Jeff Leon - Guitar Comic

The Jeff Leon Hall of Fame
This is a place where I highlight my talented friends who are not yet household names. More importantly, I'll be giving a plug to those who offer their services to the LA area comedy scene or contribute to the community. There's a lot of talent out here and we have a lot of good friends.
	My Wife	She's beautiful, she speaks 4 languages, and she has a Ph.D. in psychology, which helps her deal with a mental case like me. She really wants to sleep right but I'm yowling away in the next room in preparation for a gig tomorrow. She puts up with me being gone a lot of nights for my performances. She tolerates me monopolizing the living room to record or practice. She met me at one of my shows almost 10 years ago but right now she's suffering from major "support fatigue." I'm not sure I blame her. Her picture has been photoshopped a bit to protect her privacy.
	Jami Gong	Jami Gong is an accomplished comic from Chinatown, NY who made a ballsy move. He opened a Comedy Club in Hong Kong. Takeout Comedy offers comedy three nights a week in English and in Chinese. A fresh and spirited community of comics is growing in Hong Kong with him as the nucleus. Jami was kind enough to book me there and I experienced the fresh energy in the place. I think it's just a matter of time before Takout Comedy expands to other parts of Asia.
	Seriah Azkath	Seriah Azkath is many things. He's a multimedia guru, a DJ, a filmmaker, and a fan and connoisseur of things obscure, strange, and intense. He's one of the best supporters a performer can have and his skills and die-hard attitude has provided a critical boost to many obscure performers over the years, myself included. He has been producing a radio show out of Ithaca, NY called Last Exit for the Lost (Midnight till 6am EST Every Sunday Morning 93.5 FM Ithaca, NY) since, like, forever. It's a great way to get introduced to cool stuff you might otherwise never hear.
	Richard Weiss	This guy has generated more good karma than the Dalai Lama. He give people material. He books people in his rooms whether veterans or novices. He is well connected and he gives people leads for gigs as well as putting in a good word for them. He's given a lot of newbies words of encouragement. He's seen his share of tough times and he's one of those rare people who has turned it all into something very positive. In addition, his act is honest, genuine, and funny as all hell. He calls himself "the Stand-up guy," which is entirely accurate. He's a true stand-up guy in the New York sense of the word.
	Kerry Arnold Stevens	Kerry runs the Friday night comedy open mic at Coffee Haven in Long Beach. For a lot of people, this is their first time on the comedy stage. He has a benevolent and non-judgemental manner which sets the tone for the place. He has to deal with egos, stingy people who refuse to support the room, crazy homeless people, and the occasional yelling match but he's back with a smile every week.
	Ralph Vincent	Ralph belongs here for 2 reasons. First, because he's very deservedly on the way up. He's a talented guy who owns the stage and has a style all his own . Second, he has been invaluable to me in the last year. From shortly after I moved to LA and began performing (when I knew absolutely no one) he has been a source of moral support and career advice. The comedy scene needs more people like him. Go check him out some time.
	Dave McNary	Dave runs the Sunday night show at the Ice House Annex. This is one of the few rooms around that has auditions. Whether you receive an invitation to perform or not, Dave will always sit down with you afterwards to offer advice and constructive criticism. Dave loves comedy and loves seeing people on the way up.
	Vibrant Dragon Tea	Vibrant Dragon sells a gourmet variety of Chinese tea called Pu'er. It is grown in the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of china and is practically unknown in the USA. The company is owned by a chemical physicist and his wife. Their mascott is Mr. T., which is a good enough reason to order some of their tea. There are other reasons. It is known to reduce cholesterol and blood lipids. It will also give you the verility of a jackrabbit. Pu'er is the reason why there are 1.3 billion (documented) people in China. It is also the reason why the One Child policy failed.