sometimes the reviewers are nice enough to send the whole article…

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Darren Frost – Leatrice Spevack

The caveat at the bottom of Little Darren Frost’s Cutting Myself Open Tour poster reads: “Happy clappy fun boys stay home” – a warning well worth heeding because when Frost cuts himself open – comedically speaking of course – he bleeds bile.

 Appearing Yuk Yuk’s swanky new digs on Richmond St. West this past week and heading to Yuk Yuk’s in Mississuaga (Nov. 21-24) and Barrie (Nov. 28-Dec.1), Frost releases a careening barrel of bitterness that will have bracing yourself against rolling in the aisles from laughing at things your Aunt Joyce told you weren’t funny.  Frost’s constant warnings to “buckle up” should not be taken lightly.

Banned from three Ontario universities for his twisted takes on world hunger and Princess Diana, Frost takes toxic stock of the teen fans of bands Limp Bizkit and Korn with:  Angry 14-year olds? What is a 14-year old angry about?  My cock is hard and I can’t do my math?

Boy bands such as ‘N Sync get: If I had twenty million I’d pay for Lance Bass to go to the moon.

Despite views that are so liberally laced with vitriol, the diminutive Frost (“I’m huge in Japan – literally.”) is often more teasing than threatening. “When I was in high school I applied for a foreign exchange trip and I chose Quebec,” he quips.

While Frost’s face is a familiar feature on film (Don’t Say a Word) and TV (Gutter Ball Alley, La Femme Nikita), it is the commercials for Bell (he donned the 60 lb. dime that roved the city streets), Microsoft (as the golden Hermes – messenger to the Gods) and, most recently, as Listerine’s evil-gingivitis-fighting super hero, that he is best known for. His ad for Telus earned him a Kiri Award for Best Performance in a commercial.

This Brantford-born 31-year old stand-up scores high on the squirmability scale as he, uttering a barrage of expletives, takes us willingly down the dark corridors of Gary Glitter’s prurient pedophilic porn, dysfunctional families, female midgets and Slobodan Milosvec. Frost is crude, rude and marvelously maniacal.

Now on the last legs of his tour, he muses over the born-again style roadside diners he’s come across offering breakfasts of Jesus with orange juice, toast and bacon.  Wisely (or not) he orders: I’ll have the devilled eggs to go.

Darren Frost has advertised himself as little man hate and audiences attracted to the man will not be disappointed.  Considered the most controversial comic in the country for his ability to find a touchy issue and pick at it till it bleeds.  Darren leads the field as the victim of audience assaults death threats and other UnCanadian behaviors.  His bullet headed mug rarely smiles on stage as his voice keens from soothing to enraged and back again. If the audience didn’t laugh it would be unwatchable performance art but the man is a consummate pro and audience explode in laughter at a comedian who may represent our troubled age better then anyone.  There’s the edge..and then there’s further..and then there is Darren Frost

Mark Breslin Yuk Yuks Guide to Canadian Standup Comedy 2009

Frost certainly inhabits the spirit of Lenny Bruce. Their styles are nowhere near similar, but Frost, like Bruce, likes to take the audience to places that they maybe don’t want to visit

What’s So Funny October 08

Darren Frost doesn’t take a back seat to anyone on the Canadian eccentric comic front

Bill Brownstein Montreal Gazette 2008

Frost is brilliant, but careful with his words.  His humour is unabashed and rude at times, but the man is not simply sprouting obscenities to get a rise out of the audience.  The jokes are calculated, political and meaningful

Echo Weekly 2007

Following Darren Frost is like trying to do a puppet show in central park, five munites after tower one fell

Mark Walker, Standup Comedian 2006

Darren’s entry DVD was jawdropping…both because it was damn funny…but also because it took no prisoners, it killed countless sacred cows…and most of all, it didn’t give a damn what you thought of it.

