Chicago Steve Barkley has been making audiences laugh in comedy clubs, on cruise ships and for corporate clients for more than 40 years. With a high energy delivery punctuated with sound effects and an animated delivery style, Chicago Steve never fails to deliver big laughs while keeping his show corporate clean. Just read the reviews!
Talents
TV and Film Credits
HBO, A&E’s “Good Time Cafe”, “Comedy Express”, has appeared 5 times on the Showtime Comedy Club Network and was a featured performer in Michael Nesmith’s Grammy Award Winning video, “Elephant Parts”. Chicago Steve is also a $10,000 winner on ABC’s “America’s Funniest People”.
Chicago Steve has either opened for or toured with: Ray Charles, The Doobie Brothers, Michael Bolton, Gladys Knight, Chicago, Kenny Loggins, Neil Young, Herbie Hancock, The Righteous Brothers, Vince Gill, George Jones, Gregg Allman, David Crosby, Michael McDonald, Smokey Robinson, Keb Mo and many Mo!
He has appeared with: Jerry Seinfeld, Milton Berle, Gallagher, Dana Carvey, Sid Ceasar, Danny Thomas, Whoopie Goldberg, Jon Lovitz, Robin Williams, Timothy Leary, Gary Shandling, Bruce “Baby Man” Baum, Father Guido Sarducci, Pat Paulson, Will Durst, Bobby Slayton, Jay Leno, Kevin Pollack, and Paul Rodriguez.
Clubs Casinos & Cruise Ships
Clubs: The Punchline Sacramento, San Francisco and Concord CA, Atlanta GA, Houston TX, Columbia SC & Charlotte NC. The Funny Bone Omaha NE, St Louis MO, Columbus OH & Des Moines IA. Harvey’s Comedy Club Portland OR, The Comedy Underground Seattle WA, Stanford’s Comedy House Kansas City MO, The Comedy Corner West alm Beach FL, Rooster T Feathers Sunnyvale CA, Cobb’s Pub San Francisco CA, The Comedy Gallery Minneapolis MN, Broad Ripple Comedy Club Indianapolis IN, Honolulu Comedy Club and Outer Island Tour, Honolulu HI, Guam Comedy Tour, Guam
Casinos: Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, Reno & Laughlin NV. & North Kansas MO. Casino Magic Biloxi MS, Red Lion Casino Elko NV, The Sands Reno NV, Claridge House Casino Atlantic City NJ
Cruise Ships: Royal Caribbean & Holland America
Chicago Steve Barkley has been making audiences laugh in comedy clubs, on cruise ships and for corporate clients for more than 40 years. With a high energy delivery punctuated with sound effects and an animated delivery style, Chicago Steve never fails to deliver big laughs while keeping his show corporate clean. Just read the reviews!
Talents
TV and Film Credits
HBO, A&E’s “Good Time Cafe”, “Comedy Express”, has appeared 5 times on the Showtime Comedy Club Network and was a featured performer in Michael Nesmith’s Grammy Award Winning video, “Elephant Parts”. Chicago Steve is also a $10,000 winner on ABC’s “America’s Funniest People”.
Chicago Steve has either opened for or toured with: Ray Charles, The Doobie Brothers, Michael Bolton, Gladys Knight, Chicago, Kenny Loggins, Neil Young, Herbie Hancock, The Righteous Brothers, Vince Gill, George Jones, Gregg Allman, David Crosby, Michael McDonald, Smokey Robinson, Keb Mo and many Mo!
He has appeared with: Jerry Seinfeld, Milton Berle, Gallagher, Dana Carvey, Sid Ceasar, Danny Thomas, Whoopie Goldberg, Jon Lovitz, Robin Williams, Timothy Leary, Gary Shandling, Bruce “Baby Man” Baum, Father Guido Sarducci, Pat Paulson, Will Durst, Bobby Slayton, Jay Leno, Kevin Pollack, and Paul Rodriguez.
