Johnny’s Live Comedy Bar hoping to build the economy of comedy

After seven years in the space, Johnny’s Live Comedy Bar celebrated their season finale with an ode to grooming young talent. The show, held at their Dunrobin Avenue home on Tuesday, said veteran comedian Christopher ‘Johnny’ Daley invited local and international acts to treat the audience with a hearty laugh.

Though the show will be on hiatus until their June opener, Daley says their is no end in sight for this venture.

“I am ecstatic,” he said surrounded by his protégés. “I am excited for this product because what you’re looking at now is the result of this product, you’re looking at Pacco, you’re looking at Elias, and you’re looking at Liam. Three very new, hot, hardworking comics on the circuit and I am proud to say they [earned] their chops right here at the Johnny’s Live Comedy Bar here in Jamaica. [On Tuesday] what you saw was them representing themselves on this stage tonight, making the crowd laugh, people feeling good. That’s what we’re aiming for. We’re aiming for them to grow, that’s why the space is available. For comics to know that a space is here for you to come and, in front of a live audience, give your jokes and work on your material.”

He said, when he had the idea several years ago, the thought of it failing did not cross his mind.

“Let me be honest with you, I didn’t start this to fail. I came in here and started the comedy bar because I had a feeling that Jamaica was kind of ready for it.”

Using the example of Claudette Pious’ attempt at a comedy bar, he continued, “it didn’t quite work out because she had venue issues. But, once we were able to establish [the] venue and to be stable, I knew Jamaicans wanted a place to laugh every week on a regular basis. So, I am happy that the comedy bar is that place.”

According to Daley, his space and others like it have been integral in building both the material and the confidence of the next generation of comics.

Even extending outside of Jamaica’s borders, Daley said he knew the product was filling the space it should when his mentee Liam Semple reached out to him.

“Liam found us via Google. He’s a comic from Canada, started doing comedy in Canada, and literally walked up and said ‘I found you guys in Canada, I need a place to work out’, and we were happy because that’s why we’re here, [a] regular space for comics to work out.”

Temporarily moving to Jamaica, Semple said, “I’ve really enjoyed my time with you guys. I’ve been doing this for about four years now. I know you can’t believe it because I’m still not great at it, but that’s okay. I’m really happy that I get to come to Jamaica and do this. I can’t name another person that’s been up and welcomed on stage as much as I have down here. I know it’s been a little troubling sometimes, but I’ve had a lot of fun and I thank you all for the tremendous support and, Johnny, great job starting all this up and keeping it going.”

Echoing the pangs of gratitude Elias Fennell chimed, “We’re coming from far and we just grateful to see that Johnny could’ve built a space like this that we can come to every week and try out new material and grow. Now you can see the results because we’re getting bookings now.”

With the sounds of Trinidadian-American comic Cindy-Ann Boisson wooing the crowd in the background, Daley explained a secondary purpose of his space is to build the economy of comedy locally.

“Comics do make money,” he said matter-of-factly. “There are many avenues now to make money from comedy, Before, it was only live in stage for some of us, but now there’s social media. Now people like Elias can transfer the comedy and his comedic knowledge to social media and make money. And, quite frankly, we can make money from the stage. These guys can tell you, we are building the economy of comedy right among ourselves. I keep comedy shows, I pay my comics who are main acts on the shows, and each week that you see happens here, there is some economy happening.”

He continued, “So, yes, there is a potential to make money but what you need to do, though, is to develop your material first. Become a solid comic first, become a comic that people want to hear from and people have guaranteed laughter, and then you can make as much money as you want. The sky is the limit for your earnings.”

As he prepares to launch the eighth season of the Comedy Bar on June 4, Johnny says he is hopeful for the future of comedy in Jamaica.

“I absolutely believe this, stand-up comedy will be not only bigger in Jamaica but we’re going to be unearthing new talent and somebody you might see here might be the next big thing, not just in Jamaica, [but] across the Caribbean, the diaspora and indeed making inroads into wider communities that we can’t even imagine.”

Referring to the migration of Diego The Cross Eyed Villain, he said, “We’re already seeing comics from Jamaica leaving the Comedy Bar space and expanding overseas, and I think that will continue to grow.”

shanel.lemmie@gleanerjm.com