Here is a new interview I did for Albanian tv.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku6XCgNUDns&feature=player_embedded#!
My first ever real road gig I went to Cranbrook, Cranbrook has a regular comedy show every Friday and Saturday night, except in summer they shut it down. It’s a gig that won’t change anyone’s careers, however it’s a good gig. Well the first time I did it I was the openner it was way back in 2003. The headliner was a comic named Kelly Dixon who had done the gig many, many times. I remember one show going well and the next one not going so well. It was a good experience and I did my 30 minutes and brought up the headliner.
Flash forward eight years later and now it is I who is the headliner and I am with a new guy with whom this is there first time. It is not a big accomplishment but non the less it is an accomplishment. You see a career has to go forward and in this case it has, the shows were pretty good and the hotel was nice but more important I was the headliner and I was the Teacher no longer the student.
Yes folks even though my career is going well, I still have to take Greyhound once and awhile. This was the trip I took: Edmonton to Regina 10 hours. Ouch I know.
When taking the greyhound I’ve always believed that the best way to do it is to take an overnight trip. I hate losing an entire day on the bus only to get to a place and go to bed not to mention the bus is so damn boring that you might as well sleep to kill time.
If the bus was just a direct route, with no stops life would be ok. However when the bus comes to a stop they have to make announcements, which wake me up and I am not one to go right back to sleep so how annoying is it to wake up every three hours to tell you it’s not your stop only to have another hour before I fall asleep again.
One good thing was that everyone on the bus was quiet, sometimes you get some chatty people on the bus who keep some people up, but this trip all was quiet.
Of course there is a direct route to Regina, but we stopped in Lloydminister, North Battleford, Saskatoon, Kenaston, and a few I can’t remember. But I arrived safe and sound and it only cost 120 bucks. When you look at gas prices I think I did O.K.
Well for those of you who didn’t know Back to the future is now on blue ray and it has footage of the original lead actor Eric Stoltz.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7xUW8t5i7c
Now what is it like to film a picture for three weeks with Producer Steven Spielberg only to be told, we’re just not getting the laughs with you. Now you will never be in this movie and go away. It must of been rough and yet as a fan of Back to the Future I can’t imagine anyone else except Michael J. Fox in this film. Think of all the other actors who had to re shoot those three weeks and I am sure a few couldn’t do it again so they were cut out of the film. This trilogy is just a reminder of there’s a reason movies cost so much to make.
As I look at Eric Stoltz’s IMDB i see he still works today, with some TV appearances on hit shows like Grey’s anatomy and made for TV movies and small parts in bigger films, lets face it he’s not hurting for success or cash, but still every time he flips through the TV and sees Back to the Future is on it’s gotta hurt a little.
X-mas time has got to be my favorite time of the year. When you look at it it’s really miserable time it’s cold and/or wet. Traffic is slow you have to wake up earlier to get where your going and clean the driveway. And yet along with all these troubles we have decorated this place it bright colors we hold doors open for strangers and eat and drink and generally be Merry. I am very lucky that it is also the busy time of the year for me because I need the extra cash.
Even with the current recession there are still x-mas parties that want to have a comic perform for them and I get to dress up and work clean. No bars for me this season just a relaxed hotel hall with people celebrating with there co-workers. Even Though I have to travel away to do it it is still a good time of the year for me.
Merry X-mas to all.
Every damn time I go on tour I put on weight, I worked hard this summer at losing a few pounds and then in 10 days I gain it back. I hate this, what can it be are restaurants that bad for me that I’ll gain 10 pounds. I am exercising a bit less and maybe snacking a bit more but that would make it what 3-5 pounds tops. ARGHHHH.
The only thing else that has changed is that I have more cash so maybe that is making me overindulged. I do drink more beers which tacks on the calories but once again not 10 pounds worth, then again maybe it’s all of the above. I hate people who never have to worry about these things hopefully they have other problems HAHAHAHA.
Hey there Hi there ho there,
Summer has been extremely slow for me right now, not much to report. I did do a new podcast, you can listen to it right here.
http://www.methings.com/podshows/10244868
Week 8 I was in Ottawa our nations capital, and it went well. It was the first time I had done the www.absolutecomedy.ca club and it was a treat. I like a club that does shows all week-long Wednesday to Sunday is good enough for me but this club does a Tuesday show and now a monday show. It’s weird because when some asks what my favorite city to perform in I can’t always answer that because some clubs are great and it has nothing to do with the city it’s the people who run it and the location in that city.
I’ve seen clubs that are right in the downtown not do well and other clubs in the middle of nowhere sell out. This one is in the entertainment area of Ottawa or little Italy. There are surrounded by bars and restaurants making this a destination for people who want to have a few laughs and then go out and party. And despite the play off season none of the shows were light on attendance.
I am all done my touring right now.
Week 7 folks and what we got here is my home town of Montreal. It’s weird because I really have 2 home towns. You see I started doing comedy in Vancouver so I call that my home town, but really I was born and bred in Montreal. I don’t really call myself a montrealer though. I never fit in to the Montreal type. I’m not a diehard hockey fan, I don’t eat smoked meat, and i don’t pay cheap rent.
However this is where my family and friends are and one of my favorite comedy clubs, www.comedyworkmontreal.com
This weekend I got to host for www.rossbennett.com This guy is good check out his site and try to see him if he comes to your town. Also on the show was Dred Lee and David Acer Two comics which I have worked with before and also very funny.
So we had a great venue and a great line-up so what could go wrong….NHL playoffs that’s what. As a general rule I have to hate play offs because they hurt comedy. But of course not even a fan like me has to love that Montreal and Vancouver are in the play offs and both doing well. Vancouver doing very well and Montreal doing there whole come back from behind and knock Boston out of it thing.
First up we were safe on Thursday, we had a fund raiser that packed the place. They were raising money for Leukemia, so always a good cause. Friday was rough despite the Montreal Canadians not playing we still had a rough turn out for the early showw and an ok one for the late show. Then game Saturday which I thought we were just going to cancell. While the early show was a little small they were a good bunch and the late show had a big crowd and a great reaction. So we lucked out and squeked by.
Now this is where my “on tour” can get me in trouble. Since i was back in toronto am I still on tour. Well yes and no. No because i was back in my own city but yes in which I did not stay in my own place. And I performed out of town.
This was a slow week I only did one pro show. I did a corporate show out in Ingersol On. This was one of those Chamber of Commerce shows where all sorts of businesses get together and socialize and network and have dinner watch a stand-up show and do a little dancing.
Sometimes these shows are great, sometimes they suck, You never know what you’re going to get. Maybe a bad sound system, maybe a few to many drunks in the crowd, or just people not paying attention. If everyone is behaving I like doing them but unlike a club or bar show if someone’s talking I feel like I can’t go after them and shut them up. You never know who they are. Luckily this was a good crowd and all went well.
Next week Montreal.