Alone Up There documentary

Remember back in September when we had filmmaker Sean Patrick Shaul on What's So Funny? It was just prior to the big premiere of his stand-up doc Alone Up There. As you heard on the show, the feature-length film is available online for a very reasonable 7 bucks. I watched it and it's really good. And I'm not just saying that because I was in it for probably upwards of 7 seconds. That's right, think of it as paying a buck a second to see me pontificate and all the big names in the movie are free! Names like Marc Maron, Eddie Pepitone, the Sklar Brothers, Iliza Shlesinger, Bobby Slayton, Brody Stevens and Moshe Kasher, along with a healthy sampling of local comics, like Simon King, Toby Hargraves, Darryl Lenox and fellow Canadians Mike MacDonald, Jeremy Hotz and Darren Frost.

There's a nice introductory section on the history of comedy with some great clips, followed by a large chunk on contemporary comics ruminating on what it takes to be a comedian, and a segment on Shaul himself attempting his first (and last) stand-up set. In Los Angeles, yet.

As a way for Sean to get the word out even more (it's already received some positive reviews), he's come up with a cool incentive for everyone interviewed in the film. We each have the potential to earn $1 on a given sale if the buyer includes our name in the coupon section.

I feel guilty even mentioning this for my brief appearance, but what the hell: a buck's a buck. I think the film is worth seeing anyway, even if you don't use my name when purchasing it. But if you want to, here's how you put a dollar in my pocket:

• Go to aloneupthere.thestandupcomedians.com and click on "Buy the show"
• When you get to the checkout screen, click on "I have a coupon".
• Enter "macpherson" (all lower-case letters)

Easy-peasy. Seven bucks for a movie about comedy and watch it from the comfort of your home in your underwear? And you give me a dollar in the process? It's a no-brainer. I'll buy you a coffee next time I see you.

Nov. 18: Lori Gibbs

Hey, look at this: We're back this week with a real guest! If you tuned in last week, we played comedy clips for the hour. The week before it was a special encore presentation of the Tim Rykert episode. But tonight, a brand new show and a brand new guest. In fact, I had never met Lori Gibbs prior to our meeting in her hotel room on Friday afternoon. And we went balls to the wall... No, wait, that doesn't sound good. In truth, I went balls to the wall and she went tits to the bricks... Um, well, if you know Lori's comedy, you'll get what I mean. We also had fun, which is a personal credo of the Vancouver native (who has lived in Calgary most of her adult life).

It was a good talk with a good person. She's like the Sally Field character in Punchline, although she always thought of herself as the John Goodman character. But she was a housewife who started comedy at the tender age of 40. And look at her go. Now she tours the country, with occasional forays into the US to open for former WSF? guest Iliza Shlesinger. And she's got a Comedy Now special to her credit.

Tonight's episode is a getting-to-know-you kind of affair. We get her back story as well as work out some personal demons. I think you'll enjoy it. I know I did.

So tune in tonight at 11 pm PST on CFRO, 100.5 FM in Vancouver. Livestream the puppy, if you're out of earshot, at coopradio.org.

Podcast episode 296ish: Myq Kaplan

This podcast episode with New York-based comic Myq Kaplan has it all. We talk about the wonder of podcasts, the power of blogs, the danger of comedy, and the benefits of veganism. What more could you ask for? And if you could ask for more, we've got it, because what I mention is just what I remember from our one hour twenty-three minute conversation. There's lots more. Myq (pronounced My-q) has a gift of the gab and isn't afraid to use his powers for good.

 Have a listen any which way you choose: right here right now, download over at iTunes, or however else one is able to acquire podcasts.

 

John Pinette interview

John Pinette – Aug. 20, 2012

"I’ve gotten things in my career that tell me to keep on with the journey. But you look at me with Mr. Sinatra, me on the last episode of Seinfeld, I kinda feel like Forrest Gump popping up in different places." – John Pinette

Guy MacPherson: Are you on the road now?

John Pinette: Nope. I am at home until, I guess, Friday, the 24^th. Then I go to Albuquerque, which is quite a journey from here.

GM: Where’s here?

JP: I’m at my house in Pennsylvania. I have a house in Pennsylvania and I have a little place in L.A.

GM: Are you Amish?

JP: You know what? We live near the Amish. I actually like living near the Amish. I do some self-deprecating stuff in my act and I talk a lot about my own journey. I don’t like to make fun of people, but I can make fun of the Amish because it doesn’t get back to them.

GM: (laughs) Exactly.

JP: They don’t know.

GM: Do you ever have any interaction with them? They fascinate me.

JP: Oh, absolutely. We went to Lancaster a few weeks ago. There’s outlets there so I took the ride. Yeah, in the area they’re at all the farmers markets and they sell their actual crops and they sell prepared foods and stuff. And they actually do a lot of construction work in the area. I mean, you couldn’t get better fiduciaries to put on your roof or anything. I mean, they are slow. They come by buggy.

GM: Well, you get what you pay for.

