Happy Halloween from Rooftop’s favorite elenauts Alex Koll, Chris Garcia, Louis Katz, and Sean Keane.

Posted: October 29th, 2010 under Ruminations, theorizations and stuff.
Comments: 54

Who said there are no romantic Halloween songs?

I will eat you alive

Posted: October 28th, 2010 under Ruminations, theorizations and stuff.
Comments: 14

We’re proud to announce the release of our first ever musical comedy album by comedy duo – Stuckey and Murray.

After ten years together and two full-length studio albums, the comedy-music duo is bringing a set of brand new original songs to the stage and recording them live for the first time ever.

Stuckey & Murray have over 20 million hits under their belt thanks to the viral music videos that spawned from their albums – Destination: Rock Bottom and Mythical Fornication (producer Dean Baltulonis – The Hold Steady).

The left-handed, NYC based comedy music duo made their network TV debut this summer as semi-finalists on NBC’s Last Comic Standing and they’re frequently played on Sirius’ Raw Dog radio. They’ve also appeared on MTV, VH-1, E!, FUSE and performed their live show at the Montreal Comedy Festival, All Points West, Virgin Music Fest, Edinburgh Fringe Fest and many other cities across America and Europe.

Accompanied by classically trained guest musicians, Stuckey & Murray Sing The Songs of Stuckey & Murray is the first full set of material from the group in front of a live audience that spotlights their expert musicianship and the hilarious camaraderie their fans have grown to love.

In conjunction with the album, Stuckey & Murray’s have released, “Awkard Sex,” their first ever animated music video.

“Stuckey & Murray Sing The Songs of Stuckey & Murray” is out now. You can buy the “Awkward Sex” single or the album in its entirety on iTunes.

Posted: October 27th, 2010 under Cool stuff from Rooftop Comedy, Press Releases.
Comments: 12

by Reid Faylor

Before I begin, I’d like to respond to some of the comments I got on last week’s blog, as I felt they were very encouraging:

“Good job guys ..” -Mikey Mouse.

Whoa! Thanks Mikey! And your website, a certain “factspenisenlargement.com” was really something, too. Thanks for your interest!

“This is one of the best credit restoration companies used by many around the world.” –Johnny Carter.

Mr. Carter! Wow! Thanks for reading, and thank you even more for the credit restoration company info!

Thanks for reading, guys!

Amber Preston, a wonderful Minneapolis comedian, stopped by for a visit this week. She was in town for some NACA auditioning and visit-making, so she slept on our air mattress with its Batman sheets. The sheets used to be mine. In college. I went to Minneapolis over the summer to do some shows and visit friends, and it felt strange to look at the New York scene from a Minneapolis perspective.

I went to two shows with Amber, representing in my mind the best and worst of the New York comedy scene. One was “Hot Soup”, a booked show put on by Matt Ruby, David Cope and others, and despite a small attendance at first, every comedian that went up put on a great show –some of the best comedians I’ve seen in New York, all together, making all sorts of sillies. It’s the kind of show that in many ways is unique to New York –intimate setting, great rising comedians having fun and trying out material, relaxed. It’s a show you strive to be on.

The other show was an open mic, in the middle of a day on a Saturday -45 comedians, two minutes apiece, no audience, long. Amber seemed to do fine with it, but remembering my time in Minneapolis with it’s friendly comedians, great shows, and welcoming atmosphere, I felt almost ashamed waiting through this mic and it’s uninviting tone and tough crowd. Having a fairly bad set didn’t improve my mood about it either.

I started comparing New York to the other cities I’ve done comedy in –San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Cincinnati. There seem to be some bigger highs, but the lows feel lower and more punishing. It’s a harder place to stand out in, and it constantly makes you prove yourself. This definitely makes you better, but the total absence of comfort in the scene (at least for now) makes it a far more difficult task. I definitely started to miss my home scene in Cincinnati.

That was Saturday. On Sunday? Worked all day to replace my roommate’s car battery (out of town, going to get ticket unless we moved it), got an unknown object hurled at my car by an infuriated New York driver for unknown reasons, and received a $130 ticket for holding my phone in my hand (Note: Not talking, not dialing, just holding). Needless to say, by the end of the weekend, I had a fairly horrible opinion of being in New York.

But last night, talking with another comedian who moved here three months ago, her horror stories made me feel better. Car towed, four tickets, phone stolen, rough entry into the scene. She recounted her first two months as miserable and essentially God-awful. In month three though? Optimistic, happy –at ease. It all takes time. I know this will get better, but until it does –ice cream, unemployment, and a plant I bought in depression (Vivian) will soften my woes.
Next week: I probably get depressed and buy more plants.

Finally –guest sentence! This comes from Amber Preston (Aspen Comedy Festival, poor vision): “Reid, I didn’t send you my guest sentence after even requesting one and being reminded by you twice. Oh no!”

Poor form Amber. Poor form.

Follow Reid on Twitter.

Posted: October 19th, 2010 under BIG CITY, LITTLE REID.
Comments: 77

Interview by Nathan Timmel.

Comedy is an interesting business of strangers. You cross paths with someone, become tight, good friends for a weekend, and then forget about them Monday morning as you head off to the next town. That encapsulates the relationship I had with Keith Alberstadt. I remembered meeting him, remembered liking and getting along with him and having a lot of fun, but for the life of me could not remember where all this occurred or when it happened.

When I called Keith to catch up and discuss his new CD, It’s Pronounced “Jenkins”, he was at a car wash in Tennessee, getting ready for a week at Zanies. Sadly, he couldn’t remember where we met, either.

NT: Let’s start with the title.

KA: It’s Pronounced “Jenkins” will make sense to anyone that sees my act or buys the CD, and I called it that because it’s indicative of my smart-ass personality.  The bit is: I called a customer service rep, and she was having problems with my name, so at one point I said, “It’s pronounced Jenkins.” She replied, “It says here Albert…” and I said, “Yes, I know it says Alberstadt, it’s pronounced Jenkins.” She bought it, and called me Mr. Jenkins for the rest of the conversation, which I found hilarious. It became a story that I used in my act, but honestly started out as a sort of throwaway when I first told it. It kept getting huge laughs, and ended up becoming a staple.

NT: How many shows did you record?

KA: We actually didn’t do a whole lot of editing; it was pretty much recorded in one night. I know a lot of comics like to splice together—I’m not going to throw any comics under the bus, because I’m guilty of doing the same thing in the past, where you take a bunch of shows and splice together bits from different nights—but this time I just picked one night, one show, and just ran with it. Didn’t do a whole lot of editing at all.

One thing I’m really happy about with this CD is the military tracks. I was able to record my shows overseas, I think it was in 2007, and we were able to use the footage. Not all of it, of course, but snippets. One from a show at Doha, Qatar, two from Iraq, and one from an aircraft carrier, where we did a show for the sailors. It’s military specific material, from that environment, so anyone in uniform is gonna get it. Civilians probably aren’t, but that’s what makes this CD unique, those four bonus tracks, for the people in uniform. It was from my third tour to the Middle East.

NT: So by that time you had learned some of the military lingo, and were sort of planning ahead by brining the camera and recording the shows, because you could do jokes specific to that crowd and knew it was a special event to be participating in.

KA: Absolutely. That’s exactly what happened. I knew I would have another CD coming out, and I wanted something to make it special. I went out and did my research and got a quality hand-held recorder from a guitar shop and just recorded everything.

NT: You said you wanted to make this one special; what number CD is this for you?

KA: This is my third CD. My first one was in 2003, it’s not available anymore, and the second, One Night Stand was in 2004. As you can imagine there was a lot of overlap between the two. This third one, “It’s Pronounced Jenkins,” is completely new and different, so I’m keeping One Night Stand in print so people can buy both and not bitch about hearing the same jokes. [Laughs]

NT: You sort of hit on my next question; I was going to ask how long it took you to come up with the material for this disc, but if the last one was 2004, are we looking at six years of writing and honing bits to perfection?

KA: For the most part, yeah. I’d say 90% yeah. But there’s always a joke or two that comes out that isn’t as crisp as it will be a year from now, but when you’re having fun with the moment, you keep it genuine.

