Succotash Epi33: Singin' With John Anealio

Greetings, Succotashians! Welcome to Episode 33. Going a little different this installment, with the majority of the show centered around our special guest, podcaster and singer/songwriter John Anealio. (I promise we'll have beau coup clips from comedy podcasts locked and loaded in the next episode...)

John Anealio AKA Captain Six String

I think you'll like our chat, which is interspersed with several of John's comedi-sci-fi tunes as well as a clip from his weekly podcast, Functional Nerds. (I even sneak in a reprise of friend-of-Succotash Dana Carvey singing a silly ditty we've featured before, The World's Catchiest Song.)

Here's the list of John's tunes I play during the interview:

• George R. R. Martin Is Not Your Bitch (Remix)

• We Don't Need Another Trilogy

• Cecilia

• Rachel Rosen

• Unicorn Pegasus Kitten

All this tuneage plus a lot more is available at John's website, http://JohnAnealio.com. (And as good a job as I finally do in this episode by pronouncing John's name correctly, I actually misspelled the his name in trying to give out the website. Sorry, John!)

Sammy Wegent

In addition to our time with John, we kick things off with short teaser by comedian/actor/writer Sammy Wegent, talking about his new web series Everybody's A Comedian. (Savvy Succotash listeners/blog readers already know that your truly makes a guest appearance in Episode 2 of EAC.) This teaser is a preamble to a longer interview I recently had with Sammy in a San Francisco North Beach coffee house, which I will play in its entirety in upcoming Epi35.

And our Burst O' Durst has Will Durst checking in on the heels of Congressman Todd Akin's ridiculous declaration about the ability of a woman who has been raped to "shut down" her reproductive system to prevent unwanted pregnancy. (As a member of the U.S. Congress, Akin is a "Representative" but, with statements like his, who is he representing, precisely? 17th century Puritans?)

In other realms, in exchange for my contributing to Chillpak Hollywood Hour's Dean Haglund's Kickstarter campaign to create his graphic novel (Shock And Awesome), the alumnus of TV's The X-Files has created a new Succotash logo which you can now see (and buy) gracing t-shirts, mugs and other merch at our Succotashery! It's pretty cool-looking and I'm waiting for my own long sleeve black tee to arrive from Cafe Press any day now...

Speaking of Kickstarter, I also just this past week received my tickets for the upcoming L.A. Podcast Festival, Oct. 12-14. While I'm not involved in the fest in any official capacity (no one asked…), I'll have my remote equipment and will interview any and all podcasters and comedians that I can get to sit still in front of the microphone. (I should be easy to spot, as I'll be wearing the aforementioned Succotash t-shirt.)

I've been getting more and more clip submissions from comedy podcasters, which is great — a lot of what I'll be featuring in the next episode will come out of the Tweetsack. But you don't have to be a podcaster to suggest show for us to feature. If you're a regular listener, a "civilian", go right ahead and let us know your favorite show(s) and we'll track down the clips and put 'em up! (You can always email me, marc@SuccotashShow.com, or tweet a message and be sure to throw @SuccotashShow in there somewhere.)

That's enough. Get out of here and into the show. Enjoy! And please, if you truly care about your fellow man (and woman), won't you pass the Succotash?

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi32: Co-hostin' With Phil Leirness

With Epi32 we're back at Studio P with Engineer/Producer Joe Paulino and all is right with the world. (BTW, be sure to check out Joe and Tim White's CD Inhale Slowly - it's not only great meditation and relaxation music, but it's kicking ass on the mellow music charts!) This episode of Succotash is positively brimming with podcastly goodness — a scintillating guest co-host, a new Henderson's Pants ad, an installment of Boozin' With Bill, a Burst O' Durst, sci-fi comedy music from John Anealio and a passle of podcast clips.

Our guest co-host is no stranger to Succotash listeners — it's Phil Leirness, he of Chillpak Hollywood Hour podcast fame. Phil was in Northern California and the timing worked out that he was able to get to Studio P and help me serve up this latest portion of Succotash. We talk a little about his work and he gives us a few tantalizing glimpses into what is going on with the TWO follow up films to The Truth Is Out There, the conspiracy theory based documentary Phil directed. (Both CHH and TTIOT are produced in collaboration with TV's Dean "X-Files" Haglund, who our listeners also know from his audio visits to the show.) Phil's a great conversationalist and has well-expressed commentary on the clips in this episode.

Speaking of clips, here's what in store in Epi32…

Chillpak Hollywood Hour
Our guest co-host and his heterosexual life partner Dean Haglund discuss some of the Comedy nominations for the upcoming Emmy Awards.

Combat Radio

I've been wanting to play something from Combat Radio so reached out to the show's ringmaster, Ethan Dettenmaier, via Twitter. He shot me a link to a clip featuring Phil Leirness without even knowing he was with me this show. It all boils down to a scheme to break into Area 51…

After Hours with Mark Pitta
Friend of Succotash Mark Pitta has a rare treat in his latest After Hours podcast episode: An interview he did back in 2001 where he interviewd comic legend George Carlin in front of a theater full of people. In this clip, Carlin remembers the transition point between his straight-laced, necktie-wearing persona and the counter-culture icon he was to become.

The Dana Gould Hour

Dana Gould and his guests Steve Agee & Matt Weinhold get into it about Comicon, which recently wrapped its latest incarnation in San Diego.

Ham Radio
Not being a huge fan of the "shootin' the shit" brand of groupchat podcasting, I got a laugh out of Ham Radio host Brett Hamil's ad for Crosstalk Comedy.

Professor Blastoff
Epi64 of Professor Blastoff starts off with a very sobering note by co-host TIg Notaro, as she reveals that she has been diagnosed with double breast cancer. Her co-hosts Kyle Dunnigan and David Huntsberger, are not only sympathetic but help to make the experience a pretty safe one for Tig to be so forthcoming. Click over to their homesite to leave her a message of support.

Pissed Off Man Show
We’ve featured a few clips from the deeply Irish brogued Gee & Jay Show from Belfast. Well, Gavin – who put the G in Gee & Jay – sometimes has to wait around for Jay to show up and that rage is what gives us a few tender moments of the Pissed Off Man Show.

What Duvet Said
Rob Celli, one half of What Duvet Said, was a previous guest co-host of Succotash. Now he’s moved to New York but he and Jason Duplissey – who is in LA – still pull off the show. (Coincidentally, I originally found out about these guys from Phil Leirness.)

Booth announcer Bill Haywatt is back in the studio with another Boozin' With Bill segment. This time he serves up a concoction called "The Red C", which he picked up in his travels as a journeyman radio announcer in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. This libation was actually surprisingly good and we were sorry that after the first round was gone, there was no more to be had. See the recipe right over there on the left had side of the page…

Off the air and in the reading world, in This Week In Comedy Podcasts, I’m reviewing The Thrilling Adventure Hour #83: Cactoid Jim, King Of The Martian Frontier with guest stars Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin and Zachary Levy. Just go to Splitsider.com to lay your eyes on that review.

That's going to do it for this week's installment. There should be plenty to keep you busy until Epi33, where I will spend the show chatting with comedy sci-fi musician John Anealio and playing some of his very funny and nerdy music.

Until then, please have fun passing the Succotash!

— Marc Hershon

Howdy! I'm popping in with this short blast between posting about Succotash episodes to let you know about an appearance I make in a just-released installment of a new comedy web series. So if you've been wondering what the face behind the voice of Succotash looks like, here's your chance to catch a glimpse!

Everybody's A Comedian is a web sitcom about an unknown comic who can barely pay his bar tab, let alone his dues. I'm proud to have been asked to appear in Sammy Wegent's "Everybody's A Comedian", Episode #2! Look for the sleazyish commercial director. That'll be me...

Succotash Epi31: Movie Makin' With Dylan Price

Welcome to Epi31 of Succotash, the Comedy Podcast Podcast. Once again, I recorded my bits from my traveling studio, AKA my car. Long story. Suffice it to say, however that NEXT episode we will be back at Studio P with Engineer/Producer Joe Paulino AND a special guest co-host! That’s right. But this time we’ve got some clips and an interesting interview with a young filmmaker. A VERY young filmmaker. 16, to be exact, by the name of Dylan Price.

I wanted to chat with Dylan because I could see parallels between a young person, finding his way around in the early throes of learning how to make movies and a number of the podcasters out there I've come to know that are stumbling around on their way to learning how to produce a decent show. Listen to hear if you don't recognize a little bit of either yourself or someone you know who is excited, eager, and willing to do just about anything to do what they love.

Speaking of the interview, I need to apologize to Dylan. He had a campaign up on Indiegogo to raise money to fund his movie, Gardofski, the short we talk about. Try as I might, I could not get this episode done in time to do him any good. So I kicked in $50 to help him, but he still fell a hundred bucks shy of the $500 he was hoping to bring in.

So here's what I'll do.

Since Dylan is still working on his film, if you feel moved to help him out, you can jump up and click on our Donate button right on the SuccotashShow.com website. Just include a note with whatever you might want to give to him and I will pass it along in the form of delicious cash.

What else we got? Let me run it down for you...

Monday Morning Podcast

I really enjoy Bill Burr’s Monday Morning Podcast, although I haven’t had the opportunity to play much on the show before. It’s the simplest of frameworks: a man and a recorder. Very bare bones and Bill rambles on, not overly concerned with being funny as he seems to just wants to be engaging.

Toggle The Switch
The internet is allowing for some really interesting things to happen in podcasting that would be very expensive to pull off in traditional media. Last episode I played a clip from when I co-hosted The Dhead Factor, with host Dabs in Canberra, Australia and me in Mill Valley, California. This show we have a clip from a show that does something similar all the time. Toggle The Switch features American co-host Susan Wygmans in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and her counterpart Carl Mac, who hails from Adelaide, South Australia. The other voice you’ll hear is their guest, Rob Flanagan and, well, I’m not sure where he’s from.

Mental Poison
With Marcus, Brian, Bill, Joe, and Monica, Mental Poison (love that name!) blasts out of New Jersey live every Monday night, then replays forever on iTunes and Stitcher Smart Radio. These guys are loud, raucous and pretty entertaining.

No Pants Cast

I’m grateful when the podcasters reach out and take the time to shoot me some info about themselves, with or without a clip. From LA, The No Pants Cast has less than ten episodes under their no belts so far, but they’re taking it seriously. Or comedically. Hosts Tim Chizmar and Diane Kawasaki along with their announcer, Cooler Tom Schuler, have guests, boundless conversation with no boundaries and, of course, no pants. In this clip they're joined by comedian Steve Mazan.

The Hustle
Will Gilman & Adam Tucker
Here’s another show I am just now getting turned onto. Co-host Will Gilman dropped me a line and a clip. It’s one of what I like to refer to as those “shooting the shit” shows, but with only two hosts (Gilman and Adam Tucker), things don’t get horribly out of hand in terms of overtalking.

That's it for the clippage. We do have another Burst O' Durst with political scamp Will Durst (look for him at http://WillDurst.com or @WillDurst on Twitter.) We also got a call on the Succotash Hotline from J.V. of the JVMail podcast, so I play it for you during the TweetSack segment.

I sure am looking forward to getting back to the studio next time. You, too! Until then, please be darned sure that you pass the Succotash.

— Marc Hershon