It’s A 3 Fer Thursday!
July 31, 2008 · Print This Article
It’s the final episode of BTB before sabbatical, and Brian is clearly already mailing it in.
Topics on the day include a visit by Dylan who discusses punchlinemagazine.com’s new feature “A Tight 5″, is it ever ok to say no, Brian visits another podcast, why comics aren’t treated better and the exporting of rednecks. Fuggetaboutit y’all.
Email: brianmcomedy@gmail.com and give us a call on 206-203-4692
To hear Brian interviewed on my podcast go to Two Mustaches.
It turned out pretty great.
Thanks for playing Dylan Moran brian, reminds me of my own melt into self doubt moment though. Back when I had only about 10 or so open mikes under my belt, one night after I had finished a set and was downstairs getting a drink at the bar. Then I noticed that the guy standing next to me with a glass of red wine was Dylan Moran. This was back when Black Books was on tv, and he was in town to film a movie with Michael Caine, so I naturally was a little starstruck.
“You’re Dylan Moran” I said quite enthusiastically.
“I am” he said in quite a Bernard Black way, “Who are you”.
“I’m Brian, I just did an open mike set upstairs”
“Really, you look very young to be a comic”
“I’m 20″
“Good for you, I was 20 when I started too”
And now, my moment of shame “well actually I have been doing comedy for six months so I was 19 when I started”
“Oh, good for you. Stick at it”.
To be fair to the guy he was real friendly and stayed chatting with me for 10 minutes or so, but I stayed really quiet after that hoping that someone else would come over and make an even bigger fool of themselves so he’d forget me. No joy. At least I got a story out of it.
By the way Brian you pronounced his name wrong, the emphasis should be on the ‘Mor’ not the ‘an’. That looks weird typed, I’ll call and leave a message.
OMG, I don’t think I could handle a 2 week BTB absence……
I’m really getting into standup blogs….theres something about reading about a standups frustrations and anger that puts my life into perspective. Joe Klocek has a great one http://zenoffunny.blogspot.com/ and british stand up Richard Herring has an awesome one where he’s never missed a day since late 2003! Stanhope’s is good for the occaisonal moan too but was wondering if anyone knew any others for the two weeks of BTB vacation?
Richard Herrings is at http://www.richardherring.com/warmingup/
funny thing is that i dont remember calling in that joke, so it was a shock to hear it. but that must have been after this party i had been at where i struck out with every girl there. man i am a clever drunk.
Hey Brian C
Great Dylan Moran story.
I’ve met him too, and i think it’s safe to say his Bernard Black persona is pretty close to home - it’s not like he’s secretly a fun-loving easy-going dude in real life. If you’ve ever met him, you’d be forgiven for coming away with the view that Moran is just a grumpy bastard.
But at least he doesn’t pretend to be anything else otherwise. He reminds me a lot of Bob Dylan in a few ways, (not least his first name) and makes me wonder if was actually named after a certain Robert Zimmerman.
Your quote:
…“You’re Dylan Moran” I said quite enthusiastically.
“I am” he said in quite a Bernard Black way, “Who are you”. …
…reminds me of Bob Dylan’s brilliant retort when Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant introduced himself:
Peter Grant: Hi Bob. I’m Peter Grant. I manage Led Zeppelin.
Bob Dylan: Hey man - do I come to you with MY problems??!
.
Parts of South Jersey are like West Virginia. I’m not surprised by your encounter with Garden State rednecks.
Hey B-Mo, I’ve actually worked with Adam Hunter in New York too a couple of times. So I’m sure you share my joy when he got booted from Last Comic Standing this past week.
My beef with him isnt jealousy. Hack comics get famous all the time and I could care less.
I just dont like him because he’s really arrogant off stage. I’ve worked with him a couple of times at Comix and at Gotham, and each time I’ve heard him mouth off about him hating his placement in the show’s lineup.
I try really hard to respect all comedians, even those whom I dont find funny at all. But just because you’re most prestigious TV credit is Showtime’s White Boyz in Da Hood, doesn’t necessarily mean you can claim yourself as big time.
No disrespect to Jay Black, a proud White Boyz in Da Hood alumnus
i had a pretty bad open mic last night. it wasnt particularly because i did bad(i did REALLY bad) but because i was sandwiched between a really bad Dane Cook like comic and a really bad Carlos Mencia comic. i might as well have been in hell
I agree Aman. It’s not so much that I don’t respect Adam’s material (which I don’t), but it’s the attitude that goes along with it. No one wants to hear that you’re too good for a show. If that’s the case don’t take the gig.
