DAY 26 – D.J.’s Get No Credit

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DAY 26 – D.J.’S GET NO CREDIT

…and Red Bull Thre3style gon’ change all of that. #fact

As into music as I am, I was not as well-versed on the DJ scene as I’d like to be. This changed IMMEDIATELY upon hearing that Red Bull Thre3style is bringing the world finals to Toronto. Ya, y’heard me! Every single qualifying DJ from around the world is going to descend upon MY hometown in November to spin, scratch and leave their sweat onstage with the most diverse sets you’ll ever hear in one spot.

Four Color Zack takes the 2012 Red Bull Thre3Style Championship Title at Metro Chicago

Whatchu know about Four Color Zack (@Fourcolorzack)?

Four Color Zack is the current Red Bull Thre3style title holder and for every good cotdamn reason. Also, a super nice dude! I implore y’all get your lives with FCZ’s winning set below.

*single blink* 

O………….K! Stevie? The Rocky Theme? Rihanna? The Ramones? 50 Cent? Bruce Springsteen? A-ha?! What the actual f*ck just happened in 15 minutes?! (Watch his set here!)

I could copy and paste every write-up I’ve read on FCZ and why I think he’s sickening as f*ck but I’m pretty sure your non-stop moving bampsy while listening to this is all you’ll ever need to know (please note: I’m listening to him as I write this post).

WHAT IS RED BULL THRE3STYLE?

Courtesy of www.redbullthre3style.com

How dope is this?!! AAAAAH! I can’t tell you how excited I am for this competition. It’s like the gods read my diary and created an entire competition based on the things I find sexiest: music & men (not that this competition is closed to women, SHOUTOUT TO DJ RAYRAY <3, but let’s be serious about MY needs). Every single day until the Toronto qualifiers (Sept. 26th), I’ll be counting down all my favourite things about Thre3style focusing on past winners, the 8 qualifying Toronto DJs (D-SMOOTH, INTRINITY, JOOCE, KID MK, M-ROCK, MAKEM, MENSA & WHATIF) and mixes from the known-to-the-unknown DJs who’ve all been part of taking this competition to a global soundstage.

SB DISCLAIMER: Everyone has a Red Bull opinion, I hear it on the daily.  Please trust me when I say, I’m not here for it. If you’re thinking of providing your negative two cents, I’d think twice about leaving it here. I’m surrounding myself with good & positive vibes and no one can deny the Shaquille O’Neal-sized cultural footprints this company is leaving behind.  Red Bull Thre3style is simply another amazing example of this.

Let me know what you think of FCZ’s set!  Make sure you RSVP to the Ontario regional qualifiers this month (Facebook links below):

Red Bull Thre3style Regional Qualifier: Ottawa – September 21
Red Bull Thre3style Regional Qualifier: Toronto – September 26

To follow Four Color Zack, here are the links you need:
www.soundcloud.com/fourcolorzack
www.twitter.com/fourcolorzack
www.instagram.com/fourcolorzack
www.fourcolorzack.com

Girls and Boys

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I try to spend the bulk of my existence laughing or making others laugh. It feels good, it feels right. Sometimes it’s mean-spirited, but trust, THEY DESERVE IT! I’ve digressed and I apologize. Seeing great comedy and improv is a slippery slope for me; it’s so difficult to reign in my impending attraction to those who perform it. It’s a turrible sickness and I have no idea how to get rid of it or if I really want to. If you’re funny, I want to know you in the biblical sense (or you become my girl crush and we’ll be BFFs! Sorry ladies, shorty (me) will never swing that way but I love ya. *single blink*) I think it shows in the celebrity funny men I love: Seth MacFarlane, Chris O’Dowd, Donald Glover, Louis C.K. etc. Their humour is where my love completely stems from and then an all-consuming crush surrounds me.  Same goes for the funny ladies: Sarah Silverman, Kristen Wiig, Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph. I think getting together for Sunday mimosas with them would be my favourite thing in the world.

And so this begins my week-long focus on my favourite comedians in the great city of Toronto and why you should love/swoon over them too. I would never steer you wrong. I promise you.

