Next To Normal in LA

Last night Alba and I went to the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles to see the play, "Next To Normal".  Wow what a show.  Some of the reviews raved about the lead actress, Alice Ripley, I have to say, I hadn't heard of her.  She was just amazing !  It's a great play, that starts out with plenty of laughs, great writing about family dynamics.  If your part of any family of more than one, you will find something to relate to.
The play takes a dark turn, when you find out, Alice's character is dealing with the loss of her son, who died when he was 8 months.  And all that comes with dealing with that, and maintaining the rest of the family, and a daughter, what she has to deal with, being the surviving sibling.  Sorry, there will be tears.  The same directors or producers, I'm not sure which, or both, who were involved with the broadway show "Rent", were involved in this production.  At the conclusion, there was no smattering of a standing ovation, it was instantaneous, the entire crowd, leaped to their feet, and gave a thunderous ovation.  It was a great night all together, we arrived early, to have some coffee, and enjoy the ambience of the whole Music Center experience, with the lights, water, and people.  The music center incorporates three different venues, each in separate buildings, coming together in one complex of theatres.  You have the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion where years ago they had the academy awards, and many operas today.  You have the smaller  Mark Taper forum, a theatre in the round, that seats aroudn 700. Then you have the Ahmanson, which seats about 2,500.  If you get the chance, see " Next To Normal".

Corporate show at Pismo Beach with Mike Marino and Frazer Smith

Mike Marino Frazer Smith Cliff Yates

A great show at the Cliff's Resort in Pismo Beach.  This was a terrorism training conference for Law Enforcement Agencies from all over the state.  After last years show, this conference sold out this year in record time, and Doug Gillies the coordinator for the conference had to turn people away.  It was standing room only at this show.  Frazer Smith opened the show as our MC, and started killing right from the start.  I did my thing, and always a pleasure to perform for my fellow Law Enforcement officers.  Mike Marino flew in from a gig in Florida, and as the headliner, just murdered the room.  Everyone at the conference was great.  And what a place, high on a cliff overlooking the ocean. 

Pismo Beach Corporate Show

Thanks Tony Robbins

Every once and a while, I do a "Thanks Tony Robbins". And this is the subject of this weeks podcast. Give a listen, it's not detailed, I just went off the top of my head, as usual with some thoughts I was having.  A little history of my study of Tony Robbins, and his influence on my life, and my meeting him at the Universal City Walk, while working there as a Sheriff's Deputy.

Great Shows at the Ventura Comedy Club

Had a great weekend of shows at the Ventura Harbor Comedy Club.  Can't thank Mike Marino enough for hiring me as his feature act.  We had a great show on Friday night, and two great shows on Saturday Night. Now one of the shows, had a a drunk female, who was obnoxious loud out of control heckler of everyone. I didn't really deal with her too much, I kind of just bowled over her noise, and continued on, and it went great, but the audience was aware and distracted by her.  As the feature act I have to be conscious of my interaction with the audience, and leave the energy as high as I possibly can for my headliner.  I knew Mike would take care of that table in short order, and ofcourse he did, and thats the way he likes to do it.  They actually got escorted out of the club.  But the crowd and Mike Marino were on the same page, and that is an art form to be able to do what he did, and still deliver the best entertainment he can for the paying customers, who came to be entertained and laugh, and have a good time.  Mike is very conscious of this and gives the best show possible, wherever he is, and however many people are in the crowd, from 10 to 10,000.  He always delivers.  There can't be a better school for working the crowd and dealing with drunks or hecklers, than watching Mike Marino do it live.  The Ventura Harbor Comedy Club is a class act !,, Thanks to Randy Lubis, the co owner and MC, a national headliner in his own right, did a fantastic job, and treated all of us in the show with great respect.  He was outstanding.  The staff is great, and very attentive to the patrons, as well as the comedians.  Roger the door manager was fantastic, I can't thank him enough for taking the time to tape our sets and getting the DVD's to Marco Assante and myself.  

This weeks podcast

In this weeks podcast I talk about my performance at the Laugh Factory in Long Beach. I was able to perform with MIke Marino, and spent some time talking with John Diresta.  I also talked about the upcoming shows in Ventura. Just click on the podcast date to the right side of the page.

