Maria Ciampa: The Interviewer Interviewed

It’s a simple concept – Maria Ciampa sits down with her husband Justin Carr and a camera or two, and asks him questions, which he does his best to answer. This is the gist of the achingly funny video series, Interviews With My Husband, that Ciampa has been producing for nearly a year. She just released the eighth installment, “Catchphrases,” and several more are in the works.

It works because of Ciampa’s questions, alternating between mundane and absurd, and also because Carr, a DJ by trade, has a wonderful deadpan. It all feels quite quaint on the surface, but there is a real edge to some of the questions that makes you wonder if there is a real, contentious issue between them (why doesn’t she like the beer he brews?).

Here Ciampa gives us a behind-the-scenes look at Interviews With My Husband, including the comic strips that started it, and what we might expect in March when she debuts a few more installments at the Women In Comedy Festival at ImprovBoston, a festival Ciampa co-founded.

This will all make more sense if you watch the latest video before you read the interview. So here ‘tis:



Maria Ciampa, was there a particular conversation or experience that led you to think Interviews with My Husband would make a good video series?

There were many many particular conversations that led me and Justin to create IWMH (like how I shortened that? because I don’t have the TIME to write out Interviews with My Husband, Nick. I just don’t have the time to write all that out.)

One of the first conversations that led to IWMH was on the night before our wedding. We were in Puerto Rico, at a place on the beach in San Juan, and we were getting ready for bed, as if we’d already been married for 70 million years, and I noticed Justin kept his socks on as he got into bed. It was really hot, so I asked him why he was sleeping in his socks. He said, “So I don’t get cold feet.” It was then that I knew I was about to marry a man who I could decide then and there was either really hilarious, or a total retard. I chose both.

The beginnings of IWMH was actually a cartoon that I write, and comedian, illustrator and host of the storytelling show A Night of Oral (Tradition) Jess Sutich illustrates. I would tell her about our conversations, and since she’s a patient friend who was probably drinking a glass of wine at the time, she would listen and say, “I can do that in a comic strip.” And I was like, “Yes, do that.”

The comics are online here. Here’s the one I just described, so if it’s not funny to you, it’s because you just read it in story form a second ago, or because it’s Old Tyme pun-like humor, which for some reason you don’t find funny.

Here’s another one.

And here’s one I really love.

Maria Ciampa, why do you begin every question to Justin Carr by saying the name, Justin Carr?

His name is so succinct, so concise. So easy to say. I need to say the whole name. I don’t just do that when I interview him, I call him Justin Carr all the time, whether I’m happy, angry, hungry. Those are my three main states, really. I call him “Justin Carr” in rain, sleet, snow, in sickness and in health. Except during sex. That would be weird.

Maria Ciampa, do you agree that the joke of using someone's first name before every question works much better in your videos than it does here in print?

I disagree. You have won with the joke of calling me by my full name, Nick A. Zaino III.



Are the videos mostly improvised? Do you run through different takes and edit the best ones?

I see now you are asking about my “artistic process,” Nick A. Zaino III. Let me share.

I come from an improv background, and I believe in the power of improv in creating material. I also believe in honing that material before it’s put out there. So Justin and I hang out and improvise, then I write it down, then we improvise again, and find more funny within what has been written. After that, we lock down a script, and rehearse only 3 times. More than that kills it. Justin is not an actor, does not like to be on stage, but for some reason the camera loves him, and he is totally comfortable in front of it. Probably because he’s so friggin hot. But I digress. Then, we memorize our lines (well, Justin does, I use a cue card) and voila! Expert director of photography Jacob Lipcon and masterful video editor Sasha Goldberg create the hilarity that you see on film.

How often do you plan on making episodes of this series? Do they just come about when you have set of questions you think will work with the premise?

We release a new episode every 6 or so weeks.

Many scripts are already written and waiting to be shot. Justin and I have conversations daily that are scribbled on scraps of paper, the back of envelopes, and Justin’s face in sharpie while he’s sleeping, that will eventually become new episodes.

Plans for the spring include:

Shooting on location at a supermarket, park, yoga studio, and other exciting places.

Reversing the roles and having Justin interview me

Taking questions from viewers for me to ask Justin, and for Justin to ask me. We already got one great suggestion: ask Justin about ex-girlfriends, which I do all the time since I can’t believe he’s ever like any other lady but me.

Justin debuting a special “sports” episode, where he interviews me about sports, especially football, about which I care and know nothing.

Inviting Justin on the WICF Comedy Podcast, downloadable on iTunes, and streaming here.

Will you be debuting any of these at festivals or shows, like your upcoming Women in Comedy Festival?

Funny you should ask, Nick A. Zaino III! Justin and I will be debuting some of these at the Women in Comedy Festival, March 24 - 28, 2010 at ImprovBoston and Mottley’s Comedy Club! I would check out the web site for exact show times.

Joe Wong's Letterman spot 2/12

Joe Wong returned to the Late Show with David Letterman last night a television veteran, less than a year after making his television debut on the show in April of 2009. Another solid set, with an inspirational message to those who don't like to wash their hands.

Just For Laughs back in Boston

Jeff Singer is back in town this year looking for comedians for this summer’s Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. As I have noted before, Boston has been a valuable source of talent for the Festival in the past, from established comics like John Pinette, who kills there every time he’s on the bill, to their showcase for up-and-coming comedians.

Singer will be at The Comedy Studio tomorrow and Tommy’s Comedy Lounge Monday (the Tommy’s show is a benefit for Haitian earthquake relief, as well) to see a couple dozen of the best Boston has to offer (see the full line-ups below). I caught up with Singer this week to take about what he’s looking for this year, keeping the New Faces under wraps, and some of the other shows JFL has on tap.

Are there any comics you saw at last year’s auditions that you made a point to get back on the bill at this year’s auditions?

I generally defer to the club bookers/owners to choose the showcase lineups. They're in tune with the local scene and get to see the comics year round. I've built strong relationships with the clubs over the years so I trust their recommendations. Occasionally I may hear about someone local through the grapevine. If they're not on the preliminary list I'll ask that they be added, pending space. That happened with Philadelphia this year, which I am attending tonight. The club owners sometimes ask me the question you posed. So I'll tell them who I'd like to see again, but it's rarely a surprise. There are instances when I ask to see someone whom the club has no intention of bringing back. It happened this season.

The clubs and I don't always see eye to eye but I think that's healthy and can be mutually beneficial. In this case the club gladly accommodated my request. The comic did well, and it opened the owner's eyes to see her in a different light. Conversely, I can recall times when the club pushes their favorites, hyping them as slam dunks. I'll see them and just not get it. But then after some time, I'll take another look and eventually see what the owner saw. So you never know. I'd rather not specify names in Boston, but honestly there's been such a solid batch over the last few years. It becomes more of a question of how to fit all the great comics we're tracking along with first timers on one bill. And by the way, it's not only New Faces I'm showcasing. See the next answer below.

Any changes in what you’re looking for this year?

Not really. Same criteria with New Faces: Unique, original voices with distinct traits that set them apart from the pack. And of course they've got to have all the fundamentals down pat. Also as in seasons past, I'm looking for more than New Faces. We have other shows such as the televised Galas, for which I now serve as set consultant; Masters; The Ethnic Show; Amp'd (The Music theme show); The Relationship Show; Nasty Show; Nasty Girls; Alternative; Uptown, Frizzy Hair show, etc. Plus we're entering our second Just For Laughs Festival in Chicago which has its own needs. There's also JFL Toronto and cross-Canada touring. The growth has been tremendous and I'm thrilled to be scouting for all these endeavors.

Did anyone you picked last year do well at the Festival?

I thought the JFL team (including myself) made some great selections for last year's New Faces. I don't have the list in front of me, but off the top of my head guys like Kumail Nanjiani, Mike Bridenstine, Moshe Kasher, and Pete Holmes all shined. And one Boston ex-pat: Myq Kaplan. He's still considered a Bostonian, right? I think I once saw him wearing a Yankees cap. I was also proud of Godfrey, a veteran comic I pushed for who wound up killing at various shows at all three Festivals.

