Here it is. 52 Jokers Comedy Podcast is alive. This Frankenstein behemoth of an undertaking was more than I could have anticipated. In the end, I feel it will be worth the effort and time, but even as I type this I have this nagging urge to throw my laptop in the nearest body of water and walk away in slow motion like they do in movies. So many hurdles. So many sleepless nights. So many dirty names I’ve called my computer Yet, I continued to persevere and alas, here we are. I did not do this alone though. I called an old friend into the fray. I thought, why should I suffer alone? Who could I share this frustration with? So I scoured the internet for anybody still awake at 2:00 a.m. and on their computer. Like a beacon of light shining from the rocky shoals, there he was.

My soon to be victim co-host Bryar Herrick, who happened to be an old friend from my senior year in high school. We had not kept in close contact, but occasionally every 10 years or so we’d bump into one another and make a song or hangout. I knew him always be that kind of friend who could easily pick up where we last left off last, like days instead of years had passed. I contacted Bryar and asked if he’d like to be apart of the podcast. I said, “You can be the co-host. You can produce and record the theme song I wrote for the podcast (51 Jokers & Me). You can help edit and lots of other cool stuff too. As an added bonus you can twice drive from Lynden, Washington to Richland, Washington (1200 miles total) and for all of this, I can afford to give you very little money.” Of course, he saw the sweet opportunity that destiny had laid in his lap and he readily agreed. I thought we would cruise after that, but as a kick to the groin becomes more and more painful until you’re slobbering and trying to breathe, this project made me its bitch. I’m old enough to have learned nothing works out as good as it does in your mind, but obviously, I haven’t learned anything. Deadlines were set, then not met because this undertaking was enormous. Now add all of the mishaps, sabotage, ignorance, and frustration into the mix and you get something like what we were dealing with on a daily.

I started this project in mid-March. Bryar started in mid-April and here we are at the end of May. I’ve personally invested over 300 hours into the entire project, missed several nights of sleep typing and cussing. We were hacked 2 times and had 1 catastrophic computer crash. Bryar drove 1200 miles and stayed up many nights working on the show itself. I drove over 600 miles and nearly lost my girlfriend in the process. I also learned to turn the television off while working. Usually, it would be nice background noise, but inevitably a GoDaddy or Wix or any other website host company commercial would come on and boast how “you can build a website in an hour” just bing, bang, done. Well isn’t that just wonderful for you? It must be nice, living the life of a wizard genius. Sadly, I am neither a wizard nor a genius. I am just a comedian who wanted to create a space for other comedians to share stories, experiences, unforgettable memories and encounters with strange audience members after their shows. It sounded simple, just like those commercials. But it wasn’t, never would be and why the hell am I Pollyanna all of a sudden? I’ve lived my entire life with a cynical outlook and warped sense of reality, but now I’m going to believe in miracles and positivity?

Thank you to those who patiently waited and didn’t hold our horse shit deadline fails against us. It wasn’t from a lack of effort, it was a lack of computer skills on my part. Now I feel qualified to hack into NORAD like Matthew Broderick in WarGames, though I realize this is my old ass acting as if I got it like that when I don’t. Thank you to our supporters at Jokers Comedy Club in Richland, Washington for their patience. I realize it took much longer than anticipated and rightfully so there were probably choice words reserved for me in company meetings. Sorry bout that, whammy.

We will become better with each show. We had to rerecord some episodes. We had to scrap other episodes because of an inaudible buzz you didn’t actually hear in the room but heard it clearly when listening to the recording. We worked to get it out, but it didn’t jive. In the end, we did what we could and promise to do better.