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There’s a song I wrote on a freeway driving between gigs forty years ago that nobody’s ever heard.

I started doing stand-up in 1976. I grew up in Birmingham, Michigan, north of Detroit, out in the hinterlands.

I was seven years old when I saw Woody Allen on Ed Sullivan in our living room. My father says I stood right in front of the screen watching him, and when it was over I turned around and said, “That’s what I want to do. I want to be a comedian.” My mother says it didn’t happen that way. She says he told me to move because I was blocking the TV.

All I ever wanted to do was stand-up and make movies. That never stopped. Not once, not for a day.

But in those years there were no comedy clubs. The concept didn’t exist yet. There was a small stalwart group of comics in New York. Budd Friedman’s Improvisation. A place called Catch a Rising Star. That was about it. When Carson moved The Tonight Show west, the comics followed, and L.A. became the Mecca. If you lived outside Detroit like I did, or anywhere else in America, you never saw live stand-up. Unless George Carlin came through on a concert date, or some unknown opened for a music act.

The first live comic I ever saw was brilliant. His name was Darrow Igus. He opened for Gino Vannelli at Olympia Stadium, fifteen thousand seats, and I’m fairly sure I was the only person there to see the comedian. Darrow walked out in front of a crowd that had no idea who he was, had them laughing hard for twenty minutes, and left to thunderous applause. I was hooked. I needed that kind of applause so badly I could taste it.

There was nowhere to learn it. Not anywhere near me. When I was fifteen my father was traveling, saw a book in an airport bookstore called The Last Laugh by Phil Berger, bought it, came home and threw it on my bed. It changed my life.

It chronicled those New York comics. The day to day of Robert Klein and George Carlin, new guys just off amateur night named Jay Leno and Ed Bluestone. And it described a brand new place in Los Angeles called The Comedy Store. That was the life I wanted. From that moment on it was all I cared about.

My childhood friend Tim Daugherty would drive me up to Ann Arbor, and we’d talk the music clubs into putting me onstage between acts, something I’d read Leno did as a kid. The Pretzel Bell and the Blind Pig let me up. They were less enthusiastic about letting me stay up. A sixteen year old doing Woody Allen’s act was not what those rooms were built for.

So I fled to L.A. the minute I got out of high school. Drove straight to The Comedy Store and auditioned on potluck night. Mitzi Shore took a liking to me and gave me a job as a doorman and late night spots.

I’ve told the Comedy Store years here before. That’s not what today is about.

Today is about something else that changed my life, and the lives of a lot of comics. The birth of the comedy club out in the middle of the country.

Because there was nothing out there. Zanies in Chicago, and that was essentially it. You couldn’t tour as a comedian. There was nowhere to tour to. Unless you got an opening slot for a music act, you didn’t work outside New York or L.A. I was lucky and got a few of those. I opened for Miles Davis. And Andy Williams took me on the road with him one summer.

Then a producer named George Foster remade an old fifties show called Make Me Laugh. Three comedians a week, trying to make contestants laugh who were being paid not to. We’d shoot five shows in a day, a full week, and they’d air at 11 p.m. on independent stations across the country. This was before cable, before streaming. Three networks and a few independents. That was television.

We went up against the news at 11, during the Iran hostage crisis, the gas lines, a country tired of falling asleep to bad news every single night. So a comedy show at 11 p.m. became a hit. Gallagher. Garry Shandling. Bob Saget. Howie Mandel. Jim Carrey. Bruce Baum. Gary Mule Deer. All of us, over and over.

And it gave a guy in Detroit named Mark Ridley an idea.

He was out in L.A., came to The Comedy Store, saw fifteen and twenty comics on a single lineup. He thought, I don’t have local comics like New York or L.A. But what if I did it like Make Me Laugh? Three acts. A local guy to emcee, a middle, and a headliner. He found me after a show and asked if I’d come back to Detroit and headline it if he found a room.

I said, “Hell yes.”

Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle opened in the basement of a restaurant called the Meeting Place, out in West Bloomfield. I was the first headliner. It worked. Then Cleveland. Then a string called Giggles. Then everywhere. The Punch Line, Yuk-Yuk’s, Ha-Ha’s, the Comedy Crockpot, a hundred other stupid names. It didn’t matter what they were called. Audiences knew what they were, and they came out to see the comics they’d watched on Carson and Make Me Laugh.

That’s how the comedy club circuit in America was born.

We became road warriors. I loved it. Young, single, a drinker and a pothead, on a hit show, headlining anywhere I wanted for three thousand a weekend. I’d died and gone to heaven.

One night around forty years ago, driving from a gig in Tulsa to a gig in Dallas, I pulled over on the side of the freeway and wrote down the words to a song about exactly what I was doing with my life.

It sat in a notebook for forty years. This week I used AI to finally give it a melody and bring it to life. The photos are mostly mine.

Tell me which comics you recognize. Click the link here.

ROLLING THROUGH TULSA

Enjoy!

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Enjoy this episode. One of my favorites so far!

Also, in LA this week? Killer show at the Laugh Factory. Come out and join us.

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This Monday show is going to be one of our best ever!!

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If you want to know who the next breakout clean comic with timing so sharp it could slice deli meat is, ask the guy who already is that. Because Nate Bargatze, for all the country boy humility and "aw shucks" charm, has a real eye for talent. The guy knows comedy. Not just how to do it — how to spot it.

