Running Into a Realization

“What the hell did I get myself into?” I thought as I sat in a porta-potty on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013. The temperature was 26 degrees, I had just turned 26 years old and I was about to run 26.2 miles.

As I sat in the porta-potty thinking about my poor New Year’s resolution to run a marathon, I heard the announcer on the other side of the sticky door … “THREE, TWO, ONE … GO.” And I quickly realized I had just missed the epic intro to my very first marathon. So I finished my business, swung open the door and tried my best to grasp the insanity that I was about to run from Folsom to Sacramento.

And sure, running a marathon these days isn’t really a big deal but let me give you a little backstory on myself.

In eighth grade, running the mile felt like my entire insides were going to fall out of my body. In high school, I had to stay in during lunch to pass a PE class because I couldn’t get a volleyball over the net. In college the only sport I played was beer pong. Then, at 25 I realized I couldn’t exercise for more than five seconds without feeling completely miserable and the reality of living an unhealthy future hit me hard.

After watching runners at the finish line of the California International Marathon in 2012, I made an impossible New Year’s resolution: to go from zero to marathon in 365 days. I quickly became obsessed with marathons. I bought training books on Amazon, watched Spirit of the Marathon twice and looked up every marathon in California.

But there was a small problem: I’d never even ran a half-marathon or a 10k, and I could barely jog around the park without feeling like my legs were going to fall off. It started off as very painful and slow jogs and walks around the dirt paths of Southside Park. I was always sore, tired, sweated profusely and felt like I had asthma. I don’t weigh 500 pounds, but it sure felt like I did. I tried to make small goals for myself to run from one stop sign to the next without stopping. Since I never really grew up playing sports, I had no idea how much water to drink after exercise or how much I should be stretching. Everything was completely new to me, and I had to learn along the way.

I stupidly signed up for my first 26.2 mile race before even running any other distance race. Most marathon training schedules are designed for people already in good shape who can be ready to go in four to five months. And all of the marathon advice I read urged me to be a runner for at least a year, then start to train for distance. But really, what’s the worst that could happen? In three months, I’d worked up to running 10 miles. I chose a training schedule and stuck with it as best as I could, starting from mile one and slowly increasing my mileage every week. My weeknights consisted of running around Southside Park and weekends consisted of long jogs around town.

But there is a price to be paid for “too much, too soon.” Throughout training for my first race, the Shamrock’n Half Marathon, I started to develop painful shin splints and was forced to stop running before causing any permanent damage. For three months I had to rely on cycling to maintain my fitness level and change my entire training schedule to replace running with cycling, which is of course another piece of advice experts don’t recommend. After a full recovery, and full discouragement, I put my running shoes back on, but this time with more hesitation.

I soon realized I not only had to change my exercise habits but had to change my entire lifestyle. I went from eating frozen pizzas to vegetables and pasta, from staying up late drinking to going to bed early to prepare for a morning run, from staring at a computer screen to stretching on the grass. I became a part of the Sacramento running scene by surrounding myself with other happy runners, where I found advice, encouragement and beer drinking buddies after joining Sloppy Moose Running Club. I started to feel stronger, healthier and more confident.

I printed out Hal Higdon’s Novice 1 marathon training program and kept it tucked into my marathon training book. Week after week, I got excited to check off miles and was forced to adjust a few. Some of my runs were awesome and meditative, others were tiring and miserable. I watched myself train from 6 miles up to running 20 miles nonstop; it was hard to believe how far I’d actually come.

Then it was finally race day. I realized all the work I had put into one year was being put to the test in one morning. It was hard to relax and hard to get past the overwhelming thoughts of what lied ahead. The race started off with runners cheering, laughing and talking. Miles 1 through 18 were more of a celebration of my training, I enjoyed the spectators, high-five stations and funny signs. But as the miles grew, all I could hear was the voice in my head and my feet pounding the pavement. The last remainder of the race felt like I was running the mile in middle school all over again. I wanted to collapse face-first on the pavement. Every mile after 21 felt longer than the mile before it. I remember one woman shouting at me, “Are you OK?!” I was running like I just drank 26.2 beers.

After I saw mile 26 slowly pass by, I tried my best not to look so miserable. I put my hands in the air, tears filled up my eyes and I crossed the finish line after 5 hours and 12 minutes.

One New Year’s resolution changed my exercise, eating and sleeping habits, and put me the best shape I’ve ever been in my entire life. Since then I’ve run two full marathons, one 18-mile trail run, four half-marathons and one duathalon. And I don’t plan on stopping any time soon. My next goal is to run a half-marathon in under two hours (fast for me), then sign up for my next 26.2 race. I’m eyeing the San Francisco Marathon.

The best advice I can give for anyone getting through any New Year’s resolution is don’t let anyone tell you, “You can’t do it.” And especially don’t ever tell yourself that. Surround yourself with positive people and positive thoughts, no matter how crappy a moment can feel. Because you never know what can happen in 365 days.

Shut Up and Listen!

Comedian Robert Berry likes his venues to be loud, weird and sometimes a little awkward.

If you have ever driven down to the corner of Fulton Avenue and Monroe Street in Sacramento, you may have read a huge sign hanging above a dive bar that reads, “The Coldest Beer in Town.” And upon walking into this local joint, On the Y, you will be greeted with a collage of beer posters, cheap drinks and interesting characters shouting over metal music. But when comedian Robert Berry walks in, all he can think of is comedy. Every Thursday night before karaoke, Berry feels comfortable enough to unleash some new jokes in a pretty uncomfortable environment for most comics.

“Sometimes there are three people in there with their backs to you. It’s a very humbling and difficult experience;it’s a really weird show there,” Berry explained while sitting inside of The Mill, a decidedly cozier coffee house on I Street.

“There’s old crusty guys that are 70-plus that are telling old timey one-liners, [and] one guy with a drum doing rim shots after each joke. And you can try out new stuff there because no one is going to know,” he said with a loud laugh. “It’s not going to come back and haunt you, but it’s fun and, you know, I’m just a loud guy.”

So far being loud has paid off. From performing awkward sets at On the Y to recording his debut comedy album, Retrocrush, at Sacramento Comedy Spot, Berry is moving fast in the local comedy scene. His booming personality is what makes his comedy stand out from the rest. His set is loud, in-your-face and full of one-liners, which most likely stems from performing in noisy bars full of drunk patrons with short attention spans.

“[If] you go up in a crowd, and you are staring at your toes and mumbling, the audience is going to be like, ‘Fuck this guy! I’m going to talk to my friend now,’ or, ‘I’m going to look at his girl,’” Berry said. “But if I can get up there and be like, ‘Hey! How the hell are you, everybody!?’ and try to be bigger than life and boisterous, then people start shutting up and looking at you.”

