POUR LES NOSTALGIQUES DU HOUSE OF REGGAE!!! ATTENTION HOUSE OF REGGAE LOVERS!!!

 Finalement, le  moment que vous attendiez avec impatience….

Le retour de Bruno Ly et Bobby Forget dans un tout nouveau concept SAMEDI LE FOU RIRE!

Un spectacle de feu avec des soldats d’élite de l’humour francophone!

C'est au CFC que ça se passe, une salle de spectacle très charmante au plafond voûté.

En plus, votre animateur préfère Bruno est de retour avec un nouvel arsenal de blagues!

Venez voir la crème de la relève sur son 36, alors en ce samedi de l’action de grâce apportez votre dinde, votre fourchette et venez déguster des blagues de ouf! en famille.

AIME LA PAGE FACEBOOK; SAMEDI LE FOU RIRE.
VENEZ LE VOIR CE SAMEDI,
8 OCTOBRE, 20 H

CFC: 6388 ST. HUBERT

METRO BEAUBIEN

$5

WE ASKED DARREN HENWOOD

NAME/STAGENAME

Darren Henwwood. That is my stage name.

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS CALL YOU?

Darren. Growing up Henwood got turned into chicken forest by some kids at school. My mom told me when she was pregnant she had a dream she was chasing me across the garden. She was shouting “Darren!!!”  after this imaginary child. So the name was dreamt up by my mother.

HOMETOWN 

Hamilton.  The one in the UKis shittier than the one in Canada.  Everyone says “But Hamilton is so shitty!” and I’m like, trust me, our Hamilton is more shitty than your Hamilton. My friend describes Hamiliton as "10, 000 places to live and not one reason to live there."  I guess Hamiltons all over the world suck, but there’s one in Bermuda which I imagine is quite nice.

SIGN

Capricorn. As is my wife.  And we are like two goats going at at it all the time. (PUN)

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE GAME?

I started comedy in about 2001. I started doing it again last year. I realized that, it’s a lot easier to write material when you’re 28 rather than like 19, because you have the life experience to put into your material. In Glasgow I learned stage craft like how to use a mic stand,  how to be onstage, how to not get too nervous before a gig. When I came to Canada I actually started writing my first proper material.

HOW DID YOU START OUT?

It was downstairs at a comedy night that a friend of a friend ran. I was really nervous the first time but the buzz you get after doing it! Even if your nervous and you have a shit gig, you can’t think of anything except getting back up there and trying it again.

WHAT MAKES YOU FUNNY? Morgan, says I’m the best person he’s ever met at insulting people. I can insult people very, very, very well. Then I just figured if I turn insults about other people into insults about myself that’s funnier.

WHAT IS YOUR DAY JOB?

I have worked for the past 10 years in fashion retail, whereby I sell very overpriced Italian jeans to silly little girls who have the money pay for them.

WORST THING ABOUT BEING A COMEDIAN

 In the UK there is money to be made quite easily, in Montreal  there’s no money. I asked a semi pro comedian,  Montreal based comedian, what is the next step and his advice was “Get a car, get some money and get the fuck out of Montreal.”

FAVOURITE CLUB AND WHY?

The coolest comedy night I’ve ever been too has to be Too Much. The thing I loved about Too Much was that at any given week, you’d have maybe 10 acts on, but there be 20 comedians there. Comedians didn’t turn up cause they wanted time, or because they wanted their egos to be stroked, they just turned because they wanted to see people. It was like a members club. You shot the shit with people in the profession. It was a nice, relaxed, non-judgemental atmosphere,  which is what I’m trying to do downstairs. (LOWDOWN COMEDY IS AWESOME!)

IF YOU WE'RE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND WITH ONLY ONE OTHER COMEDIAN WHO WOULD IT BE? 

I’m sure that If I took Morgan O’Shea, he'd still be able to find a drug connection, so that’s kind of a winner.

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH? 

I like shock comedy not just as shock comedy but for being a format where you’re able to say anything. It’s honestly the last true bastion of free speech, where you can say almost anything on stage depending on the context. I like the kind of jokes that make people feel uncomfortable but aren’t designed to be aggressive. If you can’t laugh about these things then you don’t deserve to be at acomedy night anyway.

WHAT IS NOT FUNNY?

Ordinary, mundane things. I don’t even remember who it was but he was talking about when you get to the end of a packet of crisps (or a bag of chips), and you cant get the little bits at the end? And the audience were all in stitches thinking of themselves with their big fat fingers trying to get the little tiny bits.  In the UK, people would be like ‘Yeah, we know. That was the punch line? To make the audience realize how stupid and fat and pathetic they all are?’ Some people are just not putting enough thought and effort into their jokes.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN BRITISH HUMOUR? 

We have a lot cleverer use of the language; Americans like to use visual representations of what they’re doing. In Britain the next step for comedians is to write comedy books. Americans make comedy films. They have a history of SNL, where comedians come up through that sort of sketch forum. We used to do comedy on radio before stand-up comedy even existed in America, and people didn’t have the visual element. It was all based on what they were saying.

WHAT'S WITH THE AWKWARDNESS IN BRITISH HUMOUR?

We’re happy laughing at ourselves in an apologetic manner. British comedians are like “Everyone else is much cleverer than me. I’m really sorry and this is possibly funny…” We were the last superpower. The awkwardness comes out of a sense of British repentance for the history of our country. You'll see it in America. They will have the most self-deprecating humour in the next 20 years, out of what’s happened in the last twenty .

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR NEW PEOPLE?

If you’re new to the world , keep breathing, eat some food. If you’re new to comedy, keep trying don’t let any one person tell you you’re bad. If it’s a group of  people, take that feedback not in a way that makes you stop but in a way that makes you analyze your own material. And yeah, you're funny, but it’s not a case of being funny once or twice in your life. The people who get spots at the clubs have been funny 5 or 600 times. They get to the point where the club owners feel comfortable having them. Some people have to pay their dues. But someone who is 19, and is hilariously funny should have more advantage over someone who has been at it for 20 years and isn’t funny.

WHAT IS PROFESSIONAL SUICIDE?

Panic. Panic onstage. I was at the stand in Glasgow. I looked down in the front row, and there’s Irvine Welsh the guy who wrote trainspotting. This is the early 2000’s and he was a really big pulp icon at the time particularly because he’s Scottish. I saw him in the front row and completely or got my set! 

WHAT ARE THE HAZARDS OF THE JOB?

It’s very easy to get caught up in living your life at night, and hanging around after hours and drinking loads. Lots of comedians will say they can’t live their lives normally any more. They can’t approach a normal social situation the same cause you’re always trying to look for a good bit.