And he’s spotted it in Aaron Weber.

If you’re not already watching Aaron Weber, pause whatever you’re doing — including reading this, I’ll allow it — and hit play below on his new special, Signature Dish, streaming now on YouTube. It's the first full-length special under the Nateland banner, the comedy house Nate's quietly been building while nobody was looking. And Aaron’s the first guy through the gate. That tells you everything you need to know.

Except it doesn’t. So let’s keep going.

The First Time I Saw Aaron Weber

It was a Nashville night. I was at Zanies my buddy Dorf and his brother’s comedy club— where else? — and Aaron was on the show. I didn’t know him. I wasn’t expecting anything. That’s the best way to meet a new comic: zero hype, zero pressure, just lights up and let's see what happens.

What happened was… he killed. Not in a flashy, look-at-me kind of way. No gymnastics. No pyrotechnics. He killed with writing. With poise. With what I can only describe as this cool, old-school, country-store confidence. Like he was standing in front of a cracker barrel, telling you a story, and somehow halfway through you realize your sides hurt from laughing.

And I remember thinking: This guy’s the real deal.

I’ve met a lot of comics. A lot of funny people. But there’s a difference between funny people and funny performers. Aaron’s both. And beyond that, he’s already a pro. He’s doing the job like someone who’s been at it for twenty years, but with the energy and freshness of someone who still wants it.

And that’s a combo you don’t find every day.

So Who Is Aaron Weber?

If you know Nate’s podcast, Nateland, you already know Aaron. He’s the third guy at the table. The one who looks like he either runs a successful youth ministry or owns a small chain of hunting gear shops. He’s got the beard, the warmth, and the straight-faced delivery of a guy who could read your high school lunch menu and make it hilarious.

But stand-up wise? He’s a throwback — in the best possible way.

There’s a sincerity to Aaron’s act. A friendliness. He’s not trying to be edgy. He’s not pushing buttons. He’s just talking. And yet… he’s destroying. Why? Because the material is rock solid. The structure is there. He’s doing comedy the way it’s supposed to be done: from the ground up.

It’s not loud. It’s not political. It’s not preachy.

It’s funny.

Signature Dish: A Coming Out Party

Aaron’s new special, Signature Dish, is thirty minutes of tightly woven, beautifully delivered material that feels both old-school and totally fresh. It’s polished but loose. Personal but universal. Clean but clever.

And let me say something for the comics in the back: clean is hard.

There’s this misconception that “clean comedy” means “easy” or “light” — but let me tell you, it takes real talent to make a room full of adults laugh without leaning on shock, sex, or swearing. That’s the kind of comedy that sticks. That’s the kind you can bring your kids and your grandma to — and they’ll both walk out quoting it.

In Signature Dish, Aaron hits on family, food, small-town quirks, his own awkwardness — all with the confidence of someone who knows exactly who he is. He’s not pretending. He’s not trying to be Nate. He’s just Aaron. And that’s more than enough.

The Nate Effect

Let’s talk about Nate for a second. Because behind every great breakout comic, there’s usually a tastemaker. A platform. A promoter who knows what they’re doing.

Nate didn’t just give Aaron a mic. He gave him a stage, a spotlight, and his audience’s trust. That’s huge.

Nateland isn’t just a podcast anymore — it’s a brand. And if this special is the first dish coming out of that kitchen, we’re all gonna eat good.

In the same way Judd Apatow built careers by championing voices like Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, and Amy Schumer… Nate is doing something very similar, in a very Nate way. Quietly. Kindly. But smart as hell.

Why Aaron’s About to Blow Up

Here’s my prediction: within the year, Aaron Weber will be headlining theaters. Within two? He’s gonna be a household name.

Why? Because he’s got the goods. And now he’s got the platform.

He’s not chasing trends. He’s building an audience. And that’s how long-term careers are made.

You don’t need to shock to stand out. You don’t need to yell to be heard. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel — just roll it out smoothly.

Aaron’s doing that. And people are noticing.

Watch This Special Before Everyone’s Talking About It

This is your moment to get in on the ground floor. To say you saw him before he blew up. Before the Netflix deal. Before the next late-night couch. Before he’s selling out four nights at the Ryman.

Watch Signature Dish. It’s free, it’s fantastic, and it’s the kind of special that makes you believe in comedy again.

And, if you’re in LA tomorrow night… Another great show!!

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This weeks show is a winner.

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I can not tell you how much I love this guys work. He's so much fun for me to watch. There's an authentic ring to his comedy and his tone that I love like when I first saw Louie Anderson, or Dane Cook. He's a great storyteller, and a true entertainer. Audiences love Jesus. I've never seen him not destroy. He has an instant likability. I remember the first time I ever saw my buddy Dave Coulier in Detroit onstage at Mark Ridley's club and he just had that one thing that made him so special to an audience. I knew Dave was going to be a star. That's the way I felt the night I first saw Jesus at Flappers.

He's on the podcast this week. Check it out. It's up now everywhere.

CHECK OUT HIS STAND UP on this DON'T TELL spot.

If you're in LA check out my show tonight at the Laugh Factory. This is a big one.

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Matt’s a New York comedy beast. He’s sharp, dark, and funny. He’s on the podcast talking about BOLO his awesome special on You Tube, that’s something truly worth checking out.

