A Chat with Don Johnson, Local Funny Guy

This is my friend Don, we had a quick chat after we'd shot his head shots back in June and I'm finally caught up enough to post it! Say hi to Don!

Me: First things first, Don, what book are you reading right now?

D.J.: I'm reading Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States.

M: Now that that's out of the way, tell me how you got into comedy! Who helped you along?

D.J.: at a very young age, first saw George Carlin when I was like 8 with my Mother at Melody Fair in Tonawanda. Life kept getting in the way if me trying it until about a year ago. When my best friend Kevin Thomas Jr (recently voted Buffalo's Funnest at Helium Nightclub) started, I would go and watch him at Milkie's. Back when we worked together we would egg each other on about trying comedy. Then a few years past we lost touch until I saw on fb he was doing comedy... the rest is history. 

M: I'd love to hear about your first show.

D.J.: Was at Milkie's on Elmwood. I went up right before my friend Zach Dietch. I ate my balls for dinner live on stage. It was horrible, it felt horrible... but I wanted to keep trying.

M: What's the best show you've ever seen?

D.J.: I saw Jim Norton a couple years ago in PA, Allie Brady opened and Rick Matthews featured. It was amazing. Best local show would have to be Kevin's performance at Buffalo's Funniest at Helium.

M: Do you have a favorite person you've opened for?

 D.J.: Since I'm fairly new I haven't really opened for anyone noteworthy, but I was honored to be on the Nietzsche's 10 year anniversary show.

(disclaimer: Don brought a prop air gun to the shoot which was incorporated by request. Mostly, he's sane and just wanted to use it as an analogy for the pressure performers feel to always "kill it" on stage)

M: Tell me about show you walked away feeling amazing after.

D.J.: Would have to have been my show at Babeville. It was a very warm and drunk crowd and I was high as a kite and more "on" than usual. It went well.

M: What was your worst show like?

D.J.: It's hard to remember my worst, Ive had some shit sets at Nietzsche's and Milkie's.

M: Lets revisit the South Buffalo one.

D.J.: It was the worst. Performing to literally 5 comics and two old local drunks who would try and heckle. The place has since burned down.

M: Anything you want to admit to? Like arson?

D.J.: They didn't even have beer on tap, they would just hand you a can like you're in your own basemen.

M: What's new and exciting for you?

D.J.: I get to be on the "Tales of Tyrone" show and you have no idea how honored I am to be apart of the Tits N' Giggles All Male Comedy Review at Rustbelt both at Nietzsche's in September.

M: Have a favorite joke?

 D.J.: My own favorite would have to be whatever I'm currently working on. I always get excited for new material. My favorite of someone else's would have to be Kevin Thomas's parking lot pregnancy test joke.

M: Tell the people know how to stalk you!

D.J.: fb, twitter, and instagram and I can be found hosting the filthy stage of Tudor Lounge every Monday, hanging out and performing at Nietzsche's & Helium most Tuesdays, Milkie's on Wednesdays and Goodbar on Thursdays.

M: And finally, if not this than what?

D.J.: Failure is not an option. Is all this going in a suicide note for when you stage my death?

M: Of course, first we need to get some insurance policies open...

D.J.: I'm not economically viable...

Funny Guy Clayton Williams, a Profile

Hey there! Since the weather's been all ups and downs the last week the small business shoots had to be postponed till later in this week! So, today I bring you a little Q and A with local comedian Clayton Williams.

 27 year old Clayton is a pretty swell guy who hung out and chatted with me over a session for his head shots. I've caught his act at my favorite funny bone joint, Helium, when he opened for Judah Friedlander and before he even opened his mouth I was in giggles. From his amazing hair to his insane Hawaiian shirt, this fella gets a crowd laughing easily just stepping onto the stage. Add that to his self-deprecating jokes and the fact that he sounds uncannily similar to Seth Rogan... let's just say you need to go check out one of his shows! We passed the time talking about his career as a comedian, his favorite person in the world (his grandma), the importance of smelling clean, and what's coming up for him soon. 

 Let's jump right in!

Me: Hey Clayton, how long have you been doing this? How'd you get started?

Clayton:  I got into comedy almost 4 years ago. I've always loved comedy and I was told about an open mic at Nietzsches so I went there to check it out. It used to be email only and every time I tried to sign up, the person running the room would say it was full, so I found another open mic at Mr. Goodbar and started there. Now I run that open mic

M. Any highlights from the show last night? (Clayton performed at the Riviera Theater for the 8th Annual Big Lebowski Party before the flick.)

