Not A Lot Goin' On - Corner Gas News, April 2019

You know how nice it is to have some time off work. Have a week, maybe two if you are lucky, so you can spend some quality time practicing your hobby of Underwater Origami. It's all well and lovely until you get back to your desk at the office to find that Trevor from accounts, who was supposed to cover for you phoned in sick as his Philtrum had swollen up, because of an allergic reaction to his Aunt's athletes foot powder, and made his mustache all wonky ("I can't come in today, my mustache is crooked") . So now you have to catch up with a work load impossibly large and you will have to work late and miss your pottery lesson - just as you were about to do a grading and get your black belt in Earthenware.



Well that's what is like for me this week. I took a few weeks off posting for a few reasons. The previous four posts in which I slavishly ran down your favorite Corner Gas moments had me immersed in Dog River deeper than Johnny Utah was when he had to sky dive with the fellow out of Roadhouse. That was a very sloppy reference to undercover cops - Point Break....Keanu...never mind. So after six weeks of work I took a little break and I have come back to a mountain of Corner Gas news that just won't report itself you know!


NEW OFFICE NEW PODCAST

One of the reasons I was off was to set up a brand new, state of the art office. Corner Gas Fan Corner now comes to you from a very small table in the middle of my garage. I have all the mod cons, electricity, bricks and a certain amount of oxygen that can be replenished by opening the garage door! One of the main reasons for rigging all this up is so I can bring to you an all new podcast!

The first test episode is up here now. Every week, I will bring you my dulcet tones with more Corner Gas news and a whole bunch of other stuff that may or may not be a) relevant and b) funny. A regular feature I am planning is to find the worlds biggest Corner Gas fan! Are you a super-fan? Listen to the test post to hear where you can get in touch and maybe be on a show! I also want to hear about when you have had a Jackass moment, a silly moment in your life when you have well an truly deserved the title of a "Complete Jackass"! Check out the recording, don't be shy, get in touch, get involved!

AWARDS GALORE!

Well we all knew that Corner Gas Animated was something special, and time has proven us correct. A year after broadcast not only is the first season record breaking, drawing the biggest audience for a new series on on The Comedy Network but now it is award winning. Last month the Canadian Screen Awards were held. Corner Gas Animated was nominated in two categories "Best Animated Series" and "Best Writing for an Animated Series". Unfortunately we lost out to a bunch of cartoon dogs in police outfits on the first catagory (Booooo!!!) However, on the second, the winner is...

My deepest sincerest congratulations to Brent for his win and the whole team for their nomination. Truly well deserved. However the noms just keep coming in!

 This week the show has picked up four nominations, Best Animation Program or Series, Best Screenwriting - again Brent for "Squatch Your Language" and Andrew Carr for "Retro Grade", and Best Voice Performance for Lorne Cardinal in "Squatch Your Language".

Obviously we wish all the team our very best of luck, but we have a little conflict of interest going on in all three categories as the fantastic film "Shop Class" also has nominations in these categories for Hart Snider and Fred Ewanuick in the writing and performance stakes.  The short also has a nomination for best program. I guess either way we fans are in a win win situation.

If you haven't caught Shop Class yet I highly recommend you read my post about it here which also features a link to watch the animated gem on You Tube.

BUTT LOADA BUSY

Brent is right up to his eyeballs with things to keep him out of mischief at the moment. The most exciting is that he will be recording his very first stand up special! Here he is to fill you in with the info you need to get tickets -

I get asked quite often if Brent has ever recorded a live show and the answer is no, as strange as it may seem. There are many clips available on You Tube, most taken from peoples phone cameras from roughly 1000 feet away from the stage with sound that pops and buzzes every time Brent breathes into his microphone. So hopefully the new special will contain all his material for the last 30 years so we can be all caught up by the end of it - only problem there is it's run time may be a smidge in the long side. Anyway, this little oversight is now being taken care of and will be a real treat to watch. If you are lucky enough to be in the area get your tickets quick before they sell out.

The Buttpod You Tube channel has been white hot with activity too. Brent has been doing a series of live Q&A sessions on a Sunday afternoon/evening (depending on your part of the world). Keep your eyes out on his Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts as he will alert every one when the next session will take place. They are full of all sorts of interesting info regarding Corner Gas, stand up and all sorts of other topics.

The Q&A's are still available to watch here, here and here. A few highlights of info that can be gleened are -

• Brent is working on a new screenplay - no specific details given, watch this space

• Corner Gas Animated Season 2 has a provisional air date which can not be disclosed until confirmed by the powers that be

• Amy Smart is a very nice person 

Don't forget to subscribe to The Buttpod channel and click the notification button so you don't miss a moment of all the goodness that lies there in!

STACK THE PADS TENDIES!

Hockey genius Kirk Lemur has started his own You Tube Channel which features Ice Hockey tuition in a way that only Kirk can tuit! He is also posting regularly on Instagram and Twitter. I highly recommend if you are a fan of Ice Hockey or Corner Gas you should subscribe to Kirk's channel here. He is also selling videos at his website www.stackthepadswithkirk.com, last I checked the site isn't quite up yet but keep checking back and I am sure it will be rocking the pucks like there's no tomorrow and be full of awesome content.

LORNE IS BOARD

Mr. Cardinal is treading the boards again, appearing as Prospero in The Tempest. This is a long planned production that is directed by Josette Bushell-Mingo which will feature both deaf and hearing actors on stage together. Josette was the artistic director of Tyst Teater Sweden's National Deaf Theatre.

Shakespeare's tale is of loss and reconciliation and tells of a deposed ruler who uses his magic to seek vengence on those who robbed him of his throne and marooned him on a remote island. What shape will his revenge take?

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IMAGE CONTAINS BLATANT NUDINESS!!

The show runs April 20th until May 12th 2019 at the Shoctor Theatre, Edmonton, Canada and tickets can be found here for this spectacular production. If you would like to read lots more from Lorne and Josette click here

ODDS BODKINS

Another busy chap is Mr Craig Northey. The back of his head can be seen here being very busy in the studio mixing sound for Season 2 of Corner Gas Animated

He is also on tour with The Steven Page Trio all over Canada. The trio comprise of Craig and Cellist and all around awesome dude Kevin Fox backing up the stellar vocalisms of ex Barenaked Ladies man Steven Page. Their set comprises old Barenaked Ladies classics such as Old Apartment and crowd pleaser Brian Wilson as well as new compositions from Steven Pages latest solo albums Page One, Instinct and Discipline (Heal Thyself - Parts One and Two). A fantastic night for all, Craig and Kevin often open the shows with a selection of their own hits. You can find tickets for the tour here and a review of one of their previous performances here

So there we have it, all caught up. I have lots more news to share on the podcast front - secrets abound. Be sure to keep your eye out for more episodes soon available here at Corner Gas Fan Corner EXCLUSIVELY ...until I can figure out how to get the darned thing onto Spotiface and ISongs, and all those things the kids have in their earholes to stop them from hearing me telling them to do their homework!!