It’s Matt at his best: raw, real, and ripping into life’s absurdities with a signature edge the New York Times called “button-pushing” and “funny.” His style’s a mix of cerebral gut-punches and pitch-black humor. We’re diving deep into how he crafted this one, what it’s like to sling jokes in today’s world, and why he’s one of the smartest voices in standup right now. Plus, you know me I’ll drop in something totally awkward and non-sensical and bring the whole thing to a dead halt.

Watch the podcast then check out BOLO

AND… IF YOU’RE IN LA MONDAY NIGHT AT 7:30

DANE COOK, DANNY JOLLES, DWIGHT PRYDE, and CHAR RAMTIN are with me on the show. Come out and have fun.

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If you don’t know Leonarda Jonie yet, you’re missing out on a comedic wildfire. She calls herself "the most canceled comedian in America right now," and she’s got the receipts to prove it. Clubs have kicked her out, and cancelled her sold out shows. The outrage mob’s torched her, and she just keeps swinging—unapologetic, fearless, and funny as hell. I’m a huge fan, and I’m not shy about it. Here’s why I am,—and why I’ve asked her to join me on stage this Monday, February 24th, at the Laugh Factory on Sunset Blvd.

Leonarda’s whole thing is breaking the rules everyone else tiptoes around. That’s to me where the best comedy comes from and right now we live in the world a lot of comedians who try to be so edgy and fearless are really always skating where they know the ice is nice and thick. When you think of the comedy that broke Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Ricky Gervais and newer comics like Tony Hinchliffe, Andrew Schultz, Big Jay Oakerson, and Shane Gillis, it was making jokes and talking about things that got or could have got them in trouble. They knew it and we knew they knew it, and that made the laughter that much deeper.

I first caught Leonarda on X, where clips like "MOST BANNED Comedian Leonarda Jonie ROASTS Lefties Like Never Before!" were blowing up. Her style—sharp, raw, and unfiltered—hooked me instantly. She’s not just shocking for kicks; her takes are clever and hit hard, making you laugh and think at the same time.

She’s no stranger to the cancel hammer. Recently, she sent out a text using the n-word and the internet erupted—X posts went wild, calling her everything from a free-speech icon to a piece of garbage villain. My response to her on it was, “Maybe dial it back a bit?” Her answer was pure Leonarda: she was making a point, not just stirring shit, and she hates being told what she can or can’t say. I get it. That’s her core—she’s not here to be tamed. I will tell you, she has two things going against her, and though, I usually don't bowl in this lane, it's true. One, she's a woman, and two, even more importantly, she's a conservative.

Last week she got canceled in Chicago, with help from a Chicago-based comic I might add, which pissed me off. I’ve invited her to my show this Monday at the Laugh Factory. She thinks, I might catch some heat for it, but I don’t care. I want her on that stage—I love her stuff, and I'd like some people in LA to see her in person and see what she's doing.

Here’s the thing: First off, I’m hate to see comics trying to get other comics canceled. Leonarda’s been slammed before.

To be fair, she does bring a lot of it on herself. She went up against Ian Fidance who I also think is funny, and edgy in his own way, but she kind of pulled the rug out from under him because in my opinion, Ian took it to too personal, considering she was messing with him about his sexuality and the like which is almost his stage persona so he should have let it go, or come at it in a more clever take, but, again, she’s a brawler and she’s looking for an alley fight most of the time, and Ian gave her one.

Her Indian immigrant comments on a podcast last year set off a firestorm—but she didn't flinch. She left New York for Austin, Texas, chasing a freer comedy scenes, she had a good set on at Joe Rogan’s Comedy Mothership, was on Kill Tony with Tony Hinchliffe, a show you almost need to be on today if that’s your lane of stand up, and she held her own. In a Blaze Media interview, she said Austin’s vibe drew her in, even if it’s tightening up too. She’s not whining—she’s fighting, and I’m with her. That’s why I hope people come out this Monday night, February 24th, at the Laugh Factory at 7:45 to support us.

Leonarda’s not for everyone, and that’s why she’s great. Her podcast "Wrong Crowd" is a chaotic blast, though I'm not sure she's still doing it, although she should. It's a perfect venue for her. Her stand-up riffs on feminism, the "manosphere," even her Jew jokes with her Montenegro-to-NYC-to-Texas edge are funny. She was also just great on Roseanne’s podcast. She’s free in a way most comics aren’t, her mouth just goes and goes until it gets run over by a truck, and that’s her strike zone—poking holes in the off-limits stuff and having fun with it. Comedy obviously needs to push buttons, now and always, and right at this moment, she’s leading the charge.

Get TICKETS at the LAUGH FACTORY WEBSITE and see her now. She’s very soon going to be the next big thing in comedy. Bookmark this.

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Okay, here's one more thing. If you want to get info on all of the shows I'm producing in the Southern Ca. area and then all over the country, and about guest lists and other stuff, text here and get on this new one too. I don't want to spam you with anything on either of these lists, but I want to be able to let people know about what we're doing. So if you want to be up on the show lists, get that intel, get on my guest list when you need to, text 'MIKE' at 55444 and jump on that one.

Have a great week. Look for the stuff to laugh at. It'll keep you healthy.

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.....OKAY. HOLD UP. WRONG! WRONG! TAKE 2....

