Just found out yesterday that I was invited to open for Bill Maher as he tapes his upcoming HBO special in February in Raleigh, NC! I’m suuuuuuper excited! Being the liberal politics junkie that I am, Bill and Real Time are kinda like my crack. My mom thinks they might throw me a curve ball and ask that I renounce Jesus before the performances, but I’m relatively sure that won’t happen.
Just to be clear, I won’t be appearing on HBO, but the fact that they trust me to prep the crowds for one of the network’s biggest stars is super flattering. Not to mention that it’ll be a huge theater full of fans and HBO execs. And hopefully, I’ll get to meet Bill too ;) It’ll be hands-down the biggest show I’ve ever done. Hooray for this!
February 12 & 13
Progress Energy Center
Raleigh, NC
I’ll be making my triumphant return home to New Brunswick this weekend July 16-18 to perform at the Stress Factory Comedy Club! I’m so looking forward to it — I’ve been dying to get work at this club for years and I’m looking forward to catching up with some folks I haven’t seen in forever. My parents retired and moved away about 6 years ago so I rarely get to go home. So getting paid to do it makes it even that much more fun!
This weekend I had the honor and pleasure of headlining the main showroom at the Improv here in DC.
I close at other clubs on the road, but there’s something special about the people that have been watching you since you first picked up a mic having enough confidence in you to give you such an awesome opportunity. The management and the staff at the Improv have been AMAZING to me over the years — they’re like family. And at every juncture so far they’ve supported me and even pushed me to take leaps before I even thought I was ready.
Thanks guys for everything!
So many of the friends I grew up with in Jersey have settled in the DC area. A bunch of them came out to support this weekend and for most, it was their first time ever coming to one of my shows! This is my girl Jenny with her two brothers Jamal and Jerome and their friend. They took me out dancing afterwards. We had a ball!
Pre-drinks and dancing... By the end of the night I was leaning like one of the backup dancers in the Smooth Criminal video.
This is my friend/big brother/cheerleader, Joe. Everybody should have a 'Joe' ;)
And this is my former roommate Crystal — the only person (besides my folks — well at least besides my mom) who has lived with me and still likes me ;)
Me and Crys
Many thanks to all my Jersey homies and my Howard buddies who came out to the shows this weekend, and of course the hundreds of other people who took a chance on this small town girl living in a lonely world(how hard does Steve Perry STILL rock? ;)
I was quoted in this article in the Style section of Saturday’s Washington Post about the David Letterman/Sarah Palin ‘feud’. If you don’t feel like reading the entire article, here’s what was attributed to me:
Letterman shouldn’t apologize, if only to preserve the comedian’s prerogative to satirize the powerful and to be offensive on occasion, says Erin Jackson, a rising local stand-up comic. “People read things into jokes that you never meant and never intended,” she says. “If [Letterman] got into a cycle of apologizing for a joke or comment, you don’t know where it would stop, or how far back you’d have to go to satisfy everyone. I don’t think he can be who he is if he started doing that.”
Adds Jackson: “When you give it to everyone equally, as Letterman does, as all the late-night people do, you kind of have to take it. It’s like demanding an apology from the National Enquirer — it’s better to just get over it.”
The writer made it clear to me that he didn’t want to examine the political angle of the story — he just wanted the opinion of a comedian on whether or not it was a good idea professionally for Letterman to offer an apology. I’ve offered quotes for articles before, but this weekend was the first time I’ve ever gotten negative e-mails about my comments. Sure I’ve gotten random, anonymous comments on YouTube, etc. But this was full-blown “I’m gonna give you a piece of my mind AND my first and last name and e-mail address.” You know, grown and sexy hate mail. The first message came at like 1 in the morning. I was out with friends and heard the Berry go off. I was crossing my fingers hard for an unexpected booty call…
So… YAY! I just got the word that I’ve been invited to perform at the Just for Laughs Chicago Festival! This is the American sister to comedy’s premier festival — Just for Laughs in Montreal — which I didn’t get into… But this is no NIT. This is the inaugural year of JFL in the US and as you can see it’ll take place June 17-21. So many big names — the fabulous Ellen DeGeneres, George Lopez, Louis CK, Lisa Lampanelli, Patrice O’Neal, Jimmy Fallon, Russell Peters…
What’s even cooler is that I’ll be participating in a TV taping while I’m out there. The festival will be broadcast by TBS and so I’ll have the opportunity to do some new stand-up on their network again! I am so loving TBS right now!!! Also I’m super excited about the location. After 31 years of never visiting Chicago, I get to go twice within a couple of months. I really liked it there. Can’t wait to go back.
