Red Letter Day

There are some days where I get a chance to look at my life, almost as an outsider, and exhale, "I am so incredibly blessed." Monday was one of those days.

I have to preface this though by saying that this will probably come off as bragging to most people. While some may think of my life as being pretty rosey with the kind of job I have, me not so much! It's not what I set out to do or be. This whole "Oprah of Porn" thing kind of landed in my lap. So it's been a very long time since I have been this happy about both my career and my personal life. And since I don't talk about the specifics of my personal life anymore in the blog, here's why I have suddenly felt so fortunate about where I am in terms of my work.

I am so immune to domestic pornography because I have met all of these porn stars and they, more often than not, ruin the fantasy. There are, however, a few select amateur web sites that, because I never meet the performers, continue to excite me. Dean from StraightCollegeMen.com has been one of those performers. (I am a butt man, as we all know.) And today, I actually spoke to him on the phone regarding his leaving the site and wanting to branch out, do his own thing.

For the first time in I don't know how long, I actually got a little rush and thought, "This is pretty cool that I'm actually talking to this guy on the phone." And even more than that, it's pretty cool that I am in such a position of power where I can help him by meeting him, interviewing him, etc. Most of you might be surprised that this is not something that goes through my head on a daily basis, but honestly, it's not. It's usually just work. Another day at the office. I'm really so uninterested in the people I'm writing about, it's painful. That's why I don't comment much on the "News Desk." (Though I'm trying to do that more.)

There are some select exceptions to the rule! And I can count them. Brad Rock. I had been watching his solo work since I was a teenager. Julian. Same thing. He's a straight male pornster I continue to swoon over. Roman Heart and Aria Giovanni are some of the few where meeting them only enhanced their attractiveness. Oh and Ginger Lynn is just such a star, I always feel honored to even be in her presence. But truth be told, that's pretty much the full list.

So to be talking to someone like that again was a great way of reminding myself how much I love my job and that some people would perform acts of sacrifice for it!

Later that day, I also managed to finagle my way into seeing one of my favorite artists, Tori Amos, perform live on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson next week. A fellow publicist and friend of mine, Brian Gross, knows the girl who booked Tori on the show and was able to get me in despite the fact that the audience tickets were sold out! This will be the first time Tori has performed a song off of her forthcoming album, American Doll Posse, live in America.

Yet again, another reason to be thankful for who I am, where I am, the position I'm in... without which, I wouldn't have access to people who have access to such people.

I also performed stand-up for the first time that evening at Howl at the Moon on Universal Citywalk and I think I found the thing that is going to get me more mainstream exposure than anything I've done yet. I had cased the joint with Brandon Baker, Cool Tom, Rusty and Houseboy the night before, just to get a feel for the venue -- and to be honest, I was really scared. It was a tourist attraction made to make those from Kansas feel "at home" in their "straight" environment. Know what I mean? Nothing gay about the place. It wasn't even like a lounge. This was like... a bar person's bar! Guys who looked like they belonged in ZZ Top were there, I'm totally serious.

So I immediately realized I needed to scratch all my Liza jokes and come up with something a little more in their neighborhood. I ended up going with what I do for KSEX because their audience is predominantly straight too -- I just play up the gay thing to the max! Put it out there on full blast and be even more flamboyant than I am in real life (I am way, way more gay on camera and stage than I am anywhere else, which is really weird I think -- I've created this character that I love and slip into really easily, but I have also come to accept over the past year that it is not who I am) and make fun of myself before they make fun of me.

It went over perfectly. So much better than I expected! They really loved it. And if they loved it there, I can only imagine what it would be like elsewhere. I didn't feel like I was doing anything all that much different from what I do when I host gigs and my web show, The Young & the Curious. I just wasn't interviewing anyone.

I would do Howl at the Moon again in a heartbeat and am looking forward to my booking at M Bar in Hollywood on Tuesday, April 24th at 10:00 pm. I hope some of you can come out to that. I'm going to do some different material for that show and will also be singing since it's not just a stand-up night, but more of a burlesque variety show.

Angel Benton, Andy Kirra and I ended up staying past midnight and watching all of the other performers. They were so cool to be there the whole night with me and they both agreed that by the audience's reaction I was in the top five of the many performers there that night. Which I actually agree with and I'm my worst critic. And here, my goal was just to make one person laugh! Then I felt like I would have given back in some way and it would all be worth it, but it was so petrifying to do it for the first time, much less in that atmosphere, so for once I am really, really proud of myself.

On the drive home, I thought about how my life has been taking this other direction these days, as has been made obvious here in the blog I think. I've got an eye and ear on things that are bigger than me and affect the world as a whole, outside of this bubble I've created for myself in the past few years. My priorities and interests have just taken a drastic change.

And that bubble is being popped when it comes to my career too! With the exception of the blog postings, I have started doing all work on my web site all day and night Sunday so that I get it all out of the way for the week and focus mostly on my mainstream career Monday through Friday. It's made a huge difference too. I feel like I'm doing those things for a living now and the site is a side gig because of that.

For instance, Sunday I moderated a panel, Monday I performed stand-up, Tuesday I had acting class all night, Thursday I perform in a showcase and Friday I have my web show. That's pretty kick ass! It's like I'm finally able to look at my life and go, "You're on the path you wanted to be on. You're doing what you came here to do and you're entertaining people with your gifts and you have many miles to go but you are definitely on your way there."

So, yeah... it's good to be me!