Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 120

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 120

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy 
Air Date: 04/20/2012 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.

Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
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Rebroadcast: 04/25/2012 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

Wrapping up our Winnipeg Comedy Festival coverage, we were joined by Comedian Lou Dinos for a proper chat. 

On March 15, LOU DINOS celebrated his 30th year in the business. It all started in Toronto at a little club called Yuk Yuks, the only comedy club in the country, which at the time stayed open until 4 A.M. and did not serve drinks. He did five minutes and was scared to death. But he killed. Lou was 21.

Photograph by Leif Norman

After conquering the Great White North, Lou decided to pack his bags and head for the big city. In Los Angeles, he was offered a role in QUICKSILVER (with Kevin Bacon) almost immediately. He auditioned at THE COMEDY STORE and within a month, he was a regular there. His name was painted on the wall in the corner that faces Sunset Boulevard. Soon after that he hooked up with his childhood friend, Howie Mandel.

For five years they toured theaters across the U.S. and Canada together. After being with Howie for so long, Lou decided to go out on his own. His solo tour started out as a one year venture. He headlined clubs such as Charlie Goodnight’s (Raleigh), The Funny Bone (Columbus), The Punchline (Atlanta), and The Comedy Works (Montreal) and now years later into the new century he's still going strong.

This was Lou's fist time at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival. During our interview, he said his favorite part was the pinata.

We were also joined by Artistic Director and Comedian Al Rae to get his thoughts on the 11th year of the festival.

Photograph by Leif Norman

Al Rae is a Winnipeg stand-up comic and comedy writer. He is the winner of the Just for Laughs National Homegrown Comic Competition 2000. Prior to Little Mosque on the Prairie, Al was a writer on the sitcoms Blackfly and Big Sound (GLOBAL) He has hosted two comedy information shows for CBC Radio, That’s Capital about finance and Spin Off, a highly popular election satire show.

His twenty part comedy drama series Monsoon House with Russell Peters aired on CBC Radio in the fall of 2006. 

He is the winner of an Italian Prix Roma Screenwriting Prize and a Gemini Award and nomination for Little Mosque on the Prairie.

Finally, we touched on the controversy surrounding what has infamously become known as 4/20. To do that we broadcast live from The Manitoba Legislative building, the site of annual pro marijuana demonstrations.

We ended this weeks episode with a track by Michael Franti And Spearhead called Ganja Babe.

To download this episode please subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes Music Store or click here to be automatically subscribed. For more information, please visit http://wakeupwinnipeg.com or follow us on twitter at twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

You can also become of a fan of our show on Facebook at Facebook.com/WakeUpWinnipeg

Until next week,
-Av
 
(c) 2012 A. Valpy - Wake Up Winnipeg/UMFM