Boston Comedy Interview: Tony V on being roasted and World's Greatest Dad

Yesterday’s post of my interview with Bobcat Goldthwait covered Goldthwait’s friendship with Tony V, and how they work together. Goldthwait is in town tonight for the Roast of Tony V as part of the Boston Comedy Festival, and he cast Tony in his new film, World’s Greatest Dad, which opens at the Kendall Square Cinema tonight, as well. Tony, who was working towards his masters in social work at UMAss before he started stand-up comedy, plays Dr. Pentola in the film, a high school guidance counselor in his glory when a tragedy hits his school. It’s a great role for Tony (he doesn’t get strangled to death like he did in Showtime’s Brotherhood), and the film is a wonderfully dark consideration of kindness and lost civility. [Warning -- some of this material may be a bit of a spoiler, if you want to be surprised when you see the film, you may want to skip ahead in the interview a bit].

Tonight at the Hard Rock, though, kindness and civility will most probably be tossed out the window as Tony is roasted by Goldthwait, Lenny Clarke, Steve Calechman, Joey Carroll, Artie Januario, BCF founder Jim McCue, Kenny Rogerson, Frank Santorelli, and Sean Sullivan. I caught up with Tony by phone last week about the film, the Festival, and the roast [see also this story from the Boston Globe].

So was it fun for you, getting back to being a social worker for a bit?

Yeah, it was. In all seriousness, a little bit, I think that’s what made Goldthwait think of me. You know what I mean? Because he knew that part of my life and everything. And although it’s not completely necessary for that role, like anything else, it does help. When we were talking about Kubler-Ross, I had actually done papers on it. You know what I mean? [I had] an understanding of that. And the other part is how cutthroat those people are, too, how somebody like that would actually want to ride the coattails of the guy. Because other than that, he’s stuck in broom closets in schools. That’s his life, going from school to school to patch up something that doesn’t need to be patched up.

One of my favorite parts is when your characters tells Robin Williams’ character, “It’s great, the kids are starting to come to me again.” He’s so happy because people are starting to talk to him.

Right, about misery. About their life, about their misery, and he’s gaining as much from it – he’s afraid the tap’s going to be turned off and there’s a genuine panic in him. I don’t know how closely you remember it, but in the first scene, he’s like, “No one comes to see me. Did he have any friends? Cuz I’m just sitting here.” It’s like an empty office. It’s like, finally I get to do my work. Let’s not put our foot through this.

It’s an interesting issue that the film brings up, because there is some good that comes out of this lie.

Well, some good. If you take it to its absurd logical conclusion, the world is so much better without this kid and with the lie. You know what I mean? The football player comes out, he’s going to live his life. Robin’s getting published, he’s getting laid. The school is a better place. Everybody’s happier. And that ultimately is the dilemma – do you keep the lie going because it made fro a better place but it’s eating you up. Or do you have to live with yourself.

Did you consult on any of this stuff with Bobcat when he was writing any of this?

I consult with him on everything. I can’t say specifically he called me in for my expertise or anything – this came out of his head. But whenever he writes, he constantly calls me with, “Ah, what do you think about this scene,” and “how did you like this.” Even when we were shooting, he works very collaboratively, which is one of the things I like about him a lot. But this came out of his experience and his dark head. We did talk about some of the finer points and stuff.

And as a matter of fact that scene, the one you were just referencing, didn’t come out exactly as it was written on the page. Because we discovered this, his motivation as we did it, and I have to credit Robin with a lot of that. Because that was a bear of a scene for me. You know what I mean? I understood the intent and stuff but Robin being the only reason the film got made, he’s the guy, he said, “This is Tony’s scene, let’s shoot me out first,” and so by the time it came to my coverage, I had done the scene seventeen different times at different angles, getting Robin’s coverage. I know the scene, but, as they say in the acting lingo, you’re discovering it. You know, something happened, and we did one and we got it and Bob goes, “We got it, as a safety do you want to do something that’s in your head?” And I said yeah, let’s do that while it’s fresh. And then we did this take, and that’s what it became. But he pushed it that way the whole time. Both of them, Bob and Robin were so gracious and knew I understood what the point of the scene was.

So how did you come to be roasted this year at the Festival?

I think everyone else was sick. I think that’s really what it came down to. No, I’v eknown Jim McCue for a long time, and I think he’s a good buddy and I think he enjoys what I do. And it’s like a lot of things around here, some of the old guard, or dinosaurs, as they call us, or whatever, are not as in touch with everybody else as I am. I still make it a point to sort of be around and I go to open mics and I see what’s happening, and I’ve not just gone off to make a living and forgotten where my roots are. I’m still here. This is it. I made a decision. So I just think he thought it would be fun. And I think there’s a fair amount of people who’d like to take a swipe at me.

Anybody you’re particularly worried about?

I would think Goldthwait’s got most of the dirt. We’ve been really good friends for many years, and if there’s any coattail riding I could be accused of it would certainly be his, although they’re very short coattails.

When did the two of you meet?

His first night in Boston – and I think it’s 1982, I’m putting it, it might have been late ’81, but certainly the spring of ’82 is what memory serves – his first night in Boston was my first night onstage. He had come down from Syracuse or wherever, Upstate New York. Him and [Barry] Crimmins were friends. Him, Tom Kenny, they were doing improv up there or they had a comedy troupe. “Ducks” was in the title, if I remember correctly.

Then he had come down to start doing stand-up, and he was the new guy, and I was brand new, and we were sitting at the Comedy Connection and no one would talk to either one of us, and we were both nervous as hell, and we started chatting and he said, are you a comedian, and I said, well, it’s my first night, and he said, well, I’ve been doing this up in New York and I go, oh, great. And then he went on, and our styles are completely different and stuff. And we sort of stayed friendly ever since.

What’s your memory of that show?

I was petrified and I think I was doing some sort of bastardized Gallagher act, smacking stuff. I had props and balloons and all of that. The whole Tony V. thing came about because [host] Mike Moto wouldn’t take the time to learn my name.

What do you think brought you and Goldthwait together and kept you friends through the years?

I think we share a very similar sense of humor, certainly not delivery or temperament. I think he’s much more intense than I am. But we can crack each other up without thinking about it and that, on a comic’s level, that’s what you gravitate to. You know what I mean? You can say almost anything to him and it doesn’t matter and he back to me, and it doesn’t. As friends, it’s a comforting thing to not sort of be on guard all the time, or worry.

And then I opened for him on the tour that would never end. I think we were on and off the road for like five years together. We’d go on the road and then we’d come back, and then we just got to be real good friends, even more friendly then. As I say, he’s a little younger than us, but we share a very same sensibility and cynicism towards life.

What is special about playing or coming up here?

For me, it’s home. If anything was a career choice for me, it was to make my home still in Boston. I’ve wandered in New York and L.A. but I’ve never felt more at home anywhere than here. I always wanted my quality of life to be as important to me as anything else I did. This is home and this is where I feel the most at ease.

What local comedians influenced you?

When I was coming up, one of my biggest joys was to watch Jack Gallagher work. I credit him with a lot of keeping me in the business early on. That being said, Lenny Clarke, although we do nothing that’s similar, our attitudes, our politics, our styles, I never laugh as much personally as when I’m with that man. He is one of the funniest guys on the planet as far as I’m concerned. To this day. I’m going to work with him on the Vineyard on Wednesday, and the show will almost get in the way of our good time. And Goldthwait has always made me laugh, on top of everything else. You can’t be friends with someone for almost thirty years and not find them funny. It’s just impossible.

How do you feel Boston fits into the national scene?

What it was, it certainly is not. But the legacy if anything is, it continues to give people just starting out a chance to get onstage and work. And that’s what I think makes this place special. It’s still a place where, if you don’t mind working out of your comfort zone and going to VFW or a Sons of Italy somewhere and trying your jokes, you can work a lot. The only advice I ever give people, other than to say don’t ask my advice because if I knew anything else, I wouldn’t be standing in the same club you were, ours is not a job you do in theory. You’ve got to do it. Get onstage any way you can and to suffer sucking as much as the ego will allow.

What do you think this Festival will mean for you or to your career?

I think it keeps something going. It reminds people that we’re still here, that there is a vibrant scene, still. That although it’s gone through changes and it’s certainly not what it was, it’s still a good place and there’s still a lot of people.

