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Saturday 15 December 2018

STUDY: Dane Cook





STUDY: Dane Cook


By Matthew L. Hart

Humor Writer/Comedian


Author of:

What do you work toward in your free time?

Everyday, I work towards living an honest life in service to my family and community. 

I practice hard work and self-discipline, so that my personal growth will flourish through creative self-expression.

I strive to create a sense of fun and adventure in my life and my creative works.

I struggle to create a good work/life balance, a healthy and active lifestyle, and financial independence. 

I try to help others to achieve their dreams, like I have. And, if there's any time left, I'd like to finish my Pilot's License.


STUDY: Dane Cook


"I saw a young boy eating an ice cream cone...I smashed it in his face. You know that kid is going to remember me when he's fifty." 

- Dane Cook


Studying other comedians will give us examples for what does or does not work, with regard for our own comedy career path. 


You may already be familiar with Dane Cook from his work:


WELL-KNOWN STAND UP COMEDY


Dane Cook sells out stadiums that comedians haven't filled since the 1970's, with the likes of Steve Martin and Richard Pryor.


HBO has given him a one-man show and the "Tourgasm" series. 


Yet, Dane Cook is one of our times most controversial Comedians. 


When someone mentions Dane Cook, people either love him or hate him.

But, his success is undeniable, although a bit tainted.

This blog hopes to answer...

Why is Dane Cook so successful?


To get to the roots of this question, let's get to know Dane.

Who is Dane Cook?


Dane Cook was born in 1972 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Grew up with six siblings in the Boston suburbs.

Early influences were Johnny Carson and Bill Cosby, mimicking them to entertain his family.

He started performing his own comedy in clubs in 1990 and got his break in 1998 when he got a spot on Comedy Central's Premium Blend.

In 2002, Dane invested $25,000 of his own money into DaneCook.com and developed a robust online community through social media.

He released his first album, "Harmful If Swallowed" in 2003.

And, his second album, released in 2005, "Retaliation" went double platinum. It was the most popular comedy album in thirty years! 

What can we learn from Dane's Career path?


Let's take a look at some of these mile markers on Dane's career path.

First, growing up in the 70's.

Here's a list of popular late-70's comedians:

  1. Richard Pryor
  2. George Carlin
  3. Steve Martin
  4. Bob Newhart
  5. George Burns
  6. Redd Foxx
  7. Bob Hope
  8. Jerry Seinfeld
  9. Bill Cosby
  10. Jay Leno

Recognize any names? I sure do!

It's very possible that Dane Cook was exposed to some of the best standup comedy during his impressionable years when these acts were new and exciting.

He even admits that he used to entertain his family by mimicking bits from Johnny Carson and Bill Cosby. 

This is our first clue.

CAREER TIP #1: Listen to Great Comedians and study or perform their material out loud, as practice, to develop your sense of good comedic timing.


Now, let's look at his next step.

Dane Cook started performing original material in clubs during the 1990's.

Knowing a little comedic history can help here.

The 1990's was said to bring a new wave to stand up comedy. It's easier to see what I mean with a list of successful 90's performers. 

Comedy in the 1990's:

  1. Eddie Murphy
  2. Chris Rock
  3. Jerry Seinfeld
  4. Dave Chapelle
  5. Bernie Mac
  6. Martin Lawrence
  7. Andrew Dice Clay
  8. Roseanne Barr
  9. Ellen DeGeneres
  10. Robbin Williams

These performers honed their craft in comedy clubs in the 80's, and represented the 90's new wave of comedy. 

All this rapid career growth left comedy clubs empty. Many people thought the comedy club was going to be dead by the end of the 90's.

But, what this really meant, was huge opportunity. With less honed competition, new comics could get more stage time and start working on a new generation of comedy. 

This is the environment that Dane Cook worked in...for eight years!

However, it is important to note that there were some allegations that Dane Cook may have plagiarized some work by Louis CK to create his second album, "Retaliation."

 Although this matter seems to have been settled between the two Comedians, I want to stress the importance of creating your own original material to avoid this classic pitfall. 

CAREER TIP #2: Create original material and hone your craft in the clubs. Be persistent!


What happens next is really interesting.

Dane gets his break in 1998 when he performs on Comedy Central's Premium Blend.

What can we take from this?

This is a hard question. Up until now, Dane has just been honing his craft in comedy clubs. At some point, by accidental discovery or invitation, someone notices him and he gets the gig.

I call this step, The Payoff.

It happens when everything he's been doing converges into this one sublime moment. 

