Michael O'Connell to perform opening night at Sacramento Comedy Festival

During the life of this blog, I've tried to use it to occasionally highlight more than just what I'm up to in comedy.  More specifically, I've tried to use it to let people in the Sacramento area know what an amazing and thriving comedy scene is going on right here in the old home town, something I myself didn't realize until I accidentally stumbled into a comedy career.

As fans of comedy, most folks watch YouTube clips, catch specials on Comedy Central, watch Saturday Night Live or buy a stand-up CD or DVD from some well-known performer.  But while this is all well and good and perfectly fine, people don't realize that they're missing out on the real energy of comedy, the raw essence of it, the laboratory where it's birthed (or stillborn).  They don't realize that they have access to the very crucible where all those voices and faces from TV and the web start out and pay their dues and become the household names that go on to make movies and blow their noses with hundred dollar bills (if I was Sandler, that's what I'D do when I had a cold...).

This is the arena of live local comedy.  And you don't have to go to LA or New York or Chicago to find it.  It's right here in Sactown.  It's in our local comedy clubs.  It's in all of our many open mic rooms that you can find almost any night of the week in the area.  It's in bars.  Sometimes it's even in cigar lounges (thank you, thank you very much).  It's traditional (and experimental) stand-up.  It's improv groups.  It's sketch comedy.  It's every flavor of funny that your heart desires.

And the even better news is that for four days this September/October, you don't even have to look all over town trying to find it.  Because it's all going to be in one place.

The Sacramento Comedy Festival is a four-day showcase of the best Sac (and San Francisco, and a little LA) has to offer.  Taking place at the Sacramento Comedy Spot downtown, it will feature multiple shows from Thursday (September 29) to Sunday (October 2), allowing you to sample as little or as much as you please.  Broken down by genre (improv, sketch, stand-up), these shows will range in cost from $8.00 to $12.00 each, but there are package deals available to let you get great savings for buying all-day passes or the big full-weekend pass.  All told, you'll have 20 different comedy shows to choose from, all filled with some of the best and brightest talent from around the region.  You like the old stool-n-mic stand-up?  Come see folks like Ellis Rodriguez, John Ross and Nick Aragon (and San Francisco treats like Nina G, Mary Van Note and Marty Grimes).  More a fan of SNL or Kids in the Hall?  Laugh it up to sketch comedy groups like The Syndicate, Uphill Both Ways or Van Full of Candy.  Or do you like the Who's Line is it Anyway? frenetic comedy style that only improv can bring you?  Marvel to the lightning-quick hilarity of Sacramento's Anti-Cooperation League, LA's Bro Squad 5 or Oakland's Awkward Face.

The stand-up part of the Festival begins Thursday night (9/29) at 9:00 PM, when I'll be lucky enough to be performing with some of my favorite people in Sac comedy world - Keith Lowell Jensen, Ray Molina, Eve David, Josh Barbee and Johnny Taylor.  For those of you who've been asking when I'm going to be on stage in Sac again, you now have your answer.  Ten bucks will get you a ticket to see all six of us.  Or, if you're REALLY smart, you'll grab up that weekend pass and spend four days laughing your arse off at all the amazing acts that Brian Crall - owner of Sacramento Comedy Spot - is bringing together for your knee-slapping pleasure.

For the full schedule for the festival, a full list of performers and a link to grab tickets, just click here for the skinny:

Sacramento Comedy Festival

If you've been meaning to delve further into your town's comedy scene, you'll never get a better chance, Sac.  Come on down to midtown and see some of the folks you'll be later able to tell your "I saw them when" stories about.  Hope to see you there!

The Comedians with Disabilities Act this Saturday, July 30, at the Uptown Theatre in Napa!

A blind man. A woman who stutters. A wheelchair user. A little person. While this may sound like a description of a support group, it is, in fact, the lineup for the “Comedians with Disabilities Act”, a comedy tour that the San Francisco Examiner called “The most unconventional comics to pop up in 2011”. Made up entirely of performers with different disabilities, the troupe is bringing their “special” brand of humor to Napa’s Uptown Theatre on Saturday night, July 30th, for a one-night-only fundraiser to benefit Special Olympics. The foursome, all of them working northern California comedians, met each other through the comedy club circuit and decided to band together to treat audiences to a unique and unforgettable experience.

