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 of Barcelona.

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 letting ourselves go. When I got to Barcelona, I missed these experiences. No one wanted to do karaoke. So I decided to create a karaoke show that was different from the negative concept that many Spanish people had of karaoke. A participatory rock-n-roll concert that was fun, friendly, theatrical and experimental, with great songs and equipment in a real rock club.

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

So every Monday at the Apolo 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 Amy Winehouse, 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 be weird, fun, and absolutely unpredictable.

To find out more, check out my website, www.rachelarieff.com.

My blog in English, "Immigrant Song":
http://www.popular1.com/rachelarieff

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