IF YOU WERE IN A BAND, WHAT KIND OF BAND WOULD IT BE AND WHAT WOULD YOU CALL IT? 

It would be a Kayleigh band, traditional Scottish music. What would it be called? Don’t know, uh... (Cranes around desperately searching for an idea,) Uh…Yellow Wire at the Window? If I were in a band I’d be like the drummer in the Rolling Stones, everyone knows Keith and Mick, but little Charlie sits there in the back playing his little drums. He’s been married to the same woman the whole way through,  been like the one who’s kind of  decent and he’s probably going to die first!

HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH NEW MATERIAL? 

I carry a book around and take note of the things I see in the street or the odd conversation. I have a very limited life. All of the starving troubled comedians I know, who lake loads of drugs, and get really drunk and find themselves in situations like ”Man, this one time I woke up in dumpster and I had no idea how I got there.  All I knew was that my pants were missing and this girl owed me 5 dollars…”, And I’m like “Yeah, I went home with my wife and we put on Law and Order, and went to bed. I woke up the next morning with no pants, but then my wife said they’re in the wardrobe…”

IF YOU COULD BRING ONE COMEDIAN BACK FROM THE DEAD, WHO WOULD IT BE?

Jerry Lewis! I know he’s still alive. He’s kind of screw ball, and dated but I really like that someone that ridiculous could be friends with the rat pack. 

SO SAYETH DARREN HENWOOD.


Darren runs the coolest comedy night in the city, THE LOWDOWN COMEDY SHOW. Like his page at Lowdown Comedy on Facebook and learn show dates and details.

WTF is a CRAYON PARTY??!?!?!

Do you remember when colouring was a group activity? Remember when colouring was the purest form of entertainment? Well, InTheory productions is bringin it back in style this friday with CRAYON PARTY.

I am always excited to check out new and different comedy concepts, et quel concept! Stand-up comedy and an audience armed with crayons! I LOVE the Theatre Ste. Catherine because its an intimate, fantastic space for audience interaction. Almost all of my favourite comedians will be there, drawing and being drawn. This incredible all-star line-up includes  Rodney Ramsey, Bianca Yates, Chris Betts, Robby Hoffman, Morgan O’shea, Faisal Butt and more!!!!!

As if this weren’t enough,  paper and crayons will be provided for our interpretive pleasure!  Art making to the sounds of comedy.  Genius.  Crayons are symbols, tools of the imagination available in a rainbow of colours. A comedians art is to provoke thought, to paint a picture of the everyday unseen. Can you imagine the hilarity of the artwork that will be produced as a consequence of this show???

I already know I will never forget this night, not just for the laughs, or the pictures…but because someone gave me a promo crayon the other night. I washed it with my sheets and that shit is going to leave a mark for a long, long time.

CRAYON PARTY

264 Ste. Catherine E

9 PM

Tickets $12

WE ASKED STEPHEN SPINOLA

NAME/STAGE NAME

Stephen Salvatore Spinola. They used to call me S cubed, or Stizzle Spinnizle. Sometimes I get on stage and just say all my nicknames, like “Yo, I’m Stephen Spinola, aka Mista McStevie, aka Mr. Mc Creepy Hands, Sweatyballs McNasty, Whiskas McPennybags, Daddy Gaga..." The list goes on and on.



WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS CALL YOU?

They rarely call me but when they do, its Steve.



WHAT TITLE WOULD YOU GIVE YOURSELF?

I’d like to be king of the world, that’d be a good title. I'd love to be World wrestling champion for the WWE, I don’t know.  



HOMETOWN

I was born in Mineola, 516! But I grew up in Harrison NY.



WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO MONTREAL? McGILL?

Yeah, that and cheap weed!



SIGN

Libra, represent! 



DAY JOB

Sleeping... I take my sleep very seriously.



WHAT MAKES YOU FUNNY?

My comedy is easily true, if I use certain stereotypes in my comedy it’s because those stereotypes are so true. You can’t deny these things; the police have a crush on black people, boom, it’s indirectly a reality. It’s something relatable; it’s not just like “Jelly donuts” and “poopy”. What is that? Someone might laugh at that… I’m probably going to use that on stage now, jelly donuts with poop in them...



HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE GAME?

A bit more than a year now.



HOW AND WHERE DID YOU START OUT?

I wanted to take this girl on a date to The Comedy Works because I like to laugh. Then she called me and was like “I’m sick” for the second night in a row.  I was upset, but I went with my friends anyway and I took a bunch of acid... I’ll never forget it, man. This guy Dave Merheje, Toronto comedian, he’s like a big deal. He had this whole thing about how like ”Pizza in Montreal is terrible it’s like 99 cents and it shouldn’t be allowed,” and he had these veins popping out of his head, he was having so much fun on stage I was like how do you get into that? So at the end of the show they say Monday is open mic. The next night the girl did go out with me and the day after that I got up on the stage.



BEST AND WORST THING ABOUT BEING A COMEDIAN

Having people confirm that you are funny and that you brought joy to their night. If one person says that, you have to ask; can I really credit that statement? Am I really the funniest that guy has ever seen? But when multiple people come up to you at different shows and say it, that probably means that you're funny.
The worst thing about comedy is the sound guys. Theo Radomski is the best of them but that's like the tallest midget thing, right?



BEST/ WORST TIME ONSTAGE

The best time on stage was in NY, arguably based on applause. Also that night at UnderCover I felt like a rock star! I’ve never felt so good, that was a stepping stone for me. And recently I did a show in which I followed Jim Gaffagin at Gotham Comedy Club in NYC... so any of those 3.


The worst was at The Comedy Works and the whole crowd was like old people, over sixty. They didn’t laugh at like anything I said. It was a great time. It actually was kind of the turning point in my comedy style. I've made them my target audience.



WHAT MAKES A GOOD JOKE?

A good writer. Efficiency is the key to my comedy.
I work hard on my material. There’s a rhythm to what I’m saying, like a meter. It’s like a pre-written conversation. I know exactly what I’m going to say, I know exactly where I’m getting a reaction. You got to be one with the audience, you got to treat it like a conversation. You want to keep them involved. If they’re just sitting there not laughing, that’s the point where you end the conversation, right? I'm looking for maximum reaction.




WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?

I think Chris Betts is funny, that's why we hang out. I think Sean Hogan is kinda funny, that's why we hangout sometimes.

I really like this guy, Anthony Jeselnik. He will come on stage with “I don’t care who your favourite comedian is; you’re about to TRADE UP!” And he has this one, where he’s like “You don’t know anything about pain. You don't know anything about pain until you’ve seen your baby drown in a tub. And you definitely don’t know anything about how to wash a baby!” It’s so dark and so horrible; you’d be so horrified to read that story in the newspaper. But it’s funny! You can say anything you want as long as you say it the right way,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xytT1oWhTu8



WHAT IS NOT FUNNY?