JP: Actually, they have the Mennonites drive them. Mennonites are Amish but with a license.

GM: They’re modern Amish.

JP: Yes, exactly. It kinda sounds like an oxymoron, modern Amish. But they’re very good people. It’s a completely different culture. Sometimes when you’re in the midst of the world you go, ‘You know what? Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.’

GM: You say you don’t like to insult people. So we’ll never see you on a Comedy Central roast, I take it.

JP: You know, I doubt it. I watch them once in a while. It just seems too easy to just stay up there and insult people. I have a bit about the Cake Boss. And, you know, he’s the boss of cake. Listen: I started in 1998 with the album Show Me the Buffet. And everybody said, ‘Oh, you’ve got so much food stuff in your act. It’s all about food.’ Yeah. Well now we got the Food Channel, we got Andrew Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain, Adam Richman, and food, food and food. So I kind of consider myself ahead of the curve. Or the curves, if you will. We have a show about cake. I just think that it doesn’t really evolve because what’s gonna happen next week? They’re gonna make a cake. Now they have Cupcake Wars. They’re battling over cupcakes. You can use a cupcake like a hand grenade. I did a Cake Boss bit on my last DVD and I actually got to talk to Buddy from a radio station in New York and I was glad to hear it was something that he could laugh at, that he didn’t think was mean-spirited or anything. Because I don’t think that’s what I’m on stage for.

GM: I think he’s coming to Vancouver.

JP: He does a tour! He’s a rock and roll star.

GM: So are you.

JP: Oh, listen. I tell jokes. It’s a common ground that people share: everybody eats. And everybody has an opinion about food.

GM: Have you tried to move away from food jokes and found the audience won’t let you?

JP: Oh, no. No. And I think it has evolved at its own pace. I think I brought a lot more of my life to the stage. I go by a text of talking about something but there’s a bit of the show that’s extemporaneous. So I do go up there and work on my feet.

GM: You say you started in ’98…

JP: No, no, no. That was the first CD. I started in ’86. I’ve been doing it 26 years.

GM: Ah, that makes more sense because I interviewed Maryellen Hooper in 2000 and she cited you as one of her favourites.

JP: Oh, that’s nice. She’s a really nice gal. And funny, too. She lives in Orlando.

GM: Yeah, and she married some sort of explosives guy?

JP: No, he’s, like, imagineering. You know, that subsection of Disney that does all the stuff for the park. But she has to live at that Disney place, you know, where there’s a piece of paper on your front lawn and the Disney police come. They have Mickeys but they have, like, batons and pepper spray.

GM: You’re a bit younger than I am. I certainly remember Sinatra, but in my mind he’s from an era from our parents. Does it blow your mind that you worked with him?

JP: You know what, when I look at some of the things I’ve done, like opening for Mr. Sinatra off and on for about a year and a half – my last date with him was at the old Desert Inn in Las Vegas and it was a grand time and that was his second-to-last gig at the Desert Inn. But I look back at getting a call while I was in Vegas doing a show. I’m supposed to go to Wisconsin and my manager says, ‘No, you’re going to do the last episode of Seinfeld.’ And I said, ‘Well what about Wisconsin?’ You know, I’ve gotten things in my career that tell me to keep on with the journey. But you look at me with Mr. Sinatra, me on the last episode of Seinfeld, I kinda feel like Forrest Gump popping up in different places.

GM: Good analogy! And did you have a sign a paper saying you’ll forever call him Mr. Sinatra?

JP: No, actually he was cool with Frank. I just always called him Mr. Sinatra. He thought I was Gleason; they didn’t tell him. He called me ‘The Kid’.

GM: Do young comics today get similar types of experiences or do they have to be in it a lot longer?

JP: I think it’s harder in a way because I came along at the last of the old school of Las Vegas, where you had a musical act but you had an opening comedian. Or you had a comedian open for a comedian. There were a lot of opening venues in Las Vegas still. So I did Caesar’s with the Pointer Sisters, I opened for the Temptations, I opened for the Four Tops a lot, the Oakridge Boys, which I do not wish to speak of. If I hear Elvira one more time, I’m going to kill myself. But I see great young comics, I really do. It does take a lot of time, but I don’t think they have the opportunities. I don’t think they have the TV opportunities. When I was younger, we Evening at the Improv, we had Caroline’s, we had Comic Strip Live. Obviously Just For Laughs was a huge thing for me. And I don’t see them having those opportunities anymore and I wish they did.

GM: Opening for all these musical acts, that was show biz.

JP: Absolutely. That was old school Vegas. And things change. Everything pretty much became a four-wall and people kinda pick their own acts. You couldn’t be a guy that gets a call that says, ‘Okay, you’re opening for Julio Iglesias in Connecticut.’ It just doesn’t happen much anymore.

GM: Who did you start out with in Boston?

JP: Oh, goodness. Well, Louis C.K. was there, Nick DiPaolo, David Cross, Janeane Garofalo, of course Denis Leary. Denis had a few years on us all. Billy Martin was there. Billy Martin’s now the head writer for Bill Maher. And quite a few more. It was kind of a magical time. I didn’t know it because I was young and stupid but it was a magical time upon reflection.

