Upcoming Show on Sept. 20th, 2010 - 8:00PM

Habibi Hookah Lounge

198 Ave A, Between 12th & 13th

No Cover

HOSTED BY THE GREAT MYKA FOX

FEATURING: Opening act by Danny Lobell and One man show by Ross Bennett!

Growing up, Ross Bennett was certainly not the Alpha Male. Though in his own mind he saw himself as John Wayne, Bennett was constantly reminded by bullies in the courtyard that he was far from that. This reminder would later lead him down the path of Stand Up Comedy. He believes that most young comics get into stand-up because they feel it will complete them in some way or another. "Young men on the verge of suicide are driven t...o comedy in hopes of finding some salvation," Bennett says.

It is this theory that Bennett uses to explain to himself the phenomenon he has recently been experiencing amongst the younger generation of comedians. Many seem to look up to him. His material resonates with them in some strange way, to the point that he is often stopped by rookie comics. They give him props and let him know what he means to them.

Bennett says, "I think they see in me a certain hope that if this guy can go on to make something of himself by doing Stand-Up then perhaps I can as well." This is why many consider him to be a comedians' comedian.

Bennett started his career in the late 70's. He arrived in LA in January 1979 where he was amazed by the then new class of Comedy Stars which included Robin Williams and David Letterman. He was there for the legendary strike at the Comedy Store. He was friends with Sam Kinison and Bill Hicks when they were all struggling for stage time at THE COMEDY STORE. He watched as stardom eluded him but through it all has done his own thing, stayed determined and kept working.

Working under the name Eddy Strange for years and embracing the odd and bizarre on stage, Bennett is an unsung founder of alt comedy. However, the scene has not yet warmed up to him. "The industry and Comedy Central just never really got into me" Bennett says over deli sandwiches at Sarge’s, a joint he frequents regularly for its old show biz. Despite this lack of recognition, Bennett is not deterred.

A few weeks ago, in a fit of panic and desperation about my own career, I asked Bennett if he would give me some advice. He graciously met with at Comedy Cellar in the West Village. Bennett said something that night which really resonated with me. He was quoting another of his contemporaries, Jackson Perdue, when he said that comedians are like the Native Americans of the Great Plains. They lived where the buffalo lived. When the buffalo moved so did the Indians. Which is another way to say as a comic we need to go where the gigs are. These are the very words he has lived his life by. Having lived in LA, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York, all of them during the eights of there various comedy scenes.

He's raw, real, and there are no frills. He is the maladjusted comic's savior, the struggling man's reassurance. He is an artist on a real and rocky journey and he is happy to be on it. It is for those reasons that I look up to him. I was excited when he approached me with the idea of putting a show together for the young comics to see and hear what he's really about.

We discussed names for the show and when Ross explained that he simply wanted to do his act, but much more than most of the people in New York could see in a regular showcase room. He wants to do an hour of his best material from the past 30 years, but allow himself to make references to the experience of being a comic at the same time. He said it was almost like telling comedy war stories. I recalled the great John Lennon movie I saw as a kid, "How I Won the War." I suggested it to Ross, which became the basis for the show's title, "How I Won the Comedy War." There couldn't be a more perfect or fitting title. This show will be all his best Stand Up with a liberal dose what it is to be a comic. Ross's journey and how it may relate to yours.

Hope you can make it.
best,

Danny Lobell

Upcoming Show on July 14, 2010 - 8:00PM

Habibi Hookah Lounge

198 Ave A, Between 12th & 13th

No Cover

HOSTED BY THE GREAT ANDREW SCHULZ

FEATURING: