New Season Begins: The Doobs Vows That #YearTwo Will Be Twice As Awesome (At Least)

Hey there.

Guess who's back?  Its a real no-brainer because if you're reading this you know that its me, The Rockstar of Ridiculous, that is in  fact back. Much like a spirited hockey team returns triumphantly to even greater success in D2, so did D2 (Darwin Doobers) return triumphantly to Chicago Comedy like a spirited hockey team...

A Hockey team forged of hilarity and amazement!

That's right, I kicked off the season premiere of myself at the very place where it officially all began: The Rathskeller Open Mic in the basement of Lotties Pub.  Here it was meant to be a veritable who's who of comedic talent waiting to shake my hand and approach me for days in which I was available to be booked by them.  Here, at the season premiere I expected the adoration of all my Doobers Swooners, chanting my name at every possible chance.

What I got were blank stares from a sea of newbies who wouldn't know fame if it walked right up onto the stage in the basement of Lotties pub via red carpet roll out and shouted at them "look at me, remember me, this is as close as you'll ever get to fame." Short of Jeff Hansen, Tim Brochu, hosts for the evening Mike Joyce and Bill Cruz, The Crocodile Gang Keith Pasel, Ken Witzgall, and Todd Masey, and Maggie Ednie, not a single one of my ACTUAL comedy peers were in attendance for my glorious return after season 1 ended with more questions than answers as to what would be next for me, the Offspring of Awesome, Darwin Doobers.

Regardless though, I promised a red carpet affair, and as my official Photographer Jessica Avila and good friend Tim Brochu so graciously rolled out the carpet for me, I approached the stage and made those who know me remember just who I am, and those who didn't know me... I made them never forget.

While playing to a room of newbies who aren't aware that the pecking order goes ME, then everyone else jockeying for position as second best, may have been better in the long run, given me the opportunity to make myself known to those "comedians" who snuck into the scene over the summer... I have to admit, be honest as it were, that I left Lotties with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. I advertised to the world that my season premiere was going down on Tuesday September 18th, I invited all the big wigs and hot shots of Chicago Comedy; representatives from Your Funniest Friends, Chicago Underground Comedy, Speak Easy Comedy, The Lincoln Lodge, The Comedy Bar, The Wind Up, Up Comedy Club, Laugh Factory, even the legendary Zanies... I sent out feelers to them all and while I didn't necessarily expect all of those people to show up (outside of my new BFF Kenny DeForest), there was one group of Chicago's finest that I DID expect to show up.

There was one group that when they had their fall season premiere last year, not only did I, the Wizard of Wit, Darwin Doobers show up at their event, but I was kind enough, friendly enough, excited enough to bring them their very own cake to celebrate the combination of two of the greatest forces in comedy today sharing the same stage. I have done nothing but support them, champion for them, give them the Doobers Bump... and in turn all I ever asked for was for them to come to my season premiere... and also give me stage time.

Did I get either of those things?  No way Bobby Flay, No Dice Vanilla Ice. As I slung silly from that stage Tuesday Night, I looked out past those newbies to the back, where the real pros hang out, hoping praying... that maybe one or two of them would be there.

Not even the often forgotten about Michael Sanchez was there.

So with that being said, as I left Lotties Pub, a just arriving James Fritz, soaking up his last few weeks in Chicago before leaving to LA-LA Land, approached me.  He leaned in and asked if I had gone up... I told him, yes... yes I did.  He was very bummed, down right devastated as it were to have missed me, but at least he showed up.  So as I, the Megastar of Comedy, recapped the event (which received the famous James Fritz giggle laugh) he then asked me, "So who's your enemy going to be this year, who are you targeting?" Obviously James had been paying attention, reading all my posts leading up to the season premiere, and I had gone ahead and scrapped that announcement during my set because it just wouldn't have made the impact that I had intended.

But The Doobs always delivers (other than with that Chicago comedy president thing... it was a story line my former manager Ed Hansen pitched to me... I never liked it) and so to James Fritz, and the rest of the world buzzing about it, dying to know as it were... I think its fairly obvious who Darwin Doobers is targeting this year...