GM: A lot of those names you mention are heroes of the alternative scene. Do you feel you get respect from that corner of the comedy universe?

JP: You know what? Sam Kinison once said if you’re funny, you’re funny. Everybody has a piece of the rainbow. I think I can laugh at their stuff. And when I meet them, they’re really nice. At one time, we all did a gig together here or there so there’s always something to talk about. I wish them all the best.

GM: There are some comedians who work clean and you don’t even realize it until somebody points it out. I was thinking yesterday about you: you don’t necessarily work clean, but you don’t even realize it.

JP: I try to work clean but once a show I’m gonna say ‘fuck’. And do you know why? Because I find, as I grow older and as I grew more on stage, the more I was the John that sat around the table at dinner or at college and people really laughed. The more I become that guy on stage, the more I can bring to my audience. And once in a while I say ‘fuck’. So that’s why I may say it once a show. Unless it’s a corporate show, then I will not get the cheque. (laughs) I think it’s clean as far as not being graphic in nature. I think I’ve been fortunate enough to have a pretty wide range of an audience, a pretty wide demographic. And I gotta tell you, I was in Tarrytown, New York, and I had this nice couple with their two little kids come to see my show and they tell me that it’s nice to listen to comedy with their kids. It certainly makes you feel good. Louie Anderson taught me that, actually. Louie Anderson said, ‘You know, you should work cleaner.’ Because in Boston it was kind of a free-for-all. Second show Friday night in Boston with 400 drunk people in the audience, you pretty much had to keep their attention any way you could. I didn’t want to come off strange and go, ‘I can’t believe I said that.’

GM: What’s your profile like in Canada compared to the States?

JP: I’m actually going to be working on a show here. I really can’t talk about it because I don’t know what the deal situation is. But I can’t ever give back what Canada has given to me as far as the experiences of working every city with just full auditoriums. To go to Charlottetown, PEI, on a Monday and have a thousand people in the audience, which in PEI that’s pretty much everybody. I mean, if somebody has a heart attack, you see two people leaving the show. Canada’s just been very good to me. It’s my favourite place to play, as far as doing one 90-minute concert.

GM: Did you have much knowledge of the country before you started touring here?

JP: I did not. And now I have a full knowledge of Canada. At what point do you make me an honourary Canadian?

GM: As soon as you get a show.

JP: There you go. Exactly. It’s just been a great ride and I look forward to this fall. I do like the fact that this is in the fall so we won’t have to fight the… We were in the maritimes in January and February and what I like about Canadians is they come out. They don’t care. If there’s three inches of snow outside, people in Pennsylvania hide in the basement and clutch canned goods. Canadians put their stuff on and they go to the show.

GM: They have to otherwise they’d never go out.

JP: Yeah, exactly! We did Ottawa in February and walked to an Italian restaurant in two feet of snow. And it was pretty fun.

GM: Were you funny as a kid?

JP: I think so. My family doesn’t seem to think it came really into life until high school.

GM: You hear a lot about kids being funny to offset teasing from other kids…

JP: Oh, believe me, it absolutely started out as a defense mechanism. Without question. Then it turned into much more of a craft and something that I really love to do. There is a craft to it. You not only have to say funny things, you have to say things funny. And I think I’ve worked on that quite hard.

GM: I’ve read you develop your act on stage. Is that for a paying audience or do you go to clubs to work on it?

JP: I always have a set amount of material. What I do is I start out with a little bit of a story, and the story can’t grow until I bring it to the stage and it grows kind of organically on stage. So what you may see two minutes of in one city, by the time I get to the fifth city, it may be ten minutes long.

GM: And Vancouver’s later in the tour so we’ll be seeing the developed stuff.

JP: You’ll be seeing the whole nine yards.

GM: Is there a name for this tour?

JP: The DVD is Still Hungry so I guess it’s the Still Hungry tour. Which is kind of a double entendre, the fact that I like food. But it’s really about the fact I’ve been doing this 26 years and I can still find new things to talk about and still love doing it more than I ever have. I mean, I loved doing it when I was younger but part of me was a scared kid.

GM: And maybe when you’re younger you take it for granted?

JP: Oh, without question. Absolutely without question. And I certainly don’t think that way now.

GM: Are you still a comedy consumer? A fan? Or is it more like when it’s your job you just want to get away from it?

JP: No, I watch comedians. I did a comedy cruise with Lewis Black and Dom Irrera and Kathleen Madigan and Vic Henley. We did a comedy cruise a couple years ago and I watched every show and I had a great time. Ordinarily we wouldn’t have the chance because, as headliners, we’re all ships that pass in the night. I go to a venue and I hear, ‘Oh, Kathleen says hello.’ Or ‘Lewis says hi.’ So it is very nice.

GM: Will you be bringing an opener?

JP: Yes. I don’t know who yet but I think it’s going to be Darren Rose.

