CHANDLER,AZ–We’re more than halfway to our gig in Sierra Vista (Friday and Saturday). In a Fairfield just south of Phoenix. We set out from the Los Angeles basin just before rush hour is supposed to begin, according to Tommy James. (It had been so long since we’d visited L.A.– since September 2000 to be exact– that we forgot most of the traffic avoidance knowledge we had acquired during our five-year tenure, from ’88 to ’93, so we took Tommy’s word for it.) We encountered a bit of squeeziness on the 10, but nothing of any consequence. We made it here in a respectable six hours.

We had been in L.A. for just slightly more than 24 hours. And, even though we gave them such short notice, the Jameses were more than happy to let us stay at their abode. We decided to hit the Improv and hang in one place for Wednesday– streamlined hanging after a grueling four-hour trek through the desert from Vegas.

These would be three of the people who showed up at the Melrose club: Adam Gropman, Mark Saldana and Tommy James

Tommmy had a gig in the Valley, so he dropped us at the club. Shortly after we arrived, the first show of the evening was letting out– a Nickelodeon showcase that featured kid comics! The horror! Don’t get us started.

The second show was a showcase arranged by Ron Reid… the Seattle Ron Reid. Forgive us– we don’t have all their names! We’ll make an effort to find out who they were. We do know for a fact that one of them was Alicia Wood, whom we had met a few years earlier in her home club, the Seattle Underground (or at least it was her home club then).

These would be Peter Grumbine and Alicia Wood

We know we’re kinda short on details and atmoshpere here, but we’re slightly exhausted… we’ve traveled quite a bit over the last three days or so: Reno to Vegas to L.A. to Chandler! We can say that Jake Johanson/Johansen was there and did a set last night. (There’s some controversy as to how that last name is spelled. Laugh.com spells it with an “o”, the Improv site spells it with an “e” and we’ll be damned if we can find Jake’s official site!)

You Say Irisitis, I Say Iritis

Speaking of spelling, we were startled to find out that Tommy James’ affliction, the one that nearly caused him to go blind is actually spelled “iritis.” This demonstrates the unreliability of the internet when it comes to verifying spelling. We Googled both “irisitis” and “iritis” and both come up in listings. Merriam-Webster only lists the latter. (We’re perplexed– we know that “itis” denotes inflammation, but we figured that inflammation of the iris would be “irisitis.” Read about Tommy’s affliction in one of his more popular Big Move columns here. Some time in the near future, we’ll correct the spelling! (For the record, Tommy turned in his copy with the word in question spelled correctly! It was we who changed it.)

Speaking of Tommy James and Adam Gropman: The comedy room they collaborate on got written up in the La Cañada Valley Sun newspaper!

Richard Mados, owner of the coffee house, had been looking to add entertainment to his business. He advertised, and stand-up comedian Adam Gropman approached him. Within weeks the pair developed a show under the premise of bringing established comics to the bedroom community of La Cañada, “away from the whole Hollywood vibe, where there really wasn’t anything else like it nearby,” as Gropman tells it.

Read all about it by clicking here.

What’s In Your Wallet?

We fueled up for our ride back through the desert by eating at the Baja Fresh at LaBrea and Santa Monica. While we were downing our Dos Manos Burrito, we espied none other than Drew Carey at the ATM machine. We didn’t have any biz cards at the ready, so we couldn’t make a pitch for interviewing him. We figure maybe we’ll just bug Messina when we come back into town next week!

Escape To Los Angeles, Pt. II

Our trip to L.A. was rather impulsive, with no notice and over in a matter of 24 hours or so. We did it that way because… well, we just did. However, be advised SHECKYmagazine fans: We return to Los Angeles NEXT WEEK! Tune into this very website for details! Make plans to hang! We look forward to seeing some of the folks we haven’t seen in years!