This is what happens when comedians write.
“Mike, at your core, what do you live, breathe, and think about every day?” Then it hit me: STAND-UP COMEDY. That’s it. That’s my world. That’s why I came to Los Angeles. That’s what makes me tick. That’s my passion. If it wasn’t for stand-up, I would never have met and opened for Bob Saget for thirteen years and had him introduce me to John Stamos, who starred in the first film I wrote and directed, My Man Is a Loser. Stand-up is what I am. It’s where I come from.
The Rock Comedy Tour was a twenty-five-city tour sponsored by our friends at Rocket Mortgage. Dan Gilbert, the founder of Rocket, is a comedy fan. Dan produced my last film, Stealing Jokes, a comedy about four comics who rob a comedy club and make off with the dough. One day, we were watching TV at his house and a Rocket commercial came on with Tracy Morgan in it. The commercial was funny. I said to Dan, “You’re already in the comedy business, you know that, right? Why don’t you sponsor a tour?” And that was it — two light bulbs went off, and we were off and running.
The Rock Comedy Tour was amazing. I handpicked comics I loved and wanted to work with: Annie Lederman, Steve Treviño, Bret Ernst, Erik Griffin, Ha Ha Davis, etc. All killers.
Phoenix: opening night of the tour, and we’re nervous. It’s myself, Bret Ernst — the star of Cobra Kai on Netflix — and Brent Morin, a hilarious comic who’s been starring in sitcoms for years. Backstage, I’m pacing around nervously since I know the heads of Rocket’s marketing team are in the house. I’m shadowboxing over the fruit plate. I’m peeking out into the room from the green room to make sure the crowd is filing in and seems in good spirits. I’m going over my notes. I’m shuffling index cards around, thinking to myself, “Do I do the ‘Divorced men are lost’ bit, or maybe I open with the ‘Being single is exhausting’ bit?” I’ll feel it out.
I peek out into the room once again. The Rocket suits seem in great spirits. The place is packed. Sold out on night one of the tour.
Now it’s time to set the lineup. I figure I produced the tour, and even though I’m on it, let me open the tour, give the crowd a little briefing, and bring on Bret Ernst. Bret tells me, “Don’t forget to say I play Cousin Louie on Cobra Kai on Netflix.” Okay, I got it.
The crowd is antsy. I look over at Brent Morin. He’s chewing on carrot sticks to calm his nerves. I hear the music in the background, which tells me the show’s about to start.
“Alright, Mike, don’t forget to bring Bret up and say, ‘He plays Cousin Louie on Netflix.’”
The music drops. The voice of God says, “Please welcome to the stage the founder of the Rock Comedy Tour, Mike Young.”
I hit the stage, look out over the massive crowd, tell them a bit about the tour, and now it’s time for Bret’s intro.
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE WELCOME TO THE STAGE — HE PLAYS ‘COUSIN VINNY’ ON COBRA KAI — BRET ERNST!”
Bret hit the stage, shook my hand, whispered in my ear, “You blew my intro,” and went on to crush.
From that moment on, the tour was a smash success, and I never went on first again.
Comedy is important.
“Mike, at your core, what do you live, breathe, and think about every day?” Then it hit me: STAND-UP COMEDY. That’s it. That’s my world. That’s why I came to Los Angeles. That’s what makes me tick. That’s my passion.