A New Leaf Media

Hello everyone!

Three weeks in, three issues of The Pun and time for some disagreement! It is time to throw a bone amongst the dogs and watch everyone tear each other apart as they try to be the King Bitch of the litter. But who amongst us would ever dare such a thing? Why I, your humble writer of this column, a bon vivant sheep wrangler with an axe to grind. Feel free to disagree with everything I write, but please have an opinion??preferably your own.

It was with quite a bit of interest that I read the column ‘I Am Not A Comedy Junkie’ by Mel Campbell, expressing her God-given right that spruiking at the Town Hall is a terrible job, nay the ‘??ultimate humiliation!’ Now I agree with Mel that spruiking may not make my top ten lists of things I would like to do with my time but the ultimate humiliation? Now I am not one for hyperbole but this is the most outrageous comment I have ever heard in my entire life! I can think of many worse scenarios that would lead to the ultimate humiliation.

Try standing in a store and a Jessica Simpson song is played and you find yourself singing along? What about making love to a beautiful lady only to call out the name of your Mother? How about performing in a room to no one? Yes, there are many worst humiliations (And only one of the above has happened to me??I will let you choose which one.), and while spruiking is not necessarily fun, it is necessary. It is a great way to build your audience from the ground level up. In the past four festivals, I have experienced the travail of this ultimate humiliation and now have people who come to my show who remember speaking to me outside the Town Hall. If you don’t have the money to tackle the big comedy promoters (And God knows who does? Not even God I would wager.). This is the best way to find your way in the world of comedy.

I would hazard a guess that Mel is not meaning to place a dampener on the spirits of the good comedians who do spruik their cute little arses off at the Town Hall, but rather than putting them down we should celebrate their endeavour, their spirit to go out there every night and find a crowd that they entertain with mirth and mayhem. I know I do, and even though this year I have people I pay to flyer for me (a ‘luxury’ five years in the making), I often go down early to chat to these people because they are not only comrades in the war against seriousness but also fine friends.

Thank you for your time and enjoy the rest of the Comedy Festival.

Justin Hamilton
Patron Saint of Spruikers