Seattlecomedy.net 2005

Imagine booking Rage Against The Machine for a sweet sixteen party.  Imagine booking Al Sharpton for a Knights of Columbus dinner in Nebraska.   Now Imagine booking Darren Frost to do a country club banquet room

Seattlecomedy.net 2005

With a kind of demented energy normally reserved for the incurably insane, Darren Frost takes the stage like a possessed hobbit, spewing so much bile and venom that, once your ears have acclimated, you can’t help but laugh. You may recognize him from his more sedate roles as the original Listerine Bottle Action Hero and Microsoft’s “Hermes, Messenger of the Gods,” as well as recent appearances in such films as “Fever Pitch,” “Don’t Say a Word” and “Assault on Precinct 13.” He is also currently working on an internet S&M cooking show called “The Leather Chef.” (an idea he stole from George Burns)

 Just For Laughs 2005

Frost’s standup has the quality of a satanic revival meeting.  He brings so much bile and venom to the stage it can be overwhelming.  Frost is at his best when he tempers his barbs with a little finesse and last night he showed this technique off to great affect.  Among the most daring comedians in Canada.

 Toronto Star February 2005

 If you’ve ever wanted to see what is it is like to use a nuclear weapon to swat a fly

 theseriouscomedysite.com 2005

This man is a truist. Pure uncompromising genius. I have never seen rage so carefully orchistrated and sick imagery executed with such amazing percision. Darren Frost will fuck you up, and he’s coming to get you.

Shane Ogden, Standup Comic 2005

Frost releases a careening barrel of bitterness that will have bracing yourself against rolling in the aisles from laughing at things your Aunt Joyce told you weren’t funny.  Frost is crude, rude and marvelously maniacal  

Toronto Star 2003

This Brantford-born 31-year old stand-up scores high on the squirmability scale as he, uttering a barrage of expletives, takes us willingly down the dark corridors of Gary Glitter’s prurient pedophilic porn, dysfunctional families, female midgets and Slobodan Milosvec. Frost is crude, rude and marvelously maniacal

Toronto Star Nov 2002

The sort of comedic moments I live for….  Frost feature week is a great chance to see one of the scene’s most overlooked comedians.  One of the few comics who actively pushes to keep his comedy evolving. I caught him a few months back and he blew the doors off the  room

Eye Magazine Aug 6th, 2001

Frost is a character comedian.  On stage, his opersona is that of a nebbish,slightly demented, self-aggrandizing guy with a nervous laugh.  One year after his arrival in Toronto, he has made the jump to the big leagues

Eye Magazine April 3rd, 1997

It’s not hard to imagine the little fella ripping up a bit of flesh.  Frost’s lets it flow now and on a good rant …no question —-the guy is a riot!

Now Magazine 1998

The standup pipsqueak turned public-pontificator and original “Good for Me!” kid let it flow and stole the show at the 98 Toronto Comedy Festival’s Extreme Comedy Lab.  With “mutherfuckers!” flying, the most bitter of his personae was in control this night–ya never know with this guy–and he got on the most raucous of rants.  When he does that, it’s a riot.  He will go far.

Now Magazine Top Ten Moments 1998

Sketch troupe of the year honours go to the Shoosts (Tony Krolo, Wintson Spear, Ophira Eisenberg, Darren Frost, and Tim Goodall), who managed to class up the jammed, puking, shit-grabbing, chainsaw roaring environs of the Tom Green Show’s second Comedy Network season bash.  Warped and wonderful, they click together like Fred Astaire’s tap shoes

Lame and Shooster: Now Magazine Top Ten Moments 1998

 Energy, anger and absolute hilarity are only some of the adjectives that can sum up Darren’s show. He had it tough growing up…….but now the joke is on the bullies as Darren laughs himself to the bank every night. A whirlwind on the stage, ending with the crowd on it’s knees laughing; Darren is fast becoming one of Canada’s funniest….albeit oddest comedians. Darren has starred in numerous national television commercials, can be seen on the comedy network’s “Gutterball Alley” and is destined to be a superstar! Really he is!