GM: Oh yeah. From Toronto.

JP: Actually he’s from Oshawa.

GM: Ah, same thing to us westcoasters.

JP: Yeah, exactly. I believe Darren’s going to do the tour and we get along quite well. He’s very funny.

GM: John, thanks a lot. I know you gotta go.

JP: Well, I hope you got some stuff. And thank you so much for your time. Have a great day.

Podcast episode 295ish: Gerald Gerald Geraldson

Just in time for Halloween, we've got the Gerald Gerald Geraldson episode ready to go for you. Geraldson was in fine form on the evening, creepier than usual. Not thrilled to be there, but he eventually warmed up a bit. In his own sweet way, that is. What comedy podcast is complete without talk of rolling women up in carpets, eating human flesh, and lifting weights with severed heads? Don't be alarmed, it's the horror comic, ladies and germs, boys and ghouls! The show he plugs has come and gone but there's plenty more there for you to sink your teeth into.

 Have at 'er. Listen here or download at iTunes or your favourite podcast depository.

Oct. 28: Myq Kaplan

If you dig far enough back in this blog, you'll find a weekly overview of NBC's Last Comic Standing, where I unleashed my snark. Sitting in the comfort of my living room, talking about comedians a world away, to my teensy reading audience, I figured it would go unnoticed by anyone directly involved.

I was wrong. Turns out the worldwide web is available to anyone.

Last week I visited Myq Kaplan's hotel room while he was in town performing at the Comedy MIX. I'd never met the guy before, or even seen him live. I knew he was in that season of Last Comic Standing, and had seen him on various late night talk shows, but that's about it. I think you can see where this is headed.

Turns out Myq read those blog entries that year. When he told me, I had completely forgotten what I had written. Was it good or bad? I had no idea! Tune in to What's So Funny? tonight at 11 pm PDT to find out. Listen as I squirm in anticipation as he quotes from it. Good times!

But that's not all we talked about. There was talk about his own new podcast, Hang Out With Me, on the CoolSuperCool network. He made a passionate case for free speech vis a vis the Daniel Tosh brouhaha. He shared his experience facing Marc Maron on WTF. And he mustered up the energy to talk about his veganism.

Plus lots more as it ran 1 hour 21 minutes. So tune in to 100.5 FM in Vancouver tonight at 11pm or livestream the show at coopradio.org. If you're new to the show, it'll be available as a podcast on iTunes and elsewhere next Sunday. That's how we roll.

Oct. 21: Gerald Gerald Geraldson

The nights are getting longer. The days are getting cooler. Halloween is right around the corner, hiding, ready to scare the bejeebers out of you. So who else do we get on our show tonight but the spine-chilling Gerald Gerald Geraldson. Next Saturday (Oct. 27), the horror comic is putting on a show at the Havana: Night of the Laughing Dead. It's billed as a "frightfully funny night of over-the-top GORE-LARIOUS comedy that will horrify you while making you DIE LAUGHING!" His chainsaw will even make an appearance. Hopefully he leaves it at home tonight, though. The guy kinda gives me the creeps. Maybe I'll put him in the studio while I sit in the control room with the door locked.

That's tonight from 11 pm to the witching hour on CFRO, 100.5 FM. Or livestream us at coopradio.org.

Podcast episode 294ish: Lynn Shawcroft

It's podcast drop day! It's podcast drop day! And if you're a LaughSpin.com reader (and you should be), you may have been tipped to this week's episode with Lynn Shawcroft. Sure, if you listened on radio or livestream last week, you've heard it already, but let's not spoil it for those who prefer to do their listening via their iPod devices.

New Jersey-based comedy writer Dylan P. Gadino alerted the world that Shawcroft spoke for the first time about the drug use of herslf and her late husband, Mitch Hedberg. It was a heart-wrenching, but ultimately beautiful, conversation about the situation. The transcrip provided was pretty much verbatim. Shawcroft was stopping and starting, going off here and there. It's such a big and difficult subject for someone directly involved that's it's completely understandable. Still, it makes it a tad challenging to follow. At least on the page. Our ears are more attuned to hearing scattered conversation than our eyes are reading it. So below the audio link, I've provided a clean-up version of the same chunk of dialogue that conveys the exact same message.

Don't get the wrong impression, though. This was but a ten-minute chunk in an hour-long chat. We also talked about Lynn's Canadianness, her getting a deal at Just For Laughs early in her stand-up career, and lots less salacious stuff about Hedberg. The conversation was recorded in the roving What's So Funny? studios, aka my car. I should do more there if the results open people up to such riveting conversation.

Gadino also called What's So Funny? the "best kept comedy podcast secret". So put that in your pipe and smoke it. Sure, it's also code for nobody listens to it, but it's phrased so much nicer.

Have a listen to the full episode below or download it onto your respective devices the way you usually do such things. If you don't know how, ask a child. They'll most likely direct you to iTunes. We're there. And leave a rating and/or comment there while you're at it. I'd love to hear from you.

WSF?: He got all this money and that had to be a double-edged sword. He was able to do some things…
Lynn Shawcroft: (laughs) Yes.

WSF?: And then also party too much.
LS: Well, here's the thing. The deal wasn't the double-edged sword. Well, it was a little bit. But, you know, compared to the money we made later on - we were making great money on the road because we were working so much. You can afford to indulge in more expensive hotels - and he wasn't a material person - first class flights, and, you know, drugs and fun and living your life.

WSF?: Yeah. Well, the drugs…
LS: (laughs) 

WSF?: That's what I was getting at. I'm not drug savvy, but even I know heroin's probably not such a good thing.
LS: Well, any opiate isn't because you have to end up taking something every day. I think the word 'heroin' is equal to 'we all know it's bad.' The people who've told you heroin is bad have done a good job. But any sort of opiate drug is. It's something you have to have every day after a while. Mentally you don't want it, but physically, you know… 

WSF?: People knew of his problems. I read there was an intervention.
LS: No. It wasn't really like that. Um… I don't know. It wasn't really like that. Mitch wasn't a person you could really do an intervention with because he was like, “I'm doing better than anyone.” Like, he was doing really well but… 

WSF?: He was coping.
LS: Here it is: Mitch would take things like an intervention as being negative. And he didn't like negativity. I'd be like, “Mitch, we're falling apart. We can't do this anymore. We're on the road, we're not healthy.” Endless, you know what I mean? It wasn't doing either of us any favours. And I think his thing was, “We gotta keep rolling, we gotta keep working,” instead of taking a break. It was more like “keep rolling.” And it destroyed us, you know? It ruined everything. But I'm putting it on him but also I was driven to be a little bit like, “Don't let anyone know; we're going to be okay.” It was a lot of mistakes along the way. But neither of us were like, “We're doing the greatest thing. We're cool.” None of that. We knew we were going down a hole. But we couldn't get off the… everything, yeah. A lot of things. I'll have to write about it. Is that making any sense? 

WSF?: Kind of. I mean, I can see getting caught up in it and you're still able to make your gigs and put on a show.
LS: Exactly. What makes it even harder is having to fly all the time. It's so many of these things put together instead of us just going, “Look, we fucked up, let's get off the road and fix this.” It was just a constant never-ending thing. 

WSF?: That would be hard to just get off the road and stop, right?
LS: Well, yeah, you could. People do it all the time. People are like, “I need six months off; let's cancel my gigs.” I think it was so much work. Like, “What if we cancel a gig and then we're in trouble?” It just was this never-ending thing. But you know, it was us and him and me. People were concerned, like his manager and family. Mitch was very much his own person. We're responsible for ourselves. 

WSF?: But also just being caught up in it.
LS: Yeah, and working really hard. 

WSF?: And also if you are a little bit sensitive…
LS: Of course I am! 

WSF?: No, not you. I mean him.
LS: Oh. Oh, oh, yes, both. 

WSF?: But you, too.
LS: It's my life, too. 

WSF?: And stop me if I'm going too far.
LS: No. 

WSF?: If somebody were to bring that up in an intervention, I could see how it would be perceived like an insult. Maybe it's part embarrassment.
LS: Yeah, but he was also probably protecting me. Remember I said earlier I was so concerned? I'm with this great person and I don't want to… It's hard to talk about it. It's emotional. Me so concerned about him and his talent. We were making tons of money, working hard. I didn't want anything to bring it down and then it become this self-fulfilling prophesy. And him pushing me. We both did the same thing. We both did drugs and we both fucked up. It's hard. 

WSF?: And you weren't alone in that.
LS: No, on the planet, no! But I probably felt more ashamed and scared. And I don't think he was as much so I think he protected me. It was like you're in this bubble where you're together. But that wasn't our whole life. We did so many millions of things: we camped, we worked, we built a home, we wrote, we created things. But we were fucked up. We could have stepped back. Easily. We had enough money. It was before the internet and he was like, “We've worked so hard. What if we get off and it stops going?” You know, he spent his whole life to get gigs and then he was like, “Now I have them, I can't…” 

WSF?: He felt he had to keep the momentum going.
LS: Which is so crazy. I mean, God. 

WSF?: Crazy youth.
LS: Yeah, but… (sigh). Yeah. Something was going to happen and it did. 

WSF?: Did I step over any…?
LS: No, no, no. No, obviously I've never really talked much. I haven't talked about it much. I'm going to write a book about it so I don't want to talk too much. But you know that's a mindset that was going on. It was never a “fuck you, fuck you, people!” It's, you know, so many things that you can look back on. 

WSF?: And I don't know if it's a function of the media or the internet…
LS: The internet doesn't really know anything, I don't think. 

