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.