His new album is full of his favorite old pop culture references (such as Star Wars), ruminations on Costco and over-analyzing Christmas songs. He finds a way to recreate his favorite memories or stories and cleverly turn them into jokes. And of course, there are also his signature one-liners.

Half-way through his album, Berry goes through a seven-minute bit, called “Groanerpalooza,” a parade of one-liner jokes shot at the audience back to back.

“If you like them, hey that’s great but if you don’t like them, let me have it,” he commented on his album. “This is a learning experience here. These are groaners for a reason, so if you don’t like them, feel free to groan.”

While ripping through the one-liners and audience groans, Berry’s energy never dies down throughout the album. It’s easy to imagine him on performing on stage with his over-the-top persona.

But speaking with him in person is suddenly a different experience than hearing or seeing him perform comedy. He is almost a completely different person. He is quick-witted, likes to laugh and perform karaoke. But he is also a laid-back, friendly and family-oriented guy with a common day job who just wants to make Sacramento laugh. A lot of his material comes from conversations and experiences he has every day with his family and having a full life in Sacramento with a wife of 22 years, a son and daughter. Berry chooses to remain more local with his comedy instead of seeking gigs out of state.

“I’m 45, roughly starting this a lot later than most do, but I’m happy with where it is now and where it’s going, but I don’t have this endgame,” Berry explained. “This album was a milestone for me that I’m very happy with, and it can live forever in some kind of way, so there’s that.”

The title Retrocrush isn’t just about his first album, it’s a name that has grown with his comedy career for over seven years.

What started as a website, turned podcast, then variety show and now comedy album, Retrocrush represents where Berry has been and where he is going with comedy.

It’s a title that originates from his website, a pop culture-based site full of movie reviews, interviews, old comics, video games, lists such as “30 Coolest Game Show Hosts” or “100 Worst Cover Songs” and anything else Berry can think of to reminisce about.

“People all have a past in something, and if you can hit up a lot of areas and get people nostalgic about things, it’s kind of a fun way to connect,” he said of the site.

It was from this mindset that his podcast was born. During the “heyday” of his podcasting career, from 2005 to 2008, he recorded more than 150 episodes, had upwards of 16,000 subscribers and was noted as one of the top 50 comedy podcasts on iTunes. Starting off in the early days of podcasting, Berry saw Retrocrush grow right before his eyes.

“It would blow my mind that I could mention on a podcast that I was hosting a screening of some movie down at the mall and then actually someone shows up and say, ‘Hey, I really like your podcast and I wanted to come and see this,’” Berry explained.

From there Retrocrush still kept growing. He turned it into recurring variety show that was featured at the Comedy Spot for over a year. He would feature local comics, sketches, drag queens and burlesque dancers.

But his transition from owning a pop culture website and podcasting to creating the Retrocrush comedy album wasn’t as tough as it might sound. For Berry, being alone on stage was never foreign territory. He would host local events around town and have fun on stage at the Trash Film Orgy Festival, fundraisers, concerts, charity events and even movie screenings. He would enjoy getting the audience “excited to be there,” started to crack jokes in-between sets, and got a small taste of what stand-up comedy was really like.

Even one of Berry’s long time friends—and conveniently one of Sacramento’s favorite local stand-up comics—Keith Lowell Jensen, would see him host events and encouraged him to get on stage as a comic. Berry specifically remembers one night hosting a festival at On the Y where he had comedy material for introductions and thought about seriously giving stand-up comedy a shot.

“So I went through a lot of horrible sets and open mics, bombing my ass off. I wrote a lot of jokes on Twitter and I still do. The first comedy set I did I basically read jokes off of my Twitter,” he admitted. “It was a good introduction to bombing, which really helps you grow by messing up, having the whole audience stare at you and not clapping. It’s really scary but it helps you think about why that’s happening and how can I make this better.”

But being used to performing and even hosting at some tough venues, bombing didn’t discourage him for a second. From there he only wanted to get better and started to perform at any open mic he could, including coffee shops. But for Berry’s loud persona, performing in a coffee shop didn’t quite match his high energy compared to his favorite stage, On The Y. He became too loud for a microphone because he didn’t even need one, he explained. But all he needed to do was find the right venue to be himself.

“One time he [Keith Lowell Jensen] saw me at Punch Line for the first time perform with a really big full house crowd. I was very loud and I had people singing along with me and chanting with me and he says, ‘Hey, forget what I said about being loud, that works for you,’” Berry said.

Since then he has been writing and gathering bits and pieces from each open mic night he’s ever had to create a full hour of funny material.

“It takes a while to get an hour,” he explained. “You go to the open mics and you get five minutes and put that away, and you get 20 of those five minutes and then now you got an hour.”

Now he is ready to unleash his full debut comedy album at the Punch Line on June 24, conveniently as a part of his birthday week celebration.

From his website, to podcast, to variety show, to comedy album, Berry’s overall mission seems pretty simple: make people laugh.

“I want them to have a good time, obviously I want them to share it,” he said. “So maybe they’ll want to see me live, maybe they’ll just laugh. If someone listened to it and said that was really funny and told me, that’s mission accomplished.”

Check out Robert Berry’s Retrocrush album release show at Punch Line Sacramento on June 24, 2015. The show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $15 (with a two-drink minimum). You can purchase tickets through Punchlinesac.com.

Queen Sheba
1704 Broadway • Sacramento

Food should be an experience, not a chore.

It should be an adventure eating something you’ve never heard of or maybe can’t even pronounce. Sometimes it’s not only about the way a dish tastes but the way a meal can be prepared, where the food came from or a certain way you have to eat it.

Submerge takes you on an experience with food that originates more than 8,900 miles away. But for this adventure you only need to travel to 17th and Broadway, where Queen Sheba brings the foreign spices of Ethiopian cuisine back home to the capital city.

One of the best parts of eating Ethiopian food is that there isn’t a utensil in sight—no knives, spoons or forks seated neatly on a napkin next to your plate. It is a true hands-on experience. But it’s not as messy as it sounds; you use pieces of thin, spongy sourdough bread called injera to scoop up bits of your meal into your hand before you devour it. The injera are served as rolls in a small basket where you can rip pieces off for your meal.

A few words might sound unfamiliar to anyone uninitiated in Ethiopian cuisine; for example, a dish called “Wot” (or wat) is similar to a thick stew or curry, Tibs are prepared in various ways but are normally served as meat and vegetables, and berbere is a spice mixture that consists of peppers, garlic, ginger, basil and other spices.

The menu is divided up into different meats and vegetables. Queen Sheba has options of beef, chicken, lamb and fish, along with vegetarian and vegan options. Most of the meats and vegetables that you order will be mixed with spices and sauces that complement each dish and served “family style” on a large round metal tray that is lined with injera on the bottom. The food is neatly arranged on the platter and ready for everyone to grab their roll of injera bread and dig in.

