Dec. 9: Melanie Rose

Comedian Melanie Rose makes her return visit tonight after a three-year absence. Melanie started out eleven years ago taking a class called Stand Up For Mental Health. Today she puts on a show called Heavy Mental, among other things. I believe she runs the only comedy room in Richmond, too. And performs regularly at Yuk Yuk's. We'll get the lowdown tonight about her past, present, and future. Very Dickens-like, I'd say, for the season.

We're on the air on CFRO 100.5 FM at 11 pm in Vancouver. You can livestream us at coopradio.org or find us on the TuneIn Radio app. Join us, won't you?

Podcast episode 515ish: Kevin Kent

International improviser and drag queen Kevin Kent joins us in this very fun episode. Kent comes to us all the way from the 1800s – or so you'd think given his description of his living quarters in his home in New Mexico. He's in town performing with Bacio Rosso in a spiegeltent at Queen Elizabeth Park for a few months. He arrived at the studio fresh off a Sunday night show with only a bit of glitter stuck to his face. We talked about his journey from Albuquerque to Chicago to Seattle and now Vancouver (for a short while, anyway). He also talks about working with Dan Savage. It was Grey Cup Sunday when we recorded this and he had no idea, nor any idea what that even meant. Gotta love that!


You can listen to the episode right here, if you like. Or if you want to be mobile, go subscribe to download What's So Funny? on iTunes or Stitcher. Give us a rating while you're there. And a comment. Is that asking too much? If so, you can skip all the rest and just listen. I think you'll enjoy it. If it's your first time listening, check out the title of this post – this is episode 515! So you've got some catching up to do! Get on it.

Dec. 2: He Fangzhou

Last week we had an American guest. Two weeks before that we had an Estonian guest. Tonight? We're going east to China. We've got He Fangzhou on, a very funny standup who started his West Tour last night here in Vancouver. We'll find out how he got started in standup, what the perils of performing in another language are, ask if he knows Joe Wong or Dashan, and whatever else we think up in the moment. Probably the first question will be how to pronounce his name. That's always a good starting point. Maybe I'll just call him Alex (check out his YouTube video to get that reference).

Tune in to CFRO 100.5 FM in Vancouver at 11 pm. If you're in Asia or somewhere else outside our listening area, you can livestream us at coopradio.org or find us on the TuneIn Radio app on your fancy computing devices.

Podcast episode 514ish: Kevvy

We've got another fine podcast episode for you here. The singularly named Kevvy makes a return visit. Not only does his band, Fake Shark, have a new release just out (Walking Through a Fantasy), Kevvy has produced yet another in a long line of comedy albums. This one is his first compilation album and first comedy Christmas album: Get Stuffed, featuring the likes of Charlie Demers, Shirley Gnome, Kyle Bottom, Kevin Banner, Harris Anderson and more. Plus we talk about the mighty Vancouver Grizzlies, Adam Sandler, and tattoos!

You can, as always, listen to us on this page below. Or you can, as always, download us at iTunes or Stitcher or any other reputable podcast provider. So what are you waiting for?

Podcast episode 513ish: Ari Matti

We've got an international episode of What's So Funny? for you. In this one, our guest is Ari Matti from Tallinn, Estonia. Ari's been in Vancouver working on his English standup. You can hear his English is pretty good. And he knows all the swear words! He also throws in some Finnish and Estonian here, so we expect our European numbers to skyrocket. Matti talks about the burgeoning standup scene in Estonia, and his own evolution as a performer.

Listen to the episode below or go download it on iTunes or Stitcher or some other podcast place. If you're in Estonia (or Finland or Poland...) give us a rating and leave a comment! And spread the word. We could become the most popular Vancouver-based podcast in all of Eastern Europe!

