Podcast episode 414ish: Chris James

Ready for another episode? Sure you are. There aren't enough podcasts to listen to. This one is from a month ago when Chris James came by. He brought a friend, too, who we speak to for a bit: Vishal Ramesh all the way from sunny India (now making his home in Vancouver). So we learn a bit about the Indian comedy scene and a lot more about Chris. We learn that's he's still a big bag of neuroses, for one thing. But who can blame the guy when you hear his personal horror story and how he's weaved it into comedy gold? We also play a clip from his brand new album. He did both the album and this episode in one take. What a pro.

Click below and hopefully that will start you on your way. Failing that, go find us on iTunes or Stitcher or somewhere like that.

Podcast episode 413ish: Shauna Johannesen

Timing is everything! Sorry about the lateness of this podcast. Shauna Johannesen returns to talk about stuff that's already happened by the time you hear this. But that's okay. When this aired on the radio, Shauna was just starting a run at Pacific Theatre of her play Common Grace. She wrote it and starred in it. And she was about to embark on a hectic couple of weeks directing her Crazy8s (which she also wrote). Cut-to today: the day after Trying made its debut at the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts. It's all over. It was fantastic. Funny and touching. I saw it and I bought the DVD of all six Crazy8s 2016 films. And not just because I was an extra in two scenes for a total of 1 second screen time. Well, partly, but it would have been great even without my star power.

Okay, enough rambling. Go listen to this episode. You can click the gizmo below (if your browser sees and recognizes it) or you can go find it at a podcast server near you (iTunes, Stitcher, etc.).

Feb. 28: Ari Shaffir

It's Oscar night. What better guest to help celebrate that than Ari Shaffir, who has a rather dim outlook on actors and awards shows. We talk about it a bit, but talk about so much more, including language, censorship and Howard Stern. We recorded this last week when Ari was headlining the Comedy MIX. I don't want to give any more spoilers but if you tune in on radio tonight, it will be a slightly altered version that will be released on the podcast.

We're on the air at 11 pm in Vancouver on CFRO 100.5 FM or livestream us at coopradio.org.

Podcast episode 412ish: Ivan Decker

I've been late at getting the radio episodes up and running as podcasts. But there are a zillion other podcasts to keep you busy in the meantime. We'll be caught up soon, though, I promise. Let's start off with Ivan Decker's episode. He arrived right at the stroke of 11 o'clock, when we hit the airwaves. As I recall, the theme song was playing when he came to the door. As they say in comedy, timing is everything. In this episode, we discuss Bill Burr, wisdom teeth extractions, how to approach industry types (hint: don't), observational comedy, his upcoming album, and science! Plus we throw in a couple of audio clips to make him squirm.

Click on the gizmo to get going. Or go download us at iTunes or Stitcher or wherever fine podcasts are dispensed.

Feb. 21: Mike Storck

Mike Storck came back to town last week. The Baltimore comic headlined Lafflines in New West so we took the chance to sit down for a talk. Or that was the plan, anyway. I could only talk on the Friday afternoon and had to be done by 2 pm. He was driving up from Seattle. Then the border line-up got in the way. I met him at his hotel in New West but he didn't arrive until 1:45. Didn't think it would happen until I got a brainstorm. We'd fire up the mobile studio and take the show on the road. He drove with me to get my son from school and we recorded along the way. And then I deposited him back at his hotel and we carried on with our respective days. It all worked out. You can hear the fruits of our labour tonight on the show. 11 pm, as usual, at 100.5 FM in Vancouver. Or livestream us at coopradio.org.

Feb. 7: Sara Bynoe

Sara Bynoe was last (and first) on What's So Funny? way back in 2011! Good Lord! I wrote about her in the Georgia Straight last August. And tonight she's back on the show. Sara was one of the prime movers of the hybrid comedy scene here in Vancouver. It's not standup, sketch or improv. Her shows include Teen Angst, Say Wha?!, Novelty Act and a new show called Crashers, which, like the others, seems like a whole lotta fun. We'll find out all about them and whatever else is on her mind tonight.

So tune in to CFRO 100.5 FM in Vancouver tonight at 11. Or stream us at coopradio.org or one of them fancy apps that let you listen to live radio. Whatever you gotta do.

Podcast episode 411ish: Byron Bertram

We had Byron Bertram in studio just before he took off for a few months to Australia, where he is currently performing his one-man fringe show. It's like standup, but with more heart, I guess. He tells us all about it. He also tells us about street performing, standup and being known as a cold medicine shill. We give him a dry shave and talk about finding love on Tinder, the politics of accents, art vs juggling, playing dives, and his quest for fests.

There you go. Now get to it. Click below or go find us on iTunes, Stitcher, Podcast Addict, PodcastLand... wherever. Just get it.