Bare Naked Brain Fodder

Funny Friday – Kyle’s Cult

Over the last year I’ve had the opportunity to closely work with one of the most genius comedians you’ll ever run across. His name is Kyle Cease.

Loyal readers of my blog or those that know me via social media surely know who Kyle is. Since I started really getting to know him he’s transitioned his career from just being a stand up comedian to being a motivational and keynote speaker. His latest college tour has had a tremendous impact on thousands of students as he speaks about his own anxiety and panic attacks he used to suffer from.

Over the last few months we actually put together a product that helps people to rid themselves of panic attacks. You can check that out at www.panicfreelife.com if you like.

However, today is Funny Friday and talking about panic attacks really isn’t all that hilarious. So, lets move onto something that is chuckle worthy, something like… Kyle’s Cult.

Last year Kyle went through some incredible changes in his career. He used to run a program called Stand Up Bootcamp with Louie Anderson, and in the process of doing that he took on a ton of criticism from many comics. Many of them were downright malicious and total dicks accusing Kyle of all kinds of crap they knew little about. The misinformation and hate was astronomical and really gave me some insight into just how miserable many comics are in their lives.

However, throughout the whole ordeal I got to witness him become a warrior when it comes to his mission in life. At first the criticism and hatred bothered him. Then he used it as fuel to grow into a battle tested soldier of the stage. To this day he continues to help comics and people in need of a better life advance their dreams and aspirations.

Most comics agree that you can’t teach people to be funny. And that was never the goal of Stand Up Bootcamp. Instead, it was a avenue to help people get in touch with who they really are, so they can let that shine on the stage. You pretty much have to see it in action to really understand.

Well, you are in luck because you are about to see that right now. Well, I lied. You won’t see it, but you will be able to hear it on podcast #19 of Kyle’s Cult.

Many people wonder what it would be like to do stand up comedy for the first time. For most, it’s a very scary feeling. And rightfully so. You’re looking for validation or laughs from the crowd about every 20 seconds. If you fall flat on 2 or 3 jokes, five minutes can seem like an eternity.

In this episode of Kyle’s Cult, Kyle and Diego are broadcasting from a club in Denver. During the podcast, he brings up a student and has him do his first ever set from the stage. But it’s after the set that the magic starts. You’ll get to hear first hand how Kyle transforms this guys act into something that comes from his core instead of a few jokes written from his head.

Watching Kyle work with students is such a treat because he gets so submerged into the process and really helps to dig out the gems in each comedians personality. You gotta listen to truly understand.

Listen To Kyle’s Cult Episode #19 By Clicking Here.

Click Here To Access All Of Kyle’s Podcasts.

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The other day while Kyle and I were working on some projects we stumbled across this little did giving a motivational speech about learning to ride a bike. You can see the original video by clicking here.

Truthfully, this kid actually inspired us to do a bunch of stuff that day. We accomplished a ton. Then we decided to make this video to accomplish the impossible…

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Well, it’s Friday and unless you’ve been living in a cave you’ve probably heard about overnight internet sensation Rebecca Black and her ridiculously catchy song Friday.

This girly has gotten about 17,000,000 views this week and a ton of hate mail and press. Poor girl. She’s only 13 and I’m sure she never expected anything like this to happen. Anyhow, we had to shoot a spoof. Kyle Cease pioneered the video and comedian Travon Free plays the rapper guy. Our buddy Diego edited the entire thing and Lana and I had small little cameos.

Grab some popcorn, cuz it’s Friday. errr…. I mean Wednesday.

Kyle did a follow up video today to give Rebecca Black a bit of encouragement. This is some really good advice for anyone dealing with haters or nay sayers.

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Have you ever wanted to propose to a girl but didn’t have enough scratch to purchase an engagement ring? Well, you may be in luck.

My buddy Kyle Cease is giving away his ex fiance’s engagement ring in a contest and all you have to do is leave a comment on the absolute worst way to leave Catalina Island and have your friends vote for you. Get the most votes and you could win this diamond engagement ring worth thousands of dollars.

Here’s Kyle with more info…

And here is the video where you need to comment if you’d like to win…

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Last month Lana and I were filming a silly video short for Comedy Central with my buddy Kyle Cease and we started to discuss viral videos. If you aren’t familiar with Kyle, you should definitely check out his site and opt into his mailing list at www.kylecease.com

The chat we were having was about “Speed Of Implementation” and how you needed to be ready to film spoofs at a moments notice. You may see something breaking on the news, get a great idea, and need to be ready to start filming and editing right away while the story is still hot. Well, this is about the hottest thing on the internet right now and Kyle quickly got to work and came up with this spoof…

The story of the real Ted Williams with the golden tongue is pure amazing. Everyone has been captivated by this fellow. And rightfully so. His story is nothing short of incredible considering just days ago he was pan handling on the streets of Ohio. Today he’s receiving more work offers than he can possibly take on. Good for him.

Anyhow, back to the idea of Speed Of Implementation. If you’ve ever seen Eben Pagan’s “Get Altitude” seminar you may of seen him talking about this concept. He suggested that those who are quick to create content are much more likely to succeed then those who sit around and try to plan the perfect scheme. While he was giving this speech from the stage I began to make a blog and follow his instructions. Before the lunch break I had a new blog up, and had made around $500 or so (can’t really remember the exact number).