On a recent visit, we were immediately enveloped in the wafting aromatic spices, walls adorned with wooden sculptures and artwork, and music videos playing that highlight the Ethiopian culture. The grand meal for the night started off with mango juice and honey wine, a traditional Ethiopian beverage. The mango juice was freshly squeezed and tasted similar to a thick fruit smoothie. The honey wine, which has a similar taste to mead, was very sweet and had a strong sweet aftertaste of honey.

To start, there was the appetizer called Sambussa lentil wrap. The triangle wrap had a delicious flaky and fried outer coating that was stuffed with steaming green vegetables. The main course was the combo platter for two (great for newcomers who aren’t sure of what they should order), which costs $13.50 per person. The combo included Doro Wot, Key Wot, Lamb Tibs, Misr Kik Wot, Gomen and a salad. The Doro Wot has a stew-like consistency that comes with a piece of chicken and a boiled egg. It is a little tough to break into the boiled egg and chicken with the thin injera bread but once you do, it’s a few bites that you will not regret. The brown sauce is a mixture of spices, herbs, onion, garlic, ginger and berbere. Key Wot also has a stew-like consistency with beef pieces and spices. It is key to try and get the right amount of sauce and beef to fit on your piece of bread for the prefect bite. Misr Kik Wot are spiced red lentils that are stewed in onions, garlic and berbere sauce. The Gomen is a dark green mixture of spinach, collard greens, onions and garlic. It is a hearty but delicious concoction that gives you a break from the various meats. The salad is a standard side salad with a light pour of dressing, but it’s more fun to eat a salad with your hands and bread than it is with a fork.

It is definitely an adventure trying different meats and sauces with injera. You can switch between a small bite of chicken, beef, tender pieces of lamb, lentils or veggies. It’s also fun to get different mixtures on your injera and grab some veggies, sauce and beef all in one bite. And don’t be afraid to really dig into the bottom of the pan! The injera that lines the bottom of the meats and vegetables gets soaked with all of the spices and flavors, making it taste like a whole new bread altogether.

The only problem I had with all this food was to actually stop eating. And if you aren’t feeling that hungry for a full dinner, they offer vegetarian/vegan lunch buffet Monday through Friday for $8.99. A lot of restaurants in Sacramento can give you good food and a good atmosphere but most of them cannot offer a truly unique food adventure like Queen Sheba.

Queen Sheba is open Monday – Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday noon to 9 p.m. Visit Facebook.com/QueenShebaSac for more mouthwatering info!

Fahrenheit 250
7042 Folsom Blvd • Sacramento

“Love takes time,” says Tyler Monk. But he isn’t trying to offer you love advice or find the next sellout title for a romance novel—he is talking about slow-cooked barbecued ribs. And to find true love in slow-cooked, smoked meats takes patience… a lot of it. Eight to 12 hours at 250 degrees, to be exact.

But you don’t have to grill in the 110-degree Sacramento heat for 10 hours, sweating with your “Kiss the Cook” apron on, to find your true ‘cue love. You can head over to Folsom Boulevard, near the back of Sacramento State, to find the new and cozy Fahrenheit 250 barbecue joint that is bringing the love of smoked meats and Southern-inspired dishes to the city of Sacramento.

The local demand for slow-cooked pork, beef and chicken is at an all-time high, and local costumers have already out-eaten the joint’s daily smoker supply. According to Monk, the restaurant’s director of service, there has been a person outside the restaurant smoking meats 24 hours a day on their 3,000-pound smoker since their grand opening in March, 2014.

The luring smell of smoked meat and the sound of happy, chatty eaters greet guests upon entry, as does the sign touting that their beef is 100 percent natural, their chicken is free range, and the pork is pasture raised.

The atmosphere brings a comfortable yet upscale barbecue dining experience. From the décor on the walls to the red mismatched chairs, the majority of the items inside Fahrenheit 250 were upcycled from Fringe, a Sacramento vintage and consignment store. While helping to decorate the interior of the restaurant, Monk kept three ideas very close in mind: “cool, comfortable and classy.”

The walls are lined with various wood panels originally from an old barn in Auburn, the red chairs are tucked into wooden tables that are topped with mason jars for water, the bar back and silverware “cabinet” is an old printing press. There are vintage benches from Harlow’s and large pieces of a metal windmill that hang on a few walls. The décor makes it feel as if you were eating in someone’s old farm house, making it welcoming and cozy.

The menu features traditional barbecue plates from fried green tomatoes to pulled pork, as well as a variety of specialty cocktails, appetizers, smoked meats, Southern-inspired side dishes, sandwiches and salads. Barbecue plates with two sides range from $15 to $24.

My colossal meal for the evening included refreshing drinks, shrimp and grits as an appetizer, brisket, ribs, seasonal vegetables, mac and cheese, corn bread, coleslaw and The Oinker for dessert. When the order arrived there wasn’t a single inch of table space left. But when it comes to barbecue, the phrase “portion control” shouldn’t be spoken at the table.

The epic meal started off with three drinks; lemonade, sweet tea and a Kentucky Buck. Served in a mason jar, the house juiced lemonade was incredibly sour—the overpowering lemon juice made my lips pucker up. The cold-brewed tea was very sweet upon first gulp, but it left a slight aftertaste of cinnamon. And for a cocktail, The Kentucky Buck is a house-made strawberry bourbon drink with lemon juice, vanilla bitters and ginger beer. This dangerous-but-delicious drink came with no trace of liquor to be found; it only tasted like sweet carbonated strawberry juice, making it the perfect cure for a Sacramento heat wave.

For an appetizer, I couldn’t pass up the classic shrimp and grits. The plate was served with a small mound of grits in the middle, surrounded by tender shrimp that was drowned in creamy, zesty sauce.

Every slow-cooked meat I tried was so tender that I barely needed a knife or teeth to rip it apart. The brisket was served in thin-cut slices of six and each slice was thoroughly smoked around the outer edges. It even came with the choice of a lean or fatty cut. The tri-tip is cut to order and cooked slow and low for 10 hours. The St. Louis style pork ribs were juicy and ‘cued to perfection; the crisp edges gave it a small crunch. The meat from the ribs slid off the bone with very minimal effort. With four house-made barbecue sauces to choose from, my favorite for the night was the spicy sauce that gave my ribs a whole new flavor.

For every great barbecue meat there is a barbecue side dish. The cornbread muffins were warm, dense and golden brown around the edges. It was paired with a house-made honey butter that added the perfect amount of creamy sweetness to the muffin. The mac and cheese, one of my favorite, had small spiral noodles that were topped with bread crumbs—with every bite there were hidden creamy cheese pockets inside each spiral. The seasonal vegetables resembled more of a warm bowl of chili with corn, peppers and beans instead of a side salad, but I wasn’t complaining. And the coleslaw was cold and crunchy.