Any other cities do particularly well in auditions this year?

I've already done showcases in Austin, Minneapolis and Denver. These cities have become staples on my scouting trips. Based on past experience, I'm sure you'll see New Face comics make the final cut from at least two of those towns. I was in Seattle a few months ago for their comedy competition and got to see some good comics from around the country. A few from Boston, actually. I am just starting my East Coast leg: Philadelphia, Washington, New York and Boston. Then in March I go to Atlanta. Plus there are the taped showcases for cities I don't get to attend live. Those are important too. Last year we gave callbacks to comics from Indianapolis and Cleveland based on viewing tape.

Did you have anything to do with the Red Cross benefit aspect of the show at Tommy’s?

No not at all. That was all their idea. Obviously a great cause to help the people of Haiti so I hope the evening is a success.

How hard is it to keep the list of New Faces comics from leaking to the press early?

It's not so hard to keep it from the press unless you bribe me with clam chowder. I like Manhattan not New England, sorry.

The bigger challenge is keeping the list under wraps from "the industry." I live in L.A. now and I see how agents, managers, casting directors and other industry executives blanket the preliminary showcases and callbacks. It's much more intense compared to New York. But we try to keep our cards close to the vest and we've learned ways how not to tip our hand. One of the main reasons we do this is to maintain the integrity of New Faces. If the industry jumps all over them prior to the Festival, they're no longer "new." If and when we can, we also prefer to book a handful of New Faces who have no representation so that they can come into the Festival fresh with the potential of being a true "discovery." I may have digressed from your question - I do that - but it's related to why we make an effort to keep the list secret.

Do you think you’d pick anyone up for something other than New Faces?

Yes. I think I already answered that above. If the comic is an appropriate fit for any of our other shows, we'll give him/her serious consideration. I looked at several comedians last year in Boston specifically for Masters. Not sure what's on tap for this season.

Are you looking for specialty shows, as well, like Boston’s Naked Comedy Showcase? Or would you prefer those kinds of things be created in house?

I have heard about this show but haven't seen it. We look for specialty shows all the time, but if it involves multiple stand-ups it has to be something with a unique spin and an ability to draw an audience and sell tickets. A good concept sometimes isn't enough.

Aside from our recurring theme shows, we have developed many specialty shows involving stand up in years past: Dating It and Confessing It to name a few. UCB is also forging a partnership with Just For Laughs and they may bring in some specialty shows under their own umbrella. And we're always expanding our solo series and theatrical shows. But based on what I've heard about Boston's Naked Comedy Showcase, sounds like it's something worth looking at and considering. But if it involves seeing Lenny Clarke butt naked, I'll pass.

The Comedy Studio, Sunday, Feb 14, 8PM: Jessie Baade, Shaun Bedgood, Ahmed Bharoocha, Rick Canavan, Tom Dustin, Josh Gondelman, Brian Longwell, Maggie MacDonald, Steve Macone, Gary Petersen, Ken Reid, Sean Sullivan, Bethany Van Delft.

Tommy’s Comedy Lounge, Monday, Feb 15, 8:30PM: Graig Murphy, Lamont Price, Dave McDonough, Dan Crohn, Kelly MacFarland, Danny Kelly, Dave Russo, Carolyn Plummer, Chris Tabb.

Ralphie May plays Berklee, happily

Onstage, Ralphie May is an aggressive guy. He likes the “in-your-face” approach to comedy, taking on race, talking about his wife, Lahna Turner, in a way that might earn him a continuous slapping at home if Turner were not a fellow comic. But make no mistake, May is a happy guy, and some of his best moments onstage comes when he admits that, and talks about how he would be nowhere without Turner. He’s thankful for everything he’s got – wife and kids, a good home, and a healthy career.

It’s trend that started after May got his show on Last Comic Standing in 2003, and has continued ever since (I spoke to him for the Boston Globe in 2005 about his success). He’s got four specials, including last year’s Austin-tatious, and he’s playing venues like the Berklee Performance Center, where he’ll be Saturday.

I caught up with him via e-mail this week.

When we spoke for the Globe a few years ago, you talked about how thankful you were for being able to settle into a good place to live and being in a good relationship. Did you have to recalibrate how you write comedy after that?
No, if anything it gave me more freedom to be me. I’m still just as much of a filthy, dirty animal. I still like controversial material and I still do what I think is funny.

You had a lot of fun with the birth of April June May in Austin-tatious. Should we expect similar material about August James May?

Ya know what, he’s so chill, he hasn’t really done anything yet that has surprised me. He’s an amazing baby and I haven’t done any jokes specific about him, but I know I’ll have fun with him.

In the liner notes for Austin-tatious, you thank “the angry lesbian at Starbucks that gave me a piece of her mind and listened to you” for “making me think more.” What was that conversation like?

I went into a Starbucks and she seemed mad at me and I usually don’t get that reaction. She told me that she didn’t spit in my coffee, even though she wanted to. She said she heard me on the radio that morning and I was joking that a Prius looks like a “gay” spaceship. Why is “gay” bad? I apologized to her and told her thank you for the new prospective that she was right and that I wouldn’t joke about it anymore. She said thank you she offered me a piece of lemon loaf.

Have you left Last Comic Standing behind at this point? Is it still a credit that sells tickets, or do you find you don’t need to mention it anymore?

I don’t need to mention it, but so many people fell in love with that show at that time. There was a lot going on with the war in Afghanistan and Iraq and people constantly come up to me and tell me how they loved me on that show.

Will you appear on the show when it comes back?

If they asked me to I would. I would arguably be the biggest thing they ever launched (figuratively and literally). That show gave me my start, so I would do anything I could to help them out.

What does it mean to be “politically incorrect” these days? That, to me, always seems to set up a vague sort of straw man enemy – has anyone actually tried to censor you?

The media always tries to censor me. I can’t do parts of my act due to the content and context. I’m always being told to not touch on this subject or that subject. Comedy Central took out a chunk of my act talking about dirty Chinese people. What does being “politically incorrect” mean? Just speaking about what’s on my mind and not worrying who about I’m going to offend. Just like when I talk about Tiger Woods being half Asian and half black. He hit a tree while driving in his own neighborhood, that’s the most Asian thing I’ve ever heard. How about the fact that he slept with all of those women… that’s NBA black. I didn’t make it up, I’m just pointing out the obvious.

You’ve got albums, DVD specials, and you’re playing big rooms. IS there a “next level” you’d like to reach, or are you where you dreamed you’d be someday?

I’m far beyond wherever I dreamed I would be, but I don’t think I’m done yet. Dane Cook plays Madison Square Garden, Larry the Cable guy plays Corn Husker Stadium. I want to perform to bigger audiences. I want to perform around the world. I’m trying to learn Spanish so I can perform to audiences in Central and South America. I want to be a movie star. I’m already bigger and more successful than I ever thought I’d be. I never thought I’d have my own home and now I’ve got two. I never thought I’d drive a nice car and now I’ve got three. I never thought I’d have a beautiful girlfriend and now I’ve got a beautiful wife and 2 healthy children.

Be a part of Ryan Lee Crosby video shoot Saturday

I know the banner above these posts reads “Boston Comedy,” but you will be seeing occasional posts about local music here, too. There are places where local music and comedy intertwine in an obvious way(Rob Potylo/Roadsteamer, The Steamy Bohemians, etc.), but I won’t be limiting music posts to those particular intersections.

With that in mind, I thought I’d pass along info about a video shoot happening at the Boston Boxing gym tomorrow at 5PM. Local singer/songwriter will have his band playing his song “Big Takeover” in the boxing ring, and he says, “We need folks to stand around the ring as enthusiastic spectators.” Crosby says people could expect to be there sometime between six and eight.

To hear some of Crosby’s work, including “Big Takeover,” click here. For more info about the shoot, contact Crosby at ryan@ryancrosby.com.

Brad Mastrangelo headlines Giggles

If you enjoy Brad Mastrangelo, you have all sorts of options this weekend. You can see him do a full headlining set at Giggles on Route 1 on tonight or Saturday, you could see him on a special Valentine’s Day bill at Giggles on Sunday with Tony V headlining and featuring Mark Riley and Johnny Pizzi.

