A few more comedy fest names

I think an official announcement is imminent, re: the Global Comedy Fest, but here are a few more names to whet your whistle:

• Tig Notaro, Sept. 21-27
• Moshe Kasher, Sept. 24-26
• Kumail Nanjiani, Sept. 24-27
  

July 26: Darryl Lenox (and Richard Lett)

Born and raised in the Vegas, Darryl Lenox spent 11 years living in Vancouver before moving back down in 2005. He now lives in New York. I don't know if that situation has given him his unique outlook on life, but he has a comedic voice like no other: A stand-up Yoda who talks of life, death, Socrates, Buddha, and race. Oh, and diarrhea and sex, too. He's human, afterall. There's a real depth to the man and his act. I saw him at Lafflines on Friday night and he held the crowd in the palm of his hand without ever talking down to the audience or compromising his comedy in any way.

Darryl was last on our show back in 2007. He's a great guest, too, with an amazing radio voice. So I'm looking forward to having him back tonight. He always has lots on his mind, so I know it'll be a good one.

ADDENDUM: Just got a call from Darryl asking if Richard Lett can join us tonight. Richard is one of the show's best guests, so it'll be a double-whammy. Of course, I've written all my questions for Darryl, but I'll improvise. Oh, and I just came across this website of Darryl's specifically for his Canadian fans. There are some good stories on there.

Six more podcasts

Just got word that the Comedy Couch, home base for the What's So Funny? podcasts, just uploaded six more. All gems, of course. You can listen to them there, or here, or an various podcast servers, or iTunes. Your call. Just listen.

The first one goes way back. I have no idea why we missed it the first time. It's the first appearance by John Beuhler, and he's joined by Jason Lamb, who is now some sort of radio dude in Victoria. It's from December 19, 2004:


Next up is local legend J.P. Mass. I think the last three or four minutes are lost. Instead of not putting anything up, I thought 57 minutes was better than nothing. Sorry about the abrupt ending. This was from January of 2008. I don't even have an exact date. How lame am I?:


Speaking of no exact date, this is Colleen Brow filling in for me interviewing Dr. Russ Kennedy. I had no record of when this was, but Colleen assures me it was July 6, 2008:


Next up is Simon King, who makes his second appearance on the show. Simon spends much of the year down in Los Angeles and he tells us all about it, as well as revealing that his mom was a bit of a celebrity in her day:


On this recent show I met for the first time Conor Holler and Craig Anderson, the duo who make up Bronx Cheer. Craig sounds exactly like former WSF? guest Ivan Decker, but that's neither here nor there. It's from June 7, 2009, actually:


And last but certainly not least is the infamous Nardwuar the Human Serviette. Everyone knows who he is so I don't need to tell you he's not a comedian, but he's damn entertaining. And exhausting. Nardwuar brought in some clips from some of his thousands of interviews. I manage to get about eleven words in the whole hour. This is from June 14, 2009:

A few festival names

It's not until September 17-27, but I got some names for the upcoming Global Comedy Fest Vancouver. These names were all found on-line, either at the artist's website or at the Ticketmaster site:

• Pauly Shore will somehow get enough people to show up for him at the Vogue Theatre on Sept. 12
• Last Comic Standing fifth season winner Jon Reep will be at Lafflines in New West from Sept. 17-19
• Last Comic Standing second season winner John Heffron will be at Lafflines the following weekend, Sept. 24-26
• Natasha Leggero will be somewhere in town Sept. 24-26
• the first Best of the Fest at the Centre on Sept. 25 will be hosted by Tom Arnold
• the second Best of the Fest on Sept. 26 will be hosted by Red Green
  

Okay, that's only six names, but it's a start. If you hear any more, do tell. Why don't we start a wish list here in the comments section?

I just realized that two names have, indeed been announced. Carol Burnett will be back to answer any other questions you may have missed last year. She'll be at the Orpheum on Sept. 24. And Jon Lajoie will be at the Vogue on the 25th.

July 19: Paul Breau

The people have spoken. There has been clamouring for us to get a real, live guest on the show again. Sure, only one anonymous poster has said anything, but I think it's fair to say that represents 50,000 listeners. That's what I'm going with, anyway. So your wish is our command.