To finally top off my truly American meal, for dessert was The Oinker. This Paula Deen portioned, four-layered whipped cream and chocolate mousse dessert was served in a glass bowl with two spatulas that can be used for serving or as a personal spoon. Monk created this delectable dessert, making sure that the brownie hidden in the middle of this mousse pie could not be missed. This dessert can most likely serve everyone in your party and maybe the table next to you. It gives “pigging out” a whole new meaning.

After three drinks, two plates of meat, four side dishes, two pieces of cornbread, dessert, and three hours, my epic barbecue journey was near an end. My check arrived in a small tin bucket with to-go floss as a parting gift. Fahrenheit 250 offers tender meats, buttery sides and a relaxed atmosphere that puts the Capital City on the map for best barbecue.

Get your slow-cooked ‘cue on at 7042 Folsom Boulevard in East Sacramento. Fahrenheit 250 is open Tuesday–Friday 11 a.m – 10 p.m., Saturday noon to 10 p.m., and Sunday noon to 8 p.m. For more info, visit Fahrenheitbbq.com or call (916) 476-4508.

Sacramento Comedy Spot has a jam-packed lineup in store for the second annual 48 Hour Comedy Marathon

The stand-up comics are practicing timed jokes, the improvisers are stretching their minds and the sketch writers are carb-loading (with beer)… Sacramento’s comedy athletes are training for the one of the biggest comedy marathons of the year. The second annual 48 Hour Comedy Marathon will be taking on the challenge to make Sacramento laugh for two days straight at the Comedy Spot.

Comedy Spot owner and comedian, Brian Crall, will make comedy seem more like an endurance sport from March 21 to 23, 2014. More than 100 local comedians will perform stand up, improv, podcasts and sketch comedy. Throughout the day, you can expect the Comedy Spot classic shows such as High Improv, Anti-Cooperation League and The Fresh Five. But as the sun sets, you can expect things to get awkwardly funny with shows like Strip-prov, Comedic Chairs, BroTube, Of Wolves and Lazers and Totally Awesome Radical Morning Aerobics. Prices range from donations to $12, or $30 for a weekend pass.

“We are going to see some very good quality comedy,” said Brian Crall, while petting his scruffy dog, Coach, in his lap. “Not that the other stuff is going to be quality, it’s going to be weirder…. It is just a bunch of comedians that are very funny doing a lot of weird shit over a 48 hour time period.”

To truly express the weirdness of the 48 Hour Comedy Marathoners and with a little bit of inspiration from The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Submerge Magazine brings you: The Comedy Spot’s 2014 Yearbook Superlatives.

Most Likely to Have a Heart Attack as a Venue Owner:
Brian Crall

Originally inspired by The Upright Citizen’s Brigade’s comedy marathon, Crall decided to make a solely Sacramento based comedy marathon at The Comedy Spot. And even though Brian didn’t think that the 2013 comedy marathon would actually work, it turned out better than expected. Surprisingly, last year 60 audience members showed up to watch Strip-prov at 2 a.m. “Last year we did a really good job of coming up with shows but this year we went to Sacramento comedians to pitch a show,” Crall explained. And no matter what time slot you choose to sit back in the Comedy Spot you will not be disappointed. “You are spending a dollar to maybe watch a train wreck at 4 o’clock in the morning, so it will be a lot of fun.”

Most Likely to Agree to a Last Minute Show with No Preparation and Knock it Out of the Park:
Sam Bruno

Even though Sam Bruno agrees to last minute shows, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t like to plan ahead and save time. He has been performing music for the past 20 years and comedy for the past five, so he decided why not save time and combine the two? For the past year, instead of running between two different gigs in one weekend, he has combined them together to create a musical comedy show. He will be bringing his musically talented funny friends to star in Acoustic Comedy, a show that will feature all musical comedians making you laugh with their lyrics and notes. “I think it’s a show that everyone should try and go see, even if they aren’t a fan of musical comedy,” said Bruno. “This would be the first time we ever done a group of comedians like this in Sacramento.”

You can catch Acoustic Comedy March 22 at 10:30 p.m. for $5.

Most Likely to Get Drunk Before the Show:
Edgar Granados

After spending a summer of drinking boxed wine, Edgar Granados and his comedy partner Bill Wallis became inspired. “It was this really cool time of creativity where we were just coming up with jokes,” explained Granados. What started off as an idea for a local public access TV show has turned into the “brain child” of Wallis and Granados called The Calm Eddy Show. But since airing on Public Access Sacramento didn’t work out, the 21-year-old Granados is ready to unveil his show during the 48 Hour Comedy Marathon. The Calm Eddy Show will be an interview-style talk show featuring comics and improvisers in different characters. “Most of it is going to be improvised, banter between Bill and I,” said Granados. “I don’t know… We are going to be really drunk.”

Catch The Calm Eddy Show on March 23 at 2 a.m., and donations will be accepted as your entrance fee.

Most Likely to Sync Their Periods:
Heather Damon, Teresa Schumacher and Molly Doan

Living in the male-dominated world of comedy can be tough, but these three women seem to have it figured out. Bringing a combination of live performances and video sketches with an incorporation of music, character comedy and psychical humor, they are ready to bring you The Ritz and Triscuit Show.

“There will be a unicycle, there will be kittens, there will be aliens and there will be dancing,” said Damon. But don’t let the adorable kittens keep you distracted from their overall feminist message.

“We really want to get our message out there. We have a social message while making you laugh,” explained Damon.

Roommates and grad students, Schumacher (Ritz) and Damon (Triscuit) are ready to bring their sketch comedy shows from YouTube to the front stage at the Comedy Spot with their most recent member Doan (Cheese Nips).

“I think the audience should be nervous because we are going to knock them all dead,” said Damon.

The Ritz and Triscuit Show happens on March 22 at 3 p.m., also for a donation.

Most Likely to Die Broke:
Carlos Rodriguez

“…Because I live it to the last dollar.” But don’t call Rodriguez penniless just yet. In 2013 he was named Best Comedian in Sacramento by News and Review and has more than 15 years of comedy under his belt. And this year he will be testing his very own show idea at the Comedy Spot called What’s Going On Here? It will be an unscripted show featuring comics making fun of and analyzing commercials, web videos, and numerous pop culture clips.

“Commercials that I want to get into are just ridiculous,” Rodriguez said. “People really sit down in conference and meeting rooms and think these are really good ideas.”

Poking fun and talking about commercials is something that Carlos and his younger brother have always done at home but now he is ready to entertain you in the wee hours of the morning.