The Laugh Factory

Had a great time performing at the Laugh Factory in Long Beach last night. It was a great charity event for the special olympics. By chance, I ended up on the line up with Mike Marino, The Cop and the Con back again. I've had it in my mind, how I would get an opportunity to perform at the Laugh Factory, and somehow the universe cooperated with my subconscious and it came together. I really enjoyed sharing a booth at the back of the showroom with my wife, Mike Marino, and John Diresta. Tweaked some of my material, polished it, and threw in some new stuff, and it all went well. All in all I was happy with the performance, ofcourse, I am never quite happy with it. Stand by the for the weekly podcast today.

Writing Comedy for new DVD taping

I'm getting in the wood shed daily, writing for the next DVD taping. I've had to tune up my comedy writing basics. It has to be truthful, Phyllis Diller, told one of her writers, Gene Perret, if it's not true, don't send it. The writing of comedy, starts with truth, and involves the ability to analyze and prepare. There are two basic thought processes to writing a joke. First the rapid, almost unnoticeable, rolling of thoughts and ideas through your brain, and instantaneously analyzing these for a relevant connection with another thought. Generally joke writing is made up of taking two ideas and combining them into one. What I have to do is tie two ideas together in a funny way. A big part of the funny in a joke, is the funny, which comes as a surprise. The punch line has to be hidden while presenting the set up. The audience can't see it coming. A comedy writer has to take advantage of the way people process thoughts, so they can be led in a direction, and be hit in the head with the surprise. I'm trying my best to take experiences in my police job, and turn them into material, all the while, making sure these ideas and premises our relatable to a vast audience, as opposed to a niche group. This can be the difficult part, but it is what gives me a niche, in that, I'm one of the few actual cops, who is also a comedian. Ok, I'm back to the writing table, writing my next killer comedy routine.

10/05/2010

Hi Everybody,

I actually figured out how to post a podcast to the blog. You can see it to the right of the page, just click on it, and then you click on the podcast button on the top, and it starts playing !,, it works,, so I will be posting podcasts on a regular basis now that I know that I can do it. Thank god for you tube video tutorials. Yes!

I have decided to start the process of filming my next DVD. This DVD will be a full hour of new stuff. I am going to title this show and DVD, "Once Before I Go", because this will be the last DVD, /concert, I will do as working Sheriff's Sergeant. I am down to 23 months before I retire, just enough time, to get the new material, work it out, rent the theatre or club, get the film crew, and get it done. I guess it will be kind of a retirement party also. Maybe the DVD release party will be the retirement celebration. Thats the plan, and everyone can have a DVD of the party. I'm off to work on it now. I'll keep you posted on the details.

LA Cop Leads Double Life, and Plans to Kill

LA Cop Leads Double Life, and Plans to Kill

Totsie Cook/Dan Coyle Scholarship Show

September 18th, Jones Hall Caledonia Ny, Saturday Night. Please come, this is going to be a great show, for a great cause. Jones Hall, is opening the doors at 6pm for food and beverage, and the show starts promptly at 8pm.. This is a special show, the class of 75 , friends and family lost Totsie way too early, and the Totsie Cook scholarship was created. Classmate Dan Coyle, pictured above, would help raise money for the scholarship through the farm, and pumpkin patch each year with the kids. Last year, we lost Dan in a tragic accident. Dan and I were both class clowns back in school, I remember he and I getting sent to the principals office, when we decided to start combing our hair in unison. Who knows we could have started synchronized hair combing in the Olympics. To top things off this year for our 2nd comedy show, we have Dan Coyle jr, flying in from Chicago, to sing a few songs in honor of his dad, this will be a special night. I don't know when we will be able to get national headliner Mike Marino to come back out to Caledonia, I was able to get him committed to our show early, he is in high demand and selling out all over the country. The show last year was sold out at the Caledonia Country Club, and we had to turn some folks away at the door. Please buy early either on line or through Loree Harrington, Gail at Jones Hall, or Cliff Yates sr. go to the web site home page for ticket details, see you at the show !!!!

