My comedy cabaret show the House of Hee Haw! will be back on stage this coming Friday, July 4th, to celebrate:

 

**Download your flyer here and bring it along to claim your

This party is going to be country fried finger-liking good fun.
*And I bet a £1 that everyone will be hee hawing it up all night. No party poopers welcome, this is dance all night, sing all night wild and wacky fun.

***Please note, the artists request that you please leave your hat at the door, following pretend cowboy, cowgirl and hillbilly fun times at the party -- so we can use the hats the next time!

Featuring...

♥♥♥ Cheer-A-Go-Go! ♥♥♥

(Hillbilly Comedy Cabaret)

♫♫♪♫♪   HellzaPoppin’ ♫♫♪♫♪

(Rockin’ Stray Cat-Style Trio)

London debut of:

♫♫♪♫♪ The WildCat Tamers ♫♫♪♫♪
(Country,Soul,Rock’n’Roll)

♫♫♪♫♪ DJ Jon the Boatman ♫♫♪♫♪

& Surprise Special Guests

Barbecue & Grill. Very Reasonable Bar Prices

Friday 4th July 2008. Doors 8 ‘til late. £6/£5 concs. 

Inn On the Green, 3-5 Thorpe Close,  Portobello Green, London W10 5XL.

1 minute walk from Ladbroke Grove Tube Tel: 0208 962 5757  www.iotg.co.uk

www.myspace.com/littlebitcountryuk

Hillary Clinton let me know today (see her letter below) that this Saturday she is going to step aside and let the Democrats get on with the tough election they face this year, conceding the race to Barack Obama.

Thanks Hillary! Yes, it's time, and you are very needed in helping the Democrats win back the White House this year.

Many congrats to Barack Obama for running what has been, and continues to be a campaign that inspires hope among voters. He has really fired up the USA Democrats, and seems to be achieving a remarkable appeal, crossing over party lines and making mince of traditional voting patterns. This blog will be enthusiastically supporting Barack Obama in the run-up to the November '08 Presidential elections, as he did completely win me over earlier this year. I'd been on the fence for the early days of this race, and had wanted to see both candidates stop the primary campaign earlier, set aside their differences, and pal up on the Democratic party ticket to make a powerful partnership. Who knows, maybe that will still happen?

This is an exciting race, and I'll be watching it, from across the pond.

A Letter from Hillary to Me

Dear Lisa,

I wanted you to be one of the first to know: on Saturday, I will hold an event in Washington D.C. to thank everyone who has supported my campaign. Over the course of the last 16 months, I have been privileged and touched to witness the incredible dedication and sacrifice of so many people working for our campaign. Every minute you put into helping us win, every dollar you gave to keep up the fight meant more to me than I can ever possibly tell you.

On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans.

I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party's nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise.

When I decided to run for president, I knew exactly why I was getting into this race: to work hard every day for the millions of Americans who need a voice in the White House.

I made you -- and everyone who supported me -- a promise: to stand up for our shared values and to never back down. I'm going to keep that promise today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life.

I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.

I know as I continue my lifelong work for a stronger America and a better world, I will turn to you for the support, the strength, and the commitment that you have shown me in the past 16 months. And I will always keep faith with the issues and causes that are important to you.

In the past few days, you have shown that support once again with hundreds of thousands of messages to the campaign, and again, I am touched by your thoughtfulness and kindness.

I can never possibly express my gratitude, so let me say simply, thank you.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Who’s Lisa Devaney?

I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com

 

 

Ya’ll will have another chance to check out my Hee Haw! House comedy cabaret act, this coming Friday night, as we are performing as part of a new club night A Little Bit Country and a Little Bit Rock N Roll. The night promises to be an Americana-style celebration offering up country western, blues and good old fashioned rock-n-roll music, along with dancing and performance and DJs, and great big grins at the Inn On The Green .

Yes, smiles will be a plenty among this crowd, a gathering being organized by the talented

country western, and rock ‘n roll, singer Cheyne Pride. She’s brought together talent for the first of her new regular club nights with an Americana theme that will leave Londoners feeling warm and fuzzy about the good ‘ol stars and stripes and the fantastic music, art and cultural talent that has brewed from the USA.

Headlining the night is the band National Debt, a country blues rock band based in London, founded by Ronnie Smith  and Michael Messer, with backing vocals by Cheyne Pride, sound engineer Chris Clarke, and Ed Genis contributing on guitar. The band’s debut album ‘From the Horse’s Mouth’ was released last spring, earning attention from music press in the UK, including airplay on BBC Radio 2, when Mark Lamarr took a liking to the band's tune ‘Oozlin’ Daddy Blues’.

This band will get you slapping your thighs, lifting your cowboy hats in tribute and tapping your feet along with the beat. Added bonus of the night is JC & the Disciples  and dancing cheerleaders from Cheer-A-Go-Go, along with my very own Hee Haw! Whore House comedy. As The Madam of the Hee Haw! Whore House, I’ll be presenting new comedy material SMACK-down style with cabaret wrestling!

Well I hope ya’ll can come on down this Friday, and if you can’t make it this week, do mark your calendar for July 4^th to enjoy an American-style celebration of the national holiday, right in the heart of Londontown at Inn On The Green.