Clubs Casinos & Cruise Ships
Clubs: The Punchline Sacramento, San Francisco and Concord CA, Atlanta GA, Houston TX, Columbia SC & Charlotte NC. The Funny Bone Omaha NE, St Louis MO, Columbus OH & Des Moines IA. Harvey’s Comedy Club Portland OR, The Comedy Underground Seattle WA, Stanford’s Comedy House Kansas City MO, The Comedy Corner West alm Beach FL, Rooster T Feathers Sunnyvale CA, Cobb’s Pub San Francisco CA, The Comedy Gallery Minneapolis MN, Broad Ripple Comedy Club Indianapolis IN, Honolulu Comedy Club and Outer Island Tour, Honolulu HI, Guam Comedy Tour, Guam
Casinos: Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, Reno & Laughlin NV. & North Kansas MO. Casino Magic Biloxi MS, Red Lion Casino Elko NV, The Sands Reno NV, Claridge House Casino Atlantic City NJ
Cruise Ships: Royal Caribbean & Holland America
Michael's expertise in the world of food and drink are unrivaled. He is a highly sought-after personality at corporate events and on national television, with numerous appearances on MSNBC, CNN, The Today Show, and The Food Network.
He is the creator and host of the web series The Wine Hero and serves at as the food, drink and travel consultant to Departures Magazine.
Let Michael harness the power of wine to build unforgettable experiences for your business with carefully curated food and wine experiences, wine country tours, and private concierge services.
Looking to bring something different to a short evening with coworkers, an extended corporate retreat, a high-level meeting, or an employee incentive program? Michael’s extensive knowledge will ignite your audience! His close relationships with wineries, restaurants, and world-renowned chefs will provide you with all of the resources you need to create an event that will resonate for years to come.
When working with Michael, you will not only receive his services as a food and drink expert; you will receive a detail-oriented and research-based strategy for your entire event. Michael and his team will craft resonating experiences, exciting wine pairings, detailed travel plans, sensible event strategies, and carefully chosen entertainment programs that will flow seamlessly and effortlessly. They work to ensure that the only thing you have to focus on is enjoying yourself.
With a winning combination of wine, experiential marketing, and theater, Michael creates a perfect experience that will always leave you, your colleagues, and clients wanting more.
Carmel Mooney, Traveling Corespondent for "The Good Life" Show, talks to Mike about her recent visit to Sorensen's Resort in Hope Valley California... near Lake Tahoe. http://www.sorensensresort.com/
Jeff Cohn Cellars is a premier urban based winery
located in historic Jack London Square in Oakland, California.
they specialize in, and produce small lot single vineyard wines
as well as Rhone inspired red and white blends.
Interview with Ted Bravos, CEO International Tour Management Institute in San Francisco, California
Adam Nelson, successful Tech entreprenuer says, "we make wine in Oakland California, with grapes from Sonoma, Napa, and the Central Coast. We have deep relationships with our growers (some of the best in California). They grow grapes in the same way we make wine – with their hands. People ask "where are your vineyards?" Simple answer – we don't own any vineyards, which enables us to keep our eye on the wine. When we find a vineyard with exceptional fruit - we pounce on it. We're good at making wine, which makes its way to our Oakland winery an hour after we manage the pick. We're urban, but not in a "we're urban" way".
Two Mile Wines is named after the two-mile area around UC Berkeley where the sale of alcohol was prohibited in the late 1800’s after a delegation of state legislators visited and witnessed some unruly undergraduates returning from a drinking ‘bout…
new head winemaker, Zoe Schmitz, who most recently worked at Mondavi. Two Mile is committed to low-intervention winemaking that produces what both Schmitz and Nelson emphatically describe as “clean” wines where the flavors and beauty of the grapes are able to come through. This means using as few additives as possible and focusing on finding and sourcing the best grapes grown with the least intervention
I’m very pleased to introduce my next guest… he’s a remarkable man with a great success story. the founder and CEO of a successful company... that was ultimately acquired in 2001 … but he was far from finished…
he founded Fritz Institute, a group dedicated to assisting humanitarian organizations with the complicated logistics of global disaster relief.
he had purchased Quail Hill Ranch back in 1980 as a hang out to decompress from all of his business travel…
the original vines on the property, now over 40 years old,
Mike speaks with Marc in Brussels about Oktoberfest
Rick Zullo is one of those guys that took the plunge, gave up everything he had in the USA and left for a new life in Rome. Well, besides that, he also happened to meet his wife on the second night in the Eternal City during a sabbatical. Rick's blog, Rick's Rome, isn't seeking to be an 'Eat, Pray, Love' copycat, but rather give a real insight on living as an expat in the capital of Italy. For work, he teaches English to locals and continues to be a success with his popular blog. We love reading Rick's posts for his sense of humor and eternal optimism; he also has a number of handy guides, like this free restaurant guide, which he wrote with help from some famous food bloggers. Rick won our coveted 2013 Best Living in Italy Blog Award, which makes his blog one to watch!