Or, if you’re spending the weekend indoors cowering at the possibility of another devastating snow storm, you can order his DVD, It Just Doesn’t Matter. Mastrangelo self-produced the DVD, shot at Tupelo Music Hall in Derry, NH a little over a year ago. I caught up with Mastrangelo to ask a few questions about the DVD and playing on Valentine’s Day.

What made you decide to produce a DVD?

I actually made a DVD and a CD. I wanted the DVD because I tend to make a lot of facial expressions because a lot of my comedy is storytelling and like a true Italian, it comes out in my expressions.

How did you choose Tupelo Music Hall for it?

I had done a show at The Tupelo once before and it was such a great place. It was intimate and the crowds were great. The owner had just put about 200k into the sound system and lighting because they have a lot of bands there also. People had been asking me to make a DVD for a while but I never really put much thought into it until I worked at this place one time and I new this was the perfect place.

How did you find the production company?

I found the production company up in NH I looked at some of the work they had done and liked it. We did a two camera shoot from different angles and I was very happy with the finished product. Plus they have a full editing studio which I have used to edit different parts of the show to send out. I was just about to get my date for the Tonight Show with Conan and then all hell broke loose. The Jimmy Fallon people have it now and so far they say they like it.



Was it tougher to concentrate on the comedy when you're worrying about all of these other elements?

It wasn't that tough to worry about comedy wile taping because I just wanted to make a good one hour one man show type of thing so fans of my comedy could just watch it. When you are taping or something specific like a TV show it is defiantly more challenging. For this show I just wanted to let it rip and be as natural as I could be.

How has it been selling for you?

The DVD and CD have been selling very well. When I bring them to shows I sell a lot of them plus many people have been going to my website www.bradmastrangelo.com and buying them from there.

Any material in particular you've written for Valentine's Day weekend?

Valentine's Day is great for me because I have a lot of material about marriage that I love to bring out and since there are many couples in the crowd it goes very well. The whole idea of Cupid shooting an arrow at someone to make you fall in love with them is comical to me, today he would have been classified as a stalker.

How big an influence was Lenny Clarke? There's a certain uniquely Boston style for which he is the best example, and you fall very much in that vein.

Me and Lenny have become very good friends over the past five years but the funny thing is I had never seen Lenny do stand up until the time we met. He has been so helpful to me and we often work together doing various fundraisers. Him and his brother Mike, who has also been very helpful to me were a big reason that I was invited to do Comics Come Home with Denis Leary.

More video from Louis C.K.'s upcoming Louie

Louis C.K.'s new FX sitcom, Louie, doesn't debut until April 1, but FX is generating an early buzz with new clips, like the one I posted last week. It's hard to tell from these clips what the actual show will look like once we get to see it 22 minutes at a time (this one's only 20 seconds), but my guess is that this show will hit even closer to home than Lucky Louie.

C.K. won't be able to get away with quite as much in terms of language and nudity, but FX has been loose enough with shows like Nip/Tuck and Rescue Me to imply C.K. will have more than enough freedom with which to tell the stories he wants to tell.

Video has expired as per agreement with FX.

Joe Wong back on Letterman Friday

Joe Wong taped his second appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman on Monday, which will air Friday. Contacted by e-mail, Wong reports that all went well. “The second time is slightly easier,” he said. “I am more familiar with the stage and the theater. I felt that the crowd loved it. I'd have to watch it Friday to know better. I am never calm enough right after a show to judge it.”

Joe won’t have much time to celebrate. He’ll be headlining The Comedy Club at Cheers on Friday and Saturday, running home to watch the spot Friday night. “I like agonizing over a bad set alone (kidding),” he said. “I want to stay at home as much as possible because I am traveling more and more these days.”

In case you missed it, here’s Wong’s Letterman spot from April of last year.

Ahmed Bharoocha heads to Dublin

Ahmed Bharoocha won the Magners Comic Stand-Off this weekend, which means he’ll be traveling to Dublin this fall to perform in the Bulmer’s Comedy Festival. Bharoocha’s comedy also earned him a trip to perform in the Great American Comedy Festival in Johnny Carson’s hometown, Norfolk, Nebraska in June of last year.

And his traveling may not be over. He auditioned for the entertainment company behind Last Comic Standing, New Wave Entertainment, last month, and he’ll perform for scouts from Montreal’s Just for Laughs Festival at The Comedy Studio on Sunday. Pretty good for a guy with a degree in theatre.

How does it feel to perform in a competition? Is it different from a regular set in any way?

I always find competitions a lot more nerve racking than a regular show. Its harder to just have fun on stage because you're being compared to everyone else on the show. Also it adds a little tension back stage sometimes because instead of just a bunch of comics hanging out doing what they love we are now pitted against each other.

Have you ever played outside of the US? What are your thoughts on playing Ireland?

I have never played outside the US but have always wanted to. I am so excited to play in Ireland. I am half Irish and I really feel that I got a lot of my sense of humor from that side of the family. Growing up thats always what being Irish meant most to me; having a sense of humor. But at the same time I've very nervous to see if my humor translates over seas. Esp because it doesn't always translate over state borders.



How did the New Wave audition go?

I felt really good about the New Wave audition. The show was a blast and the people from New Wave were super friendly. I was offered a CD deal, but I decided it wasn't the right time for me to put one out. Since I don't often get chances to do sets that are 45 minutes long I would feel that I'd want to put out a 45 min long CD yet.

How was the Great American Comedy Festival last year?

The Great American Festival was both very great and very American.
I had such a fun time meeting so many talented comedians from around the country. It was one of the biggest things I've ever been a part of and also one of the first times I've ever played middle America. It was so interesting to play another part of America and learning what jokes work and what jokes don't.

How are all of these gigs outside of Boston influencing your comedy? How do your experiences playing outside of Boston compare with playing locally?

I think it helps so much to travel and do shows outside your comfort zone. It forces you to see how your material holds up to different types of crowds. Also you meet other comedians with very different roots and influences and can learn a lot from them. Its interesting to see that different areas really respond very differently to certain jokes. Performing locally to performing outside Boston is almost like playing away games and home games in a sport.

You aren't in familiar territory and you feel like you don't have home court advantage but you can still go home with a win.

Any other news coming up to talk about?

This Sunday at the Comedy Studio I'll be auditioning for the Montreal Comedy Festival. Also my sister Maureen's movie Abajee, that I Assistant Directed on, will be showing at the Santa Barbara Film Festival this week.

Guest reviewer Brian Joyce on Jennifer Coolidge

Boston native and Emerson grad Jennifer Coolidge was in town playing the Comedy Connection Wilbur Theatre on Saturday. Coolidge is an extremely talented comic actress who can turn a throwaway line into a punchline (See Best in Show, how she drags out the simple "Errm... me, too" into a bizarre rejoinder). But you can measure her stand-up career in months at this point.

I was covering another show (featuring Lynn's Sean Lynch -- stay tuned for a video interview with Lynch later this week), and I knew Brian Joyce, craetor of AltCom and co-host of the Wednesday night talk show The Whole Truth with Derek Gerry, was going. So I asked him for his thoughts. Here they are.

Joyce's review:

Coolidge did a short set - about 45 minutes - but it was packed with laughs and she left the crowd wanting more. There were a couple obligatory digs at Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, but for the most part she takes an absurdist approach to her storytelling, with not-so-True Hollywood stories about her long-lost scene in "Brokeback Mountain" and the time she got beat out for the role of "woman with flappy vagina" by the "girl at the bottom of the well in 'Silence of the Lambs'."

She played up the ditzy-blonde routine, but her dirty innocence and sultry theatrics make her appear genuine, even vulnerable. Some of the one-liners were a bit obvious, but her stories were funny, engaging, and ridiculous. She seemed as comfortable and confident on stage as many veteran stand-ups.

