In 2010, I performed at my first comedy club. I had just gotten done with a college comedy competition in my undergrad, having never put together a set before. That doesn’t mean I lacked mic and stage experience. I had actually been on stage for open mic nights, events, and competitions before. I also had event hosting experience and public speaking. In all of those past experiences, I took opportunities to crack a few jokes and evoke some laughter. It was a good time. I’d also love to give some credit to having a radio show in college, but I never knew if anyone was laughing. At least in person they’ll tell you if you suck.
Despite the nerves, I had a decent first show. I used my real name at the time because I hadn’t even thought of a stage name. I fumbled on some jokes and struggled between one-liners and telling a story. Comedy was different than the other stuff I did - logistically different. There were specific ways to hold a mic, structure a joke, stage etiquette, which I didn’t know or understand at the time. I listened to a lot of comedy and watched specials on comedy central (pre-Netflix. However, I’ve adapted.), but I never picked up on the little things they did. Since then, I’ve read, studied, and have gotten advice from people that have done it much longer than me.
I’ve been verbalizing my comedy ambitions since middle school, but I didn’t know to what extent - mostly because I had accepted that it was one of those things that would be difficult to do and wouldn’t pay well anyway. So I focused on other investments of my time and let the comedy dream sit for a while. Even after that first performance I let it sit.
During the first show, I guess the mic was too far from my face and there was a conversation going on near the stage. One of the patrons said something to me about slowing down. Which makes sense, because I was talking way too fast, given the nerves. I still got a lot of laughs though. When I walked back to my seat, I was approached by a female comic that gave me some advice about how to hold the mic because people couldn’t hear everything I was saying. I was still kinda mad at myself for how I handled the situation (add it to my reasons of self-loathing - comedy standard, I think), so my response, while simply “Okay, yeah, I’m new to this” might have came off snappy? Hers was “Well, I’m just letting YOU know, as someone that’s been doing this.” Which, I thought was weird. Anyway, she went up to the stage next and ended up making some joke and referencing me, which is what comedians do - make references. It got a solid pop. Meantime, some guy was talking to me about another comedy show, so several months later I had jumped into that one. But after those two shows, I had really chilled on comedy. I didn’t even tell my friends until after the fact. I sure as hell didn’t invite them to shows. “Why not, Dejay?” I know, I know - it doesn’t really make sense to me either. I just needed more time. I still need more time to perfect the craft and I’m hesitant to invite people out.
I liked messing around on the mic when I was doing other stuff still. There was less of an expectation for you to do things a certain way. It’s easy to sprinkle a joke in here and there and get some laughs (sn: I’m probably a better host than comedian). I spent the better portion of 2012 and 2013 traveling the nation for production company that did college events. Most of those travels were doing college gameshows. This gave me a great opportunity to travel and work a mic. (I also slid some jokes into the gameshow presentation, which always went over pretty well.)
In August of 2013, I realized based on my unhappiness with my living situation, unstable finances, and a bad breakup (the recipe for a good movie really), a voice in my head said, “Get a f**king microphone.” I started doing open mic nights, comedy nights, events, fundraisers, etc. I started traveling regionally, specifically to do comedy. As long as I had the gas money, I was on the move. I only recently bombed my first show (granted, most of the comedians that night bombed, but still. The crowd was on some other shit that night). People kept telling me that everybody bombs, but I was on a hot streak. Unfortunately, I had my first legit heckler. It threw me for a bit of a loop - I wasn’t ready for him at all. I bounced some jokes off of him and got a decent response though. But, by the end of the set, I was just pissed off.
I created the stage name because I didn’t want my “professional” life to intersect with what I was trying to do on stage, or limit the controversial stuff I might talk about. Part of me thought it would also be easier to practice with strangers than trying to convince my friends that I can be funny. One of the worst questions you can be asked is, “Are you funny?” No, not at all. I don’t know why I’m here. They keep sending me emails and I keep signing up. I launched a Facebook like page only because promo is kinda my thing. I do some graphic design stuff and figured that’s just what you do - brand yourself. Turns out there are guys that have been doing comedy for years and still don’t have good promo set up. Welp, we’re here now and I’m not going to dial it down for the sake of egos. I shouldn’t have created the page this early. I guess I’ll have to step up, huh?
Now we’re bringing in 2015. I’m working on standup routines, sketches, and screenplays (planning to shoot in the spring/summer). I’m in the competition for Funniest Person in Grand Rapids. I might be a part of the Laugh Fest Comedy Festival. I'm not some hot shot. I'm really just learning as I go and excited for the things that are coming. I appreciate all the support from my friends that I've slowly told what I was working on over the past year. I'm going to continue working at it and doing some other cool things as well. You can keep up with all that I'm doing by liking the DeJay Patson Facebook page and following me on social media. Twitter/Instagram: @dejaypatson
You guys make me hate people less. Not a lot less, but less. I love you. Hate everyone else, but I love YOU.
All jokes aside,
DeJay Patson