Can I just echo what brian had to say about Greg Girlado? I fully agree he’s one of the most underappriciated comics around; and hardly ever comes to the UK. Big ups to him also for getting sober and getting focused on his career too, a true pro!
I have a question for the noncomics: What seems like the hardest part of stand-up to you the noncomic?
to me, it’s doing the same material over and over again and keeping it fresh and interesting and keeping yourself from goign insane. Yeah, most of your comics will try to try new stuff and change stuff around but you work to get a solid set and just repeat around dozens if not hundreds of rooms and sets. Esp if you have multiple sets a day. I was at the fringe two years ago and ended up seeing this guy three times (partly by accident) and he was doing the same 20 mins with equal energy and passion….I’d go crazy!
Yeah Alvaro I kind of have to agree with Nick, doing the same stuff with the same energy and stage presence constantly would drive me to tears. I guess that’s where performing comes into play eh? I worked at one of those telemarketing places when I was in High School and I read that speech so many times I no longer needed the script. After a while the tedium nearly killed me.
I also imagine you run into more assholes than your average joe might. Between the club owners, staff and audience I imagine there are days where your taste for humanity’s BS runs quite thin.
I mean, I think comics that work and get more material under their belt are obviously more respected; but you’ve always got that ‘A’ act when you need to hit a home run. I actually can’t stand it when other comedy fans complain that they’ve seen the comic do the same material before either on TV or whatever. Hey fuck you, you come up with material that quick, comics aren’t dancing fucking monkey boys for your entertainment…….I mean, how do you think they feel having to repeat themselves?
I’m happy to report to the entire BTB community that Joel Fry does not suck. I saw Joel in action in Peoria, IL at the Jukebox Comedy Club’s annual amateur competition last night - I was one of half a dozen “judges” - and he delivered the funny and advanced to the semi-finals. And no I didn’t skew my scoring. Joel doesn’t have tits.
I also feel that it isn’t right to post on the boards, because I’m not a comic. I think Brian is very entertaining and funny. I miss Brian’s Bad beats and ask B-mo. B-Mo is in my top 5 Comedians of all time. Eventhough he rarely does jokes anymore and never has my Favorite Comedian as the spotlight comedian I’d put Larry the Cable guy and B-mo on top of the Spotlight Comedian list. We need to here Larry and It’s overdo time for a B-mo Joke set!
Thanks Dan! I’m really pleased to hear that you thought I was funny, and it was cool as hell to see you kick ass onstage. Hope our paths cross several more times, man! That goes for everyone on BTB, btw.
Bernie Mac - Way too young to go.
Bernie Mac was just 50. The interesting thing is that there have been different viral internet rumors for years that he’s dead. This time, though, it’s the real thing.
Is it Just me or do good comics seem to be droping like flies. its been barely a month since carlin died and now macs gone. what the hell
I suspect some kind of conspiracy with the Bernie Mac thing. Didn’t he embarrass Barack Obama right before he got “sick?”
Sure I loved watching the Bernie Mac show, but it paled in comparison to his standup. Do a youtube search for his first Def Jam set where he’s wearing these funky jeans with his face printed on them. That is one of a very small handful of standup performances that I can watch over and over again.
Another good youtube clip is an interview he had with Tavis Smiley explaining how he got into comedy. Its pretty touching.
I agree, Mac was a comic’s comic. Loved doing stand up and worked for everything he got. In a business where people get criticized for being a flash in the pan, he paid his dues and it’s sad that he passed so young and couldn’t enjoy the full rewards of his work.
yeah, 50 wasn’t he. God that is young! And look at Artie Lange now checking into rehab; anyone would think comics led unhealthy lifestyles! http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?StoryID=55640
Oddly I can’t recall having ever seen Bernie Mac in even a movie let alone doing stand up (unless of course he happened to be on Def Comedy Jam back in the day and I just don’t remember. I shall have to rectify that.
Pneumonia? What did he try to continue working through it? There has to be more to it.
Very sad about Bernie Mac.
But on a different tact - can I ask what other podcasts fellow BTB fans are downloading to fill the void while B-Mo is away (comedy-related or not?)
In addition to our friends at Stand Up Orlando, Tony turned me on to Nobody Likes Onions a few months back and I’ve really been enjoying it. In fact, I will be hosting the NLOL show this Thursday night at the LA Comedy Club at the Planet Hollywood. Really looking forward to meeting Patrick and the gang.
I’ve been listening to a ton of shows from Keith and the Girl. I work while listening to it, and it allows me to focus on something else other than the mindblowing boredomness at home.
