Like many up-and-coming comedians, Keith Bergman wants to get his name out there to a larger audience. One of the best ways to do that is to have some of your material recorded — a live sample you can sell on video so people can experience your work in the comfort and convenience of their own homes.

“I’ve been doing stand-up for a little over three years now,” Bergman said in an interview with Toledo Free Press Star. “And as I’m moving into more paid shows and things like that, I wanted to get a little more representation — I wanted to get something recorded that I could get out for people. But I’m not at the point where I’m a headlining comic and I could put out an hour-long DVD of my own stuff or anything like that.”

Of course, Bergman isn’t the only comedian with this problem. He knows and works with a lot of comics who are still cutting their teeth in the comedy game.

Bergman

“We’re opening for other people, or we’re doing showcases where we do small sets. But there’s really a big renaissance going on with stand-up, especially in this area. There’s a lot of festivals coming up, there’s a lot of clubs opening up, there’s open mic nights going, and even some of the small towns are having open mic nights and small comedy shows now,” he said.

“So I figured rather than trying to just put out something just by myself, it would be a really good idea to kinda showcase the scene as a whole, and show a lot of the people — give people kind of a sample of a lot of the people who I think are really funny in the area and are kind of making their way into stand-up.”

The end result is “Hashtag Rustbelt,” a show being taped at Connxtions Comedy Club on April 17 and 24. The two shows will feature 10 regional comics showcasing their material — five comics each week — while being recorded for a DVD release this coming summer.

Bergman said the goal is for the comics to promote and help sell the DVD themselves locally, including at their own shows. This will give each comic the chance to show off their own talents while also spotlighting the wide variety of great local comedy.

The first taping on April 17 is scheduled to feature Bergman, Erik Cribley, D.K. Hamilton, Stu McCallister and Steve Wherry. The following week will see performances by Thom Brush, Anthony Martinez, Dustin Meadows, Mike Szar and Owen Thomas.

“Everybody has their own unique style,” Bergman said of the lineup. “I’m 40, I have kids, I’m married. There’s a couple guys who are in their early 20s. Everybody’s got their own different perspective, different style.

“It’s kind of like watching different musicians play. It’s just that everybody has a little different approach. And we really put some time in trying to get a really good mix of people together. So I think there’ll definitely be something for everybody on this.”

Bergman said the DVD will aim to preserve as much as possible of the show.

“We’re going to be doing as little editing as possible, because part of this is, I want this to be as close to a live experience as possible. A lot of times when you see a special on TV, you see something that’s very polished — half an hour of what was at the show didn’t get put in, or someone made a mistake or tripped over a word, it got edited out. Or crowd noise got added in later, things like that. We’re trying to do this as kinda DIY as possible.

“It’s a pretty underground thing. I mean, none of us are full-time comics yet,” he said. “We’re just kinda coming up from the underground of doing this in bars and clubs and coffee shops and stuff. So we kind of want to keep that vibe going on the DVD, make this as close to the real thing as possible.”

The ultimate goal, Bergman said, is to remind local audiences that there are great things happening in comedy in the Glass City and surrounding areas.

“There is more to stand-up comedy than just what people see on television or what’s happening in New York and LA. There’s a lot that’s happening in their own backyard.”

Email Toledo Free Press Star Pop Culture Editor Jeff McGinnis at PopGoesJeff@gmail.com.

Tags: Anthony Martinez, Connxtions Comedy Club, D.K. Hamilton, Dustin Meadows, Erik Cribley, Hashtag Rustbelt, Jeff McGinnis, Keith Bergman, Mike Szar, Owen Thomas, Pop Goes the Culture, Steve Wherry, Stu McCallister, Thom Brush

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 16th, 2013 at 11:15 am and is filed under Comedy, Pop Goes the Culture, Star.
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Galen Orner III has always been a fighter. His wife of almost 10 years, Josie, has a picture of him as a kid, showing his muscles and making a growling face like a bear.

“It just reminds me of something from ‘Rocky’ or something,” Josie said.