What do you see in the near future for Boston comedy?

I think it’s going to keep morphing into whatever it becomes, and I think as long as there are colleges… I think the best thing it’s got going for it now is Emerson and Harvard and B.U. to a certain extent. For better or worse, we live in a country where nothing’s being made anymore and you’ve got to find a living doing something abstract. It will keep becoming a place where you can try to do that. It constantly feeds itself because of geography and temperament. It’s always going to come back. I always going to be a place where people thing, well, there’s something going on there because there are smart people who want to be funny.

Chris Fleming at the Boston Comedy Festival

One of my favorite things to do is to find a comedian I really enjoy whom I've never seen before. I got to do that last night at The Dress Up Show at Mottley's, which was part of the Boston Comedy Festival. The comedian in question is Chris Fleming, a 22-year-old comedian that Comedy Studio owner Rick Jenkins tells me has played his club for a couple of years, and whom comedian Jess Baade told me she has seen every so often and thought well of him. He has been to the HBO Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, but somehow, I don't remember having seen him before, at least not doing this material.

It was a pretty strong night, with Erin Judge and Bethany Van Delft hosting, Kelly MacFarland headlining, and Ahmed Bharoocha and Karen Rontowski on the bill. Fleming made an impression, speaking a kind of seemless nonsense in an English accent, and doing an impression of birds trying to attract a mate that sent MacFarland from the room trying to control her laughter. The image of Fleming bent backwards, kicking up one leg, and squawking apparently stayed with MacFarland -- she mentioned the bit later on in her own set.

Here's some of the material Fleming performed on the show. But you should probably see it live (you'll have the chance next week at Great Scott on Anderson Comedy's The Gas. Fleming will be on with some other promising comics like Matt D and Shawn Donovan).

The Boston Comedy Interview: Bobcat Goldthwait talks Tony V and World's Greatest Dad

Bobcat Goldthwait first met Tony V. the very first night Tony tried comedy. Goldthwait was new in town, and had done comedy in Syracuse before moving out to Boston, and the two hit it off. That was in 1982, and the two have been friends ever since. Goldthwait cast Tony in his new film, World’s Greatest Dad starring Robin Williams, which opens at the Kendall Square Cinema this weekend. And Goldthwait will also be in town to give Tony a spin over the coals for Friday’s Roast of Tony V. as part of the Boston Comedy Festival. A bit further down the line, you can catch him at the Comedy Connection Wilbur Theatre December 12.

I caught up with him be phone last week to talk about World’s Greatest Dad, Tony V, stand-up comedy, and his previous work as a writer and director.

Where is the movie playing now?

It opens in Boston I think, in Cambridge this weekend or next weekend. It’s slowly coming out. We’ll see how it goes. It’s funny, I say it’s an R-rated movie where I didn’t aim for teenagers, but I do think a young audience, hopefully, will enjoy this movie. Trying to reach out to them is hard. When I say a young audience, I mean young adults.

Was there a particular audience you had in mind when you were writing it and putting it together?

No, not at all. When I’m making stuff, I’m not really thinking about any of that kind of stuff. It’s just really the kind of thing that comes out of me. In the last five or six years I’ve tried to stop second-guessing what I should be doing or what people would like and just started making stuff to make it.

What was the inspiration World’s Greatest Dad?

You know, it’s about a middle-aged dude finally learning to grow up and say no to unhealthy relationships. And I think if I had written a movie that was just about a series of failed female relationships it would have been kind of misogynistic. You can have a lot of people in your life who don’t treat you right and not necessarily just be the opposite sex that does it.

It has something in common with Sleeping Dogs Lie wherein there’s the one event that seems to be somewhat atrocious that might take a bit for people to get past.

Right.

Is that something that you’re conscious of, putting an event like that in there as a breaking point when you’re writing a script?

No, it’s just he way it comes out. But you know, I think it’s funny. Most of these events are something that could happen on an episode of House. The only difference is, like, in a movie, people can watch a movie and people get shot through the whole movie. This is like, somewhat got shot and then you explored, how did that affect his family and his wife and the people around him, you know what I mean? That’s the only difference. Because these events I don’t think are all that startling, it’s just that I kind of play them as realistic instead of as just a footnote.

How has the reaction been?

No, you know, there were a couple of people who hadn’t seen the movie who were complaining, but that’s pretty typical. Which is pretty funny, because they were actually doing what the movie parodied, they were trying to make something that had nothing to do with them all about them.

In America, every product is supposed to be aimed at everybody, and I don’t think people can wrap their brain around this idea of, I’m not trying to play every mall in America. I mean, I certainly hope I reach an audience. Everybody’s got to make everything about themselves.

Which is what playing every mall in America would be, as well.

Yeah, definitely.

It’s strange that in a society where we increasingly have boutique marketing aimed seemingly directly at each individual, everything is so segmented, but everything’s supposed to be for a general audience. But we’ve carved you all into all of these little bits already.

I think it’s funny, too, now, because of the Web, everybody weighs in with their opinion. I read a review for Twilight. I would never weigh in on Twilight. I would never write a review or post a comment. It’s not made for me. A bunch of ‘tween Jesus vampires? I know to stay away from that.

The other thing that the two films seem to have in common, to me, they both seem to have a lot to do with forgiveness and civility. Two things that seem to be somewhat lost or overlooked.

Yeah. Yeah. I don’t know what that’s such a big issue with me, but I would agree with that. That seems to show up in all the things I write, you know. It gets boring if you’re my girlfriend and you keep reading screenplays with that same theme in them. You know, who are we now, man? Where’s common sense and kindness and all these things, they’ve gone by the wayside.

Do you look at that as elements of a story or do you see it as a general societal problem?

Oh, no, I do… that, to me, is the biggest problem with the world right now.

The civility is the other problem, why we just can’t seem to leave people alone.

And also all these things that we do to justify our crappy behavior. It’s not just me pointing my finger at the world, it’s also my own crappy behavior I constantly examine, too.

Is there any of your own crappy behavior that made it into this film?

[laughs] Yeah, I think so. I think this idea of this guy kind of perceiving himself as a victim and then at the same time not taking any of the courageous steps you have to do to change that.

I saw Lakeview Terrace, what made the movie sort of unbearable was, I could see the original idea was a worthy one, but the starting point was so solvable and unrealistic that the characters wouldn’t have done it. Because it started there, the rest of the movie…

It didn’t ring true.

Right. But in both Sleeping Dogs Lie and World’s Greatest Dad, all those events did ring true, even if they seemed like they’d be more unusual. That was kind of clumsy, but….

No, that’s what I hope. I treat the events very straight and realistic and then I approach, too, the way the characters act as mostly realistic. In this movie, it’s a little bit more of a satire and there’s a lot of kooky, flaky one-dimensional characters that start showing up, but I still think of these things more as little tiny stories, like little fables or something. I do treat the events and the characters as realistic as possible. But in my mind, I don’t think of them as real stories, I don’t treat them as real stories at the end of the day.

Did you write Tony V’s part specifically for him?

No, I just wrote the part. But the reason I cast Tony in there is, people hire Tony because of his girth, and if you saw him, you’d think of him as this palooka. So he tends to get hired to play palookas. And the reality is, Tony actually did work with kids and stuff, and that is who he is. But I did think it was kind of funny to even have Tony be kind of corrupt in the movie.

I know his past as a social worker, and I didn’t know if you’d thought of the character with him in mind.

When I thought of it, I thought, I know that in the Hollywood system you wouldn’t have him. But it was funny, we were talking about how he should let his hair grow out and he should be this guy whose still clinging to 60s and 70s ideology and stuff.

A lot of people in this movie seem to be people who are in your circle of friends – Robin Williams and Tony V. and Tom Kenny. How important is it to have people like that in your films?

Robin says working with me is a combination of working with John Cassavetes meets Ed Wood. Everybody;s offended. And it they’re not, they’re like people that become friends and I work with. I like the comfort level of knowing people’s strengths and I mean, I’m middle-aged. Life’s too short. I don’t want to show up in a work environment that’s tense. Tom Kenny says I have a very juvenile approach to all of it. He says I act like a kids that’s like, “Someday I’m gonna make a movie and all my friends are gonna be in it! You’re gonna be in it, and you’re gonna be in it…” And I do think that’s true. He was laughing the other day, he said, “The only difference is, you actually do go back and hire all [of them].”