I love Comical Radio. They update sporadically but have a great backlog of awesome interviews with some great comics. Just like on BTB they don’t pander to the comics and they just chat…….you can tell the talent just really appreciates not having lines fed to them.
Yeah Comical radio rocks. But I do wish they updated more frequently. They only update about once every month but when they do it’s usually multible interviews. so thats pretty sweet. also if anybody’s looking for some good comedy podcasts let me recomend Stand Up Sit Down and the bugle. SUSD is an XM show and has some really great interviews. The Bugle is more like a satirical newscast.
Also, the other night I opened for a band and it was one of the greatest shows ive ever done. The band, Bowsers Ballsack(greatest band name ever?) asked me to go as long as possible which scared the hell out of me because the longest ive ever gone is about 15 to 20 minutes. but i ended up almost doing an hour. I finally understand why guys like Patton Oswalt and David Cross like those kind of venues, becasue you can experiment and the crowd will let you get away with almost anything.
But since this my first rock show i cant be sure if this was just a fluke. any other comics out there have any rock show comedy stories? And for the comedy fans have you ever seen a rock comedy show. and if so how do they compare to club comedy?
Thanks for all the podcast recommendations folks.
Patrick - very well done for having a successful comedy gig/rock gig crossover. The only events I’ve personally seen that have successfully mixed stand-up with live bands have usually been high profile charity benefit gigs in theatres. There’s something about a charity gig with the audience all sat down that makes for a more open-minded crowd sympathetic to comedy than a room full of drunk people stood up and only there to see a rock band.
For a great clip of how comedy and rock music rarely mix, check out this Youtube clip filmed just after Morrissey walked off stage at a recent London gig after only 4 songs. Backstage, celebrity comedians Russell Brand and Little Britain’s David Walliams (plus tv chat show host Jonathan Ross) all walk onstage to announce to a packed venue that Morrissey has left the building and won’t be returning - but how lucky the crowd are to have those 3 there to lark around onstage instead. Talk about misjudging the situation…check it out below:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LRMTnQqz0SY&feature=related
Hey B-Mo, I definitely hope you have Mike review Louis CK’s upcoming Showtime special “Chewed Up.” I also hope you have him review the roast of Bob Saget. That should be… television.
Hey does have any opinions on whether or using a flip chart for standup is a bit hack? I enjoy Demitri Martin’s stuff, and there are a few local acts here who use it with mostly positive results. Anyway, I have come up with a gag which is getting alright reactions, but I think it’ll be enhanced by a flip chart. However, it’s not long enough to warrant the flip chart on it’s own so I’ll need to write a couple of minutes of flip chartworthy stuff so it doesn’t seem forced. Then on a typical 10 minute spot I could be using the flip chart for 30% of the time. I just worry that audiences when they see me carry out the flip chart will be thinking “oh no, not another one of these guys”. Seems a little un-original.
Brian C - the thing itself isn’t unoriginal, its how you use it! If you went there and just cloned demetri martins act you’d maybe get some laughs but your soul would be in comedy hell. But if you truly believe in the bit and commit to it then the audience (and fellow comics) will respect it.
Also, theres no reason why you can’t have it up already on stage at the start of the show…even through other acts?
Nick - If you saw the size of the stages I perform on you’d know why I can’t leave it up there through other acts.
Jimmy Pardo’s podcast, “Never Not Funny,” is also amazing. Pardo is one of the best crowd-work comics working today, in my opinion.
What I like about his podcast is not only do all of his Comedy Death Ray friends show up, but they’re not using the show to perform material (like many other podcasts). They’re just having conversations about the stupidest stuff and they’re just naturally being funny.
Brian C - ouch! I feel your pain. I saw a great show at the fringe 2 years ago by Irish comic Brendan Dempsey called England Expects. He had a map of Britain and the whole show was a tour around this Isle and why we expect so much. It was great!
In England you say stage, in Ireland we say milk crates and a couple of sheets of plywood. Seriously, I like to leave the mike in it’s stand when I perform, there is one club where there isn’t enough room for a comedian to stand between the mike stand and the backdrop.
I know Brendan Dempsey, probably the worlds tallest comedian and a genuinely nice guy. Once when I was a poor student, I was on a first date with a girl and I was trying to impress her, so I thought I’d go to a local comedy club and have the doorman wave us in. Problem is when I got there, it wasn’t the usual doorman and I didn’t know this guy. So when £14 was demanded of me for two tickets, I panicked until I spotted Brendan Dempsey inside. I shouted at him, and he waved at the doorman and I got let in for free. When my date was following me the doorman still tried to charge for her, until Brendan waved at him again, and held up two fingers. She was waved in after me. The girl gave me the drop a couple of weeks later (probably because our first five dates were to comedy clubs), but that still doesn’t take away from how impressed she was the first night. Nice guy Brendan. And did you know he was in “Gangs of New York”?
wow…apparantly ireland’s stages are the same as stages in New Jersey
That’s a really cool story….he was very good live. one of those shows lost in the hype of too many medicore comics at the Edinburgh Fringe. By the way, I’m not too sure if a comedy club is the best place for a first date; what if the comics touch a nerve with her but you are crying with laughter ?
Would disagree that a comedy club is a bad place for a first date, although the cinema would be better. The reson, you can be out on a date for three to four hours, but only have to talk to her for about 30mins. The rest of the time you can’t talk. Sweet. Assuming the comedy was good, she’ll remember the whole date fondly. So do your research and you could get an easy second date. My only caveat is that at some stage you will have to actually talk to the girl! But practising on front of a mirror, and having a set list written on the back of you hand helps with that.
Thankfully my first date days are long over
Just realised that all my posts this week make me look like an old man reminising about life in the rare old times. I tell you, comedy was different when I were a lad, and that sort of thing. I’m only 26 for Bod’s sake!
Its awesome how comics age in dog years. I’m 23, but have the cynicism of 104 year old ex stripper turned ER nurse cum straight talking radio host.
“You think you’ve got it bad just because you’re bleeding out on the bathroom floor and your wife’s done run out on you with the pizza boy? I was injecting black tar heroin into my eye lids during the entire great depression. When I finally came to, FDR had won the war and I had children of every ethnicity that had come through town. They called me Rainbow Vag. Do you know what that was like?”
I dunno. It needs work. Constructive criticism? Shall we group build a bit?
Just got back from the Edinburgh Fringe. Saw some great shows; Glenn Wool, Ivan Brackenbury, Jim Jeffries and America’s own Jamie Kilstein who I had a really nice chat to after the show and bought his CD.
Jim Jeffries is an awesome comic and a great performer. He has such a cynical view of the world despite being only 31. He does a lot of drugs and drinks a lot. Typical comic! These blokes kept getting up in the front row and putting him and the audience off. He got pissed and shouted at the techie to get security and stop people coming back in. It was really fucking annoying and its cool to see a comic take control like that. He recently presented the NME Awards in the US.
The highlight would possibly be being picked on by past-if.comedie winner Phil Nicol for being gay (I’m not) and at the end he dragged me up in front of the crowd of hundreds to sing his signature song ‘I’m the Only Gay Eskimo (in My Tribe)’. He inched towards me and whispered ‘look into my eyes’. I couldn’t sing properly without laughing at him strumming and inching towards my face. My acting days told me that all double acts need to work well in tandem so I grabbed him and pulled him up against the wall as if we were kissing. The sell out crowd went nuts, they loved it, I stopped and sat down with him looking bewildered. He looked flabbergasted and said ‘Well, they say never underestimate your audience…..’
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?…ol&vt=lf&hl=en
Ahh, it’s always so funny when a comic banks on an audience member not cooperating and then they go along with it hard. Actually, now that I think about it, usually it is depressing, because then they get all deflated and the act loses momentum. I’m stoked that it was awesome for you guys though.
Man, have you ever seen it when a shitty comic tries to stage a heckler? That’s some cringe right there.
Actually, I probs didn’t tell the story well but Phil was awesome and as a comedy fan I suppose I went along with it. He was great and well recommended. Also I was probably blowing my own trumpet!
……but i know what you mean about comics like that!
Anyone get the new Lewis Black album?
2Nick:
No I dig it man, you got a good night. It’s just really… something else, when someone who isn’t that great at working with people does it. Which is often.
well apparently the supposed bill hicks movie is gaining some spped and could actually get made. i know weve talked abot this before but it appears that russel crowe is in talks to play hicks. now i have nothing against Crowe, but i dont think he could pull off hicks…although i also thought heath ledger wouldent make a good joker and boy was i wrong.
I did get Lewis Black’s album. I think its good but forgettable. A few chuckles here and there, but its nowhere as good as his album The Rules of Enragement.
Yes, I know how hard comedy is, and how easy it is for fans to say “man he’s not as funny as he used to be.”
But I dunno, I’ve been whole heartedly disappointed with Lewis Black lately. I dont really care if comics do lame TV shows or movie roles, as long as they keep their stage presence sharp. I forgive Dave Attell for the Gong Show, because I see him tear it up all the time at the Comedy Cellar.
