"As a young boy, Ben Kronberg recalls staying up at night to watch “An Evening At the Improv” on A&E.
“I was always interested in comedy and more than just what I thought was funny,” he said.
As he grew older, when he was a second semester senior at the University of Colorado-Boulder, his mother bought him a guitar to further express his creativity. As he began to teach himself about the working of the guitar he realized he wasn’t very good at it.
“I decided to write silly, funny songs so as to compensate for my lack of talent,” he said.
After some of his friends heard some of the songs, they urged him to perform at open mic nights around the university. From there, he began to perform at comedy clubs around Denver where he was recognized by various people in the industry.
As his career began to develop, he was given a proposition in 2007. He was asked to perform the largest number of dog weddings to unofficially break the Guinness world record. He married 178 dog couples, shattering the previous record of 27.
Currently residing in New York, Kronberg came up with a unique business idea.
“In New York, there are delivery services for everything, so I decided to try it out,” he said.
He started the business Jokes on Spokes, in which for $10 to $15 per person he will provide refreshments and ride his bicycle to your gathering and do a show for you and your friends. He has had only one gig so far. It was a bachelorette/going-away party.
When Kronberg performs, his style and delivery are tailored to the audience and venue.
“With smaller venues, I usually like to be a little louder and sillier than at larger venues,” he said
His style of comedy — which he picked up from Steven Wright — consists of deadpan, one-liner delivery of jokes.
He has been compared to Mitch Hedberg, whose long hair and similar deadpan delivery style gave off a stoner-esque vibe. To finish his style, mix in a little music provided by self-accompaniment on guitar. He writes everything down, whether it be an idea for a joke or something he just found funny, claiming sitting down to just write a joke seems manufactured and forced.
Kronberg said he cannot imagine doing anything else at this point in his life.
“When something becomes your life, you begin to realize the different paths that are open to you and cool ideas come to you,” he said." - Cole Komma / Ames 247
Ben Kronberg's website
"Shalewa Sharpe brings a much-needed perspective to Atlanta's comedy scene. The Laughing Skull Lounge's resident comic for the month of February, her stage presence suggests she's an old soul with a young spirit, and her material hints at a brilliant mind still susceptible to pop-culture infiltration. With a comedic style and fashion sense all her own, Sharpe should continue to turn heads, on and off stage.
ATLien since: 1980
Comedienne since: 2009
A lil' joke: "A big parenting fear of mine is that my 15 year old daughter will get busted in a parked car with her middle school teacher. A bigger parenting fear is that I'll have a 15 year old daughter who's still in middle school."" - Noah Gardenswartz / Creative Loafing Atlanta
Shalewa Sharpe on Tumbler
as well as the following bands:
The Most Ignorant Band In America - Coming to a venue near you!
Guyliner on Facebook
and
"Pink Pompeii will be releasing a new album in 2011 called De Rigeuer. The band includes members that were once in The Holland Dutch and an acoustic act called Da Dum. There are two major reasons I love Pink Pompeii; dance and cello. Listen to “Dark Cloud” to understand what I mean. The electronic dance groove is amplified by a cello gone mad! The band’s sound could easily be likened to Blondie, infused with Beethoven (both of which are cited as musical influences)." - The Moon And Pluto
Pink Pompeii on Facebook
$5, 21+
Doors @ 9 pm