Shane Torres
Stand-Up Comedian
Contact Info:
@ShaneTorres via Twitter
Shane Torres is a Puerto Rican comedian out of Springfield, IL but is originally from Florida. He is very confident, quick witted, and will say anything anywhere. Shane excels in making jokes about things most people may consider taboo and he tackles a wide range of subjects in his material. He's had the opportunities to share the stage with some of his favorite comedians such as Chad Daniels, Ryan Stout, and Bob Zany. Two things people may not know about Shane is that he could have went to any IVY League University after high school and that he is relatively new to the comedy scene.
Shane says that he is motivated by himself, because he absolutely hates failure. He's always wanted to try stand-up comedy. He said he remembers skipping school to watch Comedy Central Presents as a child. So one day he decided to attend an open mic, and he did well. After that he continued it. Shane will definitely be continuing in the comedy scene because he's good at it and doesn't want to work a 'real' job.
Shane travels everywhere to perform, but his home club is The Laugh House in Bloomington, IL. He will also be performing at the Comedy 10K in Dubuque, IA on May 2nd. Which is a comedy contest between 96 comedians that are nationally touring headliners and feature acts.
A word of advice from Shane: "Decide if you want to do something or not. If you want to pursue comedy, it better be a passion because you'll be broke until you make it. If the entertainment industry was easy, everyone would do it and be successful. Also, learn to tell jokes...quit telling stories with no punch lines."
"Eat your vegetables and quit being fat."-Shane Torres
-Roni Davis
DeAndrey 'Dre Rob' Robinson
R&B Singer
Contact Info:
DeAndrey Robinson, more commonly known as Dre Rob, is a R&B Singer from Peoria, IL. Dre Rob has been singing since the age of 12. He chose to begin his career in signing because its something he's good at and he loves doing it. His children are the key motivators in his life.
Dre Rob prefers to perform at big concerts and nice events. He may also perform at small clubs, if the price is right, which is his key factor when making those decisions. He definitely wants to continue in this career path because of the same reason he started; he's good at it.
You can catch Dre Rob at Kareena's Bar and Lounge, 1801 SW Adams Peoria, IL, with his band on May 16, 2014 at 7PM sharp.
A word of advice from Dre Rob: "Always stay true to yourself...never sell out for anyone...if you are not doin' what makes you happy...then there's no use in doin' it."
-Roni Davis
Tanesha Hughes
Owner of Tanesha's Creations
Contact Info:
www.etsy.com/shop/taneshascreations
www.facebook.com/taneshascreations
Tanesha Hughes was born and raised in Peoria, IL but has been living in the St. Louis, MO area since June of 2009, she started Tanesha's Creations in March of 2012. Tanesha is a hardworking, mother of 1 handsome little boy, and he is her world. She strives to get the best for him and also instills the importance of education in him, as well as others around her. Tanesha is always involved in some type of activity, event, or movement; whether its to better herself, her family, her career, or her future in general. A lot of people don't know the struggles she has faced trying to achieve the accomplishments she has made today. Sometimes it seems like all fun and games, and easy on the outside, but a lot of hurt, pain, sweat, and tears came with the strides she's made to get where she is today. She has always had a love for crafts since as young as second grade. She began making crafts in 2001 but did not start her business until 2012.
Tanesha's son is the #1 motivator in her life. She started this in home business 10 months after he was born. He pushed her that 'extra step' she needed so that she could do more. Tanesha said she wants the best for him and won't stop. Most of Tanesha's inspiration comes from her long love of wanting to make homemade gifts and products. She also believes that her elementary school art teacher at Roosevelt Magnet School had a lot to do with this love she has. She said they made so many different things and she always gave her positive feedback and extra challenges to push her. Since then she's always loved making different things.
