Lonnie Bruhn's: Blog Off

My son has Diabetes… and we’re all going to laugh about it

Details as followed:

Advance ticket price $10 and $12 at the door.
(All proceeds help towards our son’s medical bills)
Tickets go on sale November 1^st and may be purchased online through Ticketwest or through Dante’s box office.
Line-up will include comedians Jessa Reed, Don Frost, Joe Fonetenot, Kristine Levine and myself  Following the comedy we will play out the night with music by Rustmine

A lot of people have been asking me when I would have updated info on the benefit for my son Braedon. I do apologies for not getting you all new information sooner. I had a few projects that needed my attention and I also was making sure everything was in place before announcing anything new.  I can say that all the info has been confirmed with everyone participating on the bill and with Frank, the owner of Dante’s. As always things can change at the last minute but if anything changes you will be the first to know.

I’d like to update you on Braedon’s health. Also I’d like to give thanks to some people that have gone out of their way to help me and my family. I am a very lucky man to have the kind of friends to step up in this moment. I am also lucky to have a following that blur the lines between friendship and fans.

I’d like to thank Sarah, a long time fan that became a close friend along the way. She has a friend who is diabetic and  no longer uses syringes and so he donated 500 of them and she drove the box up from Salam to get them to me. At $30 a box that was a huge help. Thank you Sarah. I have to tell you, it’s an awkward exchange to grab 500 syringes from a beautiful woman in a Volkswagen bug covered in thousands of bumper stickers outside a bar in the middle of the afternoon.

Brad and Larry who own Boss Hawgs; I book comedians there every month. This last month, they held a raffle and give-away. All the proceeds were donated to me to help out in our cause. It came out a little more than $150. I can’t begin to tell you what that meant to me. I’d like to thank Peter Nuncio and Diego Images for donating his time to have a photo session with my son and me. Also his work on the poster design for the show.  My son had a lot of fun that day and it made him happy, it was a great day for the two of us. I’d like to thank Frank, the owner of Dante’s for donating a Friday night in his room, without that it may not have even happened the way I imagined it. Lastly, I’d like to thank Jessa Reed, Don Frost, Joe Fontenot, Kristine Levine and the band Rustmine. These are some of my closest friends and most talented comedians and musicians here in Portland. They are people I love and respect dearly.  They have donated their time to make you laugh, to make me laugh, to make Crista laugh and she needs it the most. I can’t begin to tell you all how much I have appreciated the support and love from all of you in the last few months. Your calls and comments were great. It’s funny; I take on the darker sides of life in my comedy and on my stage. Off stage, however, the reality as of late has been anything but.

Well I can say that my boy is doing great! His numbers have been stabilizing with each passing day. He has seven meals a day and four insulin shots twice a day. It doesn’t bother him at all though; he has been really strong through this process and has gotten back to being a kid again. Take it from someone who has grown up with many challenges in life. This makes me so proud of him. There is no time for pity in this world, we have to just move forward and laugh it off.

That is why this benefit will be like no other benefit you may have ever gone too. We are doing it to find the humor in this. Think of it as a roast for my son’s diabetes and if you think you might be offended well then I ask you to buy a ticket for someone who will get the jokes. That way you are still helping but your narrow minded sore cunt can stay home and watch dancing with the stars.

The show will be on Friday November 27^th. Yes it is the day after thanksgiving but the good news is we all have the weekend off and by then you will be sick of your relatives, tired of shopping and in much need of a drink Plus you will be doing me and my family a great service for coming down.  If you like your relatives bring them along, the more the merrier.

Tickets will go sale November 1^st and you can purchase them online at Ticketwest or from the Dante’s box office. Tickets will be $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Plus, within the next few days I’ll have some sort of online donation set up for those that can’t make the show.

When there is more news I’ll be sure you will get it, and I look forward to seeing you at the event.

LB

Eighteen years of shows, eighteen years of some of the greatest memories in my life, eighteen years of smiling faces. How can I ever thank you for that kind of gift.

I’ve entertained a lot of people in my life and sat with many after my shows or hung with them at an open mic and I’ve had a lot of nice compliments but the one that confuses me the most is, “Lonnie, you have a gift.” I don’t know what it is that I do, I can’t even pretend to have an answer for such a statement. Here’s the reason I’m lost on it, you are all the ones that give me something.

So why I am being so serious? Well I’ve been thinking a lot about where I am in life lately, my challenges, my successes and as brutally sincere as I am on stage, I’ve never stopped to give you a piece of my life that didn’t have a funny twist attached. So today I’ve decided to tell you what’s on my mind.