On Aug. 23, Orner’s fighting side was in full force. While working at Stoneco Inc., an asphalt production company in Maumee, he was using diesel to clean a drum, a piece of equipment that can reach 700 degrees, when an explosion left 63 percent of his body with third-degree burns.

“That’s what was said,” his mother Tina said. “We don’t know for sure.”

Josie, who was home at the time, got a call immediately after the accident. When she arrived at his work, Orner was already bandaged up and surrounded by paramedics.

“I was literally sick to my stomach,” Josie said. “You don’t actually know what that saying means until you feel that.

“It’s the strangest thing,” she said. “When I got on the expressway, I felt like everything was in slow motion. To the point where the lady next to me when I was merging on, she spilled her coffee and I watched it. … [I saw] every little drop fall in her lap.”

The Orner Family.

Since that day, Orner has been at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center. He spent four weeks in a medically induced coma. Josie stayed beside his hospital bed every day.

“Times before when I had anything happen I’ve always had Galen there, so it was OK to cry and break down and be a mess,” Josie said. “My thing is, I just want to stay in bed. And I knew I couldn’t do that. So, I guess it was just something that you say, ‘OK, you [have] to be the strong one now.’”

Orner has already had five surgeries with one more scheduled. His right hand and arm, left leg, lower right leg and abdomen have been grafted, cadaver skin has been put on both legs and a tracheotomy performed to help him breathe. There is still a chance he will lose his right hand.

Despite the many surgeries, Orner is doing well, his family said.

“He’s done a lot already and he’s progressed really fast,” Josie said. “We’ve been lucky with that. He heals really well and the doctors are just really surprised by how well he’s been healing.”

The doctors’ goal is to have Orner home by Thanksgiving, but there are no guarantees.

“He just seems to be very high-spirited, very willful,” his father Galen “J.R.” Orner said. “He’s very positive. I look forward to when we can get a chance to get him home. I think he has a strong will and that’s probably why he’s weeks ahead in his healing time. [That attitude] is something he’s carried all his life.”

This is not the first time J.R. has had a family member severely burned.

“My father was burned [with] third-degree burns on his legs when I was a kid and I got to see him work through that,” J.R. said. “Yes, it took a year, year and a half to get 100 percent on his feet. These things were going through my mind and I know Galen can do that.”

Visits with Orner are limited only to family members right now. Orner’s two children, Jonathan and McKayla, have gotten to see him twice.

“It’s just so hard for me to even go in there and see him go through all this,” Tina said. “I’ve gotten a lot stronger. I have my moments.”

A spaghetti dinner benefit for Orner will be from 1-6 p.m. Nov. 4, planned by extended family members. The event is open to the public and will be at Holland Gardens Banquet Hall, 6530 Angola Road, in Holland. It will include dinner, a silent auction, a bake sale, music and entertainment. The family will also be selling T-shirts and wristbands in support of Orner.

“Galen draws a crowd,” J.R. said. “It’s a wonderful thing. It’s love for no matter what whether someone’s healthy or someone’s sick.”

The idea for the benefit came from Orner’s sister, Heather Piasecki, and Josie’s sister, Nichole Delarosa. They came up with the spaghetti dinner without telling Josie.

“I’ve had so much great support from his family, from my family, even strangers,” Josie said.

The community has also come together in support of Orner. A few donated items in the silent auction include tickets for the Toledo Zoo’s “Lights Before Christmas,” tickets to the Connxtions Comedy Club and a gift card to Expresso Car Wash. The spaghetti served at the event will be donated by Bob Evans. Springfield High School, from which Orner graduated in 1998, has also lent support.

“I never expected so many people,” Josie said. “It makes you really appreciate that there are so many people out there that care still. Honestly, I was overwhelmed for a while when they were telling me everything that everyone was willing to donate. You don’t realize that there are still really good people out there. We’ve been really lucky with everything that everyone’s been doing.”

Tickets for the event are $10 for adults and $5 for children. They can be purchased in advance by calling (877) 798-5996. Anyone who cannot make the event but still would like to donate can do so at any Fifth Third Bank. Checks can be made to “Support The Journey – Galen III.”