“Lots of able-bodied comedians out there tell blind or wheelchair jokes and get the audience to laugh AT the handicapped,” said Michael O’Connell, the group’s wheelchair representative. “But wouldn’t it be more fun for the crowd, we thought, to be invited to laugh WITH the handicapped instead? That’s guilt-free fun right there.”

Since their first sold-out show in Sacramento, the group has been in growing demand, getting booked at such lauded venues as San Francisco’s Punch Line comedy club and at college campuses. Their comedy comes from the lifetime of experiences each has had due to their individual challenges. They see the tour as not only a chance to entertain, but to educate people on disability issues.

“We’re all comedians first,” said Napa native Steve Danner, the comic who is a little person, “and it’s a comedy show. But who says you can’t make people laugh and send them home with something to think about too?”

Danner’s comedy career began as an audience member at a club. The comedian on stage that night decided to have some fun at his expense, and Danner’s skills in heckling back at him led the comic to approach Danner after the show and suggest he give comedy a try. He did so, and soon began a career as a prolific comedian and producer, delighting crowds at clubs and comedy rooms all over the west coast with hysterical tales centered heavily on his dwarfism. His comic journey keeps him on the road much of the time, but as Danner is fond of saying, “Shrimpin’ Ain’t Easy!”.

Michael O’Connell was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy at two years old and went into a wheelchair full time in 1995. But it wasn’t until years later that a friend dared him to try doing comedy at an open mic night at a Sacramento club, and after ending up winning the competition that first night on stage, he never looked back. He’s played comedy clubs from Seattle to San Diego, been featured in newspaper and on radio and television, and counts several Hollywood celebrities among his fans. His business card reads “100% Comedy, 0% Stand-Up”.

Eric Mee was only eighteen years old when, while protecting a young child, he was stabbed in the chest. Complications resulting from his injury led to the loss of his eyesight. Choosing not to let this drastic life change get him down, he began joking about his condition and giving speeches to groups that were always filled with humor. After many suggestions, he turned his talents to stand-up comedy, and now brings his manic energy and outrageous tales to the stage.

Touting herself as “the world’s only female comedian who stutters”, Nina G. hails from the Bay Area and has spent a lifetime dealing with both speech and learning disability issues. A key note speaker and disability activist, Nina turned her talents to the stand-up stage to help raise disability awareness through comedy, and performs at some of the industry’s hottest clubs (the Hollywood Improv and the Purple Onion) and has shared the stage with some of its biggest names (Dave Chappelle).

This concert features a special guest performance by Los Angeles comedian Samuel J. Comroe, a fast-rising stand-up star with Tourette Syndrome. Comroe learned back in school how to get others to laugh about (instead of at) his condition, and used to perform comedy shows on his high school campus at lunch for fifty cents a person. This love of comedy turned into career, and he’s now a regular at LA laugh spots like the Improv, the Ice House and Flappers, has won several comedy competitions (including placing 8th out of 101 in the World Series of Comedy in Las Vegas) and has taken his one-of-a-kind performances nationwide.

Produced by Big Mini Entertainment, the benefit concert begins at 8:00 PM (doors open at 7:00 PM).  Tickets are $20.00 and may be purchased at the box office or through Ticketmaster.

"Smokin' & Jokin' II" this Friday, July 8, at Tobacco Road!

Kick-ash comedy returns to Tobacco Road cigar lounge this Friday, July 8th, at 8:00 PM, courtesy of Ramp-Up Productions and the Punch Cigar Company.

After its monster debut, Sacramento's only comedy and cigar event returns to kick the jokes and light the smokes once more.  Attendees will enjoy fine cigars from Tobacco Road's mammoth humidor while being treated to comedic sets from some of Northern California's finest comedians.

Veteran comic Kristen Frisk, winner of 2010's Tommy T's Talent Search Finals, has been dazzling audiences solo and as part of one of California's hottest comedy tours - "The Real (Funny) Housewives of Rio Linda" - and now brings her madcap skills to the smoking set.  Having played such venues at the San Jose Improv and Sacramento's Punch Line, she's now the first comedienne to perform at Tobacco Road, and plans to leave her mark.