That's right, I always deliver and last season I vowed I'd get to the bottom of the Lincoln Lodge conspiracy against Darwin Doobers and somehow, amidst it all, the wily Ricky "Gonzo" Gonzalez somehow tricked me into going after Kenny DeForest.  I won't be so easily deceived this season and come hell or high water, I will finally get my confrontation with Gonzalez and get on the Lincoln Lodge stage!

So Ricky Retardo you and the rest of your LL Goon squad better get ready.... because there's only two ways out of the insanity that's in store.

1. You book me on your show, once and for all, as a showing of good peace, community and recognition of my awesomeness.

2. Ricky Gonzalez, we go three rounds in a boxing match. You and me, handling business like gentlemen who want to punch each other in the face. One night, one fight, and everything's alright.


Season 2, the Lincoln Lodge and Darwin Doobers feud comes to an end... because the only way to move forward is to deal with the past first.  

And speaking of moving forward, join me on my #YearTwo journey with the brand new "Doobers Swooners Anonymous" T- Shirt!

This is the official shirt of Darwin Doobers: Season 2, and you're going to want to get it now via the Darwin Doobers Merchandise link at the top of this very page.  With a season that is going to be at LEAST twice as awesome, if not more so, you don't want to be one of those idiots without your official Double D apparel.

Thanks for reading, Swooners!

- DD


WHERE TO SEE DARWIN DOOBERS NEXT:

Date: Thursday, September 20th
Location: Tassel Free Comedy @ the 240 Lounge & Cafe (3948 W. Lawrence, Chicago IL)
Time: 9:00pm

My Fellow Comedians: You're On Your Own

Hey there.

Ever since I threw my hat into the race for 2012 President of Chicago Comedy back in January, I was aware, well prepared as it were, for a tough campaign trail.  I expected many a veteran to the scene, stalwarts of the silly, to step up and challenge me, to bring lively debate, discussion, and overall change to the political and professional schema of the Chicago comedy scene.  I had high hopes, I was passionate, inspired, I truly believed we could see a great surge in all aspects of comedy and entertainment that would make the "second city" #1!

It takes a great man to admit when he is wrong, and it just so happens that I am a great man, the greatest if you will.

And I was wrong.

We are now just about 4 months away from the would have been election day in November, and not a single  man or woman that calls themselves a comedian has stepped up to bring their ideas, their thoughts, their intended leadership to organize a scene that is devastated by anarchy, cliques, and overall chaos.  It is not because they don't have their opinions... it is because Chicago Comedy does not want to be better. Chicago Comedy does NOT want to be #1, they thrive off their jaded and jealous natures, they FEED off the insecurity they feel every single day of their lives.

I thought I could change that, but you cannot change the course nor lead the lemmings away from their demise. I was in fact fooled, disillusioned as it were, into believing these comedians both new and old, only needed a strong leader, someone to guide them with a shining light of awesome. But change cannot happen, momentum cannot be gained, when the masses simply refuse time and time again to accept that their world, their nation of comedy... is broken.

That being said, I cannot, nor will not fight for this city any longer.  They will not change, they will not usher in a new era of greatness because should the second city, should Chicago become #1 in comedy entertainment,  it will eliminate all excuses.  As it stands now, each and every Chicago comedian can always rest easy on the fact that this isn't New York or L.A. and can reference that as the reason as to why they're not "making it."  With Chicago perceived as a stepping stone, self-accountability is a non-issue... thrown out the proverbial window if you will... replaced with finger pointing. If we  made Chicago #1 in Comedy entertainment, then exit articles about our voyage to one of the coasts and how we are immediately more successful because of it, would become obsolete... and then if we are not written about in The Reader or The A.V. Club, how will we measure our successes? For many, they would shrivel up and die without the recognition via blurb within a local paper.

Indeed, Chicago Comedy does not want a President and will fight tooth and nail to NOT be brought together under one banner because the citizens of Chicago Comedy are cowards... and I will not fight for cowards. Chicago Comedy does not need a President... for what they need, my Doobers Swooners... is a baby sitter and/or therapist.

