In this episode, I share my incredible week camping out at the Comedy Cellar in New York City - the absolute mecca of stand-up comedy right now. I got to watch legends like Colin Quinn work on new material and witnessed masterful crowd work from comics like Dave Atell. The biggest lesson? There are no shortcuts in comedy - everyone pays their dues with 3-7 years of nightly performances.

I also open up about getting back on the open mic horse myself, fighting through some serious resistance before finally hitting the stage at the Comedy Shop on Bleecker Street. With help from my friend Jeremy Sisto, I work through my fears and perform a 5 minute set about human misery - everything from the struggles of parenting to the weirdness of procrastination (including a two-year standoff with an unreturned Christmas gift).

I also continue to rant and while ranting isn't stand-up, it connected to something real inside me. Now comes the hard part: turning that authentic material into tight, funny jokes. I'm working on bits about being both a meditation teacher and a degenerate, the challenge of honest parenting, and the universal truth that we're all way more perverted than we let on. Stay tuned as I keep working this material out in real time.

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In Episode 5, we explore the gap between greatness and growing pains through two contrasting performances. First, David attempts to channel Louis CK by performing one of his most controversial bits word-for-word, examining how master comedians tackle difficult subjects. Then, we dive into David's second-ever open mic performance, complete with brutal self-analysis, important lessons learned, and the painful realization that making up stories isn't as funny as telling the truth. It's a raw, honest look at the early stages of learning standup comedy.

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Is it possible to be both a spiritual guru and a bully? A loving parent and an accidental trauma-dealer? On this episode of Starting Stand-Up, David Walton explores his competing personalities while teaching us how real comedy gets made. From his dad's ill-fated suit fitting to the gentrification of recreational drugs, watch as random thoughts become structured bits in this raw, unfiltered peek behind the comedy curtain. Bonus: meet Sid, David's id, who really wants to try being on the receiving end of things."

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Losing my standup virginity. Painful but fun.

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David begins preparation for his first terrible open mic.

David shares the first piece of wisdom from the book, "Comic Insights" by Franklin Ajaye, that the key to comedy is identifying your true thoughts and feelings.

He then does a strange exercise tapping into the Voice in His Head and discovers that he's a simple minded idiot.

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The quest for standup glory begins NOW. Please join me on this exciting and humiliating ride.

Welcome to Starting Standup, the podcast where I document my quest to become a professional standup in the great state of Maine.

You can think of this podcast as an educational comedy course as well as a private audio journal of a mid life crisis.

What’s unique about this podcast is that I have never done a single open mic and I don’t know how to write jokes. So you are getting in on the ground floor of a scary and humiliating creative process.

It's going to be a wild ride and I’d love to have you along. So please subscribe!