Saturday September 18,2010

Saturday September 18, is quickly approaching, I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to be going back to my hometown of Caledonia New York, and put on a comedy show, which will benefit the Totsie Cook/Dan Coyle Scholarship fund. Last year we had a fantastic show, at the Caledonia Country Club, it was a sell out, and we had to turn people away at the door. Totsie and I were good friends, both from the Cal Mum Class of 75. Last year was a tough year to be putting on the show, as we lost another classmate Dan Coyle in a tragic accident. We not only dedicated the sow to Totsie and Dan, but also another class of 75 classmate, Jerry Forsyth, who we also lost too soon. It seemed very healing, to get together and remember, and spend time together and laugh too. This year we have moved the show to Jones Hall, so we should be able to pack in 350 plus. I am very happy, that this I can bring back with me, Mike Marino, this guy starred in a lot of national commercials, he's done sketch comedy for Jay Leno for 15 plus years, and has been a national headlining touring comedian for many years. Last year he really made the show fantastic. I hope everyone who can from Caledonia, can come to this show.. Gail Milner, had pulled out all the stops to make this show as good as it can get,, we have tables, food and drink. She is opening the doors at 6pm, so folks can mingle, talk and eat. Please buy your tickets early, we want everyone to get a ticket, and we want to tally our total for the charity ahead of time, so we can give the big check on the night of the show, along with the real check. Please buy your tickets on line at the web site, or call Loree Harrington, or my Dad, who has tickets, and Gail at Jones Hall.

September 17 show Caledonia, NY

It's getting close, September 17, Friday night, this is going to be a special show at Jones Hall, 366 Leicester street, Caledonia, NY. All the proceeds are going to an organization, "The American Federation of Police and Concerned Citizens". When I was looking for a charity to do our show, in honor of my friend, fallen Livingston County Sheriff's Deputy Jim Chiverton, I was contacted by his son Jason, who referred me to this organization, that gave Jim's sons thousands of dollars in scholarships. Thats all Mike and I needed to hear, to make this our charity. Last year at the Caledonia Country Club show,, I was really moved, when I was face to face with many of my former deputy partners from Livingston County who came to the show. I have nothing but fond fond memories of my five years with the Livingston County Sheriff's Department ! This year with this show being dedicated in honor of Jim, I hope to see and spend some time with many of my old friends.. Please come and support this show. Retired Deputy, and photographer Larry Tetamore will be at the show taking photos for anyone to purchase later, his son Mike will be opening the show, with some of his own comedy. We have national headliner Mike Marino coming to the show, this is amazing!!! please google Mike Marino comedian, and check him out, he is one of the best in the world!!!

Steven's Steakhouse

I have taken the handle on my next big big fundraiser charity event, with me, opening for the man, Mike Marino. This show is going to be at Steven's steakhouse, which is a beautiful location in commerce. This charity is near and dear to my heart, because the money will be given in the name of a friend of mine who was killed in a car accident, delivering a subpoena on his own time. He was such a great guy, and when he got out of the service, he would ride with me at the Livingston County Sheriff's dept., he was a car salesman at the time. His father and my father used to work together on the same department. Jim's only dream at the time was to become a Livingston County Sheriff's department. He finally got on, and I trained him, and we used to work sister cars on the midnight shift. In 1983 I left to join the Los Angeles county Sheriff's department, and we lost touch. In 1987 while trying to deliver a subpoena in Rochester NY, he was killed by a wrong way driver on the expressway. This charity we are doing the show in commerce for, gave several scholarships to his boys. We are doing another show in September, in Rochester, where we will give another check in Jim's name, where is wife and boys will be present.

Headlining the Downtown Comedy Club

Well it was great headlining the downtown Comedy Club in downtown LA ofcourse. A little natural nervousness, because on this night I was the guy. I am so use to opening for Mike Marino and being the feature, it was a little different feeling being the headliner. But I loved it !. It was a pretty good crowd, not as big, I think because it was the big fight night, Maryweather against Sugar Shane Mosley, and i know so many people who were staying home to watch the fight. I sometimes enjoy performing for people I don't know at all and have not seen me,, you get a totally sincere reaction. Not that you don't get a real reaction from friends and family, but because they know you, the reaction sometimes is more readily geared to acceptance and laughter. Which is great !,, I guess thats the ideal, make 6 million people your fan and friend !,,, Ok back work !!!

