Comedian Rev. Mitcz (reverend mitch) Marzoni appears jarring and abrasive, but presents an endearing and silly worldview on life and society. His comedic appeal is a mixture of his stage presence, his unique personal appearance, and his dark self-awareness that exposes a refreshing & surprising honesty. The energetic and often upbeat nature of his act becomes infectious - making audiences laugh at subject matter they'd normally find appalling.

29 was a rough fuckin’ year. But, it’s started to ramp up a bit better these last few weeks, amidst other fucked-up shit that’s happened. I can only hope 30 treats me better than 29 has, though it wouldn’t have to set the bar very high, I s’pose.

1 week from today, we find out who we’ve gotta put up with for the next 4 years. I haven’t seen a projection yet that’s given McCain so much as a fighting chance, but I’m about to breathe a sigh of relief just yet. How cool would it be to have Obama in there? Man, that’d be so fuckin’ badass. To actually like the president for a change? Oh sweet merciful hell yes. That’d put my 30s off to a very good start.

Now, for some semi-short rants that I’ve been meaning to get off my chest…

My Life Feels So Weird

Sunday night, I performed at the Hollywood Improv. I haven’t rocked an Improv since my 3rd show. The Irvine Improv is where I performed stand-up for the first time ever, and thought “this is so much fun.. I never wanna stop”. They say that’s when you know you should pursue something : when you’d do it for free. As every comic knows, you start out not just doing it for free, but doing it with a huge smile on your face even while people are slinging shit at you and treating you like a subhuman fuckstick. And then you ask for more time onstage, cause 5 minutes of shit-flinging isn’t nearly enough.

What was weird about Sunday, though, is that Chris Rock was there. That guy’s one of my comedy idols. He’s amazing. I loved his most recent performance (“Kill The Messenger”) and I was standing right next to him for like 10 minutes, not even realizing it, until they called him up to do an impromptu gig. He seemed unsure of himself, running through material slowly, stuttering, checking his Blackberry for notes on what jokes he wanted to try. If he wasn’t Chris Rock, he’d have bombed. As it stood.. he did fairly alright. He ran for 20 solid minutes, though, which “bumped” the rest of us who came on after him.

(sidenote for the interested : being “bumped” means one comic ran on too long, and any comic who performs after that has to cut their set time down to accommodate, lest the show runs on too long)

When I took the stage, with all-new material I’d just written a few hours prior, some part of me lashed out about being bumped, and spoke before I had the chance to stop it

“I was so nervous to get up onstage after Chris Rock. That’s a tough act to follow”. I took a drink, and continued.. “Thankfully for me, he…. fuckin’ bombed.”

The crowd went wild. It was amazing. I clarified that CR is amazing and would’ve whipped my comedy ass any other night. From there, I did 4 1/2 minutes off the top of my head, and I barely remember any of it. The crowd just spread open its legs and let me fuck like a jackhammer. It was great. After wards, I had comics coming up to high-five me for saying what I said. Word got around fast, and even the comics who were out in the bar, outside, or in the bathroom, came up to say “I heard what you said.. that’s fuckin’ badass, man. Way to go”.

Who’s life did I borrow for a night? Fuckin’ weird.

I’ve got a gig next Friday at Aura, and I was just picked for a showcase towards the end of November. A showcase is where you “bring your A-Game” and perform for people looking to highlight new acts (usually on TV). This showcase is for a certain network that has “comedy” in its name. I have no idea if I’ll do well enough to get picked for a later show, but the opportunity alone is making me wet.

Who’s life am I borrowing now?

Mama

(If you came to this blog for dick jokes, you can stop reading now. The rest of this is just free-form emotional ranting.)

I miss my mother. Every day. I miss being able to call her for advice. Calling to tell her my latest accomplishment. Introducing her to my friends if/when she came to town. I see her in my dreams almost every night, but we never really get to talk. Occasionally, we’ll talk for a short minute, before she disappears again. When we talk, the point is almost always the same.. “Keep going, Mitcz. You’re gonna be great”.

It’s tough to adjust to having someone around for 30 years, then suddenly…. gone. People who know me think I’m getting along great, considering all that’s happened. Maybe I’m just coping. I don’t know what else to do. If I stopped and focused on this shit, I’d never get out of bed. And, that’s what my mother did when I was growing up. She worked full-time as a teacher, while attending college for her master’s degree, then she worked nights at an arts-and-crafts store, and spent the weekends running arts-and-crafts workshops for extra cash. During the summer months, she replaced the full-time teaching with teaching summer school and running a daytime children’s drama camp. I often had to go with her, so… maybe that’s why I’m good with makeup (for a straight guy) and have a penchant for dramatic statements/actions.

I can’t stop and wallow around in self-pity when I have to look back and realize how much my mom sacrificed so my sister and I would never know we were poor. We always lived in nice places, always had nice things, but a single mother paying for a 3-bedroom apartment (and later, a 3-bedroom house) by herself while attending college and working 3 jobs? I owe it to her to keep going, and never slow down.

The hardest part right now? Tomorrow is my 30th birthday, and it’ll be the first time in my life that I won’t hear or see my mother saying “Happy Birthday, Mitchell!”. Goddamn, that’s gonna sting. Fuck, it already stings.

Friends

I wanna give some “shout outs” to some people who’ve really been there for me during my 29th year. In no particular order.

Meredith : Growing up, I guess we both figured we’d always be the bickering brother-and-sister that chases each other around with implements of destruction and scares the shit out of the neighbors in doing so. But, I’ve been pleasantly surprised in getting to know you in an all-new way, as not just my sister, but one of my best friends. I’ll always be there for you, as you have been for me.

Nad : I know we’ve had some rough patches this past year, but I appreciate you stickin’ by my side for .. going on 15 years now. We’re gonna make it, man. We’re gonna be okay.

Misi : I love ya, toots. Thanks for being there during some of my most trying moments. I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes in the 2 years we’ve been together, but I’m glad you’re along for the ride. Welcome back to “Team us”

Anthony & Melanie : Ahh… you know why you’re in the list Keep on kickin’ that ass, and here’s to many more BBQs.

Sean : Thanks for checking up on me. You’ve been a good friend for many years. Sure, I’ll always wish you lived out here in LA, but I’m happy to hear you’ve got a renewed excitement about your life and future – no matter where you go to find it.

Tommy Gunn : You came through when I needed a friend, and I’ll always appreciate that. We still need to hit the Tiki-Ti soon. I’m buyin!

Jade & Ariel : I want to thank both of you for coming out to see me rock the stage, even when it was a pretty expensive affair. You’re both wildly talented in your own right, and I can’t wait until the rest of the world catches onto that. I’m excited about the new flick, and I think it might be your best work yet. Oh, and… don’t worry. Even when I’m wildly famous, I’ll still work for the free food

Farhaad : My one-man fanclub. You rock my face, sir. It is now I who owe you drinks.

TK : I’m sure you’ll never read this, but I want to thank you for renewing my faith in the LA comedy scene. I’ve never felt better about a career as a comic than I do now, and you’re a big part of that. I only hope one day I can return the favor somehow.