I mentioned it to him after lunch and he brought me up before the crowd to share my story. It was a pretty exciting experience. Soon after, dozens in the crowd started sharing their results of their quick implementation tests. Lots of people raked in some serious coin by quickly implementing the advice they were given.

So, I just wanted to congratulate Kyle on quickly getting this Ted Williams spoof up so quickly, and for having such a positive impact on my life in 2010. He’s one of the most amazing guys I’ve ever met and he’s doing some incredible videos right now about commitment (he just did 90 days straight on raw food while doing P90X, and filmed a documentary about it), and a bunch of stuff on battling stage fright.

I can’t wait to show you some of the things he’s been privately doing behind the scenes. I believe it will motivate a lot of people to do some stellar things in 2011.

So, if you haven’t already check out Kyle’s blog and sign up for his mailing list (don’t worry, he almost never mails and barely ever pitches anything. He’s a comedian, not a marketer). You’ll be glad you did.

And, maybe you could help us try to get this video going viral. Think we can hit 50,000 views in a couple days? I bet we can!

Help us out and share on Facebook, Twitter, or your favorite social media channels.

Peace

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I was sitting back thinking what my favorite things were for 2010 and decided to list them. So here they are. What’s your faves from 2010? Let us know in the comments below…

Favorite Movie In 2010 = Inception
Runner Up = The Social Network

Favorite Band In 2010 = Zac Brown Band
Runner Up = The Roots

Favorite City I Traveled To 2010 = Austin Texas
Runner Up = New Orleans Louisiana

Favorite TV Series in 2010 = It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
Runner Up = The League

Favorite Website In 2010 = Surfline.com
Runner Up = Facebook.com

Favorite Comedian In 2010 = Kyle Cease
Runner Up = Chelsea Handler

Favorite Blogger In 2010 = Tynan Smith
Runner Up = John Carlton

Favorite YouTube Channel In 2010 = GoPotatoTV
Runner Up = KyleCease

Favorite Charitable Organization In 2010 = St. Jude Children’s Hospital
Runner Up = DonorsChoose.org

Favorite Surfboard Shaper In 2010 = Scott Raymond Henry
Runner Up = Shawn Ambrose

Favorite Health Advisor = David Wolfe
Runner Up = Kevin Gianni

Favorite Tweeter = Gary Vaynerchuk
Runner Up = Craig Clemens

Favorite Book In 2010 = The War For Late Night by Bill Carter
Runner Up = The Likeability Factor by Tim Sanders

Favorite iPhone App In 2010 = Google Maps
Runner Up = Scrabble

So those are mine. How about you? What are some of your faves?

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I want to share two comedy things with you today.

First of all, my buddy Halli Borgfjord has just released a new comedy CD called “Have you Been Borgfjorded Lately?” on iTunes today and he’d love it if you could help him climb the ranks at iTunes on his debut day today.

Halli Borgfjord

You can get it for only $9.99 by clicking here.

I just listened to the first 20 minutes and decided to come here and write a post about it. Halli is a funny guy. He’s also a really nice guy.

I like supporting nice guys, and I’m sure many of you feel the same. So flip the guy a 10 spot for his CD. You can download it directly from iTunes and be laughing in about 2 minutes.

The bit he does about Cougars is so so so true. Seriously. You gotta hear it.

Secondly, I wanted to play a video for you today from my buddy Kyle Cease.

The reason I want to play this video is because I believe a lot of things that hold back internet marketers from being comfortable on video is very similar to the feelings many up and coming comedians experience when taking the stage.

I’ve heard a ton of feedback from people that don’t believe they can do online video or they are not entertaining enough and a million other excuses. The truth is, they are stuck in their heads and worrying about approval from their peers online instead of just believing in what they bring to the table.

And hey I get it. The comments on YouTube can be downright ruthless. There are some really mean spirited people out there that can’t wait to blast their verbal diarrhea all over your hard work. But should that stop you? Or should you use that to fuel you to succeed?

Anyhow, in this video below at The Giraffe House, Kyle Cease goes off about being in the present, using your authentic voice, immersing yourself into your bits and truly owning your material. I’ve learned so much from Kyle over the last couple of weeks and am super thankful to be able to share ideas with such a great comedic genius.

Much of this material is about stand up comedy but I believe it translates right into the mindset needed to create compelling online videos and being comfortable with yourself online.

Enjoy.

Kyle’s Interview from The Giraffe House on Vimeo.

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During the last few weeks I’ve become pretty good friends with a stand up comedian named Kyle Cease. He’s such a devoted, hard working and driven person when it comes to his craft. Watching him in his element on stage has been a tremendous learning experience for me during the last month. His energy and commitment to growing and teaching has been very inspiring.

So yesterday I get a message from him on Facebook and he says…. “Watch the video posted on my page labeled the truth. so good!”.

So I did, and wow! This guy Eric Thomas has some serious mojo. Thanks for sharing this Kyle, and feel free to share this with others using the image/link below.