But I will not abandon the audiences, the fans, the people of Chicago as a whole, no way Bobby Flay... no dice Vanilla Ice.  They have been made jaded by those comedians who they have loved and lost to the coasts... they have become reluctant to give their support because they are forgotten once comedians "rise up" out of Chicago only to return once in a while.  For those people I remain vigilant to the cause of making Chicago a force to be reckoned with. a place where people come to to stay, not simply to work out their craft and then leave.

Indeed I will do it for them... on my own... I will bring the world of entertainment to the Windy City as its sole SUPERSTAR... the rest of you are on your own.

Because together we are not forever... and forever we are not Chicago Comedy.

I. AM. CHICAGO COMEDY.

And who am I?

I'm Darwin "Mother Freakin'" Doobers.

And I'm pretty much....  No.

I AM the best!

New "Pretty Much The Best" T-Shirt

Hey there Doobers Swooners!

Just got in from a great show out in Schaumburg Illinois at the Laugh Out Loud Theater.  Not gonna lie, it was pretty much the best and I have to once again thank the show's producer (and my sponsor) Steven Long of Spitting Image Tees & Promo for allowing me to grace his stage and giving his audience the privilege and honor of witnessing me in all my comedy glory.  It was great to take the stage again as I have been so busy with the Presidential campaign, so tonight was a grand occasion.

And since tonight was pretty much the best, I've decided to start releasing more Doobers t-shirts over the next few weeks starting with, that's right... the "Pretty Much the Best/No Big Deal" T-Shirt.  Visit http://www.doubledmerch.blogspot.com/ to purchase it today!

Keep swoonin' and keep checking back as I release more merchandise... and look for your chance to win some really sweet 2012 "Shake It Up" Campaign gear... details to come.

My Fellow Comedians Part 3: Solutions Not Squabbles

Hey there, my fellow Comedians.

In the aftermath of Just for Laughs Chicago it feels as if a once vibrant and promising scene, a scene that seemed to have been motivated by the presence of those "big names" we admire and a scene that was running on all comedy cylinders... has fallen into harder times.  Some might say, make the excuse as it were, that the record setting heat we've experienced as of late has really put people, comedians and audiences alike, into a real mood. The Doobs is not one for excuses, but regardless the reasons everywhere I go I only seem to hear the complaints, I only hear the negativity.

What I don't hear, my fellow comedians, what I am not hearing at all, are suggestions on what can make things better. What I don't see is people listening or receiving suggestions or advice from others in a polite and accepting manner.

I hear complaints. I see fights breaking out regarding stand-up comedy in Chicago.  This is the same comedy scene that continues to believe it doesn't NEED a President, that we should just keep doing as we are doing, that we should cling to the ways it was "done before."  Well I don't think I have to point it out for you... but I will.

Done before is over done... and it's not working.

As our great comedy scene continues to grow, as more and more people enter the fold it is obvious that someone must take a stand to help unify a diverse group of entertainers.  Since I announced my intentions to run for President of Chicago comedy in early spring, I have not seen  one individual decide to run, have not heard one whisper of a rumor as it were, that someone else might decide to help to fix Chicago comedy and remove the stigma that we are but a "stepping stone."  At first I thought this a good thing, real swell if you will, because it seemed like everyone was just simply on board with The Offspring of Awesome, me, Darwin Doobers leading this great scene into the future; a future defined by the words "Shake It Up" where Chicago Stand-Up Comedy is known for being the best and noted as a scene that is always entertaining and always surprising.

But as time has moved on, as we are well into the summer, time only moves forward, November only draws nearer... and many of you comedians just flat out don't seem to care. Not gonna lie, seems like many of you would rather things never change. Really comes across that because starting out YOU had to wallow in misery and tough times, that you became jaded... that Chicago Comedy should forever be associated with such downtrodden hopelessness... that Chicago should remain a place where you put in all this work, never see results, and then leave for New York or L.A. to do the exact same thing you were doing in Chicago.

