Jer-Dog

About me:

THE EVOLUTION OF "JER-DOG": 1975- 1993... Spent my youth in a small rural town in Iowa, part of a dysfunctional family, directly contributing to my smart-ass attitude, obnoxious behavior, and anti-establishment outlook.... 1992... Worked at Adventureland (an amusement park in central Iowa) as their official mascot, walking around in a seven-foot "Henry the Dog" costume. By far, the sweatiest job I ever had.... 1993... Continued employment as the Adventureland mascot "Henry the Dog." At the end of the summer, I stole the costume, took it with me to college, where I wore it around campus, thus earning the nickname "Jer-Dog.".... Also performed stand-up comedy for the first time publicly in Colfax, Iowa (my orginal hometown) on the big stage in the middle of a park as part of Mineral Springs Days. In front of several friends and family members, I bombed horribly. They still don't believe I now make a living at it.... 1994... At the encouragement of my college buddies, I summoned the testicular fortitude to try my hand at stand-up comedy once again. This time, at the college talent show, where I used "blue" material offending half the audience and winning over the other half. I was now hooked on stand-up and started honing my act at open mike nights in Des Moines, Iowa.... Auditioned for West Texas Productions and landed a job as a performer in Comedy Wild West Shows. A job I was to keep for the next ten years.... 1995... Winning a comedy contest at the now-defunct Noodles Comedy Club (inside Spaghetti Works), I was hired as the house emcee, with starting pay of $50 per show, plus free food and drinks. I quickly worked my way down the pay scale, eventually performing for 1 trip to the salad bar per night and free refills of soda.... 1996... Got booked for my first "road gig" with several more to follow... Met my future wife, Karen, at a party in Chicago, Illinois... Officially expelled from college due to my "lack of seriousness toward study" ... Fired as the emcee of Noodles Comedy Club due to an ill-fated attempt at riding a unicycle on a stage the size of a pizza box, resulting in the total destruction of the stage decor. I still don't know how to ride a unicycle... Met comedian Rob Rivera at an open mike night... Began wearing the old dog costume on stage as the opening bit in my stand-up act.... 1997... Banged Karen for the first time on December 7.... 1998-2001... Travelled the country with West Texas Productions performing at amusement parks and state fairs during the day, and participating in excessive drinking and other miscellaneous debauchery at night... 1999: Married Karen on September 11 in Cedar Rapids... Met comedians Josh Alton and Daryl Moon at a comedy contest in Des Moines... Raised the level of my stand-up performances by participating in Rob Rivera's (ongoing) Comedy Challenge, one of the most positive and creatively rewarding experiences I've ever had.... 2000-2003: With Rob Rivera, Josh Alton, and Daryl Moon in tow, I began headlining a mini-tour of small town dive bars throughout Iowa. For the first time, I was making some pretty ok money performing stand-up comedy... "Jailhouse Jake" was born.... 2003... My son, Caius, was born... My first comedy CD, Dog Crap, was released.... I officially resigned from West Texas Productions and moved to Chicago, Illinois, to pursue stand-up comedy on a full-time basis... 2004...The Grassroots Comedy Tour was officially born... I made my first appearance on The Bob & Tom Show... Production on the tour documentary film "Road Dogs" began... The dog costume caught on fire... 2005... My second comedy CD (originally titled "Disconnected") was released... "Road Dogs" filming was completed... Working more gigs than ever, I gained about 30 pounds as the result of a road diet consisting of beer and fast food.... 2006... "Road Dogs" was released... Embarrassed by my appearance in the film, I joined the YMCA, and lost 20 of the 30 pounds I gained on the road... My CD "Disconnected" was accepted by Sirius Satellite Radio and put into rotation on their comedy channels.... 2007... My 90-minute one-man show was created... Busted on a DUI rap, I decided to tone down my party-animal persona and the family-man side of me emerged with a vengeneance.... 2008... I signed with Laughing Hyena Records to launch my comedy CD, "Disconnected" nation-wide, renamed "Domesticated Party Animal."... CURRENTLY: I'm travelling the Midwest performing at colleges, casinos, comedy clubs, and headlining the Grassroots Comedy Tour... Upcoming projects include a prank phone call CD and follow-up tour documentary.... Here's a clip from my show. Visit my website www.americansmartass.net