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March 1, 2008 – IN THE SPIRIT OF BILL: A TRIBUTE TO BILL HICKS – NEW YORK CITY, 02/26/2008
I just returned from the New York City tribute to Bill to benefit the Bill Hicks Foundation for Wildlife Rehabilitation (billhicks.org). It was an incredible evening. Luchia, the organizer of the tribute for the last four years, deserves kudos and recognition for her considerable personal effort to stage this classy, memorable event. In addition to her role as event originator Luchia (bellaluchia.com) shared her impressive comedy chops with the crowd by performing as well. What can’t she do!
Luchia had arranged for three other hilarious comedians to join her as part of the night’s entertainment. I want to publicly thank Jesse Joyce (jessejoyce.com), Ted Alexandro (tedalexandro.com) and Greg Giraldo (greggiraldo.com) for contributing their considerable talents. All four of these performers have a point of view that is all theirs; do yourself a favor and check them all out. You won’t be disappointed.
The crowd was also treated to three different sets of clips, assembled by Luchia, showing performances of Bill throughout his career. It was nice to see the people in the room laughing along with the people on the clips - all of us sharing those moments again together. The final clip was particularly moving as it included scenes from our Hicks family home movies, showing pieces of Bill’s life from the time he was just a baby.
Another treat we all got to experience was previewing the first 20 minutes of a major Bill documentary that will come out early next year. Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas are the two producers from England and they flew all the way over to share their work in progress. It was a unique opportunity for the fans and it garnered enthusiastic response. The Hicks family is officially endorsing this and our thanks go out to Matt and Paul for their extreme efforts. They flew all the way over from London to be part of the evening.
I have to also recognize the photographer Traci Gilland (iconycphoto.com) who captured some great moments to preserve the evening, Heidi Kikel (www.myspace.com/badbones4ever) the videographer who recorded the whole evening and of course, Chris Mazzilli, owner the Gotham Comedy Club (gothamcomedyclub.com) where the event was held. Luchia had told us she felt a tribute to Bill deserved to be held in the classiest place in town; I believe she found it at the Gotham Comedy Club. Chris, it was a pleasure to meet you and to share the evening in your club.
Also in attendance was Jeff Kreisler (jeffkreisler.com), the current holder of the Bill Hicks Spirit Award for Thought Provoking Comedy. It was our first time to meet and I was very pleased - nice guy, funny and deserving of the award Luchia established in Bill’s name. Check him out!
A final luminary was Bruce Hills , from the Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival (justforlaughs.com). The reason I wanted to mention Bruce is because it was at the 1991 Montreal Comedy Festival that Bill really broke out internationally; Bruce played a part in a significant point of time in the Bill Hicks Legacy. This is also where the Relentless video was recorded. It was nice to have Bruce there – thanks.
For the first time at one of these tributes the Hicks family was strongly represented; in addition to me (Steve, Bill’s brother) we also had our sister Lynn, my son Ryan, my wife Marty, our cousin Joanie and my nephew Jeff. Our mother, Mary, did not make the trip but I told the crowd we would get her on the plane next year. I was able to do a little Q&A session with Bill’s fans at the close of the show and I think we all enjoyed that very much. All of us would like to extend our gratitude to Luchia for her invitation. We have already begun talking about next year’s 15th anniversary tribute; we all plan on being there.
Most importantly I want to recognize the fans that were in attendance that evening. Our family continues to be amazed at the interest and attention given to Bill and his message. Getting to spend time with his fans is very gratifying; they express nothing but the utmost respect for Bill and his legacy. Believe me, that sentiment is coming right back at you by me and our family. What an incredibly special opportunity it was for us to spend this evening with you all!
Finally, a heartfelt thanks to Luchia; she is a special person to have tackled this, driven by the belief that Bill Hicks deserves to be honored for the impact he has had on so many people around the world. Luchia had told me in the days leading up to the evening that there is so much love for Bill in the room that you really feel it during the tribute. She was right about that and I think it starts with her and the attention she gave to every detail to make sure this was a flawless night. Luchia, what you’ve done for Bill is not to be taken lightly and we owe you our gratitude.