The newest script I’m writing, I have a cast of a lot… it’ll be the biggest cast I’ve written. So I’m hoping to bring back everybody from Sleeping Dogs and this movie and Shakes. Everybody will work.

What’s the new project?

I’m trying to finish up a spree killer movie right now. But I also, I don’t know if it’ll get going, but I got Ray Davies’ thumbs up to make a movie around the Kinks album Schoolboys in Disgrace.

What was the first one? You faded in and out a bit.

A spree killer movie. Again, it’s about the same themes you were just talking about. The same themes that you brought up. But the idea is, I thought, what if an irrational man were disturbed by the lack of civility in our culture. That was the genesis of the new screenplay. People go, when I describe it to them, they say, well, is it a comedy. I don’t know. Honestly, when I write these movies I don’t really sit down and make them a comedy. I just assume that’ll probably come out. It’s more of a challenge to me to write movies that connect with people. That’s what I’m interested in.

I don’t know if you’d call World’s Greatest Dad a comedy. It’s definitely a funny movie, but every funny moment has this sort of weight attached to it, this sort of undertow.

I remember watching American Beauty. I really liked that movie, and I was cackling all through it. I’m sure that came off as Max Cady in the Cape Fear remake where he was laughing in the theater like a lunatic.

But all of these movies I do go back to, is that a comedy? I don’t know. Like Boogie Nights or any Wes Anderson movie, I don’t know where those movies live. I mean, I think mine are probably more uncomfortable, but I don’t know where these movies all live.

It reminded me a bit of Heathers as well.

I didn’t think of that until after I finished it, and then my girlfriend goes, “You know, it’s got a little Heathers to it.” And then I just ran right into the train and named the goth girl Heather. Like, yeah, I get it.

Did you come to Boston with Tom Kenny? Or did the two of you arrive around the same time?

I came first. I followed Barry Crimmins. Then Tommy came down and then he kind of moved there permanently around the same time I left. That’s another story I’ve been trying to get started, too, about some of the events in Barry Crimmins’ life. I hope I get that going someday, also.

I consider Barry a mentor and also like a family member. And when I get in touch with him sometimes, he’s still always going to be like a big brother to me. Sometimes he calls me on my shit.

I remember at the Ding Ho reunion show you talked about him calling you at three in the morning.

And telling me that I suck. The last time I saw him I picked him up at his house and drove to Western Mass to see Billy Bragg together, which was a lot of fun.

Are you doing stand-up again soon?

I went out on the road and I shot eight cities in ten days and I thought I was going to make a movie about how morning radio teams are douchebags and how club owners are thieves and how opening acts are always bitter. But we were filming it, and I was going, we’re getting none of that. Everybody was really nice. And I go, why do I still hate this? And I was like, oh, I hate this character. It was really clear to me, having the cameras just magnified it. I have to jettison this character if I’m ever going to enjoy doing stand-up, and I did in the middle of it.

And some of the shows went really well and some of the shows, you know, I’m in Des Moines with people going, “Do the voice!” But I had to stick to my guns because if I didn’t, I really should just retire completely if I hadn’t stuck to my guns. So I found myself kind of enjoying stand-up again and even writing stand-up again for the first time in probably seventeen years. I was very lazy, I would write onstage, but now I’m interested in it again.

I keep doing stand-up when I need to to support my filmmaking habit. I’m pretty lucky that I have that choice, you know?

Can you play where you want to or because you’ve been away from it for a while do you have to fight your way back?

No, it’s like, I took six years off. When I go back on the road, things have really changed. It used to be a big deal if you were on HBO or if you had some talk show appearances under your belt. But that doesn’t mean shit anymore. It’s all about how many hits your YouTube video has. So grandpa has to start posting material again on the Web. I’m so out of the loop.

Do people know you more as a filmmaker now than a comedian?

I don’t think folks know me as a filmmaker. I don’t know. It cracked me up the other day. I was getting interviewed and I was like, “You know, the persona people know me for, the character, and I’m trying to stretch, blah blah blah,” and this girl goes, “Hey, I’m nineteen. I don’t know who the fuck you are.” I was like, oh, yeah, that’s a good point. [laughs]

Are you looking forward to the Tony V roast?

Yes, I’m certainly looking forward to it. I changed my schedule around. There was no way I was going to miss that.

Is there anything in particular that you have on him that you’ll be revealing?

I’m sure there’s a lot, but I also see it as an opportunity to say all the things I would say at his funeral.

Michael Loftus addresses Boston Comedy fans

Michael Loftus is not a Boston comedian. He's from Ohio, and lives in Los Angeles, and wrote for The George Lopez Show. But since he has a special debuting on Comedy Central Friday at 10PM called You've Changed, Loftus is working hard to get the word out. Hard enough that all on his own, he decided to record this message to Boston comedy fans and readers of this blog, which his PR company sent to me in hopes I would post it.

So here it is, a message from Loftus to you, readers of the Boston Comedy blog, complete with a reference to the Red Sox.

Erin Judge says farewell to Boston (mostly)

This is an important week for Erin Judge. Not only is she showing of The Dress Up Show tonight with Bethany Van Delft as part of the Boston Comedy Festival, she’ll headline her own send off show Sunday as she leaves for New York City. Judge has been a fixture on the scene since her first open mic at the All-Asia Café in 2002, hosting Sundays at The Comedy Studio, and putting on her two-person show, The Meaning of Wife, with Ailin Conant, and working her way up to an appearance on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham.

Fear not, though, Boston, you will still get to see her once a month at Mottley’s hosting The Dress Up Show with Bethany Van Delft. I caught up with her by phone on August 21, the day The Meaning of Wife opened at the New York International Fringe Festival.

Are you all ready to move to New York?

I live in New York. That’s where I am right now. I’m here, and I’m excited.

What made you move now?

I’d say what made me move now is just a feeling of… feeling ready to go into the clubs in New York City and perform stand-up at the level I think is necessary when you get started in New York to make a good impression. And I’m also interested in doing casting and writing for television and exploring the possibilities of those sorts of things, which are less available to me in Boston.

Did you get a sense of that world performing in Boston?

There’s great casting agencies in Boston and there’s lots of people who work at all kinds of levels of the industry there, but I think it’s more like, for me, having the interest in television and the other aspects of the entertainment industry that deal with comedy, from TV writing to screen writing to filmmaking, television, most of that happens in New York and L.A., so I really want to be at one of those places at this point in my career.

Do you have any leads and things like that or are you going out there and starting fresh?

I have some good friends who work either in television or do lots of movies and television commercials who have given me lots of leads, but right now I’m flying solo a little bit.

"Dumb and Crazy" from Live at Gotham:

Live at Gotham
Erin Judge - Dumb and Crazy
www.comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

Is it hard to pick up and move everything? I know you had a day job.

I’ve been doing comedy full time for about a year. I left my day job in July of last year. And I’ve been working as a comedian ever since. So that made it easier. It wasn’t like I was trying to finish off a job. But it’s very difficult to pick up and move, especially when I have such great relationships with the comedy community in Boston. Especially with people like Rick Jenkins [owner of The Comedy Studio] and a lot of the other comedians in town. I’m going to miss them all horribly. But I’m excited to close to Boston. I’m glad I’m that not in L.A. I’m glad that I’m about to be in New York and come up to Boston frequently. And I’m very excited that right around now is when the Boston Comedy Festival is happening because I feel it will be a nice way to kind of say goodbye to the Boston comedy world.

Is the September 2 Dress Up Show your send-off show?

Bethany and I will continue to do the Dress Up Show once a month at Mottley’s. I’m going to come up for that, which is great. The real send off show is going to be at the Comedy Studio on September 6. It’s not part of the Festival, but I’m going to be headlining, doing twenty minutes, which is nice because Rick doesn’t always let people do that. But it’ll be fun, and Bethany is hosting that night at the Studio. Since she and I have worked together for such a long time it’s really great that she’s going to be a part of that show.

"Bad Dating Advice" from Live at Gotham:

Live at Gotham
Erin Judge - Bad Dating Advice
www.comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

As far as the Dress Up Show and the Festival, are you going to be doing anything differently because it’s part of the Festival?

