One of the joys, if not the biggest joy of this job is getting to hang out with some of my heroes and idols.  The performane aspect is what I strive to get right, but the sense of being a part of the comedy community is the real payoff, at least for me.  Each weekend I am out working somewhere, I try to have at least one moment where I am completely aware of just how lucky I am to be doing this.  Sometimes that moment is a lot easier to come by than others.  It is extremely easy to have thousands of those moments when I am working with someone who absolutely hilarious and live under the rock.  The first guy is just one of those guys…

Eddie Gossling -  here is a guy that will make you laugh your ass off every show, all weekend long.  I do not care if you are one of the most jaded comedy fans under the sun, I dare you to try not to laugh at Eddie.  He is currently working on the Comedy Central show Tosh.0 and so far, so great.  Here’s his website that has all kinds of goodness on it.  He’s got a bunch of clips up at rooftopcomedy.com.  I have had the pleasure of working with Eddie and the one of the many things you can gleem from his act is that no show, no audience is below getting some damned great comedy.  It is only a matter of time before he has a place in the mainstream eye and I am convinced that his already substantial career has only gotten started.

Mike MacRae -  is the pre-eminent impressionist of our time, my time I think anyways.  There are a few other people out there doing impressions, but my generation has one guy who has been doing unique impressions long before other people jump on certain character bandwagons and its Mike.  He ranges all the way from the most unique interactions between Ozzy Osbourne and Peter O’Toole ordering a pizza to a magical journey of Fox News characters.  Trust me when I say that nobody is doing this kind of stuff.  Throw on top of all this that he is a hell of a guy and damned good joke writer even when impressions are not involved.  He has the best Roe v. Wade joke you will ever hear…period.  The cherry on the sundae is that I locked us out of a condo after midnight with no shoes, no cell phones and no wallets and he did not lose his mind.  Check him out now, fools!

I really appreciate the artist who works their ass off.  Why?  I think it is obvious.  The truly great ones at anything are not only born with the ability, but also work hard to master that ability.  And sooner or later the world will be aware of these hard workers.  People have said to me that the entertainment industry is not fair and there is no guarantee that the truly talented will ever “make it.”  The truly talented who work hard will “make it” I believe.  I believe it is inevitably so because the universe does have a sense of justice…even if it takes awhile.

Tom Simmons -  Tom is the perfect example of what some people call, “too smart for you own good.”  I could not disagree more with those people.  His comedy is evidence that you do not have to hit people over the head with your politics to make a good and smart point all the while maintaining the comedic integrity of a joke teller.  People always default to Bill Hicks, at least most comics do when talking about relevant and political humor.  The reason I think this is true is because he never forgot about the joke.  Tom never forgets about the joke.  In fact, even if he has to go away from the joke for a little while, he ensures there is a well trained and responsible joke sitter there in his abscense, which he is constantly calling to check the status of the joke while he is gone.  I think you get the point.  To further clarify the type of comedian he is I will use these quick examples.  He has been told by numerous club owners, “You need to dumb it down for the people.”  Or, “Why don’t you tell jokes that aren’t so real?”  And other variations of those kinds of sentiments.  Someday this thought provoking comic will crawl his way to the top of the rock.  Here is some more of his stuff, but this bastard is another one of the creatures that needs to step up his online presence game.

Matthew Ryan -  Here is a musician that owned my ears for at least a year straight with his album May Day.  He was first introduced to me by my good friend Heath Galley.  The first time I heard him was on a burned disc as I drove from D.C. to Dayton, OH.  It was the only thing I listened to the whole drive.  I was convinced this album was a soundtrack to my life at the time and still need to be convinced otherwise.  Sometimes an artist can grab you by throat and command you listen to them over and over and over again.  Matthew Ryan’s grip still holds strong.  He is ahead of the curve by constantly putting his music and other videos online for his fans to check out.  He keeps his online world fresh, so as keep people like me appeased with new offerings of his awesomeness on a regular basis.  He may not be a household name, but his music is staggering.  If your life needs and injection of some fresh, gut-wrenching, edgy, beautiful, honest, and just awesome music, do yourself a favor and check him out.

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewGenre?id=3

P.S. As you can tell this t-shirt will make any person better looking exponentially. It will also make you appear to be more intelligent.

P.P.S. Any increase of your attractivness or intelligence are purely coincidental to the purchase of this t-shirt as this t-shirt has not been crafted by witches or elves possessing magical powers.

P.P.P.S. But, for reals, it will make you a better person when you are wearing it.