We'll have old pal Paul Breau drop by our studio for the hour tomorrow night (if you're reading this on Sunday, then tonight... if you're reading this on Monday, then nevermind). Paul is hosting at Yuk Yuk's this weekend and is never short of good conversation so we'll have lots to talk about. So tune in on Sunday night at 11. If you feel like it, give us a call. The in-studio number is 604-684-7561. The record is five calls in an hour. Maybe we can break it. It would look good on Paul's résumé.

July 12: Stuff

Not much to report here today. On tonight's show we're guest-free. Kevin and I will spin some hot wax and I'll wax poetic about my thrilling victory in a Ping-Pong tournament yesterday. We're gearing up for two weeks from tonight when we'll welcome back old friend Darryl Lenox. I'm looking forward to that show. Darryl's an amazing comic, and if you're not familiar with him you should check out some of that video over there in the right-hand panel while it's up.

Also coming up, possibly in early August, we'll have comic, writer and host of The Exploding Sandwich podcast, Devon Lougheed. So you see, we're not completely devoid of content this summer.

Tonight, though, it's comedy clips for the masses. If you have a request, give us a call and we'll do our best to get it on the air for you.

July 5: Yakov Smirnoff (repeat)

Look at the time. It's 7 pm and the show starts in four hours. Talk about irresponsible blogging! Oh well, at least it's a repeat. And it's available in podcast form, too. In fact, the reason I chose the Yakov Smirnoff episode, from 2007, is that a friend of mine recently wrote me to tell me he listened to the Smirnoff episode last week and really enjoyed it. Perfect, I thought, that's who I'll run in this season of summer reruns. (It won't be reruns all summer, though, don't you worry.)

It's been a long time since I've heard the program, but I remember it being a good one. I have a lot of respect for comics who have lasted in show business, even if they're not at the same level of fame they once were. While Smirnoff isn't on TV much anymore, he's still got a career down in Branson, Missouri, where he runs his own theatre. And anyone who was alive and conscious in the 1980s knows he was everywhere. The Soviet immigrant was an honest-to-God American success story. His contribution to comedy includes popularizing the comedic antimetabole (aka the Russian reversal): "In America, you watch television. In Russia, television watches you!" He's also known for his catch-phrase, "What a country!" and his distinctive Horshackian laugh, which I found out, is legit.

But how many of you know that the amiable Smirnoff was once roommates with Andrew "Dice" Clay? Tis true. And you'll learn that – and more – if you tune in tonight (or listen on podcast).

Saturday night in Seattle

I am back from our whirlwind trip through Washington and British Columbia. I didn't have time to blog (excuses, excuses), so this is late. Last Saturday night sitting in my hotel room I checked out three entertainment options. 1. Jazz Alley, a block from the hotel. It was some high school band. 2. Giggles comedy club. A competition. Just what I didn't need. 3. The Comedy Underground. Two-time What's So Funny? guest, Kyle Cease.

My mind was made up. I hopped in a cab down to Pioneer Square. Kyle was standing outside the club and kindly offered to comp me. Bonus. That's the perks of co-op radio, folks.

It was largely a good show. I particularly liked Stu Baker, who was assisted to the stage by two men. Turns out the 54-year-old Stu has Muscular Dystrophy. He killed. Sometimes comics with disabilities get an extra level of laughter and applause because the audience really wants to be supportive. This may or may not have been the case with Baker, but he deserved all he got and more. The guy is really funny. Here's a clip:



Next up was the headliner, Kyle Cease, who I'd seen twice previously, both times at Yuk Yuk's. He had a gorgeous Vancouver actress girlfriend who accompanied him to the radio show both times. Unfortunately, the couple broke up, which is one reason we haven't seen Kyle back in town. Too bad. The guy has a crazy frenetic energy. Too often, such energy is a substitute for comedy chops, but he makes me laugh. On this night, he performed a completely new set, including about 10-15 minutes on Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, who had died only 48 hours earlier. His closer, wherein he recaps the evening in slow motion, was the only thing the same, and even that is inherently different each time.

Here's a clip of Cease in action. For those of you wondering where you've seen him before, he played Bogey Lowenstein in 10 Things I Hate About You, as well as the slow clapper in Not Another Teen Movie. Or, more currently, maybe you saw his Comedy Central special, Kyle Cease: Weirder. Blacker. Dimpler. Either way, this is him:



I just checked the What's So Funny? podcast library and for some reason there's only one of the episodes with Kyle Cease. The other one, I guess, is lost forever. No problem because this first one was the better one (I have no idea, actually, but let's go with that). So here's Kyle Cease on his first appearance on What's So Funny? from October 25, 2005: