The main reason that I decided to give birth to Tragic Laughter and not leave it in a jelly like heap on the floor like so many of my other ideas cut short before they were fully formed, is that I can count the number of quality stand up comedy websites on one hand. That's not to say that there aren't a bunch of sites out there for stand up comedy fans, just most of them pander to a crowd who appreciates Brian Posehn and don't understand Patrice O'Neal. Which is to say that most of them suck -- is that too harsh for a site that gets three regular readers?

Regardless, one of the great stand up comedy websites on the internet is Cringe Humor. I'd venture a guess that everyone who comes through this site, has at one point or another been to CH. If this toilet of a site could become half of what Cringe Humor has become I would be a happy man. One of the guys who makes CH work is Patrick Milligan and I am really thankful that he was gracious enough to take a few minutes away from trying to understand what people see in Daniel Tosh, to speak with me. Below is our interview with Patrick Milligan, and even my shit questions couldn't ruin this one.

TL: How did CH start and what has the growth process been? I think right now the only people reading Tragic Laughter are me, and some open mic kid from rural Iowa. What were the growing pains for you guys? 

Patrick: Cringe Humor originally started as a Jim Norton fansite. I founded JimNortonFans.com, which was the first Norton fansite back in '99. When I went out to go see Norton perform at the Comedy Cellar and other venues, I became a fan of other comedians like him. This gentleman named Chris Rufle opened up NortonFan.com (another Norton wesbsite) and also started CringeHumor.com, an Opie & Anthony Forum. This was when the O&A were on their 2 year hiatus so the site was dead. We decided to start to promote other comedians that hung around Jim, and we also decided to trash comedians we hated. Chris ended up leaving the site, and I took it over full time in November of 2003. 

I remember getting 6 hits a day, and half of them were from me obsessively checking it. Now we get thousands of hits a month. 

TL: How were you able to grow and gain a foothold? Basically what can I do to get the TL brand out there so that I can do for the vibrant (read: nonexistent) comedy scene of central massachusetts what you did for NY/NJ? 

Patrick: You just gotta get your ass out there, hang out where the GOOD comedians are. Do a lot of networking, tell everyone about your site, and ask if there's anything you can do to help the comedians promote their own shit. Get shitty business cards printed with your name and site information. Also create a database with as much contact info for the comedians you like.  

I am based out of Long Island, and the comedy scene is dreadful here. Luckily I live an hour train ride away from NYC, so you gotta go where the GOOD comedy is. I guess I am blessed to be located where I am, but if you are so adamant about standup comedy, you should make the trek.  
 
TL: CH has a section dedicated to the comedians who personify the "cringe" style. As you've gone along was it always the idea to work (or feature) more headliner type acts (like a Jim Norton, or Bill Burr), or did you want to be the place to help more up and coming talent? 

Patrick: In all honesty, when I started Cringe Humor guys like Jim Norton, Robert Kelly, and Bill Burr were still feature acts. They were still working mainly in NYC clubs and were strong middle acts on the road. The only established NATIONAL headliners I featured when I took over the site were Dave Attell, Nick Dipaolo, and ugh Dane Cook...I'm not taking any credit for their success, but I am always looking for up & coming talent to promote. On our site now, we also include a section of up and coming comedians as well as comics we feel are among the next generation.  

TL: One thing that you're open about is your hatred of certain comedians. I agree with almost every assessment you've made except one -- does Ant even qualify as a comedian? I'm more upset with people who think he is, then him for being terrible at it. 

Patrick: I wrote that snippy little review of him based on his Last Comic Standing connection. Looking back, he is definitely not a comedian. He is a hacky faggot who thieved his way onto television, and I am glad he's relegated to hosting awful reality shows on VH1. Hopefully his next career move will be testing positive for HIV.

TL: You have this warning on your hacks page: "If you are on the hacks page, or a friend of yours is, go fuck yourself. Contact me directly instead of bothering other people in the business, you pussies." Which leads me to believe there is a great story behind that - can you divulge the information behind the time Carrot Top started talking shit about you through a giant megaphone or something equally as ridiculous? 