Experience What’s Going On Here? March 23 at 3 a.m. for a donation.

Most Likely to Deliver a Baby on Stage:
Charlie Lemcke

Within the past year Charlie Lemcke has been thinking a lot about babes. Not the miniskirt-wearing babes but the dirty diaper-wearing babes. Balancing the life of being a full-time dad of a 2-month-old baby and being a comedian is not an easy task…or is it? Lemcke has found a way to put his two passions together live with his show, Kangaroo Pack Improv. While most comedians would leave their newborn babies at home, this improv team will perform comedy with their babies strapped to them in front-strap baby carriers. “You kind of pretend that they are not there, but if they start talking or crying or anything they could maybe change the mood of the improviser,” Lemcke said. “They could be like the voice that the improviser hears. It will be interesting.”

Lemcke wants to bring back the Zach Galifianakis baby look (from The Hangover) and dress it up with some improv comedy. But no matter how this comedy show will turn out it will definitely be a story for the grandkids.

Kangaroo Pack Improv will hop on stage March 22 at 4 p.m. for $5.

Most likely to Piss Off People:
Nick Coleman

It’s hard to make friends after a comedy show, especially if your set didn’t sit well with people in the audience, but Nick Coleman is trying to look past that. After getting the green light for three months in a row during Test Kitchen, an idea showcase for a regular slot at the Comedy Spot, Coleman finally got his show, Let’s Get Weird, on the schedule. It will showcase video sketches in-between live comedy sketches but with the attempt to try and make it as weird as possible. But as weird as things might get, Coleman treats the Comedy Spot like his second home.

“The comedy spot performers are pretty much like my second family and I spend most of my time with them,” he said. “We have almost a whole weekend to support each other’s ideas and see a bunch of different shows.”

Let’s Get Weird takes the stage on March 22 at 1 a.m. for a donation.

Most Likely to Give a Good Face:
Micaela Pettigrew

Southern, ditzy, quirky and stalkers are a few of the characters that Micaela Pettigrew likes to fall back on during an improv show. She likes to think of characters on the spot that are fun and a “heightened version of herself.” So it is no surprise that after a show she will get numerous comments from audience members that they enjoyed her silly faces. Smith has been making silly faces on stage for three years now as a member of the longest running improv troupe at the Comedy spot, The Anti-Cooperation League. The league bases all of their improv ideas from an interview with a special guest for each night.

“From their answers, anything interesting that comes up or even a weird reaction from the audience can inspire a great scene,” Pettigrew explained.

You’ll have two chances to see The Anti-Cooperation League in action. First on March 22 at 9 p.m. for $12, and on March 23 at 7 p.m. for free.

Want a full rundown of the 48 Hour Comedy Marathon? OF COURSE YOU DO. Go to Saccomedyspot.com for all the details!

Thai Canteen
1501 16th Street • Sacramento

After getting settled in cozy downtown Davis for more than two years, restaurant owner, T, is ready to take on the big city.

Coming from a successful Thai restaurant in a college town, the Thai Canteen has opened a second location on the block of 16th and O in downtown Sacramento. The owners, T, his sister and her boyfriend are excited to feed the city with traditional Thai food but with a modern twist.

At first glance you might have a difficult time realizing it is a Thai restaurant because of the modern look and appeal. Instead of a formal sit down restaurant with white tablecloths and a server waiting for your every need, the canteen has a more relaxed and comfortable environment. There are wooden benches, green painted walls, small lights hanging from the ceiling, a water station, bar and front counter to give it more of the “hang out and sit for a bit” vibe, explained T.

“Once you walk into [a] Thai restaurant they really stick to old and formal. [My sister and I] wanted to do something new about Thai restaurants. So when people come in you can feel something different,” explained T sitting inside the Canteen.

Since opening the new location two weeks ago, T and his sister are putting in 10 to 15 hour days to keep up with both restaurants. He is planning to add more modern artwork to the walls, add food specials and, with a liquor license on the way, possibly start happy hour.

“Within a month everything will be together,” T said with a smile. “After everything is ready and set up, you guys are going to love it.”

But judging from the dinner crowd on a Wednesday night it seems Sacramento already loves it. But don’t let a few touch-ups and the modern look distract you from the delicious menu; Thai Canteen has plenty of fresh and authentic food to offer. The menu is divided up into five different categories: Rice Plates, Salads, Soup, Noodles and Snacks. And if you weren’t hungry before you walked into the Thai Canteen you will soon be after you read the items listed on the menu and will become overwhelmed with curry, rice, prawns, vegetables and spices. The majority of the plates on the menu range from $7 to $8 and the appetizers are almost all $5 making it an affordable lunch or dinner for everyone.

My feast for the evening included, Pad Med Mamuang, Pad Thai, crispy taro fries, Thai iced tea and fried banana with green tea ice cream for dessert.

I started with a refreshing and cold Thai Iced tea that made me forget about the previous 110-degree weekend in Sacramento. The Pad Med Mamuang had stir-fry cashews, water chestnuts, onions, roasted chilies, a small dome of white rice on the side and chicken (for the rice plates you have the options of choosing chicken, pork, beef or tofu). The chicken was covered in a rich spicy brown sauce that went perfectly with the crunchy water chestnuts and onions.

Up next were the crispy taro fries. After eating this I officially have a new favorite fry; they made regular French fries seem greasy and bland. And normally the word fry doesn’t seem to match a Thai restaurant but the Canteen serves up taro fries that resemble three small hash browns, which were crispy on the outside but soft and warm in the middle.

For dessert I couldn’t resist to order the fried banana with green tea ice cream, and I had no regrets. The fried banana was not what I expected. It was a warm, cooked banana wrapped up a mini egg roll-like shell topped with sweet sauce. The fried banana with a side of ice cream was the best way to end the perfect meal.

The best part about going out with friends to a restaurant is that you get to sample a little bit off their plates. It also seemed fitting to bring a big group, because we were not only eating but socializing in the Thai Canteen. Along with my main meal I got to sample the Pad Thai, steak salad and the Pad Si Ew (rice noodles stir fried with broccoli and egg in sweet and sour sauce) and the coconut juice that contained giant slices of fresh coconut on the bottom. Everything I sampled left me wanting to come back to get every dish for myself.

If you live in Davis or Sacramento, you can now experience traditional Thai food with a modern take that is affordable, delicious and will leave you wanting more. If you are a night owl that craves food late at night the Thai Canteen is open late hours Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. and Sunday through Monday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Welcome these owners to Sacramento the right way and grab a friend to dine out and hang out at the Thai Canteen.