Well, we have a really fantastic line-up of people, national comedians as well as local comedians, which is really exciting. But in terms of the show, we really just want to showcase the format of the Dress Up Show as it is for the people who are coming to the Festival. So it’s just going to be me and Bethany dressed up telling stories and hosting a really fun night of comedy where everybody’s dressed up.

How did the show come to be part of the Festival?

I think Jim McCue and Helen McCue of the Festival have a good relationship with Mottley’s. And last year, the club, Mottley’s, opened in conjunction with the Festival. That’s how they made their opening, with Shane Mauss headlining, as part of the Boston Comedy Festival. So I think the club, Mottley’s, with whom we have a great relationship, Bethany and I do, they continue to have a great relationship with the Festival. So it’s great because it’s additional publicity and it’s national acts who are going to be coming into our monthly show, and we’re very excited to have that.

Are you also in the contest this year? [Editor’s note: Erin moved on from her round Monday and will be in the semi-finals]

I am in the contest. My prelim is 9PM Monday on August 31.

Is that something you look forward to, or is that sort of perfunctory?

Well, I’ve done the contest twice before. I didn’t do it last year. But I really love being part of showcase shows and I love the challenge of the five minute set. And it’s a great line-up on the contest. At least the part that I’m on. I like that part of it. As far as being judged and being competitive with other comedians, I try not to focus on that element of it.

What are your plans for The Meaning of Wife?

Well, we open at 4:45 today in New York City. [Laughs] We open at the New York International Fringe Festival today. And we’re performing this weekend and next weekend. So as soon as I get done with The Meaning of Wife on the 29th, I get to come to Boston and do the Boston Comedy Festival.

Are there any plans past that?

Not right now. At the [New York] Festival, we’re going to gage interest in the show. We have a lot of people from the industry coming out to see us. We’re hoping that someone who has the resources to work on booking us around or touring us or even putting up a run in New York will be interested in producing the show. We’ll see.

How much does having the Comedy Central credit help? Do people recognize that?

I think so. I think that people in the theater world are primarily the ones interested in this Festival. But they’re always looking for talents they haven’t seen yet. And a lot of the people who we know who are coming from the entertainment industry are casting people from film and television, as well. So that’s an exciting element of it.

"Maid of Honor" from Live at Gotham:

Live at Gotham
Erin Judge - Maid of Honor
www.comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

What local comedians influenced you?

Definitely the Walsh Brothers and Kelly MacFarland. And I of course love guys like D.J. Hazard and Tony V. When I think back to the performers that I would work with when I first started performing at the Comedy Studio, people like Tony Moschetto and Bethany Van Delft were extremely awesome to work with from the very beginning. And my other peers like Myq Kaplan.

How do you feel Boston fits into the national scene?

Right now, I think Boston performers are giving some of the most killer five to seven minute showcase, television, and accessible sets in the country. And I think that that is a testament not only to the Comedy Studio and their format but just the various venues around town and the development of the various extremely smart and cool comedians from all over the area.

What do you see in the near future for Boston comedy?

I think it’s just going to keep getting better and better. I think that right now is a great moment for comedy in the world and in television and in all media. And I think that it’s just going to continue to churn out the kinds of talent and the generations of brilliant voices that it has for a really long time now.

Boston Comedy News - Beantown Riots, a date for Shane Mauss, The Walsh Brothers on Funny Or Die

Last week, Roxbury's Jason Cordova won the 1st Annual Beantown Comedy Riot for Amateur Comedians after a six-week competition at Dick's Beantown Comedy Vault. He bested a field of 60 comedians and took an $800 prize. Portland, Maine's Erik Gunderson took second and Rhode Island's Brian Beaudoin took third.

Also, Shane Mauss will tape his Comedy Central Presents... half hour special November 4 in New York City. Watch this site for more details.

And The Walsh Brothers have posted the first Ramada Brothers videos on FunnyOrDie.com, so go vote!

Congrats to Jim Colliton, Chance Langton, and Myq Kaplan

Chance Langton called my Monday afternoon with some news, but not the news I was expecting. He did not win the Comedy Album award at this past weekend's Just Plain Folks Awards, but his I'm Better Than Tem did come in fourth. But he did land something that should be a big boost for him -- he signed to Oglio Records (they've released albums by Red Peters and George Lopez). Oglio will rerelease I'm Better Than Them.

Also congratulations to Jim Colliton, whose Stories from the Suburbs won the Just Plain Folks Comedy Album Award. Boston was well-represented, good to see two Boston acts in the top four.

And congratulations also to Myq Kaplan, who is in a series of promos for Comedy Central doing a few bits, including the one posted below about Scrabble. You can see all four here.

Lewis Black and the Boston Comedy Festival

[Note: I wrote a cover story for Friday's G section of the Boston Globe, you can read it here. Look for more in this space next week about the Festival, Bobcat Goldthwait, Tony V., and Erin Judge.]

When I first saw Lewis Black in person, he was playing the Comedy Palace, part of the Grill 93 in Andover, in February of 2000. It was a weekend gig, and a snow storm had kept most people away, so there were only a handful of people in the audience – maybe twenty or twenty-five. That was also the first time I saw Boston Comedy Festival founder Jim McCue, who was middling (Dave Russo opened the show).

According to Black, that may have been the gig where he first met McCue, but he says I’ll have to ask McCue. “He keeps track of that stuff like a girl,” says Black. Despite Black’s claim, McCue doesn’t remember exactly, but places it around that time. And it turned out to be a lasting relationship.

About a year after that gig, Lewis Black happened to be in town for a corporate gig, and wound up headlining and hosting a show at the old Comedy Connection as part of the fledgling Boston Comedy Festival. McCue liked to tell the story at the time that Black charged him a hamburger for the gig. “Pretty much, it’s always been that,” says Black.

I remember sitting across from the table from Black at the Connection as he nearly coughed up a lung laughing at Larry Lee Lewis and some other local performers. “That’s the best thing about Lewis is, you can always hear him laughing,” says McCue. “A lot of comedians don’t laugh, they stare and they analyze. But he really belly laughs when he thinks something’s funny. Which is nice.”

Then in 2005, Lewis Black did the first of his headlining shows for the Festival at the Emerson Cutler-Majestic, bringing on some of his favorite comedians and hosting the show. His presence for that show and the following Festival lent the operation some credibility, according to McCue. “We were able to do those Lewis Black and Friends shows, so that opened up a lot of things,” he says.

Black is playing the Wang Theatre tonight as part of the official kick-off for the tenth edition of the Boston Comedy Festival. And his roots here go back even further than that. He remembers being in a regular revue at Harvard’s A.R.T. in the early 90s called Media Muck. Between gigs, he would get out to play anywhere he could, including Nick’s Comedy Stop, the Grill 93, and Catch A Rising star, where he played regularly once Media Much was done.

“It used to be you could just work Boston and make a living,” says Black. “And so many good comics came out of there. And my affinity to it is, I kind of feel like that’s where I came into my own.”

His schedule doesn’t permit going to see many shows these days, but back in his early days, we would catch Boston comics like Kenny Rogerson, Tony V., Don Gavin, Nick DiPaolo, and Jonathan Katz when he was in town. “I generally like Boston comedy because it’s in your face and it’s funny,” he says. “It’s just flat-out, they’re funny.”

Which is why he likes supporting the Boston Comedy Festival. “Outside of the TBS thing now, there’s so few festivals,” says Black. “Boston was the comedy Mecca for so long. It just makes sense.”

Chance Langton headed to Nashville for Just Plain Folks

A month ago, Chance Langton would have been hard pressed to tell you about the Just Plain Folks Awards. Now, with his album I’m Better Than Them nominated for the music organizations Comedy Album award (along with fellow Boston comedians Jim Colliton’s Stories from the Suburbs and Paul Nardizzi’s Sucking A Cow’s Udder During A Solar Eclipse), Langton is heading down to Nashville for the Just Plain Folks Music Awards.

“I didn’t know it was happening,” he says. “In fact, I got the e-mail from Just Plain Folks about three weeks ago, I’m going to the ceremony in Nashville next week.” Langton uses CDBaby.com for his distribution, and they submitted their comedy CDs to the group.