“He’s the nicest, caring, most giving person that anybody will meet,” Josie said. “That’s why he has so many friends and family come out for support.”

Tags: Bob Evans, Connxtions Comedy Club, Expresso Car Wash, Galen Orner III, Holland Gardens Banquet Hall, Lights Before Christmas, Springfield High School, Toledo Zoo

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 18th, 2012 at 1:55 pm and is filed under Community, People.
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Just when he thinks he’s out, he gets pulled back in.

Bobcat Goldthwait has announced his retirement from stand-up comedy more than a few times during the course of his 30-plus years in the business. And yet here he is, ready to return to Toledo on Nov. 11, performing for two nights at Connxtions Comedy Club — and with a new Showtime comedy special recorded.

“I always jokingly refer to it as the ‘Alimony Tour,’ but I will say this time coming back hasn’t been as painful,” Goldthwait joked during an interview with Toledo Free Press Star. “I actually have been enjoying stand-up again for the first time in years.”

Goldthwait (AP)

What’s changed? Well, for one thing, his character. Yes, the manic, crazed persona that Goldthwait had patented for decades of fame has been jettisoned. “You know, not because I’m embarrassed of that character, it just gets very boring for me to play over and over again,” he said.

Goldthwait’s comedic sensibilities and comic targets have matured, so maybe it was time to lay the crazy-eyed, rough-voiced squealer to rest. Not that Goldthwait has thought too much about the reasoning behind the change. “I’m not a guy with an agenda, where I think about how people perceive me. I’m always doing the things that have interested me,” he said.

Of course, as Goldthwait changes, so does comedy. Looking at a landscape where celebrities are expected to be more public than ever before, a veteran performer like Goldthwait said he has trouble adapting to the new expectations of fame.

“You’re supposed to reduce yourself to being a reality TV star. You’re supposed to blog, and tweet, and Facebook and post. And unfortunately, I’m not that driven as a stand-up comedian. I take the kind of energy that that would take, and I like to make new stuff, like write a new screenplay, or even if it’s not making a movie, making a new short,” he said.

One of the most telling changes in Goldthwait’s career has been his maturation into a director, and a good one at that.

His films have tackled increasingly interesting and risky material, bringing dark comedy to dangerous subjects.

“When I realized how little the performer in front of the camera has to do with storytelling, I think that’s when I got my interest,” Goldthwait said of his directing career. “I made a talking horse movie where I think the horse had more creative input than I did. So, after that experience, I went out and made my first short and that set me on the path.”

His most recent film, “God Bless America,” is a very dark comedy about a middle-aged man who goes on a killing spree aimed at reality show stars. The movie was a big hit at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.

“I think people get confused when they think that I sat down and wrote all these things in pop culture, and all these people in pop culture that I hate, and then shoot them in the face. And that’s only true with a few of the people in the movie,” Goldthwait said with a chuckle. “The rest of the people, it’s about us. That’s what I’m trying to address, our appetite for these people.”

The film is scheduled to come out in the spring of 2012, and Goldthwait is already planning his next film: A musical based upon the Kinks’ 1976 album “Schoolboys in Disgrace.” Yes, really.

“I know what it takes to get a movie finished, so if I’m gonna be that devoted to something at this point in my life, I really kinda want something that says something about something. I’m never really too interested in mass appeal in these movies I make, because I don’t make them for a broad audience,” Goldthwait said.

This may be why Goldthwait has been publicly cool toward the idea of the long-rumored new “Police Academy” movie.

He said the franchise would benefit from a reboot, rather than revisiting the same characters.

“If one came along, I would probably do it, because for the people who are fans of that movie — when someone doesn’t show up, it’s like when someone doesn’t show up for a ‘Brady Bunch’ reunion,” Goldthwait said. “But I think probably at this point, I’ve pissed off the producers of that movie so much, that they wouldn’t ask me back anyway.”

Goldthwait reiterated that he is looking forward to appearing in the Glass City once more.