Most of Tanesha's business targets are mothers of young children, aunts, and grandmas. She advertises online with her webpage and on Facebook (check out her page for cool contests and deals), or in local magazines with ads. Tanesha said she would love to expand this business to target a wider range of people one day. She has a few ideas still in the works. For now, you can catch Tanesha's Creations at local craft shows in the St. Louis area also.
A word of advice from Tanesha; not just for artists but for those wanting to do something different: "In order to better yourself, you have to give yourself a better mindset. Get away from the negativity. If there are people always putting you down, or taking your business ventures as a joke, those are not the people you need in your space. One of the many things I read from Tyrese Gibson's book How to Get Out of Your Own Way, is that "your body is a slave of your mind. The day you start thinking differently your life will be different". Get away from the negativity."
A quote Tanesha lives by: "Walk by Faith and Not by Sight"
Keep your faith in God, all things are possible.
-Roni Davis
Brandon 'B Eazy' Williams
CEO/Rap Artist at
After the Future Ent.
Contact Info:
Brandon 'B Eazy' Williams was born and raised in Peoria, IL. He is the CEO of his Indy Music Label 'After the Future Ent.', he is also a rap artist on the label.
At the age of 8 he started writing music, at 15 he began to record music, and by 17 he was taking music more seriously. He has always been very driven about his music and the career he plans to make out of it. Brandon does a lot of behind the scenes work, mental absorbing, and studying to get to his goal.
Brandon said that most of his motivation comes from knowing that he can give someone hope to live out their dreams because they seen his journey towards his. He also said that his mother, family, supporters and the label motivate him. His initial inspiration came from his cousin, who taught him how to rap, pushing him to do what he now does best and also believing in his chances of making it big. As he got older he was also inspired by Jay-Z's fine balance of music and business savvy; he said that he was amazed by Jay-Z's ability to do that and he made him want to be more than just a rapper.
B Eazy has performed all over the Midwest from Peoria, Rockford, Macomb, Washington, Chicago, St. Louis, Galesburg, and East Peoria, but his target for fans is in his hometown of Peoria, IL. He is also working on putting together a Music Festival for the Spring, stay tuned for that. In the meantime, he will be doing open mics in Chicago also.
Brandon says he definitely sees himself in the music business for a long time. Even if he never gets 'Jay-Z' big, he doesn't mind. "If I can live comfortably off my music career, that is enough for me."-Brandon Williams
A word of advice from B Eazy: "Stay humble and focused, its so easy to lose both and they are both vital. When you lose your humility, you open yourself to laziness, which can lead to you losing focus and once you have lost focus you can lose your career."
After the Future's motto #BOE- Business over everything.
-Roni Davis
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Vickie Lynn
Comedian/Host/Poet
Contact Info:
www.facebook.com/VickieLynnsCult
Vickie Lynn is a comedian and poet from Rockford, IL although she currently resides in Beloit, WI. Most people know Vickie Lynn to be absolutely nuts and very narcissistic. She also is a mother of 4, a genuinely good person, and tons of fun to be around. What a lot of people don't know about her is that she has had a rough life. She's struggled with depression, high blood pressure, every form of abuse a woman can be exposed to, kidney disease and being on dialysis for 8 years. Luckily she was blessed to receive a kidney transplant on July 19, 2010; without that we may never have had the opportunity to meet this wonderful lady.
Her creativity started very early, she's been writing poetry from the time she could read and write. In her 20s she discovered poetry slams and readings in her area. Once she started doing 'spoken word' she was instantly hooked on the high of having people listen to her and absolutely love her words and what she was doing. They thought she was brilliant, and it helped Vickie Lynn come out of her shell. She's always loved being deep and inspiring but she's always been silly and the more she did poetry the more her comedian side started coming out. Then before she could figure out which direction to go next, her kidneys failed in 2002 and she disappeared from the scene. Once she had her kidney transplant she went to her first comedy show. There she saw Emmett Cannon (a local Beloit comedian) do his thing and she instantly had her desire to be on stage ignited once again. She told him that she wanted to try comedy and he took a genuine interest in her, mentored her, gave her advice and before long she opened a show for him. She fell in love with comedy on September 28, 2012 and she is still in love with it!