NT: So, here’s the tough one: describe your comedy to someone who’s never heard you? Are you an observationist, a storyteller… what sparks your creativity? What compels you to write or be original?

KA: I’m pretty much a mix. I observe weird and quirky things my friends say to me, and use them in personal stories. I talk about my mom having cancer…

NT: Always a funny topic.

KA: [Laughs] Well, I talk about how you have to laugh at life, and that tomorrow is never guaranteed. It’s not a topic that people like to laugh at, but it open things up, and engages people… [pauses].

NT: It’s honest, and from the heart.

KA: Yes, but it’s also me. It’s me being a smart ass in the face of something that’s not supposed to be funny. Like a story I tell about when my mom had a black eye. She slipped she slipped and fell, and was skipping Mass because she was embarrassed. I told her she should go to Mass, and when people turn to one another to exchange a peace offering: “When dad turns to you, flinch like he’s gonna hit you again.” It’s a funny way of looking at a bad situation, and people can appreciate that in light of something so tragic, its good to have a sense of humor about it. And she’s beating it, the cancer, so there’s a very positive ending to all that.

But I’m getting off track here; to answer your original question, my style of comedy is pure, genuine smartass. It’s not antagonistic, it’s a “guy next door” sort of… [pauses]. It’s a smartass with a mischievous grin attached to it, not bare-knuckled aggression.

NT: Going back to cancer, were you aware with how Robert Schimmel dealt with it? He did a whole segment at the end of his act where he wasn’t telling jokes, he would talk about his experience in very open and honest terms.

KA: I’m very familiar with that. He would give people hope, and that’s what makes people appreciative of what we do. You let that wall down, you open yourself up a little bit, and you let them see beyond the stage. I think people walk away with that with good feelings, having seen someone allow themselves to become vulnerable.

It’s Pronounced “Jenkins” is available at itunes, on Amazon.com, and in our very own Rooftop store.

Posted: October 18th, 2010 under Interview, News'n'stuff.
Comments: 59

Interview by Nathan Timmel

Speaking with Joel Fry is like drinking a shot of 5-Hour Energy; his enthusiasm is infectious. Relentlessly positive, his upbeat attitude lets you believe the impossible is possible, even if that task is setting about creating a relevant Comedy Festival in Iowa.

Joel is a founding member of Cornstar Comedy, and the idea Des Moines could host a Comedy Festival first entered his brain three years ago. Since that moment, Joel has spent his time planning, planning, and planning some more.

This weekend, all his hard work will come to fruition as the first ever The Iowa Comedy Festival launches.

Rooftop Comedy is partnering with the festival to attempt to showcase quality comedy in the Midwest; Rooftop favorite and Iowa resident Nathan Timmel gave Joel a call to discuss everything under the sun festival related.

NT: A little background first; tell me about Cornstar Comedy.

JF: I’m the chief booking coordinator for Cornstar Comedy, and it’s an agency that works exclusively with Iowa comedians, booking shows in Iowa venues; bars, nightclubs, hotels or what have you. We want to create a better infrastructure for comedy here in Iowa. We primarily focus on small towns, because there’s usually nothing going on there. We become the biggest event of the night by default, and usually we get incredible crowds. These people aren’t likely to make it to a comedy club, so we bring a professional show to them. The audiences are loyal, they appreciate it, we get a ton of return business because of it, and I think that’s something that inspires local comics. They see the response, and think, “Hey, maybe comedy is something that’s viable here in Iowa if I work really hard.”

NT: Who dreamed up the idea of an Iowa Comedy Festival?

JF: The Iowa Comedy Festival as an idea probably started about three years ago with a friend of mine, Greg. At the time, we had a couple open mic shows in town, and some sketch groups, and an improv troop. All these shows were all on different nights, and different weeks. Greg wanted to combine all the entertainment Des Moines had to offer and do some shows at a local theater. Instead of different shows on different weeks, everything would be strung together over the course of one week.

NT: Is that legal, combining sketch comedy, improv and stand-up comedy?

