Gonna Be A Ball

Wazzzzzzzup

Spring is finally in the air, and the year continues to fly. I am super excited about this Saturday March 31st! When I said yes back in November, to attend the "Night of a Thousand Gowns", with Robert Smith and Amber Ferrari, I did not realize how huge this event would be! From the 26th 'Night of a Thousand Gowns' this Saturday, proceeds from the event will benefit PFLAG-NYC and New Alternatives, a direct services group for homeless LGBTQ youth. What I also didn't realize until a few months after I confirmed, was the amount of amazing talent that would be showing up to this benefit, including one of my comedic heros, Lisa Lampanelli!! Click anywhere above to visit their site!

I will be posting pics and you can also check out more on the event and some vids from past years on the link below, it's quite stunning! And I am very blessed to be a part of this!!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/26/the-imperial-court-of-new-york-night-of-thousand-gowns_n_1379796.html

I've added a few dates to the appearances section in NYC!! For the ike-aholics in Florida asking about the pending date in Hollywood FL on May 4th, it's still open. I will post here once I have confirmed the date.And don't forget Saturday April 28th  (8pm) in Riverhead, NY at the Vail-Leavitt Theater, where I will be opening up for the phenomenal Amber Ferrari/Joplin's Pearl, the show will definitely be a sellout, so get your tickets fast!!

Any news on your end, Spring break stories? Share Share Share ikeavelli@yahoo.com

XOXO

ike

Where Did The Sun Go?

                                                              R.I.P. William Petersen

1964-2012

This weekend was going to be beautiful weekend, full of sun, friends/family. I woke up Saturday morning,to a message that an amazing human being suddenly passed. I froze. Being I just woke up, I knew this had to be a dream. It wasn't. From the moment you meet 'Billy P', you feel love instantly, and  every moment after that first encounter it continued. A genuwine kiss, a hug, a hold your hand when you both laugh at something so funny, tears start to fall. Unfortunately those tears are now falling without him. He was a big supporter of my comedy, listening to my test jokes, posting on his page or even a mention during Karoke. Billy P, the memory I have, that I will hold with me till we meet again, is my last night as a bartender, and you sang to me "If You Go Away". You sat on the barstool, held my hand and looked me straight in the eyes and sang, 'If You Go Away...Then You Might As Well Take The Sun Away'. Sadly enough, you've taken the Sun with you Saturday morning. R.I.P. my dear friend. I LOVE U VERY MUCH!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

VACATION

Finally back in NJ. Needed a trip to a sunny state and decided on Florida, and to check out some comedy clubs there as well. Broke it up between Fort Lauderdale and South Beach.

For those that read my facebook post, know I was in my glory with the way the trip started. No longer did we have to drive an hour and a half to the Philadelphia Airport, but we now can take the train to the airport in under a half an hour! Plane ride was great, slept a little and pulled out my NOOK and thought I would read Chelsea Handler's book "Are You There Vodka?..It's Me Chelsea. I admit I am behind on reading this from when it came out, but it is the smartest/funniest thing I've read in a long time, well until you read my 2nd half of my trip below, but I highly recommend the book!

So the trip started out at the Elysium Resort in Fort Lauderdale,and the grounds had a fitness center, 2 pools, huge Jacuzzi and the Suite was amazing. Everything I look for in a hotel, the first thing being cleanliness. After a great lunch at a seafood restaurant, headed to the pool and then off to a great outside bar at a place called Tropic Cay and met my friend Karine, who I hadn't seen in over 5 years. It was like time stood still. It was such a great way to start the trip, laughing outside by the Ocean with good friends while an amazing DJ Julian Marsh spinned Classic Rock tunes

The next 2 days were spent at the beach and pool and enjoying different restaurants in Wilton Manors, and have to say, one of the highlight establishments was "The Manor". The place was filled with chandeliers, sofas, beautiful artwork, and floors and floors of rooms leading to outside balconies overlooking Florida, with a huge dance floor in the center of everything! Thanks Ty for picking this place!

All that, it was truly a memorable experience. What happens next should have been a sign. We woke up to severe winds and heavy rain, right there I knew, things were going to change in the next few hours, and they did.The best part of leaving Fort Lauderdale and going to Miami was our amazing Taxi Captain "Walter". He gave us a piece of History of the cities From and To and kept our interest the whole way down! Arrived in Miami and our room was not ready. But when we finally checked in, my first reaction was, "did they clean it?" "What the Fuck did the room look like before it was 'ready'?"  First lets talk about the bathroom, the shower looks like it was a crime scene once, and they couldn't get the blood from the murder off the shower walls. Confident Dexter was here. The towels are great..if you like drying off with Swiss Cheese....Bed is comfy..but who could sleep when there is a hole in the window and I can hear dishes being loaded in a dishwasher from the restaurant below..and poor Julio getting yelled at,that if he drops one more dish, its coming out his pay! Please Julio...Be careful,ikie-pooh has a headache and cant take a Tylenol because the water is cloudy!!! Now Tyrone is not picky at all when it comes to Hotels, so for him to be disgusted, says a lot. When we were checking out at 4:30 am, after two days of dishes dropping and sleeping with one eye open, no one was behind the desk to check out, but interesting enough, Julio was in the kitchen, chatting away. When I went to approach him, I heard him talking,turns out he was speaking to cats. Yes, cats in the KITCHEN. Please Please Please, stay away from this hotel. I know you are probably thinking, why did I book the room in the first place? It was the last room avail, as the week we were there, was the Winter Party and everything was sold out. Now that I am home, I read the reviews, and you can see for yourself by copying and pasting this link: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=boulevard+hotel+review+miami&view=detail&id=71BFA94B0BC264DC93B689416D9B2BD2B7D9C6D9&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR

Other than that, the last three days in Miami were great! Lunch with Leanne and Devon.Got to spend time with Amazing friends at TWIST: Devon, Joe, Freddy and got to have our Traditional Dinner with Johanna, followed by a great dessert of Key Lime Pie at the Front Porch Cafe. Outside of the room, the trip was great and my friend Karine mentioned the IMPROV in West Palm Beach! So I will be making contact with them.

Thanks for reading..how was your week: ikeavelli@yahoo.com

XOXO