Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Dream Come True

Upcoming Comedy
Saturday, April 1 - The Legion, Stettler
Saturday, April 8 - Yuk Yuks, Edmonton
Sunday, April 9 - The Comic Strip
Wednesday, April 12 - The Comic Strip
Friday, April 21 - Student Distress Centre Fundraiser
Saturday, April 26 - Legion, Red Deer

Upcoming Writing
Living Articles in the Edmonton Journal (subjects to be announced)
March 31
April 14 - (Subjects to be announced)
April 28

Dan Brodribb's headLINES appears every Saturday in the ed magazine supplement to the Edmonton Journal

-Well, a dream came true last night, as I got to guest spot on a show featuring MITCH FATEL, who is a really big influence on me. Watching Mitch shows you that there is room for people with their own voice. Thanks go to LARS CALLIEOU for lobbying to get me on stage and to RICK BRONSON for allowing it. I was told there wouldn't be guest spots so I showed up completely underdressed (I mean I had clothes on, but not stage clothes). I'm sure I've written in a previous entry how important it is to always have your 'working boots' with you. I should take my own advice.

-Did the photo shoot for next months Journal articles. I'm especially nervous about the one appearing in the article at the end of April. I think we got a pretty good view of the inside of my nostrils. But the photo guy liked the lighting so guess which one's the keeper. Sigh.

-Monday amateur night at The Comic Strip was great, not just for the comedy, but because so many guys came down that I don't get a chance to see anymore. I've always been a bit of a loner, but I do appreciate that there are some great guys (and gal--Kathleen McGee) trying to make it locally. The highlight of the night for me was MAX MAULT (I believe I may have told the infamous 'Max Mault Rye & Coke Incident' in an earlier entry'), who toned down his usual histrionics to do some jokes. It's great to see comics who are unafraid to grow and evolve. Max also gave me a little pep talk after the show, about how he'd watched me develop over the time I've been doing comedy. His words meant a lot, because it's easy to lose sight of how far you've come, when all you're focused on is where you are or where you want to be.

Friday, March 24, 2006

Some days you get the bear...

Upcoming Comedy
Saturday, April 1 - The Legion, Stettler
Saturday, April 8 - Yuk Yuks, Edmonton
Sunday, April 9 - The Comic Strip
Wednesday, April 12 - The Comic Strip
Friday, April 21 - Student Distress Centre Fundraiser
Saturday, April 26 - Legion, Red Deer

Upcoming Writing
Living Articles in the Edmonton Journal (subjects to be announced)
March 31
April 14 - (Subjects to be announced)
April 28

Dan Brodribb's headLINES appears every Saturday in the ed magazine supplement to the Edmonton Journal

The trouble with being a comedian is that if you have a bad day at the office, it's in front of a whole bunch of strangers. Last night I had a bad day at the office. Comedy is unique in that there is no way to 'practice' at home; the only way to get better is by performing in front of a live audience. I'm not bothered for myself when I do poorly--I recognize the only way to get better is by experience--but I always feel bad for crowds who paid money to watch my growing pains. If there's a bright spot, it's that I was a last-minute replacement, so another comic's name was on the marquee, and that's the name the crowd will remember. Sorry, Dana.

-MITCH FATEL is at The Comic Strip all weekend. Check him out if you get a chance. Like DEREK EDWARDS and MIKE WILMOT, he doesn't come to town often, and he's really worth seeing.

-MPW is hosting a free show at their training site (9774-54 Ave, Edmonton) Sunday at 2pm. Doors open at 1. A lot of the MPW mainstays will be there, and ladies, it may interest you to know that one of them will be BRADY ROBERTS, who was the March 14 Hunk of Day at www.ProWrestlingDaily.com, putting him in the same illustrious company as wrestling sex symboll L'il Nate and BG James.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Notes from the Weekend

Upcoming Comedy
Wednesday, March 15 - Yuk Yuks, Edmonton
Sunday, March 19 - The Comic Strip
Saturday, April 1 - The Legion, Stettler
Saturday, April 8 - Yuk Yuks, Edmonton
Sunday, April 9 - The Comic Strip
Wednesday, April 12 - The Comic Strip
Friday, April 21 - Student Distress Centre Fundraiser
Saturday, April 26 - Legion, Red Deer

Upcoming Writing

Living Articles in the Edmonton Journal
Friday, March 17 - Son of Elvis

Dan Brodribb's headLINES appears every Saturday in the ed magazine supplement to the Edmonton Journal