Unknown Program Description circa 2002

The Cord Weekly

(Wilfrid Laurier

University)

WATERLOO (CUP)

Darren Frost wants to make you laugh. More importantly, he wants to make you think. His material is questionable, though, involving deceased infants, defecating on newsprint and referring

to the audience as “fucktards.”  One might ask exactly what it is he’d like you to

think about.  He gets regular hate mail — a point of pride for a comedian whose goal is to stretch limits and break new ground through shocking verbiage and only the most mature of subject

matters.

Vulgar would be a fairly modest term to describe his vocabulary. Once referred to as

“Ugly Toes” — a nickname he now promotes — in a letter from a disheartened elementary school teacher who happened to catch a show, Frost is confident in his ability to disarm aggressors

who decide they don’t like his style.  “Sometimes it becomes a verbal fight,” he says of rowdy audience

members, “which they will always lose. They’re never gonna win that one.  Anyone with limited [public]

verbal experience is not gonna win.”  He adds slyly, “I don’t go to someone else’s work and say, ‘hey, these fries aren’t cooked all the way.’”

Frost is a little less enthusiastic when it comes to physical fights, but their occurrence helps to reiterate

just what kind of reactions can be elicited from his material. He’s been physically assaulted on stage more than once, but one of his most frightening experiences was with a woman in Alberta who

threatened to cut him. Frost comments seriously, “I’m known for ‘this could be a riot’, not just a

funny-riot, but a riot.” When asked why he supposes he’s strayed from the traditional path of cutesy

observational comedians like Dane Cook, Frost explains that “the world isn’t the way I want it to be; my life didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to, and I’m just a lot more angry and frank about things that upset me or piss me off.”

Citing George Carlin as the best comedian in the world, Frost is a fan of

comics who can constantly update their material to be current and discuss pertinent issues of the day. He’s a socio-political observationalist, and describes his goals by saying “I’m always rooting for the underdog, [and] I’m here to point out the hypocrisy in the things I see.”

But let’s not get all hung up on broken hearts and overtly cynical observations. He wants you to

laugh, remember? And his show is funny, once you let go of your boundaries and try to focus on the larger points he’s making. A clip available of him on his MySpace account titled “Kraft” offers a notably

irreverent analysis of the noodle company’s hypocrisy in trying to avoid controversy, while its parent

company produces cigarettes and implicates cancer in its youth market. Another piece, “Horses”, is

a bit on sexually assaulting animals.

Things weren’t always this way, however. Frost has had a particularly successful career on television for a good portion of the 1990s and the new millennium.

Having appeared in over 50 commercials, once  you see his face there’s the odd nostalgic sensation

that you know this man, and you do. You know him as the quirky husband in a Leon’s commercial, the

out-of-work Hermes (messenger of the Gods) in an amusing Microsoft ad, and the obnoxious Listerine bottle “action-hero guy.”

He’s also been on some major Hollywood film sets, including Don’t

Say a Word, where he had a scene with Michael Douglas, and the more recent star-studded production

Hairspray, featuring a sexually metamorphosized John Travolta. However, the 18-hour days and pressures on the set don’t permit much camaraderie, especially among the bigger celebs.

“Everyone thinks you hang out and go to barbeques with them,” adds the realistic

Frost, explaining that most people just want to get in and get out. For now, Frost is focusing

on his stand-up material, with a new DVD to begin filming in January. He also has free video clips

and an audio CD for purchase on his website, comedywhore. com, and you can also check him out on

YouTube and MySpace. “There are things that are funny about 9/11 [and] there are things that are

funny about cancer,” says Frost in spite of people’s prudish attitudes. Watch  him for the laughs, stay for the scathing social commentary — you might even learn something.