My mission is to decode Italian culture for the English-speaking world. Italy is such a wonderful destination, but there is always more than initially meets the eye. A deeper knowledge of the people and the culture translates to a richer travel experience. I love discussing all things Italian and I welcome all comments and questions. Ciao!
James Cluer of Fine Vintages speaks with Mike Wreyford, host of "The Good Life" Show about wine and getting more wine knowledge thru wine certification.
A chat with Founder and CEO Deland Jessop of "Counting Sheep Coffee".
Jordan Kivelstadt, Founder of Free Flow Wines talks with Mike Wreyford about Wines on Tap.
Mike Wreyford sits down with Linden Schafer, Founder of Pravassa Travel about the journey from New York city's Fasion District to Paradise.
Talking with Sam Heitner, Chairman of the Champagne Beureau about National Champagne Day, the history of the Champagne region in France, and the upcoming Champagne tasting event in San Francisco.
Fasion industry drop outs start their on wine company based on catchy lables the "Speak" to the consumer.
An interview with Mike Wreyford, AKA Mike the Wine Guy and Zac Robinson, owner and winemaker at Husch Vineyard and Winery in Anderson Valley, Sonoma County, California.
Mike Wreyford talks to Lyle West about his rise to the NFL from a small town background, to playing in the Superbowl, and the transition back to a "normal" life after the game. Along the way, a former teamate introduced him to Yoga, and it's had a lasting, positive effect on his life.
Benjamin Lyle West was born in 1976 in Columbus Georgia.
His family moved to Fremont, California in 1977.
Washington High School, Class of 1995, in Fremont, California where he played
football, basketball and baseball.
2nd team All Bay Area along with Tom Brady. Lyle and Brady were the only two
players to make it to the NFL.
Chabot Jr. College in Fremont, California
Safety and punt returner for the football team.
In his freshman year he led the state junior college league in interceptions (8)
San Jose State University in San Jose, California
Safety and for the football team.
First team All-Western Athletic Conference (1998, 1999)
Notable achievements:
Averaged 120 tackles per season
Defeated Stanford at Stanford stadium
New York Giants Football
Drafted in the sixth round in 1999.
Played safety and special teams
Led the team in special team tackles in the 2000 season
Recovered a fumble and led the team in special teams tackles and recovered a
fumble in the NFC Championship game.
Played in Superbowl XXXV in February 2001
(The Ravens defeated the Giants 34–7)
Kansas City Chiefs
Brought to camp in 2001 but was injured for the season
2002 & 2003 played in every game as backup safety and special teams
2004 he was released after tearing his hamstring
Post playing career
Received his real estate license in May 2005
Introduced to Yoga by another former NFL player Gio Carmazzi in 2011
Completed Yoga Instructor training in December 2013
From skinny-dipping presidents to inept inventions to singing pop stars who can’t carry a tune, 100 of the Worst Ideas in History is a celebration of humanity’s historical, often hysterical missteps that have started wars, sunk countries, wrecked companies, scuttled careers, lost millions and even endangered the earth.
Spanning politics, pop culture, fashion, sports, technology and more, this irreverent and witty book is packed with fun photos and sidebars, tracing how these thundering brainstorms turned into blundering brain farts, while illuminating the astonishing impact such faux pas, foibles and foul-ups still have on us today.
Orange County resident MICHAEL N. SMITH owns an advertising production company and has written and produced hundreds of humorous (and not-so-humorous) TV commercials, radio spots, and corporate videos over the past 25 years. He's also the creator the comic-book character, Pete the PO’d Postal Worker. His work has appeared in National Lampoon, the Los Angeles Times, National Geographic Kids and other publications.