JF: [Laughs] Well, that’s what happened next. About two years ago my friend Jared and I had a different idea of what creating a festival would entail; we wanted to have it showcase stand-up comedy. Jared and I used to run an open microphone, and it was a lot of fun, but it made me realize that in Iowa, stand-up comedy isn’t seen as a really viable form of mainstream entertainment. And I think that’s too bad. I think there are a fair amount of really funny comedians in Des Moines, and in Iowa in general, that just fly under the radar. So what we wanted to do was have a “crown jewel” event, sort of a coming out party for stand-up in our state.

NT: What’s the comic response been like?

JF: At first the festival was going to be a very small thing; two, three days, maybe bring in a big headliner. But then interest from around the Midwest just swelled and we started adding venues and showcases. People were contacting us from Chicago, Omaha, Minneapolis, Kansas City… suddenly we had a four-day event with seven shows at five venues and over fifty comedians involved. It’s turned into something that’s really fun to work on.

Nationwide, we’ve gotten a great response from the East Coast. A little from LA, but the East Coast has looked at this with great anticipation. We got our Rooftop page just a few days ago, and in just those few days it’s gone crazy, expanding our profile and creating a great amount of interest across the country.

NT: How did Rooftop get involved with the festival?

JF: Rooftop has been incredibly cool. Obviously Rooftop is very supportive of comedy, it’s basically an on line comedy club, and I initially contacted them. Jenn is my contact there, and she had so many ideas, and she saw so much more potential in this than I initially did. I mean, I was coming into this as a neophyte, [Joel adopts an over-excited, silly voice] “Hey! I got a couple of shows I want to put together and call a festival!” But she saw it and said, “We can do this, this, and this for you, and we can make this legitimate and get a lot of people exited in it,” and that’s been just great.

NT: Have you studied any other festivals to see where they went right or wrong?

JF: I’ve been kind of looking at the model Rooftop has used for the Aspen Comedy Festival, and I’ve been talking to people at Punchline Magazine and comedy.com, I’ve kind of just been picking their brains. They’re people that have been involved with comedy for years and years, and though they may not necessarily be putting together festivals, they know the business and I wanted to find out if this was something they thought was sustainable. Everyone has given me a lot of positive feedback, and they’ve given me some amazing tips and ideas on how to manage your own business. And that’s how I need to look at this: as a business. If that’s how I approach it, that’s the best way for this to be not the only Iowa Comedy Festival. I do want this to be a big, sexy event, but it’s a foundation year, and I want it to run for many, many years to come.

NT: You’re using Des Moines as a base; is that because it’s where you live, or because it’s the largest city in Iowa? I ask because Iowa City and Ames are college towns; any thought to putting it in either of them?

JF: Well, it’s a series of things. It is the largest city, it is the state capital, and outside of Iowa it’s probably the most known city we have. It’s also got a great central location for a half-dozen comedy scenes around the Midwest, all within driving distance. And, since Des Moines is the largest city, it offers the best sheer quantity of venues. We’ve had many venues jump on board and support the local comedy scene here.

NT: Yet I don’t see the only comedy club in Des Moines listed as a sponsor.

JF: The Funny Bone hasn’t really embraced the local scene, which is why the guys in the area have rallied around each other in the past few years and created their own network. The Funny Bone closed down for a little while [when they changed locations] in 2006, and they really didn’t have a consistent open mic or promote a Des Moines scene for a while before that, so the guys created their own open mics. They started booking each other in shows all around Des Moines, and then all around the state of Iowa. Now there are three open mics around the city, none of which are affiliated in any way with The Funny Bone, and even though The Bone is very aware of the comedy festival, they haven’t been very committal as far as wanting to be a part of this. Danny Franks at Penguins comedy club, on the other hand, jumped on board and will be putting an all-Iowa lineup on their stage the week of the festival, and I think that’s a huge step forward for Iowa comedy.

NT: Has the process been more or less of a hassle than you expected?

JF: Well, it’s a lot of work. [Laughs] Since its grown larger than I first anticipated, I’ve had to take on a lot more responsibilities and do more planning. I’ve had to talk to ticket distributors… I’ve been signing a lot of papers, that’s for sure. [Laughs] Contracts with venues, contracts with ticket mangers, contracts with performers and comedians… On top of that I have to wrangle up sponsors, maintain an online presence via Twitter, Facebook, our website, our newsletter… all of that goes together. I feel if we stay viral, that’s where we’re gonna get the most interest, when we stay in people’s collective consciousness.

