This week in Nashville: Jeffrey Ross, Improv Nashville’s last shows

Jeffrey Ross @ ZaniesMonday, April 20
8pm OPEN MIC (Lonnie’s on West End)

Tuesday, April 21
8am – 9am Get Up, Stand Up (91.1 WRVU-FM)
7:30pm Rik Roberts + OPEN MIC (Zanies)
8pm OPEN MIC Contest (Spanky’s Sportsbar & Grill)

Wednesday, April 22
7:30pm Rik Roberts’ School of Laughs Graduation Performance (Zanies)

The Final Sunday Stand-up Showcase Showdown and Stuff
The Final Sunday Stand-up Showcase Showdown and Stuff
Thursday, April 23
7:30pm Jeffrey Ross, Lahna Turner, Chad Riden (Zanies)
9pm Church Street Comedy – Brad Edwards, Sean Parrott, Chad Riden, Monty Mitchell, Mark Anundson, Joe Southards (Jesse Zane’s Nashville Nights)

Friday, April 24
7:30pm, 9:45pm Jeffrey Ross, Lahna Turner, Chad Riden (Zanies)

Saturday, April 25
7pm, 9pm Jeffrey Ross, Lahna Turner, Chad Riden (Zanies)
9pm Renard Hirsch, The Three Brian’s, Ben Bergman (Joe’s Crab Shack)

Sunday, April 26
6pm Sunday Stand-up Showcase Showdown And Stuff – Josh Phillips, Joe Southards, Chad Riden, Iron Comic – THE VERY LAST SHOW @ (Improv Nashville Comedy Theater)
7:30pm Jeffrey Ross, Lahna Turner, Chad Riden (Zanies)
8pm OPEN MIC (Music Row Bar & Grill)

More details can be found in the NashvilleStandUp show calendar in the sidebar.

Tennessean: “Musicians rock comedy: Flight of the Conchords, others use music to get laughs” Misses The Local Angle

Today The Tennessean‘s Dave Paulson wrote about Friday’s sold out Flight Of The Conchords show at The Ryman, mentioning Spinal Tap, The Doyle and Debbie Show, Doug Stanhope & The Mattoid (who are at the Exit/In Friday night) and a few Nashville-based funny musicians as well. Read the whole article over at The Tennessean.

It’s an okay write-up, but only okay. Dave could have looked deeper than Nashville’s “funny musicians” to find his local angle. For example..

Lahna Turner
Lahna Turner
Lahna Turner is a very funny lady who now calls both Nashville and Los Angeles home. She is a fantastic stand-up comic with a sick sense of humor and a knack for writing killer funny songs. She has appeared on NBC, Comedy Central and VH1 and has toured the world.

Occasionally, Lahna produces “The Music City Comedy Show” at Zanies Comedy Showplace – a night of funny people who have music in their comedy acts. In the past, the lineups have included Rik Roberts, Steve Goodie, Wynn Reichert, Sean Parrott, Bucky Habanero, and Shantel Adams.

Rik Roberts
Rik Roberts
Rik Roberts is a Nashville-based comic who performs hilarious “super-clean” comedy delivered with a little Southern flavor. His act is largely rapid-fire, family friendly stand-up comedy plus some original comedy songs and a little bit of improvisation. Rik has performed at clubs and colleges across the nation, works many corporate events, and also teaches stand-up comedy classes. Rik regularly hosts showcases of his graduating students and headlines at Zanies.

Steve Goodie
Steve Goodie
Dr. Demento has called Nashville’s Steve Goodie, “One of our most talented 21st-century parodists.” Steve has also appeared on many other radio programs around the nation, including The Howard Stern Show, and The Bob And Tom Show. Every Sunday at 8pm, Steve hosts the show at The Bluebird Cafe, emceeing this renowned evening of songs, keeping it moving along with his nutty witticisms.. and he performs his hilarious songs around Nashville and on the road regularly.

Wynn Reichert uses a tongue-in-cheek delivery to belt out tunes like, “I Need To Get Laid,” and audience favorite, “Sometimes I Wish I was Black.” Wynn is originally from California, lives in Nashville and tours internationally.

