{"id":47526,"date":"2021-01-07T09:29:21","date_gmt":"2021-01-07T14:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=47526"},"modified":"2021-01-07T09:29:29","modified_gmt":"2021-01-07T14:29:29","slug":"on-stage-reed-offers-a-welcome-laugh-with-a-show-at-sellersville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=47526","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Reed offers a welcome laugh with a show at Sellersville"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Earl David Reed<\/p><\/div>\n

If you view the COVID-19 pandemic as a tropical storm with gale force winds and live entertainment venues as boats, venues throughout Pennsylvania have been tightly secured to their docks while those in Philadelphia have been completely taken out of the water.<\/p>\n

Philly\u2019s tight restrictions have made it impossible for any venue to stage live shows. It\u2019s been almost as tough in the rest of the state but the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808,\u00a0www.st94.com<\/a>) has found a way to weather the storm.<\/p>\n

The theater in Bucks County, which is one of the only venues in eastern Pennsylvania to still stage live concerts, will present nine shows in January including two in the upcoming week.<\/p>\n

On January 9, veteran comedian Earl David Reed will be the featured attraction at the Sellersville Theater. On January 12, the theater will host the Mini Q\u2019s as part of its Soundbooth Sessions\u201d series. <\/p>\n

Reed\u2019s forte is the way he interacts with the crowd — knowing just who to pick on to get the biggest laugh. The Las Vegas Review-Journal called him \u201can urban Don Rickles!\u201d and Rickles himself commented, \u201cThis guy works the room like a Las Vegas Showgirl… funny without being offensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reed is a trendsetter in the comedy and radio world. In 15 years of performing stand up comedy, Reed has performed at more than 100 comedy clubs and colleges and is a favorite in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Along with his 25 years of broadcasting experience and numerous television appearances, his improvisational style has become a favorite of radio and stage audiences all around.<\/p>\n

The veteran stand up comedian and radio host currently resides in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania \u2013 a small town located southwest of Harrisburg, halfway between the state capitol and Dillsburg, the home of the famous New Year\u2019s Eve \u201cPickle Drop.\u201d He currently works for a radio station in Rochester, New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to do a show at 105.7 WQXA in Harrisburg and now I do a show here,\u201d said Reed, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from Rochester.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m on WAIO 95.1 in Rochester weekdays from 2-6 Monday through Friday. It\u2019s an entertainment show \u2013 all talk. The whole station is a talk station.<\/p>\n

\u201cI showed up here in August \u2013 right in the middle of protests. The whole Daniel Prude killing took place here in Rochester in March and there were protests all summer. It happened in March and was covered up. It didn\u2019t come out until August and then there was a lot of protesting in the streets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortunately, Reed\u2019s show is not about politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s morphed into something that\u2019s funny and topical,\u201d said Reed, who grew up in Bridgeport, Connecticut.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the start, there were also a producer and a co-host on the show. The station\u2019s intention was a local show for the local community. I had done a morning show in Harrisburg for 15 years and 15 years is a long time for radio. That show also played music.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy current show doesn\u2019t have any music. With no music, it makes it a little more difficult. But that\u2019s all right — I\u2019m a comedian and I\u2019ve got the gift of gab. I can talk forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Comedy always came first for Reed whose TV credits include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, HBO, Showtime, Fox\u2019s Comic Strip Live, A&E\u2019s Comedy on the Road, and NBC\u2019s Friday Night Videos. Reed is also one of Bill Engvall\u2019s All-Stars of Country Comedy comedians with Larry the Cable Guy and Jeff Foxworthy.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy comedic background got me into radio,\u201d said Reed, who is also working on his reality-based TV pilot called \u201cThe Secret of My Unsuccess.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cComedy is universal. As long as it\u2019s funny, funny is universal. My stand up shows are interactive. There is a lot of energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never really realized how much I liked doing stand up live until COVID-19 restrictions cut back my schedule. In normal times, I do clubs. I do a lot of theaters.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy shows are always entertaining and funny. It\u2019s almost like magic. I have an idea of what I\u2019m doing but it\u2019s not verbatim every night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reed \u2013 and his audiences \u2013 know the value of an evening of looking at the lighter side of life.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, we\u2019ve come into a time when laughter is extra important,\u201d said Reed.<\/p>\n