So what does it mean to Langton to be nominated? “I would say at least a pat on the back,” he says. “The good part is that I know they screened a lot of CDs before they picked it so I’m just honored and flattered to be nominated. We shall see what happens.”

JPF describes itself as “the world’s largest grassroots music organization” and boasts it “the world’s largest independent music awards.” Langton will appear at the ceremony, but declined to perform. “They asked me to,” he says, “but they’ve got a lot of musicians performing and I didn’t think it would be the right setting.”

In other Chance news, Langton is also in the new indie film Boston Psychiatric starring Rich Gustus, Raj Jaiswal, and Harry Gordon, which premiered at the Coolidge Corner Theatre last week. Langton was impressed with the final product.

“I thought the film far exceeded expectations to me, because when you’re making a film, you can’t quite see what’s going on,” he says. “But they really put it together well. It moves right along. I think it has great potential as a sitcom.”

Boston Comedy Interview: Chris White takes requests.

A few years ago, Washington comedian Chris White started taking requests for stand-up topics from friends, family, and his audience members. Now what started out as a dare has become a show White tours with. He builds routines around the suggestions, performs them live, and posts some of his work on his YouTube site (you can see an example below). But you can see the real thin in person at Mottley's Thursday, complete with trivia and multi-media elements, the full Chris White treatment.

How long have you been collecting topics?

Since mid-2006. Not as long as I've been involuntarily collecting racist street jokes from drunks after a normal show, but a few years now.

What gave you the idea?

As a nerd, I love homework. It was either this or grad school. Also, I'd watch a lot of stand-ups, and see them do brilliant jokes on subjects I'd never even THOUGHT about exploring. I wanted some help kick-starting my brain in new directions, and the No. 1 rule of showbusiness is "Exploit Other People."

What has been the most challenging topic?

Ancient Sumeria, as suggested by my older brother, probably as revenge for something I did wrong in a D&D game when I was 10. Comedy is about relating to ideas, and strangely enough not that many people are well-versed in Ancient Sumerian customs and lore. I blame public schools.

Are there any that just don't work?

Someone suggested "bleeding colitis," and after about two hours of thinking, I couldn't find the lighter side of massive internal bleeding and colon removal. Other topics are hard to stretch to 4 good minutes, but usually there's at least a one-liner that works.

Chris at work:


How big a part of the act is the suggested material? Do you still
write mostly about what you want to?

I still write jokes based on my own ideas, but at an "I Take Requests"
show 80-90 percent of the stand-up started as part of a challenge. The idea is you show up, watch the show, make a challenge, and then by the next time you see me, maybe your challenge is part of the show. And then we high-five.

What is the multi-media element of the show?

It's like Laser Floyd. Bring your own dry ice! Actually, I've been working on lots of video projects and sketches over the years. None of them have kittens, however, so they aren't going "viral." But I didn't want them to go to waste, so before the stand-up, I package three or four of them together and use that to warm the crowd up. Then, at the end, I bring back the projector for the ancient Japanese art of karaoke. I have a few home-made karaoke videos that are either hilarious or disturbing, depending on who you ask.

How does the trivia work its way in? How do you make that funny?

I run a trivia night at a comedy club in DC once a month and it's one of my favorite things to do. It's just a blast. At "I Take Requests," I'll give people something to work on as they file in, then at the very start of the night we'll do a little quiz. People supply their own laughs for trivia -- there's nothing funnier than your "genius" friend coming up completely empty. It's good fun, trust me.

Have you played Boston before?

I did the comedy festival contest back-to-back years, 2004-05, I think.
And I've stopped in the Comedy Studio a few times on my way through town, or when I was visiting friends. The town has a great comedy reputation and from everything I've seen it's well deserved.

What is the scene in Washington like?

We really only have one big-time club, the DC Improv, but there are also a ton of mid-sized theater venues. So we have big names in town every week.

There are also multiple open mics almost every night of the week, when you factor in the Baltimore venues an hour up the road; with that many stages, we have a lot of very good talent developing in DC. Everyone thinks it's going to be non-stop politics on stage, but it isn't -- we leave work at work. We have to compete with all the free entertainment subsidized by American taxpayers, but other than that I think it's a really cool scene.

If anyone wants some basic info, I run dcstandup.com ... check it out and feel free to ask me anything.

The Boston Comedy Interview: The Daily Show's John Oliver

When I first spoke with The Daily Show's Senior British Correspondent John Oliver in November of 2007, the presidential election was still a year away, and the candidates were still gnashing away at each other in the debates. Oliver was the new guy on a show he’d always admired, and new to America, a country he hadn’t even visited before his TV gig here. And he was playing his first gig in Boston, at the Comedy Connection, which quit its Faneuil Hall location last year for the Wilbur Theatre.

Almost two years later, Oliver is no longer the new guy. He’s one of the best reasons to watch The Daily Show, and his stand-up special, Terrifying Times, was brilliant. He’s back at the Comedy Connection (in its new space) on Friday. I caught up with him by e-mail this week.

Have you gotten to tour around and/or visit America much since you were in Boston a couple of years ago?

Quite a lot, actually. The election last year meant that I was all over your country - from Sarah Palin rallies in Scranton to Mile High stadium for Obama's speech. I even got to shoot a piece with the Press Corps, inside the White House - and due to the fact that I was not American, had to have constant supervision wherever I went. I think as a British person they thought I might have come back to try and burn it down again.

You had said when we spoke last that it was still strange to you to be in a country where you could fly for five hours and land in the same country. Has that worn off yet?

I have pretty much got used to that now from the amount of traveling I have to do. The consequence of that is that whenever I go back to Britain, I see it as a laughably miniature excuse for a nation.

You also said you felt a little you weren't sure how you ended up with the Daily Show gig, why they were looking abroad and why they chose you. Have you settled in yet? Do you still get that feeling?

I feel very settled indeed, it's the most incredible place to work.
But I have to say, I still cannot fathom how or why I managed to end up in this situation. I still find myself walking away from work occasionally feeling like the luckiest girl in the world. That might be because I skip away from work every day dressed in a gingham dress and holding an oversized lollipop. It's just something I like to do.

I read where you have said that the Daily Show isn't a source of news, and that you and the other Daily Show folks aren't journalists. I'd have to agree how that reflects poorly on journalism as a whole, but why do you think the idea persists? Certainly comedy has functioned to inform and enlighten in the past, and your stand-up and your pieces on the Daily Show seem to function that way. Would you agree?

The persistence of the idea that The Daily Show is a key source of news, is just another example of the lazy journalism that has forced a basic cable comedy show to be mistakenly spoken about in those terms in the first place. The bottom line is that comedy has to be funny to justify it's dictionary definition. People are not going to walk away from a comedy show saying "Well, I didn't laugh much, but I feel so enlightened and informed it scarcely matters." If, as a comedian, you find yourself performing to a silent but fascinated audience, you are not doing your job. You are doing the job of a quality Chemistry teacher.

What's your sense of how America is perceived abroad since the election? Have you spent so much of your time here now that it's harder to get a sense of that?

Well, there is no doubt that the very election of Barack Obama challenged the lazy prejudices of anti-Americanism overnight. The key thing now, is for him to behave in a way which will not re-sow those seeds of resentment, and fertilize them with disappointment.

Mort Sahl said in an interview a while back that it has gotten harder to do what he does as a comedian because reality is stranger than anything he could exaggerate for effect. When you look at the birthers, town hall shoutfests, and the possible magnitude of the healthcare bill coming down the line, is it harder to make that funny?

No. Absolutely not.

How big is your part on Community?

Not at all big. I'll do a couple of episodes in these hiatus weeks, but that'll be it; I'm definitely not leaving The Daily Show. It's a fun thing to try, and is a nice change of pace, but I'm not interested in doing it full time. My heart, my head, and my limbs are all at The Daily Show.

What can you say about the movie deal you and Rory Albanese just signed with Paramount?

There's nothing much to say about it really. It sounds a lot more glamorous than it is. Basically, they are going to buy the next script we write. I think they are contractually bound to read it, and statistically bound not to make it. We'll see. It's something fun to do on the side of work - it's something we'd like to try to do, just to see if we're any good at it.

Is it something you will also star in?

That is very much not my decision to make. You are talking to someone with the kind of star power you would need a Hubble Telescope to detect.

