Jan. 28: Ken Lawson

That's Ken on the far left sucking in his gut.

I did a story this week in the Georgia Straight about the Comic Strippers, and focussed on Chip Stick, aka Ken Lawson, one of the shirtless wonders. We were at a coffee shop talking so he kept his shirt on. We had such a good chat, I thought I'd invite him back on the program, where he's been twice before. We'll talk about the art of topless comedy and whatever else comes up, because as one of the best improvisers around, he is trained to go where the conversation leads. Should be fun.

Tune in to CFRO 100.5 FM here in Vancouver at 11 pm for our conversation. If you're one of the many Chip fans across Canada, in the western States, or down under in Australia, you can try livestreaming us at coopradio.org or find us on the TuneIn Radio app. We'll do our best to be there, too.

Podcast episode 480ish: Jon Reep

Here's the episode we ran on the radio on New Year's Eve to ring in 2018. It was recorded in mid-November, though. But it's as fresh today as the day we spoke so if you missed it originally, don't you worry. Jon Reep tells us about his futile high school football team, his cop dad's bullet injuries, how his day job producing and editing television facilitated his entry into standup comedy, and how he managed to play Opie in Mayberry. It was the former champeen of Last Comic Standing's second time in Vancouver and second appearance on What's So Funny? Ain't that sumthin'?

After our morning conversation in his hotel room, I caught his act at Yuk Yuk's. After the show, he and some fans hit up a Legion for some karaoke. Jon loves his karaoke. So I end up driving him there and watch as he absolutely destroys the room with his version of... I forget now, but it was a country-rock barnburner. Photo evidence to the left. (For the record, I didn't sing.)

I'm digging our new gizmo (see below) that allows you to listen to the show right here and now. Hope you are, too. But don't forget, you can still download us on the go at iTunes and Stitcher and them such places.

Podcast episode 479ish: Harry Doupe

 We started out the year with Harry Doupe (recapping 2016) so why not end the year with him, too? This episode aired on the radio live on Christmas Eve, our first Christmas Eve show in 13 years. Harry, who has a story for everything, tells us about winning a comedy competition on CKVU's The Vancouver Show and ties it into a 2017 headline. We talk comedy deaths, Juno Awards, Netflix specials, Rick Mercer, Russell Peters, and, as they say, "lots more!"

The episode starts with Harry surprising me with a gift, which you can see here on the right. That's Harry on the right with a drinking Steve Nash taken in Salt Lake City at some winter Olympics or another. A random gift, you might think, but Harry knows how much I love the hoops. (For the record, I brought sweets in a baggie for Harry and Sam.)

Have a go listening to the episode on this new format. Or, as always, go to iTunes or Stitcher or Podbay or wherever you usually download us.

Jan. 21: Mayce Galoni

Our first guest of 2018 makes his semi-debut tonight. It's the New Faces edition of What's So Funny? tonight. Well, Newish Faces. Standup comic Mayce Galoni isn't even 25 but he's making quite a name for himself, even before he moved here last year from Hamilton. He's actually from a place called "Binbrook" that I don't even think is a real place, so we'll just say Hamilton because that's where he started out. We'll get to know all about him tonight – his likes, dislikes, and why he chose Vancouver over Toronto. It's his semi-debut because back in October he was scheduled then promptly forgot but he arrived for the last ten minutes of the show. I saw him opening for Joe Machi at Yuk Yuk's on Friday and he said he won't forget this time. And I believe him.

We're on the air, as usual, at 11 pm on CFRO 100.5 FM in Vancouver. If you're in "Binbrook" (ha!), you can livestream us at coopradio.org, but don't forget to do the math on the time difference. We can also be heard on apps like TuneIn Radio.

Jan. 14: 2017 highlights (part 2)

It's week two of our two-week Best of 2017 programming, wherein we play little clips of every single guest we had last year. We heard 19 clips last week and we're going to play 19 different ones tonight. Our guests tonight, in alphabetical order, are as follows: Chuck Byrn (twice), Barry Crimmins, John Cullen, Ivan Decker, Harry Doupe (twice), Shawn Farquhar, Diana Frances, Lori Gibbs, Ryan Gunther, James Kennedy, Colin Lamb, Darryl Lenox, Gavin Matts, Joel Plaskett, Brad Upton, Ron Vaudry, and Garry Yuill. It's a fun hour-and-a-bit look back at what our guests had to say last year, arranged somewhat thematically. It's also a great way to sample any shows you missed and if they sound like something you might like to hear more of, go download the episode on iTunes or Stitcher. It's the beer flight of What's So Funny? And next week, we're back to regular programming, with in-studio guest Mayce Galoni.

Tune in tonight to CFRO 100.5 FM in Vancouver, or livestream us at coopradio.org, or find us on the TuneIn Radio app. We're on the air at 11 pm.

Podcast episode 478ish: Ivan Decker

Hometown hero Ivan Decker recently made his debut on American network television with his appearance on Conan. Three weeks later, he was a guest with us on What's So Funny? talking about his experience. He took us through all the stages, from first contact, to showcasing at Caroline's Comedy Club in New York City, to the bright lights of Los Angeles. Listen to what he was thinking in the moment and immediately after. Hear what Conan said to him. Laugh at his awkward celebrity hug. Plus, as per usual, we're all over the place with tangents because that's what we do.