Gam Lei Sig

918 S Street • Sacramento

On the block of S and 10th in downtown Sacramento there is a hot spot for “regulars.” There is Old Ironsides, a bar that has been around for decades where people are likely to walk in and know the bartender’s name. Then across the street is Waffle Square, a breakfast joint that brings out the usual Sunday brunch crowd. And down the street is Beers Books, a bookstore that keeps the bookworms coming back for more pages to read. But there is one of the block’s regular spots that definitely goes under the radar. At 918 S Street there is a small restaurant that is easy to miss, most likely because it is someone’s house. The basement-turned-family owned Chinese restaurant, Gam Lei Sig, has been feeding Sacramento for the past 10 years and keeps its regulars coming back for more.

The moment my roommate Brian and I walked up to the door of the restaurant, the server was outside and took one glance at Brian and said, “Chicken chow mein, chicken chow mein,” without hesitation. Although Brian has only recently started to eat his usual dinner at Gam Lei Sig, she knew his order even before he even walked through the door.

But this time Brian decided to venture away from the usual and try something new. Every item on the menu is made family style. You will receive very generous portions that will most likely have you eating leftover Chinese food for the next few meals. Forget measuring the portions in terms of plate size; what you get is equivalent to a small mountain. Considering the bounty of food Gam Lei Sig serves, you’d be hard pressed not to feel (and eat) like a king.

At first it was a bit overwhelming to choose an item on the menu. For being such a small restaurant, Gam Lei Sig menu has more than 100 items to offer. The menu is divided up into categories from chicken to seafood, and features all kinds of Chinese-American favorites such as chicken chow mein and sweet and sour pork, but they have a few surprises that you might not see anywhere else such as the appetizer called, ginger garlic fried chicken wing. Not only are the portion sizes giant, but the prices make you wonder how they have managed to stay in business for so long.

The lunch combinations only cost $5.95, and the dinner combinations cost $7.25. But this isn’t only a one-shot meal; you can expect to take two or three meals back home. Most of the dishes range from $5 to $8, making it the perfect spot to grab a bite to eat and to save some for the next day.

My feast for the evening included wonton soup, pot stickers, spicy chicken salad, seafood and cheese fried wonton, beef chow fun, asparagus beef and chicken chow mein.

The meal started off with a giant bowl of wonton soup that only cost $5. It was hot, fresh and delicious with vegetables and broth. The pot stickers, which seemed to be very popular with everyone that came in for dinner that night, was an appetizer that was made fresh and was only $5.95 for eight pieces. And my personal favorite were the seafood and cheese fried wontons: the fried wonton was made crispy on the outside but when you bite into it you can taste warm cheese and meats. The spicy chicken salad was crunchy and the sauce that was mixed in with the lettuce added a mild spiciness to it. The asparagus beef included giant pieces of veggies mixed in with fresh meat that was drowned in sauces. Next up was the beef chow fun, which is very similar to regular chow mein but it is made with thicker noodles. This plate only cost $6.50.

For a restaurant that only has a maximum occupancy of 28 people, it was scattered with people that didn’t require a menu, because they already knew exactly what they wanted. Seated behind us was a very friendly regular named Jack Donaldson, who seemed to have more plates on his table than his stomach could handle. Jack not only frequents Gam Lei Sig but he comes every Wednesday night for dinner, then usually saves his leftovers and shares them with his friends.

Our meal ended with the server handing us a handwritten check and, of course, fortune cookies. As we were leaving the restaurant it was near closing time and the family owners, including the servers and cooks, were gathered around a table inside preparing to have their family dinner and watch professional ice skating in Chinese on TV.

Gam Lei Sig is everything that makes for amazing Chinese food: fast, cheap, delicious, leftovers to take home and a very friendly environment. Gam Lei Sig is open seven days a week for your Chinese food cravings. Whether they hit at 10 a.m. or 8p.m. at night, this “hole in the wall” will feed you with great food at the right price.

Comedian Sammy Obeid sets a milestone in consecutive nights of stand-up

Sammy Obeid is a workaholic of the highest order. While most people strive to have their weekends off after five long days in the office, this comedian plans to work the stage every single night for 1,000 nights in a row. After a few months of working and realizing that he hasn’t had a day off since Christmas 2010, Obeid asked himself, “Why not just keep it going?”

Submerge caught up with Sammy over the phone on day 804 and the 10th anniversary of his first time stepping up on stage as a comic.

“I reached 100 [days], and I said, ‘You know I can make a full year record out of this and go to 365.’ I did that,” Obeid said. “When I made the 365, I got a Facebook message from my friend who said, ‘Hey man, I heard a comedian once did two years in a row performing every night…’ I said, ‘If I do that, I’m going to do 1,000 days.’”

Obeid has been working so much in the past two years, he considers his afternoon gigs as a “day off” or as he joked on Facebook a day off is a night performing comedy in pajamas. Recently he has cut down the workday by performing one or two sets instead of three or four in one night.

“I’m on my eighth wind right now or something. There was a point earlier when I was getting really burnt out and I kind of just took it easy, rested and regenerated. The last 100 days or so I’ve been resting and trying to get my health back,” he said. “It’s been one heck of a ride that’s for sure. I’m definitely looking forward to the end, but I feel like I have a wind right now. I’m going strong. And I’m so used to this, it’s becoming normal.”

Obeid has not only broken the previous record of performing stand-up comedy for the most consecutive nights on day 731, but he has plans to take it to the next level of performing.

“I needed to set up the margin so nobody else ever beats it. That and 1,000 is a nice round number,” Obeid explained.

Since the comedy bar is set so high, he knows that his final day is going to be a special one and is hoping to catch more attention to the public. In order to document his crazy comedy life correctly, he matches his everyday show with an everyday blog update on his website, Sammyko.com. You can keep track of what city he will be in and the type of challenges he goes through on a daily basis. Aspiring comedians can find helpful tips from a traveling comic, or people interested in what life would be like for a performing comic can find hilarious tales from his everyday life. You can read how he conquered performing on Monday in San Francisco, dealt with a “horny heckler,” how he got called a “genius” by the legendary Louis C.K., and received a compliment from Howard Stern while performing on America’s Got Talent.

“‘Well Sammy, I think you made the right choice.’ The crowd cheers. ‘I really like what you’re doing, and you know me, I love racial comedy. I think you’ve tapped into really something special there,’” Sammy wrote in his blog after day 441, after receiving honest words from Howard Stern.

On top of keeping up his blog and working a show every night, Sammy is being followed by a cameraman throughout his shows to film the comedy marathon.

“The whole time I thought it would be really cool to get a guy to follow me around, and I wouldn’t have to pay anything because I don’t have any money. It turns out I met a guy who’s been waiting to find the perfect project to put himself into,” he said. “We are going to turn it into a full-on movie, and recently I’ve a lot of good financial success, so I can actually pay him now and we can get better equipment. It’s really coming along.”

