Where in the world am I today?: Port Everglades, Florida
Prologue: Late into the 2008 Season I released the 2009 Super Star Performer Card design to the world and before too long people started ordering trading cards. I’ve always had card number #1 because I’m the first to order, but card #3 shows up with a picture of a guy holding a chainsaw… Cool! I go on-line and check out the guy’s website and it turns out he lives in Victoria and I have no real recollection of every meeting him or hearing about him before, so I send him an email. Well apparently we had met briefly at juggling conventions in Seattle a few years ago… Flash forward a few months I’m checking in at the Vancouver Airport and the guy next to me says… Hey… Aren’t you The Checkerboard Guy… Turns out to be Aaron Gregg. He’s coming home from shooting a TV Show in Spain, I’m off to do a cruise ship gig in the Caribbean. We’ve got about 45 minutes to kill so we take advantage of my Air Canada Elite status and meander over to the Maple Leaf lounge for a few drinks and some great conversation… Is good!
Stats:
Name: Aaron Gregg
Birthday: August 6, 1976
Place of Birth: Victoria (look how far I’ve come)
Started Performing/Working in the Industry: 1998
Discipline: Comedian/Chainsaw Juggler
Website: http://www.stuntsuperstar.com
Video Link: http://www.comedyskills.com
Venues Worked: National TV in 10 countries, a streetcorner near you
Hot 10 Questions:
- What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream and why? • Chocolate. I’m the kind of person who likes a particular food and sticks with it. I don’t look around for weird flavours to try – I can go to a 100 flavours joint and I just want a plain chocolate though I might get chunks in it on occasion.
- Name one movie that would make it to your Top 10 all-time great films • I’m a big film buff so this is rough but I’ll go with a classic that features performances by several of my heroes. The central plot of Caddyshack doesn’t really involve any of the celebrities in it but their performances are the only reason to see it. So much of the dialogue is infinitely quotable and Chevy, Rodney, and Bill are all given characters that suit them beautifully. “The last time I saw a mouth like that it had a hook in it.”
- What was your favorite toy from childhood? • Lego. My brother and I had “smash up derby” competitions where we would build cars and then crash them together and the last one to have a moving car won. I’m not sure what we won but I think it involved the LACK of a wedgie.
- Who were your biggest inspirations when you got started? • I think the one who’s stayed with me has been Steve Martin. I loved The Jerk as a kid and other movies as well. In my twenties I discovered his stand-up albums and it’s great how they still seem inventive to this day. Reading his book “Born Standing Up” you realize the time and effort he put in to become who he is – I recommend it for anyone who is interested in the origin of laughs.
- From the world of animation what one character do you most identify with or see yourself in? • Jim Gaffigan in Pale Force. I love the idea of creating a dynamic duo with a collaborator and then painting the guy as a complete loser.
- Name something that scares you. • The success of mediocre entertainments. American Idol has become one of the most successful television shows in history – to give you an idea, the Oscars and the Superbowl have been the top two shows on TV for years and last year an episode of American Idol beat the Oscars. Karaoke shouldn’t be the best thing on TV.
- Apart from the entertainment industry, name one other job you’ve had. • I was a Mechanical Engineer for a few years, though that’s not nearly as funny as me spending a few years from the age of 13 working as a telephone solicitor. The company was actually very nice and ironically we phoned people trying to get them to buy circus tickets for poor and handicapped children.
- What’s something you haven’t done yet that you’d like to try? • Making out with a supermodel.
- What’s your least favourite thing about being a performer? • The response from my mortgage broker. They’re not too bad with self-employed people but the idea of relying on the payments from chainsaw juggling seems to be a little odd for them.
- If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? • Would you like some pizza?
The Nugget:
Pick one nugget of wisdom you’ve picked up from your career in Show Business to share with the World.
“When speaking in front of people they know you’re supposed to be nervous and feel awkward. This means that if you’re not then you’ve already impressed them. The ability to act natural and not like you’re in front of hundreds of people is the important thing. I always try and act very relaxed when I’m in front of people and that shows them I’m in control. Being casual is the name of the game.”
–Aaron Gregg
