Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Homegrown Comedy and Blacklight VIP: A Winning Combination

      Once again, I have returned to the Boxing Donkey, beer in hand and heading out onto the back patio. Today, however, I am meeting up with a different crowd than last time I was here. As I step out back I am greeted by comedians Sam Bruno and Chadd Beals, along with their friend and business partner, Anthony Decelle. I am meeting them here to sit down and chat with them all about their comedic careers and whatever else may come with that territory.
      Going around the circle, I get the rundown on Anthony’s latest venture in the realm of local entertainment, BlacklighVIP.com. This website, which Anthony has had up and running for the last 8 months, serves as a hub for what’s going on in local Northern California events. Everything from restaurants, to bars, to concerts, to kid/family friendly events, Anthony’s website wants you to know about it all. He even gave me the rundown as to how he came up with the idea for it. He explains,
      “I was a tequila rep here. Born and raised in this town [Sacramento]. Saw so many cool restaurants and bars, literally a block from my house. Did not know they existed, until I started selling tequila for them...I figured, how did I not know about this? Unless you went there before, or knew someone who did, there was no real way of finding those places. So, I figured, why not build a website that showcases our town?”
      He even goes on to add,
      “Ticketmaster accepted me, so soon you can buy a ticket to everything from a Kings game, to a beer festival. All on my site.”
      As exciting as that website sounds, I couldn’t help but have one question, once he gave me the lowdown. 
      How did he come to know Sam and Chadd? Well, Chadd was able to give me the details, when he piped up with,
      “This guy walks in [to the bar] with his gun case full of tequila, and pours shots for everybody…We start talking and it kinda develops from there…(laughs)
      As for Sam and Chadd’s, their journey towards friendship was centered around their stand-up comedy, naturally. Sam goes on to explain about a particular night at the, now defunct, Lucky Derby Casino, in Citrus Heights. He elaborates,
      “There was a comedy competition, and we started talking. He had the South Sac area, Citrus Heights doing stuff, and I was doing Roseville and parts of downtown Sacramento. We just decided, you know, lets pull it all together and do just one big company, and take it by storm that way.”
      And in their own way they have. Sam and Chadd formed their own comedy company, Homegrown Comedy, where they consistently put on their own comedy shows all over the west coast. As well, 100% of their shows profits are also given to a charity or a specific benefit in mind.
      Most recently, they held a benefit show for the family of a local friend of theirs named Toby Bailey, who unfortunately suffered an aneurysm. The show took place on March 3rd at The Canyon, where they managed to raise over $7400 for his medical bills. They have also done shows geared towards breast cancer awareness, and the like. And, in between, hitting up destinations in the Northwestern and Southwestern U.S.
      Needless to say, they are pretty busy. But, like anyone who ever wanted to do anything well, they both had to start somewhere. Chadd remembers his start about 4 years ago. He explains,
      “I started on a dare kinda…I just went out to an open mic and did it, and got hooked like everyone else…I like to talk about, you know, my relationship, my love life, daily life stuff.”
      Sam had a similar start about 7 years ago, but his start in entertainment and the arts goes back a little bit longer. He says,
      “I started in music and a little bit of acting…I played music since I was very little, and played all around the local area. Gave that up to try and be an adult and work a job…What happened was, about 7 years ago, me and my buddies all figured out Monday night was the only night we could all get together and kick back and have a beer…We went to a place in Folsom that’s called The Canyon now, but it was called Po’ Boys way back then…We used to go there and watch the Open Mic…The host one day did just about the same thing, you know, just dared me to get up and try it…Never looked back from there, it took off really fast for me from that.”
      When I ask about what he talks about while he’s onstage, he provides me with a remarkably original response. Sam says that he becomes a character onstage, separate from him in its own way.  He explains,
      “My character on stage looks back at my daily life, finds the funny in it in a cocky way we all sort of wish we could be all the time…Why does this happen to me? I should be so much better than this, a lot of things that I do that I realize are stupid later.”