C. Uh, getting to perform in a theater was really cool. It was the first time that's happened. The most interesting thing I guess that usually the comedy portion of that show doesn't go well because the crowd just want to see the movie. So it was a surprise that the audience were invested

M. That's really great it went well. Did you like performing for a bigger crowd? I always got so nervous

C. It's funny, that wasn't the biggest crowd I've performed for but it was different because it was a theater so the sound was really spaced out. Performing in front a large crowd isn't as nerve racking as performing for 6 people.

M. Ha, no, I guess not for comedy. Have you had to do that or do you mean when you're bouncing ideas off people?

C. I've done shows In front of like 12 people before. At open mics it's very common to perform I front of 3 to five non comics.

M. Ever bomb?

C. I've bombed. I've bombed a bunch of times.

M. What's the worst/best part of all this?

C. Best part is when you do really well, it's one of the best feelings in the world. Like, if drugs feel as good as that you can understand why people do them.

The worst part is the feeling that you never know that you're going to do well. One guy said "comedy is the only job where you don't know if you can do it everytime."

M. That sounds like an anxiety attack to me. Perks of the job?

C. Meeting really good people that you've looked up to for years. Free drinks at places.

M. So that was your first show?

C. Paid show? It was a new faces show at Mr. Goodbar. I was probably a year in

M. How'd you do?

C. I had a good set. I was bad but I got decent laughs.

M. Tell me about a show you did where you walked off knowing you were da bomb dot com.

C. It was a showcase I did that was being recorded for the managers of the other helium clubs. And I remember just doing super well on it, got an applause break and they kept laughing. It was the best feeling.

M. What's an applause break?

C. When the crowd likes something you did to the point where they stop, laugh, and clap.

M. Ok, so it was as self-explanatory as I thought it would be!

C.It is but it's still hard to explain cause it just seems weird.

M. Is there anyone you consider a mentor now, or when you first started?

C. I would say Mark Walton has had the biggest influence on me in buffalo comedy. He gave me my first paid show and he's helped me a lot. He also put me in charge of Goodbar cause he was moving to New York. Weird Al Yankovich is also a big influence on me comedy wise

M. Who's someone you really liked opening for?

C. The coolest and nicest guy I've opened for was this Magician named Justin Wilman. He was super cool to hang out with me and friended me on Facebook like 2 months after the shows we did. He was the host of cupcake wars.

M. I know you're funny, but what's the best show you've ever seen?

C. Kyle Kinane like 2 years ago.

M. What's big and upcoming for you?

C. I'm opening for Kyle Kinane in March, he's probably one of my favorite comedians right now and as I mentioned he was the best show I've seen in person

 Clayton will be performing March 10-12 at Helium. You can keep up with Clayton and find out when he's performing by checking out his Facebook. While you're at it, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Instagram! 

Small Business Profile on Papercraft Miracles

Hi there, everybody! How's it going? It's been a pretty productive first few days of 2016 and I'm making optimism and mindfulness my priorities for self-improvement this year. What about you?

 So, I spent a couple hours with my friend Janna of Papercraft Miracles over the weekend going over her amazing products while our babies had a jam session and have I got some pretty treats to share with you! I couldn't get over each beautiful product as I browsed and perused through all of her handcrafted goods- I left with a pile of my own and a wishlist a dozen deep... I want it all! And, I'm pretty sure you will, too, after seeing her amazing products below. Let's get this show on the road, shall we?































Q. Who are you?

A. Janna Willoughby-Lohr of Papercraft Miracles

Hanging out in Janna's studio room while she preps some Valentine's workshop mini books

Q. What do you do?

 A. Create handmade paper & books, custom works, book layout & design, consulting & workshops. 

Stitched mini books, approximately 4"x4" and 4"x5" each. Each product comes signed by artist. 

Q. When and how did you start your business?

 A. I conceived of the idea and started training &learning in 2002 but the full business wasn't up & running until 2013. 

Custom wedding album, pages individually handled to add silver edging.

Q. What are your favorite things about your own products?

 A. They make people reflect on their lives & feel happy. Almost everyone has a smile on their faces after seeing them. 

Daydream Reminders, approx. 2"x4" each with handmade paper covers.
Inside images by artist have a beautiful meditation to remind you to live fully.
I keep mine in my car to look at whenever I'm stressed and need a reminder to go get lost ;)

Q. Do you have a favorite thing to make?

 A. Paper! & really complex, structurally challenging books. 

GORGEOUS books for sketching and writing. Approximately 9"x13".

Q. What's the best part about running an art business?

 A. Making people happy & knowing that so many of my customers buy the experience as opposed to just buying the product. 

Decorative Star Books available in Large (above) and Small (below) sizes.