To me, it means, "I'm good enough now." It's a confidence thing.

Think about it this way, you've been an intern for 8 years, and now they're ready to give you the job.

Here's the big secret:

CAREER TIP #3: When your opportunity comes, don't be afraid to say, "YES!"


I can hear you saying it already, "I can't make someone give me a break."

You're right. That's the part that's out of our hands. But, maybe Dane has something up his sleeve for us.

Let's look...

After Dane gets paid to perform on Comedy Central's Premium Blend...

What does Dane do with his money?

He invests it in himself!

In 2002, Dane takes $25,000 of his own money and builds DaneCook.com.

THIS IS GREAT NEWS FOR US!

Dane shows us that we don't have to wait around to get noticed.

Dane got his break in 1998, he doesn't really see anything else happening for four more years!

So, what's he doing?

He's building his one hour show in the clubs. Maybe he's coasting a bit. Maybe working at the BK Lounge?

What's important to recognize here, is that he hasn't given up.

He could have bought a new car for $25,000. But, he doesn't.

In the early 2000's, everyone is excited about the .com biz. Everyone seems to be making money online. This would end up becoming a bubble.

But, the concept was not lost on Dane. He knew that the internet was a huge opportunity for exposure. Everyone was getting online. AOL anyone?

Now, I ask you...

Does it still cost $25,000 to build a great website nowadays? NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!

This is Dane's next secret.

CAREER TIP #4: Invest in yourself. Create an online presence with a website and social media platform.


One year later, in 2003, Dane Cook releases his first album, "Harmful If Swallowed" 

What made this album successful, was that it released to an online fan base ready to buy it. 

With some street creds from Premium Blend, and a RELENTLESS online presence, Dane's success seemed to bubble up out of nowhere!

At this point, you start to see the fissure develop.

A lot of non-working comedians see Dane succeeding so quickly, they accuse him of stealing material and try to tear him down. 

For those of you who don't know this already, Comedians can be very jealous people when it comes to other's success.

But, that being said, don't steal material.

There are cases when Comedians will come up with similar jokes. It's best to resolve the issues right away, or simply drop the joke from your act and write a new one.

I suggest documenting any joke discretions and resolution agreements with signatures, if possible. Who? What? When? Where? and Why?

Mutual respect and professionalism will take you both further than a single joke ever will.

As for Dane's fan base, most of his fans are teenagers online. Remember MySpace?

Your grandparents haven't started using social media yet, so Dane's fan base is mostly made up of "tech savvy" Millennials.

Simply put, older people don't think Dane is funny. 

But, that doesn't matter!

Dane shows us that you no longer have to wait to be "Discovered."

Here's Dane's next tip:

CAREER TIP #5: You can produce your own material and sell it through your website.


By now, the "Dane Train" is rolling ahead, full steam. 

There's not much to say about the next step, other than his second album, "Retaliation" released in 2005 to a HUGE FAN BASE who loved him or loved to hate him. 

"Retaliation" ranks with Steve Martin's A Wild And Crazy Guy released in 1978.

The success of Dane's second album, catapulted him into a movie career.

There's really only one thing we can take away from this step, besides always saying, "YES!" to opportunity.

CAREER TIP #6: Keep honing your craft. Become so good at what you do, they can't ignore you.


In the end, people say that Dane was better at self-promotion than he was at comedy.

I say, this just proves that humor is subjective.

I've created a sample playlist below so that you can judge for yourself.

Whether or not you love Dane, hate Dane, or don't really care, his career path gives us some great pointers as we develop our own careers.

Even if the online competition for attention is much greater than it was during Dane's days in the trenches.

We can look for similar opportunities for exposure that haven't been exploited yet.

CAREER TIPS WE LEARNED FROM DANE COOK


CAREER TIP #1: Listen to Great Comedians and study or perform their material out loud, as practice, to develop your sense of good comedic timing.


CAREER TIP #2: Create original material and hone your craft in the clubs. Be persistent!


CAREER TIP #3: When your opportunity comes, don't be afraid to say, "YES!"


CAREER TIP #4: Invest in yourself. Create an online presence with a website and social media platform.

CAREER TIP #5: You can produce your own material and sell it through your website.

CAREER TIP #6: Keep honing your craft. Become so good at what you do, they can't ignore you.


https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrgrijHkQQ8WEsCox4claeXMU4L9D90Su
Dane Cook sampler

Are you entrenched in your own comedy career?


Do you have some advice you'd like to share?


DROP YOUR ADVICE IN THE COMMENTS BELOW


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