Ellis Rodriguez, the Boston-born son of Panamanian immigrants and former Marine, is a west coast comedy power player who's a regular favorite at clubs like the Hollywood Improv, the Laugh Factory, Tommy T's, Pepperbelly's and Laughs Unlimited, and recently completed taping on his soon-to-be-released comedy DVD "Go Be a Clown".  Smokin' & Jokin' audience members will get a chance to see this dynamic, charismatic and much-heralded performer in an intimate (and smoky) venue.

The show will be hosted by wheelchair comedian Michael O'Connell, a regular at Tobacco Road and a player at comedy clubs from Seattle to San Diego.  The creator of Smokin' & Jokin', he is also one of the founders of the "Comedians with Disabilities Act" comedy tour, a troupe of disabled comics that have brought their unique brand of funny to venues like the San Francisco Punch Line and are preparing for their July 30th blockbuster show at Napa's Uptown Theater.

The second Smokin' & Jokin' show brings a new twist as the hour before the show begins (7:00 PM to 8:00 PM) will become Amateur Hour, when audience members will be invited to come up and try their hand and telling a joke at the mic before an audience.  This portion will be for amateurs only.  No working comedians will be able to perform.

Handling sound and spinning Rat Pack music for the show will be NorCal's DJ Rob, whose skills and tunes will set the tone for this exclusive and unforgettable evening.

Sponsoring the show will be Punch Cigars, and Punch's representative, Ed Trevino, will be on hand with cigar deals, offers and merchandise. 

Tickets for the event will be $10.00 and will be for sale at the door only.  No advance tickets sales will be provided.  Seating is limited due to the venue's size, so early arrival is strongly recommended.  Early arrival also allows plenty of time to relax, enjoy the lounge's friendly atmosphere, and light up a stogie or two.

Smokin' & Jokin' II will go down at:

Tobacco Road Cigar Lounge

2912 Pasatiempo Lane

(at Town & Country Village, corner of Fulton and Marconi, across from Trader Joe's)

Sacramento, CA 95821

916 489 4590

Come spend your Friday night lounging and laughing at Tobacco Road!

The "Comedians with Disabilities Act" at Bunjo's Comedy Lounge in Dublin, CA - 06/17/11!

This Friday night, June 17th, the Comedians with Disabilities Act will be rolling into Dublin, California to bring their "special" brand of comedy to Bunjo's Comedy Lounge.

All your CDA regulars will be hitting the stage: Eric Mee, he of the visual impairment; Steve Danner, he of the little personification; Nina G, she of the sharp (and stuttering) tongue; and Michael O'Connell, he of the four-wheelin' joke-dealin'.  They will be joined by special guest performer Sandy Selvi, an MS survivor, stem cell recipient, author, speaker, and hysterical comedienne. 

Bunjo's Comedy Lounge is located inside the Willow Tree Restaurant in Dublin (just minutes away from Pleasanton, Livermore, San Ramon, Fremont, Castro Valley and Hayward) and is fast becoming a major go-to spot for Northern California comedy, featuring performers from HBO, Comedy Central, Showtime, Jay Leno, David Letterman and More.  Food can be ordered from the restaurant before or during the show, featuring the Willow Tree's heralded Chinese cuisine. 

Bunjo's Comedy Lounge

@The Willow Tree Restaurant 

6513 Regional Street

Dublin, CA 94568

925-264-4413

The show begins at 7:30 PM.  Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the event or online at www.bunjoscomedy.com.

My 1-Hour Interview on Disabled Radio

I got a wee bit behind on my updating and didn't get around to telling y'all about my interview I did on the internet radio show "Disabled Radio".  Oops!  But don't fret.  You can still hear it.  And there's a LOT of it to hear.

I first met Disabled Radio host Rob Pritts when I called in to chat on the show where fellow Comedians with Disabilities Act member Nina G was the guest.  Rob asked that I come back and do the show myself, and I said I'd love to, and we set a date and made it happen.  I've done quite a few radio spots during my time in comedy, but about 20 minutes is the max I've done.  On this show?  A full hour, with just me.  Could I possibly talk about myself, comedy and disabilities for a full hour?

You've met me, right?

So Rob and I did the show, and it was a blast!  We talked about a whole range of subjects related to both comedy and disability, as well as my life in general.  We also got to interact with some cool folks via Disabled Radio's chat room, including my pal Martin who was catching the show live.  I was really pleased to be a part of something like Disabled Radio, which works as a fantastic venue to bring disabled people together and to educate the "abled" at the same time.  Big thanks again to Rob for having me on.  And we're talking about getting a show together with all four members of the Comedians with Disabilities Act soon, so looking forward to that quite a bit!