Like you, I have my own pile of shit to wade through. However, when I’m on stage making you all laugh though, I forget about it all. It really is a remarkable moment in time because it is my job to take your mind off your daily grind, an in that same moment you take my mind off mine. I don’t think about my walking, my fear of falling, my son and his diabetes, my trust issues, or my struggling finances. The only thing that is there with me on stage is our connection, our happiness and the twisted adventures I’ve been on.

So let me tell you all how much I appreciate that which you give me.

So what is in the future for me and my career? Every comedian wants to be at the top of there game, everyone wants fame and fortune. I’m no different. I have my aspirations, but I have them for different reasons. Sure I would like to make great money at this, but I want the fame because I absolutely love what I do and what happens between us when I am onstage. I want that relationship and connection with as many people as I can. I’d like that because truthfully I have a difficult time doing it one on one anyway. Ask any woman I’ve ever loved.

It’s frustrating though because in this business, you don’t get ahead because of how funny you are, you get it because of the TV credits you have and the people you know. I really am the black sheep of comedy too. The scene wants nothing to do with me. I’m not jaded. I understand. I just gave up trying to get anywhere through those means. I’ve decided that the only people I need to know in this industry are yourselves and the other thousands of great undiscovered talented comedians. More on this subject later. Until that blog, if you enjoy me and my style, well then tell as many people as you know and let’s do this. There is more than one way to walk this road to success.

Some day I’m going to look back at this very moment, smile and write another one of these serious blog entries and thank you for getting my message out. Until then I’ll see you from my stage.

Sincerely, thank you for the last eighteen years of laughter. The magic never happens in an empty room.

LB

This is a long post I realize, but please take the time to read it. This is very personal to me and my family.

Where have I been lately? This is about my most recent events.

If there is one thing I am known for on the stage is ability to give you every piece of who I am. I don’t hold back any secrets, my stories are true and my life is yours to laugh at. I have even shared the darkest weaknesses of my disability from the falls to the wandering eye, my rubber chicken hand, and the seizures. They have all played out their rolls to make you laugh. Why, because what is this shit hole if we don’t find a reason to laugh at it. If you think God is cruel you are wrong, he’s the first and only comedian and his designs are our punch lines.

I don’t discuss too much about my family. If you didn’t know, I have two great sons; Braedon who is 9 and my youngest son Charlie who just turned 6. These two boys are my life outside of the life I share with you. I can’t seem to find a woman to love, respect or commit to and in reality I disconnect from most of my closest in life from time to time. My son’s however have been the exception.

I don’t discuss them not because I keep them safe from the butt of my jokes but only that I have not found funny in our stories yet. Well I have, but nothing I think you’d die over, maybe I’m wrong though.

Well I do have some sad news that I wish I didn’t have to tell you all. Some news just isn’t worth sharing, but because it has to deal with my son, it is important you do know and it also why I am telling you personal issues within my family.

My oldest son Breadon was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes about three weeks ago and was placed in the hospital for a week during his time of diagnoses. The truth is, he was close to death and we almost lost him. Since then he has bounced back strong and living a normal life again with the added responsibilities of a strict lifestyle change and a regiment of insulin shots. He is insulin depended and will be for life. Many live with this so after the initial shock we moved on.

That’s the worst of the news. Here is the good news.

What I do on stage has always helped me just as much as my jokes have helped you and on Friday November 27th this will be no different.

I am throwing a huge benefit show for Braedon and his mom to help raise money for a fucking outrageous hospital bill while he stayed at hotel Doernbecher. This will be no normal benefit. It will be as usual, a no holds bar show, and we will find humor in this, even in the darkest place. That much will not change.

It will be held at Dante’s with some of my closest comedian friends and my second family, you. 100% of the proceeds we make at the door will be put into a fund for his future needs. All my DVD sales will also be added to our loot.

The bill is going to be big! I will be joined by Jessa Reed, Don Frost; Joe Fontenot will work with me again for the first time in two years and one of my dearest friends, Kristine Levine. I will close out the comedy portion of the show. Then following comedy my close friend from 4th grade, his band Rustmine will play out the remainder of the evening while we get drunk and entertain ourselves.

This will be the most meaningful and important show I will have done. With all sincerity, I hope all of you can help support this cause by joining me and my friends for this show. Please put it in your calendar. More info will be posted when it is available.

Please do me a favor and resend this bulletin to everyone you know and ask them to send it to everyone they know and I hope all of you can make it.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart and I personally give a huge thanks to Frank from Dante’s for helping me put this show together in his room.

Where: Dante’s in downtown Portland

When: Friday November 27th

Lineup: Jessa Reed, Don Frost, Joe Fontenot, Kristine Levine, and music by Rustmine!

More info to follow, check back soon.

LB