Darren Frost is to comedy what The Exorcist is to movies. This is the stand-up comic who has figured out how to tell if the animal you are fucking has consented. Better Left Unsaid, Frost’s second independent release stand-up comedy DVD features 3 hours of shows and extras. The obvious pun here is you get a good bang with your …, here it comes, … buck.

Watch Darren Frost at St. John’s Nasty Show 1 Clip 2

The main feature of this Darren Frost DVD is a one hour show at Yuk Yuks in Mississauga, Ontario in 2008. Though faced with a lukewarm and not particularly bright crowd Frost manages to push the envelope a bit on Better Left Unsaid As always, anything is fair game and often outrageous though there are a few serious comments behind some of the jokes, especially when it comes to what makes the news.

Perhaps I have become somewhat jaded when it comes to stand-up comedy but the squirm factor in the main feature was a bit below my expectations. This is without any doubt a solid performance and Frost is very funny. I just did not get that ice cold shiver up my spine. Still, his material about the 8-limbed baby from India, the 3-handed Chinese baby and his future in adult movies, and the 14 year old who killed her parents and her little brother is solid.

Not that every premise in the main feature of Better Left Unsaid is edgy. His no frills grocery store bit is pretty safe stuff though Frost’s attitude makes it funny. The comedian also gets a lot of mileage from his stories about previous shows.

There are a very few weak bits in the main feature, For example, his joke about a radiation oncologist does not have a good punchline.

Production wise this is a four camera job and the show looks pretty good overall. There is the occasional shot where the comic walks out of the frame but this ain’t HBO.

The DVD comes with two other performances in the extra features section. Hammerfight is the video from a disastrous show in Windsor, Ontario in 2005. Headwound is footage from a bad show in Mississauga, also in 2005. This show features Frost’s darkest jokes of the DVD: old folks playing Russian roulette and the raccoon in the garage.

The Bonus Material section includes 15 minutes from the early Yuk Yuks show that did not go so well and Frost pulls a Miles Davis. There is also 20 minutes of bonus jokes and there I got the ice cold shivers I was looking for: Anna Nicole Smith, Mel Gibson, the old folks Russian roulette bit, retard kids, and zombie valentine. There is also a clip of the comic getting assaulted.

Also in extra features is a Talking Heads feature where Frost talks to the camera. Ho hum.

The extra features section itself has strong production values including a nifty tune about killing Karla Homolka.

If you like edgy dark comedy, Darren Frost is your guy. You also have to respect a comic who refuses to give in to ordinary.

It Is Only Going Down From Here if the weirdest, most daring, sickest, absolutely hilarious at times, most aggressive, bombing badly, in your face, stand-up comedy CD ever release independent or not. It is a bootleg recording of a show Canadian comic Darren Frost recorded in Kingston, Ontario. Whatever you think of it, it is a safe bet because Frost has a money-back guarantee on this independent release comedy CD so you have nothing to lose.

Watch Darren Frost at St. Johns Nasty Show Clip 1  Clip 2

The story behind this funny CD (that you can hear from Frost himself in an interview he generously gave us at the Just For Laughs International Comedy Festival in Montreal in July 2005) is this comic has a reputation of going way over the line depending on how the crowd reacts so he started to record his sets to cover his ass with comedy club owners and bookers. This particular show is so great and so beyond good taste “I’m having more fun than a pedophile in a wading pool, folks.” it’s, well, the expression is not even funny, but it most definitely is.

It is hard to tell who should get the credit for this over the top performance. Should Darren Frost be applauded for being so quick-witted and on the ball for almost an hour or should the credit go to the drunken, rowdy audience for getting in the stand-up’s face time and again, forcing him to react and fight back. If you’ve ever wanted to see what it’s like to use a nuclear weapon to swat a fly, this is the cd for you.

