Podcast episode 564ish: Eddie Brill

We're doing things a little backwards this week. Usually we start with our radio program, then release it later as a podcast. This week, and maybe for the next little while, we'll release the podcast version first. Yesterday, Sidekick Sam and host Guy MacPherson talked with Eddie Brill, live from New York! It was all done through the magic of Zencastr, a nifty little tool that maybe doesn't sound as good as an in-face conversation, but it sounds a lot better than Skype or a phone call. We asked Eddie what it was like in New York in these sci-fi times. Then we started the great diversionary talk of all things comedy, from how late night TV stacks up today versus the early days and the 17 years Eddie spent with David Letterman's show, his salad days at Emerson college, his mullet-days performing on the Comedy Club Network in 1990, doing drugs with Sam Kinison, and more!

Eddie has three podcasts of his own, including OG Talk, which you can listen to the regular podcast way or watch on YouTube (OG stands for Organic Grill). There's also 11 episodes of The Break with Eddie Brill and Relationships are a Motherfucker.

As for this episode, you can listen below or check out all the podcast platforms. We're there. If you find us on a place you can leave a rating or a review, please do so.

Comedy's newest whipping boy

Why the constant drama, comedy?

It seems stand-up comedy needs a whipping boy. One day it's Dane Cook, another day it's Carlos Mencia. Today (the last few weeks, anyway) it's Kyle Cease. It started with Doug Stanhope's post lambasting comedy classes in general and Cease's Stand-up Boot Camp in particular.

I have no horse in this race since I have no strong opinion on comedy classes. I tend to think you can't teach funny, but having never been to a comedy class, I don't know if that's what they're trying to do. You can't teach someone to be a good painter or jazz musician, but you can give him the tools if he has a modicum of innate talent to begin with. (And please substitute 'her' and 'she' where applicable.)

Hearing comics railing about the issue is funny. But not in a ha-ha way. It sounds, from an outsider's perspective, a bit like they want us all to know they're truly special and what they do can't possibly be taught. So don't even bother. Yes, I know, they're not really saying that, but that's part of it. They're also saying any information you can get in a class, you can get for free from your fellow comics so a class is nothing but a cash grab. So be it. But isn't any kind of class a cash grab? You can pay thousands of dollars to hear a famous screenwriter give a seminar, and lots of people do. Will any of them go on to become famous screenwriters? Maybe a tiny percentage of them, but they'd probably excel without the class, too.

People attend classes and seminars for whatever reason. Some just need a kick-start. Some use it for networking. Who knows? Who cares!

But this Boot Camp costs three thousand bucks, they scream! It's a rip-off! Hey, caveat emptor, baby. If someone's willing to pay it, it's obviously worth it to them.

Who none of the critics are slamming is Louie Anderson. I don't understand that. Why does he get a free pass? Apparently he's well respected for his years in the business even though in my opinion he has never been funny. And I can't see what 30-year advice he can give that would be relevant to today's comedy wannabes. Then again, as I say, I haven't attended the boot camp so I can't be sure.

Another free pass is given to Eddie Brill, who does these kinds of classes all over the place. Maybe the particulars are different. I did sit in on one of Eddie's classes once and it looked great. Comics would perform for each other and critique each other's act, which I think is useful. But Eddie's words of advice held more sway. Now, Eddie is a peach of a guy who everyone loves. Plus he is the gatekeeper to the Holy Grail that is the Late Show with David Letterman and comedians would no doubt be wary of biting that opportunity in the butt.

If it isn't completely obvious, let me state that I don't think Eddie Brill should be slagged for his classes, just as I don't think Kyle Cease should be. I just think comics should be consistent and honest. If it's classes they don't like, you can't pick and choose. And, not that it's relevant, but Doug Stanhope is another peach of a guy (seriously!) and one of my favourite comics on Earth.

I heard Kyle on the Comedy and Everything Else podcast. He was way more serious than he was the two times on What's So Funny? but he had a bigger point to make. He was defending himself. He found himself a pariah in the only community he's been a part of for 20 years. Still, I thought he wasn't as serious as some are saying. He made lots of jokes but in a completely dry way. I had no problem with Jimmy Dore's interviewing technique, either. Some thought he was confrontational and constantly interrupting, but I thought he was respectful and interrupted no more than he does on any other episode (which, granted, is a lot but that's part of his charm).