“I know it’s the butt of a lot of jokes, and maybe there’s something wrong with me, but I actually enjoy performing in Toledo,” he said with a laugh.

Goldthwait will perform at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Nov. 11-12. Tickets are $17.50.

Tags: Bobcat Goldthwait, Connxtions Comedy Club, Jeff McGinnis, Pop Goes the Culture

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 at 10:36 am and is filed under Comedy, Pop Goes the Culture, Star.
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Comedian. Songwriter. Record producer. True crime author. Few entertainers sport a resume quite as eclectic as Tim Wilson’s.

The veteran comic, who has nearly three decades of performing under his belt, will appear at Connxtions Comedy Club beginning May 20. In an interview with Toledo Free Press Star, Wilson professed his love for performing in the Glass City.

“Toledo’s one of my favorite towns to work, because the crowds are good, and they laugh at what’s funny, and if it’s not, they don’t,” Wilson said.

The Columbus, Ga., native speaks with the manner and grace of a true Southern gentleman, but don’t let the demeanor fool you — Wilson is a passionate  individual with opinions on a wide variety of topics, and he’s not afraid to express his thoughts.

He attended college in South Carolina, then moved to Atlanta in the early ’80s with an eye on becoming a songwriter.

“When I was 18, I hooked up with a bunch of guys in a group called the Atlanta Rhythm Section that was big in the late ’70s. They sorta took me by the hand and showed me how recording studios work,” Wilson said. “So I was working in Atlanta, wanting to be a songwriter, and I was working in the mall selling glasses. And I passed a place called a comedy club. And I thought, ‘Well, hell, I can do that,’ because I’d done that in school growing up.”

From his humble beginnings at open mic nights, Wilson began to forge a career that has been going strong for more than 28 years. But an important facet of his act that would become a trademark didn’t get introduced until the late ’80s — music.

“I’d been writing songs for a group called Pinkard and Bowden. I got away from them because I just didn’t much care for the way they did things,” Wilson said.

He began to write his own material and introduce it into his stand-up. To call him a prolific writer would be an understatement — Wilson has released 17 albums worth of comedy during the past two decades. But his music is also exceedingly well-crafted and witty.

Wilson admits to being a perfectionist when it comes to his music.

“I like to put time in a song. I don’t work on a song unless I kind of believe in it. I was an English major in college and I put alliteration in comedy songs. It’s not just a laugh. You try and write it like you try to write anything. You chop it down, you knock off the excess to it, and all that,” he said. “Now I have a bit of a writer’s block. I ain’t thought of anything in about two months! But a lot of that has to do with the fact that I’ve already covered so many topics. Something’s really gotta stick out at me as sort of a classic before I spend a lot of time messing with it.”

This is not to say Wilson’s dance card is empty. In addition to regular appearances on the “Bob and Tom” radio show, Wilson’s experience in the studio has led to many chances to work as a producer for other acts. Other than working with fellow comic Jeff Foxworthy on his “Redneck Twelve Days of Christmas” track, however, Wilson is hesitant to work with other comedians as a producer.

“Comedy, to me — and apparently I was wrong — but I never, ever considered comedy a team sport. It’s competitive. The thing that makes you a comedian is sorta being an a*****e, you know? Which Foxworthy showed us is not the way to go,” Wilson said. “If I could go back in my life, I would be less competitive. But I still — I’m not the person who needs to produce another comedian’s song.”

Wilson also recently co-wrote the true crime expose “Happy New Year, -ted,” wherein he and Roger Keiss analyzed whether famous murderer Ted Bundy might be responsible for several killings in Wilson’s hometown. Wilson is currently working on a documentary on the same subject.

For audiences who come to Connxtions, Wilson promised, “I’m gonna be interested in the people in Toledo, Ohio. You know, a lot of comedians go out on the road, and they wanna get ready to do the show they’re actually trying to get ready to do. ‘Oh, I wanna do this club so I can get ready to film this and have my special.’ I’m actually interested in entertaining the people who come to the Toledo show. I’m not interested in Hollywood, I ain’t interested in anywhere else.”

