Podcast episode 506ish: Wes Barker

Proof of the trick

Welcome to episode 506ish. This actually should have been 504ish, but I forgot about it! Summer really plays havoc on my routine. Oh well. Sorry Wes Barker! Better late than never. Here the comedy magician talks about working solo – sans assistant, preparing for defeat in all aspects of his life by getting the excuses ready before any competition, hell gigs where airlines have lost his magic props, plus he does a nasty prank on your humble but skittish host but makes up for it with a real trick with the help of Sidekick Sam.

Have a listen. The sound quality is a bit wonky, but it's listenable. It's a station problem that has since been addressed. Click below to listen or subscribe to What's So Funny? on iTunes or Stitcher or wherever you find quality podcasts.

Sept. 23: Shawn Farquhar

It's hard to get Shawn Farquhar as a guest. The master magician is on the road something like 250 days a year. But he's got some good news. He's got two (2) new and different local shows coming up, one that'll keep him at home for a few months. We'll talk all about them, plus lots more I'm sure because if there's one thing Shawn loves more than magic, it's talking. And he's equally good at both. Although he's only a 2-time world champion of magic, not talking, so maybe he's better at magic.

We'll be on the air at 11 pm on CFRO 100.5 FM, which, if you prefer, you can livestream at coopradio.org or find us on the TuneIn Radio app. Or, if you're patient, the episode will be out as a podcast later this week. Even if you're not patient, actually.

Podcast episode 505ish: Colleen Brow

Colleen Brow's Fringe show hadn't yet started when she guested on the program. Now it's all water under the bridge. All reports say her show was a rousing success. And who knows, she might mount it again. But listen to this episode to find out where her psychological state was just days before it started. Plus we talk about her time doing standup comedy and community theatre. And as an added bonus, she swears more than I've ever heard!

Listen to the episode here, or better yet, go download it at iTunes or Stitcher and listen to it on the go somewhere. It's so much more exotic that way.

Podcast episode 504ish: Steve Allen & Laura Accili

If you've been around the comedy scene in Vancouver in the last decade, chances are you've been to Kino Café in Cambie Village. For the past eleven and a half years, Steve Allen and Laura Accili havec been presenting standup comedy at least once a week. Allen pulled a Victor Kiam, the businessman who liked Remington razors so much he bought the company. Steverino liked the Kino so much, he bought it! And we liked the Kino so much we held our station fundraiser there, putting on a helluva show that raised a cool grand for CFRO radio. In this episode, they and guest host Sam Tonning do the hard math and figure out how many shows that's been. They talk about memorable nights, listen to comedy cuts, and generally talk comedy and how the two of them are involved in the longest-running weekly standup show in the city.

Listen to the podcast below, or better yet, go download it on iTunes or Stitcher. Or even better yet, subscribe to What's So Funny? on iTunes and you'll always be up-to-date with the latest podcast episode.

Podcast episode 503ish: Brett Martin

Brett Martin is hot but the levels are hotter! Something was/is amiss at the radio station when Brett guested with guest host Sam Tonning, but while a bit distorted, the show is listenable. So give it a shot! They tried so hard! Brett and Sam have a long history together and it shows in this episode. Sam, who is regular host Guy MacPherson's manservant was first (and continues to be) Martin's right hand man on the Brett Martin Show, a live talk show held every month at Yuk Yuk's in Vancouver.

Click on the link below or download on iTunes or Stitcher.

Podcast episode 502ish: Harris Anderson & Andrew Huzar

When the host is away, Sam and his pals will play. In this episode, Sam Tonning has to work the controls and carry the show. But he also gets to yacht rock out and play comedy clips. In this episode, he invited friends Harris Anderson and Andrew Huzar to keep him company and the three talk comedy, naturally.

Have a listen right here, right now. Or download the episode on iTunes. Or even better: subscribe to the damn show!

Sept. 9: Chris Griffin

It's always nice to have a first-timer with us. Tonight we have just that: standup comic Chris Griffin hails from Calgary but has called Vancouver home for the past five years. On October 18, he's putting on two shows at the Biltmore and filming them for future release... somewhere. We'll talk about where and why and all the other Ws. And we'll ask him what it's like to share his name with an animated character.

We're on the air in Vancouver on CFRO 100.5 FM. We're on the air in Calgary and everywhere else that isn't Vancouver at coopradio.org and on the TuneIn Radio app.

Sept. 2: Colleen Brow

Look who's back? Why, it's none other than our old friend and helper Colleen Brow. Colleen, as regular listeners will know, used to by my manservant. She had stopped doing standup. She still doesn't do it, but she's been performing in other ways. She's been in a couple plays and enjoyed it so much, she decided to lose all the dead weight from big casts by going out on her own. She's got a one-woman show she's performing at the Vancouver Fringe Festival this month called Ten Tips for a Collapsed Uterus. We'll find out all about it and what else she's been up to.

We're on the air at 100.5 FM in Vancouver at 11 pm. If radio is too old-fashioned for you, try streaming us at coopradio.org. If streaming is too old-fashioned for you, find us on the TuneIn Radio app.

Podcast episode 501ish: Ross Dauk

It's about time I got this episode uploaded to the podcastsphere. My computer went kaput a few weeks ago. Then we went away for a couple weeks. I just got it back from the repair shop and it's good as new now, so here's Ross Dauk! We had a good conversation, as we always do. The guy loves standup comedy: listening to it, performing it, and thinking about it. When someone is that enthusiastic, it's a joy to listen to him. So why don't you do that?

You can click below, or even better, go subscribe to us on iTunes podcasts (or Stitcher, or wherever you like to get your podcasts).

July 29: Ross Dauk

Ross Dauk has been with us only once before, which is hard to believe. The guy loves to talk comedy. The standup was with us back in 2014. Since then he's gone on to host the popular Jokes Please! show at Little Mountain Gallery. And he continues to tour with Yuk Yuk's. Even though Ross and I have had some epic Ping-Pong battles since his last visit, we will try our best not to spent too much time talking about the greatest sport. What will we talk about? You'll just have to tune in to find out.

We're on the air at CFRO 100.5 FM in Vancouver at 11 pm. But you can always tune in from anywhere on the globe by livestreaming us at coopradio.org or finding us no the TuneIn Radio app.

Podcast episode 500ish: Dylan Rhymer

Dylan Rhymer in his prison jumpsuit

Here we are at a cool 500 episodes... or thereabouts. We started doing What's So Funny? waaaay back in 2004. I don't think podcasts were a thing then. Or if they were, no one knew about them. After a couple of years on radio only, we uploaded our back catalogue to the wide world of podcasts. Some of our shows, for some reason or another, we didn't have. They are forever lost in the ether. And some more since then. But of the available ones to you, there are 500. Now. And we were lucky to get an old friend to the show, Dylan Rhymer, as our guest. He's always talkative and opinionated. As I told him, he's one of my favourite contrarians. This isn't a big celebration. Or even a celebration at all. It's just our 500th-ish episode. So we mention it and move on. Hope you enjoy it... and all the other 499.

If you haven't already, go subscribe to us on iTunes. And leave a rating and/or comment, good or bad. The more the merrier. If technology isn't your thing, just click below and start listening to episode 500ish.