But not only is Frost good at getting in the audience’s face, they started it, but the range of his humor is amazing: religion, shopping for condoms “cleanup on aisle six”, the day the raccoon died, giant head baby, giving a urine sample to your friend going on a job interview -and how to keep it at body temperature–, and there’s more and sicker. His only real flaw is calling audience members “big shooter” constantly so it gets on your nerves.

Sound wise, even if this is a bootleg recording so the cd is not the perfect auditory experience I always bitch about when I do not get it, it is in many ways superior to some major label releases I have heard in the past. Anyways, there’s a money-back guarantee so what have you got to lose?

By the way, Frost’s website is really cool and a great way to kill some time.

I received Laughing Away The Tears, the two comedy DVD independent release by Darren Frost with an equal mixture of joy and fear. Joy because Frost is a great stand-up comic who is so beyond the edge whatever is left of Sam Kinison is rolling in its grave. Fear because this is an in your face, no holds barred comedian and listening to his comedy, or in this case watching his show, is such a jolt to the system it becomes physically exhausting. Add to the exhaustion factor the fact Laughing Away The Tears is an hour-long show and the DVDs total some 3 hours worth of material and you can understand my conundrum.

Watch Darren Frost at St. John’s Nasty Show Clip 1  Clip 2

The first DVD in Laughing Away The Tears is Frost’s hour-long late night show at Yuk Yuk’s in Ottawa and this is a brilliant, high-energy show. It proves beyond a doubt you should show up very early for this comic’s show and make sure you sit way in the back. Otherwise, you are definitely going to be a target for his highly aggressive humor. To be fair though, Frost is as hard on himself as he is on some poor audience member.

It is no accident that at times Darren Frost holds the mic like a heavy metal singer. Just when you think there is no way this stand-up comedian can get any crazier and crank up his energy level he does just that. The best moments of the great moments on this stand-up comedy DVD are when he decides to deliver a series of one-liners in a machine-gun style that makes it hard for the audience to catch its breath. Thankfully, Frost does occasionally pause here and there both for his own and the audience’s sake. Be warned though this is only a sign there is much, much more to come

If there is a weak point here it is the penultimate joke in this set. The raccoon bit does not fly. Fortunately, Frost has the experience to close with a killer bit.

Laughing Away The Tears is the comedy DVD I am keeping on hand to win the debate on who is the most outrageous comic out there.

Bonus Features on the first DVD in Laughing Away The Fear are four excerpts from other shows across the country: Too Far, Whatever -an  15 minute interview with a drunk lady who complains about Frost’s set in BC of minor interest–, Rivoli Bedsheets, and 2 Minutes of Hate.

The second DVD is chock full of bonuses from Frost’s website. The Leather Chef features Frost in a leather outfit with two babes giving the kind of cooking show Julia Childs only wishes she could have. Tears of Rage is a selection of 21 short black and white clips of the stand-up comic doing some of his best and weirdest material, a lot of which is not in the hour-long show. Niagara Story is an interview bit where he tells the story of how he once took it all off on stage. The message here is do not try to one-up Darren Frost.

There are also 8 clips in the Comedy Shorts section. These include a couple of parodies of the Cops show, a clip about the beer fairy, a clip spoofing a beer website. Perhaps the weirdest of the weird is Gutterball Alley where a young lady gets 5 dollars for every marshmallow Frost feeds her … you got to see it to believe it. Also included are Freak In A Box a short about a bizarre elevator operator,  There is also a spoof of AA groups and a clip from the Mike Bullard Show that is not bad.

In addition to all the goodies mentioned before, the second DVD includes material about the rock group The Headstones Frost is a big fan of. The weirdest is the rock video featuring the comic as Rupert P an excessive fan of the group. If you want to see Frost’s naked butt -and who does? — check out the Electronic Press Kit bit. There are two other videos in this section. Overall, this is the weak part of this second disc for me. The acting reel is a series of shorts that are fun to watch.

