to close it out with the same energy.

I’ll be back with another quick update after the weekend and I’ll also be posting a new video as well so be on the lookout for that everyone who has been asking me to post new clips.

Competition Season

OK, it’s been exactly 1 month since my last blog post. We can look at this one of 2 ways. The first was “omg it’s been a whole month since my last post” and the other is “hey it’s ONLY been 1 month since my last post???”. Here I was thinking that I had been neglecting my people for so long and it’s really only been 30 days without a post. Neglecting you from what? I’m not even sure. This blog is just about me sharing some random experiences and my progress as I grow into a full-time working comic.

It really felt like much longer since my last post because I have really been busy. I made a couple trips down to the city where I closed a show at NYCC and then I performed at Stand Up NY for the first time on a night when Chris Destefano from Guy Code was closing the show. I performed with Comedy CNY at the Thousand Islands Winery up in Alex Bay. I competed in the Unforgettable Comedy Challenge in Syracuse and advanced to the finals which will be held at the Funny Bone on August 6th. Then I had an amazing time performing with Sam Tripoli and Warren B. Hall for all of this past weekend.

Just writing all of that made me tired. It may not seem like much to some people, but to me it’s everything. It’s 10x more than I was doing in the same span last year and I do it all while still trying to maintain my “normal life”. The main reason that I work as hard as I do now is so I don’t have to work as hard in the future. I have big dreams and I’ll be damned if anyone or anything stops me from reaching my goals.

In addition to my recent performances, I’ve been getting my leg work in off stage. Networking, planning future gigs, writing and working out new material like crazy. I’m trying to build up an act so strong that it kills wherever I go and I’m gonna need it in these competitions that I’m signed up for. I’ve got the Funniest Person in Rochester Contest coming up, then after the finals of the Unforgettable Contest I’m excited to be competing on the Last Comix Standing contest at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut. It would be great if I won just one of these competitions. It would be amazing if I won two! If I miraculously manage to win all three, I’m changing my name to Kanye West cuz you can’t tell me nothin!

I don’t even remember what the original point was that I wanted to make when I first had the thought to write this blog earlier this morning, but I’m sure it’ll come back to me soon. Guess it’ll be included in the next blog (which will be less than a month from now). Oh yea, I’ll be in Canada this weekend with Anna Phillips and Chrissie Cunningham for a Guns N’ Syrup show. I’ll be hanging out in Toronto Friday night and doing a benefit show in Brampton, Ontario on Saturday. I’m sure I’ll have some fun things to talk about when I get back from there. Til next time… I’ll holla!

Summer Grind Time

The weather is finally starting to warm up and with summer-time fast approaching, I have no intentions on slowing my progress! Trying my best to fill up my calendar and keep getting valuable stage time (just confirmed 2 more bookings today!) I’ve got a couple of exciting shows coming up in June, highlighted by another headlining gig I’ll be doing in Vestal, NY, another trip to NYC, a major competition in Rochester, and even a winery tour up in Alexandria, Bay. I know… sounds real sadiddy right?

Check out my Schedule page to keep track of where I’ll be next and where I’ve been so far this year. The list continues to grow and I think I’ve already done more shows this year than I did the last 2 years combined. I’ve been on stage at least once every week and as many as 7 shows in one week. Unfortunately my streak may come to an end when I take a personal trip to Dallas the second weekend in June to visit a friend. I’m still doing some recon to see what opportunities I can come up with. Even if it’s just a 5 min guest spot one night, I just want to be able to say I performed in Texas while I was there. If anyone has an info for me, please don’t hesitate to share. Shoot me an email at ajfostercomedy@gmail.com if you know somebody that knows somebody that knows somebody that can help me out. I’ll be sure to post about it if I am able to make this happen.

I’m Having the Time of My Life

I’m really having a lot of fun doing comedy right now. I’ve said it before that there was a point last year where I was really just taking it too serious. I was trying so hard to be the best and win every competition I entered. I had some success, but whenever I did lose something I beat myself up about it. I’m still tough on myself now and very critical of each performance I have, but I’ve learned to live in the moment more. Of course I still want to improve and continue to grow, but I’m definitely stopping to smell the flowers along the way now.

That being said, I’ve made some tremendous progress in the last couple of months. I’m really finding myself as a comic and getting very comfortable on stage. There was a point when I would go a couple weeks at a time without getting up in front of an audience, but lately I’m on a mic multiple times a week and that extra stage time is really paying off. I’m working with nationally touring acts and just soaking up whatever wisdom they have to offer from their multiple years of experience.

I really don’t remember where I was even going with this blog. I started writing about an hour ago and after several interruptions I’ve completely lost my original train of thought. I’m still happy tho. *Starts singing Pharell’s song* “Because I’m happpppyyyyyy”

Anyway, next couple shows coming up:

I’m at Greenwich Village in NYC this Friday 5/16 @ 8pm. Call 929-251-3320 to reserve tickets.

Monday I’ll be in Rochester and next Friday I’m in Cherry Valley, NY. I know there was something else I wanted to write about, but I might post another blog tomorrow if I remember it.

P.S. Stay out of elevators with pissed chicks. I think a new phrase may have been born from that situation. Whenever you’re about to get into an altercation with someone, don’t ask them if they wanna take it outside. Ask them if they wanna take it to the elevator.

Ok goodnight!

Post show with Headliner Greg Morton this past weekend. Things got crazy that night