Patrick: You have no idea the shit I have gone through for that Hacks page. I've been physically threatened, legally threatened, cursed out on national radio, and even had San Francisco Police Detectives call me for shit I have written about comedians. Apparently I also managed to put a female comedian in therapy. I've dealt with tons of angry agents and managers, been blackballed from clubs/venues, even had a performer show me a gun he was carrying at one of my shows...I wouldn't have it any other way! You will learn that comedians are cunts. They can't handle it when someone doesn't like their act, and they really hate the fact that a non-comedian such as myself is critiquing them.  

There's so many fucking standup comedy websites that are composed of nothing but "happy press releases" (credit to SheckyMagazine.com for that term), positive bullshit, and ass kissing interviews. Someone needs to tell it like it is, but very few have the balls to do it - and attach their names to it. 

TL: When I talked to him Nick Di Paolo said that one of the drawbacks to the comedy potential in the internet is that instead of great comedians getting better exposure, it's opened the door for terrible comedians with computer skills to become famous. Do you think that's the truth? 

Patrick: That is definitely true. I admit. I bought into Dane Cook's bullshit 6-7 years ago. He is a pioneer in packaging himself on the internet. You gotta give that pock-marked face asshole some credit, he is a marketing genius. Now every other mediocre open mic'er is hiring people to make them $5,000 websites and MySpace profiles. If the comedian looks funny online, then he must be funny in person, right? Nope. You have no idea how sick I get when I see some piece of garbage hack featured on MySpace and selling out his shows because of it. Makes me question what I am doing with Cringe Humor sometimes.

TL: In your opinion who are the best working comedians right now? 

Patrick: Geez, this is like picking out your favorite retarded child. Actually everyone who is on the site are great but I do have personal favorites; Patrice O'Neal is without question my favorite working comedian today. No one makes me laugh harder at a show. Of course I gotta credit the great Jim Norton with getting me into standup in the first place. He somehow gets better and better each time I see him.  

Colin Quinn is an absolute genius. Ignorant comedy fans can't see past his odd delivery to fully appreciate him on stage, but he is probably the most brilliant writer out there.  

Robert Kelly is really making a big push and emerging from Dane Cook's shadow. His material is flawless, and he can also riff with the best of them.  

Rich Vos is a beloved favorite of mine, too. He is definitely the best at working over a crowd, without overdoing it.  

Mike DeStefano is climbing the ranks in NYC, and possesses a brutal honesty that makes Nick DiPaolo look tame at times.  

TL: One thing you guys do is have CH Radio, and one of my favorite podcasts to listen to is the Mediocre Show. Who's idea was it to expand to internet radio and how has that been working? 

Patrick: It was originally an idea by former CH Forum member Pete Rosales. He & I both possess a decent collection of comedy albums, so we decided to do a streaming internet radio station. We also began recording every CH Show, and we take pride in featuring tons of exclusive content you won't hear anywhere else. I brought in Cris Italia who had several connections with other internet comedy shows that fit the cringe mold. He's really taken the idea from just streaming comedy to a lot more fan interaction with live talk programming. A short time later we now have tons of exclusive live shows that kick ass, including the Mediocre Show. Some people prefer to listen to our brand of humor all day, but I think the live talk shows add another dimension. People also like listening to uncensored talk shows, but since the FCC has ruined regular radio and some people don't want to spend the money on satellite, I'm glad we can provide an alternative.  

The station has grown a lot in the last two years thanks to the hard work of all the cast and crews that work with us. Without their hard work, it would be hard to continue. Also Pete and Cris have done a tremendous job with getting us the attention we needed. Unfortunately, Pete is no longer involved with CH Radio. However, CH Radio is moving ahead stronger than ever, and we hope to announce some cool shit VERY soon, including some new shows.  

TL: Another thing that you talk about on CringeHumor.net is booking. Is the opportunity to take over the NY/NJ comedy scene something that was ever within your comprehension when this site started? 