That cycle, my fellow comedians, seems really stupid.  Pardon my bluntness but should I be elected president (and I will be) you will get a completely open, completely honest, and completely transparent president. And why is that? Because the politics of comedy have forever been managed behind closed doors, false words spoken to our faces, lies told, promises broken... and to all those things I say NO WAY BOBBY FLAY!

Now, more than ever, Chicago Comedy needs a leader, someone to bring together a scene divided, a scene struggling, a scene stuck in its own selfish ways.  I have heard the complaints of the people and it is my goal to solve those problems, not rehash them time and time again.  And you ask, "hey Darwin."  "Hey Darwin" you ask..., "why should you be our president?"

The answer is a simple one.  Stand-Up Comedy is a solo act, it breeds the "me" mentality as each and every one of us tries to climb the ladder to become a success.  I understand this, and I encourage all of you to keep honing your craft, to think about how you will succeed as that is part of making the Second City number One.  But I, the Rockstar of Ridiculous, am not affected by the me mentality, I don't care about climbing the ladder because I am already the best.  No big deal, don't make a fuss, it's just true.

In just over one year on the scene I have risen to meteoric heights of super-stardom that has never been reached in such a short amount of time.  I have my own clothing line, I am a published author, I am talked about everywhere even when I'm not there.

In short... I'm pretty much the greatest and it's time to use my greatness to make Chicago Comedy EVEN GREATER... NAY... TO MAKE IT THE BEST! That's why I should be your President, and that's why I WILL be the President of Chicago Comedy.

Now the thing is, the issue as it were, is that I can't just flat out up and do it on my own. I know the problems, I hear the complaints, but if this great scene continues to turn a blind eye, to simply ignore the problems instead of face them head on, then no... progress will not be made, change will not occur, we will not shake it up... we will end up shutting it down.

It is time we organize. It is time we put our petty differences beside us and break away from the squabbles of old, of arguments over who does or doesn't know what comedy is all about. The philosophies may change, the approaches may be different, but at the end of the day stand-up comedy is a form of entertainment in which we provide laughter for the people of Chicago.

At the end of the day we cannot be jaded jokesters, but we must rise up and realize that we have a duty, a responsibility to our city, and that's to give them the best stand-up comedy the world has ever seen and to keep it that way; not to leave them when we are at our highest, but to make the world come to us. My fellow comedians, the complaints must be addressed and we cannot be separated in addressing them. We must forge ahead and truly find the solutions we seek and I am the man to stand up for Stand-Up in Chicago. I am the man who willingly will take the wheel and steer us in the direction we are very capable of heading in.

But for those of you who think you have better ideas, that you're better for the job, I invite you to run against me, to engage in debates, to put forward what you feel is the right course of action to make Chicago Comedy the best.  If you do nothing, if you do not run against me, if you do not speak up when you have ideas then that is when we all lose, and our scene continues to fall apart rather than grow stronger.

My fellow comedians, I have taken a stand, I have spoken up time and time again and attackers be damned, I will not be kept down. I ask for your support, for your vote, and hope you will be a part of history in the making.

Because we are in this together... together we are forever...

And forever we are comedy!

Dinner with Doobers ep. 008 w/Megan Gailey

Hey there my Doobers Swooners.

Pretty exciting time in the life of the Wizard of Wit and it all started (again) on May 7th 2012. Indeed year two is officially in full swing as I proved myself at The Speak Easy Comedy (Video to come Soon) and showed the world of Chicago comedy what Darwin Doobers is all about.

On top of that I'm back with another episode of Dinner with Doobers, and even as the campaign season heats up I promise, my fellow swooners, that I will continue to bring you the entertainment that is my hit interview web-series.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy this interview that was filmed LIVE from Bridget McNeill's (420 W. Belmont Ave, Chicago IL).

My guest, Megan Gailey.

Dinner with Doobers ep.007 w/guest Kenny DeForest

Hey there.