Vickie Lynn is motivated by her family, her children for the most part though. She's always wanted to show them there was more to life than the same old tired, poor urban routines. She said that life wasn't so much about money as it was about passion, love, and happiness. Vickie Lynn said that she is actually her greatest motivator. She had so many dreams as a girl and feels that she let her younger self down as a teenager by making poor decisions. As an adult she knew she needed to fulfill her dreams or she would die miserable; and she was just tired of disappointing herself.
Her mother was her first inspiration, she was an avid reader and whatever she was reading at the time was little Vickie's bedtime story; even if it was John Saul or Donald Goines. Her mother would buy Little Golden books, but Vickie would have to read those on her own. So she basically would go to bed thinking about all the things she heard her mother read and it began to create a cycle of thinking that kept her up all night. However, she sometimes thinks she was born knowing she wanted to be an artist; every kind of artist at that. She remembers being a very adamant 4 year old telling her mother that she was going to write books, be a 'photo taker', a drawer, go on the Love Boat, and be a Soul Train dancer...but her 'tig ole bitties' (as she called them) put a lid on that dancing dream, real quick! So she decided to adjust her direction a little bit. "An artist is someone who can convey an entire story, create a dream, give the masses inspiration, or a change in the world with their talent. That's exactly what I do and set out to do. I am an artist."-Vickie Lynn
Vickie Lynn performs mostly in Beloit, WI and Rockford, IL with 2 different comedy crews; BCity BFunny and Cream of the Rock. They keep her busy, plus she produces her own comedy shows in Milton and Beloit, WI. She has even been in a couple plays at the Westside Showroom in Rockford. She performs in bars, clubs, theatres, cafes, and venues dedicated only to comedy. Vickie has performed on stages, near stages, and on floors from Champaign-Urbana, IL all the way up to De Pere, WI and cities in between like Chicago, Madison and Milwaukee. She can't wait to find out if she's more than just 'Midwest funny', she wants to venture outside the comfort zone. Whether she is just 'Midwest funny' or Worldwide funny, she is enjoying the journey of funny.
Vickie Lynn definitely plans to stick with comedy, she said the stage is home for her and she wants to see everywhere comedy is going to take her. She wants to pursue all its avenues; comedy tours, movies, television, plays, hosting and having her own club or theatre. Comedy is her soul mate and she is in love with it. "Its going to be like a marriage. We are going to get to know each other in every possible way. For better or worse. Hell, I've already watched comedy shit with the door open a few times."- Vickie Lynn
You can catch Vickie Lynn at all kinds of events this Spring. She will be at The Abbey Pub (3420 W Grace St Chicago,IL) on April 30th at 8PM, Ming's on Madison (1309 S Madison Rd Beloit, WI) on May 2nd at 8PM, Scoreboard Bar (100 Merchant Row Milton, WI) at May 3rd at 8PM, and Club Impulse (132 W Grand Avenue Beloit, WI) on May 23rd at 11PM.
A word of advice from Vickie Lynn: "To anyone who is looking to do anything with their passions, get to know yourself first! Know who you are in life and in all it's situations. When you know who you truly are, you won't accept being treated any way other than what works for you. There's a difference between starting at the bottom, paying your dues, than being treated like a bottom, being wiped off of shoes. So be patient, because it takes a long time and a lot of experiences to get to know yourself and the ins & outs of anything you pursue. Life is an endless cycle of lessons and blessings and you have to know how to remain true to your spirit in either scenario. Also, fear can be a good thing. It keeps you from a lot of harmful stuff. Though it is never worth turning away or hesitating if your dreams are on the other side."
"You can be a narcissistic b*tch and people will still love you. You just have to be a kind-hearted narcissistic b*tch."-Vickie Lynn
-Roni Davis