This is what I wanted to write. Damn it. I was pissed. My ego almost got the best of me. I was good and fired up when I was sent a copy of a recent Magazine article with an interview with Anthony Jeselnik, who I thought was my friend, trashing me along with several other comedians.

First off, if you’re wondering what he said about me to piss me off, here it is:

Nikki Glaser recalls seeing Jeselnik perform early in his career. “He had his notes onstage and said, ‘I don’t have these notes because I don’t know my jokes. I brought these notes because I don’t respect any of you.’ That was a formative moment for me,” she says.

Jeselnik comments on this “That’s one of my favorite jokes. I always do it when I’m trying out jokes, and then in the Showtime documentary about the Comedy Store that Mike Binder fucked up, he used it without my permission. He put it in there. And listen, no one saw that thing, so I can still do it.”

For the record, I'm pretty sure Jeselnik did in fact know I was using it. I remember it that he told me he wasn’t thrilled but said he was fine with it. I thought it was a great comedy club moment, and he agreed. The Comedy Store documentary did well on Showtime, Hulu, Amazon, Sky, and around the world. Maybe Anthony thinks it didn’t because we only included one or two of his interview segments in the entire five-hour documentary. Why? Because all he wanted to talk about was how much better he was than everyone else at the Store during his time there and even before, which pretty much matches what he says in the Vulture interview.

He’s brutally honest about his views on the state of stand-up comedy: “I would guess that most of my comic friends think I’m a better comic—that I’m more pure, that I do things they would not try to do.”

On Matt Rife, a comedian with growing popularity, Jeselnik says, “I truly believe all roads lead to me. I also take exception to the idea that the country prefers Matt Rife over me. I just don’t know why you’d eat steak and then want cow shit.”

Does it bother him that audiences are drawn to Rife? “I’m sure Gordon Ramsay doesn’t lose sleep at night because McDonald’s sells billions of hamburgers.”

When asked about Tony Hinchcliffe, Jeselnik doesn’t hold back: “He thought the Brady roast was his big moment, even though I think those jokes were hack as hell. He’s a troll, basking in the shadow of Joe Rogan.”

I GOT WAY BENT OUT OF SHAPE

Like I'm want to do, and I thought, well, fine, as a rule, I've been only writing about specials that I'm genuinely nuts over. I haven't wanted to waste any time writing about specials unless I loved them, or thought I truly got something out of them. Then I thought, good, here's a chance to trash the shit out of someone's special. I'm gonna write a hate letter to Jeselnik's new fucking hour. Let's go!

So I sat down in a bitch squat and wrote a hissy fit of a review about what a one-note comic the guy is and how his tired mean boy one liners are brilliant, yeah, okay, but they're all the same and it's now just one retreaded special after another. I went after him. Compared him positively to my friend Steven Wright but I cleverly pointed out that Steve knew the limits to the form of what's basically stand up pointillism, was smart enough not to milk it by doing too many specials, bla, bla, bla,...

Then I just wrote lots of more real whiny ass shit and basically proclaimed in what I was sure was a witty and clever way that it was a lame, waste of a special, and Netflix needs to wise up and move on from this wafer thin talent of a nobody.

Then, right before I posted it, I thought. Hmmm. Maybe I should at least watch a little of it.

So I did. I went onto Netflix. Watched the special that I had already reviewed.

AH FUCK!

This asshole made another brilliant special. God damn it!!!! And he's not anywhere close to one note. Number one, it's funny as hell. Flat out hysterical. Number two, maybe more important, I think he may be the best living joke writer there is right now. I really believe that. Nikki Glasser is correct. You just don't know where he's going. And he's not doing one liner sixty second Wright, Mitch Hedberg style jokes. That's not what he does anymore. Really hasn't for awhile, but this show is much more story-telling, more chunks and themes that all piece together in a unique way. It's a fast hour. So fast.

A great hour. I was so pissed off. Was beside myself. He is in fact high end steak. I mean, honestly, I don't know what he's doing slagging off other comedians in articles, that doesn't seem to be the side of him I've seen, but maybe when you're that good you can do that shit.

But damn. I can't recommend his new special enough.

Go to Netflix and watch this thing. You're going to love it. FUCK!!! FUCK!!!!!

ALSO, if you're in LA, come out tomorrow, Mon, Dec 2nd to the Laugh Factory for another great show.

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AND..

Her new Netflix special was directed by Louis C.K. who is as good as directing these things as anyone else I’ve ever seen. This one’s shot at The Comedy Cellar in NY and it’s no-frills so you can just watch the comic, which I happen to love in a special.

You might have caught her set opening for Louis on his ‘Back to the Garden’ special. If not, this it.

But definitely go on one of your kids Netflix and watch her special. THE DARK QUEEN. She’s going to be a big shot soon and you’ll want to say you were into her before your neighbor you don’t like was.

I’m giving you a good tip here. Don’t waste it. Love you!!

Also, if you’re in town, tomorrow, at the Laugh Factory. MIKE BINDER and FRIENDS

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Come on down. PS. The Don Knotts thing is a joke. If you come expecting to see the long dead, Knotts, I’m going to tease you.

Love you, Ed!

Ed pictured with, Mitzi Shore, Jay Leno, and Billy Braver in People Magazine circa 1977.