Downtown Comedy Club in Los Angeles

Tomorrow night headlining the Downtown Comedy Club, in Los Angeles. A big thank you to Kevin Garnier for having me headline this show!. Looking forward to it, after a great run opening for Mike Marino in Laughlin Nevada. Some great new stuff came out of the laughlin shows, so these gems and more to come out at Tomorrow Nights show. This will be one of my raw shows, I will have to give myself a review on this type of show. See everyone tomorrow night!

Laughlin Run comedy

Just back from touring. MIke and I started out in San Diego at the Casino Pauma. Next we headed for the Edgewater Casino in Laughlin Nevada. Wow, it was biker week, and it was amazing. A million motorcycles roaring around town. It was hot and sunny on the river. The showroom was very nice in the hotel. We wondered what the crowds would be like considering it was 99 percent bikers. It turned out the crowds were fantastic. Everyone was very friendly, and the audiences for the shows were great ! We had a great time.

April 21,2010

Hello everyone,
alot going on,, Tomorrow head out on the road for a week opening for the man, New Jerseys Bad Boy, Mike Marino. First we head out to Casino Pauma near San Diego. Then on the road to Laughlin, the Edgewater Casino. This should be a wild time, it is biker week. I miss doing the podcast,but it was such a hassle trying to get it to play on the site, so it was user friendly. I am going to give it another try, using my blog section to host the weekly podcast. So back in the home studio in a few minutes, and then try my hand at some technical challenges to post it on the blog. Wish me luck, hopefully I will have on posted today..

Podcasting and other things

H.ey,,
It's a beautiful day here in Southern California !,, why do I like to rub it in to my counterparts back east !,, I don't know,,. It keeps my mind off the gangs, drugs, killings, car jacking, inmate releases, homeless, and bad air.. Ahh that is why.. Oh my god, or OMG,, this podcast,,, having trouble, switching hosting again. Just trying to get it to stream, not my thing,, my podcast !,, so you click on it and hear it,, that is the idea.. We are working on it, the whole team. Keep checking the Calendar, we have some upcoming dates. April 22-25, opening for Mike again, this time in Laughlin. This should be fun. Also just added, a charity show, 999 for kids, for the department. May 20, Universal Citywalk, the Rhumba Room. It should be a great time. We have Erik Estrada from CHIPS fame as our MC. OK, time to go work on the podcast, let me get my overalls on and get under the hood of this macbook.

Hey 2010

Seriously,
I mean, I could us an excuse, and say I do a weekly podcast everyweek, there is no reason to do the written blog anymore. But the button is still on the web site, and to tell you the truth, sometimes I need it. Apparently not that often. It is hard for me to believe that my last written blog was in 2009. And I have not updated my web site, because, the shows I have booked are a way out, and I have several irons in the fire.. No excuse. I will get the sit updated pronto. The last time I submitted to this written blog, I had read and was inspired by an autobiography for George Carlin. Since then, I have read a book on the life of Chevy Chase, and am not on to a book about, and by Howie Mandell. Let me remind you ofcourse that I am still working my full time police job, along with my comedy career. I have to somewhat pay attention to my duties at the police job, anytime you might get killed, or have to kill, you should pay attention. I prefer nowadays to kill on stage, but there still is the matter of bills, and travel. Oh and food. I am still at writing and creating, and figuring out what my actual point of view and comedy voice is. I have inked the deal to return to my hometown Caledonia, NY, and do a second show for my fallen classmates, the Totsie Cook, Dan Coyle Scholarship. I am very happy, that we are going to be at Jones Hall, a much bigger venue, and that Mike Marino has agreed to do the show again, and at greatly reduced fee. Mike agreed to do a second show with me the Friday night before, so I am waiting for the contract to be signed for the Hochstein Music Academy in Rochester. This is a great venue, it is like a mini carnegie Hall. Theres no drinking, it is a theatre, and they have never had a comedy show event. This will be a great place for the Cop and the Con to debut in the city of Rochester NY. It is still a risk financially, in this kind of gig, as the producer, I have to rent the place, arrange for spot light, sound and black curtain, which they after they get cash. I have to secure a million dollar insurance policy, and then just sell tickets from 3,000 miles. Thats ok, I am dedicating a substantial budget to advertising this show, and am going to expect the best. Theres only one other real comedy club in Rochester, and it's in Webster. So with Mike Marino as the headliner, this show will sell out.