After that comes the glad handling, the schmoozing, all of the stuff that goes on behind the scenes, getting people to outbid one another, that we can get the most money and then offer the customer the best product and the best comedy because we’ll have the funding for it. It’s definitely more business than I thought it would be, but it’s something I’ve grown to embrace, because I’ve learned so much; planning this has taught me so much.

NT: Jake Johansen is closing out the Festival; was it easy to approach him about being a part of everything?

[Note: Joel got very enthused with the mention of Jake Johansen; his speech sped up to near incoherent levels as he struggled to contain his happiness]

JF: I’ve wanted to work with Jake for a long time, but never had any means to, and when we decided to bring a big name headliner in to give this thing a face, he was the first guy that jumped to mind. We had a few other comics with and without Iowa ties we could have used, but he is the best Iowa based stand-up comic working today. I sent him a personal message, he forwarded it to his management, Paradigm Entertainment, who is just awesome; they’re the best management group I’ve ever worked with. They immediately got in touch with me, we got the ball rolling, they set a price; we said, “Sure.” It was actually a little less than I anticipated, which was great, they told me Jake actively wanted to be a part of this, that he was a fan and was actively interested in being involved and was pumped, and that really helped grease the wheels there, because they wanted to get a deal done, and obviously so did we, and it, it was just very smooth. All we did was sign a contract, give them a deposit, and now he’s coming to Iowa, and he’s gonna be the face of the Iowa Comedy Festival, and he’s gonna be closing the damn thing out.

NT: Comedy contests are notoriously subjective; crowd-pleasing material that you’ve heard before from other comics and seen on the Internet does very well. Are you doing anything to keep it a little more original or honest?

JF: The thing I’ve heard about comedy contests, and I love this quote: “In comedy contests there are three people who had a great time, and loved the event, and seven people who don’t think something as subjective as comedy should be judged by a panel.”

What we do, is in the preliminary rounds, we have an audience vote. Now, I hate, I hate with a passion audience votes, because I’ve been in contests like that before, and they suck. So what we did is: you have to pick three comics for the evening. If you’re there to see someone specific… [pauses] I think its great people are coming out to support their friends, and that comics are getting people in the door, but you can’t just vote for your friend. You have to pick three people, and if you pick two or one, your vote gets thrown out and you didn’t end up helping your friend at all. We did this last year and it worked out pretty darn well. The people that deserved to make it to the finals, made it to the finals.

For the finals, it is not an audience vote. We’re going to have a panel of five, and the panel will be all comedy professionals. We have Comedy Productions lined up, which is the largest comedy booking agency in the Midwest, and The Entertainment Group. We’ll have three other booking agents involved, and these are people are professionals who work with comedians all over the Midwest and they will know if anyone is hacking material. We’re going to have those people in there so that the true talent gets picked.

Visit the Iowa Comedy Festival website for complete schedule and ticket information.

Watch clips from ICF performers on our ICF events page.

Posted: October 14th, 2010 under Ruminations, theorizations and stuff.
Comments: 84

Why does it seem like geeks and nerds always get involved in a lot of unnecessary drama? Remember that movie, “The Pirates of Silicon Valley,” the one about how Microsoft and Apple came be? Lots of nerdy drama. And you think, “Hey, nerds, come on. You guys should be fighting together to get super popular and rich in order to beat the nerd-haters.” But no. That doesn’t happen. And that film and “The Social Network” are great reminders of one thing everyone should know: nerds are vicious assholes who you really don’t want to mess with.

Jesse Eisenberg moves away from the awkward-teen phase and into pure ballsack territory, playing Mark Zuckerberg as a nerd hellbent on being popular and liked, but doing it in the worse ways, like alienating anyone and everyone around him. One night, after being a complete douche to his girlfriend, Zuckerberg goes back to his Harvard dorm, blogs mean things about her, then comes up with a way to hack the Harvard facebooks (websites with the photos of people who live in the individual dorms) and make it to where people can compare the looks of their female classmates. The website is so popular that it gets Zuckerberg in a lot of trouble, makes all the women on campus hates him, but attracts the attention of three men who have an idea for Harvard Connection, a website for Harvard students to go online and, well, it’s just like Facebook.

