It would have John Lennon’s 70th birthday on Saturday, October 9th. People around the world will pay tribute. Sing. Listen. Read. Reflect. Such is the power of his music and message.

Thank you, John:

For creating tunes that have transcended time – that still resonates with kids today. Turning them onto the power of a verse.

For making it cool to ‘lie in bed’.

And, in a time of collapsed Mideast peace talks, and unrest in Afghanistan and Iraq… For reminding us of the need – to ‘give peace a chance’.

John Lennon may be gone. But, in some ways – he’s more alive than ever.

You just have to imagine.

Check out the scene THIS week – and you’ll likely read about Vancouver’s LARGEST comedy competition. It’s the People’s Champ Comedy Competition – the largest and grandest comedy contest ever to grace the shores of this fine city. That is: It’s a search for this year’s Vancouver Comedy Champ.

There are all sorts of hot, up-and-coming Comics. It changes monthly, weekly, by the minute – which is what makes a contest fun and unpredictable. A pro might bomb on any given night – with a newbie managing to harness the room’s electrons, align them all pretty-like and snag top spot. Yes, anything can happen, folks (and, by the way, where you folks all from)?

Okay, here are the goods:

The PEOPLE’S CHAMP 2010
A grand-sweeping display of local talent happening at four weekly venues across town for a total of nine weeks. Sixty comedians are performing. Yes, Vancouver has 60 comics – wait – even more than 60. Some are still abiding by parole conditions, therefore unable to take part.

VENUES:
Tuesdays: Darby’s Pub (2001 MacDonald & 4th)
Wednesdays: Sin Bin (295 West 2nd)
Thursdays: Kingston Taphouse and Grille (755 Richards)
Sundays: The Cobalt (917 Main)

Admission price? It’s only $5.00 per ticket (the price of two sub-standard coffees at a fast food joint, or three goats and a lama for a small, sub-Saharan village). What I’m saying is: It’s a deal. And, what does the winner receive? Fame and fortune – plus, a much needed $2,000.00. And, it’s all about community. You like? You laugh? Then, you vote. The audience decides via a Single Transferable Voting system that only Al Gore could love. For more details, go to Facebook and punch in ‘People’s Champ Comedy Competition’.

Patrick Maliha: People's Champ organizer, underworld leather-broker.

The event is organized by local funny man, Patrick Maliha, just fresh from a taping of Comedy NOW in Toronto! Plus, SHORE 104 Producer, Art Factora, a radio type and local comedian has decided to throw his hat and pride in the ring to take part. These two guys are brilliantly funny – and, that’s enough reason to attend.

Art Factora: SHORE 104 Producer, wheat farmer prodigy.

...not to be confused with this dude.

So join SHORE 104 in supporting local comedy. The contest runs every week with preliminaries, quarterfinals, and semifinals (kind of like the World Cup, but without the whining and writhing). The finals take place August 22nd – when the People’s Champ is crowned.

Note: Morning Show Co-Host and local Comedian, Colleen Brow, (author of these posts) would love to take part. But, Morning Shows are EARLY – as in 3:45 a.m. wake-up calls. Comedy clubs and morning shows do NOT mix. But, I’ll cheer from the sidelines.

I feel honoured that SHORE 104 is sponsoring and supporting this event. We’re all about nurturing local talent – musically and comically.

That’s my time, folks.

~

Which is why we recently invited 20 Vancouver Comics to our SHORE studio. They graciously accepted our offer (bribe) to indulge in two of a Comic’s favourite food groups (beer and pizza). They also agreed to unleash some of their material before our video camera. The result? A creative mosh pit of wit, sarcasm, and free-range energy (think UFC – but, for the mind).

(Damonde Tschritter. Comedic Storyteller extraordinaire)

In other words: They ate. They drank. They joked. As for us? We laughed. We filmed (okay, we ate and drank too – just to keep them company). Next step (after we return the empties to buy more sound equipment) is to create a Sounds of Summer collection of their work for your viewing and listening pleasure.

Here’s what we’ve got in store: Starting July – you’ll be able to visit this site and find a photo, bio, and video clip of each comedian. Visit our comedy blog when you need a laugh, want to hire a comedian, or just check on an upcoming show. You’ll be amazed at the varying styles – manic to dry, naughty to pristine, observational to downright bizarre. It’s all art. It’s all funny.

(Dr. Russ Kennedy. He’ll make you split a gut – then stitch it up)

What else are we doing? Throughout the summer, SHORE 104 will play clips from a different Comedian each day at 8:35 a.m. as part of our Comedy Kick. Oh, we’ll still be playing your old-time faves such as George Carlin, Russell Peters, and Richard Pryor. But, we’ll throw our local Comics in the mix. Because, we think it’s nice to discover new, fresh talent right in our own backyard. We’ve done it with music – we’re ready to do it with comedy. So, keep checking back.

