Zane Lamprey

Zane Lamprey
Zane Lamprey
Born April 2, 1972
Syracuse, New York
Occupation Actor
Writer
Producer
Editor
Director
Website
http://www.zanelamprey.com/

Zane Lamprey (born April 2, 1972 in Syracuse, New York, United States) is a comedian, actor, editor, producer, and writer for television and movies. He grew up in Syracuse and attended SUNY Cortland in Cortland, New York where he majored in fine arts and minored in theatre.

He has had a varied career in entertainment. Early in his career he worked on several projects for Comedy Central, VH1 and Nickelodeon. He was also a cast member on MTV's Damage Control and host of VH1's reality show Motormouth.

He is best known for hosting Three Sheets, which ran on MOJO HD from 2006 through 2008, Fine Living channel in 2009 and the Travel Channel in 2010. He also hosted Have Fork, Will Travel, which previously ran on Food Network, a show similar to Three Sheets focusing on local food and eating customs. The February/March 2009 of Mutineer Magazine featured an extensive interview with Zane Lamprey, which highlighted Lamprey's views of fine beverage and the evolution of Three Sheets. Zane Lamprey appeared on the April/May 2009 cover of Mutineer Magazine, which also featured an exclusive behind the scenes look at Three Sheets with photos from Lamprey's personal collection.

After Three Sheets, Zane Lamprey sought out to create Drinking Made Easy, a similar drinking and traveling show focused on American bars and drinks. Drinking Made Easy ran on AXS TV for three seasons and a total of 62 episodes until 2013. After the show's end, Zane and his loyal fans joined together to create a new crowd-funded travel and drinking show known as Chug. After raising $591,804, six hour-long episodes were created and are expected to be released in 2014.

Zane Lamprey is also the owner of Monkey Rum, a premium rum beverage company with both spice and coconut rum products. Though currently only available in New York, Monkey Rum has announced plans to expand to CA and Florida in early 2015.

Media projects

Three Sheets

Main article: Three Sheets

Lamprey's first television project was an international travelogue/pub crawl series which initially aired on MOJO HD named Three Sheets. The format of the show featured Lamprey traveling abroad learning about the origin of regional drinks and their drinking customs.

After MOJO HD ceased operations and went off the air on December 1, 2008, Zane worked to find a network to pick up Three Sheets. Several networks were approached about purchasing the series, including the successor to the MOJO HD network, the Screaming Flea Productions.

On December 16, 2008, Lamprey hosted a rally to generate awareness of Three Sheets in an attempt to garner interest from other networks. The rally took place in Los Angeles, California and attracted approximately 400 people. A second rally on December 18, 2008 in New York City brought around 700 people. The chairman of HDNet, Mark Cuban was in attendance at the New York rally and expressed interest in acquiring the show.

In early 2009, Lamprey's official web site instructed visitors to return to the site on March 16, 2009 for an announcement regarding a network acquiring the rights to Three Sheets. However, the announcement instead stated:

"While I did get 'the call' from the production company that Three Sheets has a new home, I've been told by MOJO HD that the deal is not yet done. SO... I can't make the official announcement yet. Some people jumped the gun by telling me that it was a done deal... That doesn't mean that it's not going to happen-- that means that it IS. It just has to be lawyered first...


I can tell you that I've even been told to get ready to shoot season five. In fact, the 'official' announcement will probably happen this week. I'll post it here on my web site the moment I get the nod from the network. But, before you get frustrated and think that I didn't deliver... Read this...

Although I have not spoken with the new network, or had them tell me not to say anything, I'm opting to let them decide when and how to make the public announcement. However, I did tell my close friends. And, one of those friends, who I won't name (Steve McKenna) spilled the beans at the party. So, if you're resource (and I know you are), a little fishing should leave you satisfied.

Salud!"[1]

Following up, Lamprey posted the following on his official website on March 18, 2009:

I've spoken with the new network, and they've asked that I personally make the announcement Three Sheets will be gracing their network. But, they've asked that I wait until the deal is done-- when they assure me is by the end of this week, or early next week. So... Three Sheets is saved. And as soon as I get the official nod, I'll post it here on my web site. In the meantime, if you were at the party and heard Steve McKenna leak the news, please refrain from posting the name of the new network here. I gotta respect our new home. It'll only be a few days now. I promise![1]

On May 2, 2009 Zane hosted "Zano De Mayo", later called the "We Saved Three Sheets" party. At the function it was announced that the Fine Living Network (FLN) had purchased Three Sheets. Three Sheets was originally to begin airing on FLN on Friday May 29, 2009 at 11:00pm and 11:30pm, but delays in the closure of the deal resulted in the premiere of the first two episodes of the nineteen-episode season being pushed to June 5, 2009.[1]

However, on June 2, 2009, Lamprey reported that the deal was still not complete. On June 22, FLN finally made the official announcement that Three Sheets would begin airing July 20, 2009 and would air new episodes each Monday with rerun episodes scheduled to run Tuesday through Friday. Lamprey said on his website that the likelihood of the show being picked up for a fifth season would depend on the ratings of Season 4, with a focus on the ratings of the premiere.

In October 2009, it was announced that FLN would be re-branded as Cooking Channel, with content similar to their sister channel Food Network. Three Sheets was canceled from the re-branded network and Lamprey again began the search for a new network. Lamprey did find a home for Three Sheets on the Travel Channel for a brief stint in 2010 when fans flooded the Travel Channel's official Facebook page with support for the show. After one month, Travel Channel dropped Three Sheets from its lineup.

In February 2011, Three Sheets again found a home on a new network with Spike TV. Spike aired the first seven episodes of the third season that originally aired on FLN, but no further episodes have been shown since. Despite being absent from the television network, Three Sheets is still listed amongst the programming on Spike TV's official website.[2]

Drinking Made Easy With Zane Lamprey Comedy Tour

In March 2010, Lamprey announced on his official website that he was taking his comedy tour on the road. His tour included comedian Marc Ryan (Three Sheets: Las Vegas) and his best friend and Three Sheets mainstay Steve McKenna.[1] The "Drinking Made Easy" live show includes discussions of all things alcohol including production, consumption and intoxication.

Drinking Made Easy With Zane Lamprey on HDNet/AXS TV

On October 6, 2010, Lamprey premiered a new travelogue/pub-crawl show in the vein of Three Sheets on HDNet titled Drinking Made Easy. Like Three Sheets, Drinking Made Easy follows Lamprey, Steve McKenna and Marc Ryan as they travel across the country discovering local pubs, watering holes, breweries and distilleries. While Three Sheets focused on international fare and customs, Drinking Made Easy highlighted drinking cultures in the United States.

Drinking Made Easy documents the various ways drinking customs have contributed to the United States' birth, growth, and distinction as the cast seek out the adult beverages, cultures, and mixology that are unique to America's cities. The first season comprised 24 episodes taking viewers on a road trip with Lamprey, McKenna, and Ryan as their tour bus logged over 10,000 miles of United States highways and roads beginning in Phoenix, AZ and circling the country back to its conclusion in Los Angeles, CA.

"Drinking Made Easy" Season 2 premiered on HDNet on October 5, 2011, continuing the format but including the satellite state of Hawaii as well as Canada border city Vancouver. Lamprey also became executive producer of the series through his production company, Inzane Entertainment. Marc Ryan did not return to the show.

On July 2, 2012, HDNet was re-branded to AXS TV but Drinking Made Easy would remain part of the network with Season 3 premiering October 3, 2012. Season 3 continued where Season 2 left off, this time including Alaska and expanding the trip into Canada once again with stops in Montreal and the surrounding areas of Quebec.

Three Sheets: Drinking Made Easy! Book

Lamprey's book "Three Sheets: Drinking Made Easy!" was released on March 16, 2010.

CHUG.tv

CHUG! is the latest travel show from Zane Lamprey! Chug will follow Zane's journeys as he travels the world exploring the greatest drinking destinations. Arriving by train, Zane will imbibe with the locals as he gives you a first-hand look at what it's like to drink in unique locations around the world. Currently Zane has a crowd-sourced fundraiser going on at Kickstarter through http://www.chug.tv/ [3]

The Zane Lamprey Show

Zane also produces a weekly podcast show where he and his production team discuss alcohol, current events, and share stories of their adventures while drinking and shooting around the world. Celebrity guests and alcohol experts also make occasional appearances.


Career

Self

Writer

Actor

Producer

Editor

Director

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 http://www.zanelamprey.com
  2. ↑ http://www.spike.com/shows/three-sheets
  3. ↑ http://www.chug.tv

External links