Mitcz.com : Official blog of Rev. Mitcz, the demented devilish comedian from Hollywood, CA.

Some of you may or may not know, but there’s a new Mitch Hedberg album out today – Do You Believe in Gosh? – and there’s a special show at the Hollywood Improv tonight, where comedians will be sharing stories about him. I won’t be going to that, but I wish I were.

So, I’m gonna share my favorite (and only) Mitch Hedberg story…

When I first started doing comedy, it was at the Irvine Improv. They wouldn’t book you unless they’d heard of you (referral system) OR if you’d taken one of their “comedy workshop” classes. Excited to see if I could tell a decent joke in front of a crowd of strangers, I opted for the workshop.

After graduation (if you’d call it that), they’d book you once a month alongside other amateur comics, and you got to see any comedy shows that came through for FREE, provided you called in advance to reserve a seat.

Through that system, I saw Kathy Griffin, Kevin Pollack, Norm Macdonald, Pablo Francisco, Bill Maher, and the highlight of all – Mitch Hedberg.

Calling in to get my tickets, I said to the receptionist “can I talk with Jeff?” (the manager’s name) and she said “sure, can I say who’s calling?”

Me : “This is Mitcz”
Her : “Mitcz? Hey! I love your comedy!”
Me : “Really?”
Her : “Yeah, you’re really funny”
Me : “Wow. Thank you. I’m surprised you’ve seen me”
Her : “Oh yeah, I watched your show last night. So good”
Me : “Hmm.. I didn’t perform last night”
Her : “Uhh… Mitch Hedberg?”
Me : “Ohhhh.. haha. No, I’m Mitcz Marzoni”
Her : “Oh. Hold on, I’ll get Jeff”

I almost felt proud for a second there. But, no matter. I had my Hedberg tickets and I was good to go.

At the time, he had just released his debut CD “Strategic Grill Locations”. The copy I have was so recent that the website it listed on the back was purchased out from under him by a porn company. MitchHedberg.com became “Hot, wet naked bitches!”. Poor fucker. He even told jokes about that.

The show was great, and he had a lot more energy than I’d seen on Comedy Central (or heard on his CD). He was probably drunk, but he was on-point. If you listen to his newest CD (“Do You Believe in Gosh?”) you’ll hear that same energy. He even moved around the stage a lot, instead of just standing in one spot.

After the show, I got the opportunity to meet him, and have him sign my copy of the CD (yes, I brought it with me).

Me : “Hey man, great show. Lotta energy. I was really impressed”
Mitch : “Thanx man. I appreciate it. Did you want me to sign that?”
Me : “Oh, yeah.. would you?”
Mitch : “Sure. Who do I make it out to?”
Me : “I’m Mitcz, too! And.. I’m just starting out as a comedian”
Mitch : “Hey that’s cool. Stick with it”
Me : “I’ll try”

He laughed. And, because that motherfucker is always on-point, he even wrote a joke on my CD :

“I’m Mitch, too” became “Mitch2″. That’s comedy gold. And definitely the coolest autograph I’ve ever gotten.

It’s a shame he’s not still around, especially hearing this new CD and laughing my ass off all over again. Who knows where he would’ve gone from there.

So Mitch – here’s to you, pal. I’m throwing an extra lime in my cape cod tonight.

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