But Lewis, I dunno, maybe its just me but I really think he’s starting to fade.
brian, how was NLOL?
i’ve heard clips of patrick’s standup and it certainly made me laugh, but i feel like hanging out with him would be an all-out defensive night, haha.
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Russell-Crowe-To-Be-Bill-Hicks-9892.html
http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/rusty-relaxes-as-film-takes-leaf-of-absence/2008/08/16/1218307309396.html
yeah looks like this Hicks movie is on the cards. I don’t know much about the development porcess for movies but with this news where will the film be at? Crowe says it’s went from treatment to draft stage. I’ve got a reasonably good idea what those phrases mean but where does this mean the script is at?
I really hope its good……..
NLOL was great. Patrick is a great comic (and like most performers a completely different guy off stage/mic), and Johnny B tore it up. What surprised me most was how cool their fans were. Not that I thought they would be assholes, but with the kind of show NLO is I was expecting a much rowdier bunch. But they were a great crowd. They came to see a comedy show and seemed to have a great time (and generous too as I had more than one beverage purchased for me). All in all it was a blast and a big thank you goes out to Patrick and the whole NLO crew.
Agree with Patrick about Russell Crowe making an unlikely Bill Hicks. Not just the lack of a physical resemblance but the fact that Crowe isn’t exactly known for brilliant comedy delivery or timing in any of his films. I know the Hicks movie will be more of a drama, but Crowe will still need to deliver Hick’s stage act convincingly, like Dustin Hoffman did as Lenny Bruce.
Hope Crowe’s Texan accent is more convincing than his British one in Master And Commander too.
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Russell-Crowe-To-Be-Bill-Hicks-9892.html
http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/rusty-relaxes-as-film-takes-leaf-of-absence/2008/08/16/1218307309396.html
yeah looks like this Hicks movie is on the cards. I don’t know much about the development porcess for movies but with this news where will the film be at? Crowe says it’s went from treatment to draft stage. I’ve got a reasonably good idea what those phrases mean but where does this mean the script is at?
I really hope its good……..
the thought of russell crowe playing bill hicks is pretty painful. what about edward norton? he’s def. got the acting chops to pull it off, and perhaps the look…
glad to hear nlol was hilarious and a good time, brian — did they manage to get chef on stage for any length of time? i know just what you are saying about the potential for fans to be rowdy, but my sense is like they are a huge happy family with papa patrick at the top, haha.
i dropped a bit of a shoutout to you in this week’s episode of my podcast (www.TheExplodingSandwich.com) when I asked our guest for a hell gig story. Naturally, any huge influx of traffic to your podcast is from being mentioned on mine, not because of NLO’s legion of 10,000 loyal fans. all me, baby. all me.
If they are indeed making a Bil Hicks movie with Russel Crowe, I guess I really have to reserve judgment until they come out with a trailer.
I remember reading that Jamie Foxx was gonna play Ray Charles and saying to myself, WTF are they thinking?!?!? And he ended up winning an oscar.
You guys are all absolutely right about how it seems Russel Crowe’s roughneck persona doesnt really seem to fit Bill Hicks. But thats what acting is all about.
When I heard that Australian Shine actor Geoffery Rush was going to play my comedy hero Peter Sellers in a biopic, I kinda raised an eyebrow in suprise. But Rush was magnificent and totally convincing as Sellers. And the same with Jim Carey as Andy Kaufman.
So I guess I should keep an open mind about Crowe doing a good job as Hicks.
.
The nominees for the if.comeddie award (previously The Perrier) have been announced. They are David O’Doherty, Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler (as a double act), Rhod Gilbert and Russell Kane. Obviously I’m rooting for the DO’D!
And I didn’t catch any of them when I was up! Balls!
As am I BCOS
Hey BMo.. I was listening to a BTB marathon and there was an episode where you said that Comedians have the shit end of the stick, by having to bring people to shows, basically a “Pay to Play” type of deal.. well.. being in the music side of promotion, there are plenty of venues that, unless you are huge, or have a really big draw, you have to pay to play, most of the venues on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, CA are that way. I kew PLENTY of bands that had to pay to play at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go, Roxy, Key Club… you name it. And if the band doesn’t “sell out” the tickets that they have, the band has to make up the difference.
In closing, it’s not just the comedians that have to Pay to Play.. I’m sure it happens everywhere…
Are you trying to tell me I’m not the martyr I claim to be? Because you’re wrong. Good to hear from you again buddy.