Feb. 26: Barry Crimmins

The JFL Northwest Comedy Fest has come and gone. I saw a lot of good shows. Hope you did, too. I also got the opportunity to sit down with the legendary Barry Crimmins for an hour. That conversation runs tonight. Crimmins has been the preeminent American political satirist for the last forty-plus years. We spoke in his noisy hotel room. The sound quality ain't the greatest, but hopefully you can cut through the noise to the scintillating conversation, which ran the gamut from Trump and Clinton, to Air America, to the old Boston comedy scene from which he sprang and helped develop.

For those who may not be familiar with him, check out the Bobcat Goldthwait-directed documentary on him on Netflix, Call Me Lucky. It's fantastic. He's also the author of Never Shake Hands with a War Criminal. And I first heard him back in the late 1980s on a great political comedy album called Strange Bedfellows, which also featured Will Durst, Jimmy Tingle and Randy Credico. Check it out. It's all about the Reagan era but it sadly still holds true. And holds up comedically.

We're on the air tonight at 11 pm, as always, on CFRO 100.5 FM in Vancouver. If you're elsewhere in the world and can't wait until the episode drops as a podcast, you can livestream us at coopradio.org.

Podcast episode 446ish: Fred Ewanuick

Professional pretender Fred Ewanuick teaches me how to pronounce his name and then we get on with it, in this latest podcast episode of the hit show What's So Funny? He also tells us he's more than a professional pretender; he's also a voice prop. His words, people! In reality, he's one of Canada's finest comedic thespians. You know him and love him as Hank on Corner Gas. He talks about that, and about his regrets in his starring turn in Dan For Mayor. We also delve into his years as a bad theatre student and his time performing improv at his mom's coffee shop.

And away we go! You can listen here and now, or go find us on iTunes or Stitcher or some such place. If you subscribe at one of those places, new episodes will just pop up on your device when they come out. How convenient.

Podcast episode 445ish: Lori Gibbs

The always crafty Lori Gibbs (right)

How time flies! It had been five years between Lori Gibbs' last (first) visit and this one. Actually, it was I who did the visiting both times – to her hotel room. That's just the way she rolls, inviting men up to her room. Not really, but she did recently receive a proposition on the road, as she tells us in this episode. She also talks about the genesis of her nickname "the human antidepressant," her career in morning radio, developing into keynote speaker mode, and the art of crafting. We also settle, once and for all, who has the bigger head.

You can listen here. Or you can listen at iTunes. Or you can listen at Stitcher. Or you can find us somewhere I'm not familiar with. Go now and do what you have to do.

Feb. 5: Fred Ewanuick

Over the years on What's So Funny? we've had Brent Butt (twice), Lorne Cardinal, and most recently Nancy Robertson, all from Corner Gas. Tonight we've got comic actor Fred Ewanuick. Who's left? Tara Spencer-Nairn, Gabrielle Miller, and Eric Peterson. (I interviewed the late Janet Wright on set in Saskatchewan for print once.) Maybe we'll get all the way through some day. But tonight, we'll focus on Fred. He's best known for his Gilligan-like character Hank Yarbo on Corner Gas but he's been in a ton of other things, including starring as the eponymous Dan For Mayor. We're going to talk about all that and more.

We're on the air at 11 pm on CFRO 100.5 FM in Vancouver. Or livestream us at coopradio.org or on your fancy TuneIn Radio app.