Originally from Oakland and a UC Berkeley graduate, Obeid first started comedy after one of his college professors suggested he try it out. After bombing the first time on stage, he became discouraged and decided that maybe comedy wasn’t the right career for him. But a few years later he enrolled in a public speaking class and ended up winning one of the national tournaments. After realizing his speaking skill, he decided to brave the stage once more in San Jose for a comedy competition. Although he didn’t get the winning title, he performed very well on stage getting plenty of laughs.

“I found out what I was good at, which was public speaking, math and making people laugh,” he said. “I left college with knowing that’s what I’m good at, which didn’t tell me at all what I should be doing in life [but] that’s how I ended up becoming a comedian.”

He graduated with a 3.9 GPA double major in Business and Mathematics. But Obeid’s education is used every day on stage to come up with jokes that are creative and smart.

“I think about comedy mathematically, jokes are equations in a way. I have a very technical way of looking at things,” explained Obeid. “Everybody has a different comedy style, some people are off the whim, some people are very structured. I have a mathematical intuition when it comes to comedy.”

His natural intuition has paid off, on top of attempting to complete the most consecutive nights of comedy, he as appeared on NBC’s America’s Got Talent, the Food Network, and is a current member of the Coexist Comedy Tour and the Axis of Evil New Generation Tour. He also started his own comedy enterprise with a group of friends called KO Comedy, where they promote and perform shows. Throughout his success he has noticed how much stronger and funnier his set has been.

“The comedic growth that I’ve experienced is pretty immense and (this is a double negative) but you can’t not get good from doing comedy every night. It’s inevitable, it will just happen,” he said. “I’m just amazed of how much more power I feel like I have, how much more control I feel I have over a crowd, and having more material. I would have never thought this was conceivable two years ago.”

The last day of work for Sammy Obeid will be on Sept. 21, 2013, making it officially 1,001 consecutive days of stand-up comedy. Now working on this eighth wind, quitting is not even an option for him but he does look forward to his future day off.

“I don’t even know what I’m going to do yet. But it’s going to involve locking myself in my room or a few days,” joked Obeid.

Sammy Obeid will perform a free show with Mike E. Winfield at Sacramento State’s University Union Ballroom on April 4, 2013. On April 7, Obeid will headline a show at Punch Line in Sacramento. Tickets for the latter are $15.

Sacramento’s The Old Screen Door stakes its claim in the Capital City

During the course of 19 months, four guys have managed to accomplish what most bands attempt to achieve in years: to get noticed. The “rock and soul” Sacramento group, The Old Screen Door, is quickly gaining momentum in the local music scene and they are just getting started.

They have received over 2,300 likes on their Facebook band page, recently won Folsom Live Battle of the Bands and are catching the eyes of numerous local concert promoters.

“We are at the point now where we don’t have to cold call for places to play anymore, they are all calling us,” explained frontman Garrett Wildgust in front of Peet’s Coffee. “Due to our unique ability to play with any type of band, we can mold with any kind of group.”

Wildgust and his three band mates, drummer Harrison Reich, bassist Jonathan Maldonado and keyboardist Michael Buck have created music that seems impossible to categorize in one genre. Some could argue that their music sounds similar to blues rock, pop and even progressive rock. They like to stick to good old fashioned “rock ‘n’ roll” but with a classic feel and have a story to tell with each song.

“Everyone would tell us that when they would come to see our show it was like listening to a mix tape because we play one song that’s dance rock, then we play another song that’s blues,” Reich said. “It doesn’t necessarily sound like you are listening to the same band because we really have no stylistic qualifier.”

The Old Screen Door have been working to bring out their first self-titled “mix tape” EP, with five dance songs that have been named “crowd favorites.” Since they were officially formed as a band in March 2011, all four members have agreed to take no pay they receive at gigs but instead place it in their “band bank” in order to get their EP completed.

Each recorded song is not only danceable but gives the audience members something to ponder. Their music holds deeper meanings then what appears on the surface. One of their songs titled “Bar Fight” has nothing to do with drunkards smashing bottles over their heads but is a metaphor for how they think society lives.

“It’s about everyone fighting each other to get ahead,” said Wildgust. “When are we going to stop repeating history and move forward with something new and something better for society? The name [of the song] doesn’t ever portray the song’s meaning per se, it’s more of an outward view on the subject.”

To come up with these metaphors for life, The Old Screen Door collaborates with each other inside and outside of the studio. All four artists bring their own individual talents and ideas to create a song. Reich has only been drumming for two years and his first time performing on a stage was with this band. Although he is a fairly new musician, he has picked up the drums very quickly and couldn’t seem more comfortable on stage.

“I just try and go for it,” Reich said.

Buck brings a more formal approach from behind his keyboard with his knowledge of music theory, which he studied at American River College. Wildgust has been singing and performing ever since he was a kid.

“I’ve been a singer since I could hit notes,” he said. “I was hitting Mariah Carey notes before I hit puberty.” And originally a lead guitarist, Jonathan Maldonado doesn’t like to take the traditional route when playing the bass and adds his own personal spice, said Wildgust.

“It’s been a really cool learning experience for me as a musician to grow with these guys,” added Wildgust. “It’s really been a give and get kind of situation.”

The Old Screen Door couldn’t have passed their musical message without the help of their friends and family. Wildgust’s cousin creates all of the graphic art for the band’s posters and website, his aunt helps to write the content on its band website and press releases, and Harrison’s mom allowed the band to practice in the living room when they first got started.

The first fan club consisted of friends and family, who would attend every show and enjoy every minute of it.

“They are all stoked because they wanted to be there, they love the music on top of the fun they have at the shows,” said Wildgust. They have helped to spread the band’s name, even the acronym of The Old Screen Door has inspired phrases like “Get TOSD,” “I’m TOSD” or “Way TOSD” at their live shows.

“We try and market as well as we can and we try different things from the other bands that we know, to just try and make sure that we get to everyone possible,” Reich said. “We try everything we can to see if we can get people out and it’s working out pretty well. We get a lot of return visits. A lot of people find us to watch us again.”

With the support of their family, they only had to be together for a week and a half to get up on stage and perform as a band. “Ever since then I’ve been booking the shows. It’s been a super crazy dream with everything that we’ve been doing,” added Wildgust.

Their publicity and hard work is quickly starting to pay off. Each band member considers being part of the band as a part time job, they dedicate a lot of their time to getting noticed and perfecting their music.

“We can always do better,” said Wildgust. “I think that’s why we progressed so fast, it’s just that drive to become something good to listen to.”

The band has been working overtime to fit in band practices three times a week, have one live show a week and continue to talk about their band everyday.

“For how much we put in and how much we are getting back now, it’s priceless,” said Wildgust.

