By Ed Karvoski Jr., Contributing Writer
Photo/submitted
Hudson – After travelling statewide and beyond for several years to perform stand-up comedy, Mike Fahey of Hudson got the chance to get laughs onstage in his hometown. He and his comedic colleagues recently entertained for a full house at the Hudson VFW Post 1027.
“We had a great crowd,” he said. “It was a rainy night in July and nobody wanted to barbecue, so it was a sold-out show.”
At age 18, Fahey first ventured into a comedy club. He experimented at an open mic night at Grandma’s Basement in Boston, which closed in December 2013. According to the alternative weekly publication Dig Boston, “Grandma’s Basement morphed into the Hub’s biggest open mic night, typically drawing anywhere from 40 to 60 performers.” Among them was then-newcomer Fahey.
“I bombed – no laughter, an audience of blank faces,” he acknowledged. “Most of them looked very confused.”
His audience’s confusion made it clear to him that he needed to make the rounds to more open mic nights. Soon, he had better luck onstage.
“A few weeks later I got my first laughs,” he said. “Once you get laughs you’re hooked.”
A particularly memorable early performance for him was at the Comedy Studio in Cambridge. Located on the third floor of a Chinese restaurant in Harvard Square, this venue hosts a range of up-and-coming comedians. Its owner Rick Jenkins became a mentor to Fahey.
“Performing at the Comedy Studio went really well,” he said. “I took a class there with Rick Jenkins. He gave me advice and I learned a lot from him.”
Fahey continued honing his comedic craft at open mic nights. In addition to the Comedy Studio, he performed in the Hub at Laugh Boston and Nick’s Comedy Stop, in Worcester at Dick Doherty’s Beantown Comedy Escape, and in Wareham at Carolee’s Comedy Corner. There, he competed and won second place in a comedy contest in 2014.
“Doing stand-up is always like a contest, seeing how well you can do in front of the audience,” he explained. “You need to do open mics when you’re first starting in comedy. You can work on the same joke for three or four months, then try a different punch line and it works amazingly well. Doing open mics for comedians is like boxing; you go and spar before you get into the match.”
He books some of his paying comedy jobs through the website GigSalad.com. One such gig was at the Stand-Up Scottsdale Comedy Club, which led to other work onstage in Phoenix. While there, Fahey was able to visit his grandfather and an uncle saw him perform.
“I always get worried whenever family or friends come see me do comedy,” Fahey shared. “It’s a long ride home if I don’t do well.”
While participating in the Carolee’s comedy contest, he met fellow comic A.J. Hapenny. They partnered with comic Frank Gazerro and musician Andrew Prete to form Paperback Comedy. Together they produce private and corporate shows, fundraisers, and open mic nights at the Fairhaven VFW and with Buzzards Play Productions in Wareham. The four appeared at the Hudson VFW with guest Trevor Dion and headliner Dan Boulger.
The Hudson gig was an opportunity for Fahey to perform for friends and family, including his parents and his wife, Christine. Attendees also included customers of Tuck’s Service Center, where Fahey pumps gas as a day job.
“I got to show them that I’m not just a gas attendant,” he said. “I have a second job, which is my passion.”
For more information about Fahey, visit mikefaheycomedy.com and follow his upcoming gigs with Paperback Comedy on Facebook .