Darren Frost Laughing Away The Laughter is a must have 2 comedy DVD set for anyone who believes comedy is for adults with an open mind.  This is a high-quality, big-time studio production. The picture quality and sound for the stand-up show is flawless as is most everything in the extras section. You also definitely want to check out this stand-up comic’s website, one of the best I have seen in a while.

Down-right dirty
By Jude Campbell
Friday, May 22

Darren Frost began his run at Kelowna’s Blue Line Sports and Comedy Club on Thursday and runs through at the same venue until Saturday.

It’s not often that a stand-up comedy act comes with an X-rated warning – and that‘s straight from the horses’ mouth.

“I’m that comic with an edge. I’m tagged with words like nasty and down-right dirty,” admits Darren Frost, whose Nasty Comedy Tour hit Kelowna this week.
“My act is not for the faint of heart, and that’s why there’s a warning,” he added. “Everyone knows what they are getting when they come through that door.”
That ’something’ is an interesting slant on the world and subjects that most comedians shy away from, but one Frost embraces. … More After The break …

He’s been tagged as the reigning king of way-out comedy, and gladly skewers what should be the most hands-off topics in his uniquely eccentric way.

His well-aimed barbs earn him a solid ‘10′ on the squirm-ability scale, while notching up accolades from critics who label him as the most daring and aggressive comic in Canada.

“When you come to my gig, you gotta know you’re not getting Seinfeld. There’s definitely language and content,” he said, noting that “for every Pulp Fiction, there’s a Never-Ending Story – and I’m not that last one.”

“So now you’re warned. Sit back and enjoy,” he said.

Frost has been delivering his slightly twisted look at what’s funny for the past 17 years, taking a familiar path for Canadian comics.

It all started with amateur nights, trying out some stand-up bars hosting open mike nights, then opening for other comics, and finally headlining his own show.
“I think comics are ‘born to it’,” he said. “It’s an inherited thing that you work on.”

“I didn’t have the greatest childhood, and learned I could defend myself better by getting laughs instead of using fists. And it’s not the easiest path.”

On the way up the ladder, Frost has done his share of road gigs, including the one-nighters in smoky bars and clubs where a comic can be guaranteed a heckler or three.
“Yeah, there’s always a ‘flavourful person’ in the bar crowd, someone who thinks they can take over your show,” he said. “But once you get past that, and start to play little theatres and then bigger theatres, it’s good.”

Admittedly, he adds that making it super-big in Canada is simply “not a reality.”
“We’ve got maybe 10 guys who do really well and make decent money. But you have to know where the ceiling is in Canada. You have to know the star system that operates in the States just doesn’t exist here,” he said. “Comedy very much parallels the music business here.”

Knowing that stand-up doesn’t always pay the rent, Frost took his talents south of the border and carved out a place for himself in commercials, movies and cartoon character voice-overs.

He’s been in movies like Assault on Precinct 13, Fever Pitch, Don’t Say a Word and Hairspray. His commercial hits include being a bottle of Listerine and playing opposite Adam West.

“I really loved being a Listerine bottle,” he recalled. “And being on Hairspray with all those kids dancing. They were really incredible. They could dance for 18 hours and still be smiling.”

For his role in the movie, Frost guided one of the cameras on the set, the one that ultimately caused the firing of Michelle Phiffer’s character.

“Movies sound glamourous and fun,” he said. “But really there’s a lot of just standing around waiting for your turn.”

“Doing cartoon voices is a lot more fun, it’s quick and done. Then you get to plan your next road trip.”

“Kelowna’s a good place to do my style of comedy, my last trip there was great,” he added.

One of Canada’s best known and controversial comics Darren Frost will stop in Moncton Wednesday for a one-night show at Studio 7 Hundred.

A Toronto Star reviewer described Frost’s style of comedy as having the quality of a satanic revival meeting with Frost “among the most daring comedians in Canada.”