Which is where Zuckerberg gets the idea for Facebook. He asks his one and only friend, Eduardo Saverin (who is playing the new Spider Man) for start up cash, and they start creating Facebook together. Then, the Harvard Connection guys get super pissed and then Zuckerberg starts to push Spider Man out of the website all together and drama, drama, drama.

The film is actually incredibly entertaining and engaging. It is great to see Eisenberg finally become something more than a stereotype, something Michael Cera has yet to do (and I have no clue how he will do it.) Justin Timberlake (or JT as I like to call him) is really good in the film, playing Sean Parker, the inventor of Napster who comes in and gets Facebook millions and millions of dollars. He is what drives the wedge in between Zuckerberg and Spider Man. Who knew JT had the acting chops?

David Fincher did. Fincher’s a brilliant director and shows it off here. The guy just knows how to move a film, between the pacing and cinematography, you never once look at your watch and sigh in horror at the amount of time left.

It is a fast film, but it has a lot in it. Is this the film of our generation as many have called it? I don’t know. But it is interesting to see the exact moment when, literally, everyone’s lives changed. Do you remember when Facebook wasn’t around? What the hell did we do on the internet? Just look at porn? Probably. I mean, I didn’t. I was reading the, um, Wall Street Journal. So this film defines when our lives truly changed. How many times do you check Facebook a day? Less than 10? I doubt it. It’s probably on your phone, also. Which means, you are always connected to it. It is who we are now.

And we have a nerd hellbent on being liked to thank for that. See, high school bullies and jocks, do not fuck with the nerds.

Connect with Rooftop Comedy on Facebook.

Posted: October 13th, 2010 under Ruminations, theorizations and stuff.
Comments: 10

by Reid Faylor

You know that one Beatles song? The one about how it, gradually, over time, continues to get better? I think it’s called “Back in the USSR.” Things have been like that song.

I came back last Monday from a trip to Fort Wayne (Indiana!), this time returning with possessions (yes!) and my parents in tow. We spent a day fixing up the apartment, building shelves, hanging window blinds and such, and decided to see the Punchline Magazine 5th anniversary show. While taking the subway out to Comix, my parents commented and how adapted I was already –I could use the metro card with ease, find my way around, ignore the homeless like they weren’t even people (well, I mean … ). I suppose I hadn’t really thought of it, but I do indeed feel comfortable here –it’s not foreign or alien, it’s normal.

Being away from the scene for even a week was strange. It took a bit to get back into the flow, to start getting to the mics on time and jump back into the schedule. When I saw some of the other comics, they had thought I had gone back permanently. After a week. Or maybe it was just one comic. Who I hadn’t seen in a few weeks. But that gives you an idea of the commitment of the comedians here: even a week off is equivalent to disappearing.

I’ve been talking to a lot of comics who also recently made the Ohio-New York transition, and it keeps coming up: it’s strange performing for only comics. A lot of people question whether it’s even worth it, if progress can be made without an audience. On one hand, I haven’t really polished a lot of new material, mostly from the incapability to get a good “reid” (ha! That’s my name) on a joke, getting only worn and bitter comedian reactions. Yet, conversely, all the stage time has gotten me a lot more comfortable, and I’m beginning to find more and more how I like to interact on stage –my mannerisms, method of speaking, timing. Also, it takes going through shows like this to get to booked shows with real audience members, so it’s not all this way. It’s a process. It can definitely bruise the ego, but I feel like progress is being made, if nothing more than getting comfortable with the occasional silence.

Highlight of the week: performing at a youth hostel for drunk, vociferous, and belligerent Canadians, and informing one such Canuck with a lip-ful of Skoal and sunglasses that his real problem was that “your mother threw away the baby and raised the afterbirth.” It’s actually a compliment, as I explained, because if he were a person –he’d be a terrible person. But for a living sack of uterus blood and placenta –not too bad.

Ah. Truly, there are reasons to keep with this.

Follow Reid on Twitter.