-The MPW Mayhem taping was awesome. MASSIVE DAMAGE and A.J. SANCHEZ crashed through a table; I got a massage from two pretty ring girls. I think any objective observer would agree that I had a better night. I so much prefer doing commentary live as opposed to in post-production. Unfortunately, I will likely be doing just that for the next show, as I’m already booked to do a middle spot at Yuk Yuks. MPW is calling for a battle royal main event, which are a bitch to do commentary for, but are awesome to watch live. We may have to re-do parts of this one, as I completely blew the finish of the Johnny Handsome/Synn vs. Steve Rivers/Darren ‘The Bomb’ Dalton. Plus I kept accidentally referring to Darren Dalton as ‘Adam Bomb.’

-Commentary is a lot of fun, although it’s a lot harder than you might think (though not as hard as actually wrestling; I did a sixty minute broadway with the ringside barriers before the show, and my arms are still sore) Basically, you’re trying to juggle a few different things.
1) Commentating on the match
2) Introducing the characters
3) Advancing or explaining the storylines
4) Hyping merchandise and the next show (check out http://www.monsterprowrestling.com/ for details)
5) Establishing your own character
When I started, I tried to completely ignore 5) as I believed then (and still do) that it’s the wrestlers and the wrestling that make the show, not the commentators. My broadcast partner RIPPER insisted that we set-up a relationship between our two personalities, and I’m glad he did. We’re not the most polished tandem out there, but I think we have pretty good chemistry. In some ways we represent extreme versions of the two common stereotypical wrestling fans--me as the smarkish, uptight internet dork and Ripper as the loud-mouthed, beer-swilling caveman. Every wrestling fan knows people like us, and I think that makes us relatable and hopefully adds character to the DVD releases.

-Speaking of strange chemistry, LARS CALLIEOU and POWERMANN are hosting a comedy show on CJSR 88.5 from 1am-3am Thursday nights/Friday mornings. Good for them. I’m interested in hearing what they sound like together as they are very different personalities. Then again, like with MPW, maybe that’s what will make the show great.

Friday, March 10, 2006

Upcoming Comedy
Wednesday, March 1 - The Comic Strip
Sunday, March 19 - The Comic Strip
Saturday, April 1 - The Legion, Stettler
Saturday, April 8 - Yuk Yuks, Edmonton
Friday, April 21 - Student Distress Centre Fundraiser

Upcoming Writing
Living Articles in the Edmonton Journal
Friday, March 17 - Son of Elvis

Dan Brodribb's headLINES appears every Saturday in the ed magazine supplement to the Edmonton Journal

-Did I brag about the Student Distress Centre fundraiser I'll be MCing? A volunteer from the SDC has put together a comedy show to raise funds for the SDC and the Distress Line. I've volunteered for the Distress Line for a couple years now, and I'm proud to be a part of it. A big thank you also needs to go out to LARS CALLIEOU who is headlining the show and the other comics who will be donating their time (MARK SALAMANDICK, KATHLEEN MCGEE, ANDREW IWANYK)

-MIKE WILMOT is in town at Yuk Yuks, and I strongly encourage you to see him. He's a fantastic comic. GERRY DEE is middling. I saw him for the first time last night and he's really awesome as well (you'd think a professional writer like myself would be able to come up with something better than 'really awesome' but...whatever). Last night MARK SALAMANDICK MC'd for the first time at the last minute and did a really aweso...superlative job. A bunch of other comics came down to watch the show....KEN VALGARDSON, PAUL SVEEN, KENDALL GAWRYLUK, and KERRY UNGER, and I think we had more fun than the audience.

-Speaking of KERRY UNGER, readers of SEE magazine will have seen his cartoons appearing as part of Yuk Yuks latest ad campaigns. Congratulations go out to Kerry as this has been the realization of a longtime dream for him...not the cartooning, but the working in advertising. See folks--dreams do come true.

-Monster Pro Wrestling's Mayhem show is tomorrow. Check out the www.monsterprowrestling.com for ticket info. For those of you wondering about the Battleground show, we're still working on the post-production stuff. I think that show is cursed.

-Between beers, cigarettes, and various other substances, WILMOT had a cool show-biz quote. Apparently when asked about his life style in showbiz, an old New Orleans jazz musician said: "There's two kinds of people in the world. There's Day People and Night People. Day people get up every morning and go to work their whole lives so they can give money to the Night People."