Here are the details for Friday:

Cheyne Pride Presents:

 

 

 

I’ll be debuting my new comedy cabaret show with the Finger in the Pie cabaret festival at Madam JoJos in the heart of London’s Soho this weekend. Come on down for my:

                   Doors open at 7 PM

                   Tickets £8

You can expect to have a hee haw! of a good time if you come down, where there will be plenty of a hooting ‘n a hollering in hillbilly style.

We’ve got a fantastic little cast of Londoners including:

    Simon Harris, who is the head of the Hand of Glory record label and a co-organizer of fantastic random clubbing nights with events like The Human Zoo, inviting people to get in touch with their inner beasts, and the Nativity Hoedown. This spring he debuts a new CD from artist Mary Epworth and the Jublilee Band. Connect with Simon over at myspace.com/handofglory7.

James Whatley, who studied drama and spent a few years working in television before finding his niche in the mobile technology industry where he is fondly known by his colleagues as Whatelydude. Connect with James at whatleydude.vox.com

Tiara Diamond, who is studying drama at Thames Valley University, is a graduate of BWI’s Ultimate Burlesque Workshop and performs burlesque under her stage name Tiara Diamond. Her play ‘Breakers’ featured at the cornerHouse festival. You can find her on The BurlyQ Blog at tiaradiamond.wordpress.com

Our stage hand for the Hee Haw! Whore House is my husband Dr. John Fraser Laird Devaney (he’s smart

Rehersing to Hee Haw! At the Finger in the Pie Cabaret Festival www.fingerinthepie.com

because he has a PhD in physics, and is figuring out some crafty set challenges we’ve had). We’ve also got our own stylist and costume maker Diana Munauru who sews bespoke costumes and clothing for theatre performers, fancy dress and gowns for charity and society functions. You can book Diana by emailing her at Diana.langa@hotmail.co.uk

And me! When it comes to entertainment experience I don’t have any real formal training, except having studied improvisational comedy with the fantastic Upright Citizens Brigade in New York City, a group that can claim a number of comedy stars, and having absorbed knowledge from being around show business since childhood, with my father, who was a Julliard-trained Broadway musician. I’ve also performed a one-woman show, having turned myself into an online/offline cartoon girl of the New New York who took to the stage and became known as (((Futuregirl))), or the FutureG among some. With that adventure I pulled my friends into my art project (those who were willing and surprisingly no one declined to be turned into a cartoon) by giving them cartoon ‘treatments’ and having them come out for a party dressed in their self-created cartoon selves. It looks like I'm up to similar tricks here in London, and I'm really looking forward to being on stage with others this time.

No sparkly star studded cast and crew is complete without fans, so we’ve even got an entourage coming along, with the fabulous Miss Risk (Kate Risker) planning to attend, and others.

I’ve produced this Americana slapstick-style comedy, with a bit of old fashioned British pantomime influence that I hope will entertain London audiences. With this show, I’ve also unofficially anointed myself as being:

America’s Alternative Cultural Ambassador!

Having witnessed British people really adore a bit of down-home American-style music and entertainment, when I
was part of the Nativity Hoedown, I’ve decided to carry on with this theme, presenting a bit of hilarity with my new cabaret act.

Made with inpsiration from: The Original Hee Haw! Television Show. View clips here:

Hee Haw - Pfft You Were Gone

Hank Williams Jr on Hee-Haw

HEE HAW

For those of you who remember American sitcoms in the 1970s, you may recognized this performance is inspired (not at all copied as an fyi to any copyright cops reading this blog) by that popular show Hee Haw! that I watched often, while growing up with my family in America. Having lived here nearly  four years now, at a time when my country is terribly unpopular,  I'm inspired by the inevitable upcoming political change that will happen in November, and  I'd like to be a  little bit more courageous in  offering up  examples of the more positive things about America  that I feel have been extremely overshadowed by  these year's under an unacceptable presidential leadership in my country. So hee haw! for my America and hip hip hurray for whoever takes George  Bush's place in November.

A bunch of London hillbilly's rehearse for Finger in the Pie cabaret festival. 6th April 2008. www.f

1 comment

If the Hee Haw! Whore House is well-received with this performance, expect to see more hee hawing here in London in the future.

Practicing my hee haws for Sunday night,

-Lisa

Hai Media Group Logo by Dan Boultwood

Who’s Lisa Devaney?

I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back from the USA, I'm reflecting on my country, and the circle of creative friends and family I keep close. Here in the

UK, having lived here three years, it has been unpopular to be an American - and I often hide my nationality in unfamiliar company. In one instance, I asked a rude tube rider to lower their voice, and was attacked verbally with the comment - "shut-up you damn Yank!" - an early introduction to the fact that my USA origin was not welcome by many. In another interaction, an older woman I met at a tea shop suggested that it might be better to tell everyone I'm Canadian while living in Britain. Her advice spoke true to the mood I've faced since relocating here in 2004, but I'm not good at lying at such unavoidable truths - and after a warm and joyous visit to the USA, I'm more inclined to defend what I adore about my country. Top things being:

• The sense of humour my fellow New Yorkers display in all interactions, laughs are a plenty among strangers -- with cab drivers, hot dog vendors, cashiers, bartenders and shop stall managers, willing to share a chuckle during an exchange. For lunch one day I decided to have a knish with mustard and a hot dog and let the vendor know that I was having a quintessential New York City lunch, because I miss my city and all its iconic quirks. He smiled and laughed at my selection and agreed my choices were staples in his city. 
  