If you have any good Ed Bluestone stories or memories, share them here. Thanks.

Also, if you’re in LA MONDAY NIGHT…. This Monday.Nov.4th. Another killer. Come out, and say hello.

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Okay, I've screwed up a few times but this was a big one. This is a masterclass in what not to do in the making of a podcast episode. This one was unusable. The sound was awful. I wanted to blame Kailey the producer but it was truly my fault. I was bummed too because I've wanted to have Greg on for a long time, and his new special, YOU KNOW ME, shot at the Comedy Mothership, was pretty damn amazing.

I did some quick re-jigging though, patched together a new episode. Let me know what you think. I feel it tells the story pretty well. I learned a lesson, put it that waty.

CLICK HERE FOR GREG'S YOU TUBE CHANNEL

Also, check out his new special on YOU TUBE

Also, if you’re in LA MONDAY NIGHT…. This Monday. Oct 28th. Another killer. Come out, and say hello.

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And Text me to 'MIKE' at 55444 to get on my guest list for FREE TIX and info on all of the shows we're putting on.

Thanks a lot!

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Josh Wolf has an incredibly fun and entertaining new special up on YOUTUBE called FOUR STORIES that is truly worth checking out. It's a lot of laughs and a great look into an interesting as hell stand up artist. FOUR STORIES. It speaks for itself. But these are four good ones.

Also check out the conversation on it and a lot of other things on this weeks episode of the podcast. It's number 79 and he's my very first return guest but I wanted to have him on because this special is so much fun. Plus I really love this guy. I want to be him when I grow down.

WATCH THE SPECIAL.

CLICK HERE FOR JOSH'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Also, if you’re in LA MONDAY NIGHT…. This Monday. Oct 7th. Another killer. Come out, and say hello.

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If for some reason you’re a stand up comedy fan and you don’t know about Josh Wolf yet that should really change. This guy is truly talented, funny, and a crowdpleaser. Go see him live that’s the first thing I’ll say. See him live. He loves to perform live. Plays all over, everywhere. He puts on amazing shows. He’s a storyteller, a monologist, a raconteur.

He sings, does funny songs, but it’s really about being an entertainer and having a good time, about making sure the audience is having a good time. It’s a very modern version of a very old fashioned thing. No two shows are ever the same. He’s like that guy from the seventies Jim Stafford if Jim were a stoner and were balls out funny. Naughty funny.

I tease around that I want to be him when I grow down, but the truth is I do envy this guy. He’s got his own thing, his own brand, his own fans. Well over a million fans on Youtube, more on the other platforms. He has a successful podcast, travels with his son, Jacob, sells a ton of tickets everywhere, puts out his specials when he feels they’re ready, has a residency at Jimmy Kimmel’s club in Vegas on Monday nights, and is more or less dancing to his own beat.

FOUR STORIES

Is a lively ass little special. I happen to love the way it’s shot. It’s a warts and all, you are there kind of a shoot. They shot it up in Vancouver at a comedy club and just let the night happen, so as a result, you’re just in a seat, a good seat, at a great night. Not a perfect night in fact, at one point he has to throw a woman out up front who’s messing the show up, and it stops the show’s rhythm. Yet it doesn’t. That’s what Josh is great at. He goes with the change, takes the ride,  and then doesn’t cut it out of the special and it’s a lot of laughs. Then he’s back to his stories. His four stories. One better than the rest. It’s Josh playing into his sweet spot.

Enjoy it.

And go see him live. He’s got a charm to him. Very similar to what the Sandman has. So likable.

BEST PRACTICAL JOKE EVER

And this is a great example of what Josh does. This has been seen over 12 million times for a reason. It’s a great starter course if you’re new to the cult. I can almost guarantee you’ll want to not only watch Four Stories, but that you’ll want to go see the guy live.

CLICK HERE FOR JOSH'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Also, if you’re in LA MONDAY NIGHT…. This Monday. Oct 7th. Another killer show. This Monday night thing is really building. Come out, and say hello.

CLICK HERE MONDAY SHOWS

And Text ‘MIKE’ to 55444  to get on my guest list for FREE TICKETS and info on all of the shows we’re putting on.

Oh, and one more thing! Sign up for my newsletter here at STANDUPWORLD.com

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Thanks,

Mike

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A back to basics episode. Just Kailey and I talking about four incredible stand up specials. Ellen Degeneres new one, Adam Sandler’s ‘Love You’, and two of my all time best from a couple years back that I never stop talking about ‘Rothaniel’ Jerrod Carmichael, and one of my all time favorite hours ever, Greg Warren’s ‘The Salesman’.

Watch or listen to the episode about these specials, about what goes into pulling off a great hour about something personal or public, and how Richard Pryor more of less invented it.

Also;

If you’re in L.A. tonight,  Monday night, 9-30-24 at the Hollywood Laugh Factory is going to be great, plus we have VINNY FASLINE and KRISTY QUINN.

We’ve been having fun on these shows, this is going to be one of the best. Come down and say hello.

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https://www.tixr.com/groups/laughfactoryhw/events/mike-binder-friends-117768

One more  kind of a new thing, if you want to find out about all of the shows I’m producing all over California and the country, text ‘MIKE’ to 55444 and get on my list to get all the info and also find out about getting on my guest list. If you for some reason you can’t pay I’m glad to put you on my list.

