Angela
I hope one day I meet Angela.
-Ed.
The So Far So Good Tour
Happy new year everyone!
I had a slightly rough Christmas season due to a family crisis, but overall, things are so far so good. I'm thankful to be doing what I'm doing and to be able to do it with the people that support me. With the help of the extremely talented Joe Karg, who created the tour poster above (I would highly urge you check out his amazing work), I thought it would be fitting to name my upcoming tour "The So Far So Good Tour". The dates are as follows:
0I/22: The Tin Theater, Burien, WA
01/30-01/31: Ventura Harbor Comedy Club, Ventura, CA
02/05-02/08: Liquid Laughs, Boise, ID
02/11: Parlor Live Comedy Club Seattle, Seattle, WA
02/12-02/14: Parlor Live Comedy Club Bellevue, Bellevue, WA
02/19: The Museum Club, Flagstaff, AZ
02/20-02/22: The Edgewater Casino, Laughlin, NV
02/23: Hon-Dah Casino, Pinetop, AZ
02/27-02/28: JR's Comedy Club, Valencia, CA
03/06: Dirty Jersey, Kamloops, BC
03/08: Emory's on Silverlake, Everett, WA
03/19: Lougheed Village Pub, Burnaby, BC
03/20: On the Rocks, Kamloops, BC
03/21: Globe Cafe, Big White, BC
03/25: Tulalip Casino, Marysville, WA
03/27-03/28: Chadwick's, Medford, OR
04/30: The Comedy Palace, San Diego, CA
05/01: Comedy Heights at Red Wine Bar, San Diego, CA
05/02: Comedy Heights at Twiggs Green Room, San Diego, CA
05/07-05/09: Jokers Comedy Club, Richland, WA
05/29-05/30: Sunshine Brooks Theater, Oceanside, CA
06/05-06/06: The Drop Comedy Club, South Bend, IN
08/14-08/15: The Comedy Palace, San Diego, CA
08/17-08/23: Laugh Factory at the Tropicana, Las Vegas, NV
and more dates will be added!
See you soon!
-Ed.
My Stupidity is your Christmas Present
When I was 17, I was in a heavy metal band. Because I was so hardcore, I decided to play the keyboard. I even wore fake hand cuffs as part of the decorations, although I'm pretty sure they were sex hand cuffs without the furry stuff. In addition, we wore costumes, we painted our faces (refer to above) and we sang (or more like grunted) horrible songs, such as this:
Just in case this wasn't enough comedy, we decided to appear on a televised performance that will forever capture this hilariously cringing moment of my life. In honor of the Christmas Spirit, I will share this wonderfully embarrassing memory with all of you.
The video is accessible under the tab "Secret Content" and the password is "diarrhea". Enjoy the nightmare.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
-Ed.
I Used to Be a DJ Who Thought He Was Cool
Once again my Macbook wants me to do another update so I can successfully crash all my current apps. As I went through my files, I came across some fun facts about me from 12 years ago.
1. I used to be a professional DJ named "DJ Hillman".
2. I used to produce music for other artists.
3. I used to think I was cool.
Silly Ed.
Anyways, I compiled some of the tracks I've produced and written over the years into a quick Mixtape. You can download it for free below.
I'm pretty sure I burned that atrocious jacket in the photo.
-Ed.
Apparently I'm a Man-Rapist
Recently I have been doing a bit where I look identical to a Taiwanese actor who plays a man-rapist in a sexual health video. The bit is as below:
Some people have been asking me, "Is this true?", or "Does this video actually exist?", or even "Does that guy really look like you?". Well, instead of trying to articulate it all, let me just show you a clip of the original video and you can decide for yourself:
Sometimes comedy just knocks on your door. And no, that's not me. Seriously.
-Ed.
Nobody Wants to Hear Our Story
"Nobody wants to hear our story."
J, a good friend of mine, said this to me during a post-show dinner at a Korean Restaurant in Los Angeles. Our conversation began with J complaining about his work, where his manufacturing job entailed sleeping in sweatshops and visiting factories in Asia. Being both Taiwanese immigrants, our conversation naturally became about memories about our roots, about immigration, and about being Asian men in North American society.
There was a spark of excitement. We dreamed how we can translate our experiences into material for the stage. We imagined how it would look on the big screen. We even laughed about the lack of Asian representation on our television programming. It is then when the reality set in. And that's when J said it.
"Nobody wants to hear our story, Ed."
As much as I hated it, there was a piece of truth that I could not, and still can not deny. At home, my parents have always told me to be quiet and hide from the spotlight. Opening my mouth and sharing my story was simply taught as an open invitation for shame. At school, I learned that my complexion and skin color meant "hard-working" and "intelligent". I was to be dedicated, and not to be opinionated. At movie theaters, I see faces like mine become clownish sidekicks. They are to be laughed at, and not to be connected with. The silence is deafening.
In the midst of this silence is a struggle to find an identity. I witnessed the Asian people around me, myself included, glom onto other cultures, from hip-hop to corporate, in hopes of creating a character that allowed them to speak their words in a way where others will listen. I saw myself living a life between two masks, where in Canada, people see me as Taiwanese, and in Taiwan, I am Canadian. I am a "Canasian". I am a nobody to anybody.
So maybe J is wrong. Maybe no one hears our story because we don't even know who we are as story tellers. Or maybe J is right. Maybe people simply do not care. Maybe nobody wants to hear our story. Whatever it is, it doesn't matter. Because I can still tell my story.
And that is what I'm planning on doing.
-Ed.