My personal life isn't very funny unless you find disasters and chaos to be hilarious. True insensitivity isn't very funny to me either. There is a difference between joking and being mean.





WHAT IS THE WORST THING A COMEDIAN CAN DO?

Get banned from comedy clubs. Like how you going to go and get banned? That will bring you down; you can’t perform at the clubs if the people who run it dislike you enough.



WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COMEDY SPOT AND WHY?

I don’t have a favourite club... I bring the shit! Grumpy’s is like a real test because of the drunken audience. It’s getting better and better every time I go.



IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND WITH ONLY ONE OTHER COMEDIAN WHO WOULD IT BE?

Really? What makes you think I would bring a local comedian???? I’d bring Sinclair, we’d go live on the island alone! I guess if I had to bring a human I’d bring GHB.
1: Because I know he wouldn’t want to have sex with me.
And 2: Because he knows how to have a good time in any place. We're on the same page and we communicate efficiently.



IF YOU COULD BRING ONE COMEDIAN BACK FROM THE DEAD WHO WOULD IT BE?

I’d bring back Mitch Hedburg, just to like chill with him. Take some acid and talk about time and space. He’s one of the first people that intrigued me in terms of comedy. I would listen to his jokes and just like laugh at his strange way of thinking. Like a microwave is just a clock, that sometimes cooks my lunch?!?!



IF YOU WERE IN A BAND WHAT KIND OF BAND WOULD IT BE AND WHAT WOULD IT BE CALLED?

I’m in a band! It’s called These Two Guys... Its me and my friend Josh Gordon. I got to credit his ass, he writes the funniest tags. He’ll send me puns through text message like “Hey man, let’s write a heavy metal song about lead, the heaviest metal.” How can I describe the type of music? We are a funk, folk, hip hop, gangsta ass, non-quilty…Boom. Genre: non-quilty.



WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FUNNY MOVIE?

I like the Brothers Solomon with Will Arnett and Will Forte. It’s about the two brothers who want to have a kid together cause their dad’s dying wish was to have a grandchild. They try to learn about kids, so they go to a playground and try to get this little girl into their car. The cops come, and they’re like “Oh, no, officer. We’re just trying to coax this little girl into our car for some ice cream but her mom is being a bitch!” Some people think its bad art, but I think it’s hilarious. Those guys understand how to not take things too seriously.


DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR NEW COMEDIANS?

When you go on that stage, you better bring your original shit. Otherwise I’m going to sit back and I’m going to hate real hard.


WHAT IS YOUR COMEDIC PHILOSOPHY?

Know the reality of the situation and be efficient with words. Less words, more laughs.




WHAT IS YOUR ULTIMATE COMEDY GOAL?

I want to have # 1 selling comedy CD and DVD, in America, Canada and the UK, by the time I decide to retire. Which is when it kills me. I want audiences crapping after everything I say. I want standing ovations. I want to be so famous that I appear as myself in a movie. That seems like a good goal.





WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT?

For me the biggest thing was winning this contest on the Internet. This video got like 75,000 hits on Audrina Partridge’s website. That’s a lot of people man. Other comedians don’t think it’s a big deal, like what is that really doing for my career? It's reassuring for me; it shows me that people like me.

http://yobi.tv/yobilaugh/contestant/15055/stizzlespinizzle/part-1-stephen-spinola-s-nyc-debut





 It's time to trade up and see Stephen Spinola at UNO! Saturday JULY 16th at the Montreal Improv Studio (#202, 3713 St. Laurent)  8pm. He's promising 10 minutes of new material and, if you play your cards right, free QUILTY classes for all you ign'ant mu'fuckas out there.

JESS SALOMON IS DOING RATHER WELL

I had a chance to check out the Saturday night showing of Jess' Fringe show 'Doing Good', and I was shocked!!!! She really does answer all those burning questions like where do lesbians with big hands fit into the scheme of things? And, why does a successful lawyer quit her job to become a comedian???

The answer is clear, Jess is a natural born entertainer, a gene she may have inherited from her grandmother. She walked on stage dressed to kill, like I've never seen her before. A mix of stand up and storytelling, Jess' sincerity and honest hilarity shine through. This is not the kind of show you go and see if you like to see people be awkward onstage, this is not the cringe fest. Her comedic skill can bring us from war crimes to cancer and still have us splitting our sides without feeling guilty.

With people like Jess on the job, whether it be law or comedy, we can rest assured that we're all doing good.

WE ASKED JESSICA SALOMON

NAME/ STAGE NAME

Jess Salomon.

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS CALL YOU?

 Jess, mostly. My mom's from Peru. She'll call me Yessica, or Yess, Yessiquita.

WHAT DO YOU CALL YOURSELF?

Comedy goddess! People don't give me a lot of nicknames but I'm really good at giving nicknames. I like playing with names and situations. My friend Deanne is so much smaller than me. Our joke is that if we spooned it would be like wearing a backpack to bed, and so she became little backpack and I'm teaspoon.

HOMETOWN

Montreal, born and raised.

SIGN

Taurus. When I was in law school everyone's birthday was around mine. There's definitely something about the determination and stubbornness. Tauruses are argumentative. There's something to it.

DAY JOB

I am a war crimes lawyer,  turned comedian. Right now I'm a full time comic. I was working for the UN in Holland. I actually left my job and decided to do comedy full time because I wanted to give it a shot for real. I just knew it was something I wanted to do. I've been writing and writing scripts and doing stand up.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE GAME?

2 years. 

HOW AND WHERE DID YOU START OUT?

My really first time was when I was living in Holland. I wanted to check the club out because they had booked me on the following week, so I didn't even have things written yet. I get there and they tell me the next week is cancelled but they're like 'You can go on tonight if you want to.' I did even though I didn't have any jokes worked out.

I basically got up and talked a lot about being a foreigner, making jokes about the dutch like 'What's the deal with dutch guys and orange corduroys???' It wasn't great. I didn't actually stand in the spotlight, because it bothered me. I couldn't see anyone!

My first time here in Montreal was when I took Joey Elias' comedy class. Trevor Forestell was in my class. I was getting on stage once a week,  working out 4 to 5 minutes that we would then do in the graduation class. I was limited to certain topics cause that was the format of the class. An original idea from one of those bits is something I still find is central to who I am as a stand-up comedian.

WHAT MAKES YOU FUNNY?

I think that I'm a funny writer and I think the audience is always surprised by like the kind of things that I say relative to what I look like. There's comedy in that and then I hope the things that I say are funny.

WHAT IS THE BEST AND WORST THING ABOUT BEING A COMEDIAN?

I almost want to say they're like the same thing. It's the audience. You have this interesting relationship with the audience, like you're dependent on them in a way, but you don't want to write only with them in mind. When you get up there you want to sell what you're saying, you want to bring them on board with you. But sometimes  you get sucked in to just wanting to please them. There's ways that you know you can get laughs but they're not the laughs that you really want, its not the comedian who you want to be, but it feels really good.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT SO FAR?

Making the transition from open mics  to the weekends. Getting paid, that's a step. I'm doing my show off of Fringe, so I have more freedom. 45 minutes is a long time to keep people engaged. The longest I've done is 20. It's a big leap. It's probably the difference between a 10 k and a marathon. I guess the thing that I'm most proud of is the shows that I've produced and played on my own.

The Comedy Bistro, I hosted, produced, picked  and booked the acts and timed it out. It was the first time I was responsible entirely for a show. It was really fun and for me it will be a chance for me to learn how to host and talk to the audience, and try not to be so scripted. I haven't had the chance to that in the clubs yet, I had to create my own space to do that. It went well so its going to be a monthly thing, the first Wednesday of every month!!!

WHAT IS YOUR COMEDY DREAM? 

It's great having a new goal like putting on a show for the Fringe Festival. I'd like to have a really solid hour of stand up. Just building that up, an hour in a comedy club as a headliner. I'd love to sell a TV show, be a writer. A dream of mine would be to write on The Daily Show, or something to do with political satire.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COMEDY SPOT AND WHY? 

The Comedy Works cause it's been around for awhile. I love hanging out at the bar downstairs after the show. Its such a good vibe in there.

IF YOU HAD TO BE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND WITH ONLY ONE OTHER COMEDIAN WHO WOULD IT BE? 

That's a tough question because there's some that I find funny but I  don't want to be on a desert island with them. I just have a lot of favourites. I guess it would probably be Deanne Smith. WHY?  Because she's my little backpack! 

IF YOU COULD BRING ONE COMEDIAN BACK FROM THE DEAD WHO WOULD IT BE?

Richard Pryor or Mitch Hedburg, cause he was brilliant and he went too soon.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE JOKE?

this. Then he'll tell a joke that wont go well on purpose. He'll then turn around to the wall and start putting himself down like “Youre fat, you're so ugly, you're not even normal. Ugly fat fuck, you should just go kill yourself, you're like a 34 year old virgin...." Like really putting himself down, and then he just turns around to the audience and he's like,”Yeah, so I was fuckin' this girl...” I just die over that every single time.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR UP AND COMING COMEDIANS? 

Write and get on stage as much as you can. The stage is a really big key.  No one's going to start out by giving you paid work, but build your act up at the open mics. Eventually you have to figure out how the weekend works and what your act is when people are paying 15 or 20 bucks. They just expect a different level. You just have to be better. But the more you do it the more confident you get.

WHAT IS THE WORST THING A COMIC CAN DO? 

I can't imagine what you could say on stage unless you went off on a racist tirade. Or if you really go after an audience member in a horrible way that affects the business of the club, especially if you're new. It's very easy to not have you back.

WHAT IS YOUR COMEDIC PHILOSOPHY?

Always try to make something funnier until you've squeezed everything out, until you add things and it starts taking away. Keep trying to improve it, cut some words out, get to the punchline faster, or come at things from a different angle. Add jokes after your punchline,  switch up your voice, switch up your movement. Always see if there's something you can add to make your joke even better. Once you've done the most you can do, its done, move onto something new.  Start that process again.

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?

Things that surprise. When I cant see the punchline coming.

WHAT IS NOT FUNNY?

I don't like stuff that is just for shock value, I don't appreciate the kind of comedy where there isn't a punchline. The punchline is 'fuck you', or 'that's gay' or something hateful and misogynistic without any art to it. I can get into a holocaust joke, I can get into a rape joke, I can get into whatever if its a really good joke and it's the kind of person who can tell that joke. Really dumb racist, sexist shit, if it's dumb, if it's been done, if it's hack, I don't want to hear it! If I see the audience dying laughing at it I start to hate the audience. We all have jokes like that and I get that you do need to try stuff, but I don't find it funny.

DO YOU THINK THERE'S TRUTH IN THE COMEDY? CAN YOU JUDGE A PERSON BY THE CONTENT OF THEIR MATERIAL? 

I think if there's truth in it its probably better comedy. The more you can be honest on stage,  the more original it is, the better your comedy becomes. But that's not easy to get to.  Put it this way,  if I don't like a person's style of comedy, I could never get with that. I don't think that guys are the same way. It just turns me off so much when I see them on stage. I can love another person and be friends with them even if I don't like their comedy, but I couldn't sleep with them. 

FAVOURITE COMEDY FILM?

This may not be my favourite movie of all time but it is in the vein of dark political satire, Dr Strangelove or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb.

IF YOU WERE IN A BAND WHAT KIND OF BAND WOULD IT BE?

I would love to be in a jam band. I used to really be into the Grateful Dead , Phish and the Alman brothers, my comedy would be like that.  Jamming with a looseness to it, maybe with a little bit of jazz.  Long and a bit messagey but not in a bad way. You know, something that appeals to people who are stoned. Someone said this to me once, I think it would be a good slogan for a poster or something:  “I feel stoned when I listen to your comedy.”

SO IT IS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF JESSICA SALOMON

Come and get high on the stylings of the hilarious Jessica Salomon, in her off fringe show DOING GOOD  at the MONTREAL IMPROV (3713 St. Larurent #202). Shows are on June 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19. So you'll have plenty of opportunities to see her do her thang and the best part is that it's only $10! Score!!!

WE ASKED ROBBY HOFFMAN

Name/Stage name

Robby Hoffman

WHAT DO YOU CALL YOURSELF?

I’m a comic. This is the first time I’m travelling and I put down for occupation on my customs form, comic. That’s fun. You know, I’m like this straight edged accountant, it’s like“Robby you can’t be doing that they’re going to be questioning us,” and I’m like“I’m putting it down!”
(Air writes: C-o-m-i-c.) I like the title better.



WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS CALL YOU?

My Yiddish name.

DAY JOB

I work in finance actually.

SIGN

Sagittarius, obviously.

HOMETOWN

Montreal I call home, I’m from Brooklyn.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE GAME?

A year and five months now.

HOW DID YOU START OUT?

The first time was at the loft. I was only around for the last 2-3 months of the loft and I was there every single Friday.

