Phunny Business: A Black Comedy Page #10

THE INTIMACY OF A COMEDY CLUB.

I DIDN'T SEE THEATERS AND

CONCERT HALLS AS THE RIGH VENUE.

MAYBE I DIDN'T WANT TO.

RAYMOND AND JAMES WEREN'T THE

ONLY OWNERS AFFECTED BY THE

CHANGING BUSINESS.

ALMOST ALLTHE OTHER CHICAGO

STAND UPCLUBS HAD ALREADY

CLOSED.

IT WASN'T JUST THE BIG

VENUES THAT WERE KILLING

LITTLE CLUBS,

THE GLUT OF STAND UP

COMEDY SHOWS ON CABLE TV

WASN'T HELPING EITHER.

(SFX:
THUNDER)

STORM CLOUD NUMBER TWO WAS

AN EVEN MORE DIRECT THREAT TO

THE CLUB.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS CHANGING.

ALL JOKES ASIDE WAS IN

CHICAGO'S SOUTH LOOP.

BY THE LATE NINETIES, IT WAS

UNDERGOING GENTRIFICATION AND

THE LANDLORDS WANTED TO

CASH IN.

SO I WAS LOOKING AT A FIFTY

PERCENT HIKE IN RENT.

THAT, COUPLED WITH COMEDY

CONCERTS, STAND UP ALL OVER

TV...IT WAS KILLING ME.

MY OLD BUSINESS MODEL WAS NO

LONGER VIABLE.

THE END OF ALL JOKES ASIDE IS

A SERIOUS BLOW TO THE CHICAGO

COMEDY COMMUNITY.

UNFORTUNATELY, IT ALSO MEANS

THERE'S ONE LESS PLACE IN THE

CITY TO CALL HOME.

IN ONE RESPECT IT LEAVES

ZANIES AS CHICAGO'S ONLY FULL

TIME COMEDY CLUB.

ANY TIME THERE'S LESS, YOU KNOW,

ONE LESS CLUB THERE'S GONNA

BE ONE LESS OPPORTUNITY FOR

A COMEDIAN TO WORK ON

THEIR MATERIAL.

CO-OWNER RAY LAMBERT SAYS THA THIS LAST WEEKEND WON'T BE

CAUSE FOR TEARS.

LET'S ENJOY WHAT WE HAD AND

CALL IT A DAY.

THAT AUGUST, IN 1998, RAYMOND

SHUTTERED ALL JOKES ASIDE.

BUT THAT ISN'T THE END

OF OUR STORY.

WITH MARY LONG GONE AND

JAMES ACCEPTING A BUYOUT,

RAYMOND HAD DECIDED TO GO I ALONE AND OPEN A NEW CLUB ON THE

NORTH SIDE.

BUT NOT EVERYONE ENDORSED HIS

PLAN.

SO NOW LET'S GO, LET'S GO ON

THE WHITE SIDE.

THAT'S WHAT IT KIND OF FEL LIKE. AND IT WAS LIKE, NAW,

LET'S KEEP IT BLACK.

ALL JOKES ASIDE WAS

OUR COMEDY CLUB.

FOR BLACK PEOPLE, FOR BLACK

ARTISTS, FOR BLACK

SOCIAL CIRCUIT, YOU KNOW.

IT WAS, IT WAS OURS.

THERE WAS A SPIRIT OF BLACK

COMEDY THAT EXISTED IN ALL

JOKES ASIDE, AND I THINK SOME

OF THAT IS LOST WHEN YOU

UPGRADE, QUOTE UNQUOTE,

UPGRADE.

THERE'S SOMETHING TO BE SAID

ABOUT HOLDING ON TO WHA YOU'VE GOT AS OPPOSED TO

EXPANDING.

SO, BUT THAT HAPPENS WITH

ENTREPRENEURS.

