On the heels of his first three independent release comedy CDs, (Donzilla, Forbidden Comedy of Don, and All American Jester) comes Prick Vol. 1 by Don Tjernagel and if you like kick ass, no holds barred, nothing sacred, in your face, aggressive and absolutely funny stand-up comics Tjernagel is your man. He is a very intelligent, erudite, socially aware comedian who can make you uncomfortable and laugh at the same time. This guy is the absolute master of the segue. He can go from Republicans, running for office, Canada, mad cow disease, dating, and back to grade school political campaigning in a minute and a half. Less than a minute later you are into jokes about education, the Iran-Iraq war, and being younger. Keeping up with this guys mental and verbal gymnastics is a feat but well worth the effort. Don Tjernagel also social and political commentary as well as autobiographical material that spares no one especially himself. Here again he will take you from the sexual problems of pandas to trailer parks in the blink of an eye. He also takes on people who oppose his use of offensive words in his act and in life. He defends it by giving you the history of fuck (Fornication Under Command of the King) and comments on other "bad" words. That the next track is about dating an extra on The Wonder Years should not surprise his fans nor will they be surprise at his link between the end of communism and Rocky IV. This is not comedy for the faint of heart or Born Again Christians because his take on a Black Jesus, Passion of the Christ "Jesus Christ is more popular than the Beatles", wearing a crucifix spares no one. Then again, if you are a liberal you too will find something to get your goat on this stand-up comedy CD. Even Tjernagel's audience has been known to groan at how far he goes in his act and these are people who paid to see him. It is very difficult to comment on Prick Vol. 1 beyond how far this standup goes and how good he is at what he does. This is an absolutely solid independent release stand-up comedy CD by someone who does intelligent comedy. Sound wise it is also solid although the sound quality changes a bit midstream. There is also a woman in the audience whose laugh does get annoying after a while but, hey, nothing is perfect Review written by... http://www.theseriouscomedysite.com/

DON TJERNAGEL - Underground Comedian Don Tjernagel is a very original and edgy stand-up comic. If you like your stand-up comedy with a bite think Jaws and you get Tjernagel. There is no topic this comic will not deal with and no joke too raunchy for this guy. In a world where too many so-called edgy comics are just hacks who use the f word to cover up unoriginal material or get an easy laugh from an audience who thinks f is edgy, this guy uses his sharp mind to shred whatever catches his interest, even if this is sometimes his own life. There is not a bad Don Tjernagel stand-up comedy CD out there. His first, The Forbidden Comedy of Don, is heavy on sex jokes but there is also a lot more to it than that. His skills at free association are already visible here. The second, American Infidel features a more structured set though you also get the feeling that unlike other comics Tjernagel does not go on stage with a set set night after night. The advantage to having heard, more than a few times, all five (so far) of Tjernagel\'s comedy CDs is you can see the evolution. His third, Donzilla, may feature the lesser title of all three but the material here is, once again, solid, very funny and, for many, offensive. You have to admire a comic who sticks to his guns instead of going whitebread just to get a sitcom or easy gigs in family friendly comedy club. Either Tjernagel is incredibly suicidal career wise or this guy knows that no other kind of comedy works for him. His last two releases, Prick Vol. 1 and Pick Vol. 2 are better than earlier releases if only for the slightly better sound quality, especially on Prick 1. Still, Tjernagel does not censor himself on stage and so does not whitewash the final product with sweetening the sound in studio or taking out a lesser moment or two. What is obvious on any of this stand-up comic\'s independent release CDs is this guy has a very sharp mind, excellent timing, and the ability to react to the audience instead of just plowing on with his set. This is one guy I very, very much look forward to seeing live one of these days. Don Tjernagel. If you haven\'t met a comic yet that can make you cringe and laugh at the same time, you have to give this guy a listen or five. If you are easily offended, pass, for your own good. www.theseriouscomedysite.com