As I mentioned, Kyle was on our program twice. The second one is lost but one remains and you can hear it on iTunes. Or right here, if you'd rather. It's a completely different Kyle Cease than you'll hear on Comedy and Everything Else. He's animated and constantly joking. Then again, it was in 2005 and he wasn't yet the outcast he's become.

Episodes 177 & 178

Oh hey, I forgot to wish you all a Happy New Year. I was thinking it.

Anywho, I just noticed that two more episodes have been added to the What's So Funny? podcast family. Number 177 (and remember, these numbers are approximate but I'm sticking with them) is with Jay Brown and Eddie Brill, while episode number 178 is with Marc Maron. What's not to like about these two? Go download them at iTunes or listen right now right here:

Eddie Brill & Jay Brown, from December 13, 2009:

Marc Maron, from December 20, 2009:

Dec. 13: Jay Brown & Eddie Brill

What a Christmas season we've been having on the show. Two weeks ago we had Richard Lett swearing up a storm and talking about Jesus. Last week we had Bev PoCock and Chris Wes announce their retirement from show business to reveal they're Jason Bryden and David Milchard (who knew?!).

This week we've got the always outspoken Jay Brown and Eddie Brill, the comedy booker for The Late Show starring David Letterman, who'll be talking to the both of us by phone. Man, can it get any better next week? Sure, it can! We've got iTunes sensation Marc Maron on for the hour on the 20th.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I haven't seen Jay Brown since I don't know when. Maybe it was the last time he was on the show in 2005. I know he's no longer living in Vancouver. I don't even know where he's living. Toronto? New York? We'll find out. No doubt he'll fill us with Christmas cheer and goodwill.

Eddie Brill has never been live on the show, although once we ran a pre-recorded interview and he's always been a friend to the show. Agreeing to come on the air from 2 to 3 a.m. his time should tell you that much. The guy is friends with just about everybody in the comedy biz. We'll try to pry some stories out of him. We'll ask him who vets his act when he does stand-up on Letterman (as he will in January). And we'll ask him what he was telling Barack Obama (that's Eddie on the right chatting up the President of the United States of America with Letterman ignoring the both of them).

But don't forget. We're in Vancouver. Our start time is 11 pm.

To air or not to air? That was the question

A few days ago I posted a video interview with Eddie Brill, talking about the network debut of Joe Wong. In that same conversation, we also discussed the airing, 16 years after the fact, of a stand-up set by the legendary Bill Hicks. Back in 1993, the year before his death, Hicks appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, but his set famously never made it to air. A few months ago, Letterman tried to rectify the situation by inviting Hicks's mother, Mary, to the show and finally airing that long-ago set.

To my ears, Letterman sounded sincere in expressing regret. Others more cynical than myself (and there are a few out there) thought it to be exploitative – they were doing it for selfish reasons, among them ratings and a tie-in to an upcoming biopic to be made of Hicks starring Russell Crowe. Bollocks, says I.

First off, here's the clip:



Here's Eddie Brill, who has booked comedy on the Late Show for twelve years, on the topic. Since Dave isn't going to grant me an interview, his comedic right-hand man is the next best thing. He joins us in the What's So Funny? Skype Studio from Manhattan:

A Star is Born

Move over, Susan Boyle. There's a new improbable star in town. Or at least on-line.

You've seen the clip, if you didn't see the show. And if you haven't seen either, here it is for you. I'm talking about a Boston-based comic named Joe Wong who made his American network television debut on The Late Show with David Letterman three weeks ago. His appearance was the comedic equivalent of Susan Boyle's turn on Britain's Supposedly Got Talent, I thought. In both performers you have someone who breaks the mould. Rightly or wrongly, your expectations are shattered. Wong, an immigrant from China, walks on the stage and immediately reminds me of Andy Kaufman's Foreign Man character – only this ain't no character. And he knows how to tell a punchline.

Here's Wong's spot:



Pretty funny stuff. Does it bode well for other unknown comics to get a shot on the venerable late-night institution? I invited the man responsible for Wong's appearance, Late Show comedy booker Eddie Brill, into the What's So Funny? Skype Studio in Manhattan to talk about the Wong phenomenon.

In the mood lighting, Eddie looks pretty sinister, but he's a pussycat, as you'll hear. Also worth remembering when viewing: objects on the screen may appear larger than their actual size.

We also talked about Letterman's decision to run the late Bill Hicks' set 15 years after his death. We'll run that clip tomorrow. Or the next day. But soon.