Video: Rob Potylo (AKA Robby Roadsteamer) Interview

For the first time in his career, Rob Potylo is truly himself. He's no longer Robby Roadsteamer, the over-the-top rock and roll character he created for himself roughly five years ago. He's out of the comedy clubs, and tonight will play a two-hour set at Great Scott by himself, as himself, covering material from his first "solo" album, Worried All the time I'll Make Mistakes. The show starts around 8PM.

After his last project, Super Time Pilot, released an album, on Ernie Boch's label, the band imploded, and Potylo is now self-releasing albums again (visit www.roadsteamer.com for more info). And Mistakes features songs not played for laughs, which might surprise a few fans.

I caught up with Roadsteamer in the place most really big comedy interviews happen, outside of the Texas Roadhouse in Danvers on Route 1, a short walk from a Staples (one of Roadsteam-- er Potylo's former employers). He discusses the new album, his fantastic line-up of guest musicians, his webcom Quiet Desperation, and tonight's show. And if you're watching at work, turn the sound down a tad.

Sean Lynch, Pat O'Shea tape a TV pilot in Lynn

A black box theater in downtown Lynn is probably not the first place you’d think you’d find a crew taping a television pilot. But tonight at the theatre at LynnArts, you will find Sean Lynch, along with several of his comedian friends, shooting what Lynch hopes will be the pilot for a show called The Long Way.

For Lynch, who grew up in a house he says is roughly 20 blocks away from the theatre, this is his “homecoming episode.” Which is part of the reason why a portion of the proceeds from the $15 cover charge will go to a performing arts scholarship for students in Lynn. “There was no theater like this when I was a kid so I want to help,” he says.

The show is “about the strange life of working comics,” says Lynch. Joining Lynch will be Pat O’Shea, Sean Donnelly, Mark Normand, Jordan Carlos, and Scott Wallace. Lynch, who now lives in New York City, counts them all as friends, but chose them specifically for to spice up the narrative. “[They are] five comics I respect who have interesting back stories, flaws, and aspirations. They are also from wildly different backgrounds, incomes, and successes.”

Documentary shows can be a messy affair sometimes, capturing people from unflattering angles or making stupid decisions. But O’Shea, who is also currently based out of New York City, isn’t worried about protecting his private life. “I don't mind people following me with cameras, as long as I'm not too drunk and my pants are still on,” he says. “Sounds interesting, although i'd like it to stay real, and not have everyone aping in front of the camera.”

The show will apparently show each comedian in their home town, with most of that shooting done already. Donnelly was born in Long Island, and Carlos (also known as Stephen Colbert’s black friend Alan from The Colbert Report) in Brooklyn. O’Shea was born in East Milton, Ma, and had his own homecoming of sorts last January with his CD release party at Mottley’s Comedy Club.

There is still a bit of filming left to do, and if the pilot gets picked up, he says it might surface sometime in June. “The pilot will take two months to complete in post,” he says. “We have two more shows to do in New Orleans (Mark's home) and Annapolis (Scott's home).”

The Long Way taping
With Sean Lynch, Pat O’Shea, Sean Donnelly, Mark Normand, Jordan Carlos, and Scott Wallace.
Saturday, Feb. 6, 8PM
LynnArts
25 Exchange Street
Central Square
Lynn, Ma

Ken Reid opens sold-out Patton Oswalt show

There’s a conversation I am convinced will take place sometime today that will be the most fantastically detailed pop culture, zombie-heavy, glorious nerdfest to take place in Boston, possibly ever. That’s because tonight local comedian Ken Reid is opening up the sold out Patton Oswalt show at the Comedy Connection Wilbur Theatre.

Reid has done one-man shows that explain his life through television, music, and John Cusack movies. There are old-school revolving comic book racks in his home. Oswalt did a voiceover for Mike Mignola’s Amazing Screw-On Head (still disappointed that was a one-off), and has professed if he had a time machine, he would use it to go back and prevent George Lucas from making the last three Star Wars movies.

According to Reid, the happy accident happened because Oswalt and former Boston comic Myq Kaplan have the same manager, who asked Kaplan for a few names of possible openers. “Out of those names, for some reason, they chose me,” says Reid.

Don’t expect Reid to overindulge – he thinks it would be unseemly. “I don't really have anything special planned,” he says. ”I'm only doing a 15-20 minute set so it will probably be a few stories, I think one of them involves Boy George, but it probably won't be overly pop culture skewed. I don't want to come across as trying too hard to ape Oswalt's realm.”

The Wilbur seats about 1200 people for a sold-out show, which Reid believes is the largest crowd he’ll have played to as a comedian. As a singer, though, his old band, 30 Seconds Over Tokyo, played comparable places once or twice. “I'm not sure how many people were at the Boston Music Awards at Avalon,” he says, “but I think that was a pretty big venue.”

Reid is in the planning stages for another show or two, the details of which are still being hammered out. “I'm working on a story telling show that would involve more people than just me,” he says. “I'm also trying to see if I can make some full length shows about comic books and horror movies work for a general audience.”

A sampling of Mr. Reid's work:

A preview of Louie, Louis C.K.'s new FX sitcom

Louis C.K. announced his new sitcom, Louie, with a hilariously off-color video on LouisCK.net in November. Here we have our first look at the show, which debuts April 1 at 10PM on FX. If Lucky Louie was an autobiographical show about marriage and kids, Louie looks to be equally autobiographical, this time about a single dad trying to raise two kids.

Here's the clip (note: I can only keep this on the site until April 8, when I will have to take it down at the request of the network).



In other Louis C.K. news, his new stand-up special, Hilarious, get a warm reception at the Sundance Festival last month, the first stand-up special to debut there. Here's a report from Ain't It Cool News, plus bonus clips.

Quiet Desperation Episode 17

Robby Roadsteamer/Rob Potylo has a new solo album to promote. So obviously, the thing to do is visit Santa in New Hampshire and eat a big bag o' mushrooms. Also, the return of Chippah!

It's all here in Episode 17 of Quiet Desperation.

Magners Comedy Festival kicks off Thursday with contest, showcases

The Magners Comedy Festival kicks off three days of comedy at Tommy’s Comedy Lounge and Nick’s Comedy Stop Thursday, starting with the backbone of the Festival, the Comic Stand Off. Ten comics will compete for a chance to be a headliner at the Bulmer’s Comedy Festival in Dublin this fall (plus a trip for two to Dublin).

There will also be a few showcase shows, like Friday’s “New York vs Boston” at Tommy’s, hosted by Sean Sullivan and featuring Tom Dustin, Lamont Price, Graig Murphy, and Carolyn Plummer for the hometown team, and Tom McCaffrey, Kenny Zimlinghaus, Jesse Popp, and Sara Shaefer for NYC. Friday at Nick’s is the Best of Boston with Jimmy Dunn, Mike McDonald, and Juston McKinney.

Saturday is the Stand Off Final hosted by Jim Colliton, and a late night “Comedy Confessions” show at 11PM hosted by Tom Dustin and featuring Dave Russo, Sean Sullivan, Robby Roadsteamer, Mehran, Lamont Price, and Ken Reid. Plus, as reported early, Gary Gulman has sold out his 8:30 show Saturday at Nick’s, and has added a second show at 6:30.

Magners chose Boston to host the Festival not only because they are based here, but, according to U.S. Trade Marketing Manager Kevin Murphy, “because we felt it was hot bed of comic talent. With a number of famous comedians past and present coming from the area it was a natural choice.”

They chose Tommy’s and Nick’s so they could host simultaneous events in the adjoining clubs and give it a true festival feel, and they expect to make this an annual event. “It would have been easy to jump on an existing festival as a sponsor,” says Murphy, “but we really wanted to take grow a grassroots comedy festival that we could call our own, year after year. Given the success of the Magners/Bulmers Comedy festivals overseas we are poised to grow our festival to their status and make a name for own festival.”

Score Patton Oswalt tickets with the Connection's "Big Fan" contest

When I checked Ticketmaster yesterday, there were only a few single seats left for Patton Oswalt's show at the Comedy Connection Wilbur Theatre on Friday. By the time you read this, those will probably be gone. So the Comedy Connection Wilbur Theatre is giving away the last pair of tickets on their Facebook page.