      The insight from both of them helps illuminate a unique kind of creativity that exists in stand-up comedy. Their view on things that most of us may deal with on a daily basis is where they get their jokes, which only serves to make you more interested in what they are saying.
      Rambling aside, Sam and Chadd’s mutual friendship with Anthony has proven beneficial to all three parties. Anthony has put BlacklightVIP.com up as a regular backer for their comedic endeavors. Another main focus of his website is the use of it as a place for artists to promote themselves. He goes on to add,
      “Our town has so many talented people that don’t have a way to get their information out there. That’s what my site gives.”
      As if on cue, we decide to move on inside, out of the emerging mosquito population that had suddenly become interested in us. Maneuvering into the back room of the Donkey’s dining area, I have a freshly filled glass of beer in hand when I decide to ask Sam and Chadd what their favorite venues have been to perform at. A small smirk pops up on Sam’s face as I ask, but Chadd beat him to the punch,
      “The Inferno (Sports Bar and Grill in Citrus Heights)…also TheMusic Hall in Yreka [CA], same kind of place as Sam’s, actually.”
      Sam’s smirk grows a little bit more at the mention of it. He finally elaborates,
      “About once a year, I go out on the road, and I go to Idaho Falls [Idaho], called The Peppertree (link), which is the worst venue I have ever been to…It’s an old ratty hotel…the last time I was there, got into my hotel room…the shower was broken so bad, that it was just a hose sticking out of the wall, with a sprinkler head on the front of it, and someone else’s clothes from the night before were still on the floor…We play that on a Thursday night, and I’ve never had had less than 350 people in that room…They love it, they are starved for entertainment…I absolutely love it. It’s my type of crowd, you know, working class, regular people.”
      That story elicits some smiles and laughs from Anthony, and Chadd.
      And, admittedly, myself too.
      My curiosity piqued, and my glass half-full, I ask what the biggest show they have ever done was. This one got Chadd to smirk a little bit and say,
      “We did the Southpoint Casino [in Las Vegas], in front of about 1200 people…It was me, you [points to Sam] and a couple other guys out in Vegas…We were booked on a bunch of smaller shows in Vegas, some got cancelled, so we wound up at The Southpoint…”
Sam goes on to add,
      “We went to go watch that show…it was a regular thing at this casino called The Dirty at 1230…It’s off the strip, its where the locals go, it’s a free show…the rule there is that if you get offended by anything, there’s the door. This is a no hold bar kind of thing. We went to watch it…I was wasted, Chadd wasn’t because he was driving…I drunkenly dared Chadd to find the host and say if you need it, we got 3 comics with us that would love to do some time…the feature act didn’t show, so we had half an hour to fill…he [the show’s host] goes, ‘Alright, get ready, you got 10 minutes, let’s go’…Chadd killed it, because he’s the sober one in this situation, Gavin [Myers] and I did okay, but we weren’t really thinking we would be doing it…it was a dope show.”
      As I finish my glass, I couldn’t help but ask what it must have been like to make that many people laugh. Chadd nods his head, smiling, simply saying,
      “Yeah, it was pretty great.”
       Sam also adds,
      “It’s so gratifying…The room almost becomes 1,000 friends. It’s super cool to bring people together like that, I think.”
      Sitting back in my short lounge chair, the conversation shifts from us back to their business meeting from earlier, helping seal the deal on a very productive night at the bar. As I stand up to say my goodbye’s, a thought crosses my mind that isn’t related to the beer I finished a bit too quickly.
      The fact of the matter is that these three guys are a great example of cooperation at a local level. These three working the way they do could serve as an example to a lot of other local acts and organization as to how to effectively work together to accomplish a variety of goals.
      With Sam and Chadd sharing hosting and performing roles, and Anthony backing them as well as he has, there is no limit to what they can accomplish.