Video link for Earl David Reed — https:\/\/youtu.be\/PLpWVF5zw2E<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Sellersville on January 9, which will also be available via Livestream, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $21.50 for live audience and $10 for Livestream.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Mini Q\u2019s are an organ trio fueled by the nucleus of keyboardist Luke Carlos O\u2019Reilly and guitarist Ben O\u2019Neill. The band, which has featured various drummers, currently has Anwar Marshall at the drum kit.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen and I have been making music together for almost two decades,\u201d said O\u2019Reilly, during a phone interview Wednesday evening from his home in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve also played in other situations with each other outside this group \u2013 other gigs together \u2013 but we\u2019ve played together as the Mini Q\u2019s for 16 years.<\/p>\n

The band has averaged an album every five years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve released three albums,\u201d said O\u2019Neill, in a conference call Wednesday from his home in Philly\u2019s Queen Village neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first one, which was 2007 or 2008, was called \u2018Monday Night Jump.\u2019 For a couple years, we had a long-standing Monday night gig at a swanky, old Old City venue called Marmont. We recorded the album at Tirpak Studio in New Jersey. Then, it was more than 10 years until we made another.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Reilly said, \u201cThat album, which came out in 2019, was \u2018The Mini Q\u2019s Ride Again.\u2019 Our first album weas self-released and this one was on our current label, Spring Garden Records. We recorded it at Kawari Studio in Wyncote.\u201d<\/p>\n

The third album by the Mini Q\u2019s caught the trio at its live best. \u201cThe Mini Q\u2019s Live!\u201d was recorded November 2019 and released December 18, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded four shows during Thanksgiving week 2019 at South Jazz Kitchen,\u201d said O\u2019Neill, a native of State College who came to Philly to study at the University of the Arts and stayed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been playing together so long that we have a lot of songs in our repertoire \u2013 originals and covers. With the shows we recorded, we had a set list we used for the first set and then the second set was more free form.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mini Q\u2019s are becoming prolific with their recorded music.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just went in the studio three weeks ago to start making our next record,\u201d said O\u2019Reilly, who grew up in Lexington (MA) and came to Philadelphia in 2000 to study for a BFA at Temple University. \u201cWe\u2019re making the upcoming album at a studio at Drexel University.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Neill said, \u201cIt\u2019s all 70\u2019s covers \u2013 Patsy Cline, Nina Simone, a civil rights anthem. We did six tracks at that session.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mini Q\u2019s are a band with versatility. Pulling from a wide range of influences, The Qs meld the rich and flavorful jazz tradition of Jimmy Smith, Don Patterson, Pat Martino and Grant Green with the hip hop and soul sensibilities of J Dilla, Jill Scott, TSOP and an ever-expanding repertoire of spirituals and hymns.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have about 10 originals in our repertoire and a lot of covers,\u201d said O\u2019Reilly. \u201cWe like melding unrelated things \u2013 the Beatles and Jay-Z or the Meters in Patsy Cline.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Neill said, \u201cI think of us as a jazz group. Luke and Anwar and I are music lovers and students of jazz \u2013 from Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington to 60\u2019s organ trios and Blue Note Recordings. We\u2019re an organ trio.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Reilly said, \u201cMy main influences are classic jazz organ trios \u2013 Shirley Scott and Jimmy Smith. And, with the Mini Q\u2019s, we do like our Beatles and Stevie Wonders.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Neill said, \u201cRay Charles has been a huge influence on me. When you listen to so many jazz records, you hear that they\u2019re playing pop songs in a jazz mode.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band has diverse influences and the ability to transcend genres, but the bottom line is that the band is a jazz organ trio.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to continue the legacy of the organ trio,\u201d said O\u2019Reilly.<\/p>\n

Video link for The Mini Q\u2019s \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/Vm6xZOa-WKI<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Sellersville on January 12, which will also be available via Livestream, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 for live audience and \u201cpay as you please\u201d for Livestream.<\/p>\n

Other shows this month at the Sellersville Theater are The Micah Graves Project on January 19, \u201cHigh Noon – A Tribute To Lynyrd Skynyrd And Southern Rock\u201d on January 23 at 3 and 8 p.m. and January 24 at 8 p.m., The Tribe on January 26 and Kasim Sultan on January 30 at 3 and 8 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times If you view the COVID-19 pandemic as a tropical storm with gale force winds and live entertainment venues as boats, venues throughout Pennsylvania have been tightly secured to their docks while those in Philadelphia have been completely taken out of the water. Philly\u2019s tight restrictions have made it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[13562,7426,13563],"class_list":["post-47526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-earl-david-reed","tag-featured","tag-mini-qs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47526"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47527,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47526\/revisions\/47527"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/47524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}