Art – it’s a SHORE thing. No joke.

Doing stand-up comedy challenges your emotional homeostasis. It allows you to cut your teeth, okay sometimes on your own skin, but, it’s also given me more laughter and memories than I could ever imagine. I’m sure most comedians can say the same. Each has his/her stories. To give readers a taste of stand-up from the inside, I share one of my most memorable comedy shows.

AJ’s Comedy Tavern, Las Vegas, 2009: Kenny Chesney wails from the juke box in a place where secondhand smoke goes to die (along with broken dreams, and battle-weary livers). There is no audience. Just a line of aged men, bereft of a future or even plans…like…say, tomorrow? Ashtray and drink are in place as they sink their gaze into a vortex of spinning fruit.

Okay, I’m nervous. Out of my element. The show’s producer turns off the music. The comics assemble into a faux audience. There is no flicker of acknowledgement from the patrons. I realize that, other than one employee, I’m the only woman in this bar. I’m also the only person in the history of AJ’s Tavern to ask for a Pinot Blanc. There is no Pinot Blanc.

We begin. The comics are filthy. Some are funny. Every six minutes, a drunken patron staggers across the room and plugs in the jukebox. Reba fills the air. The MC stomps across the floor and yanks out the cord in a fit of fury. This in/out dance proceeds during the entire evening. After the show, this patron will be beaten up by a large, heavily tattooed bartender. This bartender is six-months pregnant.

I do my comedy set as another inebriated man dance/fondles himself in the front row. Fellow comics laugh, applaud (at my jokes). I close on a decently solid punchline after a twelve-minute set. Trepidation has turned into giddy satisfaction. It’s not about the set. It’s about feeling wildly uncomfortable, being so out of my element…and, yet, staying with it. Doing my best…when every minute seemed like an eternity. This is what I did.

Post-set, I knock back five whiskeys, shoot some pool, break a cue over an extreme fighter’s head and leave … okay, this is what I felt like doing (hey, a gal’s gotta fit in).

~

Intelligent commentary. Music that surfs the soul – nestling in faraway places.

Canwest music critics from across the country have each selected their favourite album of the decade. Better yet, they explain why.

From the healing elixir of Patty Griffin’s melancholic vibes to the film noir romanticism of Tom Waits – the chosen discs are lush, dark and brooding.

Surprisingly, many are Canadian: Metric, Broken Social Scene, Arcade Fire. All this alongside such epic American songsters as Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash.

Google Canwest’s Favourite Albums of the Decade.

Reconfigure your inner revolution.

(Poetic. Melancholic. Patti Griffin. A regular on the SHORE’S playlist)

~

Way back, a Bachelor’s Degree and a further two-year specialization in Broadcast Journalism landed me at CKNW Radio, Western Canada’s top newsroom in the 90’s. I thrived and learned from the pros. It was almost two years, before I took my first lunch break.

Sure, we covered regional and national news. But, we also focused on world events. Some of my most memorable journalistic moments: Covering F.W. de Klerk’s release of Nelson Mandela; the subsequent rise of the ANC; the tearing down of the Berlin Wall; the execution of Romania’s Socialist Dictator, Ceausescu; the American invasion of Panama – along with a secret interview with an escaped hostage hiding in Panama City after Panamanian Troops seized a busload of American tourists.

From there – I hosted a variety of television interview shows on business, health, and the arts. A far cry from my hard news roots.

And, then, five years ago: Stand-up Comedy. A chance to scribble about human quirks and oddities as opposed to shootings and politics. Stand-up pushed the boundaries of my creative mind. Finally, I could harness those immature brain meanderings and craft them into something productive. But, this time, I was the topic. Nobody laughs, claps, or groans when you read the news. But, stand on a stage – your soul stripped bare. The reaction is immediate. The taste, not unlike gun metal. Stand-up changed my life in so many ways.

Wait a second – why not combine all of the above?

Result: My newest career – Co-Host and News Anchor for the Morning Show at SHORE 104 Radio in Vancouver. Find it on the dial at 104.3 FM or listen online at www.shore104.com. I’m honored to sit alongside the warm, yet oh so cool, Steve Dunbar (not to mention THE most dedicated and talented team of co-workers I’ve ever encountered). SHORE 104 is a bright, new station for educated listeners. No classic rock, golden oldies or rehashing of the familiar. Its mission: The art of music – specifically Roots, Rock, & Rhythm. A celebration of the iconic singer/songwriter. The new. The undiscovered.

I promise you, the tunes will lay down fresh pathways in your cerebral cortex.

It’s the unfamiliar that makes life challenging.
In music.
And, life.

Thanks for tuning in.

~