If you'd like to hear my appearance (the whole damned hour of it), just click here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/disabledradio/2011/05/19/enter-laughing

Davis gets schooled this Thursday night with "Comedy Binge"!

Davis is about to get a whole lot funnier.

This Thursday, April 14th, stand-up drops on Davis in a big way with the premiere of "Comedy Binge" at the Graduate, a new monthly showcase featuring some of Northern California's best comics.

Davis local comedian Cory Guebels, producer and host of Comedy Binge, has pulled together some of the best working comics from Sacramento, Stockton and Lodi to launch the endeavor.  The comics include Nick Aragon, Jason Armenio, Michael O'Connell, Josh Barbee, John Ross and Keith Lowell Jensen.

Noting the lack of stand-up in the city of Davis, Cory took it upon himself to change that.  As the title of the show suggests, instead of bringing in just a headliner and an opener, he wants to over-stuff the audience with multiple comedic courses, giving the crowd a  variety of styles to sample and a cross-section of what the NorCal scene has to offer.  The next show is already booked for May, with a new roster of exciting young comics ready to joke it up for the Graduate.

 

Doors will open at the Graduate at 8:00 PM, and the show starts at 8:30.  The cover charge at the door is $5.00.

The Graduate
805 Russell Blvd #A
Davis, CA 95616
530 758 4723

NOTE:  Comedy Binge comedians Jason Armenio and Michael O'Connell will be appearing the day of the show on the "Radio Parallax" program on KDVS 90.3 FM to promote the event.  The program runs from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM, and can be streamed live off the web here.

"Smokin' & Jokin'" comedy show at Tobacco Road on Friday, April 8th!

Like a good cigar with your punchlines?  Then this show was designed for you.  Seriously.  I was thinking of you when I designed it.  Honest.

Ramp Up Productions proudly presents Smokin' & Jokin', a night of cigars and comedians at Tobacco Road Cigar Lounge in Sacramento, Friday night, April 8th, from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM.  

The show will be hosted by comedian and cigar enthusiast (and not necessarily in that order) Michael O'Connell, and will feature the double-headlining talents of two of northern California's finest stand-ups, Keith Lowell Jensen and Sean Peabody.

Sean Peabody is a veteran of the stand-up circuit and has headlined comedy clubs and colleges all over the west, as well as shows for the troops overseas (Sean being an ex-Marine himself).  Known for his crowd interaction and extroverted style, Sean always leaves audiences dazzled, and is considered by many a California stand-up to be the "comedian's comedian". 

Keith Lowell Jensen gained fame as part of the "Coexist?" comedy tour and as a solo comic has played clubs from L.A. to New York, opening for some of the biggest names in the business (like Norm MacDonald and Robin Williams). He also directed and starred in the documentary film "Why Lie? I Need a Drink" and is set to release his second comedy CD.

Michael O'Connell is in a wheelchair and makes jokes about being in a wheelchair and therefore people laugh because they're afraid to hurt the feelings of a guy in a wheelchair.  In other words, everybody wins.

Tickets for Smokin' & Jokin' are $10 at the door, and those attending are encouraged to show up early, as seating is limited.  A couple of Tobacco Road notes:

This will be a smoky room, as audience members will be lighting up and smoking cigars and pipes.  It's recommended that only those who feel they're okay with sitting in a smoky room for a couple of hours attend this show.

Cigarette smoking is not allowed in the Tobacco Road lounge.  Cigar and pipe smoking only.  Cigarette smokers and can step outside to smoke and head back in at their discretion.

Bringing one's own cigars is not permitted, much in the same way bringing one's own bottle of vodka is not permitted at bars.  Tobacco Road has an enormous walk-in humidor with a vast range of cigars to suit any cigar fan's tastes, so you're sure to find just the right stogie (or two!) to suit you as you enjoy the show.

Tobacco Road is located at Town & Country Center at the corner of Fulton and Marconi in Sacramento, right across from the Trader Joe's.  The address is:

Tobacco Road
2912 Pasatiempo Ln
Sacramento, CA 95821
916 489 4590

 

Be sure to tell all your friends who enjoy cigars (and comedy), and we look forward to seeing you there!