Email Jeff at PopGoesJeff@gmail.com.

Tags: Connxtions Comedy Club, Jeff McGinnis, Pop Goes the Culture, Tim Wilson

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 18th, 2011 at 5:41 pm and is filed under Pop Goes the Culture, Star.
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It’s impossible to not see his brother’s face when you look at his. Kevin Farley knows it. He is the spitting image of his late kin — Chris Farley, the famous screen comedian and “Saturday Night Live” star.  So as Kevin works on his own budding stand-up act, he doesn’t shy away from the fact when he takes the stage.

“I think most people when they see me, they relate me to my brother. And so, they know something of my family,” Farley said in an interview with Toledo Free Press Star. “So, I start off just sort of addressing that — I look a lot like my brother. Just sort of get that out of the way, and then I talk a lot about growing up in the Midwest, growing up in a large family, and then some of the experiences of living out of Hollywood.

“It’s a lot of storytelling. Not so much a joke-oriented type of a show.”

Farley will be bringing his stories and memories to Connxtions Comedy Club in Toledo on April 29. Though he is relatively new to the world of stand-up, Farley already has a rich history behind him as an actor, writer and performer.

“I’ve been a performer for a long time. I was at the Second City for years. Early in the ’90s I was down at the Second City doing improv material, really a lot of improvisation. Stand-up is something that I’ve just started doing,” Farley said. “And it’s been going well, I’ve enjoyed it a lot.”

He first started performing in his hometown of Madison, Wis., in the early 1990s, right around the same time Chris was hitting it big on Saturday nights.

“I would perform onstage there at night, doing improvisation, plays, and this and that. And then I moved to Chicago, did a lot of plays, Second City, ImprovOlympic.”

His first big break in Hollywood came in 2000, when he was cast as a member of the satirical boy band “2gether,” first as a movie on MTV, then as a regular series.

“That was probably my biggest television show,” Farley said of “2gether.” “It was pretty surreal. We were a boy band, and the odd thing about 2gether is that it started to become more of a boy band, people started to think that we were a real band. So it was really funny and odd at the same time.”

But the joy of remembering the series comes tinged with sadness, as his co-star Michael Cuccione passed away during the production of the show’s second season.

“It affected me a great deal. I still think about Mike every day,” Farley said. “He was just a sweet kid, and loved life. I learned a lot from him, you know. Because he really loved life. So that’s something I always think about.”

Kevin Farley

He spoke highly of the lessons learned on the set of the film, “An American Carol,” 2008’s political satire directed by David Zucker of “Naked Gun” and “Airplane” fame. He said he couldn’t help but gain knowledge while on a set surrounded by the “heavy hitters” of acting.

“Certainly watching Jon Voight work is a treat because he’s just meticulous. And also the late Dennis Hopper, I got to do a few scenes with him and see how he worked. And Kelsey Grammer,” Farley said.

“Everybody attacks acting in their own way. So just being able to observe and see those guys, and how they attack a scene, it was invaluable for me to look at that. I was in awe most of the time.”

Farley has more movies coming up in the months to come — including a film set in the Civil War which he said he is particularly looking forward to — in addition to his continued stand-up tour. But as he continues to make strides in show business, how hard has it been to establish his own name, in the wake of the memories his brother left behind?

“It’s not up to me to think about that. That’s up to the audience. I’m not in the business to worry about that, because it’s out of my control.

“As far as making your own name in this business, I don’t know how to do it. I don’t think anyone does. Maybe Khloe Kardashian knows more about it than I do. Shocking! She maybe knows how to make a name for yourself, I don’t,” Farley said. “I just go about getting on stage and trying to be entertaining. I’m just trying to do the best job possible, and let the other stuff take care of itself.”

Email Jeff at PopGoesJeff@gmail.com.

Tags: Chris Farley, Connxtions Comedy Club, Jeff McGinnis, Kevin Farley, Pop Goes the Culture

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 12th, 2011 at 9:33 am and is filed under Comics, Pop Goes the Culture, Star.
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