MARK LITTLE

You may recognize Mark Little from CBC’s Mr. D., he plays Mr. Simon Hunt. He’s also a member of the Halifax-based sketch comedy group, Picnicface (If you haven’t seen Roller Town, seek that isht out and peep it with your peepers). You know me and my love for voice actors, so you’ve probably heard him at one point or another. What you need to know is THIS dude is one of the funniest dudes in the game, definitely in my top 10. I have seen his stand-up specials and tv shows but it wasn’t until JFL42 this year that I was privileged enough to see his stand-up live.

PICTURE THIS: Toronto. The Rivoli. 2012. I’m in the 2nd row from the front of the stage full of anticipatory glee. On his way to the stage, Mark speaks to the cute blonde in front of me and asks her to hold something (which is revealed to a be a prop once the show begins). Andrew Bush takes the stage to warm us up and Mark comes in to knock us down. He has this endearing quality about him, he just. looks. so. harmless. He’s so unassuming. Then he spits a gangsta rap that peels your face off at the same time you can’t stop laughing. Plus…he does wear glasses. Can you swoon with me, ladies? Trust me – you need to see him live. Please catch Mark headlining at COMICAL: Stand Up Comedy Volume 5 on Thursday, Oct. 11th. He may do his Jamaican accent, but after our chat, he WILL 100% do his Jamaican accent.

Visit Mark Little’s website here!

HEIDI BRANDER

Photo by Sylvia Pereira, Wardrobe styling by yours truly.

Heidi Brander, is not just the ginger-haired beauty you see above. Oh no…she’s much, MUCH more. Most recently nominated for Best Stand-Up Newcomer at the 2012 Canadian Comedy Awards, she rounds out my unintentional spotlight of East Coastian comedians (this was not planned). She was born and raised in PEI but now calls Toronto her home. She’s a genius at using 140 characters to throw shade at celebrities and makes me guffaw on a regular basis with her pop-culture referenced puns of glory.

She’s written for MTV Live, YTV and she’s a 1/3 of the drag supergroup, The Cheeto Girls. If you were to ask her what her biggest accomplishment has been in her life, she would not hesitate to tell you it was her 1994 win over Ryan Gosling in the Gladstone Public School’s annual lip-sync competition. I know this sounds like a joke, but it’s the legit truth.

Heidi will be doing stand-up at Egg Zeppelin with SPOOKEY RUBEN on Wednesday, Oct. 3rd, that’s THIS Wednesday. Go to there.

Make ‘Em Laugh!

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With the conclusion of JFL42 behind me, I feel incomplete. The last two weeks were THE best because comedy was at the ultimate forefront of  my mind. I. Love. To. Laugh. I like to laugh loudly until it hurts. I like to make people laugh (hence this blog). I feel I need to give back to the community so this week will be strictly based around comedy in our fair city of Toronto, because trust me…there are goodies you don’t EVEN know about.

I will let you in on all my funny people crushes in this city – some I know, some I don’t…so this will get REAL weird if it gets back to them. But I regret nothing! *single blink* I will tell you what they do, where they perform, maybe even post a photo or 12! I will do the stalking for you so you don’t have to be uncomfortable at all.

How does ALL O’DIS relate to this blog? Well, for me, there’s nothing more attractive than someone’s ability to make me laugh. I will instantly fall for you/want to be your BFF if you can do this.  So I hope you enjoy what’s about to come this week and maybe I’ll see you at a show, where we will swoon and drool in solidarity.

“Hey Girl…laughter is the music of the soul, so let’s harmonize.” BOOM!

COMEDIANS!!!

This Charming Man

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I had this date recently with a real cool cat. You must understand this is very rare for me and I was quite happy about it.  I received a text the Sunday after St. Patrick’s Day asking if he might see me because the weather was amazing and it would be nice to take a cute girl (THAT’S ME!) for ice cream.  I was knee deep in laundry and house-cleaning but I’m not dumb nor dead…I was accepting this invitation!  He let me know where to meet him and off I went to prettify my face and subway to a fun evening out.  He decided gelato would be a better idea and gave me his recommendations. Once we decided on our desired treat, he ushered me to make my order. When the cashier asked me if there was anything else to add to the order, I turned to him and he kind of…leaned back and looked as though he was super-duper interested in something happening on the other side of the counter. *single blink* I realized at that moment I wasn’t being treated to a delicious cold dessert by a charming man.

Now let me clear this up before anyone gets upset – I’m not sayin I’m a gold digger…I’m just saying pay for my damn ice cream…

Read the rest of this post on Gail Vaz-Oxlade’s Other Voices here.

The beautiful Toronto skyline