A 2007 Echo Weekly review called Frost “brilliant, but careful with his words. His humour is unabashed and rude at times, but the man is not simply sprouting obscenities to get a rise out of the audience. The jokes are calculated, political and meaningful.” The Brantford, Ont. native, who began doing comedy in 1992 and professionally three years later, describes his comedy as “angry and in-your-face.” Yet his comedy has earned him rave reviews over the years, and he has twice been credited for one of the “Top Ten Comedy Moments of the Year” by Now Magazine.

Past appearances include the Just for Laughs Festival, where he performed in more than 22 shows. This includes the popular Nasty Show, where he was the only Canadian comic invited, and the Seattle Comedy Competition as one of only two Canadians performing.

He has filmed a Comedy Now special for the Comedy Network, appeared in 50 commercials, winning the KARI Award for best performance in a commercial in Canada, and appeared in several movies and television shows over the past few years. His voice is heard playing characters on several television cartoon shows.

He was also one of four comics featured in an episode of the Discovery Civilization channel’s new show Tribes of the 21st Century that aired in September.

Frost released his second full-length independent DVD entitled Better Left Unsaid in June.

n Tickets for the Moncton show which begins at 9 p.m. are $15 advance and $20 at the door. The tickets are available at the Studio 7 Hundred at 700 Main St.

Comedian Darren Frost brings X-rated material to town.
By Hanne Armstrong

He’s worked alongside John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken in Hairspray. With Ethan Hawke in Assault On Precinct 13, and Michael Douglas in Don’t Say a Word. He’s the Listerine super-hero of commercial fame, and his voice speaks through cartoon characters on But in his heart of hearts, Darren Frost is a stand-up comic. Clubs, bars, and Just For Laughs are where he thrives, and on March 11 he brings his hard-hitting brand of humour to Moncton’s Studio 7 Hundred.

“It’s what I was born to do,” he says. “It’s what I have the most passion for.”

If you’re wanting to laugh, willing to be open-minded, and prepared to be offended, then Darren’s one-night appearance is something you won’t want to miss. He classifies his shows as X-rated, and he doesn’t put on a family entertainment kind of evening. There are no taboos; any topic is grist to his harshly satiric mill. Sex, illness, politics, the guy next door or the guy in the seat beside you, Darren will make you laugh, and maybe even think, about all of them.

“Being a social critic is just as important to me as making people laugh,” Darren says. “I rant about hypocrisy and the underdog in pretty much all my acts. I want people to have a good time, but I want to make my point, too.”
Making his point has occasionally gotten Darren into trouble. Audiences sometimes holler and hiss at him. He has received death threats.

“People must not be listening to what I’m actually saying,” he suggests. “There’s not much you can do about that. But I’m not some evil guy. I’m a dad, with two sons. I X-rate my shows so people will think before they come.”

Rosalind Miller, owner of Studio 7 Hundred, was very pleased when approached by a promoter to provide a venue for Darren’s ‘X-Rated Comedy Night’. She’s been interested in hosting comics for some time, in keeping with her philosophy of diversity, and hopes that Darren’s show will be the first of many.

Tickets for the March 11 evening are only $20 at the door, and $15 in advance. The show starts at 9 p.m. Advance tickets are available at Studio 7 Hundred. Those very reasonable prices get you not only Darren Frost, but Shane Ogden, who has been in the Saint John and Rocky Mountain Comedy Festivals, and home-grown comic Neal Mundle. Altogether a great evening’s entertainment for a great price.

Darren himself is no stranger to Maritime audiences. And he has a certain respect for Moncton audiences in particular.

“Last time I was in Moncton,” he recalls, “I got a 50 per cent standing ovation, and the other 50 per cent left the room. To me, that’s the perfect gig. Everybody listened, and then decided. The people who left weren’t rude, they just left, and they didn’t judge the people who laughed. Moncton’s a good comedy town.”