Would you eventually like to segue into doing more movies and less TV?

I don't know. I love TV. More specifically, I love the TV show that I get to work for at the moment. I know that lots of people have used The Daily Show as a springboard to other work, but this kind of show is all I've ever really wanted to do. I like being afforded the opportunities to try other things around it (movies, etc) but there's never anything I want to do more than go back to The Daily Show office and attempt to trivialize the world's problems.

Dane Cook announces Boston date

Dane Cook announced more tour dates today on his e-mail blast, including a New Year's Eve date in Boston, location to be announced. According to the e-mail, all of the "TBA" shows will be on sale mid-Spetember.

Here's the full list of tour dates:

Fri, Sep 4 Atlantic City, NJ Etess Arena
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLXceXtE7b/

Sat, Sep 5 Atlantic City, NJ Etess Arena
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLVceXtE7b/

Sun, Sep 6 Atlantic City, NJ Etess Arena
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLTceXtE7b/

Fri, Oct 9 Las Vegas, NV Hard Rock - The Joint
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLBceXtE7b/

Sat, Oct 10 Las Vegas, NV Hard Rock - The Joint
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLzceXtE7b/

Thu, Oct 15 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLRceXtE7b/

Fri, Oct 16 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLNceXtE7b/

Sat, Oct 17 Nashville, TN Sommet Center
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLxceXtE7b/

Sun, Oct 18 Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLPceXtE7b/

Thu, Oct 22 Anchorage, AK Sullivan Arena
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLJceXtE7b/

Fri, Oct 23 Fresno, CA Save Mart Center
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLZceXtE7b/

Sat, Oct 24 Sacramento, CA Arco Arena
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLvceXtE7b/

Sun, Oct 25 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLHceXtE7b/

Thu, Nov 5 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLtceXtE7b/

Fri, Nov 6 Fairfax, VA Patriot Center
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLFceXtE7b/

Sat, Nov 7 Norfolk, VA Scope
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLZceXtE7b/

Sun, Nov 8 Raleigh, NC RBC Center
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLLceXtE7b/

Thu, Nov 12 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLZceXtE7b/

Fri, Nov 13 Little Rock, AR Verizon Arena
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLZceXtE7b/

Sat, Nov 14 Moline, IL iWireless Center
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLZceXtE7b/

Sun, Nov 15 Highland Heights, KY Bank of KY Center http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLDceXtE7b/

Thu, Nov 19 Winnipeg, MB Location TBA, mid-Sept.
Fri, Nov 20 Saskatoon, SK Location TBA, mid-Sept.
Sat, Nov 21 Calgary, AB Location TBA, mid-Sept.

Sat, Nov 28 Honolulu, HI Blaisdell Arena
http://danecook.c.topica.com/maanlr4abSyLZceXtE7b/

Thu, Dec 10 Hamilton, ONT Location TBA, mid-Sept.
Fri, Dec 11 Ottawa, ONT Location TBA, mid-Sept.
Sat, Dec 12 Montreal, QUE Location TBA, mid-Sept.
Thu, Dec 31 Boston, MA Location TBA, mid-Sept.
Fri, Feb 6 Sunrise, FL Location TBA, mid-Sept.

Discount Variety tonight with Dan Margarita and Josh Gondelman

We’ve come once again to the third Thursday of the month, which means it’s Discount Variety time. This month, the show features the music of Dan Margarita and the comedy of Josh Gondelman. You may know Margarita better as a comedian, but he is also a songwriter, working on a new album called Kill the Messenger. Gondelman is a regular at the Comedy Studio and hosts the open mic at Sally O’Brien’s every Mondays, where some of Boston’s best comics come for a workout.

The show starts at 8PM at the CinemaSalem Cafe in Salem. For mor einfo, click the Discount Variety button in the sidebar to the right.

DAN MARGARITA

After a career in stand-up comedy, working at clubs and colleges across the nation with such noted comedians as Judy Tenuta, Lenny Clarke, Steve Sweeney, Jimmy Tingle and Barry Crimmins, Dan Margarita has turned his focus to music. His forthcoming CD Kill The Messenger, contains songs with humor, personal loss and social commentary.


How long have you been playing in Boston?

I haven’t been playing around town for all that long.

What are your favorite places to play?

Generally speaking, I prefer to play the smaller, intimate venues, where I can really be heard and get my stuff across to the audience.

Who are your favorite comedians, locally and nationally?

Locally, I’d have to say my favorite comic is Mike Donovan, but there’s an awful lot of good ones around here. Nationally, I was most influenced by the young George Carlin. I have to admit, I thought he was funnier when he was still doing drugs.

What is the best comedy show you've seen?

Best comedy show I’ve ever seen... just too many to even consider.

JOSH GONDELMAN

An unabashed dork, Josh Gondelman consistently earns the right to hang out with the cool kids by making them laugh until they snort milk out their noses. Josh blends a sharp and quirky sense of humor with a genuine good nature, the result of which is a hilarious and accessible blend of “some holds barred” comedy. Josh is the comedian that your grandmother would love, even if she didn’t get the jokes. Josh just finished his degree in English and Creative Writing at Brandeis University, and he performs standup, sketch, and improv comedy at clubs, colleges, and theaters all over the country. Josh Gondelman. He can talk smart without sounding smarmy. He can talk family without sounding familiar. And he can talk sex without being sexy. Wait. Scratch that last one. He’s very sexy. Just don’t tell grandma.

How long have you been playing in Boston?

I started out at the open mic at Dick Doherty's Comedy Vault about five years ago. My grandfather was very ill at the time, and every week I took a bus into the city from Brandeis where I was in school to visit him at Mass General, and then I went one stop over to Park Street to perform in the theater district. Too much information? That will probably be the theme of this interview.

What are your favorite places to play?

Over the past year, I've really come to value any place where the audience comes to listen and enjoy rather than judge or disapprove. Little theaters are great for that. I did a hugely fun show out in San Francisco a few months ago at the Darkroom Theater in the Mission (run by Pat Bulger, a super funny Boston transplant). The show had all sorts of things going on, music and standup and video, and the crowd came in ready to roll with it.

The Comedy Studio in Harvard Square has the vibe a lot, too. The crowd expects to enjoy themselves, and it makes performing so much more pleasurable than when you have to deal with lots of crossed arms or big chatty parties. Mottley's by Fanuiel Hall is like that, too. They book the great old-school Boston headliners like Tony V, and they also are very open-minded about up-and-coming headliners like Myq Kaplan and Joe List. It's very supportive and fun to play there. Non-traditional standup venues like ImprovBoston and the Anderson Comedy shows at the Great Scott area great because of how loose things can be.

Too much again? Good. I'm keeping on task.

Who are your favorite musicians, locally and nationally?

Locally, I feel like I've got to plug The Grownup Noise until they are famous. They're such talented musicians, and as a group their sound is so unique but not in a way that alienates listeners. It's like: "Oh, yeah! Of course eventually a band should have decided to sound like this."

Also, the Brendan Boogie Band recently put out an EP called Disposable Pop that sounds like Weezer back when Weezer sounded like Weezer.

Plus there are some really great music/comedy people in Boston should be/are aware of. Zach Sherwin (MC Mr. Napkins) writes a perfect rap every seven seconds or something. And Robby Roadsteamer is worth watching 100% of the times he gets onstage.

Nationally, I've been listening to The Hold Steady on a near constant basis. If in an alternate universe, Bruce Springsteen grew up in the 80's and 90's with an awareness that Bruce Springsteen had already existed, he would be the front man for The Hold Steady. That doesn't make any sense, but they're awesome. Plus, I look like a bearded, less out-of-shape version of their singer. So they've got that going for them. Or do I have that going for me? Probably neither.

What is the best music show you’ve seen?

About six years ago I saw Cee-Lo Green (of Gnarles Barkley), Lauryn Hill (accoustic), Jurassic 5, The Roots, and Outkast at the Tweeter Center, which is now the Comcast Center, and was formerly Great Woods. The Roots were unbelievable. Their albums are very good, but their live show is so much fun. They're the only rap group who can really get away with cover songs, which I think is one key. And they give their original songs so much fullness and energy in concert. And, as Jimmy Fallon has shown us, they're really funny. I get jealous sometimes, when I see a really funny musician. I'm like: "Who are you? Leonardo DaVinci? Stick to one talent! You're making me look very bad!"