To try to win the tickets, you have to friend the Wilbur on Facebook, and sometime between midnight tonight and 2PM EST on Thursday, post a photo on the Wilbur's wall that demonstrates why you are a "big fan" of Oswalt's. If you win, you'll be notified by Thursday at 6PM.

Click here to go to the contest page.

New Gary Gulman show added at Nick's

Peabody native Gary Gulman is returning to Boston again to headline the Magners Comedy Festival at Nick's Comedy Stop on Saturday. He's already sold out the 8:30PM show, so Magners has added an early show, at 6:30PM at Nick's.

Gulman also sold out several shows at Mottley's Comedy Club in December.

See this space Wednesday for more info on Magners's stand-up competition.

Howard Zinn, RIP

Nearly eight years ago, I had the privilege of interviewing historian Howard Zinn for my Comedy Notes column in the Boston Globe. Zinn dies of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 87.

When I was writing the column, I made a point to try to stretch a bit beyond just what was happening in the clubs, and in this case, I got to explore the relationship between Zinn and political satirist Barry Crimmins. I was thrilled the Globe accepted the premise of the column, which was published in 2002. What follows is the unedited version of the column I submitted, which I believe shows a slightly different side of Zinn.

Where comedy and politics meet
June 21, 2002

In its base form, comedy is about contradictions. Whether it’s an Adam Sandler movie about a rough and tumble misfit in a refined environment or a Tom Stoppard play about lost Shakespearian characters. When comedy turns political, as is the case with comedian Barry Crimmins, that contradiction takes the form of dissent. The job of the political comedian is to question consensus and common wisdom. Crimmins has been doing that since the Reagan administration, taking on subjects from the Iran-Contra hearings up to Enron and Afghanistan.

“Even mainstream humor trades in dissent, whether it be about pop culture, family life or any number of subjects considered by comedians,” says Crimmins. “Sassing back at things that encroach upon our lives is funny. It provides relief and refutation. Different answers to mind-numbing and predictable nonsense make us laugh.”

About ten years ago, Crimmins found a partner in dissent when he met controversial historian Howard Zinn, the subject of a documentary for which Crimmins will host a fundraiser this Sunday at the Green St. Grill. The two began to cross paths in the eighties, speaking at the same rallies and attending each others’ lectures and shows. For his part, Zinn was thrilled to see a comedian with a knowledge of history and politics.

“I had seen him perform, and was knocked out by his combination of comedy and politics, which I hadn’t seen before anywhere,” says Zinn. “That is, not since I was watching Dick Gregory, or, you know, that generation. But in this generation, he was the first comic I’d run into who had political intelligence.”

Zinn’s influence on Crimmins stretches back to the seventies, when his sister returned from studying at B.U., where Zinn is professor emeritus, and turned her younger brother on to Zinn’s work. Later, while Crimmins was helping to create Boston’s eighties comedy boom at the Ding Ho club in Inman Square, he was reading Zinn’s books, including A People’s History of the United States, a landmark work in the alternative history movement.

Neither of them can recall exactly when they first started talking on a regular basis, but they’ve been friends for more than ten years. Though Crimmins left Boston in 1994, he and Zinn still get together to drink coffee and talk about world affairs whenever they’re in the same city. Crimmins cites Zinn as a valuable resource for and influence on his comedy.

“When I think of Howard, it’s been amazing to me that I can read his stuff and that I actually know him and I can call him up,” says Crimmins.

He remembers a specific moment when he sought perspective from Zinn during a presidential election year. “One day years ago I was upset with the late Senator Tsongas because he was standing in front of a sweat shop announcing that we had to turn to these traditional American values,” says Crimmins. “He was announcing in front of the mills of Lowell that he was going to run for president – it was time we got back to these great values. And so I called up Howard, and he said, ‘Oh, Barry you’ve got to learn about the mill girls of Lowell’. And he told me about these horrible circumstances that these women worked in. I mean, I had read about them before, in Howard’s book. But just being able to call him and have him immediately cite it in detail…”

Zinn also introduced Crimmins on his 1991 CD, Kill the Messenger. “A lot of people would say, ‘Hey, I got Bud Freedman to introduce me’,” says Crimmins, referring to the founder of legendary comedy club The Improvisation. “Well, you know, I got Howard Zinnn. That’s pretty cool.”

Crimmins credits Zinn with the ability to make sense of esoteric political ideas in a way that encourages people to dig a little deeper into the issues. “In theory, I try to do the same thing with my comedy,” says Crimmins. “I try to take a very complex set of world affairs that we deal with and make them accessible to people in a way, and give them things so that they can understand things a little better. And it gives them a chance to refute some of the very oppressive conventional wisdom. And history has been nothing but conventional wisdom for a long time until we started taking different looks at it.”

Zinn believes Crimmins is in a unique position to challenge that conventional wisdom through political comedy. “What distinguishes Barry is that he’s bolder than anybody else, politically,” says Zinn. He believes comedy can be an important vehicle for communicating ideas, albeit an underused one. “To me, comedy can serve a very powerful social purpose, and it has its own special power that ordinary political rhetoric doesn’t have. And so, when it’s missing from the scene, then something very important has gone out of the culture. You know, I think we’re feeling some of that vacuum today.”

As for Crimmins, he acknowledges the limitations of art as a means of effecting immediate change, but does think stand-up comedians can have an impact on politics and society.

“We can continue to be provocative, you know, ask questions,” Crimmins says. “And we can smuggle content to people in the form of pop culture. Just the same as pop culture is used all the time to smuggle other ideas to people, like buy this product, look like this, be like this, go along with this. You can do the same thing and present other ideas.”

Crimmins will host a fundraiser at the Green St. Grill in Cambridge this Sunday for Howard Zinn: A Disobedient History, a documentary in progress. Doors open at two, show starts at three. For info call 617-287-5850.

Wong, Santorelli, Nardizzi and others join Doherty benefit shows for Haiti

Dick Doherty's various clubs around Boston will host events for Haitian relief, with 100 percent of the ticket sales going to the Ester Lafontant Charitable Foundation. The ELCF collects donations to send to Haiti, anything from blankets and candles to wheelchairs. Their Facebook page is here. There will be four shows in all, each with a different line-up, featuring comedians like Joe Wong, Frank Santorelli, Jim Colliton, Paul Nardizzi, and others, each hosted by Dick Doherty.

THE SHOWS:

Feb. 3 - Dick’s Beantown Comedy Escape, 8PM
The Holiday Inn, 195 Westgate Drive, Westgate Mall Brockton
Tickets $25 - Golden Circle $50
Line-up: Frank Santorelli, Paul Nardizzi, Jim Lauletta, Stephanie Peters, and Mitch Stinson, hosted by Dick Doherty.

Feb. 4 - Dick's Beantown Comedy Escape, 8PM
The Old Court Restaurant, 29 Central Street, Lowell Mass
Tickets $25 - Golden Circle $50
Line-Up: Frank Santorelli, Dave Russo, Jim Lauletta, hosted by Dick Doherty.

Feb. 8 - Dick’s Beantown Comedy Vault, 8PM
REMINGTONS Restaurant, 124 Boylston St. at Boylston T Boston
Tickets $25 - Golden Circle $50
Line-up: Joe Wong, Mitch Stinson, Jim Colliton, Robbie Printz, hosted by Dick Doherty

Feb. 10 - Dick’s Beantown Comedy Escape, 8PM
The Crowne Plaza Hotel, 10 Lincoln Square, Downtown Worcester
Tickets $25 - Golden Circle $50
Line-up: Joe Wong, Chris Zito, Mike Whitman, Jim Colliton, Corey Rodrigues, hosted by Dick Doherty.

Jill Gibson's Open Letter to The Boston Phoenix

I found this letter through a link from Lainey SchoolTree's Facebook page. It's an open letter to the Boston Phoenix (thus the title) about the local arts scene, especially the performing arts, and the what's covered, and what's ignored, by the local media written by Jill Gibson of Axe to Ice Productions. She highlights many undercovered institutions on the local scene, including The Steamy Bohemians (a musical comedy duo of which SchoolTree is half). She focuses specifically on the Phoenix's annual "Best" issue.