WHAT MAKES YOU FUNNY?

Authenticity, Angst at a young age. I always felt like an 88 year old Jewish grandmother living in a 20 something year old body. I find myself walking around like, Kids these days! You know?

(HAVE TO AGREE….KIDS THESE DAYS)

WHAT IS THE BEST AND WORST THING ABOUT BEING A COMIC?  

It’s you, start to finish. You get to see something you’ve written actually develop and become a show, become some entertainment for other people.

I think it’s the best art. I’ve done other arts in my life, I’ve done fine arts and things like that; but I think that this is something that incorporates all of them. You write it, you produce it, you perform it. At the end of the day there’s no one on stage with you, there’s nothing else. It’s you and a mic, no music and people watching. Work it out!

The worst is a bad show in the middle of nowhere. Three people showing up to an open mic that nobody knew about, and you still have 3 hours to get home after.

What is your highest achievement to date?

I had my own feature in the gazette. I’ve also performed on the Just For Laughs stage.

IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND WITH ONLY ONE OTHER COMEDIAN, WHO WOULD IT BE?

Eman, cause were the same but we’re different. I think she’s hilarious on and off stage.

IF YOU COULD BRING BACK ONE COMEDIAN FROM THE DEAD (TO BONE) WHO WOULD IT BE?

Do I have to have sex with them? Chris Farley. He was so all over the place and he gave everything he had.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COMEDY SPOT AND WHY?

The Comedy Works, because it’s a comedy club. It feels like New York. The Rialto theatre also. There’s really something eclectic about that place. It’s gorgeous, it has this old charm; the ornamented ceiling, it’s really spectacular.

The loft was my favourite spot because it was comedy for doing comedy, it wasn’t for anything else. It was a place where local comics could hang out, conglomerate, shoot the shit and also perform. Anything goes; bomb, succeed,  anything.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE JOKE?

Seinfeld’s been posting his archives, 3 jokes a day and if you miss them that day you miss them. One of my favourite jokes this week; he talks about what a scam the weather report is. If the 5 day forecast was true wouldn’t they just announce it once every five days???? Why do I need 5 days to figure out what I’m going to wear today? You got shorts, you got a jacket, figure it out!!!!

WHAT IS A FUNNY WORD?

I like old school words, like hussy, my coworkers and I use that at work, ‘Oh, you wore your hussy pants.’ or ‘Heavens to Betsy!’ Is hilarious these days!



WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?

My girlfriend, cause she’s cute, my coworkers and other peoples laughs.

WHAT IS NOT FUNNY?

Jew jokes when you’re not Jewish, black jokes when you’re not black. Nothing really offends me. I get over everything in 2 seconds.

COMEDIC PHILOSOPHY

Be funny and trust your gut. A lot of people are going to give you advice, and tell you what do, what not to do. If it’s funny it will work, you’ll know.

CAN YOU JUDGE BY THE LAUGHTER?

Not necessarily. You can’t always tell with the crowd. But if you really believe it’s funny, and you deliver it perfectly, authentically onstage. If the crowd feels that honesty, they’ll think it’s funny. You can judge by laughter sometimes. Depends on what kind of crowd it is.

DO YOU HAVE ADVICE FOR THE UP AND COMING?

I don’t have advice. You’re on your own, comedy is a windy road.

WHAT IS YOUR COMEDY DREAM?

Well, I’ve got 17 years to prepare for hosting the 100^th Oscars. Who better to host right? I mean they haven’t confirmed officially, but yeah, 17 years to work that out. I’ll do the 100^th , I don’t care. Don’t worry about it, I’ll do it, its ok.

Robby is performing her own show at the Fringe Festival. June 11^th to the 19^th at Petit Campus. For tickets call (514) 849-FEST.

In her own words: It’s going to be a hoot. Only 10 bucks, it’s a steal! And, you got this eye candy on stage!!!!

WE ASKED KRIS DULGAR

NAME
Kris Dulgar


WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS CALL YOU?

They call me Darren.


WHAT DO YOU CALL YOURSELF?

Other people call me Vulgar Dulgar or just KD.


SIGN

Aries.


HOWETOWN

I was born in Trinidad, Port of Spain. I came here when I was twelve or thirteen.


HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE GAME?

7 years I would say. Most comics will remember their first time, I remember the first time but I cant remember the date or the year.


HOW DID YOU START OUT?

I just always liked comedy. I'd stay up late to watch the musical acts or comics on Letterman or Leno. And I thought, I could do that! Back in high school, I was so naive. A short 7 minute set? You don't know what they have to go through before that. It's way harder than it looks.


WHERE WAS YOUR FIRST TIME?

My first time on stage was at the Comedy Works. There weren't as many independent rooms, as much as now anyways. It was George who started the whole independent comedy scene. The Comedy Works is my home club so that was my first time. Back then I was just a customer then one day I just went up and did it! You're supposed to do 5 minutes. I think I did like 3! Yeah I was so nervous until I got off stage. It's a hard thing.


WHAT MAKES YOU FUNNY?

I have a unique observational style. I tend to look at things from a different angle. I know how to analyze and I'll cut to the heart of the matter but in a different way. I speak for other comedians when I say you cant do someone else's style. I have a unique perspective as an immigrant too. I can do racial humour. I can talk about anything. I like going from sexual to political. I always say, you can do a really smart joke that has nothing to do with sex. Once you get to the sexual jokes the audience is going to trust you more.You gotta let them know you're smart, that you're not just above average.


WHAT'S THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING A COMEDIAN?

Being on stage with a full crowd or any crowd. Just being able to make people laugh. The worst thing? Put it this way, the best thing about being a comedian is the 15 minutes on stage and the worst thing is the 23 hours and 45 minutes that you ain't!


WHAT WAS YOUR BEST TIME ON STAGE?

One of the best times I had on stage was the Under Cover show. It was really nice. Before that room would have intimidated me but now, No. I just went up and ripped it.
My best time on stage? The Too Much shows man! The worst, probably doing comedy at Grumpy's when I was still green. Tough room. It makes you stronger. You have 10 to 15 seconds to be funny then the crowd just stops. Its a good training ground. Without Grumpy's or Too Much I never would have been able to handle Under Cover. Understand, when the crowd is noisy, you gotta yell! You gotta get their attention right away or else its done.


IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND AND COULD ONLY TAKE ONE COMIC WITH YOU, WHO WOULD IT BE?
Morgan O'Shea.


IF YOU COULD BRING BACK ONE COMEDIAN FROM THE DEAD WHO WOULD IT BE?