Small Decorative Star Book, opens like above Large version.

Q. How does your business give back or serve your community?

 A. P.M. supports several organizations, for example 10% of proceeds from all rainbow products is donated to G.L.Y.S. We are also a corporate sponsor of the Western New York Book Arts Center. 

Small notebook, approximately 4"x4".

Q. What's new and exciting for the business?

 A. Running full-time instead of part-time. Finally getting a new, shopable website, loads more workshops, including monthly open bookbinding studios at W.N.Y.B.A.C. Also, a new state of the art paper-making studio in 2016

Origami Star Books are approximately 3"x3" when closed and open to 6"x6". 

Q. What are your Papercraft Miracles goals?

 A. To increase joy & positivity across the world. To bring other artists together to craft larger projects highlighting the strength of many. 

Medium Sized Journal, perfect size (to me) at approximately 6"x9"

Q. What do you wanna be when you grow up?

 A. Wrinkly! Haha... well fulfilled & active. I hope to have my work in art galleries and my poems in textbooks. That would be pretty cool. 

 And now in her own words... from her Artist's Bio

  Born on Mother's Day, I grew up mainly with my mother and my older brother. Divorce and peculiar happenstance led me to have a biological father and a legal father, both of whom are currently remarried and have other children. I have seven brothers and sisters but I am the only child between my birth mother and father. I created an artist's book called These Roots Go Deeper Than the Birth's Surface about my experiences being part of a nuclear family reaction. Here is an excerpt of the text: "I am scaling the center line, this middle link that binds with a love far stronger than what has never held my parents together." I truly believe that my unconventional family structure is what has led me to be so independent and multi-faceted, because I spent a lot of time in between three different families with three different sets of rules, and I had to learn to adapt quickly to changes in my life; to accept what came my way. 

Jars o' Joy, mini jars full of 30 uplifting and honest meditations each. 

    I have been writing poetry since I was five years old and was first published in Earth's Daughters (a nationally distributed women's publication) when I was just 16 years old. I graduated from Hutch Tech high school in 2000 with a Regents BioChemical Technology degree. From there, I applied for and received a creative writing scholarship from Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC. I have been attending Warren Wilson for four years and will graduate in May with a BA in Integrative Studies: Entrepreneurial Creative Business Arts; a major that I designed to fit my goals in life. I have been very artistic since I was a little tiny girl, but since I attended a technical high school that didn't offer any creative arts classes, I had become distanced from my love for creativity. When I arrived at college I was flooded with a tremendous creative energy and I knew that I needed to "make stuff" although I wasn't sure what. 

Forest Wisdom, a new creation measuring approximately 3"x3". Perfect for any gnome or fairy garden. 

   I proceeded to take several studio art classes including printmaking, papermaking and bookforms. I also took several music classes to learn to play the guitar and the piano. Over the past four years I have created and displayed artworks ranging from drawings and paintings, to handmade paper and books, to woodcut prints and monoprints, and photography. I have also written countless poems and have begun work on an autobiographical book of poems called Skin and Stories Stretch to Cover Bones and These Beliefs: Autobiography of a Middleman. In addition to writing poems and making art, I have also branched out into several different musical forms including folk guitar and political hip-hop rhyming. I often perform "raps" at open mic nights and poetry slams and this is one of my favorite ways to reach out to people. 

One of her latest undertakings, beautiful, hand-marbled paper measuring approximately 8"x12".
 I brought home 3 for decorating my house and matting portraits. They're simply amazing!

    I have created reachforthestars papercraft miracles as a way to make a living doing what I love; creating unique works of art. I have known for a long time that being a starving artist is typical and being a profitable artist is not, and creating my business venture while I am still in college lets me get a head start into the realm of the profitable artist. So far everything in my life has worked out how it should; like puzzle pieces falling into place. I hope to inspire people from all walks of life, especially women. In today's society there is a lot of pressure on women to be strong and assertive yet the media continues to broadcast the message that being aesthetically pleasing is "the way to the top!" I strive to help people see the beauty that a human soul possesses, no matter what it's dress size its body is. 

Handmade papers made out of willow-bark and pigment (left) and ref clay mud to create hemp colors (right)

    Always remember that everything is a miracle! Especially life.

Coffee Mug Books, one of the coolest concepts I've recently seen! Cream colored pages for an Americana and dark covered for a black coffee. The wisps on top are the coffee steam

Follow Janna & Papercraft Miracles on Instagram and Facebook.

Decorative mini book measures approximately 2"x3" on cover

And seriously, guys, go buy some of this stuff; it really is incredible!

Cloth Books for babies, approximately 5"x5". Hand-stitched and machine washable.