Patrick: When the site first started I never imagined doing branded shows at all. It was always a pipe dream. I met a fella named Masavia Greer who was putting on these great roasts of Patrice O'Neal and Jim Norton at the time. I helped him promote the events, and a few weeks later we are putting on our first CH Show at the Laugh Lounge, which is located on the Lower East Side.   

Sadly, the NYC comedy scene is really going into the shitter. There's an oversaturation of clubs in NYC, and they are all so bent on filling the joint, they don't care about the on stage product. They will gladly put up shitty performers who have no right to be on their stage during a Saturday night as long as they can draw people.  

Yes, most of the CH performers headline all the NYC clubs across town, but there's so much bullshit politics involved in the comedy world, it's unbelievable...

TL: Being in the NY/NJ area puts you in one of the biggest (if not the biggest) markets for stand-up comedy in the country. Have you ever thought of expanding the brand outside the Tri-State area? And where does it end - when you're doing CH shows in Canada? 

Patrick: It's always been a goal of mine to do a national tour with the guys I love, and forcing the Cringe Humor genre upon as many rotten Dane Cook and Blue Collar Comedy Fans as I can. I guess the O&A Virus Tour sort of accomplished that, but the focus on a CH Tour would be on just the comedians and their brutally hilarious acts, not promoting a radio show in between.  

Let's just say we have a few things we're working on, putting together our favorite comedians isn't an easy task, but it's something we envision. Most of all I'd just be happy when the CH guys are household names, and certain networks - who claim to be all about the standup comedy, regularly feature them in all their uncensored glory.  
 
TL: So you told me that you are starting to get back into the swing of things, with some new projects. Care to divulge any insider information for my three fans? 

Patrick: Sure, we just finished post production of a TV Pilot. It's an insightful documentary featuring 3 NYC headliners, and one upstart comedian. Basically we are hoping to illustrate the internal struggle of being a standup comic, as the general public has so many misconceptions towards them. 

I think something that tells the truth about stand-up in New York is long overdue. We've learned very little about stand-up comedy from tours like Blue Collar Comedy, Kings of Comedy and Tourgasm. Although all those attempts at reality were successful, they didn't show the struggle of a comedian, hopefully we'll be able to accomplish that. This project took up a lot of our time unfortunately and our stand-up shows around the New York area had to take back seat. 

With the help of JJ Comedy we are going to start doing shows in New York City and New Jersey again. Plus we hope to announce the start of a new live radio show featuring a national headliner on our radio station. Wow, was that vague? I guess just stay tuned for that.  

We're also going to be working with Danny Lobell, formerly the publisher of The Comical. Danny is a great comedy mind and we're glad to be working with him and his staff at Cringe Humor.

TL: And I'll let you go on this one -- on a scale of insufferable to worst interview ever, where does this rank? 

Patrick: Trust me, I have conducted far worse interviews in my time. O&A wanted to turn me into a character years ago because of my terrible interviewing skills. It's refreshing to see that you are a self-depricating asshole like myself, though.  

TL: Final question -- World Series for the Mets this year? 

Patrick: I hope so. I think Omar Minaya did a wonderful job going out and getting the highest priced Mexicans available. Knowing the Mets luck, Johan Santana will tear every ligament in his left arm on Opening Day. Whatever happens though, I will blame Willie Randolph for the team's misfortunes. When was the last time a black manager (not Spanish) lead a club to a World Series Title? 

Wow what a Racist ending to the interview that was...

TL: I believe the only black manager to lead a team to a World Series was Cito Gaston in Toronto, and that one is still open for debate. I'm pretty sure once you cross over into Canada you lose all blackness and become a murky white, like watered down chocolate milk. 

With that appropriate ending I'd like to thank Patrick for being gracious enough to spend an inordinate amount of time talking with me. If for some reason you're the one person who visits this site that doesn't regularly check out Cringe Humor do yourself a favor and see what a real stand up comedy website brings to the table.