So, all in all, this was a great night, filled with Love, Laughter and Truth; Bill, we know you were there in Spirit.
Regards,
Steve Hicks.
February 11, 2008 – The Gotham Comedy Club, 208 W 23rd Street in NYC is hosting a benefit tribute to mark the 14th anniversary of Bill's passing on Tuesday, February 26 starting at 8pm. Hosted by Jesse Joyce, the night will include films of Bill (with funny material pre-inserted), plus live performaces by Ted Alexandro and Greg Giraldo. Also on hand will be Bill's brother Steve, his sister Lynn, and his nephew Ryan, as well as the producers of the upcoming BBC programme about Bill - Paul Thomas and Matt Harlock -who will present a sneak preview of the first 20 minutes. Proceeds from the night will benefit the Bill Hicks Foundation for Wildlife Rehabilitation in Austin, Texas. This special event is being organized by Luchia. Click HERE for details from and about the venue.
January 26, 2008 – Update on the BBC documentary: air dates now expected to be this Autumn, with home video release early next year.
December 18, 2007 – Happy Holidays one and all. Just a quick update to assure you that the aforementioned documentary is coming along and we're hoping that Santa or Puxatawney Phil will bring us an airdate sometime between now and Groundhog Day. (A work-in-progress version might even show up at a film festival far, far away from where you'll happen to be that day). When details are known, announcements will be made here and through the official Bill Hicks forum (which you can join at billhicks.net).
August 13, 2007 – More details on BBC Radio 2 special... the broadcast will begin about 10:30 p.m. London time on Tuesday, August 21st. Click here to see what time this is where you live. The programme will feature interviews with Bill's family, friends and fellow standups, plus clips of Bill's released material and also some gems from the unreleased archives. The radio broadcast will only be in the UK, but can be heard worldwide on the internet on BBC Radio 2's home page (you'll need Real Player installed, so plan ahead). You will also be able to "Listen Again" via this web page for one week after the broadcast.
July 12, 2007 – BBC Radio 2 is producing a one-hour special about Bill set to air in late August. Exact date and time to be announced.
May 22, 2007 – The new documentary project will not be completed this summer, as previously announced. Although the wait will be longer, so will the programme: it looks like it will be at least 2 hours instead of the 80-90 minutes originally planned.
March 18, 2007 – In Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups special, viewers ranked Bill Hicks the #6 stand-up of all time. Thank ya, thank-ya-vera much.
January 24, 2007 – Amazon.co.uk has listed a DVD titled The Story of Bill Hicks. While this is related to a legitimate and authorized documentary project, the title has not been selected and the release date of April 30 is a fantasy. We've been told that the actual release will be sometime in the summer at the earliest. Our advice would be not to pre-order until the release is totally official. We'll tell you when that is as soon as we know for sure.
December 16, 2006 –45th Anniversary of Bill's birth. If you're in the New York area, Luchia is putting on a tribute event on 12/17. Click here for details.
October 5, 2006 –Constable Robinson has published a book/CD combo in the UK entitled The Best Stand-Up & Comedy Routines which includes Bill’s classic “What Is Pornography?” bit from the Relentless CD.
September 17, 2006 –Congratulations to Jeff Kreisler for receiving the 2006 Bill Hicks Spirit Award for Thought-Provoking Comedy from the New York Underground Comedy Festival in September. The 2005 recipient was Dean Obeidallah.
September 10, 2006 –Thanks to Audioslave for including an image of Bill in the recent video for their song “Original Fire.”
April 17, 2006 – Sane Man released overseas on DVD in PAL format.
February 27, 2006 – Relentless video released as a standalone DVD in PAL format.
December 6, 2005 – Sane Man released on DVD in North America.
November 8, 2005 – Salvation: Oxford November 11, 1992 full-length live performance double-CD released.