Posted: October 12th, 2010 under BIG CITY, LITTLE REID.
Comments: 30

I met Robert Schimmel by happy happenchance. I was booked to middle for him at the Chicago Improv, and because Robert was a fearless man, the date stuck. I say that because more often than not, when a big name comedian performs, they use an opening act they are familiar with. Sometimes this is done as a kindness to friends; often it’s because they want to make sure the person in front of them is good enough to get a few laughs without showing them up. Robert didn’t play such games. He was confident in his abilities, and knew he could follow anyone in front of him.

Robert was going through some tough times when we met; he had just discovered his wife’s infidelity, she had filed for divorce, and he’d been both arrested and gossiped about on TMZ after his wife filed assault charges (falsely) against him. Robert talked about these problems on stage in front of hundreds of people as easily as if he were having a one-on-one conversation. Unfortunately, at times like that, the stage can be like a drug. For a moment you are the most important thing in the world, but when the show ends the crash comes harshly. People go home with their wives or girlfriends, and you go back to your hotel and stare at the walls, thinking about your problems.

During that weekend in Chicago, Robert and I went out to eat after the Friday performances. Afterward, I drove him back to his hotel. I got out to help him with a bag, and the conversation we had been having continued. Despite all he was going through, Robert was focusing on the positives in life: his children. He spoke of them with warmth in his voice and love shining through in his eyes. Forty minutes later, I realized we had been standing in the parking lot, my car running the whole time. I turned it off, and we went into the lobby. We didn’t part ways until 4:30 a.m.

After that weekend, Robert would call me from time to time, checking in to see if I could work with him here or there. Sometimes I was able to; sadly I had to turn many of the weeks down, as I was already booked. Today, I wish I had spent more time with him.

I was in Iraq when the news hit the wire services: Robert had been in a car accident and was in critical condition. He passed on September 3rd. To have survived cancer and then taken out by a random event seemed too cruel for such a good person.

I recently discovered the charity Help Bob’s Kids, created for his children. When I found the website, I was heartbroken, but not surprised. I knew how much the divorce had cost him, how he had lost work over the assault scandal (which found everything ending in his favor, as he was the furthest thing from an abusive or angry person you could find; Robert was a gentle soul), and how hard he needed to work to remain solvent every month.

Charity and compassion are two of the greatest acts we can bestow upon others. This is trite, but important to point out: anything you can give to another makes a difference. Even if all you have to offer is one dollar, should ten thousand other people offer but a dollar, $10,000 is raised.

Give what you can, for any reason you choose: for karma, in the hope that someday you’ll be helped when in need, or because generosity simply feels good.

One of the most striking things Robert said to me was something you hear from many cancer survivors: “I’m blessed to have had the experience.” Though it left his body ravaged, survival was Robert’s opportunity to celebrate life, and he took nothing for granted.

He will be missed for many years to come.

Help Bob’s Kids

http://helpbob.wordpress.com/

Posted: October 12th, 2010 under Ruminations, theorizations and stuff.
Comments: 1

by Bryan Safi, writer for infoMania and host of “That’s Gay.”

On Thursday, October 7th, I’m debuting a That’s Gay Live show at the Out Loud Comedy Festival in San Francisco! But enough about me and how you should buy tickets to come see me here.

Another performer at the festival is none other than RuPaul’s Drag U. star and world-famous drag artiste Lady Bunny! Lady Bunny and I had a very intimate conversation via email about a makeover-crazed America, why Martin Lawrence is scary, and, of course, “no homo.”

Q: Lady Bunny! What are you planning to do at the Out Loud Comedy Festival? And what else are you working on right now?
A: With the Castro Theater’s giant film screen as a back-drop, I’m premiering a song parody of Katy Perry’s “California.” It’s the first time I’ve ever produced a video project and thanks to my co-stars and fab crew, I am thrilled at how rotten (in a good way) it turned out. I’ve always admired queens like Varla who incorporate video into their act–I’ve just never gotten it together until now. I’ve also been working on some stand-up comedy and will throw in a little of that.

