Some More Video

Here is the act I created for the
2009 Miss Rodeo America Pageant
this past December.

Had I known there would be video rolling I'd have made sure the lighting was better for video. As it happened I made it better for a juggler (no bright lights in the eyes.) Ah well, it was a fun show and a good performance.

As usual there's was no microphone over the audience so you can't quite hear the actual laughter and applause. Direct feeds are never the best for this sort of thing, but trust me...a good time was had by all. :)

Obligatory Year In Review: Gigs

As is customary around this time of year, I feel like taking some time to reflect upon 2008. What's different about this post in comparison to other "year in review" posts? I waited until the year was completely over before even working on the thing!

This being the first full calendar year that April and I have been living in Las Vegas, I feel it deserves a bit more scrutiny than years past. We both got very complacent in the Chicago area after making it our home for so many years and i generally didn't look at my time there the same way i have looked upon every day I've lived here.

I wasn't scared out of my mind about what every day brought me in Chicago. Familiarity bred that sort of attitude I guess. Remembering how freaked out I was in general about the storm, the move, the desire to continue working as an entertainer I can see that life in Chicago was actually very good for me.

I didn't realize it at the time, but as it happened I was one of the busiest jugglers and comedians out there. All the time I spent fretting about "no work" cannot compare to time spent actually having NO WORK. Since moving out here I told myself that if I can get at least ONE gig a month for the first couple of years I'd save hope that I can get the full-time business back. ONE GIG! There were not many months in Chicago where I didn't have several gigs a month. Sometimes they showed up all too last minute for my tastes, but they were there. I've managed to get that one gig out here and in some months, as many as 4 or 5, so I cannot help but be hopeful for better things.

Among the noteworthy gigs I booked this year were...

The political TV Commercial
for FDAConcerns.com.

Had that commercial opportunity not come along
I wouldn't have been able to pay bills that
month nor would I have ever been in...

The New York Times!
(And Advertising Age, The Wilson Times, The News & Observer, and numerous blogs)

I also booked the preview showing of the Monster Circus. That is where I met Dee Snider of Twisted Sister fame among many others. I have not blogged in full about this show as I've been waiting for a few photos to arrive from that event. You can read about it at Bruce Kulick's blog though.

I was a featured performer at the Miss Rodeo America Pageant as well as one of the acts at the Magic and Miracles Benefit at the House of Blues in Anaheim. Video of both of those performances will be available as soon as I can get them sent to me.

I have begun work on that super-secret project that I cannot quite talk about yet. Technically I can talk about it since the guy I'm replacing now knows about my existence and my partner has begun telling agents about the new partnership. However, until the video, photos, and new website are up I shouldn't say much about it right now.

All that being said, nothing prohibits me from linking to a website and letting you know I may be taking on the role of one of the two people in this act [COUGH! COUGH! -Spike- COUGH!]. It is already a much funnier and more edgy act than in the video and that makes me very excited.

Let's just say I plan on being VERY busy this year.

I also scored some bookings from new clients and agencies that I have been marketing to religiously since arriving here. I have been actively advertising and getting my name "out there". I was featured in an ad for Trade Show Lifestyles Magazine and placed ads in the Yellow Pages and other publications. If all goes well, work as a solo performer and as part of a team should be coming in in 2009 and that makes me very happy indeed.

Next time: Places I Visited in 2008.

The George Carlin Table

I did not make much, if any mention of the death of George Carlin earlier this year. Mostly I kept mum about it because it was rather devastating to me. I never got to see him live, though we'd always made plans to do so. He was significant and influential in ways I'm all but certain I'll never be myself. He was a genius.

That being said, let me tell you about the show I'll be doing Tuesday night.

I am juggling at the Miss Rodeo America Pageant, which is being held at the Orleans Casino in Vegas. Want more info...click here!

The Orleans was the last regular gig in Vegas that George Carlin had and he was there very frequently. I will be working in the same showroom as he used to work.

The table provided by the Orleans for me to use as a prop table on stage during the act is referred to by the tech crew as, "The George Carlin Table". There's not much special about this table other than it is on wheels and covered in a black skirt. I asked why it had such a name. Apparently it was either built for George or simply brought into the theatre for him at his request. He wanted to use that for all his shows or benefit programs for whatever reason and since he was about the only performer to use the table every time the crew just started referring to it as "The George Carlin Table". For this evening's performance I will be using the table to hold all of my juggling props. Therefore...

The "place for my stuff" will be "The George Carlin Table".

I find nothing more wonderful about the coincidental brilliance of this fact.

I am certain that if George were alive he would find this as amusing as I do. Whether or not he would consider my stuff to be shit...I cannot say. Of course he may be more happy to know that, essentially, my balls are on his table.