beginning with the first edition of "Sunday Night Comedy'' at Hamilton Parish Workman's Club this weekend.

Bootsie will use the road show (the second one is being planned for April) to showcase local talent, with funnyman Jah Jah making an appearance. Bootsie, too, will be sharing some new material with the audience in between his duties as Master of Ceremonies.

"I've got some new stuff, some political stuff,'' Bootsie revealed. "This is the first time for me for awhile, I've been on Hawkins Island for the past two years and haven't had the time to promote something like this.'' The highlight of the show which starts at 8 p.m. will be the guest appearances of two comedians from New York, Gerald Kelly and Smokey. Kelly did the opening act for the `Kings of Comedy' while they were on tour and he has also appeared on DEF Jam, Comic View and Comedy Central.

Smokey's credentials include appearances on DEF Jam and Comic View and he was the winner of the 2000 International Bud Light Comedy Competition.

Bootsie used his international connections to get the two comedians here and more are planned to work alongside the local talent.

"DEF Jam have been asking me for the past few years to do something,'' he revealed.

"Crawl Club is an excellent room for comedy, it's a different location and nobody has used it for comedy. It holds about 200 so the seating is limited.

"I know Gerald from when I was overseas and I just met Smokey through a friend last year. These guys are coming in as friends and we're just getting together to have a good time.'' Tickets, priced at $20, are available at Hamilton Parish Workman's Club and 27th Century Boutique. The show is sponsored by G&L Trenching.

On the road: Comedian Bootsie takes his show on the road