Her thoughts are worth keeping in mind every time you read a "Best" kind of poll in a newspaper or magazine. These kinds of things are fun popularity contests, but they are often limiting in scope, and rarely reflect a true consideration of what a scene has to offer. That doesn't make them bad, but take them at face value, mostly as a celebration of shows and artists that you probably already know and read about.

But, before I hijack Gibson's point, here is her letter.


1/23/10
Dear Boston Phoenix,

I noticed that your esteemed paper is once again accepting nominations for “Best of” awards and I wanted to address the gaping void in your categories that irks me every year- the continued omission of underground, queer, and independent entertainment that fills this city. With such strict labels on categories, there is no hope for performers and producers like Vanessa White, Artistic Director of Babes in Boinkland, who produced a show for a second consecutive Christmas season that was attended by over 7,000 people (!) and funded on little more than life savings and the faith of a cast that worked at The Slutcracker because they loved it. There is no room for All The Kings Men, who for 8 years have pioneered a new genre in the queer scene, and seem to be recognized all over the country except for Boston. Though there is room for The Steamy Bohemians in comedy categories, these singer/musician/producers have pioneered the way for neo-vaudeville in Boston, and have certainly done it on more than their incredible comedy alone. There is no room for the legions of burlesque dancers, drag performers, aerialists, physical performers, puppeteers and other creative original artists in Boston who create their ongoing vision every day. And there is no room for shows like my company’s Bent Wit Cabaret, which is dedicated to producing the best variety in this great city and committed to working with these artists with a striking point of view.

All of these performers and producers have no funding and work for free or gamble rent whenever a show comes up, or trade amongst themselves in this flourishing community we have created. There is no sponsorship, no bluehairs, no promotional and media budget. Imagine writing a show, sewing your own costume, writing a press release, balancing a budget, creating a website… it’s amazing the skillsets you gather when you’re only you, but to be an artist you have to be all of those other things too, and work a day job to pay rent on top of it.

Boston is often compared to, and found lesser than, New York City. I choose Boston. I love this city. Here we can produce the art we want to produce. We can have a voice and a point of view, and make up the rules without fear. The independent art and theatre community has been for too long bypassed for “real” theater- and for a group of people that is so proud to continually cultivate the landscape of Boston’s flourishing art scene, it is a slap in the face to not have a place to compete in the “Best of Boston” categories. We create original, creative, affordable entertainment in this community and we rightly deserve a place in your nominations categories. Without us, I sincerely believe Boston would not be the same great city. I ask that you consider including our presence in your nominations.

Most sincerely,

Jill Gibson
Producer & Performer
Axe To Ice Productions

Leno Replacement Suggestions

I shot this video last week (originally intended fro another site) before the news became official that Andover native Jay Leno would be moving to the 11:35 time slot, bumping Brookline native Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show back by a half an hour. Since NBC will now have five hours of airtime to fill, I thought I'd give them my suggestions. The video is on my new YouTube channel, FromTheCrawlspace, which will feature odds and ends from my own music and comedy. I'll post something here every so often.

Mitch Stinson takes over Mondays at the Vault

Mitch Stinson has some big shoes to fill taking over as the Monday night host at Dick's Beantown Comedy Vault. Stinson was today officially named to replace Kevin Knox, the beloved local veteran comic who died of cancer in November. Stinson plans to hit the streets and try to drum up a following for his version of the show. Mondays will continue to feature a showcase style show, and Stinson plans to emphasize his fellow comics as much as possible.

"The major difference I plan for Monday nights is that Kevin Knox was the true star of any show," he says, "I plan on making the Boston comedy scene the star of this show. I hope to attract the area's best comediens to put on a quality entertainment experience for Monday nights."

Stinson made the transition from Navy aviator to comedian in 2002, believing he had found his true calling. "I loved my time in the Navy but I always look for new challenges. To be honest with you, I can't think of anything more challenging than being a successful stand-up comedien."

For a few clips of Stinson's work, check out his "Jokes" page on MitchStinson.com.

Joe Wong at Mottley's, on Letterman

Since Joe Wong made his debut on Letterman in April of last year, he's been racking up TV appearances. Ellen DeGeneres is a huge fan, and has tapped him to be on her daytime show and her variety show. His next Letterman appearance is scheduled for February 19 (but keep checking listings, the comedians often get bumped when the show goes long). You can see him in person tonight and tomorrow at Mottley's Comedy Club.

Here's Wong on the red carpet at the American Music Awards for Ellen:

Boston Comedy TV Notes - Myq Kaplan and Shane Mauss

Shane Mauss and Myq Kaplan both taped their half hour Comedy Central Presents... specials in November, and both specials now have official release dates. Mauss's special will air on March 12 at 11:30 PM, and Kaplan's airs April 30 at 11:30 PM. Both have CDs on the way.

Mauss, who is at The Comedy Studio tonight, will also be on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on March 9. Kaplan appeared on the show December 16. Here's the video of the appearance.

Rooftop Comedy spotlights Mottley's

Mottley's Comedy Club is featured on the front page of RooftopComedy.com this week, complete with a link to two pages worth of comedy clips from DJ Hazard, Bethany Van Delft, Josh Gondelman, and a few others, all shot at the club. For the uninitiated, RooftopComedy.com does this with differnt clubs around the country, giving it a pretty deep reach into various local scenes.

Here's a bit of a sample from DJ Hazard's sold-out show in December.

The Black Comedy Explosion welcomes Freddie Ricks tonight

Jonathon Gates hosts Freddie Ricks, whose credits include Shaft and Def Comedy Jam, tonight at the Black Comedy Explosion at Slade's, 958 Tremont Street in Boston. Here's a bit of a sample for the uninitiated:

MC Mr Napkins says TTFN Boston

At about 6AM New Year's Day, Zach Sherwin, a.k.a. MC Mr. Napkins, left Boston on a flight to Los Angeles. But before he left, he hosted one more show at The Comedy Studio, where he has honed his craft these past couple of years. The show featured great sets all around, from Josh Gondelman, Andrew Mayer, Tom E. Morello, and Chris Fleming. Expect to see a Napkins album in the near future on the Comedy Central label.

I caught up with Sherwin in the stairwell of the Studio as he told Boston, ta ta for now.

Women In Comedy: Submission Deadline Extended

If you missed the first deadline for March's Women In Comedy Festival, I just got word from Festival co-creator Maria Ciampa that the submission deadline has been extended until Monday. For more, check the WIC Web site: http://womenincomedyfestival.blogspot.com/

Here's the full announcement:

The Second Annual ImprovBoston Women in Comedy Festival's submission deadline has been extended to Monday, January 11, and both men and women are encouraged to submit for the 2010 festival! This year's festival will be held at IB Mar. 24-28.

Submissions from a variety of genres will be accepted this year, including improvisational comedy, live sketch comedy, stand up comedy, short film / TV pilot, scripted musical comedy, storytelling, and humor writing.

Please see the Women in Comedy Website to download a submission form and learn more about the submission process for each comedy genre.

The festival is a celebration of Boston-area and nationally-known women in comedy. The festival's mission is to create a forum for people to experience the unique comedic expression of women, see strong female and male performers and, most importantly, to have a great time.

Tom Kenny interview from Comedy Central

Before he was the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants, Tom Kenny was a stand-up comedian struggling to find a voice in Syracuse, New York, and then Boston. Kenny doesn't mention Boston specifically in this interview, but the kinds of comedians who work hard on their acts sounds familiar from stories of boom-era Boston Comedy.

SpongeBob SpongeBash
Interview with SpongeBob's Tom Kenny
www.comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

Kevin Knox Celebration of Life Memorial SErvice

For those of you who haven't seen this yet, the Kevin Knox Celebration of Life Memorial Service will be held tomorrow at the Collins Center for the Performing Arts, 80 Shawsheen Road, in Andover. Visiting with the family is from 12-2, and the service begins at 2PM. To RSVP, follow the Facebook link.

