Hometown Boy
So I just got back home from a corporate show in Chicago, and I always enjoy those long car drives where I can let my mind loose and just think of show ideas, routines, and everything else! I keep a small pad at arms reach at all times, but it really gets a workout when I'm traveling. I have probably filled hundreds of these over my career, and they always give me inspiration and ideas for things I'm working on. I have literally found notebooks from ten years ago, read an idea I scribbled down, and put it to use in my show a decade later!
On the drive home last night I was thinking about what a crazy, amazing, and lucky life I have been able to live. I am doing what i have loved to do since I was a kid, and getting paid for it. I have travelled all over the World, met and worked with some amazing people....and not just the "celebrities", but SO many awesome friends from production crew to fellow artists to enthusiastic audience members. Anytime you can make a living doing what you are passionate about, what inspires you, what makes you eager EVERY morning to jump out of bed and see what adventures you will have that day, you are winning at life.
I am really enjoying dividing my time between the East and West coasts, and in doing that, I have been able to play venues in the Mid West and South that I wouldn't have been able to do from California. One of the things I am passionate about is raising money for various groups who help animals. I have done shows all over the U.S. for fine causes that have raised tens of thousands for animal charities. Another thing I love, when my schedule permits...is to bring my show back to my hometown of Ravenna, Ohio. I grew up in Ravenna. I went to Highland (now Carlin) Elementary, then Brown, then graduated from Ravenna high school.....although I left Ravenna when I was 18, I have returned many times over the years, raising money for the new high school, the stadium, the friends of the park, United Way, Habitat For Humanity, and many more deserving groups.
I am asked every year by the school system to do a show, and for the last several years I have been unable to, but this year is different. On November 8th, at the RHS auditorium, I'll be debuting the show i have been working on for five years. It's the culmination of hundreds of hours of dedication, not just from me, but my staff, friends, mentors, consultants, and more.
"Rethink The Impossible" wasn't the original name of the show, but once, after a performance while signing autographs, an audience member came up to me and told me just how amazed he was at my act, how he could not wrap his head around the things he saw, and how I was making him rethink the impossible. Well, that was what I would be calling my new show from that moment on. There is A LOT of new material, as well as some of my all time favorite routines from my career, including one I used while headlining the World famous Comedy Store in L.A. years ago.
The best part of returning to my hometown is not only am I sponsored by the RHS student council, but we are raising money for the animals displaced by hurricane Harvey!
Besides the student council, Doug Senseman, and Dennis Honkula from Ravenna schools, I can always count on my friends in the area to help out when we are promoting an event. Sam at Guido's, as always, has been amazing. The Record Courier, Print & Sign Express,WNIR, Jake Herron,and Mayor Frank Seman have all pitched in to get the word out, and two of the greatest ladies I know, Carley Kruse of Evelyn Dickerson Hair Design and Marilyn Sessions of Hometown banks are always the first onboard to sell tickets and help fill seats. I couldn't do it without the help of all these amazing people, and I thank them!
Ravenna has changed A LOT since I grew up there, but one thing is always the same. You can count on the people there...the spirit of community is still strong. Ya, it's not the same, but nothing ever is...nothing stays frozen in time, especially your hometown. We guard those memories the most, because they are filled with friends and family, and fun times...summers...and holidays...and people that have come and gone from our lives still exist there...in those hometown memories.
I am honored to be a member of the Ravenna Ravens Hall Of Fame, and I'm honored to get the chance to take the stage at my old alma mater and bring that thing I love so much, that I am so passionate about, that consumes me on a daily basis....my show. I can't wait for you to see what I have in store....it will be a production you will never forget!!!
Watch the promo: https://youtu.be/OwtVqCI87hU Wed. Nov. 8th...7pm....Ravenna High Auditorium.... TICKETS ON SALE NOW at Ravenna High School, Ravenna Board Of Education, Brown Middle School, Kent and Ravenna Hometown Banks, Evelyn Dickerson Hair Design, and student council members!