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FIRST SOME THOUGHTS

I’ll say right off, Ellen Degeneres and I aren’t close friends.  We’ve know each other a long time, she's always been as nice as can be. We shot our early HBO half hours together on the same night back to back in Chicago in 1989 at the Fillmore.

Over the years she’s left me messages when she’s liked one of my movies and said nice things about me to actors on her show, and when I’ve run into her at events she’s just been really sweet and funny. Yet, as I said, we aren’t close friends.

I do have a ton of respect for her though. For her journey. For her work. For her work-ethic. For her attention to detail, and her unique performance ability. So when the head hunters went looking for another trophy in what I believe should be looked back as the post Obama, ‘Days of dissatisfaction’, a time when anyone that could be taken down for anything was knee-capped, solely to make the angry liberals who had to suffer under Trump, feel as if they still had some modicum of power.

After this group of justice warriors brought down people that deserved to be brought down, they came through the streets and the halls, banging pots and pans bringing down anyone they deemed get-able, just to show themselves they could, and they would, regardless if it was a good kill or not.

It wasn’t that much different than a couple years ago when they were pulling down statues. Yeah, Jefferson Davis. For sure. All of the Confederates. ‘Bring them down.’ The steam built. They finally trashed the Abraham Lincoln statues. ‘'Yeah, he was a racist. No doubt’

What they did to Ellen was tantamount to having goneon  to Henry Winkler’s hometown and yanked their Fonzie statue down.

SOMEONE HAD TO PAY

The more popular they were the better.

Ellen Degeneres? She’s mean? Where’d you hear that?

You saw a clip? She was mean to Cardi B?

Really? Wait? What?

You heard some of her producers are mean to the employees?

People!!! People!!! Turn around. We’re not going to Scott Baio’s again today. We’ll shit on his lawn again later, we’re gonna bring down Ellen. Follow us!!!

She did the damn show for nineteen years! Nineteen years. Everybody loved her. Everybody used her to shill their shit shows and movies, tours and toys. She played along. It’s not easy doing a show like that. Did some producers she have working for her maybe get a little too big for their britches some times? It happens.

I did those shows for years. They were the gatekeepers. Everybody jumped when they snapped their fingers. They got used to all of us doing what they wanted when they wanted. They set rules. They liked the power they had. I’m damn sure a lot of it she had zero idea of, and a lot of it is just the way that f**cked up business runs.

‘THE ‘THEY’RE NOT NICE PEOPLE’ STORY

I also know when the ‘they’re not nice people’ story came out, the hack reporters and editors that needed a new angle jumped on it like an open ski lift, so screw them. It was already written. They could just cut and paste it and go. Lots of clicks. Lots of issues sold at the check stands. Was it ‘mean’ to trash Ellen, her employees, her family that way? Who cares? It was an angle. Was it ‘mean’ to talk to those hack reporters about your little inside gossip?

So, mean is mean when it’s someone else being mean but not when you're being mean. Got it.

OKAY, MOVING ON.

‘For Your Approval’ The special is fantastic. It deals with her being labeled ‘mean’ in an honest and forthright way, and it’s funny. Let's take as a baseline that she’s an excellent stand up comic.  She’s a consummate pro is what she is. One of the best observational comics working. When we all started she and Jerry Seinfeld, and Rich Jeni, were taking on the baton from then Jay Leno, who had been passed it from David Brenner who had picked it up from, yes, Bill Cosby. That great brand of comedy where you slap your head and say, ‘oh my god, that is so true. I do that too. That is so true!!’ ( And then the person next to you shushes you.)

Ellen was, and is, truly one of the best ever at this vein of stand up. She struts her powers in this lane in' For Your Approval' perfectly, smacking around parallel parking, aging, cars, and so much of day to day life in a vaccu-formed, crowd pleasing version of the ‘did-ja ever notice?’ routines that only she can deliver.

She’s so damn good at it, and now, at 66, which she talks about being, she’s so comfortable, so at ease up there, that she takes her time with all of these bits and routines, letting them breathe in a way that’s really a master class for any younger comic, or actually any comedian in general, on how to own your time on that stage. Moment by moment.

She is seriously an expert at what she does, and she knows it, which is fine, the audience needs a comedian to let them know that they’re in good hands. She may also be letting us know about her personal insecurities, her weaknesses as a person, but as far as how she can come out on the stage, hold a mic and tell routines that are going to make you bust out laughing, she’s got no problem in you understanding she’s got this down and you need to just lean back and take it in. For this hour here, she's in charge. You are Ellen's bitch.

ANOTHER LEVEL

There’s more to this though. There’s a reason I’m writing about her new special. If you follow this blog regularly, you know I write about specials that I really love, or very rarely, ones that I truly dislike. I’m full on in love again with the art form, yet, if this were just a good stand up special even about a top observational comics best of, or even final work, I wouldn’t do a piece on it.

These aren’t really specials anymore. They’re albums. They’re this year or twos new work for a certain shelf load of artists named comedians. They won’t all be specials. My favorite musician growing up was Bob Seger. Seger’s album’s are all good. Some are special. Some are ‘Stranger in Town’. Some are just albums. They’re'The Distance'. 'The Fire Inside’.

