Joey Diaz’s memoir ‘Tremendous’ is one of the best books I’ve read in the last five years. I couldn’t put it down. It reminds me of one of my all time favorite memoirs, ‘Growing up’ by Russell Baker, the famed Washington reporter in that he told you so much about his life as a kid and becoming a man and his mother and his family that he didn’t even have to spend a lot of time telling you about his life as a journalist, because it was all baked into the story of who he was before he became a great columnist that when he did get into his career it all made so much sense. It was just almost a postscript.

Joey’s book is so rich, and so funny and so real. So dead on in it’s ability to take you back on the journey with him. In my opinion there isn’t a wasted word or paragraph. In fact this should be a movie. Someone smart should turn this into a great film in the vein of Chaz Palminteri’s great film and play ‘A Bronx Tale’. The way he talks about his mother, her energy, her work, her death, his family, his buddies. It’s heartbreaking and hilarious in the same moments like the best of this kind of work is. Joey has really done something special here. He’s distilled all his work life into a perfect pitch.

Born in Cuba, growing up in New Jersey, having lost his dad at three, under the wing of his bigger than life mother who ran a bar and a numbers outfit, Joey was a well written character from jump street. He was born bigger than life, and the beauty of his life, other than the fact that he survived it all and remembers enough of it all to turn it into stories and comedy, is that his heart remained so open and so big. His love for his world and his work and his friends and the things that turn him on and make him smile are so evident in the tales he tells that you can’t help but be entertained. That’s what this book is. It’s just entertaining as hell. It’s also damn inspiring.

I urge you to get this book.

Everything about it is readable as can be. From his drug use, to his horrible divorce. The horrendous point he comes to sleeping in a park outside in a rusted out rocket ship jungle gym is an amazing piece. He and his co-writer Erica Florentine just grab you here and make you go numb with the cold just as much as he does as you read the words. His prison term, his time in Seattle breaking into comedy, one chapter after the next, it never stops, the ride he’s gone is on is so grand. It’s theatrical in it’s consistency. He’s just been his own worst enemy yet at the same time he’s lived by his own rules and code that he’s carved out the space and voice he’s developed that’s all his own. You read it, (or listen to the audiobook, which I did both) you realize that he’s a great man. His mom is proud. His friends are proud. He’s unique as hell.  He’s a beast. A legend.

JOEY THE COMEDIAN

It’s a given that Joey’s a great comic. One of the best in the business. Hands down. When I came back to the Comedy Store to make the documentary and I was first introduced to Joe Rogan, I told him I didn’t know a lot about the new group that was around at that time other than Bill Burr. I in fact had never even seen Joe work. I knew none of them. I had been gone from stand-up for years. Rogan didn’t miss a beat. Not a nano-second.

‘Joey Diaz. You got to see Joey Diaz. He’s the first on your list. He’s a killer. The best comic here at the Store.’

Rogan  was so sure I didn’t waste anytime. Joey was scheduled the next night. My son Burt and I went back up and saw his set. I laughed my ass off. I hadn’t seen anything that raw and that alive, so real and authentic in years. We immediately set about doing whatever we could to get him into the doc.

Here’s a couple short little pops of Joey from the doc.

JOEY IN THE COMEDY STORE DOC PT. 1

https://vimeo.com/829239454?share=copy

JOEY IN THE COMEDY STORE DOC PT 2

https://vimeo.com/829241731?share=copy

 

WHERE I GOT MY BALLS FROM

This is a little doc that Joey made with Feliz Esparza his buddy. I think after you read/ listen to the book you should go back and watch this thing. It’s a bonus ride to see the neighborhood and a lot of the people he talks about interviewed. It’s a lot of fun. AFTER YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH THE BOOK.

 

THE MIND OF JOEY DIAZ – JOEY’S PATREON

Also, if you want to really get some great Joey stuff, I’ve been signed up to his patreon for a couple years and it’s never not been great. I love his podcast Uncle Joey’s Joint but this is next level. Some really funny stuff you don’t get unless you’re a member.

CLICK HERE FOR THE MIND OF JOEY DIAZ PATREON

https://www.patreon.com/JoeyDiaz/membership

Alright. Get the book. Print or Amazon.

https://a.co/d/3wKc8j6

Enjoy.

Also, if you’re in LA. this weekend, my son’s movie won the LA Film festival best independent film. 830 pm at the Regal Cinema downtown at LA Live the LA Premiere. Get a ticket and come down.

https://ifsfilm.com/Schedule2023/may28.php#HalfwaytoAmarillo

800 Pound Gorilla has a new special up on Youtube. Simon King’s As Good as or Better Than. Directed by Rory Scovel. It’s a hell of a lot of fun. Starts with a bang, right out of the gate looking for trouble he’s balls out having a good time in this special. If you like comedy that’s about to hit the tilt button most of the time and keeps you laughing straight through, this is a good special for you. It’s not nice and sweet. Put it that way.  This guy is a truly funny guy, out of Vancouver I believe(?)  I loved this special. It’s up now.

Watch it, then go out and pick fights with people that are different than you.  (That’s a joke. Fuck off. Enjoy it, then stay home and knit. It’s really good.)

