Oh Chicago.

Jason Earl Folks takes #bigbuckhunter very seriously

Star Wars? (at O’Leaver’s Pub)

I just realized I’ve never seen a jellyfish in real life until today. BLEW MY MIND. #omaha (at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium)

These monkey’s faces look like the Motorhead logo. #lemmy #motorhead #fuckyeah (at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium)

The one thing I wish I brought on this trip: A plunger #desmoines #zombieburger (at zombie burger)

After being unemployed for almost 6 months the fine people at @87central gave me a reward! #desmoines (at 8/7 Central)

thesethingsmatterpodcast:

EP. 49 - THE SIMPSONS w/ KEVIN WHITE

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or RSS, and download the new episode here!

“How could you?! Haven’t you learned anything from that guy who gives those sermons at church? Captain Whatshisname? We live in a society of laws! Why do you think I took you to all those Police Academy movies? For fun? Well, I didn’t hear anybody laughing, did you? Except at that guy who made sound effects. Makes sound effects and laughs. Where was I? Oh yeah! Stay out of my booze.”

Comedian Kevin White and Kevin O’Brien are pals from way back in the St. Louis days. Days of wine and roses and sittin’ around quoting The Simpsons for hours on end! Whiteman was in town and so we decided to re-record the legendary lost episode of TTM. Join us, and take a listen, won’t you? “Human contact: the final frontier.”

Here’s a the expansive Simpsons wikiquote to get you goin’!

PLUS! The Simpsons Wiki? Yes Please!

Kevy O’Bevy and Whiteman

thesethingsmatterpodcast:

On today’s show Kevin and Taylor talked about what to listen to keep you awake on the road. In addition to some high grade trucker speed, the Retox tour was rocking this playlist over night en route to the Big Easy. If you’re feeling sleepy, pop some pep pills and throw this on.

Cheap beer specials AND 1/2 price mac ‘n cheese today at Schubas! Come have dinner, a drink, and stick around for tonight’s Bare Knuckle Comedy! Doors @ 7 / Show @ 7:30 (at Schubas)

Big thanks to AliveMag.com for the press!

I’ve decided to add a catch phrase to my act. (at Will’s Northwoods Inn)

And yours truly is at the TOP of the list! Yessssss!

Sarah Hitzel is a St. Louis based actor who has performed as part of the sketch comedy segments of Bare Knuckle Comedy in St. Louis.  She is also a makeup artist and her handiwork has been seen on stage at Bare Knuckle Comedy and elsewhere.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN ACTING?

I have been interested in acting since I was very little, but all through grade school I was pretty shy. I started the Bellarmine Speech League as a 5th grader, and I guess that kicked off my love for getting up in front of people and telling a story. 

WHAT’S THE BEST / WORST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE EVER GOTTEN?

The best piece of advise: No matter how many times people say “no” to you, keep going. “Making it” as an actor is not just about talent and relying on people to notice it, you gotta have drive and persistence. There are plenty of untalented actors out there who “made it” because didn’t let the closed doors slow them down, and there are even more fantastically talented people who let all the “no’s” deflate their passion.

As for the bad advise, I just don’t even bother to remember the crappy stuff :) Don’t need to waste any energy on the negative shit people say.

HAVE YOU MET PEOPLE WHILE WORKING WITH BARE KNUCKLE COMEDY THAT LED TO MORE ACTING WORK?

Bare Knuckle Comedy has helped me to grow… getting to know some of the comedians and film people.  Ryan Doris (Action Box Films) has filmed some stuff with them.   I’ve met Ryan and Adam Huber (Huber Brother Films), they’ve used me a lot. My work is in some of their shorts and and the commercial specs that they do.  

WHAT MUSIC OR PODCAST ARE YOU REALLY INTO RIGHT NOW?

I reeeeally like this podcast called “My Brother, My Brother, and Me.” 

WHICH MEMBER OF THE BEATLES COULD YOU MOST EASILY BEAT UP AND WHY?

I could probably take Ringo. He’s not too tall and I’m pretty scrappy. 

ANY UPCOMING PROJECTS YOU WANT TO PLUG?

I’m super excited for “The Adventures of Timeslot!” Look out for awesomeness near the end of 2013!

You can learn more about the films that Sarah has been in on her IMDB entry. 

Sarah is professionally represented by The Azalea Agency.  

Get ready for another “Spotlight On:”!  This time we are showcasing one of the standout ladies of the Chicago comedy scene, CANDY LAWRENCE.  Candy has been featured in the Chicago “Just For Laughs” festival and even named one of the city’s Top Comedians by Chicago Magazine.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN COMEDY?

I went to school for theatre where I auditioned with a PIECE from Ace Ventura Pet Detective. I GUESS COMEDY HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN MY BLOOD. After that, I studied improv and sketch at Second City in Toronto. I moved to Chicago to pursue that. I wanted to do stand-up for like 10 years, but I was always afraid to try it. Then one night, I got drunk and someone asked me to do a set at BERLIN of all places. And I slurred, YES, I’LL FUCKING DO STAND-UP. That was almost three years ago and I’ve been doing it ever since.