The latest TWO episodes of Dinner with Doobers are now available for viewing. Gotta say, not gonna lie, had my own personal doubts about posting the newest episode (007) folks. True story, a little bit hectic, a little TENSE in this episode, but the Doobs is an honest man and decided to release it anyway.

Enjoy (and while you're here, maybe donate to the campaign fund or buy some Darwin Doober merchandise)

My Fellow Comedians Part 2: Go Forth And Fest!

Hey there my fellow comedians and supporters of the "Shake it Up" Vote Doobers 2012 movement.

It is I, the Offspring of Awesome, Darwin Doobers, with another installment of "My Fellow Comedians." As we continue our way closer and closer to November I will be posting more and more in regards to what I intend to achieve as YOUR President of Chicago Comedy. No big deal, but it kind of is.

We are well into the month of March now, and with it has come the likes of the NCAA Basketball tournament dubbed March Madness, and speaking of March Madness... we, the Chicago comedy community, are fresh off the Just For Laughs Festival auditions.  Wowza Minnelli were there some great comedians involved in the auditioning process and I myself attended the audition show at Chicago Underground Comedy. In watching these comedians, watching them do their thing, sling their silly as it were, I realized something. Through all that anxiety and pressure they put themselves under, what came forth was a night of comedy I will not soon forget.

My fellow comedians, it has become painfully obvious to me that in our craft these festivals, these quasi-competitions amongst us jockeying for slots in a bigger picture, are important to the growth of Chicago comedy as the #1 place for comedy entertainment.

But I know what you're thinking, you're thinking Darwin Doobers, Doobers you're thinking, hold the phone. If these festivals, these events that take Chicago comedians AWAY from Chicago, are important, doesn't that go against your very goal in becoming President?

If you're thinking that, it is because you didn't let me finish.

These festivals are important because the Chicago comedians put all they can into their sets. I am not saying these festivals are important to win, not at all, no way Jose... no dice Vanilla Ice.  These festivals are important to AUDITION for.

Don't get me wrong though, don't misquote me, I'd like to see Chicago comedians win more festivals, bolster up their comedy resumes, but if they're going to win, I say let them win festival slots ON THEIR HOME TURF!  Forget sending our top talent off to New York, L.A. Austin, Boston... and wherever else "top" festivals are being held.  I say BRING THE FESTIVALS TO CHI-TOWN!

That's right. Out of town scouts booking festivals across the nation, I say you want our talent, you bring the festivals to Chicago. You want to show the world you're good at finding the best, then do it in the Windy City. Like people travel from all over the world to witness the Olympics wherever they are held.. I to dream of a day when people travel from all over to come to Chicago.

Indeed, my fellow comedians Chicago is the Second City and I will forever dislike that name and I therefore look to make it the FESTIVAL CITY!

With your help, your support, your vote, and your generous donations to my campaign fund, I will work for you, my fellow comedians, I will work hard and tirelessly to bring the city of Chicago more festivals. It will not be easy, but I firmly believe that it can be done. My plan will start small, looking to bring just two more new festivals to Chicago. With your efforts as funny men and women I know we can catch the eye, make the movement stronger and push for even more festivals to take place in the TRUE Greatest city in America.

Now, there will be some, not gonna lie, there will be some who will not like the idea of more festivals in Chicago.  Those detractors will liken it to College Football.  Too many bowl games lessen the importance of winning in the eyes of the masses. I tend to believe that you can't apply that to comedy because audiences seem to perk up with every credit you attach to a performer's name. Comedy is a different beast, my fellow comedians, one that unfortunately needs the extra frills and titles if we are to make Chicago #1.

On top of that, being a part of a festival audition, of getting into a festival, it brings up one's self-confidence and a confident comedian is an entertaining comedian.  With more festivals comes more opportunities for more comedians to have their confidence boosted, their spirits uplifted and that can only mean further great things from our roster of talent.

My fellow comedians, as your future President of Chicago Comedy (who is STILL currently running unopposed) I say unto you with the biggest smile and proudest voice:

GO FORTH AND FEST! (and donate to my campaign fund)


For together we are forever... And forever we are comedy!