Pryor, for sure. I would love to pick his brain and talk to the dude. Man he was funny. He was the precursor to every comedian you see now. Carlin, Lenny.


WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COMEDY SPOT?

House of Reggae. I really like that room, it has potential. It will become a regular mainstay.


DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE JOKE?

Probably the Chapelle joke on juice, purple drank. Morgan has a great one on Oprah. She went to a Mormon compound and, and they didn't have any DVD's. 'You've never seen toy story?,' 'No,' 'You've never seen Shrek?,' 'No,' 'You've never seen Shrek 2 ?!!?!?' She actually asked this! Like, of course we haven't bitch! We only get sequels in the compound!!!!


WHAT IS YOUR COMEDY DREAM?

To make a living doing comedy. Quit my day job, travel, be funny, and make people laugh. That's freedom right there. I'm still in the trenches with these guys until one of us makes it, then were riding the coat tails! I have no doubt that we're gonna make it...Im'a make it....Somebody's gonna make it!


WHAT IS A FUNNY WORD?

I'm a big fan of the wire and I laugh every time I hear the expression “He got got.” He needs to get “got” is like he needs to get killed. Using it in the present tense AND the past tense, that's funny! Yo, he got got! Man, we use that all the time.


WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?

Hangin out with the crew here. A bunch of comedians roll by and just the conversations. We're busting out jokes, tag, tag, tag, tag. There are people in the crew who aren't comics and we just laugh all the time.

WHAT IS NOT FUNNY?

Hackey jokes or what is expected, I guess. You know you have some comics who are like 'white people do this, black people do that,' or you know 'men do this, women do that.' I have a couple of those but I try to make it smart. If it has no substance to it and it doesn't have a twist, I don't like that. Try to make it interesting, try to make it different, dig deeper!!!! Also jokes about rape. I know there are funny rape jokes but if you don't do it well you'll lose the audience and your whole set is done.


WHAT IS YOUR ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE?

I guess getting my first just for laughs audition. Every comic has to audition and you don't ask them, they ask you, you know. Just to have been asked was a privilege, someone recognized. Another major achievement is the first time I did 45 minutes. I hit the thirty minute plateau at Too Much. And recently I did 30 minutes in French!


WHAT IS THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO AS A COMEDIAN?

Be complacent. If you reach a certain level, always strive to get to the next level. Don't be satisfied. If you have a great set you have that ego and its like shit, I'm on my way. Never ever get comfortable. Make yourself uncomfortable. As comedians that's our job.
I did my first ever show in the village at Le Drugstore and I think it was my first all gay audience. But I got up on stage and I grabbed the mic, I felt immediately comfortable. What? Just cause they're gay they don't know how to laugh? Of course not! So I tore it apart! But you gotta make yourself uncomfortable like that. Put yourself out there. Shit does happen sometimes but you gotta go through shit like that.


DO YOU EVER GET UP ON STAGE AND JUST KNOW THAT ITS WRONG?

Yeah, its so right. Sure, but as a comedian you still have to do your set. Try your best to get their attention and if its not going well, you're only as good as your last set, right? If that set goes horribly think to the next one.


HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH NEW MATERIAL?

Personal experience, everyday life and whats happening in the world. Once you find your own point of view, you can figure out how to work it into a joke with your own comedic style. Also I'm allowed to have an opinion on something I've never experienced before, that's the beauty of comedy. Everyone should have an opinion. That's how it is. As long as you have an opinion you can make a funny joke. Or not. Give up, quit the game.

HAZARDS OF THE JOB?

That internal struggle with yourself. Comedy is an exploration of the self, so you're going to learn a lot of things about yourself that you're not ready for personally. Also, everything you do will be for comedy so you're going to have to sacrifice. New comedians you might have to cross that bridge where you're going to have to sacrifice a relationship or two.


DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR UP AND COMERS?

Advice to new comedians? Quit, quit now! Ya'll ain't shit. You don't know! You're in for years and years of pain, depression, guilt, suicidal tendencies. If you tell me you're happy doing comedy, you ain't a comedian!
Write, and get on any stage as much as you can. You need to build up that confidence. You cant give up. You're always going to doubt yourself for a long time but you just write and keep going up on stage, don't give up. If you don't write anything funny, you just write.  And the funny will come.


DO YOU HAVE A COMEDIC PHILOSOPHY?

Never be afraid to put yourself out there. Don't be afraid. It's nerve racking. You have to worry about going on stage, looking at those people, it takes a while for your voice to shine through. My comedic philosophy is work hard, and if you ever tell yourself that you're working hard, you ain't working hard enough!

Oooo BABY I LIKE IT RAW!

After my fateful first performance, the delectable Paul Ash approached me and said "You know, I think you would be perfect for the dirty show." What a compliment! As it turns out, I am in Windsor visiting the family on the day of the show so I couldn't make it. Damn! First I miss Sugar Sammy, now I'm missing "the dirty show!" I think I'm cursed. Curse-ed I tell ye! However, Blue Monday IS happening CE SOIR, hosted by Paul Ash himself, and it promises to be NASTY!

CONCERNING VULGARITY
I don't know how other people live, but me? I'm foul. I openly laugh at taboos, anything sacred and just pure nonsense. I believe that the psychological function of comedy is to reduce stress levels and social anxiety, as is clearly demonstrated in the nervous laugh. If someone falls down in public, you will hear a few laughs amid the sympathetic awwwws. Or the laugh of indignation, Ha! That's preposterous! But a really good gut busting laugh is what I'm talkin 'bout here! And the function of said laughter is the same, only a megatrillion times more powerful.

We want to laugh, HARD, at our own discontents. A joke that really touches the soul is one that reveals hidden truths, the unspoken and common knowledge of life's absurdity. Also, the dark crevasses of human nature that crave debauchery and destruction. These are the jokes that make us laugh until we cry. Bodily functions, sexual reproduction and violence are not funny as such; but ain't it funny how much of our daily laughter is derived of them? I even love that feeling when you don't want to laugh cause its too foul, but you know you re still smiling on the inside!!!!! I don't believe in repression  in any capacity, not feelings, or ideas and certainly not laughter!

So its OK to laugh people! No one is being harmed by a little indulgence of the darkness. Think of all the psychological benefits you will reap! Hard laughter scales away the layers of resentment (from the metro, bixies and livin  enough for the city). You will feel a sense of community as you share in and totally agree with  some basic human truths. And just hearing all of that filth will prevent you from accidentally blurting out a repressed word during a turkey dinner with the kids. I vote yes! for vulgarity!

Tonite is the night! Your portal to the comedic underworld is KATACOMBES. Appropriate to your headliner, Devil Dan Derkson. I would especially want to see Trevor Forestell get crazy! I hope the comics get real loose and heal the whole audience!!!!!