 

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Ari Shaffir’s game changing special ‘Jew’s is coming very close to six million views. That’s pretty great for any stand-up special, for one called JEW, it’s got all kinds of special connotations. Jokes aside, which I’m sure Ari will have a boatload of, it’s a milestone we at Standupworld, who love the new world of self produced specials, happen to find this one to be in a class of it’s own. With that said, we are offering a special prize to the viewer who turns the ticker to six million, or, kills the final view, if you will.

A years supply of Manischewitz Passover Collection Matzo. Shipping included. So, just be the six millionth person to view this amazing special, one of the best of the last few years, and you’ll get this great prize, and you’ll go down in comedy history.

JEW! On YOUTUBE.

BTW.

 

This is what I posted back when the special first came out a few months ago. I feel even stronger about it now. Ari is a special dude. Very unique. Quite worth supporting.

 

 

This is an amazing special. Well made, well written,  performed, superby directed. These specials need you to support them. Venmo, Pay Pal or Superthanks button on the specials You Tube page. Do it. Chip in. You want this new world to flourish. We all will enjoy the benefits. Andrew Schultz, Erica Rhodes, Shane Gillis, Mark Norman, Ryan Long and Tyler Fischer need to be supported. We’ll get more specials and better ones. We need to laugh. Watch less news and dumb shows and more stand up and let yourself laugh. It’s so healthy. Toss into the bucket.

 

I love what Ari says about this on a pinned comment. It says everything I want to say about the New World of Comedy.

PINNED COMMENT;

Speaking for all the comedians. If you guys give some tips, we can keep doing these. Imagine a world with no more gatekeepers. Where the only things holding us back is the amount of money it takes to make these. I like the Edinburgh Free Fringe model of shows where we don’t charge the audience for tickets. But then after the show, the comic stands outside with a bucket and people throw in their “thanks” as they file out. On great shows, I made more. On shows where I was off or tired, I made less. The adults put in more than the college kids. But even the college kids threw in a pound or two. And the people who owned houses kicked in 20s or 50s. Sometimes even 100! This model allowed everyone to take a chance on a show without financial risk, and then afterwards they gave what they woulda given had they known how good it was going to be. The amount of money I’d get in my bucket was always in direct correlation to how good a show I had put on. When I was on fire, the bucket would be overflowing with cash. When I was off the bucket would be lighter. It was fair. Well, same with these specials. If you see one you loved throw in a lot. If you see one that was so-so, throw in less. It was paid for by the guy on stage. And you’re directly paying back the guy who brought you an hour (or in this case 90 minutes) of laughs. I think a fair price for an ok special is $3-7 dollars. That’s a good price for something they worked on for 2 years (or in this case 5 years 6 months 11 days). And I think a fair price for something amazing is closer to $20. But obviously a lot of that comes down to your individual financial status. We’re all somewhere in between those college kids and those adults who owned their own homes. And by the way, this isn’t just for me. This is for all the comedians on YouTube. They all took a chance. And they’re out there with their buckets. Some of them you already walked past. But they’re still out there. Go back. Go back and tip out List, and Iapalucci, and Normand, and Morrill, and all the other ones. They gave you something you loved. Return the favor. If you got money, give them what they deserved. If you don’t, I get it. I was poor for a long time. A very long time. But just because you’re poor doesn’t mean you can’t put something in the bucket. In Edinburgh, my bucket would have plenty of bills. But it would also be littered with interesting coins from around the world. With Lucy, and Mandy. With ideas on cool restaurants and bars. The equivalent here is to tell people about what you saw. Post it in your stories with links. On your other pages with links. Post about it on your main pages and then again a week later. Spread the word. Leave comments. Tell the comedian how much you liked it. Tell them about a bit or two or some jokes that really stood out. All that stuff helps too. If we’re going to free comedy from these gatekeepers, we can all play a role The only reason a comic would go to network is for the reach and the money. Well, YouTube has the most reach. And the least censorship. YouTube has no executives coming in with their ridiculous notes on what a professional comedian should or shouldn’t put into their work. Honestly, how dare they? The gall to tell a professional and talented comic what they should do on their own special. It’s so disrespectful. And YouTube has no gatekeepers. Gone are the days where a talented comedian gets told they’re not famous enough, or they’re too dirty, or too political, or wrongly political, or they’re the wrong gender or race or age. That power is now in the hands of the comics. It’s up to us to decide when we are ready to record something. That’s our responsibility. And when that time comes, we gotta get a ton of money together and take a huge chance. And if you guys hold up your end of the deal, it can be at least a break even thing for us. We’ll all do this if we can break even. We’ll take years of work and give it away if we have a decent chance at simply breaking even. Those networks are irrelevant to good standup. That’s a shame but it’s true. We can change the game. We can free the art form from these dinosaur gatekeepers. Imagine no more censored comedy. Imagine every special being exactly how the comic wants it to be. Every deserving special getting made so you can watch it. We’re in this together. It’s a symbiotic relationship. Standup is the only art form on earth that requires an audience to exist. So let’s put these out together. Crowdsourcing after the fact. Pay what you can and what you feel like you should. The way they do it in Edinburgh We. Are. In. This. Together. I’ll be outside with a bucket after the show. Let’s GOOOOOO! Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/AriShaffir2?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/AriShaffir1 And there’s even Super Thanks that let you give right from the page. It’s a heart with a cash sign in it if you click the 3 dots next to the “likes” and the “share” buttons.

SUPPORT ARI’S SPECIAL

Watch, enjoy, share, and tip him. Venmo, Pay Pal, and Super thanks button on the Youtube page.

Thanks.

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