Q: I loved watching you as a judge on Drag U. Is RuPaul every bit as amazing as I hope?
A: Ru is my drag mother and roommate from Atlanta, Georgia in the early 1980s. We also lived together in NYC for several years. So while we’re close and can always pick up where we left off, it wasn’t until we appeared together in Starrbooty and Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild that we reconnected since he’s mainly been living in LA. We share a demented sense of humor.

Q: Did you have a favorite guest judge?
A: I truly liked all of them but really connected with Mia Tyler and Kelly Osbourne. But I was in total awe of Chaka Khan. Rags To Rufus was the first album I ever bought! She’s one of the world’s greatest singers in my book.

Q: I’ve talked before about the “gay best friend” and how oftentimes, women see gay men as accessories and go to them for help. Now, Drag U was about transforming ordinary women into extraordinary drag queens. Are you afraid that women on the streets may attack you for guidance now?
A: America is make-over crazy. And especially since Queer Eye [for the Straight Guy], there is a perception that gay men or drag queens can transform anyone with their helpful hints. And do you know why we have such a knack for correcting figure flaws, hairstyles, flattering clothing, and body language? Because straights can be evil and if we don’t learn how not to swish and what not to wear, straights may beat us up or even kill us. So the message I’d like to send to these makeover crazy women is that if you value us and our tips, then value our lives and teach your sons and husbands not to beat and murder us. Because you bitches can’t get any more tips from a dead gay.

Q: Who are you loving in the media right now? Who are you hating?
A: I am loving Michael Moore, Senator Alan Grayson, Rachel Maddow, and Keith Olbermann for having the balls to keep the truth out there. I’m hating all of the housewives from all the Bravo shows. Last time I checked, housewives cooked, did laundry, and raised their kids. Not like these horrors.

Q: It seems like the only images we get about female impersonation are from RuPaul’s Drag Race and Drag U. Who or what inspired you to get into this line of work?
A: I was enthralled by drag queens I saw at a young age in bars in Chattanooga, Tennessee where I grew up. Except for TV and film, I’d never seen women–much less men–wearing sequinned gowns, huge hair and false eyelashes before. My mom was attractive, but no definitely no glamorpuss.

Q: Rate these queens on a scale of 1-10. Tyler Perry’s Madea —
A: Zero. I’ve never seen it or had any desire to.

Q: Two — Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie?
A: I thought it was pitiful that they worked in a love scene with Dustin and Jessica Lange. Totally unbelievable that they’d be in bed and she wouldn’t notice his stubble.

Q: Three — Martin Lawrence in Big Momma’s House?
A: Zero. Wouldn’t see it. I find Martin Lawrence very scary for some reason, although he was funny when he did that drag character with the very long nails.

Q: Four — Nathan Lane in The Birdcage?
A: Zero. He ruined the role by playing it as a clown. In the original film, the queen may have been older and not so attractive, but she was still regal so you feared her tantrums and catered to your whims. Nathan killed all of that with his slapstick take on the character.

Q: Is there anything on TV or in film that you feel really gets it right when it comes to portrayals of gays and gayness?
A: The maid in The Birdcage was a riot–and he was straight! But drag is often misrepresented, as is transsexualism. I still can’t get over how absurd it was to have Terence Stamp, with a full beard visible, play a post-op transsexual in Priscilla. News flash! You get electrolysis before the chop! However, I did think Felicity Huffman did a great job as an awkward pre-op in Transamerica.

Q: My show at Out Loud is about the State of the (Super Gay) Union – a look at how we’ve been portrayed in the past year. What’s something you’d want to change about the state of gays right now?
A: While I support equal rights for all, I can’t understand why gays would want to serve in the military now. We should never have gone to Iraq and Afghanistan is a never-ending, mismanaged quagmire. How does anyone look at that and think “Where do I sign up?” As an oppressed people, gays shouldn’t want to join a military force which oppresses others. I agree that they should have the right to serve if they want it, I just can’t see why they do.

Q: How often do you use the phrase “no homo?”
A: Never.

Get tickets to the first ever live version of Bryan’s segment on Thursday, October 7 and tickets to see The Drag Queens of Comedy on Saturday, October 9th at San Francisco’s Out Loud Comedy Festival.

Posted: October 6th, 2010 under Interview, OUTLOUD.
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