Some specials are change agents. Some are uniquely shot, some are a career best, and some take you somewhere new. On a blissful ride. A couple years ago, Jerod Carmichael put out a special called ‘Rothaniel’, that was a blessing. So real and true, shot like an early jazz album by Bo Burnham that I thought it was one of the best things I’d ever seen or heard. Yes, he had a great bass line and a hook in that he came out as a gay man in the course of the special, but that was just one of it’s gifts. It had an authority about it. An accuracy to every routine. It harkened back to the best of Lily Tomlin. It was a damn special. For sure.

Ellen’s new special has a different kind of authenticity. A truthfulness not only carrying great observations, but so much pain, and even anger. There’s a hurt she can’t hide so she doesn’t try. You see it in her eyes because she wants you to see it. She wants you to laugh, she wants you to have a good time, but she needs you to know she’s been hit. That it cut her. She talks beautifully, masterfully, comedically, on how the loss of her show and the way she was branded has affected herself, her wife, her mother, the way she goes out into the world, and the way she feels about going forward. She is bravely in control of the whole ride. She’s not backing down.

She’s dressed perfectly yet she’s absolutely naked. Buck naked. You can see every crack and creak in her soul and her ego. She uses her bruises. That’s how good she is. Don’t let anyone kid you. Doing this hour, at this level. Being this honest. Keeping these laughs this consistent, keeping that audience having that good of a time is not on the same planet as easy. This is terrific. Clean. Concise. No swearing. No yelling. No button pushing, yet everything is said. It’s adroit, deft, excellent and exquisite. I felt sorry for the few critics that I read that didn’t get it. They’re ignorant. They don’t understand how hard it is to use these public struggles as a comedic through line and pull off a real hour of comedy.

Richard Pryor more or less invented it when he turned lighting himself on fire into the center of an epic set. I was so lucky to be a young doorman at the time at The Comedy Store and watch him scrape, cut, dig and discover that hour, night after night, for a solid eight months. It wasn’t anything close to a simple task to making lighting yourself on fire funny. The final product makes it look like it was,  but I watched him build it,  it just didn’t come out fully formed. Neither did the special Chris Rock did dealing with the Will Smith slap, or the one Marc Maron did dealing with the very public loss of the love of his life.

I only have one problem with the whole thing. Ellen says she’s done. That’s such a mistake. Such a profound gaffe. I’m sorry. You can’t come this far, get this good and then stop. You’re cheating yourself, cheating God, cheating us.

Take a break. Breathe, Ellen. Then get back up in the saddle and put another hour together. You’re one of the best there ever was, Lady. That’s a gift.

Watch 'FOR YOUR APPROVAL' on NETFLIX. You'll love it.

ALSO; THIS MONDAY 9-30-24

Another great show at the Laugh Factory on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. (all this plus VINNY FASLINE and KRISTY QUINN!

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ALSO, ALSO;

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The opening segment comes at a time when it’s best for stand ups not to have opening segments on specials anymore. Our attention span is so short as a society, and there’s so many damn channels and options and things to do that it’s just common sense to get yourself on stage and start telling jokes before they hit the clicker. The opening segment is a thing of the past. Netflix execs hate them, I got to tell you, I hate them. Audiences don’t give a damn about them.

Yet this one is gold.

A SAFDIE BROS MOVIE

It actually opens like a Safdie bros. movie. It’s fluid, fast, and full of life. It’s a joy to see Adam frazzled, and best of all it’s real. It’s Adam showing you a core truth about his life. It’s great to be the ‘Boss.’ That’s what Adam is. He’s the Bruce Springsteen of comedy. Yet, there’s a downside. Things aren’t smooth twenty four-seven. Stuff breaks down, people interrupt him constantly, endlessly needing things from him, both con- men, and mothers in pain. Autographs, information, love, or empathy. The need never stops and the Sandman’s got a giant heart that doesn’t always give him the ability to push them aside when he needs his space.

I know, I’m one of his buddies, and one of the bugg-a-boos. Have been for years. The opening is a perfectly done capsule. From a broken windshield to needing a new last minute wardrobe fix. To him making a big deal about which sweetener is in his coffee. Life isn’t made easy by being a superstar. It isn’t. He isn’t whining, complaining or pleading, he’s just letting you in.

There are lots and lots of joke here. Funny as hell stuff that made me laugh out loud. A genie story that’s nuts, a tale about a balloon coming on to him that only Adam could pull off and make this funny, and a song about muttering under his breath that is so real and true to everyone of us that it’s just stupid, silly, and, wonderful.

Oh, and there’s Rob Schneider. As Elvis. And then there’s Jackie Sandler at the end, kissing him, loving him and going home with him. The reason he’s hasn’t been swept away by it all. By the fame, the money, the crazies, or by his own insanity. His life.

SOMETIMES THINGS DON’T WORK OUT

This whole special is one of those times. It’s not slick. That’s the gag. Stuff doesn’t work out. That’s where the fun is. Even Adam Sandler, with all of his fame, money, staff, and control, can’t make the trains run on time all of the time. He gets frustrated with his life like we all do, but he sucks it up and keeps on keeping on. The bits, the songs, it’s the overriding theme. He takes his wife and his daughters to Disneyland and has an amazing day and then blows it by having a temper tantrum on the way home. There’s no fix to life. It’s going to be messy sometimes.