Local Comedy Around the Web

Just a few links to keep you updated on comedy stories around the Web with local ties:

1. Dave Russo in Wicked Local Tewksbury: A straight profile of Russo.

2. Tommy Savitt on Tahoe.com: Savitt won the Boston Comedy Festival competition a couple of years ago (the Festival is back August 29th). Here, Howie Nave tells the story of how Savitt almost didn't make it to Boston to begin with.

3. The Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival at The Brooklyn Vegan: The line-up for Mirman's festival, which takes place in Brooklyn September 17-20, with videos, and a bit of new about the new Mirman album on Sub Pop.

4. Paul Mecurio in Punchline Magazine: Punchline talks to Mecurio about his new Web series, Got No Game with Paul Mecurio, the REd Sox, and Boston's self-esteem problem.

5. Dane Cook announced a show at Madison Square Garden on his own Web site. The show will be part of the New York Comedy Festival, and happens November 5. It's called Dane Cook and Friends, but his site doesn't identify the "friends."

6. Jay Leno in the Boston Globe and theBoston Herald: Leno stopped by Emerson last week for a free show (not open to the public) and talked about his new NBC show, which premieres this fall.

Home of the Black Comedy Explosion, Slade's Bar & Grill hearing

Jonathon Gates just sent out a message on his Facebook page about Slade's Bar & Grill, the current home of his Wednesday night Black Comedy Explosion show. According to Gates, the City of Boston will have a haering about extending the venue's entertainment license Thursdays through Sundays and increasing their capacity.

Gates has been doing the BCE for more than a decade in Boston, making it a fixture on the scene from the days when it was at the old Comedy Connection in Faneuil Hall to the present. I don't believe this affects his Wednesday night show directly, but it may help the venue.

If you're interested in going, here are the details, from Mr. Gates:

Boston City Hall (Government Center)
Wednesday, August 12th at 11:30AM
Room 801.

Super Time Pilot's "Real Nice Rock"

Robby Roadsteamer has a new band called Super Time Pilot, and as previously reported, a new sound. Robby and Nikki turn in some nice work at the end of this. Stay tuned for more news abou the band and their new album.



The folks over at the Examiner spoke with Robby about the album and Quiet Desperation.

Baratunde Thurston hosts Popular Science's Future Of... tonight on the Science Channel

Former Boston comic and current vigilante pundit Baratunde Thurston has a new gig hosting Popular Science's Future Of... Check out the Facebook page and become a fan, or go straight to the official site. The show premieres tonight at 9PM on the Science Channel.

The Walsh Brothers team up with Joe Pernice

The Walsh Brothers are back in Boston tonight for two shows, opening up for Joe Pernice’s book reading/concert for his novel It Feels So Good When I Stop and the accompanying album containing Pernice’s covers of songs mentioned in the book. The Walshes have been back in the area for a few weeks, partly because Dave Walsh just got married in a ceremony out on Cape Cod.

Dave and brother Chris will perform at tonight’s show at the Brattle and then follow Pernice on a short tour, carpooling, apparently, from city to city. I spoke with Dave at one of Lynn’s best pizza places (Fauci’s, for the Lynn-curious) about the show, their new “Ramada Boys” video, and how their Great and Secret Show is fairing in Los Angeles, where they live now.

How did you get involved in opening the shows for Joe Pernice?

I have no idea. [Ashmnont Records co-owner with Pernice] Joyce Linehan contacted us and asked us if we wanted to do what she thought would be a great fit for the show, because he wrote this book. And the book is kind of this rambling novel about a guy who is trying to figure out his life and has a lot of little stories within one great narrative.

We were coming home anyway, and it’s probably something that we would have come home to do anyway. We just love performing in different endeavors like this.

Were you familiar with Joe Pernice before? Did you know the Pernice Brothers?

Yes. I didn’t know of his band before them but I knew the Pernice Brothers. I had spoken with Joyce a while ago and she gave me some PR advice that I never took and should have. We might be in a different position than opening for Joe at this time. So yeah, when I had talked to her, I checked out all of his stuff. I loved it. It’s really great. And when we heard it was him – I don’t even know much of the back story. I just know that he has a great voice and writes some incredible lyrics and the music is wonderful.

Have you gotten a chance to meet him and speak with him about this?

I haven’t yet, but every time I talk to him on the phone he calls me a homo, and so that makes me instantly comfortable. He just has this way of joking with you and just kind of berating you and telling you we’re going to have a great time on the road. I haven’t met him but I feel like I know him already, from his music… Actually his music is probably more strange than talking to him on the phone or reading the novel. Because the novel is heartbreaking like a lot of his songs, but it still has… there is a lot of joking, but there isn’t a lot of joking in his music. There is a lot of irony. And in the novel there’s a bunch of irony, but it’s very blue collar. And it’s just a little different when you talk to him on the phone. He’s just way goofier than the novel or his music. So, that’s even better. It’s like the three levels of Joe Pernice. I can’t wait to find out what it’s going to be like in the car with him traveling from gig to gig.

Is it going to be the three of you in the car?

Yeah, it’s going to be three, and then he has some kind of lady boy he travels around with who helps him out named Jose.

Some sort of “lady boy” did you say? Want to make sure I transcribe that correctly.

[laughs] No, some guy, he’s a very good friend of Joe’s.

Would he object to being called “lady boy” in print?

He probably would because I don’t know him. But I don’t care. We’ll work it out on the ride.

That’ll be the first conversation when you get in the car.

“Lady Boy,” huh?

Be careful where you sleep, I guess.

Well, that’s the thing. I think he’s a lady boy because I think I’m sleeping with him. I think that’s how it’s arranged. According to Joe. We’ll see.

So this whole thing has nothing to do with a stage show, it’s just an elaborate, freakish thing Joe had planned.

A ruse. Yeah. A ruse to pull out my love of men dressed as women. Yeah, we’re all traveling together, just the four of us going from city to city.

What do you have planned for onstage?

Onstage? I’m not sure. Chris and I, we don’t have much planned. I don’t think I’ve seen him since the wedding, which was, what, two weeks ago. So we haven’t really talked about it. Chris might do a couple of characters. We’ve got a half [an hour]. So we’ll probably tell stories. We’ll figure it out and see what we get excited about.

Are you going to arrange that based on the book and what he’s doing at all? Or are you just doing what you do?

Yeah, we’re just going to do what we do. You know what we do better than we know. He’s going to do some reading from his book, but I think we’re going to do some reading from his book, as well. That’s one idea we had. We might take five minutes out to read from his book before he reads from his book.

So how long has Ramada Boys been done?

Ramada Boys has been done for about a year. A little less, I’m being a little facetious. We filmed it in July. Sony wanted it by the end of August, maybe mid-August. Then they went through a change where they kind of combined – they had three Internet arms at one point. So they combined them all, and it kind of got lost in the shuffle. Which is fine.

What was it created for?

It was created for Crackle. But Crackle ended up merging with a couple others. And the people who were in their stronger interactive media section kind of took over Crackle. So the guy who was initially running it isn’t there anymore. So once our guy was gone, with the project, they said, oh we don’t care too much. It doesn’t have any celebrities. It seems like the money for Internet videos is becoming more and more celebrity-driven. Every time we go in an talk to somebody they say, we’re doing a lot with celebrities. And Chris and I don’t really care for that.

We did have a talk immediately after we were done and they said, who do you see involved with this if you had to get a celebrity, and we said Joe Pesci as our father, Angelo Ramada. They said that was something they’d work on. That might have been the last conversation we had with Sony about it. So they gave us the rights and stuff. I think we own it, we might own it. What’s important is we own the idea. I don’t care about the video.

Are you going to pursue it and do more with it? It would be a shame not to see HoJo III again.

Ah, yes. And the La Quinta sisters. I mean, we had thirteen episodes outlined. And we got money for two. We’re sitting on another one right now. We have it ready. But we’re going to put it out at a little later date. It’s all outlined. We were talking with other people, that’s when MySpace had some money for videos. They all had money at one point. Atom had more money. We met with all of them. And then Sony gave us the best money for the two videos, and creative freedom, which was what was necessary. I love the characters and stuff, but I think it would end up finding a home on something else we would do, as kind of an interstitial within something else we’ve done. We’ve considered so many different things for the Ramada Boys. You could talk all day about it because the concept can go practically anywhere.