LOOK, CLOSING IN THE SOUTH

LOOP WAS HEARTBREAKING, BU THE CLUB WASN'T GONNA SURVIVE

THERE. BY MOVING MY CLUB JUS A MILE AND A HALF NORTH TO THE

MAINSTREAM ENTERTAINMEN DISTRICT, I COULD REPLACE SOME

OF THE AUDIENCE I WAS LOSING

WITH COMEDY FANS OF

ALL RACES.

I COULD NOT ONLY SAVE MY

BUSINESS, I COULD GROW IT.

RAY SECURED THE PERFEC LOCATION FOR HIS DREAM.

IT WAS A BUILDING IN NEED OF A

MAKEOVER IN THE AFFLUEN FORTY-SECOND WARD.

BUT FIRST, HE WANTED THE

BLESSING OF THE LEGENDARY

POLITICAL FIGURE WHO

RAN THE WARD.

I THINK LEWIS BLACK IS

ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS, AND I HAS NOTHING TO DO, UH, WITH

THE FACT THAT HE'S JEWISH AND

I'M JEWISH.

I JUST THINK HE'S JUST DAMN

FUNNY.

THE BOMBASTIC BURT NATARAS IS

AN ICON, AN OLD SCHOOL CHICAGO

POLITICIAN AND WHO KNEW...AN

OPINIONATED COMEDY FAN.

WELL BILL COSBY ISN'T AS FUNNY

AS CHRIS ROCK.

UH, BILL COSBY IS SORT OF

SUBTLE, YOU KNOW.

MY FIRST MEETING WITH ALDERMAN

NATARUS COULDN'T HAVE GONE

BETTER.

I GOT THE IMPRESSION THAT MY

CLUB WOULD BE WELCOMED IN HIS

WARD.

I THINK, UH, AN AFRO-AMERICAN

CLUB CAN GO ANYWHERE.

IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE DEMEANOR

OF THE PEOPLE.

WELL IF IT WAS GONNA BE ABOU THE DEMEANOR OF THE PEOPLE, NO

PROBLEM.

IN EIGHT YEARS OF OPERATION A ALL JOKES ASIDE, WE NEVER HAD

ONE INCIDENT SO I SIGNED THE

LEASE ON THE SPACE AND HIRED

ONE OF THE CITY'S HOTTES YOUNG ARCHITECTS.

HELLO EVERYONE, MY NAME IS OBI

NWAZOTA.

UH, I AM AN ARCHITECT.

RAISED IN NIGERIA.

TRAINED IN LONDON.

AND HE'S A LITTLE O.C.D.

WE GOT ALONG GREAT.

THE BRIEF IS TO DESIGN A

COMEDY CLUB.

EVERYONE HAD A VISION.

WE HAD TO, YOU KNOW THINK

ABOUT HOW TO CLEAN IT UP.

THE POINT OF EGRESS WAS

COMPLETELY SEPARATED.

INTERACTIVITY.

ACTUALLY BRINGING THE FIRS BAR AREA INTO YOUR PRIMARY

LOUNGE.

I THINK IT WAS JUST GOING TO

THE NEXT LEVEL BEYOND WHAT WE

HAD BEEN DOING OR WHAT ALL

JOKES ASIDE HAD BEEN.

WHAT OBI AND I WERE TRYING TO

CREATE WAS NOT JUST A CLUB,

BUT AN ENTERTAINMENT VENUE.

A PLACE FOR COMEDY, COCKTAILS,

AND CONVERSATION.

RAY APPROACHED US AND SAID

HE'S GONNA OPEN A CLUB ON THE

NORTH SIDE, UP NORTH AND, UH,

HE WANTED US TO DO THE FOOD.

WE AGREED, NOW WE A CAME

NUMEROUS TIMES TO CHECK OU THE, UH, CONSTRUCTION AND THE

PROGRESS OF THE CLUB.

AND THE PROGRESS WAS GOOD.

PLANS HAD BEEN APPROVED.

PERMITS HAD BEEN ISSUED.

AND CONSTRUCTION WAS UNDERWAY.

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?

