The New Shayne-Michael.COMedy

Chris Adams is a Long Beach comic who is the mind behind the website called the Open Mikers. The site, which has been featured prominently on the Rooftop Comedy Website, follows comics Chris, Johnny Gold, Anthony Browning and Matt Claybrooks from open mic to open mic. There was a feature story on the series on this site on June 29th.

Adams was born premature in Fountain Valley California. Times were tough coming in and out of homes then being homeless. By age five, Adams knew he wanted to do: stand-up comedy after. Through stand-up comedy, he turned things like being homeless, being born a premature crack baby and living out of his car into some exceptional comedy.

I liked Tracie Walker the minute I met her at the Comedy Store open mic nearly ten years ago. You have to know how many nut jobs hang around the Comedy Store open mic to know how hard it is to make a good impression on anyone by playing there. When I ran into her again at the Warehouse Comedy Show a few months ago and then again at Serenity Hall a week later, I was very grateful to see her again. Walker is the kind of female comic I really enjoy. She is smart and unapologetic with just a little bit of an edge. She’s also the kind of comic who doesn’t walk away from playing a room because it’s difficult; she embraces the challenge and does well even with a deck is stacked against anyone putting on a great show.

Born and raised on planet earth, Anthony Ponterio Browning knew right from the start what he was meant to do, STAND UP COMEDY. Whether it be world issues, make believe, politics, or just plain life in general, Anthony will have you laughing and thinking at the same time.

Seriously Anthony, doesn't any comedian have a serious biography on their site?

This is normally where I'd check the comic's Facebook profile to give readers a more accurate picture of who Anthony is, but according that profile his interest are drug trafficking and prison time. And, his hobbies are breathing and burning books. Smart ass.

I met Laura Swisher at the LA Cabaret nearly ten years ago. In a sea of mediocre comics, she immediately stood out. Her stand-up comedy was subdued, but smart. And usually, there was a subtle element of risk involved. Swisher was raised in Tucson Arizona. She moved to Los Angeles after graduating college.

She has appeared at many major comedy clubs including the Improv and the Laugh Factory. Her first TV appearance was on Destination Stardom. Appearances on Girls Behaving Badly, Last Comic Standing and Premium Blend would follow. She was also half of Louise Palanker’s highly rated pod cast, Weezy and the Swish, before relocating to San Francisco.

I hate it when I know where a comedian is going. If nothing else Jeremy Paul is relentlessly honest, original and brave. Paul has been described as the last of a dying breed of comedian, one who doesn’t rely on buffoonery, celebrity gossip or impressions of celebrities in sexual situations to get laughs. Whatever he says onstage is based on his experiences and his opinions. Paul has also been described as acquired taste, yet highly addictive. He's like heroin, without the shakes or vomiting.

Back when I ran the Novel Café open mic in Santa Monica there were three comics who constantly impressed me with clean and original acts. In no particular order they were Matt Iseman who is now ironically so famous from Clean House the students from my day job won’t accept that I know him, Michael Batts and Bernadette Balagtas {now Bernadette Balagtas Batts}. When I forwarded information to Matt about a corporate gig in Tokyo that conflicted with some of Matt’s filming dates, Bernadette was the first comic we both thought of, independant of each other, as the next logical choice. Bernadette, as Matt said, is clean and hilarious. Actually all three of them are.

Johnny Gold is what known as a comic’s comic. We admire him for all the risks he takes. And then, sometimes we chastise him for taking them. That means I’ve seen Gold absolutely bomb and I’ve also seen him slay with the riskiest material. But then, that’s the cost of taking a lot of risks. And it's a quality the best comics of our era all share. The material I’m showing here is some of Gold’s best. But what’s more hysterical here is the conversation with the booker about opening for Bill Hicks when she asks Gold for his credits to play a street corner. Of course, Hicks is dead, which is why the Camera man is laughing so hard. You can catch Gold this week at Serenity Hall in Garden Grove this Friday 07/30/2010 at 9:30pm.

Kerry Arnold Stephens is best known as the host of the iCandy Open Mic in Long Beach. You won't find much about Kerry in his bio. Under political views he writes: "Yes." Under religious views, he writes: "Yes." About the most I can tell you about this iCandy host who hails from San Diego is that he's an excellent comic who has given plenty back to the industry through an open mic which has lasted seven years now. You can catch Kerry on Thursday July 22nd at the Seafood Shack in Long Beach. You can also catch him on Thursday July 29th at Khoury's, also in Long Beach. Want to know about some other great comics? Check out the previous two nominees, Deirdre Richards and Earl Skakel.

When I started the Saturday Stand-Up Spotlight last week, I wanted to expose the general public to great comics that I know about but that the general public might not be familiar with. When I went looking for a female stand-up comic to feature among my Facebook friends, Deirdre Richards immediately stood out. Richards hails from a background in theatre and dance. With such a diverse background, Richards has found a great niche in stand-up comedy. According to her MySpace Page, Richards has too many influences to list. But, more importantly, like my first inductee Earl Skakel, I always see Richards always gives 110 percent to each performance no matter what the quality of the room.

Every Saturday I want to use this site to spotlight a comic that I know is hysterical, but that the general public might not be familiar with. When I looked through my Facebook friends, Earl Skakel immediately came to mind. Skakel is one of the only comics I know who never dumbs down even when playing a dive bar.

I remember him doing the America’s Got Talent bit at a bar Aldo use to run that I frequented just to learn how to deal with hecklers. Skakel's comedy is clever and edgy at the same time. And I don't think I've ever watched him do poorly in the worst of all circumstances. You can see more of Skakel’s comedy at the Ice House here.