Sean Parrott
Sean Parrott
Sean Parrott has been bringing his charismatic stage presence and a unique point of view to comedy clubs and bars all over the Southeast since 2006. Brought up on Bugs Bunny and Monty Python, Sean is an observational absurdist with a keen eye for finding the humor in everyday life. He was recently a Finalist in the Reader’s Digest Nashville’s Funniest Comic Competition and did voice over work for an animated film, “Back to Life, ” that was featured on the Independent Film Chanel. Sean is also half of musical comedy duo, “The Dead Dead” which has been featured on the hilarious “Mangy Dog Whoop Dee Doo” (visit The Dead Dead online at MySpace & FunnyOrDie). Sean performs regularly at Zanies, is actively involved in the DIY comedy shows around town, and will be featured at the upcoming Mangy Dog LIVE show April 18th at 10pm at the Improv Nashville Comedy Theater.

Mangy Dog Live! 2009.04.18Speaking of the Mangy Dog Whoop Dee Doo, this Nashville-based podcast consistently features funny songs and parodies and whatnot produced by local professional funny people Jesse Perry, Mark Anundson, the previously mentioned Sean Parrott, Damian Anaya, Brad Edwards and more..

Mark Anundson
Mark Anundson
Mark Anundson is especially prolific. Not only is he the “Fungenieer” for the Mangy Dog Whoop Dee Doo, but he also hosts WRVU’s wildly popular “Get Up, Stand Up” radio show every Tuesday morning from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on 91.1 FM & archived online in the horrible RealPlayer format. He also produces hilarious songs for his own funny podcast, Happy For Apathy and has released a cd of his musical fun. He recently headlined the Sunday Stand-up Showcase Showdown And Stuff at the Improv Nashville Comedy Theater, improvising several funny songs on the spot using only his keyboard and his very funny brain.

This isn’t nearly a comprehensive list of ALL the musical comedy acts in Nashville.. but it’s a start. Keep an eye on the NashvilleStandUp calendar for upcoming shows featuring these very funny people.

School Of Laughs’ Improv Registration Now Available

school_of_laughs
Enrollment is now open for the April “Improvisation for Beginners / IMPROV 101” classes at ZANIES. If you are interested please request a registration form asap. You need to have this form returned to me to save your spot.

If you have any questions about any of the classes feel free to e-mail me and ask.. otherwise here’s a look at what’s coming up..

Improv 101 Classes are scheduled for Mondays, April 6, 13, 20 & 27 from 5:30-7:30pm at Zanies. Registration for the Improv class is still a bit away. I will start taking pre-registration on March 16th. I thought I’d up date everyone so you can make some tentative plans. Class fee is $200.

Stand-UP Writing Class is tentatively scheduled for Mondays May 4, 11, 18 & June 8th from 5:30 to 7:30pm. Class fee is $200. Sign ups start April 21st.

The Bu$ine$$ of Comedy class is getting closer to a confirmation date in May. Thanks for your patience. This will be a one day seminar, cost is $75.

All of the classes listed above will meet at Zanies Comedy Showplace in Nashville, TN.

Click http://www.schooloflaughs.com for class descriptions.

SPECIAL EDITION CLASSES:

Toastmaster Classes

If you are a Toastmaster, please e-mail me for a special announcement!!! I have a two class session designed just for you in April!

Christian Comedy Association

I am proud to announce I will be teaching a course at the upcoming CCA Conference May 31-June 2 in Murfreesboro, TN. This one hour session will focus on “Perfecting Your Performance.” Visit www.christiancomedyassociation.com for more information.

DID YOU KNOW …

If you take the writing and performing classes you are granted a spot on a graduation show at Zanies?

Students who successfully navigate the two courses will be invited to perform a set onstage at Zanies. This is the absolute fastest way to get on their stage. You are not REQUIRED to perform in any way. But most students are pretty fired up and ready to get under the spotlight.

That graduation set is recorded to a DVD for you to have forever and share with friends or even online.

Stage time for former students at ZANIES!

Zanies has asked if I would run an open mike twice a month on TUESDAYS specifically designed to get my graduates more stage time. THIS IS AWESOME NEWS FOR YOU!

Set lengths will vary from 3-5-7 minutes and there will be opportunities to emcee the shows as well. These shows are a direct result of all the quality new faces who have taken the classes and taken it to the next level.

The still has a few limited slots available on the “off” nights as it always has. But, your odds of getting stage time has increased radically with this development.

