Here it comes again, Just for Laughs Showcase time.  That time of year when the rare human species known as the Montreal comedian (a.k.a. 'Comicus Montrealus') sober up from their New Year's festivities, brush the cocaine off their shoulders, gather every loose napkin and scrap paper from the following year with something written on it, and come up with a seven minute 'Showcase Set'.
        It's a strange ritual, to look at everything I've come up with over the past year, and decide what I should use.  I've got to consider not only what is the best stuff, but what is going to work together.  After looking at everything I've got, the majority of my good new stuff is about sex and relationships (my bread and butter), but then I have this really good joke about homeless dogs, where the eff is that going to fit in?
        There's also a big myth about not repeating material from the year before.  I don't know who started it, because it's total bullshit.  More often than not, a joke can change and improve over the course of one year, and it would be silly for anyone to leave a good bit out just because they told a lesser version of it the year before.  Officially the festival doesn't want to hear anything that has already been televised, and for most of us showcasing this year, that won't be an issue.
        Yesterday fellow comedian and good friend DeAnne Smith watched me while I had my way with an 'All You Can Eat' sushi menu, and commented on how we only really sit down and take a good look at our work for the JFL showcase.  She appreciated the hightened work ethic we get into once a year and wished we could somehow keep that same intensity year round.  Fear is definitely inspirational.
        So what do I pick?  I have a joke that starts with "I'm so glad I'm not a pedophile."  It's very new and virtually untested in front of the weekend club audiences...but I love it, and so do the drunken artists who I've done the joke for on 'one-nighter' stages in bars around the city.  It's risky to go up with something not completely tested, especially for something like this, but the newer the joke, the more fresh and exciting it is to the audience.  I'm already worried about some of the 'A' jokes I have from earlier on in the year, that have lost their New Joke lustre.  As cheesy as it sounds, 'just trying to have fun' can make a big difference on stage, so I guess that the answer.  Figure out what I'm going to have the most fun with and take it to the stage this Monday.  Or maybe I'll just stretch the pedophile bit to a full seven minutes.
      Love,
      Christophe
      

     Just did some great shows tonight in the Mecca of Standup, NYC.  As a comic it's a great place to really find out if a joke is going to work or not.  The audience is used to a higher caliber of acts than most other cities.  If you don't have a Comedy Central or HBO credit, than you better prove yourself quickly.
     The vibe is different here.  Some people feel that new Yorker's are rude, but I think they're mistaking rudeness for an intense focus.  You have millions of people coming here from all over the world to do what they do best.  Lots of people who live here have their eyes on the prize.  Musicians, comics, actors...even the homeless.  I have never seen more people own the fact that they smell like piss than I have here in NY.  I mean it may not be the ideal thing to strive for, but if there was a homeless olympics with events like 'How many bags can you tie onto a shopping cart', or 'Smelling like piss while maintaining an air of nonchalance', New York would win...hands down.
      Don't get me wrong,  I think Montreal is the best city in the world, but maybe that's the problem.  It's such an amazing place to live in that it's hard to push yourself.  It's like already being retired, so what else is there to strive for?  So next time your in NYC and someone seems a little rude, just realize that they're trying to get somewhere, and they don't have time to be your friend...they're fucking busy (and who would want to be your friend anyway? You're obviously oversensitive and way too high maintenance...ha!).  
I like it here.  My sister is going to have a baby in November (that's right, I'm going to be uncle Christophe soon), so I'll be back. 
I can't believe my niece is going to be a Yank. 

Hey People,
Here's a new sketch that my pal Rodney and I threw together in an afternoon.  Don't forget to rate it on 'Funny or Die'.  Enjoy!
 

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Just finished a great show put on by my funny friend DeAnne Smith.  The show, entitled 'Stand-Up Strip Down', consisted of stand-up comedy AND Burlesque.   I wasn't so sure that the same audience looking for naked ladies would be receptive to boobs being interrupted by jokes, but they enjoyed the comics just as much as the twirling tassles.  There's a lot of history between comedy and Burlesque, so it was nice to bring together two art forms that have long since gone their separate ways.
If any of you haven't checked out the Montreal Burlesque scene, then take a look at Team Burlesque, with Seska Lee and Miss Sugarpuss, two of the hottest acts in the city.  It's often very funny and always creative, not so sad and awkward like stripping. 

Hey friends,

Thanks for checking out my site.  For my first blog I want to bring to people's attention a very talented friend of mine Rodney Ramsey.  He just learned about the internet yesterday, and has already posted a video.  Check it out.
 

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Ahh the tension is papatable.  For those of you who are offended by this cartoony sketch...trust me...you are racist.
And for those who enjoyed it, Rodney and I will be teaming up for a sketch coming out soon called "Black Pass".