What Makes a Good Comedy Club?

A community of great people trying to be great comedians.
 

Simple as that. That’s what we aspire to.
 

People are saying I'm doing a good job, but I’m just learning so much all the time. I respect the art form and the audience, and just keep focusing on that.

To build a community, it takes respect for the comedians, giving them the trust and artistic freedom to do well and present their best selves to the audience. We're all continuously learning and improving as we go along.

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To be a good club owner, you have to know comedy. I’m don't ever think I'm the funniest person in the room, but I can give great feedback on how to make someone even funnier. It's what better comedians did for me and I hope I can be as generous as they were.

 

Outside of comedy club I’m a potpourri of useless information. I’m a comedy nerd.

 

Comedy attracts a lot of negativity because we’re studying what’s wrong with the world, what we can fix, what’s unusual. Instead of improving, people can try and gatekeep and judge comedians.

 

But I know only the audience’s enjoyment matters, and trust people that if they’re exploring and experimenting with their voice, they’ll find their way. I just want to encourage everyone to be the best version of themselves and find that person on stage. It’s certainly where I’m best, and I hope people see that and it encourages them to be more.

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I guess we're at the center of this amazing hub but I want to highlight all the comics and their best bits that make them great performers and great people. We’re attracting really good people and if we're able to help each other shine more, we can grow and improve together.

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So much talent passes through Bangkok. Steven Briggs coming through was a fantastic pleasure. Trevor Lock, Brian Aylward, Sasha Frank. It's such a gift to meet such good people who see the world in such interesting ways.

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There was just such an obvious need for the scene. It’s worth trying. It’s an annoying, difficult art form.

 

The club has to be a certain way that doesn’t work in a random pub. That’s why I designed the club the way it is, I know how comedy clubs work in New York, and there we had to fight to get paid properly, and here the scene is going through the same change.

 

Comedians aren’t paid enough and aren’t respected, just doing it for the stage time, but it should be possible for people to make a living and a life. So I made this club to honor the art form and the experience I care about so much.

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Why Did Bangkok Need a Comedy Club?

 

Bangkok’s talent needed more stage time to get better. We need longer sets, and we deserve it too.

 

Before, the peak of a local comics career was to open for imported headliners, but we didn't get to be a headliner.

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There’s a critical mass of talent to support a comedy club, we don’t need to ship people in, but most of the locals weren't getting better.

 

Bangkok has the best of everything. The best food, the best pubs, the best nightclubs, but it didn't have the best comedy club.

 

Why the fuck not? It's the best country in the world and comedy is exploding in every other country, why wasn’t it exploding here?

 

What was the bottle-neck? Was there no one qualified? Am I qualified? I don’t know, I tried.

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Why Does Lex Morales Love Comedy?

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It's an admirable pursuit. We talk about problems, but it brings joy. Comedians make pain tolerable and the great ones inspire change.

 

It's satisfying in an addicting way, and for a while it was the only thing that gave me self worth and purpose.

 

Thankfully now I’ve got other things. I try not to care too much. You can’t change the world.

 

The imperfection of this world is perfect, so when you can embrace the fallacies, it becomes fun.

 

Dave Letterman described Don Rickles: "He makes life more fun", that’s what I aspire for.​

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If life was too easy, it wouldn’t be enjoyable either.

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Doing something that’s not easy makes life gratifying.

Everyone thinks they can do comedy, and everyone has their moments.

 

Making people laugh, lowering their defenses enough to change minds on things they’ve got their guard up for.

 

Intention matters, in everything we do. I hope to make life more fun. 

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Who is Lex Morales?

An observer of life and a comedian (I believe it now, was hard to believe for a while).

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I've grown up loving art, satire, and skepticism. I've been fighting to stay attached to this world, while feeling on the outside looking in.

 

Now I’m a comedy club owner, so I have a whole new identity and I'm trying to adjust and adapt to that.
 

Sometimes I'm an artist, sometimes the laziest person on the planet.

I'm a great lover...
Sorry, I'm rambling. It's such a hard question,  when it should be the easiest.

I just try to be a good person. I fuck up all the time, then try to fix that.

I try to stay on the outside of things, but I care too much, so I get stuck in them.

I'm a Puerto Rican who never lived there.
I'm a New Yorker who left.
I'm a Jehovah's Witness who doesn’t believe in it any more.
I've done enough comedy to know I can always get better, and I believe I am.

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What's Your Best Experience at a Comedy Show?

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When you’re in the zone, you barely remember what you’re saying. Time slows down, you know every face in the room, you can see who’s listening. The waves of laughter build before you hear them.

 

We had a show this week with with Steve Briggs, Davidson Boswell, Delphin Solomon and Jack.

It's one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. I was really proud of it.

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I remember The Comedy Gallery in New York (no longer around). Hanging out in the hallway with other comedians, ranting in tirades, and being part of the group where everyone’s ripping into each other and you want to get torn a new asshole.

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Going toe-to-toe with peers you respect and being able to hold court is the greatest feeling. I want to recapture that vibe here.

My favorite thing is performing stand-up comedy. My second favorite is hanging out with comedians.

 

In New York, I got to work with some super talented (and famous) comedians and as I was doing shows with them, at my best, I knew I could keep up with them. It gave me huge confidence and validation to continue and keep on through the dark times.