Festival tickets are on sale now! You should totally buy some ;) My taping will be at the Zanies Comedy Club. More info as I receive it! Yay! ;)
I mean if the movie Boomerang was real-life, I’m pretty sure my feet would have passed the Hammertime Test:
Don’t worry, I’m not gonna post a photo of them. I know how OPF(other people’s feet) gross some folks out — me included. But mine are cute. Not beautiful. Cute. They’re a little on the short side but they’re the right sizes in the right order and in the spring/summer, just TRY and catch me without a fresh pedi. Admittedly I slack off in the winter but since no one’s gonna see them and there’s no bedmate to complain about my heel spurs, I can afford to slack off a little.
I bring this whole topic up because it’s begun to get spring-ish in DC (which BTW means 75 degrees for like 3 days and then 99 degrees until October) and I broke out the sandals for the first time yesterday. I’m working at the DC Improv this weekend (Tickets still available here) and there was a woman in the front row last night who kept staring at my feet. She was so blatant that I had to stop talking and ask her, “Are you looking at my feet?” She said, “Yes.” She didn’t even look at me when she answered. She was still looking at my feet. And I felt a little awkward… I had gotten a French pedicure earlier in the day so my feet were fine, but audience members checking out my feet is something I’ve always been self-conscious about.
I remember fretting once because I didn’t have time to get a pedicure before a show and one of my guy friends was like, ” Oh please, E. You sound like such a diva.” But he didn’t understand that when I’m on stage, my feet are pretty much at eye level for the audience. And women especially will look another woman up and down and back up again before they give themselves permission to like her. I would hate to Google myself (yeah I do it and so do you) and see something like:
“Well she was aiight funny, but her feet was mad crusty, son!”
All my imaginary online hecklers/critics are from 1990’s New York.
But I digress.
I no longer feel embarrassed or diva-like for making it a point to have a fresh pedi when I’m performing. My boy Randy who was at the show last nite says that’s exactly why he polishes his shoes before he goes on stage. You gotta eliminate as many petty reasons as you can for people not to enjoy the show. If you’re in the DC/MD/VA area and wanna catch a show and maybe check out my feet for yourself, come on down. The headliner, Ted Alexandro, is one of my favorite comedians working today. I even said so here and I’m super psyched to be working with him!
This morning I was a guest on the Jack Diamond Morning Show’s “Free For All Fridays.” Fun times! It’s always fun being in-studio with the crew… ALTHOUGH… Jack is suspiciously ‘on vacation’ every time I visit the show. I’m trying not to take it personally… I really am. But this is doing nothing for my self esteem. ;) We talked about that at the top of the break but they edited the clip down some.
They plugged my upcoming headline date at the DC Improv… but it’s not t’il the week of July 4 so there’s still a little time to make reservations ;) Of course you could just go ahead and get your tickets now ;) Plan ahead some… haha but it’s totally up to you ;)
Yet tonight I’m going to be a guest on a radio show called “Wealthy Lifestyles/Real Money Radio” with financial expert Deborah Owens on WEAA 88.9 FM in Baltimore, MD. I can only imagine they’re going to use me as an example of what NOT to do with your life if you want to have a wealthy lifestyle. Either that, or they’re gonna ask me to tell jokes to make other poor people feel better ;)
As I’ve accepted my lot in life, I would be fine with either.
If you’re in the Balto. Metro area and have the chance, check me out tonite from 7-8. I hope the host doesn’t pull a Barbara Walters and try and make me cry. With the week I’ve been having it wouldn’t take much. Tune in if you can!
The Post Express showed me even more love today with another plug of my Valentine’s Day shows in the Weekend Top Stops section. As you can see, I was No. 3 ;) Both shows are sold out but they don’t know that. I just appreciate their support. It’s nice to feel the love at home!!!
A huge thanks to those of y’all who bought tix to my Valentine’s Day show in DC at the Improv. We sold out the show last Thursday, so we added a second show at 10:30… And we sold that one out too! YAY HOORAY! Can’t wait to see you guys next Saturday. It’ll be big fun, I promise!!!
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