Mike Dorval gives Death By Chocolate more of a stand-up spin

When I interviewed Mike Dorval about his Death By Chocolate one-man show for its run at Wellfleet in July, he told me he was happy to announce it was coming to the Boston Center for the Arts in November (it runs Fridays-Saturdays through December). He said then, "Who knows what can happen between August and November?" Apparently, what has happened is a change in his attitude toward the piece.

When Death By Chocolate debuted at the Boston Plyawrights' Theater in February, it was definitely a theatrical one-man show. It was a complete story, about Dorval's struggle with weight and diet, told in scenes with a definite ending.

Dorval says the show has loosened up considerably for the current production. "It's definitely funnier now as I've embraced the stand up side of my nature," he says. "Originally it still had the feeling of something of a monologue but having had the chance to be in front of so many people and interacting with them like I do in my stand up, I have a better understanding of how to relate what I have to say to other people. And I've decided its ok to include things simply because they make me laugh."

And the show may continue to change, as long as Dorval finds new places to do it. "Every night is a little different and I love going in and tweaking and helping the show grow," he says.

Dorval says he has no plans for Death By Chocolate once the current run is over, but he'd love to keep doing it, and interest in the show is growing. "I just know I want it to live on in some form or fashion," he says. "And it will."

Nick DiPaolo taping tonight with Aaron Karo

Those who were planning on going to the Aaron Karo show tonight at the Comedy Connection Wilbur Theatre may have a bit of a surprise waiting for them. Karo will be taping a special, and so will Danvers native Nick DiPaolo. The taping was set up quickly (the folks at the Connection told me they just found out this week). Each will do an hour or so of material. Boston's own Big Nezz will warm up the crowd.

RIP Kevin Knox

Veteran Boston comedian Kevin Knox passed away early this morning after a long battle with cancer. For those who knew Knox, or "Knoxie," as many called him, it's hard to believe there is something strong enough to beat him. If you saw him onstage, you know he never stopped moving. And his Gatling Gun delivery wasn't just a stage affectation. It was how he spoke, how he thought. And if you were a regular around Boston clubs for the past couple of decades, it was a voice you heard often, hosting showcases at Nick's Comedy Stop, The Comedy Connection, and, most recently, at Dick Doherty's Beantown Comedy Vault.

It was a common refrain to hear a fellow Boston comic say that cancer picked the wrong guy. "It just never occurred to me that he wouldn't keep fighting on and on and on," said Doherty this afternoon.

There was little Knox didn't try, starting with traditional medicine and continuing with a more organic approach. But, as too often happens in these cases, collective bravado and individual best efforts lost out to the inevitable. It's obvious from the dozens of recent benefits for Knox, including a standing Monday night benefit at the Vault, how much Knox meant to local comedians. It is a hackneyed phrase perhaps, but true. He will be missed.

A few pieces on Knoxie:

FunnyGrownHere.com

Men's Health

Boston Herald

Boston Globe: New Doherty Showcase

Boston Globe

Stephen Lynch on the second leg of 3 Balloons and his upcoming special

Stephen Lynch kicked off the first leg of his 3 Balloons Tour in Boston in February. Now he’s on the second leg of the tour and heading to the Hanover Theatre in Worcester Saturday. Sometime next year, you can expect to see a few different versions of the tour on a Comedy Central special, on DVD, and as a concert film, if you happen to frequent film festivals. I caught up with Lynch by phone last week.

How has the tour been going since you were here in February?

The show is much funnier than it was when we were in Boston, I’m pleased to report. Even though it was pretty good then, we’ve learned a few things. It’s going well. We finished that big tour in the spring and then I took the summer off, and then I started off this new tour with a trip to Europe where I did a bunch of Scandinavian dates and Dublin and Germany. It’s been going really well. Now we’re back to the U.S. and doing some places we missed on the first part of the tour.

Is it still the 3 Balloons Tour?

Yeah. The record’s eight months old now, but it’s still the same tour, really. We’re doing the same show, maybe a few changes here and there as we come up with things.

If someone saw you in Boston at the start of the tour and came to see you in Worcester, how would it be different?

Uh. Oh boy. Now I have to write something really quickly before I get to Worcester, don’t I? The show always is evolving, so I can’t tell you exactly what will be different. The set-up will be the same, where I show some videos and do a bunch of songs from the new record and I have some friends join me onstage. But there will be subtle things, and some new jokes here and maybe a song or two replaced as we come up with other things. But nothing radically different.

When you say it’s funnier, is it just a matter of the timing?

Yeah. The jokes start to gel and you start to think of better transitions between songs, and song orders, you experiment with those. By the time I’m done with this tour, I don’t know when it will be, probably sometime next year, it’ll be just where I want it. And that’s the time you have to hang it up and start over again. Which is unfortunate, but that’s how it works.

Are you someone who can write on tour?

Not really, no. I mean, yeah, I’ve done it before. But what I really need is time and isolation, which is sort of hard to come by when you’re traveling with people and checking into hotels and on airplanes all the time. What I need to write really is to sequester myself in a room somewhere with nobody around me and force myself to do it. If given the chance to watch America’s Next Top Model or write, I will probably watch TV before I take up a pen. Which is unfortunate, but I’m very easily distracted.

Then all the songs would wind up being about America’s Top Model or the people who annoyed you on the airplane.

Yeah. That would really be horrible. Maybe not. Maybe I could write a rock opera based on America’s Next Top Model. I think it would have a very short shelf life, though.

Have you taped the show that’s going to be the new DVD yet?

Yeah. We taped it back in, I think it was April in Portland. I shouldn’t say we taped it, we filmed it. We actually used film because I wanted it to have a certain look. I haven’t seen any of the footage yet so I don’t know if it’s going to have that look that I wanted it to have, sort of a 70s rock concert, Last Waltz-type look to it. So we’ll see. I hope it comes out the way I see it in my head. I wanted it to look sort of classic and not just another something you’d see on Comedy Central.

Was there a particular reason for doing it at the Aladdin Theatre?

I like the theater. It’s sort of an old, decrepit movie theater. I don’t know when it was built. It’s got to be a hundred years old, I’m guessing. And I always pull good crowds there. And there were film crews readily accessible there. So instead of doing it somewhere where I would have had to fly in a crew of a hundred people, there were people there or near there already. I’ve always done good shows in Portland, too.

Did you do anything differently for the filming?

No. I did essentially the same show. Now what I can use out of that, I’m not sure. For example, I always close my show with “Purple Rain,” which I think would probably more than I would ever make on the sale of the DVDs to actually use, because Prince does not come cheap, I do not think. So that’ll be out. I’ll have to think of a different way to close the show. And the video, I’m thinking what I’ll do is sort of intersperse the video that I show during the show with songs and with other videos, other tour diary type videos, which I have yet to shoot. I’m trying to give it some sort of storyline instead of just song after song after song. I think, I mean, that’s the plan now. Don’t hold me to any of this. I have no idea how it’s going to turn out. I have some interesting ideas.

So Comedy Central’s going to have an hour version of it, you’ve got a version that’s going to be going around to film festivals, and the version that winds up on the DVD. Are those going to be three different versions?

No, I would assume that the one that winds up on the DVD will be the official work, and then if we chose to send that out to festivals, great. But what we give to Comedy Central will just be an abbreviated version. I don’t know what they want, I don’t know if they want just the songs or if they want the shortened version of the story I’m going to come up with. I don’t know. I’m really wracking me brain trying to figure out how to make this all come together.

How did you choose Gregory Dark to direct the concert film?

Somebody suggested him, I can’t remember who it was, exactly. But he came to see a show I did in Los Angeles and we spoke after the show, and he seemed to really be on board and have some good ideas and be on the same page as I was, so we just sort of clicked.

Had you seen any of his work before?

You mean his work in the music video world or the pornography world?

I’m unaware of his work in the pornography world.

Apparently he did some early work, in the 80s, I think, in the porno world. No, I wasn’t really familiar with any of his work. I just saw that he had a lot of experience, and then when I talked to him, we seemed to hit it off. That was enough for me.