YOUR COMEDY IS KNOWN FOR BEING A LITTLE OUTSIDE THE BOX.  WHAT’S THE BEST OR WORST EXPERIENCE YOU’VE HAD OF SOMEONE NOT “GETTING IT”?

I haven’t had TERRIBLE experiences. Just a bunch of crickets and tumble weeds rolling by.

WHAT’S THE BEST / WORST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE EVER GOTTEN?

Take risks. But, don’t tell Terry Schiavo jokes, NEVER TELL A TERRY SCHIAVO JOKE.

WHAT MUSIC OR PODCAST ARE YOU REALLY INTO RIGHT NOW?

 I am a big fan of both Marc Maron’s WTF and the Mental Illness Happy Hour with Paul Gilmartin.

WHICH MEMBER OF THE BEATLES COULD YOU MOST EASILY BEAT UP AND WHY?

John Lennon. I see dead people and that scares me.

ANY UPCOMING PROJECTS YOU WANT TO PLUG?

I’m hosting Lincoln Hall’s Punch Up on February 28th where we’ll be making fun of next month’s double feature Flashdance and Showgirls.

WHERE CAN WE FIND OUT MORE ABOUT YOU?

“Is that a polly in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” - You can see tweets like this and others at twitter.com/comedylawrence

** Candy can be seen at Bare Knuckle Comedy on February 13th at Schubas (3159 N. Southport Ave.)  Show starts at 8 and is FREE! **

Flyering the city the other day.

This is the first of many interviews we’ll be doing on upcoming talent coming to BKC as well as the people behind to scenes who make it all happen.  To kick it off, we have Chicago comedian C.J. Toledano. C.J. has worked at “Conan”, “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and “The Onion News Network”  

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN COMEDY?

I got started at the end of my senior year in high school in Erie, PA. I took a comedy class that in retrospect was not the greatest but it got me on stage so I think it was valuable in that sense. I then for the next couple years would travel through Pennsylvania and Ohio looking for spots at open mics or showcases to perform at. 

YOU’RE KNOWN FOR HAVING WORKED WRITING FOR TELEVISION, HOW HAS THAT CHANGED HOW YOU WRITE FOR STAND-UP?

Well, it really hasn’t changed how I write for stand-up all that much. I’ve always wrote stand-up by just jotting down funny thoughts or funny things I’ve said in conversation and then take those initial ideas to the stage and see if it gets a reaction and see if I can build on it from there. I rarely ever sit down and plan to write consistently for any given amount of time like I do when writing for television or other professional gigs. There’s probably some inherit writing discipline that has carried over from that but nothing that I’ve really noticed.

WHAT’S THE BEST / WORST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE EVER GOTTEN?

Not to namedrop but I’m going to…Chappelle said to me when I was 18, “I’m not giving you any advice because if you really want to do this, you’ll keep going onstage and make mistakes until you’re the comedian you want to be.” Then we talked about the Beastie Boys and Hurricane Katrina for an hour. Pretty surreal moment of my life. Also, in some old Google message board, pre-fame Louis CK told me to not move to New York or LA and to go to a small city and get on stage as much as possible. I chose Chicago, obviously. The worst? Hmmmm. Well, I’ve gotten the typical “you should be talking about being Asian more” from bookers around the country. At this point, those words hold about as much weight as a fart.

(C.J. at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, WI)

WHAT MUSIC OR PODCAST ARE YOU REALLY INTO RIGHT NOW?

For music, my favorite band is Wilco. I see them live as much as possible. As for current stuff, I’ve been really into this band Youth Lagoon. Oh, and Yo La Tengo’s newest album is awesome. I’ve been listening to that non-stop lately. For podcasts, I really like “Nerdist Writers Panel” for writing purposes, “WTF with Marc Maron” for artist interviews, and the BS Report for sports stuff. All obvious choices but yeah, there’s not much time in the day to really dig around and listen to everything.

WHICH MEMBER OF THE BEATLES COULD YOU MOST EASILY BEAT UP AND WHY?

I don’t know a whole lot about The Beatles but I love the stuff I’ve read and seen about George Harrison so I’d pick him. He was the most eccentric of them all. Also, his solo work is my favorite of all of theirs as well.

ANY UPCOMING PROJECTS YOU WANT TO PLUG?

No projects really. Most of the things I work on these days is private and goes to rich people in suits to decide whether I can write dialogue for their rich person in a suit representative. Stand-up wise, I’m all over.

WHERE CAN WE FIND OUT MORE ABOUT YOU?

I can be found on twitter @CJToledano and my website www.cjtoledano.com.

     ** C.J. can be seen at Bare Knuckle Comedy on February 10th at Cicero’s (6691 Delmar Blvd. St. Louis, MO)  Show starts at 8 and is only $5 **

Kevin forgot to add the VENUE to the posters, so now he gets to add it by hand to over 200 posters & flyers. 

We only make it LOOK easy. - @bareknucklecomedy- #webstagram

This weasel speaks for everyone involved with Bare Knuckle Comedy.