WSF?: When something like heavy drug use is out there, that's all you tend to think: well, that's what that person is. And as you say, “No, we do all these other things.” You're complete individuals.
LS: That's what I was saying. I remember when I was 14 or 15 and I had a Blondie poster on my wall. My sister's a bit older. She goes, “Oh, my God. Look how fucking high they are.” I go, “What?!” She goes, “Yeah, look at their eyes. They're on dope.” And I remember being mortified, taking down the poster, and being like, “Oh my God.” And then later you realize, oh no, they're multi-dimensional people. But yeah, that's why I haven't really talked about the drugs very much at all because I want people to understand… Mitch has gained so many fans over the years after he died purely on his material. I haven't really talked too much about it. There isn't a lot out there. I want people to get their own thing. People love him. And I will talk about it more. This is the most I've ever talked about it. 

WSF?: I felt like it was, in stuff that I've read…
LS: People don't know anything. 

WSF?: … that it was sort of the elephant in the room that nobody would bring up and I wasn't sure if I should.
LS: Yeah, people brought it up but also at the time we were partying with tons of people, too, and did tons of things. But yeah, I haven't really talked about it a lot. Because when I'm talking about Mitch's life at that point, I'm talking about my own. So it's hard what you're ready for. It may take some time. I'll write about it for sure. 

WSF?: It'll be cathartic, I bet.
LS: Oh, a hundred percent. Of course, of course. Think about how much guilt and regret and love combined with so many things. Yeah. It's hard being the one who survives and losing someone wonderful. You know what blew my mind is I remember Mitch dying, and I'm like, “Oh my God, I can never talk about him again. What's going to happen? It's always going to be that drug thing.” And I haven't talked about it for years. I've written a few things and I get contacted all the time by people that are so beyond it, that when I do talk about it it's going to be about like how it really was. And how it doesn't define who you are. I used to think that if you did heroin, you were on the ground, like dead. But not talking about it all the time was something that I chose to do because I want his art to speak for itself. And it does. 

WSF?: It totally does.
LS: But I will, yeah, I'm talking about it now but I'll definitely write a bit more about it and really explain it. 

WSF?: It's always the undercurrent. People know about it already. So it doesn't tarnish his art.
L: Oh my God, yes. Mitch's mom passed away last year. She probably emailed so many fans of Mitch's. They emailed her. Right now, I bet if Mitch was here he'd be like, “Mom!” But it was cathartic for her to talk to his fans. They just spoke to her about what they loved about him because of  his material and despite the drugs and all. So yeah. But I might be done on this… I'm good. 

WSF?: It's a cautionary tale.
LS: Oh, of course. 

WSF?: So even bringing it out there could help.
LS: Um, but… Um… No. I think in itself it is. People know. 

WSF?: Right, just in itself. You don't want to hit people over the head.
LS: I don't want to be like, “Write an essay. Kids, don't…” Because it's its own thing.

WSF?: That's the worst. That doesn't help.

LS: And I would never do that. And you know what? If Mitch was here, he'd be like, “Do what you wanna do in life. But also learn." He would hate it if I was walking around telling people not to take drugs.

Podcast episode 293ish: Tim Rykert

Tim Rykert came out of semi-retirement last week to join us in studio. The beach bum long-boarded his way to us and we talked about playing to drunks on cruise ships, and fainting in heart-throb Michael Bublé's arms. Never short on opinions, he also made a case for getting rid of government funding of the arts and opined on comedy competitions. There's lots more, too, so give it a listen.

Click below to stream the episode, or go download it at iTunes or wherever fine podcasts are dispensed. I just saw we got a new comment on iTunes. Glad to see it. Hope to see even more in the future.

Oct. 14: Lynn Shawcroft

Lynn Shawcroft was in town last week for Thanksgiving. Maybe you didn't know she's Canadian. Well, now you know. Maybe you don't know who she is. Well, tonight you will. Here are the basic facts: she's an Ontario-born comedian who was married to the late, great Mitch Hedberg for the last six years of his life. Last Tuesday night, we sat in the mobile What's So Funny? studios (my car) down at English Bay and talked about her career and Mitch. She opened up about Hedberg more than she ever has publicly before, she told me. While you wait for the show to air (tonight at 11 pm PDT on 100.5 FM or livestream at coopradio.org), why not visit the website she started to help keep the Hedberg name alive. There's lots of great stuff there, including video, audio, writings and photos.

Podcast shout-outs

Man, the comedy podcast world is thriving. The only downside is that there are so many great ones to choose from, life gets in the way of listening to most of them. If you're wondering where to begin (after going through the What's So Funny? archives first, of course!), here are some recommendations with a local angle:

WTF with Marc Maron

Episode 314 (released on Sept. 13): Vancouver's own Kliph Nesteroff is the guest. The former comic is a big deal now. His in-depth articles on WFMU's blog, and his own site classicshowbiz.com, are a portal into the early stand-up comedy, from the 1940s through to the 1970s, give or take. The depth of his research is impressive and the 32-year-old, who never watched these legends in real time, can teach even oldsters like me and Maron a thing or two about comics we grew up watching – guys like Jack Carter and Milton Berle. Kliph (who's been on What's So Funny? half a dozen times) killed it on the much more popular WTF. While he's hugely respected among certain old-timers and show business history buffs, his appearance with Maron will no doubt get his name and work out to many more. I understand he recently signed a big book deal with a major US publisher.