SFX:
METAL HI I WISH I COULD TELL YOU THAT I

WAS SURPRISED WHEN I HEARD

THAT MY NEW NEIGHBORS, THE

OWNERS OF THE ART GALLERIES

AND ANTIQUE SHOPS, WERE GOING

TO FILE A PETITION TO KEEP ME

FROM GETTING MY LIQUOR

LICENSE.

I CAN'T EXIST WITHOUT A LIQUOR

LICENSE.

I HAD MET WITH MANY OF THEM

INDIVIDUALLY.

I THOUGHT THEY LIKED ME.

EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND RIGHT?

SO I WENT TO GET ADVICE FROM

MY ALDERMAN.

GEEZ, I HATE TO PLEAD

IGNORANCE...

I SOON REALIZED THAT THERE

WASN'T MUCH THAT ALDERMAN

NATURUS COULD DO TO SWAY THE

PETITIONERS.

I HEARD THEY HAD A MEETING.

NOW I WASN'T INVITED, BUT I'LL

BET IT WENT DOWN SOMETHING

LIKE THIS.

LOOK LYLE, I DON'T THINK I'M A

BIGOT.

LYLE DIDN'T SAY THAT MARK.

AND I DON'T THINK I'M A MAN OF

PREJUDICES.

I DON'T BOTHER THEM AND THEY

DON'T BOTHER ME.

I HERE STORIES.

WHAT KIND OF STORIES.

TROUBLE, THAT'S ALL.

OH, WE'RE ALL GOING TO LOSE

OUR JOBS.

JUST WHAT IS IT WE'RE AFRAID

OF OR ARE MAYBE WE RAISING

PROBLEMS TO HIDE OUR OWN

PREJUDICES?

WELL, WHATEVER THEIR PROBLEMS

WERE, THIS WAS GONNA HAVE TO

PLAY ITSELF OUT IN COURT, AND

QUICKLY I HOPED.

BUT MY SEASONED RESTAURAN GUYS THOUGHT THAT HEY, MAYBE

THEY COULD INTERVENE AND HAVE

SOME INFLUENCE.

WE SPOKE TO SOME PEOPLE THA REPRESENTED THE ALDERMEN A THE TIME.

HE SAID, THE ECONOMIC STATUS

OF THE CLIENTELE IS NO CONDUCIVE, OR SOMETHING LIKE

THAT, TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

SO I SAID, SO WHAT YOU'RE

TRYING TO DO SAY IS YOU DON' WANT ANY BLACK PEOPLE.

(SFX:
METAL HIT)

(SFX:
THUNDER)

STORM CLOUD NUMBER THREE HAD

OFFICIALLY REARED ITS UGLY

HEAD.

THERE SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ANY

PROBLEM WITH RAY'S REQUEST FOR

A LIQUOR LICENSE.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS AN

ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT, ZONED

FOR COMMERCIAL USE.

AND FOR EIGHT YEARS, AT HIS

OLD CLUB, RAY HAD AN

IMPECCABLE LICENSE HISTORY.

BUT THE PETITIONERS ARGUED

THAT RAY'S NEW CLUB WOULD

QUOTE "CHANGE THE TONE OF THE

BLOCK," "CHANGE THE AMBIANCE

OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD,"

"CULTURALLY THREATEN THEIR

ENCLAVE,"

AND "HAVE A

DELETERIOUS IMPACT ON

THE COMMUNITY."

(SFX:
METAL HIT)

IN THE SAME NEIGHBORHOOD

THERE'S AN ADULT BOOKSTORE,

THERE WAS A PORN SHOP,

THERE'S THE CLUB WITH, AH,

YOU KNOW,

FEMALE IMPERSONATORS.

MAYBE IF I'D OPENED AN X-RATED

COMEDY CLUB I'D BE MORE

WELCOME.

SO I WASN'T GOING DOWN WITHOU A FIGHT.

I MEAN, I GOT ALMOST A MILLION

DOLLARS INVESTED AT THIS

POINT.

SO, I HAD SOME OPTIONS.

I COULD HIRE A LAWYER.

GO GANGSTA ON THEY ASS.

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