Listen to the episode right here right now, or go download (and subscribe!) at iTunes or Stitcher. While you're at it, leave a comment and rating.

Jan. 7: 2017 highlights (part 1)

We had a good year in 2017. Maybe not in the real world, but on What's So Funny? Tonight and next Sunday night, we'll relive some of those memories with snippets from every single one of our guests last year. Tonight you'll hear from (in alphabetical order): Harris Anderson, Paul Anthony, Wes Barker, David Beckingham, Camilo the Magician, Andy Cañete, Randy Charach, Garrett Clark, Charlie Demers, Fred Ewanuick, Katharine Ferns, Shirley Gnome, Kevvy, Leland Klassen, Johnny Perrotta, Jon Reep, Christina Sicoli, Alex Sparling, and Oh Susanna. What a line-up! And next week will be just as hot.

Tune in to CFRO 100.5 FM tonight in Vancouver from 11 to midnight (it'll actually run 5 or 10 minutes long). For those of you outside our giant antenna, try coopradio.org for the livestream or the TuneIn Radio app.

2017 in a nutshell

I almost forgot to tally the numbers this year. Okay, let's have a look at how 2017 stacked up, quantitatively, to other years, since we began keeping track. We're on the air every week on Co-op Radio, but some weeks we run repeats – er, I mean, "special encore presentations" – and some weeks we come in sans guest and play comedy clips. The numbers below reflect the weeks we had new programming with guest(s):

• 2009 we had 42 shows
• 2010 we had 38 shows
• 2011 we had 44 shows with 53 guests
• 2012 we had 41 shows with 47 guests
• 2013 we had 35 shows with 37 guests
• 2014 we had 36 shows with 39 guests
• 2015 we had 36 shows with 40 guests
• 2016 we had 32 shows with 33 guests (and three visitors)

So coming off a career low year, how did 2017 look? First off, we added Sam Tonning to the show, and he's like a guest every week, but we won't count him.:

• 2017 we had 36 shows with 37 guests

So there you go. Big thanks to all our guests (who you'll hear on our special programming tonight and next week):

• Harry Doupe
• Lori Gibbs
• Fred Ewanuick
• Barry Crimmins
• Harris Anderson
• James Kennedy
• Camilo the Magician
• Joel Plaskett
• Brad Upton
• Colin Lamb
• Garrett Clark
• Ryan Gunther
• John Cullen
• Kevvy
• Diana Frances
• David Beckingham
• Christina Sicoli
• Chuck Byrn
• Johnny Perrotta
• Oh Susanna
• Andy Cañete
• Katharine Ferns
• Leland Klassen
• Alex Sparling
• Randy Charach
• Wes Barker
• Shawn Farquhar
• Shirley Gnome
• Ron Vaudry
• Paul Anthony
• Gavin Matts
• Charlie Demers
• Darryl Lenox
• Garry Yuill
• Ivan Decker
• Harry Doupe (again)
• Jon Reep

Podcast episode 477ish: Darryl Lenox & Garry Yuill

Remember our old pal Darryl Lenox? He's been a guest with us a few times over the years (as well as a guest on Conan and WTF with Marc Maron). The American standup comic lived here for 14 years back around the turn of the century (do we say that for 2000?). Now he's back, semi-full time, and he's taking a break from the stage to concentrate on the business of comedy. He and Vancouver Yuk Yuk's franchise owner Garry Yuill have an ambitious plan to take over all the Yuk Yuk's in Canada, make more of them, and add a bunch more in the United States. It's a model based on the Green Bay Packers, where you, the comedy fan and practitioner, can become part-owner. They explain it to this decidedly unfinancial brain in this hour. If you like what they say and want to be a part of it, check out their website, Ellison Rains Enterprises and their Frontfundr campaign.

Here's the episode for you. It's also available, as per usual, at all the podcast shops, like iTunes, Stitcher, Podbay, TuneIn Radio, etc.

Podcast episode 476ish: Charlie Demers

We're coming fast and furious with the podcast episodes now. Here we've got comedian Charlie Demers (aka author Charles Demers), who was last with us way back in 2010. We got caught up on his latest news, the most recent of which was the release of his first comedy album, Fatherland on 604 Records. We also spoke of his love of voice-over acting, and his frustrations with same. He plays the slug Walter on Netflix's Beat Bugs. Along the way, we talk about anxiety, Herr Jordan, Humphrey Bogart's Twitter feed, and steam & sauna rooms.

It's a rollicking good time so why don't you do yourself a favour and listen. Either right here, or go on off to iTunes or Stitcher or Podbay or TuneIn Radio.com or wherever.

Podcast episode 475ish: Gavin Matts

Hoodie power

We're taking our sweet time getting the radio episodes converted over to podcast episodes but think of it this way: They're like completely new shows now! I had a good time talking with Gavin Matts way back on November 19, who was, at the time, fresh off his $25,000 victory at the SiriusXM Top Comic Competition in Toronto. We talked about that, where he came from, his love of jigsaw puzzles, and I teach the youngster about old Hollywood stars Raymond Burr (from GMatts' hometown of New Westminster) and Yvonne De Carlo (who I thought was also from New West but further research has shown she's from Vancouver). Plus we play a couple tracks from Mattsy's brand new album, 'Premature,' on 604 Records.

Listen to our conversation on this handy-dandy gizmo below or go find us on iTunes, Stitcher, PodBay or anywhere else you might come across podcasts. Chances are, we'll be there.