Podcast episode 431ish: Jy Harris

I told you the podcasts would be coming fast and furious for the next little while. Two days after posting Simon King's episode, we've got Jy Harris for y'all! It had been six long years since Jy was last with us and he returned a new man. He's found peace in his personal life. Or at least is on a never-ending quest for it. The guy meditates, is a vegan, reads new-age spiritual books, and experiments with microdoses of psychedelics. All just to get over feeling the Bern for the last eight months. We also talk about his real-life Jerry Springer-like upbringing and real-life Jerry Springer experience. Julian Angel-Joynt also makes an appearance to recite a pretty cool slam poem.

Here you go. Start listening. And keep going until it ends.

Aug. 28: Brett Martin

Brett Martin first (and last) was on What's So Funny? in 2009 when he first moved to Vancouver, if memory serves. He's back. The guy tours all over Canada doing standup. In September he's hosting a live talk show at Yuk Yuk's on Cambie with sidekick Sam Tonning. Only tonight I'll be asking the questions. See how he likes that. And I'll probably ask him some of the questions I asked back seven years ago because memory doesn't always serve.

We're on the air on 100.5 FM in Vancouver tonight at 11 pm. You can livestream us at coopradio.org or your TuneIn Radio app. So listen, why don't you?

Podcast episode 430ish: Simon King

We've got some catching up to do, podcast-wise. To get things back on track, here's the episode with Simon King recorded at the end of July. Mighty Mouth was back in studio after a 7.5 year absence. We talked about the Canadian ghettos of England, comedy intermissions (pros and cons), protest comedy, Donald J. Trump, funny voices, and political correctness. He also amazes me with his Asberger's-like knowledge of World War I aces.

 Get started on this immediately because more will be coming fast and furious. You can click below or download us at iTunes, Stitcher or wherever you happen to get your podcasts.

Aug. 21: Jason Bryden

JB is back! Jason Bryden was last with us in 2011. He's since moved to the centre of the universe (Toronto) but was back in town for a family visit and I scooped him up. We recorded this a couple weeks ago. It's always fun talking to JB. And it's fun listening to him, too. He's quit comedy but is always funny. You recognize him from every other commercial on TV. That guy with the horns on the right? Yeah, that's him. Pretty accurate resemblance, too. Jason's joined the podcast bandwagon. His new baby is called In the Dark with Jason Bryden and it's available on iTunes and Stitcher and on its own website. Check it out. But only after you listen to him on What's So Funny?

We hit the airwaves at 11 pm on 100.5 FM in Vancouver. Jason in Toronto can livestream us at coopradio.org or on any reputable radio app.

Aug. 14: Tim Nutt

Tonight we finally get to talk to Tim Nutt. The veteran (some would say legendary) comic has been doing comedy since 1993 and started right here in Vancouver, yet he's never been on the show before. He was headlining the Comedy MIX this weekend and I spoke with him on Friday late afternoon in the showroom. You've seen him on Just For Laughs if you've ever watched Just For Laughs because he's done so many of them. He's toured the country with the Just For Laughs comedy caravan, too. He manages all these big gigs despite living in the comedy outpost of West Kelowna (or the dark side of the moon, as he puts it). He's also in the running for SiriusXM's Top Comic competition with 25 grand on the table. Go vote for your favourites. Tim hopes it's him but won't force you.

We're on 100.5 FM tonight at 11 pm in Vancouver. Tune in! You can livestream us at coopradio.org, too, if you'd rather.

Aug. 7: Jy Harris

I can't keep track of Jy Harris but for one glorious night I'll know where he is – in the What's So Funny? studios. Jy was born in Ontario, started his standup career on the west coast, then moved to Toronto, and now... is back? I think. He is tonight anyway. We'll find out for sure. He's only been with us once before and that was way back in 2010. What's he been up to since then? Doing standup, acting, performing slam poetry, making videos, and feeling the Bern, sure, but what else? Hopefully he tells us. That photo to the right, by the way, has not been altered in any way. He really does give off that electricity when he's on stage. He's a live wire, that Jy.

We're on the air at 11 pm on CFRO 100.5 FM in Vancouver. You can livestream us at coopradio.org and elsewhere. Honestly.

July 31: Simon King

2009? Really? That was the last time Simon King joined us on What's So Funny? Get outta here. Regardless, he's back tonight. We've got tons of catching up to do. I know he lived for a good chunk in England. Maybe still does. He's back now. We'll find out for how long. And we'll find out if he's affected a British accent. I also know he's headlining a night of "protest comedy" at the Rickshaw on August 13. We'll find out what he's protesting.

We'll find out lotsa stuff so tune in to 100.5 FM tonight at 11 pm. Or stream us on one of them fancy radio streaming apps. Or at coopradio.org. Go for it.

Podcast episode 429ish: Jeff Cooper & Grahaeme Cowie

Wednesday marks the big release of the pilot of Impotents so I say it's high time we release the podcast episode featuring the fathers of the animated series, Jeff Cooper and Grahaeme Cowie. The pair have known each other since high school where they would meet by the smoking doors and swap their doodles. When they decided to form an animation studio, they came to a fork in the road: Would they name it Smoking Doors Animation or Swap Your Doodles Studio? The former won out. And the rest is history. In this episode, they talk about their baby, Impotents, which features four super-cool buddies: Jesus, Buddha, Ganesh, and Artemis. Get all the latest on the project on their Facebook page.

Listen to the whole thing below. Or go download the episode at iTunes or Stitcher or wherever you can find it.

July 3: Jeff Cooper & Grahaeme Cowie

After a couple of highlight episodes, we are back tonight with actual real live human guests. Jeff Cooper and Grahaeme Cowie from Smoking Doors, a small animation studio here in Vancouver, are making their What's So Funny? debut. The pair has been developing a series over the past three years and they're ready to release their pilot to the world this month. The show is called Impotents and is not, contrary to the title, about erectile dysfunction. It tells the story of four super buddies: Jesus, Buddha, Ganesh and Artemis. Not just four people with famous names – the originals themselves! All living in the modern world. Take a gander at the trailer:




We'll talk all about the project and the issues it tackles. And we'll find out all about the fellas themselves.


Tune in tonight at 11 pm on co-op radio 100.5 FM. If you can't find your radio, you can always livestream us at coopradio.org. That'll do the trick. Talk at you then.

Podcast episodes 427ish and 428ish: 2015 Highlights

Did you miss our 2015 Highlights episodes, parts I and II? Fret not, they're here for your dancing pleasure. Right here in these two episodes you get the whole of 2015 in a proverbial nutshell. Snippets from every single show and guest we had that year. There's no way you heard all these episodes in their entirety. And even if you did, there's no way you can remember everything. These will either spur you on to check out the originals, or send you back in time to relive some of the great moments we had.

They're pretty self-explanatory so just hit play and start your time travelling journey. Links work below (or they should, anyway). If you'd rather go the iTunes or Stitcher route (or any other route), I'm okay with that.

2015 Highlights, Part I:


2015 Highlights, Part II:

Podcast episode 426ish: Glen Foster

Glen Foster is one of the founding fathers of Canadian standup. In 1982, he voyaged west with a ragtag bunch of comedian's from Toronto's Yuk Yuk's and brought laughs to our shores. God bless him. He's been bringing laughs to citizens from sea to sea ever since then. In this episode, we talk about that early trip as well as growing older and, as always with Foster, politics. I try my best to convince him that our dear leader, Justin, is doing good work. I get him to budge a little. Baby steps.

The episode is ready to go for you below. Or if you'd like to savour it, go download it at iTunes or Stitcher.

Highlights from 2015 (part 2)

Happy Father's Day. Tonight we've got six dads with us... plus 17 other guests. All magically teleported from 2015. That's right, it's our final installment of our highlights from all our shows in 2015. Surely you missed some of these the first time around. This might spur you on to check them in full out on iTunes or Stitcher. They're all readily available. Tonight we hear clips from the following (listed here in alphabetical order but we'll play them in a loose thematic order): Paul Anthony, Janice Bannister, Ian Boothby, Daniel Chai, Garrett Clark, Chad Daniels, Tanyalee Davis, David Dedrick, Fatima Dhowre, Robyn Daye Edwards, Chip Ellis, Mark Friebe, Goldie Hoffman, Jesse Joyce, Robert Kelly, Kathleen McGee, Aaron Read, Dylan Rhymer, Jacob Samuel, Erica Sigurdson, Bobby Slayton, Sheila Sharma, and Ron Vaudry.

Tune in to CFRO 100.5 FM in Vancouver at 11 pm. Or livestream us at coopradio.org or your favourite radio-listening app.

June 12: Highlights from 2015 (part 1)

Earlier this year, I was listening to another podcast and they were playing highlights from their past year. What a grand idea, I thought to myself. It's too late now, but at the end of 2016, I'll do a highlight show. I gathered clips as we've gone along this year so I'm ready.

I was enjoying them so much, I thought about all the other years we've been on the air. So I started with the most recent one, 2015, and whenever I got a spare few minutes, I'd find clips from each of the episodes that year. There were 38 shows that year and I'm including clips from every single one of them. We'll do 19 this week and 19 next week.

Tonight you'll hear from (listed in alphabetical order but we'll go thematically when we play them): Dino Archie, Diana Bang, Steve Bays, Matt Bilinski, Andy Cañete, Graham Chittenden, Ewan Currie, Kate Davis, Ryan Hamilton, Mark B. Hughes with Jason Kryska, Ron Josol, Jesse Joyce (twice), Sean Lecomber, Lauren McGibbon, Craig Northey, Melanie Rose, Marcus Ryan, Dan Quinn, and Glenn Wool. A star-studded cast!

Tune in tonight at 11 in Vancouver on CFRO 100.5 FM or livestream us at coopradio.org.

June 5: Glen Foster

You know that Canadian guy who goes by the handle That Canadian Guy? Well, I've got him on What's So Funny? tonight. Glen Foster is his name, which you know if you've been following standup comedy in this country for the past 30 years. The Toronto comic has been with us before. The first visit is one of the lost episodes not available to the good people of Earth, although maybe it's floating around in space somewhere. The second visit was way back in 2012. Glen was in town headlining the local Yuk Yuk's when we sat down in his hotel room for a conversation which airs this very evening.

I'll hit the 'play' button at 11 pm on CFRO 100.5 FM so tune in. If you're listening from Toronto, you'll want to stream us at coopradio.org at 2 am.

Podcast episode 425ish: Camille Mitchell

This episode is all about acting. We get tales from old Hollywood (and New York) as well as Camille Mitchell has been in the acting game her whole life, even if it took her a while to realize it. She's the daughter of bona fide Hollywood star Cameron Mitchell, who acted alongside such legends as Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole, and guested on virtually every single TV show in the '70s. Camille grew up in Vancouver (she explains how that happened), studied theatre at UBC and in London and tells us stories about cracking up on stage, being swarmed by Japanese tourists demanding autographs, working with Superman, and being punked by Burt Reynolds. What's even more exciting – this is her podcast debut!
Canadian stage and screen.

Listen, won't you? You can click on the gizmo below or go find us on iTunes, Stitcher, or some such place and download us to your device. Do it!

May 29: Lauren McGibbon

Lauren McGibbon is back! She was just with us in September, but this time there's a new wrinkle – she'll be talking with Colleen Brow this time. As you may or may not have noticed, Colleen has been doing the last Sunday of each month. So far she's just done comedy clip shows, but the night is hers to program and tonight she programmed a guest. Lauren is a very funny improviser with Vancouver TheatreSports League. So tune in to CFRO 100.5 at 11 pm and hear what they have to talk about. You can livestream the show, too, if that's your preference, at coopradio.org. I'll be listening... will you?

Podcast episode 424ish: Jessica Holmes

It's the world podcast premiere of Canada's darling, Jessica Holmes! Right here, right now (or whenever you download and listen to it). Holmes was in town from her base in Toronto doing a corporate charity gig so I nabbed her for the program. Holmes started in standup (well, improv in high school) before getting known as a sketch performer on television with the Royal Canadian Air Farce and her own vehicle, The Holmes Show. These days, she doesn't hang around comedy clubs much and she tells us why. We also get into her background as a missionary for the LDS church in Venezuela. What?! Yes, it's true. She also talks about depression and the importance of having different interests from one's spouse. Oh, and because WSF? is a Celine Dion-free zone, I didn't get her to do her most famous impression. Sorry about that.

So here you go. Have at it. Click below and start enjoying this world premiere. Or go download the show on iTunes or Stitcher or wherever else you download fine podcasts.

May 22: Camille Mitchell

Tonight on the old program, we've got a real-life thespian. Camille Mitchell has been acting on stages in Vancouver and across Canada for decades. And she's acting on screens since 1980 (according to imdb). She also starred as Sheriff Nancy on Smallville for a few seasons. On top of that, her dad, Cameron Mitchell, was a big-time Hollywood star, appearing in literally hundreds of movies and TV shows, acting alongside of the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Orson Welles, Clark Gable and countless others. Should be a good conversation (spoiler alert: it is. We recorded this a few weeks ago).

So tune in tonight to 100.5 FM at 11 pm to hear lots of tales of professional acting. You can livestream us at coopradio.org.

May 15: Jessica Holmes

Tonight we've got Canada's darling, Jessica Holmes, on What's So Funny? She was all over our TV sets not that long ago. She had her own sketch show, The Holmes Show, and then became a castmember of the long-running Royal Canadian Air Farce. Holmes is a quadruple threat: not only is she proficient at standup, sketch and improv, she's also an in-demand motivational speaker. So if you've been wondering where she's been the last few years, she's been on stages all across the country regularly; they're just not open to the public. She's doing corporate work. We talk all about that and tons more tonight. I know this because we pre-recorded the show a few weeks ago when she was in town doing a fundraiser. Oh, and while she's done tons of TV and radio before, this was her first ever podcast (yes, it technically counts as just radio tonight but in a few days when the podcast drops, it'll be a world exclusive!).

Tune in tonight at 11 pm to CFRO 100.5 FM. If you're somewhere other than Vancouver, take into consideration our Pacific time zone and livestream us at coopradio.org.

Podcast episode 423ish: Richard Lett

Say what you will about Richard Lett, but the man is compelling. He's been on the show lots and we never run out of things to talk about. In this episode, recorded on a park bench, we talked about acting, auditions, thrift stores, serendipity, addiction, Oscar Wilde and Epicurus. Oh, and his one-man show, Sober But Never Clean. He even spontaneously performs a long slam poem he wrote. I turned it into a beat poem by dubbing in a walking bass line and drummer. Sounds cool. Snap your fingers.

Have a listen. Click below or go download us at iTunes or Stitcher or some place like that.