Organizers hope the second Sacramento Comedy Festival will make California’s capital a destination for comics nationwide

There is only one place where you can see 120 comedians in nine days. And we aren’t asking you to travel to San Francisco, Las Vegas or New York for this epic week. All of the comics are going to make their way to the Capital City to try and make your stomach hurt from laughing. The Sacramento Comedy Festival is ready to make its second appearance in September but this time with a lot more laughs to go around. You can catch local and out-of-town stand-up comedians, improv groups and sketch comics at Luna’s Café (in cooperation with comic Keith Lowell Jensen) and the Sacramento Comedy Spot from Sept. 7 through 15, 2012. The mastermind behind the giant laugh fest is Brian Crall, a veteran comic and owner of the Sacramento Comedy Spot, whose goal is to make Sacramento the next destination for great comedy.

In 2005, Crall created a comedy club that was easily available and affordable for comics in training and audience members. “We decided from early on that we are going to be different from any other club and we are going to be accessible for people,” Crall said over the phone. “They don’t have to spend a lot of money and they are going to get a good quality product.”

The Comedy Spot, located in Midtown, is a hot spot for stand-up comedy, sketch comedy and improv, drawing in big crowds. The club is home of the Anti-Cooperation League Comedy Troupe, In Your Facebook (where comics poke fun at your profile), The Syndicate (a sketch comedy team), Lady Business (an all-women improv team) and a Top 10 podcast who will all be performing at the festival.

“People come from out of town and they love our stage,” Crall explained. “They always compliment us on our professionalism and the quality of the local comedy groups, especially ones that the Comedy Spot produces.”

After more than seven years of running the Comedy Spot, Crall decided to create a comedy festival that can call Sacramento home. One way that Crall is spreading the comedy love is by inviting comics from all across the country to see what Sacramento has to offer.

“If we are going to make Sacramento a destination, we have to have a reason for people to come here in the first place, and people love performing in festivals,” Crall said. “We have people coming to Sacramento to see what we do, then they will start spreading the word and let people know that we have a great scene and that this is the place to do good comedy.”

Nick Pettigrew

Not only does the Festival draw comics and audience members to the Capital City for comedy but it’s a great way to put a spotlight on talented local comedians. A few of the performing local acts include Keith Lowell Jensen, Ngaio Bealum, Michael O’Connell, John Ross, Queenie TT, Carlos Rodriguez, Chazz Hawkins, Kristen Frisk and the improv group Mayhem from ComedySportz.

One of the local talents to be featured in the festival is Nick Pettigrew, the co-producer of Critical Hit, a geek-centric comedy variety show that was created at the Comedy Spot.

“I’ve been a geek my whole life and I love doing comedy, but it was hard doing geek-orientated stand-up but not finding an audience for it,” said Pettigrew over the phone. “So I wanted to create a show where I can make my own audience.”

Another great local to be showcased is Cheryl the Soccer Mom, whose style of comedy does not seem to match her innocent name. A few years ago, Cheryl was a legitimate soccer mom who would drop off the kids at practice and lived in the suburbs. But at a comedy club Cheryl has a hilarious and sometimes dirty stand-up routine.

Cheryl the Soccer Mom

“It depends on the audience. If it’s that kind of show, I can totally go there,” she said. “Not always but pretty often.”

Even though her soccer mom days are nearly over because her oldest child is leaving for college soon, her comedy career is quickly taking off. She has recently filmed a show for Nickelodeon and has been invited to participate in the World Series of Comedy in Las Vegas. Without the support of local Sacramento comics, getting started in the comedy world would have been tough, she said.

“When I started out all of the Sacramento comics were so helpful and so welcoming. I can’t imagine getting a better start in any other city,” she said. “There’s the typical [comedy] politics that you find anywhere but overall the support for new comics is really strong and support for each other, we’re happy for each other’s success.”

The Sacramento Comedy Festival is not holding back support for the out-of-town comedians. Multiple comedians have been invited to perform in the 25-show festival by Crall himself. A few of the traveling comics (improv and stand-up) include Joe Klocek from the Bay Area; Matt Gubser and Priya Prasad from Oakland; Andrew Holmgren from San Francisco; 70-year-old comedian Sandra Risser from Concord, Calif.; and Brent Gill from Denver. Former Comedy Spot cast member Jeff Sloniker will also be performing at the festivities.

Leeman Parker, Sacramento native and member of improv group Bro Squad 5 from Hollywood, Calif., performed at the comedy festival last year and anticipates the upcoming shows. “The place was packed, and it was a really cool atmosphere to do a show,” said Parker about the Comedy Festival last year.

Kurt Weitzmann

A first time performer in the festival but veteran stand-up comic, Kurt Weitzmann, who has been seen on Comedy Central, MTV and multiple comedy stages in San Francisco is also scheduled to perform for this year’s fest.

“I’ve always loved the Sacramento comedy scene. I’ve always thought it was really good people that came out of there,” said Weitzmann. “I’m just glad they’re doing it. I think it’s a great idea. I think every city should have a comedy festival. It’s not hard to do, everybody loves comedy.”

Everyone does love comedy, but I’m not sure if putting on a comedy festival is as easy as it sounds. Brian Crall along with the help from Mignon Foster, who is in charge of the logistics of the show, has been planning this festival for over a year. They have been working on making the festival bigger and decided to extend the festival to eight days.

“We just started off very simple last year. We did four days, and we tried to pack in as many things as possible but it was a lot of fun,” Crall explained. “We didn’t do a lot of publicity last year, it was just more of a trial run year…but this year we are going all out.” As soon as the 2011 laughs were over, Crall and Foster got straight to work on an encore. They have created an original logo for the festival, a website and have been screening tapes from comics across the country who wanted to participate. After all of this work, Crall is hoping for a big turnout.

“We want as many people to come out and get a good sampling of what we do, and we have put a festival pass together that allows you to see every show at the comedy festival for $55, when we have 20-plus shows that’s a pretty good deal,” he added.

The Sacramento Comedy Festival will kick off opening night with a ribbon cutting ceremony and music from the local rock group Dog Party. After that for eight days, you watch stand-up comics and improv groups from across the country brave the stage, you can geek out with Nick Pettigrew and listen to Cheryl the Soccer Mom’s MILF joke. With every laugh that comes out of the festival, Brian Crall will be one step closer to making his goal a reality in making Sacramento a destination for comedy.

We don’t have the space to list all the acts who will be performing at the Sacramento Comedy Festival. Good thing for you, ticket prices are affordable enough that we won’t have to. You can go see them for yourselves. The fest runs from Sept. 7 through 15, 2012 and for just $55, you can see every show. Go to http://www.saccomedyfest.com/ for more info and to purchase tickets.