I began my career in the U.S., doing stand-up in New York and Los Angeles. In 2003 I moved to Barcelona, where I perform my Spanish-language solo show, “Cómo ser feliz todo el tiempo”, ("How to Be Happy All the Time") the first Thursday of every month in Café Teatro Llantiol (c/ Riereta, 7).

In L.A., I was used to getting together with my comic friends to do karaoke. We'd be creative about it, dressing up, wearing wigs, making jokes, and really letting ourselves go. When I got to Barcelona, I saw that I was utterly alone in this attitude -- at least in the karaoke places I went to. They hated that we didn't just stand there and obediently sing. They hated that we made noise. It was like being in a library. Plus, the music -- ugh! So I decided to offer something totally different from the negative concept that many people (correctly) had of karaoke in Spain: a participatory rock-n-roll concert that's fun and friendly, and shameless . . . and where you could do whatever the hell you want!

And that, my babies, is how Anti-Karaoke was born.

So every Monday at 10 pm at the Sidecar Club in Barcelona (and the last Wednesday of every month at El Sol in Madrid), I present Anti-Karaoke. Lots of people get onstage to perform, and throughout the evening, you can catch me performing various numbers -- from celeb parodies of Madonna, Axl Rose and Courtney Love, to my own creations such as Salvador Dalí Parton (the metaphysical fusion of two great personalities of the 20th century: Salvador Dalí and Dolly Parton). Spontaneity is the foundation of my comedy, and you can count on every Anti-Karaoke show to always be weird, fun, and absolutely unpredictable.

Wanna learn more about me or what I'm doing? Check out my website, www.rachelarieff.com.

See ya!

Music video of "Smoking Grandma", from my CD How to Be Happy All the Time. Hollywood, 2003.