It's May 30th, 8:30 pm. 1635 St. Laurent, $10 (I probably should'nt post this all over the internet, but if you read this blog you deserve it! Mention my name at the door and tickets are two for one!!!!!)

As for me, I will be stuck in Windsor, literally watching the tadpoles become frogs. City people, eat your heart out!

WE ASKED TREVOR FORESTELL

NAME

 Trevor Forestell, It's pronounced like Chappelle, except  fuck yo' love seat.



STAGENAME

I don’t have one, that’s my real name. It’s common to change their name or shorten it up a little bit cause a lot of people have names like Artakius Artakustopolous, and it’s hard to pronounce that shit! If I ever changed my name it’d be Trevor Everest.



 WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS CALL YOU?

Asshole.



 WHAT DO YOU CALL YOURSELF, LIKE A TITLE?

(he misunderstands me and hears:) The big twizzle??? (laughs in pure disgust) That’s ridiculous. No, I don’t have a title.



 SIGN?

Cancer.



HOMETOWN

Montreal. NDG, born and raised.


WHAT IS YOUR DAY JOB?

 I’m a technician for Mercedes Benz Canada, (it’s true, he has the fat ride to prove it)



 How long HAVE you been in the game?

 A little over 3 years now. March 2008



 How did you start out?

 As a kid I was a cellist and I did a lot of other things in the arts but I was attracted to comedy. I used to go in and watch the shows a lot then a friend of mine, Joey Elias, did a comedy class at The Nest. I called him up and was like dude, I don’t know how to get started. When I got to the class it was like why haven’t I already been doing this? I should have done this a long time ago. I already knew a lot of comics as friends so I got started relatively quickly.



WHERE WAS YOUR FIRST TIME?

 At that class. The next Monday I was doing comedy at the Comedy Works. The day after that I did it at a place called The Next Door in NDG. At the time John Hasting’s was running a room there with Paul Baluyot. I started to do it up to 4 times a week, and I’ve been doing it like that since.



 What makes you funny?

 I’m not that humble of a person so I have no problem answering that question. (kidding) I really am a bit of an asshole. I’m not a shtickish comedian. I hope to be a comedian that is unique. I try to write more cerebral stuff. I’m analytic, studying how people react, not just for the shock value.



 Best thing about being comedian?

 The chicks! Noooo…there’s no chicks. The best thing is being able to express yourself, like when you have a shit day. You can turn it around and make a good joke out of it and you get instant gratification.



WHAT’S THE WORST?

 The game yo. Egos and animosities.



 IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND WITH ONLY ONE OTHER COMEDIAN, WHO WOULD IT BE?

 God you know it changes every week. This week? Norm Macdonald. He’s just great.



 IF YOU COULD BRING ONE COMEDIAN BACK FROM THE DEAD (TO BONE) WHO WOULD IT BE?

 Richard Pryor. I just want to do the drugs with him and write jokes.



WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COMEDY CLUB AND WHY?

 Absolute Comedy club in Ottawa, There’s like 300 people on a Wednesday night, who laugh at everything you say. They laugh hard! I’ve seen a dude in the front row with snot bubbles coming out his nose! People knocking over drinks and shit, cause their laughing so hard.



 What is your ultimate career goal?

 To be the funniest comedian I can be. To be able to live off my words. I like to be able to make fun of things and speak my heart but I want those jokes to have meaning.



 WHAT IS A FUNNY WORD?

Catapult, flamethrower, shyster, loser. That’s ones a classic. Funny word, loser. Any way you use it.



 What is funny?

 Everything, I can see the humour in everything.



 What is not funny?

 Unhappiness, Life is what you make it and if you have a good spirit, the world speaks to you. It’s all about choice.



 Do you have any advice for newbies?

 Do it as much as you can


(I tell him about my 2^nd show, and inability to time myself)

 Yeah, in the beginning it seems like it goes by really quick, you’re so eager to get stuff out. It takes a long time before things start to settle down. After a year of doing it a lot you’ll see. The more you hone it the better you get. You’ll always forget to say this or it will come out faster than you wanted it to. But one day you will have a set and it seems like time slows down, your jokes are going to come out in auto pilot and the show is going to happen.



WHAT IS YOUR COMEDIC PHILOSOPHY?

 Work hard, stay humble and show love before you expect to get love.

N-BOMBS FROM WHITE PEOPLE

So Julian and I were kickin' it comedywise the other night when the un-funniest thing happened! We were at a club that will go unnamed for dignity's sake, when in walks a big old loud ass white chick with the most abused lookin' skinny black dude you ever did see. You all know what I'm talking about!!! I'm not trying to reinforce stereotypes here but there are some people on this earth that just is what they is. Ya dig? No, she didn't have hoop earrings, fake nails or any other accoutrements you might expect. She did however seem to have the biggest beef with her boyfriend. He was so drunk, he was like a fighter who having lost steps out of the ring weaving and wobbling. She kept bitching at him and we all quickly perceived that the impending doom of having to get up on THAT night after night, would cause any many to drink in mass quantities.

At about the middle of the show, here comes hefty settling in behind us with a drink in her hand while her tragic counterpart remains at the bar. The host, who it must be noted is dark of complexion, seeing this begins to bate this woman. I believe it started with "Look at you, you look soooo happy!" to which she replied "Look at YOU, you're a fine motherfucker!" At this point, anyone who had seen that drama walk through the door was probably dry heaving in their throats as I was.

Then he said "I see you got yourself a black man." The answer she gave? You bet! "Yeah, I'm dating a N@gger!" Like all loud and  shit! She then whips her head round to her victim and continues "Yeah you, you lazy n@*#^r !!!!blah blah blah.....something about leaving half drunk pitchers at the bar?????" The cringing was unbearable!!! I don't know how the rest of the room reacted because I was so ashamed I didn't want to make eye contact with another living soul. The host was, what can only be described as, DISTURBED and I'm not sure he knew quite how to handle it. I finally begged him to tell me some jokes because that shit wasn't funny at all. The following comedians killed it and we all laughed harder because we needed it. Eventually the drama left out the back terrasse but continued on steadily.

Now here is my judgement! Hear this! And don't give me any bleeding heart shit about not judging people. If you want to bring your personal drama out into public, fucking up the whole vibe, then you make your business my business and I am heartless like Donald Trump when it comes to my business. Now it didn't seem befitting to get into it with this broad therefore I air this grievance the geek way.