I will be hosting the OPEN MIKES on March 24 and April 7th. Show starts at 7:30pm.

Extra Stage Time

Cross Bright puts on some comedy shows in White Bluff, TN. If you are interested in getting stage time please contact email cross.bright ( at ) yahoo ( dot ) com.

NashvilleStandUp.com has a complete list of all the open mikes in the Nashville area.

ALSO.. If you have any news you’d like to share with the rest of the School of Laughs please send it on to me and I will put it in the next newsletter.

Gift Certificates

Don’t want to spend the money on yourself for classes? Have someone else do it! You can let people know you want to take these classes and have them pay your tuition with a gift certificate. Just have them e-mail me and I will guide them through it. The gift certificate is available for any of the 4 week courses for $200, and for the Business Class for $75. All pre-paid certificate are fully refundable if you decide not to take the class.

Rik Roberts’ “School Of Laughs” Spring Schedule

First, my huge thanks to the many fresh faces that just completed the writing class. The experience was an all around great time. Nineteen are now embarking on the next phase … Performance! Stay tuned for a graduation show announcement so you can come out and support these comedy warriors.

Improv 101 Classes are scheduled for Mondays, April 6, 13, 20 & 27 from 5:30-7:30pm at Zanies. Registration for the Improv class is still a bit away. I will start taking pre-registration on March 16th. I thought I’d up date everyone so you can make some tentative plans. Class fee is $200.

Due to the overwhelming response, I’ve added one more Performance Class session. This session will meet Mondays, April 6, 13, 20 & 27 from 8:00-9:30pm (after the Improv class). If you are interested in this session I have 5 spots left. $200 covers the 4 sessions in the above classes.

Stand-UP Writing Class is tentatively scheduled for Mondays May 4, 11, 18, 25, from 5:30 to 7:30pm. Class fee is $200.

The Bu$ine$$ of Comedy class is getting closer to a confirmation date in May. Thanks for your patience. This will be a one day seminar, cost is $75.

All of the classes listed above will meet at Zanies Comedy Showplace in Nashville, TN.

Click http://www.schooloflaughs.com for class descriptions.

SPECIAL EDITION CLASSES:

Toastmaster Classes

If you are a Toastmaster, please e-mail me for a special announcement!!! I have a two class session designed just for you in April!

Christian Comedy Association

I am proud to announce I will be teaching a course at the upcoming CCA Conference May 31-June 2 in Murfreesboro, TN. This one hour session will focus on “Perfecting Your Performance.” Visit www.christiancomedyassociation.com for more information.

DID YOU KNOW …

If you take the writing and performing classes you are granted a spot on a graduation show at Zanies?

Students who successfully navigate the two courses will be invited to perform a set onstage at Zanies. This is the absolute fastest way to get on their stage. You are not REQUIRED to perform in any way. But most students are pretty fired up and ready to get under the spotlight.

That graduation set is recorded to a DVD for you to have forever and share with friends or even online.

Stage time for former students at ZANIES!

Zanies has asked if I would run an open mike twice a month on TUESDAYS specifically designed to get my graduates more stage time. THIS IS AWESOME NEWS FOR YOU!

Set lengths will vary from 3-5-7 minutes and there will be opportunities to emcee the shows as well. These shows are a direct result of all the quality new faces who have taken the classes and taken it to the next level.

The still has a few limited slots available on the “off” nights as it always has. But, your odds of getting stage time has increased radically with this development.

I will be hosting the OPEN MIKES on March 10, 23 and April 7th. Show starts at 7:30pm.

Extra Stage Time

School of Laughs graduate Brian E. Kiley is booking a room in White Bluff, TN. If you are interested in getting stage time please contact him directly at bekiley@yahoo.com.

nashvilleStandUp.com has a complete list of all the open mikes in the Nashville area.

ALSO … If you have any news you’d like to share with the rest of the School of Laughs please send it on to me and I will put it in the next newsletter.

Gift Certificates

Don’t want to spend the money on yourself for classes? Have someone else do it! You can let people know you want to take these classes and have them pay your tuition with a gift certificate. Just have them e-mail me and I will guide them through it. The gift certificate is available for any of the 4 week courses for $200, and for the Business Class for $75. All pre-paid certificate are fully refundable if you decide not to take the class.