A LOVE LETTER

The film is basically a love letter. A love letter to his life. His fans. His staff. His friends. Even to comedy itself in a tune that almost feels like a sequel to the Chris Farley song. This is entertainment at it’s best. I loved it. I love the guy. He’s been so special to my life and my family’s life.

I irritate the sh*t out of him, I do. (By the way that’s not hard to do.) He loves me though. I know he does. He loves his friends, loves his life. This special is Adam. I know him well enough to know how much of himself is in this. How much he’s showing you here. How much he wants you to know he appreciates you. Appreciates me. Appreciates all of us. The love we all have for this guy is a direct result of the love he has for us.

That’s why he’s the best. Watch this damn thing. It’s funny as hell.

And hey, if you’re in town tomorrow night, Monday, 9-23-24 at 8PM, GREAT SHOW at the Laugh Factory on Sunset.

BUY LAUGH FACTORY TICKTETS

And also, if you're in the LA this sat, 8:30 Sept. 28.... another great show.

Get Tickets Here

BUY ICE HOUSE TIX

And if you want to get on my list for info for THE MIKE BINDER and FRIENDS shows, and get on my guest for FREE TIX , Text ‘MIKE’ to 55444 and we’ll sign you up for that.

Thanks again.

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His last special FROM BLEAK TO DARK is easily one of the best pieces of work that's come out this past decade. I put it in the rare air of Chappelle's Sticks and Stones, Bo Burham's Inside, Jerod Carmichaels Rothaniel, Chris Rock's Selective Outrage and Bill Burr's Paper Tiger, and I have to say, I think I would put it at the top of the list. It's an amazing snapshot of life and loss, walking along with a dour but funny man that isn't buying into anything that's being served by anyone in the world. He doesn't sell the depth he's had to grow into and wear, but he's proud enough of it that he'll use it as the bass line in his work.

'Life is hard. I'm not so sure I'm into it.' Yet, at the same time, there's a sense that he's got an acceptance that feels like some version of ease. A stance that it's all out of his hands so the best he can do is forge some humor, maybe some music, do some solid acting roles, interview some folks, feed his cats (he's obviously gay) hike, and try to have a little fun.

The point is, to me, he was never really working at this level. He was always good. Really good. A professional brooder. A pioneer podcaster. The last few years, between the fantastic acting turns he's put out there, and I mean, really fantastic. In another era, he'd have been a Dustin Hoffman, Elliott Gould, George Segal level,  movie star / actor. The deep loss of his girlfriend also played so much into 'Bleak to Dark', but it isn't the best stuff. Some of it is the straight stand up routines like the gun routine at the end of the special. The thing about it is it's all really, really, unique because it's all so Maron, and so organically of that time in his life. And from what I've heard, the new hour is even better, even more down this road.

It's exactly what stand up needs to be right now.

I mean, I'm not in synch with the guy politically. I piss him off sometimes, (a lot of times) and sometimes he's just knee jerk whiny, but I happen to really love him. Love his take on the world, his love for stand up. Love him as an artist.

This is a great interview he did with Sam Dingman, a Phoenix radio guy. It's really worth listening to.

https://www.kjzz.org/the-show/2024-09-19/painfully-myself-marc-maron-hits-a-new-level-of-vulnerability-in-stand-up

And if you haven't seen Bleak to Dark you're in ijiot. Watch it now.

Hey, MONDAY NIGHT, at the LAUGH FACTORY.. an incredible show. It doesn’t get much strong than this. Come on down.

Here’s the link for tickets

BUY LAUGH FACTORY TICKTETS

.

And also, if you're in the LA this sat, 8:30 Sept. 28.... another great show.

Get Tickets Here

BUY ICE HOUSE TIX

And if you want to get on my list for info for THE MIKE BINDER and FRIENDS shows, and get on my guest for FREE TIX , Text ‘MIKE’ to 55444 and we’ll sign you up for that.

Thanks again.

Leave a comment

Her new special ‘Horny’ is funny, real, and raw. It gets pretty dark. She goes into her mother’s suicide at the back end of the special and is pretty open while still being damn comical on a subject that’s not easy to have fun with. She’s got guts. I really like this special.

Check it out.

Also, if you’re in L.A. tomorrow/ Monday night, 8-26-24 at the Hollywood Laugh Factory is going to be great. We’ve been having fun on these shows. Come down.

BUY LAUGH FACTORY TICKETS

Also, kind of a new thing, if you want to find out about all of the shows I’m producing all over California and the country, text ‘MIKE’ to 55444 and get on my list to get all the info and also find out about getting on my guest list. If you for some reason you can’t pay I’m glad to put you on my list.

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Her new special ‘Horny’ is funny, real, and raw. It gets pretty dark. She goes into her mother’s suicide at the back end of the special and is pretty open while still being damn comical on a subject that isn’t easy to have fun with. She’s got guts. I really like this special.

Check it out.

Also, if you’re in L.A. tomorrow/ Monday night, 8-26-24 at the Hollywood Laugh Factory is going to be great. We’ve been having fun on these shows. Come down.

BUY LAUGH FACTORY TICKETS

Also, if you want to find out about all of the shows I’m producing all over California and the country, text ‘MIKE’ to 55444 and get on my list to get all the info and also find out about getting on my guest list. If you for some reason you can’t pay I’m glad to put you on my list.

Share Standup World