The more people you can introduce Erik Charles Neilsen to, the better.

I think he’s in every idea we create, which he has been involved in. As have a lot of other people who are in our lives. Mostly from Boston. I lot of people from Boston will do our show. Whoever comes through, we put up. We work with anybody. There’s one guy, his name is Fred Young, that we all hate, who’s very funny, went to Emerson. He did stuff with [defunct sketch and stand-up revue] Zebro. He’s really great – I don’t want him to read that – who does stuff with us weekly.

Does using people from Boston, doe sthat give you some kind of continuity that you can have the confidence to do what you want to do because you know you have people who can meet your expectations?

Yeah. Essentially. We cast and work with people who we kind of know their personality a lot. So you kind of work a character around that. Everybody who’s a stand-up, they want to do more stuff but they don’t know how exactly to do characters, just sitting grabbing a slice of pizza you can kind of work out a character, outline a character with them and then say, “Hey, remember that voice you were doing? Let’s work on that voice and make him a part of our world.” Every show we’ve ever done, we try to create a world. It’s about populating that world with people. We like to populate that world with people we know.

How is the show doing at the Improv?

The show’s doing well. As a result of doing our show, we did a “best of,” and when you do a “best of” out there rather than put it up at Jimmy Tingle’s or the BCA, you put it up at the Comedy Central Stage or the UCB and all kinds of industry comes out to see you. And that’s great because it kind of culminates, you get your audience there, the people who come to see you every week anyway, and then you get to perform for people who can help you make a living for yourself in comedy. So we’ve been able to do that and we’ve gotten a lot of great response and we’ve been talking to people. It’s going well. The hardest thing is building an audience because there are so many forms of entertainment out there.

Do you think you’ll get back to Boston to perform after this show at any point in the near future?

I don’t think so. We’ll be back at Christmas. We haven’t done a theater show in a while back here. So we’re just going to come back and do a two-hour show, and do so many dates.

Topper Carew on Why We Laugh

Roxbury native Topper Carew thought he might be an architect when he was younger. He even went to Howard University, and then Yale, and got his bachelors and masters in architecture. But when he started making documentary films about the subject, he found a new career. For more than twenty-five years, Carew has been writing and producing films (D.C. Cab, Talkin' Dirty After Dark, Robin Harris: We Don't Die, We Multiply) and television shows (Martin, which he co-created). He also founded Urban Neo, a label that produces films, DVDs, CDs, and books.

He's also interviewed in the new documentary, Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy, and he'll be on hand at today's screening of the film at the Museum of Fine Arts at 3PM, the closing film for the 11th Annual Roxbury Film Festival. You can ask your own questions at the Q&A to follow, I got to ask mine by e-mail this week.

How aware were you of some of this history – the early sitcoms, Amos & Andy, Moms Mabley – before this documentary?

I grew up in Roxbury in a home and with a family that loved laughter. And, I remember enjoying the feeling that I would get when I would make my family members laugh. So, in retrospect, I think my kinship with comedy and my gravitation to it came early in life. When I was about 6 or 7. In fact, the family would sometimes pay me to make them laugh. So when I was growing up and into my teen years, yes, me and my boys, would watch Amos and Andy regularly. And yes, I was a class clown and jokester.

And, yes I discovered Moms Mabley, and the Redd Foxx, party albums and Dolemite, and Pigmeat Marcum and Stump and Stumpy. They were all staples of the black comedy culture. And, when I could afford it, I would buy their albums and listen to them over and over again. Who they were was a part of the life that I lived, not a historical thesis.

What made you want to participate in the film?

I participated in the film because I was asked to by, Darryl Littleton, the author of the book upon which the film is based. Darryl is a friend and also a very strong comic with a very strong point of view. He would be best compared to Paul Mooney. He works as D’Militant. I like Darryl a lot, like his comedy and respect him tremendously. So, when he asked, I could only say yes. And comedy has been kind to me. I have lived it and made a living from it. So if Darryl felt that I might have something of value to say, I trusted him and was honored to be asked to participate in the project.

Was there anything in particular you wanted to say on camera for this?

That the African American community has always been an enormous contributor to the creativity, art, and economy of American comedy. And that laughter has always been a big part of our journey and struggle through adversity.

Is there anyone covered in this film you feel specifically indebted to as a comedian?

I feel especially indebted to Robin Harris. I used to go and watch Robin perform/mc at the Comedy Act Theater in South Central, Los Angeles. It was the first black comedy club in the U.S. Robin was the mc. We became friends. Because of him, I got connected to the urban comedy scene in LA. Not the Hollywood/agenting scene. But, the more authentic, underground, in the hood, comedy scene. And, subsequently, my writing and producing career got reinvigorated. And, he caused me to redirect my comedic voice away from the Norman Lear sitcom approach to the “keep it real” approach. And note, I am not a comedian. I am a comedy writer, producer and director.

How important do you feel Dick Gregory was, both in terms of black comedy and in stand-up in general?

Dick Gregory was and is a truth teller. He never compromised and was never about stupid, silly, degrading content. He was the first of the black comics to offer political observation and social commentary as a comedic offering. He was a brilliant and courageous standup.

How specifically do you think people associate comedy and comedians with the history and politics of their age? It seems there’s often a vague connection when people talk about Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor, or Dick Gregory, but it almost seems like that’s more a file they put the comic in than a real connection to how a comic might synthesize and then influence current events.

I don’t think comics ignite events. Rather, comics comment on them. And thru their comic commentary and observation, people begin to drill down a little deeper into their own thinking about issues. So, what happens is this, comics teach. And people make connections, but never in an overt, politically organized kind of way. Instead, they have simply become more conscious.


Did you spend much time doing comedy when you were in Boston?

I was never a stand up. I was the class clown, and the jikester for family and friends. On the flip side, I was active in the civil rights movement, so a lot of people thought, I was this really serious person. Surprise !!! and when I was at wgbh, I did social docs and public affairs. But, when I left, I left to go to LA to write and produce comedy.

Were you aware of any racial divisions in comedy and entertainment when you were here?

In LA, you can count the number of black agents on one hand and the number of black studio and network execs on the other. And, as of late, you can count the noticeable absence of network black comedy series. I wasn’t into the comedy scene when I first lived here. So, I can’t comment on that. Now, I am back living here in Boston. When I did my Robin Harris feature doc, The Pheonix was the only one that would give it a mention. In Boston, in present day time, there seems to be a real non-connect between the black comedy scene and the media. An exception being when the comedy Connection buys ads for black headliners.

How did you feel about Robin Harris’s part in this film, considering your personal involvement in his story?

Some say that he was one of the two greatest standups who ever lived. Richard Pryor being the greatest, and Robin being the other. So, he has to be properly acknowledged. I have not seen the film, so I cannot comment about the film. But, know that because of him a new surge of urban comedy emerged and prospered. He was the impetus for the Def Jam Comedy series. And a whole lot of people got their start and launch on his stage and thru him. So, he is a saint to many of us. He connected me to Martin. Thus, the Martin Lawrence television series. Then, look at the number of comedy greats who gave testimonial to him in the film that I did about his life. Robin was a Moses who led us to the promised land.

Where does Martin fit in this history?

It’s too early to tell where Martin will fit into the overall tapestry of history. I will say this. he is one of the few comics to ever have 2 series on the air at the same time, Martin at fox and simultaneously the host of Def Jam. And, he is on of the few comics to ever sell out 5 consecutive, back to back dates at Radio City Music Hall. And, I suspect his box office cume is pretty high.

Where do you place yourself in this historic timeline of black comedy?

I may be the first indie producer of black comedy. In the late 70’s, early 80’s , I produced a tv series called The Righteous Apples for PBS. It was the first domestically produced sitcom for PBS. And I did it as an independent. When I went to LA, there was a handful of black producers. None but myself were indie. So black people in the industry refer to me as a comedy pioneer. I had to wade thru the racism. Allow me to illustrate it by telling you this. In the 80’s, I would go to meetings with white execs and see elderly black men come in, get down on their knees, and shine the execs shoes while I am in the meeting. I guess that’s part of the price we pay as a pioneer so that others might follow.