Michael Kent News: Tales of a Professional Smart@$$

Excited for Another Tour

michaelkentlive — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:39:41 +0000

The last few days, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about the upcoming fall tour. Lots of midwest dates. Lots of driving. Much of the show will remain the same, mostly because I’ve busted my ass to make those parts great and there are millions of people who haven’t seen it. There are some new things that nobody (in this country) has seen that I’m excited about too. New music in the show, too. When I’m on the road doing the show night after night, changing the music can get me super excited to get onstage and even changes the way I perform sometimes too. Whether it’s for 30 people in a cafeteria or 2,000 people in an auditorium, I still get the pre-show nerves every time I go onstage. Those are good The tour schedule, as always, is at http://michaelkentlive.com/tour. That reminds me of something else. I’m working with my friend Jon to bring a re-vamped website to you very soon. We’re spending the week in Chicago next week to work on that and some other performing artsy things.

peace, love and new stuff,
MK

Hotel Guy, Stupid Claps, Green Balls – Joke/Story/Trick #8

michaelkentlive — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:48 +0000

New Tour Dates Announced – Updated

michaelkentlive — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 14:24:36 +0000

Some new dates have been added to the schedule:

August 19 Dublin Bri-High Third Thursdays – Dublin, OH 7pm
August 21 Missouri State University – Springfield, MO 930pm and 11pm
August 22 University of Kentucky – Lexington, KY 8pm
August 23 Bowling Green State University – Bowling Green, OH 9pm
August 24 Indiana University Kokomo – Kokomo, IN 6pm
August 25 Indiana University Southeast – New Albany, IN 8pm
August 26 Ohio Wesleyan University – Delaware, OH 7pm
August 27 St. Anselm College – Manchester, NH 8pm
August 28 Viterbo University – LaCrosse, WI 7pm
September 1 Thomas College – Waterville, ME 9pm
September 4 College of Notre Dame of Maryland – Baltimore, MD 8pm
September 16 Dublin Bri-High Third Thursdays – Dublin, OH 7pm
September 18 Lyndon State University – Lyndonville, VT 10pm
September 22 The Ohio State University Newark – Newark, OH 7pm
September 25 University of North Carolina Pembroke – Pembroke, NC 8pm
September 29 University of Louisville – Louisville, KY 7pm
October 1 Columbus College of Art and Design – Columbus, OH 7pm
October 7 Aurora University – Aurora, IL 10pm
October 8 Northern Arizona University – Flagstaff, AZ 10pm
October 14-17 NACA MidAtlantic – Lancaster, PA
October 21-22 NACA MidAmerica – Grand Rapids, MI
October 23 Lincoln College – Lincoln, IL 8pm
October 24-26 OAPN Conference – Columbus, OH
November 4 Chesapeake College – Wye Mills, Maryland 7pm
November 5-6 NACA NorthEast – Hartford, CT
November 10 Urbana University, Urbana, OH 9pm
November 12 Private Corporate Event – Ft. Wayne, IN 830pm
November 17 Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA 9pm
December 1 University of Minnesota Crookston – Crookston, MN 7pm
December 4 Private Corporate Event – Beavercreek, OH 7pm
December 10 Private Corporate Event – Urbana, OH 830pm
January 14 Morningside College – Sioux City, IA 8pm
February 12 Private Corporate Event – Columbus, OH 7pm
February 19-22 NACA Nationals – St. Louis, MO
February 26 Carroll College – Waukesha, WI 930pm
March 31-April 2 NACA Northern Plains – St. Paul, MN
June 11 Private Performance – Cleveland, OH 7pm
June 12 Private Performance – Columbus, OH 6pm

For a complete list of shows, visit http://michaelkentLIVE.com/tour

Getting My First Tattoo

michaelkentlive — Wed, 12 May 2010 13:09:56 +0000

I’ve been wanting a tattoo for a long time now. The most nerve-wrecking part of a tattoo for me (and probably for many others) was deciding what I would want on my body that I wouldn’t get sick of. I’ve been a student of Buddhist philosophy for about 7 years now, and it’s greatly changed my life and how I think about things. Definitely important enough to symbolize on my body. I once saw a man in Buckhannon, West Virginia with a tattoo on his neck. It said “Tattoo.” He tattooed the word “tattoo” on his neck. Relatively speaking, my decision to go with an “Om” tattoo seems pretty good to compared to that.

Lots of people have “Om” tattoos. It’s a pretty popular tattoo, as the symbol is used pretty widely by both the Buddhist and Hindu faith. It’s also very commonly symbolized by those who study Yoga. In Buddhism, “Om” is the first sound in the mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum.” For a nice description of this mantra, read the The Dali Lama’s writing here. Each curve of the Om actually represents something. The big curve of the part that looks like a “3″ represents the waking state. The small part represents the sleeping state and where they come together and form the third curve on the right represents the dream state.

Once I decided to get the tattoo, I was excited to schedule the appointment. My friend David McCreary had just had an awesome tattoo done by Anthony Dubois, the owner of Stained Skin Tattoo and Art Gallery in Columbus. He introduced me to Anthony and I brought along my Step Brother Luke, who also wanted to get some ink done.