Nov. 25: Kevin Kent

Have you had a chance to check out Bacio Rosso yet at Queen Elizabeth Park? It's pretty great. It's like Cirque du Soleil but with food. The performers (some of them Cirque alumni) hail from all over the world. One of them is with us tonight. We've got Kevin Kent with us all the way from New Mexico. He was one of the original performers at Seattle's Teatro ZinZanni and was with them for 20 years. You won't see him hanging upside down from a trapeze, juggling or doing magic. But what he does is magical in its own right. He's an improviser and really ups the comedic element. Tonight we'll meet him and find out all about his personal history. Should be lots of fun.

We're on the air on CFRO 100.5 FM in Vancouver at 11 pm. If you're in, say, New Mexico or Seattle, you can always livestream us at coopradio.org or find us on the TuneIn Radio app. We'll be there waiting for you. Alternatively, in a week (maybe sooner, maybe later) this episode will hit your favourite podcast dispensary.

Nov. 18: Kevvy

Tonight we welcome back Kevvy. That's it. Kevvy. Just one name does it. Kevvy is not only a singer-songwriter-rock star with his band Fake Shark, he's also a comedy album producer. He has recorded and produced the albums on 604 Records for the likes of past What's So Funny? guests Kevin Banner, Shirley Gnome, Charlie Demers, Kyle Bottom, Fatima Dhowre, Gavin Matts, and Harris Anderson. We'll find out who else he has/will be recording and talk about all sorts of other stuff, too. I know he's just released a new Christmas comedy album so maybe we'll listen to a track or two. And no doubt we'll mention our beloved Vancouver Grizzlies, too.

We're on the air on CFRO 100.5 FM in Vancouver at 11 pm. If you're out of range, try livestreaming us at coopradio.org or find us on the TuneIn Radio app. We'll be there.

Podcast episode 512ish: Brent Butt

It's always a treat when Brent Butt graces our studio. Not only is he a legit Canadian superstar, he's always one of the most naturally and effortlessly funny people in everyday life. The star (and creator and producer and writer and heart and soul) of Corner Gas talks about little green apples in Saskatchewan, working as a terrible wedding singer in his youth, practicing standup using a screwdriver, his love of language, how he learned to be present in his act, the etymology of 'gangbusters' and 'trivia', how he's a proponent of kindness, and falling asleep to the images of David Cassidy and Bobby Sherman. Oh, and hey, go check out his vlog on YouTube (linked in his name above). It started out as a promotional component to his ButtPod podcast but now it's an entity unto itself.

Listen to our conversation here and now, or go download us on iTunes or Stitcher or anywhere fine podcasts are dispensed. Subscribe! Leave a comment! It'd help.

Podcast episode 511ish: Barry Greenfeld

He's back! Even if he doesn't remember ever being with us the first time, back in 2006. But if you listen to the episode, Barry Greenfeld doesn't remember lots of things so we're in good company. Play a drinking game: Every time Barry forgets a name or detail, take a sip, and at the end of the hour you'll be as drunk as he was! ... Nah, just kidding. Greenfeld wasn't drunk. That's just the way he is. All. The. Time. In this episode, he plays us a new theme song, reminisces (as best he can) about the old days at the Urban Well and being the band for the Brent Butt Talk Show. And occasionally he makes sense.

You can listen to the episode right here, or you can go find us on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Nov. 11: Ari Matti

Tonight on the old program we've got our very first guest from Estonia. No need for a translator, though, because Ari Matti has been doing standup comedy in English here in Vancouver for... well, we'll find out for how long. And how long he plans on staying. But it should be no surprise he speaks English well enough to be funny in it. There are – get this – 109 languages spoken in Estonia. So I guess we'll also find out how many more languages he speaks. And we'll talk about the challenges of performing in another culture, and discuss the comedy scene in Tallin.

Tune in to CFRO 100.5 FM tonight at 11 pm for the scintillating conversation. If you're not in the Vancouver area and are in, say Estonia, you can livestream us at coopradio.org or find us on the TuneIn Radio app. But make sure you do the math on the time difference.