Every two months, the members of Monkey’s Uncle put together a mix of music for ourselves and to play before the show starts. They always turn out extremely eclectic and fun. The first one of 2008 is no exception. There is it down there to listen to if you so choose — either on the blog or on Web Pen Blog Radio.

In the meantime, we have a show this Monday at Jazz@Jack’s. Our special guest will be Jeff Chacon of Rodents Of Unusual Size. We even have an opening act: The Mathematically Challenged Quartet, which consists of Jeff and his good friend Floyd. They write some damn funny songs and will go on around 7:15. We then go on around 7:30 for some improvisational comedy goodness. Join us if you can, won’t you?

Monkey’s Uncle Music Mix 2008.1
1:14:08 / 67.8MB

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Listen to it on Web Pen Blog Radio.
See the playlist here.

Listening to: “Down To You” - Joni Mitchell

Tonight is Monkey’s Uncle’s annual holiday gift show. All the money we make will be donated to the Colorado Coalition For The Homeless because we like to give more than just the funny. The show starts at 7:30 pm at Jazz@Jack’s in the Denver Pavilions — only $6!

In the meantime, we updated our pre-show Holiday Mix which I finished last night. It has lots of little surprises mixed in with the music. You can see the track listing here. Please enjoy.

Monkey’s Uncle 2007 Holiday Mix - 1:16:53 (70.3MB)

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For a limited time you can download it or hear it on Web Pen Blog Radio.

Listening to: “Amateur (Live)” - Aimee Mann

As promised, here is the new Monkey’s Uncle logo. The hope here is that the logo will be so beautiful that you will drop to your knees begging me to take it down as the awesomeness is just too much to bear as it brings happiness upon sadness upon happiness which brings the world around you into the sharp contrast of sepia tone and throws you into such a fit of nostalgia that memories of your first childhood trip to Six Flags seem as if they are as hurtful as the girl who lived in the trailer next door throwing dirt in your eyes because you wouldn’t let her play with your dump truck that you just got for your birthday*, the fuckin’ bitch.

But being that it’s just a logo, you’ll probably go “That’s cool” and then move on with your life, you ingrate**.

This logo had its beginnings when I was putting together a flyer for our show with Rodents Of Unusual Size and I needed a cranky looking monkey. We all fell in love with it so it is now our new mascot. I want to thank one of my best friends, Lorne, for helping with the final stages and doing little things like the variant thickness of the curse balloon to make it that much more awesomer. In fact, if you need to hire a good graphic art company, try TM Design. They do good work.

Are you finally ready to see it? Okay, imagine a choir of angels singing all around you and…

Release is always good after such a great buildup, eh?

Monkey’s Uncle is having our 6th Anniversary Show this Monday (Nov 19) at Jazz@Jack’s in the Denver Pavilions starting at 7:30. Our special guest hosts will be local funny guys, Rick & Alf.

*This may or may not be the author’s earliest memory.
**The Web Pen does not endorse calling its readers names. The author is still bitter about *.

Get such sweet release at humor-blogs.com.

Listening to: “King For A Day” - Thompson Twins

Wine on Sunday? Yes, you can buy and take home alcohol on Sunday after all. It turns out that since D’Vine Wine in downtown Denver makes their own wine, they are under different laws then liquor stores. So you can sit around or take a few dozen unopened bottles home with you.

“Why,” you ask, “are you going on about a winery, Howard, when you barely drink yourself?” Good question. Here is the answer:

Yes, Cameron started his new job! He’s the assistant manager at Denver’s newest wine venture and I’m trying to help make sure he gets to stay there for a while. I’ve been a couple of times and it’s quite excellent. After tasting several wines, I decided that I like the blackberry and raspberry reds the best. The raspberry — or Red Razzle — was just the right sweetness while being smooth. The blackberry — or Black Diamond — was a little drier and had a snap of tart to it that made it taste like a liquid Sweetart. In fact, Cameron had me taste several:

What’s even better is they make the wine right there on the premise:

Right there in big, white, food-quality plastic jugs. Okay, maybe it’s not that glamerous, but watching them bubble over during fermentation was fun — mostly coz I like bubbles. The sounds. The colors. The gases. Gases are fun! And speaking of fun, D’Vine does more than just make and serve wine. They also label it with personalized labels. It’s called a batch and ends up being 28 bottles of wine with customized wine for your own taste. Cool, huh? With the help of their experts like — oh, I don’t know — ::cough::cameron::cough:: you can create your own blend of wine with flavors and wine types on hand. Then they start the 6 - 16 week process:

Once done, you get to create your own label and then help bottle it! No, really! Make a party out of it. Grab your friends and start bottling. Not ready to make a batch? That’s okay, the folks at D’Vine have created a lovely, warm atmosphere to sit around with your friends and sip wine. Plus everyone there simply loves having their picture taken:

Fine. You should probably ask permission first. Anyway, if you’re in Denver, give them a try. They are at 1660 Champa. It’s a fun and intimate place that serves up some great tasting wine.

You can see more pictures here.

Listening to: “Midnight Blue” - Lou Gramm