(HOLLYWOOD PRESS CORPS) SUNDAY, MARCH 26TH ~ The Hollywood Press Corps covered the Give Back Through Music event at the Comedy Store in Hollywood this last Sunday night. This was a cool event that benefits the homeless. Funny comics, amazingly talented musicians and a large group of people looking to laugh all came together in swanky West Hollywood. We had the entire Comedy Store to ourselves. This event will fund local charities in Los Angeles. Upward Bound House, which provides housing and help for the homeless, will recive funds from tonight’s show.
The comics were top notch and we were all so lucky to be watching comedy AND live music at the Comedy Store. The host of the evening was Ben Gleib. This guy is funny. He does a combination of “aging LA hipster” jokes mixed with “old married guy” observations. He spent a lot of time doing “crowd work” which involved instulting the creator of the TV show “Deal or No Deal” who was sitting in the front row. Ben introduced all the comics and the bands. For comedy there was Kira Soltanovich, Brad Williams, Jessica Michelle Singleton and Chris Riggins.
On the musicians side, there were so many famous people. There was Stephen Perkins, Derek Day, Alvino Bennet, Nalle Colt, Chris Wyse, Ed Roth, Alex Alessandroni, Garrett Holbrook, Scott Coogan, Eric Bradley, Carmine Rojas, Terry Ilous, Simone Sello, Fabrizio Grossi, Dennis Jones, Rob Mcdonald and Raymond Johnson.
Jessica Michelle Singleton came out and did a “sexy blonde girl on the Sunset Strip” routine. She got a lot of laughs and set the tone for the evening which was – Anything Goes. Chris Riggins, AKA the Door Guy at the Comedy Store, was very funny and brought the cool guy vibe. Brad Williams has the dwarf comedy locked up. Just off his stint in Vegas as the lead comic at Mad Apple ~ Cirque Du Soliel, Brad had everyone laughing.
All the comics are such pros and handled the crowd easily. It was a fun event because it was for a good cause and there was comedy and music. The music was amazing with each group taking three songs and throwing down their big numbers. Stephen Perkins looked really good sitting behind the drums. So many of us were connected to him via Zoom during the pandemic. It’s good to see him in person.
Give Back Through Music is the non profit founded by Breck Philip, Fabrizio Grossi and Marc Reiser. Their mission is to produce exclusive music and comedy events that connects fans to charities in Los Angeles. The Hollywood Press Corps looks forward to covering more events produced by Give Back Through Music.
To donate to Give Back Through Music, click HERE
All photos by Ellen Zuckerman