Willie Barcena Hosts Comedy Jam at Arrowhead Credit Union Park 10/9

Comedian Willie Barcena will host the comedy show "Willie's Comedy Jam" on Saturday, October 9, 2010 at 8:00pm at Arrowhead Credit Union Park in San Bernardino, home of the 66ers Minor League Baseball team. " Willie's Comedy Jam" will feature comedians Ruben Paul, Larry Omaha, Robert Zapata, Quinn Dale, Frazer Smith and an opening concert by the City Beat Band.

A pre-show dinner and after show party with DJ, food and drinks are also available. Tickets for "Willie's Comedy Jam" are available at www.ticketmaster.com or through the 66er's Ticket Office at 909-888-9922.

The evening is a benefit for Veronica Spiers, who was diagnosed with colon cancer this past March. Her chemotherapy treatments were recently placed on hold, and the funds raised by this event will act a bridge for the Spiers while they are discussing how to move forward with their insurance company. When Barcena learned of The Situation, he volunteered to bring his Comedy Jam to the Arrowhead Credit Union Park to raise some much need funds for the Spiers.

Redlands, California resident Mike Spiers founded the ABD Academy in 1992, as a way to create more opportunities to young players. It is now recognized as one of the top programs in the country, with 38 teams and approximately 800 players throughout California, Hawaii and Nevada. ABD Academy graduates carry a long line of national titles from college teams to the minor and major leagues. Currently, five former ABD players are in the Major Leagues: Allen Craig (St Louis Cardinals), Greg Dobbs (Philadelphia Phillies), Tommy Hanson (Atlanta Braves), Reed Johnson (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Xavier Paul (Los Angeles Dodgers).

There are 50 plus ABD players in the Minor Leagues, and they have produced 18 Aflac All-Americans since 2005 alone. In addition, the ABD Academy had two 2010 first round selections - Christian Yelich (Marlins) and Peter Tago (Rockies), and had ten more first round draft picks in the last five years, including Jiovanni Mier (Astros) and Matt Davidson (Diamondbacks) in 2009. Spiers not only directs the ABD Academy, he also is a scout for the Boston Red Sox, the West Coast Director for Perfect Game USA and has served as head coach of the Ecuador National Team.

About the performers in "Willie's Comedy Jam"

Host of "Willie's Comedy Jam" will be Willie Barcena, an 18-year comedy veteran who was recently featured as a headliner in Showtime's LOL Comedy Festival at the California Theatre in San Bernardino, and completed a two-year run with "The Morning Show" on KSFM 102.5 Sacramento. During that time "The Morning Show" shot to the number one spot in this highly competitive market.

Willie's talent has garnered him 10 appearances on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Jay even invited Willie to perform for the troops in Afghanistan.

Willie's numerous jobs prepared him for his comedy career. His security guard, plumber, roofer, and limo driver gigs gave him a background for his humor about everyday life. After 12 years of stand-up roadwork Willie is now ready for new challenges. He has written and performed a one-man show entitled "Cry Like a Man." This highly acclaimed performance demonstrates the struggle of a blue-collar comic in today's society.

In addition to being a comedy road warrior, Willie has appeared on many TV shows including: "Moesha," "The Wayans Brothers," and he was chosen to be the host of the popular Si-Tv production "Latino Laugh Festival - The Show." He's also made multiple appearances on tours such as "Que Locos," "Latino Laugh Festival," "Montreal's Just for Laughs," and "Crown Royal Latin All Stars Comedy Explosion." Most recently, Willie had his one-hour Comedy Central receive rave reviews.

Quinn Dahle, a smart, clean and witty stand-up comic with impeccable timing, will join Willie's comedy lineup. With appearances on The Tonight Show, Comedy Central and Carson Daly, Quinn has worked with such names as Robin Williams, Drew Carey, Tim Allen, Dane Cook, Dana Carvey, Norm McDonald, Jon Lovitz, Bill Maher, Frank Caliendo, David Alan Grier, John Witherspoon, Tommy Chong, John Pinette and Harland Williams.

According to Quinn "People told me I should do stand-up since I was a kid." And it just happens that this talented young man comes from a showbiz family. Mr. Dahle Sr. played in the band Copperhead and had an album out in the early 1970's. Mr. Dahle Jr. decided he would rather write jokes than songs.

Also joining "Willie's Comedy Jam" is Larry Omaha. The Yaqui Zapotec native left his career as a government investigator to become a stand-up comic and audiences howl as he turns Indian stereotypes upside down and inside out.

Larry's unique point of view on multi-ethnic America has garnered numerous television appearances including Comedy Central's hit show "Mind of Mencia", NBC's "Comics Unleashed", BET's "Comic View", "Loco Comedy Jam", and HBO's "Erotic Traveler". His comical stories about his youth are hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "refreshing, funny and universal," and inspired the Las Vegas Sun to label him, "a very hip comic for the new millennium."

Also joining Willie is Ruben Paul is one of the most unique and versatile comedians working today. He recently performed on George Lopez's new hit talk show, "Lopez Tonight" on TBS, becoming the 2nd comedian ever to perform on the show. Ruben talks honestly about his life and his insightful observations that bring audiences together no matter their age, race, creed or color.

Other stand up appearances include "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson", "Comics Unleashed" on ABC, "HBO's Comedy Showcase", "NBC's "Friday Nights", and B.E.T's "Comic View".

Frazer Smith will also join the benefit. Frazer's new show "The Green Room" airs on All Comedy Radio in over 160 markets nationwide, and has been a radio favorite in LA for the past 20 years. He has interviewed everyone from comics to athletes to big celebrities. Frazer is no stranger to live comedy and his interviewing style is synonymous with the likes of Carson, Leno and Letterman. Prior to "The Green Room", Frazier had his own show on NBC called "Rock In America" which aired after "SNL".

Willie's Comedy Jam will also feature comedian Robert Zapata. Born in Downey, California with a heritage background mixture of Yaqui Indian, Basque and Mexican, Robert has garnered a reputation for reaching a universal audience with his offbeat humor.

Robert started his career at The HA HA Comedy Club located in North Hollywood, California and performed with Dane Cook, Paul Rodriguez, Jon Lovitz and Arie Spears at The Laugh Factory and Alex Reymundo at The Improv. He also performs at the Comedy Store on Sunset and The Ice House. Outside of Los Angeles, Robert performs at 4th and B's in San Diego, The San Jose Improv, and venues in Texas and Las Vegas.

Robert has also produced shows at the famous Cine-Space in Hollywood, The Rumba Room at Universal City Walk and The HAHA Comedy Club. He has also been featured on SiTV's Inside Joke, The Latino Laugh Festival, LATV's Loco Comedy Jam and The Laugh Factory Website. Recently he has been accepted into the groundlings improvisation school in Hollywood.

Opening the benefit is the City Beat Band, a high-energy show/dance band featuring sets of popular classic tunes from the 50's to the present. City Beat is comprised of a dynamite team of male and female lead vocalists, five blasting horns and a tight rhythm section, which exudes an exciting sound and image to all audiences. These experienced professionals have performed on nationwide tours and on TV shows.

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