He likes smaller markets, too, because they’re hungry for entertainment. In places like Toronto and Vancouver, the audiences almost defy a comic to make them laugh, while in second-tier markets like Moncton, audiences are ready for a good time. In fact, he says that smaller markets are the bread and butter not just for comics, but for big acts like Elton John and Neil Young.

As to playing venues which are licensed premises, Darren has this to say.
“Drunk audiences are the worst. Loosening up with a drink or two is fine, but when people are hammered they don’t listen, they yell and they don’t know how loud they are.”

And Darren wants people to listen to what he has to say. He writes all his own material, often taking stories from the Internet as his starting point. Once his ideas are down on paper he goes to some of the nearly 20 Open-Mic locations in Toronto where he’s based, to try the new material out on a real audience. He even tapes himself, to make sure that he’s not just screaming, but actually saying something.

Raised in Brantford, Ontario, Darren had a good-paying job, but started to do amateur comedy nights in the early ’90s. By 1994, he was able to give up his day-job, which he did and gladly. It’s not making him rich, but he’s happy doing what he’s doing.

“I get a lot of e-mails asking how to break into comedy,” he says. “I always tell the person not to do it for money, but if you love it, get on stage not just in front of your friends, and just do it. It’s not an easy road, and I’ve thought about quitting many times. But if it’s what you love, you have to do it.”

His passion for comedy keeps him at it, and his passion for commentary on just about everything keeps him controversial. Come out on March 11 and check him our for yourself.

Show them a line and they’ll cross it.

Raju Mudhar
ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER

If you’ve ever rolled your eyes at someone being offended by a comedian’s dirty joke, tomorrow night’s Just for Laughs Nasty showcase at Yuk Yuk’s is made for you. Conversely, if you have any tender sensibilities, may we recommend you stay home and watch TV?

With a lineup including Darren Frost, Kenny Robinson, The Doo Wops, Shannon Laverty and more, the showcase will feature some of the city’s best-known comics cutting loose, however they like. In a comedian’s arsenal, nasty can mean just about anything, and that’s just how they like it.

“I’ve done it all,” says Darren Frost, 37. “I’ve been mean-spirited. I’ve been belligerent. I’ve been dirty. I’ve been blue. I’ve had death threats. I’ve been assaulted. Last year six newspapers called me evil … I’ve been called everything.

“I call myself a comic and a social critic. Some people don’t consider me that; they consider me wrong and evil. What can I do?”

The comedian is a familiar face thanks to TV commercials – you may recognize him as a Listerine bottle – but he says that this work is drying up, thanks to his controversial stand-up material.

Last year, Frost was embroiled in a brouhaha after making jokes about the July beheading of a passenger on a Greyhound bus. It was a few days after the incident, and his jokes targeted the bus company and media reaction. Some people laughed, but an audience member had an issue with it, and Frost discussed his reaction.

Frost later posted a video of the incident on YouTube. Eventually some of the victim’s family saw it and were offended, complaining to newspapers. Out of respect, Frost removed the clip, but he’s still not sure if he did the right thing.

“I feel bad for the family so I took the video down, but I should have left it up because it’s not as bad as you think,” he says. “In this case, I respected the rights of the family over my own rights to tell this joke.”

Did he tell the joke too soon?

“For me, funny is funny,” he says. “If it’s funny at first, why does it have to wait two or three weeks?”

What about crossing the line? “I follow Carlin’s take on that. I think we have to cross the line sometimes to show a) where the line is for yourself, and b) to question that line.”

To Frost, the most offensive thing is easy comedy, like local comedians making fun of Americans.

As for local musical comedy duo The Doo Wops, a.k.a. John Catucci and David Mesiano, their modus operandi of matching salty vocals with sweet vocal harmonies and catchy melodies goes a long way towards deflecting criticism of their often puerile subject matter.

“If you put a filthy comment to song, it gives you more leeway,” says Mesiano.

Catucci adds, “It’s like, yes, I just called you a douchebag, but did you hear that power chord that David just played?”