John Ross

John Ross has been cracking me up for years. He walks on stage looking very much the dork with his strange musical instrument in hand, a pair of black framed glasses on his face. He continues to be the offbeat dork as he casually wanders through the tragedies and low points of his life. With a matter of fact attitude Ross explores his parent's drug addiction, his mother's death, his own sometimes fragile Faith; The amazing thing about Ross' act is that it never exploits the horror of its often dark subject matter. He takes the life he was given with an almost absurd cheer and mines it for comedic gems hidden amidst the wreckage. The end result is unique, hilarious and oddly touching.

John Ross is taping his first live comedy DVD and you can be a part of it.

October 4th, 2008

7:30 PM ¤ The 24th Street Theater
2791 24th Street
Sacramento, CA 95818
Cost: $15
www.brownpapertickets.com

Visit John at www.JohnRossComedy.com

Shameful Confessions; Music Edition

Shameful confession #1: I like New Order more than I like Joy Division. A lot more.

Shameful confession #2: Comedy friends Danielle Mandella and John Ross made me listen to Maroon 5 and I enjoyed them and even compared them to Michael Jackson.

Shameful confession #3: The first time I heard Never Mind The Bullocks I thought "This sounds like shit. The producer should be slapped."

Shameful confession #4: On the same day that I bought The B-52s' "Wild Planet" and The Talking Heads "Little Creatures" I also purchased Sting's 1st solo album and liked it as much as the other two.

Shameful confession #5: Hanson, "Mmmbop", love it.

Shameful confession #6: Thought Black Sabbath was something to be laughed at until late into my twenties when a musician friend yelled at me and made me promise to give them another listen.
Shameful confession #6 and 1/2: I like Ozzy's Crazy Train better than anything he did with Sabbath.

Shameful confession #7: Steely Dan, I don't get it. I've tried, more than once. I just don't get it.

Shameful confession #8: Once hated The Smiths, currently one of my favorite bands, so much that I'd ask that they not be played in my presence.

Shameful confession #9: I once said I liked all music except country and disco. And I defined country as anything slightly folksy, blue grass, etc. I defined disco as anything too blatantly non-white. Yes, this is a big one. Be kind, I was very young.

Shameful Confession #10: Listening to Jimi Hendrix is, for me, like watching a really great juggler. Amazing show of skill but no emotional resonance whatsoever.

I hope you enjoyed my musical shameful confessions. Maybe I'll do fashion ones next but I'll have to drag up pictures for that. Yes, I WAS a white kid TRYING to have dreadlocks once.

Atheist Church with Special Guest John Ross part One

Punning Contest

What a weird night. I did a show, Comedy From The Couch with my friend John Ross, up on Broadway just a few blocks from my house. I'm walkin' home after and a I run into some drunk who at first I'm worried is looking for a fight but it turns out her recognizes me as a comedian but I think he has me mixed up with another comic. It's very important to him that I admit that he beat me at a punning contest. A punning contest? So, I say, "I'm sure you did." and I try really hard to avoid puns lest I accidentally end up in another punning contest. It can be difficult NOT punning. He is trying to pun, but the furthest the efforts gets is "Yeah, you can... uh... Oh, I bet you don't..."
So, we stand there, not punning, until I decide that it's safe to say, "Okay, I have to go now. It is time for me to go to bed." speaking really slowly and deliberatlely just SURE that I'm going to pun unintentionaly and be... punished for it. SEE?! See how easily it happens? I got home safe and sound. I hope he did as well.

Tour Dates

Tour Dates
Sept 18, Los Angeles, The Improv Lab 8:30pm
With Eric Cash and Andy Wood.
Sept 22, Chico, The Blue Room Theatre, 9:30pm
With John Ross
Sept 23, Sacramento - Sacramento Comedy Spot, 8pm
With Nick Aragon, Nick Pettigrew, Josh Barbee
Sept 24, San Francisco - The Dark Room Theatre, 10pm
With Trevor Hill, Joe Gorman, Johnny Taylor

October 2, Santa Cruz - The Crow's Nest, 9pm
With Trevor Hill
October 3, Berkeley -Marga's Funny Mondays The Marsh, 8pm
With Marga Gomez and friends
October 15th, Portland, Curious Comedy Theater, 10pm
With Trevor Hill
October 16th, Seattle, The Comedy Underground, 8pm
With Derek Sheen, Emmett Montgomery, Trevor Hill

Tour Schedule, coming to see you!

So, I'm heading out on a small West Coast Tour this September and October to support the release of Cats Made of Rabbits on CD and DVD, schedule to follow...

You can help. The easiest and best way to help is of course to come see me. Yeah! Do that. But I also would like to hear from anyone who can recommend blogs, zines, college or public radio shows that are friendly to independent type artists. I have a publicist and he knows how to go after the bigger fish, but it's the small, local folks that I tend to vibe the best with.

And, I'm very eager to work with any local Humanist, atheist, Free Thinker groups.

Tour Dates
Sept 18, Los Angeles, The Improv Lab 8:30pm
With Eric Cash and Andy Wood.
Sept 22, Chico, The Blue Room Theatre, 9:30pm
With John Ross
Sept 23, Sacramento - Sacramento Comedy Spot, 8pm
With Nick Aragon, Nick Pettigrew, Josh Barbee
Sept 24, San Francisco - The Dark Room Theatre, 10pm
With Trevor Hill
Sept 25, Santa Cruz - The Crow's Nest, 9pm
With Trevor Hill

October 15th, Portland, Curious Comedy Theater, 10pm
With Trevor Hill
October 16th, Seattle, The Comedy Underground, 8pm
With Derek Sheen, Emmett Montgomery, Trevor Hill

Tears for Tears for Fears

I just got back from Jamba Juice, and felt compelled to write:

Please, oh overlords of Corporate World HQ, please stop making me listen to Tears for Fears and their song of unbridled passion over nothing, for people who like folk music sensibilities without confusing politics or views. This band should have been called XTC2-Neutered. Click here to see a Google search of Tears for Fears images. Can you find one where they don't look ready to cry? I just wanted to get my free smoothie. Damn!

Speaking of Free, if you live in an apartment or you use a PO box and you get a coupon for a free burrito, smoothie, what have you, be sure to look in the trash can near the cluster of mailboxes. My friend John Ross scored like 9 free burritos that way. Check over the next few days too. Not everyone checks their mail every day.