Who Charted? with Howard Kremer and Kulap Vilaysack

Episode 95 (released on Sept. 26): Vancouver gets a big shout-out from guest Zach Galifianakis. Zach has spent a good chunk of time in our fair city over the years. He's even got in-laws here. Hell, he got married here this past August. He used to be a regular in the local comedy rooms while filming whatever horrible TV show he was starring in at the time. He was such a regular – and still under the radar – that a big-wig like JP Buck, who's now the comedy booker on Conan, thought Zach was a local Vancouverite. But everyone knows the guy now, thanks to Hollywood. And he hasn't forgotten about us. Not only does he laud the local comedy scene in this episode of Who Charted?, he singles out Graham Clark as a comedian more people should know about. So listen for that. If you're unfamiliar with Who Charted?, give it a try. It's one of my favourites. Kremer is spaced out and hilarious while Vilaysack keeps things on track and supplies the most awesome laugh in podcasts. The show is centred around, you guessed it, charts. They play snippets of top 5 songs, movies, you name it. Anything with a list. They're jumping off points for discussion and laughs. Fun times.

Stop Podcasting Yourself with Graham Clark and Dave Shumka

Speaking of Graham Clark, he and Dave Shumka co-host the best podcast in Canada (according to the Canadian Comedy Awards last August). They get all manner of funny people as guests, from locals to international, and they have amassed a following all over the world. There isn't one particular episode to highlight here, although episode 55 is probably the best one they've ever done.



Doug Loves Movies with Doug Benson

The local angle here is that this hilariously silly live podcast, which is a film-based comedy game show, is recording here in Vancouver at the Comedy MIX on Saturday, November 17. Tickets on sale now for a mere $20 (+ HST). It won't be a surprise to you that the start time for this show hosted by the star of Super High Me is 4:20 pm. Doors open at 3:15. Last time he was here he sold out, so put down your bong and get on this.

Oct. 7: Tim Rykert

Tonight on What's So Funny? we're thankful for Tim Rykert, who either had no Thanksgiving dinner to go to or left one early to be with us. He lives on the island now and is here for work so maybe he's going turkey-less. Tim is a guy with strong opinions and I love hearing them, whether we agree or not. Tonight we'll talk about Canadian TV, cruise ship gigs, comedy competitions and, of course, find out about his gig writing for Michael Bublé's, uh, Canadian TV special.

When you wake up from your post-meal tryptophan nap, you can loosen your belt and tune in to 100.5 FM here in Vancouver at 11 pm, or livestream the show at coopradio.org.

Podcast episode 292ish: Iliza Shlesinger

Iliza Shlesinger isn't a relationship expert, but she plays one on TV. Well, sort of. She's the host of the dating show Excused where she dishes out her special brand of snark to potential suitors (or wannabe actors pretending to be suitors). We talked about the show, being hit on by contestants, peeping-toms, what she wants and expects from a guy, and whether she'll always been known for being a winner on NBC's Last Comic Standing.

Have a listen right here or go download the podcast episode at iTunes or your favourite podcast depository to play it on the go.

Sept. 30: Iliza Shlesinger

When I first spoke to Iliza Shlesinger, it was in a cramped office between her shows at Lafflines Comedy Club in New Westminster. This time around, we got to stretch our legs with a leisurely chat inside the showroom at Yuk Yuk's one afternoon a week and a half ago. In tonight's episode, the Excused host and Last Comic Standing winner and I talk about her hosting duties on the dating show, why she's such a good girlfriend, that time of month, and her girl-love for Calgary comic Lori Gibbs, among other topics.

So tune in tonight at 11 PM PDT to 100.5 FM. Or, if you're far, far away, you can always livestream the show at coopradio.org. So why don't you do that? And if you miss it, well, it'll be available as a podcast next Sunday. See how it works? We've got a system.

Podcast episode 291ish: Steve Bays

Rocker Steve Bays joined us last week for his third appearance on What's So Funny? I'm thinking maybe we should tally another episode in his favour and make it four appearances since we talked for 2 hours. Don't worry, though, I've edited the podcast version down to a very listenable 1 hour and 45 minutes. In it, we talked about whether humour belongs in music, his love of Christmas lights and music, the lessons of M*A*S*H, taking it in the ass, hiring friends over professionals, being ripped off by Russian pop stars, Chinese karaoke, and we conclude with a round of Defending Your iPod.

So go ahead and listen. What are you waiting for? If you feel you can go the distance in one sitting, click below. If you're like most normal people and listen to your podcasts in segments, then go download it at iTunes (or other podcast recepticals).

Sept. 23: Steve Bays

As you know, our home station, CFRO, recently switched frequencies to 100.5 FM, while the Peak (home of "world class rock") moves to our old frequency. So as part of our new mandate, we need to fill our rock star quota. With that in mind, Steve Bays, of Hot Hot Heat and Fur Trade fame, joins us as our first in-studio guest since the change-over.