I am deeply offended big fat white lady!!!!!! I don't care how many black people you think you are friends with, how much you love Bob Marley or how many times you been run through, you CANNOT say that word. You may get away with n!gga, nyuga or even add 'my knickers' to the end of a sentence for no reason at all, but you cannot say THAT word. There is something about the 'er' that is like a serated knife, it cuts so deep.  It reminds me of my best friends mom, as a white bystander, when she shouted that word with the extra 'er',  I knew she was in real big trouble! You know if one black person calls another by that name, it's bad. You have to respect that this word above all other dirty words has a historical legacy so profoundly traumatic it cannot adequately be countered with such lame terms as cracker, honky or pinky...though pinky is kinda harsh.

Furthermore, you snafarglamammatron, you give all of us a bad name because you cant love another human being while objectifying them with such words. You add one more tick in the column for 'white chicks who date black guys because they wish they were black.' And if you think you can just assume another persons racial identity because you rub your bacons together, think again! You can sympathize all you want but you will never know the dark truths. Infact your racist tirade pretty much ensures your complete ignorance to the whole point of unity and mixing. That shit may be acceptable in your trailer or overpass or wherever you crawled out of but its not cool to me.

I give this a 5/5 for sending us back to the stone age one drunken domestic at a time.

NON a l'homophobie!

I love graffiti and what the man would deem 'vandalism'. It really floats my boat when it is cleverly done and makes you think. I spotted this little gem on the way home one night. I was in Berri-Uqam metro where a certain company has many, many ads featuring some very sultry, lithe and long-legged young things in shorts. I hadn't really delved into the semiology of the adverts, tuning them out as I do but this sticker made me stop. Well, the fact that someone had gone all the long of the corridor trying to rip them off.

At first glance it is a sticker that says NON! A L'HOMOPHOBIE! WWW.... something, I don't know because it was ripped out! But if you examine the way this child of probably 10 or 12 is holding this large phallic microphone in her childlike hand, so close to her happily parted lips, it hits you, BAM! This under ripe beauty is exactly the refuge of the homophobe whose attitude is merely "If this doesn't turn you on then you must be gay!" It is also the unrealistic ideal to which all women are subject under this heterosexual patriarchy. It may not be funny but its clever. We give this 4/5 laughs for revealing the truth behind the message in one quick slap of a sticker.

WE ASKED MORGAN O'SHEA

NAME/ STAGENAME?

Morgan O’Shea,

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS CALL YOU?

Morgan, mostly Mo.

WHAT DO YOU CALL YOURSELF?

Morgan, it’s a solid name, it’s a solid name all around.

WHAT IS YOUR TITLE?

A work title? I’m still learning. I’m not really a comic yet. It takes like a decade to become a comic;. Larry David and Ricky Gervais did this interview once where they both agreed that you can’t be funny until you’re at least 30.  So I got 3 more years.

What’s your sign?

Virgo

WHAT'S YOUR HOMETOWN?

I was born in Edmonton but I was raised in Calgary. I came out here for comedy. I figured Montreal is the comedy capital of Canada, which isn’t true by the way! I found that out later, and by that time I just love it too much to leave.

WHAT'S YOUR DAY JOB?

I work in a collections department for a shady telemarketing company, it’s very unfulfilling.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE GAME?

It will be 4 years in August.

HOW DID YOU START OUT?

I always wanted to do it. I lived in Medicine Hat for a bit with my aunt and that’s when I first started actually writing jokes and coming up with ideas. My self-consciousness,  my insides were like you’re not funny! My girlfriend at the time set it up. I did my first open mike on my birthday, in Calgary. The club I think it was called Dickens

TELL ME A FUNNY WORD 

I’m sure someone has said it before but mayonnaise shake, it’s what white people drink. I did a joke about getting robbed by a black guy and lying to the police because I like black people so much. “Yeah it was a white guy,  really white, blond hair blue eyes, he was drinking a mayonnaise shake, off to pay his taxes.” I was laughing about that at work today, like ”Morgan you’re so awesome…mayonnaise shake.”  

IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT MAKES YOU FUNNY?  

I’m funny because I can make people laugh, I just always have. My dad would get mad at me, I would just say something funny and he’d forgive me. He could never stay mad at me.

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?

Everything. Hanging out with my friends. I live with Kris next to George, behind the club so there’s always comics stopping by.

WHAT IS NOT FUNNY?

Nothing! You can make the worst thing funny, that’s the whole point of comedy, that’s what we try and do! Look, even that brick over there is funny, because someone might have died building it. It’s kind of funny, maybe there’s orphans trapped in it, I dont know! Horrible things are definitely funny.

WHAT'S THE BEST AND WORST THING ABOUT BEING A COMEDIAN?

The best thing is going out there and just killing a room, being good and making the whole crowd laugh. That’s the best. The worst thing is charity shows, because you don’t get payed.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE COMEDY SPOT?

Now that the loft is over, I’d say the (comedy) Works is the best comedy room in the city, just cause it’s a small intimate venue, low ceilings. When it's capacity, it's 200 people but it feels like 500. It’s a real comedy club, like in New York.

WHAT IS YOUR BEST OR WORST TIME ON STAGE?

Well I pretty much killed it at UNDERCOVER, that was a good time!
The worst time I remember was in Calgary. The first time I got the lights shut off on me. They shut off the microphone too and it was the worst feeling in the world. First time I got gonged by Ram was pretty bad too. The second time I got used to it.


IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND AND YOU COULD ONLY BRING ONE COMIC WITH YOU, WHO WOULD IT BE?

Dulgar. It’d be Dulgar cause we’re roommates and we just laugh so much back and forth, it’s great. He’s the Romi to my Michelle.

NICE!

IF YOU COULD BRING BACK ONE COMIC FROM THE DEAD (TO BONE) WHO WOULD IT BE?

Pryor, cause I have a thing for black people. He’d also make fun of my little white penis in that voice of his. That’d be great.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE JOKE?

Dulgar’s, actually. He has this new joke about how the rodeo started after slavery because white people had too much rope left over.  That cracked me up! Anything George does onstage I just die. It’s just how he sees or takes a situation that has happened to us and crafts it into his own style. He’s my favourite comic on the scene without a doubt.

WHAT IS YOUR ULTIMATE GOAL?

I don’t want to be rich or anything. I just want to make enough money off comedy so I don’t have to work. I’ll know I made it then. I will still live in the same shitty apartment with Dulgar, we’ll still be broke as fuck, but I won’t have to work at my shitty collections job.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR UP AND COMING COMEDIANS?  

Don’t do it cause I’m out there!!!  Don’t do it cause Im’a murder you!

COMEDIC PHILOSOPHY?

Period blood is hilarious.

THESE ARE THE WORDS OF MORGAN O'SHEA.