I began working talent shows in local joints like the late, pretty-good Red River Rib Company and performing at Tuesday open-mics down at Matt's (the city's pioneer comedy club) in Shockoe Slip. At Red River Rib, some in the audience were there for the two-for-one happy hour, which started at 5 p.m. By the 8 p.m. show time, the audience wasn't as much hostile as just plain hammered. The rest of the crowd had come in to support their buddy in the contest, usually the guy who played guitar and sang "Everybody Must Get Stoned" and "Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw." As you can imagine, the audience-reaction scores for these acts were tough to beat.

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