(Correction made. At first I was under the impression this guy’s name as Sean Walker. Apparently that is wrong, and Sean just may of been the guy that was sharing this video. His name is Eric Thomas and he goes by The Hip Hop Preacher. You can find his YouTube channel at… http://www.youtube.com/etthehiphoppreacher )

If you enjoyed this video feel free to share on Twitter by clicking the image below.

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I really want to thank Couch Surfing Ori for snapping these and a few other pics, and to Magic Ryan, Big Gay Matt, Rob & Kathi and Espree & Steven for coming out to The Comedy Store last night to see my set. It meant a lot to me that you’d drive all that way to see a 5 minute gig buried in with 27 other comics. Thanks so much, you guys rock!

I’ll post the video of the performance once it is edited.

Rocking the mic at The Comedy Store in Hollywood

Kyle Cease gifting me some TP for my explosive diarrhea

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Day 2 of Stand Up Bootcamp was nuts. The morning started out with Harland Williams showing up. You probably know Harland from such movies as Dumb and Dumber, Something About Mary and Half Baked.

It was evident right away that Harland is a comedic genius. His ability to improvise and adapt to funny things around him are absolutely incredible. In fact, he tends to just wing most of his material instead of writing a structured set when performing stand up. It was very interesting to dig into the mind of Harland and see how he works. What he does is very raw and organic.

Of course what he does is just absurd too. His jokes are absolutely ridiculous at times and I think that is part of why we loved him so much. He was just being himself and not trying to do anything more. I think I resonated more with Harland than anybody so far because I’m such a free spirit as well. Plus we both tend to act like 8 year old kids more often then adults. I could tell Kyle was really inspired by Harland as well and was very appreciative to have him stop by and chat with us.

One memorable thing Harland said while there was… “Don’t bring the show to the people, bring the people to your show”. What he meant by that was you have to truly own what you are doing and believe in your bit. You run the mic, the stage and the crowd. Well, hopefully you run the crowd, if you bring the people to your show. Or who knows, maybe he meant something totally different and I just put those words into his mouth.

Next up was Allan Havey. Allan is a grizzled vet in the world of stand up, rocking the mic for about 30 years. One key thing that he said that made a lot of sense to me was that if you are auditioning for a part, you are auditioning for everyone in the room, not just the casting directors. You never know what is going to happen in 2 to 10 years from now and it’s just possible that the receptionist, a errand boy or even a competing actor may remember your audition at some point later. People move up and down the ladder to success all the time and you never know who the next casting director may be.

I also dug the advice Allan gave about having other shit going on in your life that people can’t take away from you. It’s not healthy to get so involved in comedy or acting that it becomes the only thing in your life that fulfills you. We need more. I totally got this advice big time as I can’t imagine someone trying to take surfing away from me. I need it way too much.

Allan also recommended a few books and movies which aren’t necessarily about comedy but were very helpful in advancing his career. They were… The Road Less Traveled, The Artist’s Way, True and False, Overnight and Every Little Step.

After hearing so much advice from men, it was refreshing to have Carol Leifer take the stage. Carol is a well respected comedian and writer. Her biggest gig is probably being a writer on Seinfeld.

Carol spent some time encouraging the bootcampers to really dig into writing personal stuff about their lives as people are much more engaged. Also you can write with so much more passion and authenticity when you are digging deep within yourself.

I love the title of Carol’s book… “When You Lie About Your Age The Terrorists Win”, mostly because it’s true. So don’t lie about your age. Especially if you are 17 and trying to sleep your way up the ladder.

The day didn’t stop here though. Louie and Kyle have this bootcamp stocked with folks who’ve been at this for a long time.

Tom Wilson joined along as well and told some amazing stories about the legends that frequented the Comedy Store. He worked at the Comedy Store back in the day as a door man. He also said he worked as a “Back Door Man”. I was like… “Tom, your lobbing me softballs with that one man”.

Tom told us a crazy story about being with John Belushi the night he died. He watched John depart from the Comedy Store only to never be seen again. It was pretty intense. RIP Belushi.

Most people will recognize Tom as the guy who played Biff in Back To The Future but he’s got an extensive background in Stand Up as well. His advice was invaluable.

Along with Tom was a gentleman named Jim Hope. It was interesting to hear Jim speak because he spent more time behind the scenes as a writer. I really dug hearing his perspective and how he managed his time in the crazy world of Hollywood television. I have to admit, all his hard work almost made me tired thinking about it. The guy is definitely dedicated to his craft and has put in a ton of time.

I liked it when Jim said to not hold onto ideas and pitches that don’t work. Sometimes you just have to let things go and move on. Also, he gave some great advice about not being too eager to have the big talent scouts see you too early as you may give them a chance to judge you before you are really ready. And once someone doesn’t like you, it’s really hard to turn that around.

I have so much more that I want to say about each comic and the value that they brought to the bootcamp, but I need to get my ass out of bed and back down to the Comedy Store for the next day. Plus I still need to write an act to perform on Sunday.

Speaking of Sunday, if you want to come down to the Comedy Store and see me and a slew of other talented comedians perform let me know. I’ll get you some free tickets to the show.

Peace

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