Lawrence Rosales: Rising from Rock Bottom to Take His Next Step in Stand-Up Comedy
I don't know if he's on his second, third, or fourth chance in this life, but I'm excited to be a part of this current chapter as it unfolds. It's strange how the universe brings people in and out of your life at different times. I'm not very religious, but my fascination with the cosmos and my belief in its eerie way of making things happen the way they need to, when they need to, might as well be the same thing.
I remember vividly watching Lawrence Rosales for the very first time. I was a fan of comedy but had only glimpsed the comedy world and had very little understanding of how it worked. Still, I was intrigued to learn more.
While on that path, I discovered the world of open mic comedy. A place where stand-up comics of all skill levels go to work on material. It's a wild area of comedy where literally anything, nothing, and everything in between usually happens.
The first one I attended was the Wednesday night Dallas Hyena's comedy club open mic. The crowd was a mix of comics waiting to go on stage and a smattering of non-comics like myself spread around the room, waiting to see if anyone would make us laugh.
A table in front of me, full of young guys in their twenty’s, had just finished heckling a comic to the point that the comic lost control of his own set and bombed. The entire room felt uncomfortable and embarrassed for the comic, with the exception of the table that caused the embarrassment, and the room’s mood had shifted to an unpleasant one.
I didn't realize that the next comic going on stage after this moment would have the impact on me that they did, and that comic was Lawrence Rosales. I didn't think much of him for the first ten seconds that I was judging him. He came on stage with what felt like pure arrogance and his confident body language for some reason really annoyed me. I thought for sure that I wouldn't like him.
Instead of working on his jokes, he pulled the mic out of the mic stand and pulled the stool to the front of the stage and sat down right next to the table of twenty-something-year-olds that had just embarrassed the previous comic and said, "You guys having fun tonight? You look like you're out celebrating that your dads just fired a bunch of employees."
Immediately, my judgment changed. I don't remember if Lawrence told a single joke at that open mic, but I do remember him appropriately laying waste to the arrogance at that table for several minutes.
What was more impressive is that he insulted the guys at the table continuously without making the show awkward. The tension left the room, the guys realized they had made a mistake, piped down, and started laughing at themselves as well.
This resulted in the open mic having a better atmosphere thanks to Lawrence taking the stage. It also imparted a valuable lesson on me: what may seem like arrogance on stage is often the well-placed confidence of the comic, illustrating how much control a skilled comedian exerts over the room and the audience.
This was genuinely one of the defining moments of my existence as a comedy fan. It was one of the moments that made me realize we have an incredible lineup of talent in DFW that needs to be promoted. It was one of the key moments that led me to starting "I'm a fan of..."
From there, I would watch Lawrence perform on real shows with longer sets, and slowly learned how skilled he was at making audiences laugh. I got to have him on the podcast for an interview and had a few chats on occasion when I bumped into him at a random comedy club. I was getting to know Lawrence, but I really didn't know the full story that others were already aware of.
I would later find out that Lawrence had a crippling addiction to crystal meth. It was causing problems in the stand-up community with his peers, he was banned from his home club, and it ultimately played a part in destroying his marriage.
To add to the complexity of the issue, we were in the height of the COVID pandemic dealing with the uncertainty of both the regular world and the comedy world.
Amongst the possibly exaggerated, but also possibly true, whispers and rumors circulating online and in person, I could slowly piece together what appeared to be the truth of Lawrence's situation. He had a serious drug addiction that had caused him to ruin many aspects of his life and we weren't sure if he was going to be able to fix himself and repair his life.
I had heard he moved to Seattle in an attempt to get clean, and then I didn't hear from Lawrence for a little over a year. It seemed as though he had quit comedy and wasn't coming back.
At this point, it's important to note that Lawrence was partly raised by his mother who not only had similar struggles with addiction but also served 25 to life in prison. And although I don't know the full story and scope of his childhood, it feels all too easy to connect some of the dots of how Lawrence's struggle with addiction may be more than just a random coincidence and more likely also has an element of familial inheritance.
As I'm writing this, I have the lyrics of The Offspring's song "Way Down The Line" from the album "Ixnay on the Hombre" running through my head.
Is that alone a good excuse? Maybe, maybe not. However, it is worth keeping it in mind when piecing together his story so far.
After finding his rock bottom and subsequently receiving help from caring friends, Lawrence eventually found his way back to the comedy stage. I have no first-hand account of what the comedy community thinks of him. I don't know if he has been welcomed back with open arms, or if people are hesitant to work with him again, and I genuinely don't care.
What I do know from first-hand experience is that he appears to be in a new mental space that I hadn't witnessed before.
When I watched him previously and spoke to him in the past, there was always a drive to be a better comic, but in hindsight, it was for the typical selfish aspirations that everyone has for success and validation.
Now when I speak to Lawrence, he appears to have influences outside of his own ego that motivate him to not only be the best comic he can be but to be a better person offstage as well. There's a deeper reason and purpose for attempting to succeed.
Now when I watch Lawrence onstage, there is a new level of personal humility and awareness that has resulted in what I consider to be his best material to date. One of the parlor tricks and defining features of a great comic is the ability to share their most horrifyingly embarrassing moments and low points in their life, all for the sake of audience laughter and entertainment.
Lawrence's current stand-up material will not only make you laugh lightheartedly at times with simple setup and punch line structure, but he'll also take you down some of the long and winding road that has been his life so far. There are roadblocks, detours, breakdowns, and more, and he shares these moments that sound like they should be on a Dateline special, but instead are shared in the form of laughter.
While Lawrence has been on his journey, I've also been on my own with "I'm a fan of…". I've been working towards the next step, which I hope is recording comedy specials for some of our great local acts.
In many conversations with my wife, as we considered which comics would be a great fit for my inaugural recording, I consistently ranked Lawrence at the top of that list. There are several reasons for this, including his comedy writing and performance, but I was also drawn to the story of his to path this point.
Like many, I root for an underdog to make a comeback, and, just like Lawrence, I want to witness his comedy career rise from the former crater into something that better represents his true potential. So, any opportunity I could have to be a part of that would be amazing.
Fast forward to Lawrence's most recent appearance on my podcast. If you listen to the show and have a keen memory, you'll hear the moment when Lawrence mentions that he's been thinking about recording a special and asks if I would like to help him with it. (Or you can watch it below at 1:15:17 on YouTube) Once again, the universe shows me that things align when they are ready to do so.
So here we are, less than a week away from Lawrence Rosales performing his first comedy special, and "I'm a fan of…" producing its first comedy special. For me, it's been a delight to come full circle, from watching Lawrence at my first open mic experience at Hyenas Dallas to now being able to record his first headlining special at that very same Hyenas Dallas Comedy Club.
I don't know if this project will redeem Lawrence, launch him to stardom, or simply help him inch closer to accomplishing his personal goals, but I know he and I are going to try our hardest to turn it into something special. From there, I guess I'll just have to wait and see what the universe has in store this time.
We'd love to see you this Thursday, October 26th, at the Dallas Hyenas Comedy Club. The show is free with a reservation, and you can get your free tickets here.
Travis Wright is the host of the “I’m a fan of…” podcast. If you enjoy music and comedy, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and check out the You Tube Channel. Thanks!