On June 27, John Pinette completed an interview with RhodeIslandComedy.com in advance of his appearance at the Newport Summer Comedy Series on July 2. When asked, he shared this story as advice for new comics:
Comedian John Pinnette
John talks about the opening act at his recent appearance in Ontario, California. “The guy was great. His jokes were spot-on. He had great material.” But he was saying the F-word way too much. “He was using it as a noun, a verb, an adjective. So many times saying the word, I thought, what’s up? I said to my road manager, it must be a tic.” John counted 37 F-words in a 12-minute set.
Later, in the green room, John brought it up. “His girlfriend said, it’s been told to him before. I told him, I try to be cleaner as I get older.” After the chat, John was able to get him “down from 37 to 8” on the F-word count. “I hope I did it with love and compassion.”
But John tries not to preach. “Everybody’s journey is their own,” he says. “You gotta get up there. Years ago, Kenny Rogerson gave me some great advice. ‘You can’t be afraid to fail. Sometimes, you have to suck.’ And the more you work, the less you’ll suck.”