Okay, so it's not really a mandate. But we still like to have his Bayness drop by. Not only is he a killer musician but he's a comedy superfan with loads of opinions on performance. The last time I ran into him was at a Talent Time show a few months back and we got a good discussion going. When intermission ended, I told him we'd have to continue it on air sometime. So this is the time. Now I just have to wrack my brain figuring out what we talked about. Hope he remembers.

So tune in Sunday night from 11 to midnight at 100.5 FM. And you can always livestream it at coopradio.org if that's how you roll.

Podcast episode 290ish: Sean Patrick Shaul

In comedy, timing is everything. I sure hope it isn't for podcasts. Here's the deal: We had film maker Sean Patrick Shaul on a week and a half before the premiere of his comedy documentary Alone Up There. The podcast really should have come out last Sunday but whatcha gonna do? The premiere was on Thursday. But fear not, it's also available as a digital download for a mere $7.00. That's 86 minutes worth of entertainment for a lousy seven beans! (You can download it here.) Besides featuring me for a good ten seconds, the film also talks to the likes of Marc Maron, Mark Breslin, Eddie Pepitone, Mike MacDonald, Iliza Shlesinger (next week's guest on What's So Funny?, by the way), Jeremy Hotz and lots, lots more. Plus, there's some great archival footage. (Yes, I already watched it on my very own computer. Easy-peasy).

Anyway, in this episode, Sean talks about documentaries, punk rock, stage fright and reveals the name of one very famous comic who rudely refused to be in the film. I won't spoil it for you but it rhymes with Fatten Laws Fault.

Enjoy the episode here and now or go download it on iTunes or wherever it is you download podcasts from. Ask for us by name.

Sept. 16: Snippets

As I mentioned last week, CFRO changed frequencies on Monday. Tonight will be our first show at the new spot on the dial of 100.5. There are billboards around town alerting the masses to the change. Maybe a few people see it and tune in to see what community radio is all about. Maybe a few who haven't heard will tune in expecting "world class rock". Either way, I thought I'd spend the hour tonight playing clips of former episodes. If you've seen the What's So Funny? YouTube channel, you'll have heard these, with the exception of one. If not, tune in for some fun conversational snippets of past shows. As always, we're also available in live streaming format at coopradio.org. But if you're tuning in by radio, remember 100.5. Same bat time, different bat channel.

Kliph Nesteroff on WTF with Marc Maron

Big ups to local boy Kliph Nesteroff, who is on the latest episode of WTF with Marc Maron. This is huge. Maron is the modern-day Johnny Carson in that it's a real mark of honour for a comic (and comedy-related people) to get on the show. And when they do, legions of fans can follow. I haven't heard the episode yet because I'm a bit anal in that I have to listen to them in order. I've been listening since the very beginning and have heard every single episode all the way through. Maron does two a week, which is a little exhausting, and who has the time to listen as soon as they come out? Not I. Nesteroff is on episode 314 while I'm currently in the middle of episode 301, so it'll be a week or two before I get to it. But I'm sure it's excellent.

Funny story: A few weeks ago I was in Victoria for the Blue Bridge Comedy Festival. I'm standing in line outside what used to be Harpo's (I can't keep up with the name changes in my hometown) to get in to Maron's show. Marc wanders around outside, spots me, and comes up to talk for a bit. He engages a few of the excited fans around me then says he's got to go in. After he left, an older man behind me asks if I know him. I say, "A little bit. But I'm still standing in line so obviously not that much." I tell the guy I've interviewed him a few times and that I do a podcast, too. He asks the name of it and I dutifully tell him What's So Funny? "Oh!" says the guy. "I know that one. You had Kliph Nesteroff on!"

The guy didn't know Kliph, he was just a fan of Kliph's blog and had searched him out on the podcast. Small world. I messaged Kliph to relate the story to him but he didn't tip me to the fact he'd probably already, by this time, recorded his own chat with Maron. So it was a surprise to me when I learned this week that he'd be on.

If you're stumbling onto this blog because you've just learned of Kliph, he's been a guest on What's So Funny? five times, dating back to 2004. The last time, recorded in January, was a 90-minute affair. Since I've yet to hear the WTF one, I don't know if he told any of the same stories, but he told some pretty great ones. You might want to check it out. (And if you're new to this show, I've also had Maron on twice.)

Here's the latest Nesteroff episode of WSF? And to hear him with Maron, follow this link.

Podcast episode 289ish: The Comic Strippers

Take off your shirt and enjoy an hour of conversation with the Comic Strippers. Roman "Chip" Danylo, Ken "Chip" Lawson and Chris "Chip" Casillan talk about their goof on male strippers. But it's not all Ping-Pong balls and shower scenes. They also reflect on what Labour Day means to them. It may very well be the last episode Lawson makes, or the last anyone sees of him as he reveals he's off to Prague for a very sketchy job.

Have a naked gander right here or download the episode at iTunes.