• Friendly warmth abounds in my country of the USA - whether it was in Ohio, traveling through West Virginia or elsewhere I ventured in the Northeast, it was easy to strike up a chat and share sometimes surprising personal details with another person. Unlike the reserved approach I've had to adjust to in the UK, interacting with American's means you might find yourself talking about your cat, your grandparents, your children or other aspects of your life that strangers don't usually engage over. The small talk is just that, and hardly means you've made a new best friend, but that initial barrier between people is easily overcome in most situations, making for a warmer human experience than I encounter here in the UK. I like it, I miss it.

• Positivity prevails throughout the USA. Everyone faces struggles in day-to-day existence, but Americans have a way of transforming the most unfortunate situations into 'blessings' or 'learning experiences' or something that 'was meant to be for a reason'. I heard these phrases from many during my travels, in response to learning about a tough situation someone may be having. Rather than gloom and doom, people seemed to rise above anything that was thrown to them and look ahead toward the future with optimism and hope. An old landlord of mine informed me that she was clean and sober and transforming herself through 12-stepping with AA, and filling her newly found freetime with learning how to perform in amateur musicals and acting classes. She feared that she may be too old to enter the entertainment world, but I told her that her enjoyment of the experience and positive approach would prevail -- and that wrinkles only add depth to her character and personna. She agreed, and, like so many Americans I know, naturally possesses a can-do attitude that will make things happen for her.

It is humour, friendliness and positivity that I'm thinking about today and will be offering to my new British friends -- and these are three things that make me feel patriotic and proud of my country. I consider myself to be an alternative patriot, as I'm not interested in rallying round the flag and pushing so-called Democratic freedom upon my global neighbors. The saying goes - show don't tell and lead by example, not force. In New York City, I met a talent agent who represents an artist who is drawing crowds to see his alternative patriotic performances. Liam Burns introduced me to the work of Michael Israel, who performs art in concert, painting his patriotic passion -- visually sharing his own feelings about the USA, with audiences who end up cheering, and even crying when his show overwelms them with emotion for their country. View one of his perfomances here:

Just how far am I willing to go in expressing my own alternative patriotism?

Well...you can find out this Saturday night in London!

Hee Haw & Ho Ho Ho!  It is Merry Christmas Time - Americana Style this Saturday!

I've got a showcase opportunity this week to demonstrate my alternative patriotism and deliver kitchy goodwill Americana-style.  I've written a pantomime-style script portraying the classic nativity story in a comedic 'White Trash Christmas' scene.  On stage, I'll be expressing my alternative patriotic views with party guests and don't mind if they mock some of the silly culture that was born in the USA. Think Dukes of Hazzard meets Oklahoma for this party, and below is the invite and details if you feel like coming along for a hoot 'n a holler of a good time this weekend:

That’s right we all know the story... however, what you may not know is that The Wise Men not only brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, but actually thought it’d be a good idea to bring some wash boards, a fuck load of gingham and a big pouch of chewy tobacco. They were attending a special function in a barn after all. The Shepherds brought the moonshine and much makin’ like a hog was made.

We are planning a Nativity Hoe Down on Saturday, the 8th December 8pm-4am, the idea being that Jesus was born in a barn so there must have been some barndancing going down at some point. With a fist full of wacky entertainment and nativity-come-country rednecks fancy dress we hope to recreate the heady highs of that joyous night.

On the bill we have high octane folksters Victor Menace, D-66- a dirty blues one manband, circus ska wonders Danny Fontaine and the Horns of Fury, gypsy & reggae sets from DJ Symmetric, DJ Bomber & I love Watt? Lisa Devaney's skit poet’s ‘White Trash Christmas’, cabaret performers and other interactive entertainment.

£5 entrance- all profits going to the Malawi Education Project. The party is at a quirky East London venue that you will all love- Passing Clouds:

440 Kingsland Road, Dalston, London E8- Corner of Kingsland Road and Richmond Road Behind Uncle Sam's pub

***NAMES NEED TO BE RSVP'ed
Please RSVP to Kate Risker - aka Miss Risk via Facebook, or directly to missrisk@gmail.com

You can also find and contact Miss Risk on Vox @ www.missrisk.vox.com

Fancy dress encouraged!

Feel free to invite friends to come along and join in the hoedown, and:

Click here if you are lacking inspiration for what to wear:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3bSzCuZcIw

Click here if you want to rehearse some special dance moves (te he!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GgkTXzXme

Charity, bands & contributers:

http://www.malawieducationproject.com/
http://www.myspace.com/d66isd77
http://www.standnotamazed.com/
http://www.wishingtree.org.uk/
http://www.myspace.com/dannyfontaineandthehornsoffury