This is the second year that I'm going around the place telling everyone that there are only 7 original ideas. So maybe it's expected that there should be similarities between things. There's no doubt that unintentional similarities come up and that some things are innately similar. However, sometimes you spot what is either intentional copying, or just supreme "being influenced"itude.

I watched a YouTube clip. That was my story - did you like it? (That's modified from a nicked gag from Jim Jeffries). Anyway, I watched a YouTube clip of a comedian that I seriously don't rate. If anything I non-rate this guy. What I saw him do was imitate the idea of being a comedian and do something which seems like it was meant to sound as powerful as the work of one of the great comedians like Stewart Lee, who can impose the mood of comedy on the audience in that particular sort of way. It didn't work. It was the equivalent of a conspiracy theorist making himself look insance while telling you his ideas, as though he was being as effective as a great leader compelling his troops. If this doesn't make sense, then maybe my schtick is also nonsensical and ill-defined.

So, it's important to find your own voice. It's important to avoid other people's modes and try not to make any one thing your own. We're all unique (even twins, though less so), so we have to find the combination of all permutations of styles that fits who we are.

I sometimes feel like a bit of a chameleon. I stand on a twig and eat flies... I mean I feel a bit like I adopt and blend into myself various influences. I don't think I come across as a pale imitation of other stuff, but perhaps if you could spot certain influences, then I might. I don't know. I do know that last night I sort of came across as a pale imitation of myself. I'm a bit "gig blind" at the moment. Too many gigs in a short period with the proper build up to being funny. As a result, I think I'm sort of doing a workman-like version of myself, rather than having massive hilarity...

...but even after 7 years of doing it, I'm still finding my George and Zippy from Rainbow bit to be funny. Why oh why oh why is this pale imitation of some childhood puppets so funny. I think it's simply because it's ludicrous, and I like ludicrous things. When it works best, it's a poignant earnest rendition of a dumb song, using silly voices.

Sorry, this is not really a coherent post, just a brain dump. I keep returning to my imitation chorus, like a bad Stewart Lee impersonator might.

Anyhoo. Last night's two shows were quite contrasted. There was a fairly full room, which I felt I'd failed to gel with a bit, then there was a fairly empty room, where some seriously mental stuff happened. I can put the seriously mental stuff down to one individual - our closing act. It was one of the most wonderfully insane performances I've had the pleasure of seeing in a while. I'll never tire of this man. It's almost worth putting on the same loss-making show, next year, for the pleasure of being sure of seeing him again!

My new song, last night, didn't work. Perhaps it's not funny. Perhaps I need to do the musical comedian trick of subverting an existing song to get laughs. This is maybe where I can help myself. What if I take some insipid bollock and subvert it, but what if that dross is actually something I wrote myself, like my 2003 entry into the Eurovision song contest...

Here's a song I wrote. You might want to sing it note for note... or not



If I could mess with that song, it has a musical structure which might lend itself to mockery... be thankful you only had to read the lyrics, rather than hear my reedy whine on the demo version.