Did he try to make you wear a big fuzzy mustache?

Yeah. It turned into a whole porn shoot. There were fluffers there before the show.

When does this get released in the different iterations?

You know what, I don’t know. I have to finish it first. Obviously people are waiting for me, waiting very patiently for me to do this. We did film it several months ago. But I like to take my time with these things. I want to make sure it’s quality before I put it out.

Do you have any plans for once the tour is over?

Hopefully I’ll have started writing new songs and I can get into the studio again and start recording. The last record, we did the whole thing in a week in a studio in Brooklyn. And this time what I’d like to do is sort of record in chunks, so when it comes time to put out the new record I don’t have to rush in and finish everything. I’ll have things that are already done. And that way I can tweak things to my version of perfection and change things as I go. So that’s the plan for now, just keep writing, recording.

Any idea, other than the method of recording, how you want things to be different from previous recordings?

I wouldn’t mind doing something with more of a through line to it. Maybe I’ll take a stab at a rock opera one of these days. Or even a mini rock opera and the rest can be unrelated songs. The idea of telling a little story seems intriguing to me. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for the past few months.

Read my previous interview with Lynch here.
Or watch my post-show interview from Boston here.

Gavin, Rogerson, Sweeney, and Dunn play benefit for Kevin Knox tonight

Some of Boston's most tenured veteran comics are playing a benefit tonight for Kevin Knox. Don Gavin, Steve Sweeney, Kenny Rogerson, and Jimmy Dunn will top the bill for tonight's show at the theater that usually hosts Sheer Madness (a.k.a. The Cahrles Playhouse Stage II), organized by the folks at Tommy's Comedy Lounge. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com, or at the box office for $25. Tommy's Comedy Lounge, 74 Warrenton St, Boston. 800-745-300

On a related note, Dick's Beantown Comedy Vault won't host their running Monday-night benefit for Knox to avoid conflict with the Tommy's show.

2009 College Improv Tournament -- Prelim Results

The preliminary winners from this afternoon's 2009 Coolege Improv Tournament at ImprovBoston are in:

Match A Winner - Cheap Sox (Tufts University)

Match B Winner - Purple Crayon (Yale University)

Match C Winner - DangerBox (New York Univeristy)

Match D Winner - TBS (Brandeis University)

Match E Winner - Seriously Bent (Suffolk University)

These winners will face off at Improv Asylum tonight at 11PM, and the winner will go on to compete against other groups from around the country.

Third Annual College Improv Tournament: East Coast Regional in Boston today

Fourteen improv teams will compete today in two different venues starting at noon for today's Third Annual College Improv Tournament. Priliminaries start at ImprovBoston at noon, with teams from Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and run on the hour until 4PM. The finals then move to Improv Asylum at 11PM. The shows are open to the public, tickets are $10 for the prelims and $15 for the finals, available by phone at ImprovBoston (617.576.1253) and Improv Asylum (617.263.6887). Student discounts available.

Participating schools: Emerson College, Yale University, Boston University, Tufts University, Salve-Regina University, Northeastern University, New York Univesrity, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Colgate University, Brandeis Univesrity, Penn State, Suffolk, and Mount Holyoke.

Show is on tonight at the Studio

There was some doubt earlier this week over whether there would be a show tonight at the Comedy Studio. Just got this from the Studio's Rick Jenkins, confirming there will in fact be a show, with a great line-up, to boot:

We will have a show tonight (Friday, November 6) at the Studio.

The Hong Kong wasn't sure until Wednesday night. So we quickly put together a pretty cool night. Personally, I feel like it's going to be a great time. Like the old days; small turn out; lots of funny friends.

Renata Tutko will host sets from Chris Fleming, Sarah Heggan, Rick Jenkins, Andrew Mayer, Andy Ofiesh, Sean Sullivan and Bethany Van Delft.

Eddie Brill at The Comedy Club at Cheers

Eddie Brill is a New York guy, but he has a special place in his heart for Boston. Brill, who books comics for David Letterman, went to Emerson College and worked on his chops here in his early days. Now he gets back for gigs like his two-night stand at The Comedy Club at Cheers, tonight and tomorrow, and to look for talent for Letterman. “Some of the best comics in the world are from here,” he says, speaking last night from his hotel room in Boston. “If I didn’t come here to check out the comics in Boston, I’d be a fool.” He booked Joe Wong for his debut this past April, and worked with him on his set. Brill also teaches comedy, and he’ll be teaching three days of seven-hour workshops at Emerson this weekend.

How often do you get back to Boston, do you think?

Probably about three to four times a year. I’m always here looking for comics for the Great American Comedy Festival. I’ll try to do a Letterman audition up here, as well, but sometimes they’re the same thing. And I always teach at Emerson once a year, and I come up once or twice a year to do gigs or corporate work. That kind of a thing.

What are the workshops on, in particular?

It’s a comedy workshop that I created about ten years ago. I’ve been doing the one-day, very intense workshops for seven hours. And I’ve done it all over the world now, in Australia and England and Ireland, and all over Canada and the United States. It’s been very, very successful. It’s really about comics being honest with each other and helping each other, being each others’ eyes and ears. I’ve got it down to a science where it’s really effective.

So a few years ago I presented it to Emerson, and they let me do a weekend. It was so successful that we’re into our third year in a row.

Who is it aimed at? College comics or –

No, I’ve done workshops with ten people and eight of them have been doing it for sixteen years, plus. Comedians are nice to each other, but it’s really hard to be honest with each other because there’s a lot of ego involved. This is a situation where people have been given the okay to really be honest with each other in a respectful way, and you can help each other and be each others’ eyes and ears, to point out the kinds of things that people don’t know about themselves because you can’t see yourself.

Is that the main point of it, to show people how to communicate within the comic community?

Naw, that’s only part of it. The key is, I learned more from teaching when I was at Emerson than I did from doing. So I created a workshop where everyone is a teacher. Everyone learns so much about what they do by seeing what others do.

How much of that is stuff you learned since working on the Letterman show?

Hmmm… I don’t think I’ve learned that much. I have learned about what we want at Letterman, but that’s something in addition to what I’m already doing. It’s pretty much a different hat. And I’ve always loved teaching and I will admit I’m pretty damn good at it. I’ve always been very good at being that kind of person. Been doing it or a very long time and I’ve had hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of students, and a lot of them have been in touch with me and a lot of them have been inspired, not only to be comics but to be writers, and they learn a lot from them. So it’s been very, very good. There are people who don’t ever do it again, but they appreciate it. And then there’s people who never thought about doing it and begin doing it.

How tough is it when you sit down with a comic, especially one who might be well known and has been road testing their material for years, how tough is it to sit down with them and do something for Letterman?

It’s very tricky. What happens is, the kind of cool thing is, word has gotten around to trust me, that I’m not going to let anyone go up there and do anything that would make them look bad. Whatever I talk to them about will only be, will help them do better. And there have been some scenarios where I’ve helped some pretty top-name comics with some ideas for their sets and they just loved them. What it really comes down to, the bottom line is, it’s the comedian, it’s their set, not mine. So I might make suggestions, and most of the time, these people will follow it, but they’ll do it because they’ve learned to trust me.

Was it harder at the beginning, when you don’t know as much as you do now, when you first started the job?

I had booked before, a had booked a comedy club and a couple of shows, but this was booking for someone else’s taste. And interestingly enough, we have similar tastes. We both like the same kind of funny, which really is helpful to me. He also has a lot of integrity, Letterman, where he doesn’t care if anyone is big, he just cares that they’re funny. That’s a really great boss to work for, who’ll put comics on because they’re really great at what they do, not because they have a big name and you want to get ratings. He just wants the comics to be great. He’d rather find a young comic that no one knows about, instead of finding someone who already has all that power.

Are you currently looking at anyone else from Boston, or working with Joe again?

Definitely going to do something with Joe again in the new year. I like Dan Boulger. I like him a lot, I could see him eventually have a set for the show. There are so many great comics in Boston, and each time I see the groups from Boston, they improve all the time because there’s so much work here.