When you get a tattoo (and I assume its the same with a piercing), everyone asks the same thing. “Did it hurt?” Yeah. It hurt. It was manageable, but as Luke said afterward, it wasn’t the worst pain in the world, “but I was ready for it to be done.” The “bee-sting” analogy is pretty spot-on. But as soon as it’s done, it doesn’t hurt anymore. It took a total of about 2 hours with one break.

The tattoo after the first break.

The finished product

I’m really happy with the results. It’s been a week, and it’s not all the way healed yet (it’s just started getting to the itching phase). Once it’s completely done healing, I’ll go back in and see if Anthony wants to do any touch-ups on it. But I love it – it turned out exactly how I pictured it. They say tattoos are addicting – but I’m not sure about that. I do have another one in mind that I’d like to eventually get.

Here’s a gallery of Bad Tattoos for you to enjoy.

That’s all for now.

New michaelkentLIVE Website Coming Soon!

michaelkentlive — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:20:28 +0000

I’m excited to return to the Magic Castle in Hollywood this coming weekend, this time to perform with Theory11 LIVE, a show made up of various guest artists from the Theory11 group!

Shows lately have been a lot of fun! I just got back from a trip to North Carolina to perform with my buddy Ivan Pecel at UNC Pembroke. Sat on the runway for 2.5 hours in Raleigh trying to get home, though. That wasn’t fun. But by the time I got to my layover in Baltimore, that plane was having maintenance too, so I ended up getting home (almost) on time!

There’s an all new http://michaelkentLIVE.com in the works! It will be a LOT more fun, as it will incorporate these travel blogs into the site much more seamlessly! In other words, it will motivate me to write more often about my travels. Hopefully will get off my ass and create more Joke/Story/Trick videos too!

This Just In: Michael Kent Returns to Bowling Green in the Fall

michaelkentlive — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:19:57 +0000

Just got word I’ll be returning to perform at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH again on August 23rd. Bowling Green has recently become one of my favorite schools to play, partly because of it being so close to home, but mostly because of the ROCKIN crowds I’ve had there the last couple times. Two weeks ago, we had over 650 in attendance! If you’re near Northwest Ohio on August 23rd, be sure to catch the show!

For a complete list of shows, visit http://michaelkentLIVE.com/tour

Michael Kent Talks About Comedy in Magic – Podcast

michaelkentlive — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 11:53:44 +0000

I recently chatted with the guys at Ellusionist.com, a web site for magicians to talk about my ideas about the use of comedy in my magic.

You can hear the podcast HERE.

From Ellusionist.com:

Michael Kent is a master at getting laughs. His smartass personality gives his magic an edge that keeps fans engaged, impressed and energized. He is the life of the party during his shows, and that’s no accident. He figures out exactly what kind of reactions he wants, then sets his performance accordingly.

Thanks to Ellusionist.com for asking me to do the interview. Feel free to comment on the story!

BG News – A ‘Superman’ of Entertainment: Kent Perfects Two Arts Into One Show

michaelkentlive — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 11:14:34 +0000

Here’s an interview I gave to BG News to help promote my show there tomorrow.

Read the Q&A at BG News.

Appearing at The Magic Castle in Hollywood with Theory11 LIVE

michaelkentlive — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 15:40:14 +0000

My good friends at Theory11 have asked me to be a part of a special show they will be doing at Hollywood’s infamous Magic Castle. It sounds like I’ll be doing some short sets (10 mins or so) several times throughout the night on Friday April 30 and Saturday May 1 in the Hat and Hare Lounge. For more info, check http://theory11.com or http://magiccastle.com.

Performing for the Lambda Kappa Sigma Ladies of Duquesne University

michaelkentlive — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 23:26:13 +0000

I just saw this note on Facebook about my recent show at Duquesne:

From Sarah, the organizer of the event:

Something brand new for LKS, for the first time ever we had Entertainment. And what a fabulous SHOW!!!! Michael Kent, “Comic, Magician, Smart @$” Came, Saw and Concurred. Damn he’s funny and pretty damn magical too. I kept his identity a secret, at least i tried as long as i could but i let it slip a few times. And from those few that found out early, one look at the internet got people pumped. But the show was so much better than i ever could have imagined. There was even a few hecklers, but it worked, it made it even funnier. Of course i happened to miss the best trick! I was called out of the room and missed the martini trick (but don’t worry i just watched it on youtube). The rest of the show was a blast and apparently Jordan is a dick . Michael sat at our table (The Dr. Laux table) and the fact that he fit in fantastically with all of the pharmacy nerds in the room put my mind at ease. Not to mention everyone thought he was adorable, including me, and a few men in the room i have no doubt. I don’t think i could thank him enough because he really is the reason that this whole thing worked. He was the clincher, the hot thing to keep people there, in the room, and in the mood to have a good time. It takes definite skill to be able to draw the attention of 122 drunk sorority sisters and their dates. Thank you thank you thank you!

A huge THANK YOU to the ladies who decided to have me at their formal. It was a ton of fun!