"Joke Life til we Croak Life" with SNL writer Jake Nordwind

A Saying that challenged my perspective

written by: Todd Marcel Doram

Comics of "Leg Day," an invite-only open mic, that occured every Monday in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Silverlake. Jake is on the far right, back row, I'm in the very middle of the back row.

Receiving an invitation to join "Leg Day" felt like an accomplishment. Being accepted into this higher tier of Los Angeles comics, was a big step in the journey for me. Major comedy markets like Los Angeles have three types of open mics; (1) is club open mics where your only purpose is to bring your A-Material to get recognized by the booker, (2) is the average open mic that anyone can google, (3) are private mics designed to workout real material among peers who will listen and offer feedback if needed. Categorically, "Leg Day" fell into the 3rd type of mic, but it really was in a class by itself. Given it's name for the need to work out even when you don't want to, "Leg Day" was a place where you had to get invited to join, and routinely featured some of the highest performing comics who were not yet famous. To do poorly at Leg Day was brutal, because you were failing in front of peers that you admire and respect.

While it was taboo to run material that you knew worked (kinda cheating,) I absolutely ran proven material my first 3 minutes there, because I simply did not want to bomb in front of the comics in the room. Often times that room featured performers like Jake Nordwind (SNL Writer,) Danny Jolles (Google his Comedy,) Michael Longfellow (SNL Cast Member,) Gabby Lamb (Google her comedy,) Kyle KA (Founder of Don't Tell Comedy,) and Hunter Hill (opens for Iliza Schlesinger.) One comic who consistently crushed was Jake Nordwind. It almost didn't seem to matter the scenario, what joke he was working out, or who was in the room, Jake ALWAYS pulled the biggest laughter pops out of Leg Day. ALWAYS.

So when I began producing comedy shows of my own, the FIRST person I wanted on my lineups was Jake. If he was available, and willing to drive from Hollywood to Redondo Beach, I was going to have him up. My desire to show audiences his comedy was such that one weekend, my former boss asked me to arrange a lineup of comics to perform a private comedy show for her Father's birthday, in a backyard, during the daytime. As far as settings that are great for standup, this couldn't have been further from ideal. Regardless, Jake made the trek and performed quite well! Did he throw up in my bosses bathroom prior to his set out of nerves? I don't know, the bathroom door was closed, and I'm not a creep.

My early days of producing included me hiring my friend to make fliers that I insisted on having some element of humor. With Jake Nordwind on the show, I wanted to be especially funny. (flier by Dave Gray Designs https://dgraydesigns.com/)

Jake making fun of my stage, he kept calling it the Sunblock show or something hilarious.

Jake performing standup comedy for an audience of birthday party goers. The birthday boy and guest of honor maintained his position of having his back to the comics the entire show.

Following our private comedy show at a backyard birthday experience, one that included performing to the guest of honor who insisted on having his back turned to the comics the entire show, Jake and I shared a few text messages where he taught me the phrase "Joke Life til we Croak Life." Something about that phrase stuck with me and never left. . . especially following a less-than-stellar comedy outing. The saying itself is the a planting of a flag, drawing a battle line. . . whichever idiom you'd want to associate with making a firm, irrefutable decision. In this case, it means pursuing comedy until you are dead. Think of it, we had just performed a backyard birthday show in the daylight, where the birthday boy refused to even look at the comics, and Jake was so bold to make a declaration that THIS WAS HIS CAREER PATH UNTIL DEATH. Right then and there, "Joke Life til we Croak Life" really made me think about my own commitment to comedy. While I was still uncertain, Jake's comedy career took flight shortly after our private comedy show, where he moved to New York City and became a writer on Saturday Night Live. Jake has been at this role for around 3 years. Recently Jake had the distinction of writing jokes for SNL's 50th Annivesary celebration, which featured the greatest living comedians in the entertainment business.

Jake's selfie at the SNL 50th Anniversary, pictured with some of comedy's most prolific stars

Screen shots from Jake's instagram story during Saturday Night Live's 50th Anniversary special. Jake wrote for Bill Murray, and was featured on the same screen with comedy icons like Will Ferrell, Seth Meyers, Vanessa Bayer & Fred Armisen

Being a funny person is one thing, having commitment to pursuing a life of comedy is another thing, and BEING A VERY FUNNY PERSON is yet a completely different from the other two. A while back, I learned of a comic named Nick Nemeroff. Sadly, I learned of him through a memorial Jake wrote about Nick on his instagram page. In this post Jake insisted on how funny Nick is, so I immediately listened to Nick's comedy album on itunes to hear it for myself, and I couldn't agree with Jake's more, you must check out Nick's comedy. He is greatly missed by friends, family, and and audiences nationwide. Jake taught me the phrase "Joke Life til we Croak Life" LONG BEFORE Nick's passing, but I have to imagine Nick is quite pleased with Jake's willingness to have the torched passed to him. If you read this Jake, sorry again for your loss, and thank you for the lesson of committing to the game.

Lastly, "Joke Life til we Croak Life," as a battle cry, is as inspiring as it is objectively hilarious.

Jake Nordwind and Nick Nemeroff, photos taken from Jake's Instagram @sk8rpunk69