Succotash Epi57: Boozin' With Bill (Again)

The next episode of Succotash, The Comedy Podcast Podcast, is here. Late. AGAIN.

Damn.

I keep trying to crank this sucker out every week but that darned Life keeps getting in the way.  As much as I enjoy producing Succotash, my landlord has told me time and time again that – no, he will not take plugs on the show in exchange for the rent. Nor will the grocery store trade with me for food. And I'm sure not going to get gas with my podcast.

So, for the time being anyway, this show remains something I get to as often as I can and I will keep TRYING to drop a show a week, but it’s challenging. (I appreciate those of you who can hang with the erratic release schedule!)

In addition to beau coup clips this week, I belly back up to the bar with our booth announcer Bill Heywatt for what proves to be an explosive episode. In the midst of preparing his "Wolf Spritzer" concoction, Bill underestimated the power the his SodaStream machine could unleash and he proceeded to drench the both of us with Gunpowder Green Tea.

But we weathered that storm and soldiered on to finish making up Bill's tribute to his favorite newsman, Wolf Blitzer. If you can't see the recipe here, you'll find it on our homesite at http://SuccotashShow.com. And I'll post it up on the Succotash Facebook page as well.

It sure was great to finally be back with Bill at the studio wet bar, and I took a picture of the setup so that the listening audience might admire his posh layout.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, CHILLPAK HOLLYWOOD HOUR

Friends-of-Succotash Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness are celebrating six years of hosting the Chillpak Hollywood Hour podcast. Their show was a chief inspiration for me deciding to launch Succotash two years ago so join me in wishing them the best as they continue to produce high quality, interesting and entertaining episodes. I've made them an honorary sponsor for this episode of Succotash and - in keeping with our months-old tradition of mentioning each other's programs in one way or another, I've got a slice from their most recent Epi311, where Phil kicks off the show by mentioning us in the process of apologizing for not being able to mention us. It's beautiful.

TOP 10 MOST ACTIVE IN THE STITCHER TOP 100 COMEDY PODCAST LIST

I'm happy to report that that podcast feature with the longest title in the world just got its own jingle, courtesy of the Studio P Jingle Singers! There was a lot of action in Stitcher's Top 100 Comedy Podcasts this past week - massive swings both up and down for a bunch of different shows. (This is SO much more exciting than charting the Top 10 shows, isn't it?)

14. Smodcast: Jay & Silent Bob Get Old +101
17. Duncan Trussel Family Hour +178
39. By The Way: In Conversation With Jeff Garlin -89
43. Uhh Yeah Dude +103
51. Onion Radio News -123
76. The World of Phil Hendrie -72
81. About Last Night -172
95. Who's Paying Attention +137
97. The Dead Authors Podcast -236
99. Beauty And Da Beast +116

BURST O' DURST

This week comedian Will Durst goes after the "Yellow bellied coards" in the Senate who mucked up the sensible shot (no pun intended) we had at some intelligent gun control. 

THE CLIPS

The Doug Stanhope Podcast
Doug Stanhope is, for my money, of the funniest "real voiced" comics around. He's guested on a number of podcasts but now he's looking to get conversational on his terms. His podcast just kicked off and we've clipped the second edition, where he chats with pal GooseKirk, who explains what went down at the airport in South America just before he got busted and put away in a Brazilian prison for 5 years. (Not coincidentally, I reviewed this episode last week for This Week In Comedy Podcasts on Splitsider.com)

Tom Shillue's Pour-over Coffee

The Todd Barry Podcast
The second newcomer to podcast hosting that we have on tap this week is the very funny Todd Barry. He IS the personification of wry and it's a real pleasure to get to hear him on the podwaves in his own format. For his first outing, he interview fellow comedian and voiceover guy Tom Shillue from New York. They took a detour while talking about working on the road and you get the sense that these two guys REALLY like their coffee… (I'm reviewing the episode for Splitsider THIS week, so check it out!) 

Clutch & Wiggle 
Rob & Craig - the guys over at CWERadio.com – replay Succotash every time we manage to squeeze another episode out. So we love it when we get a chance to return the favor a bit. Rob sent this in along with this note: “Here is a clip from our recent show. We came up with a new 'game' where you have to come up with a description of this 'sex act' from the mind of Craig Wiggle - this one was called 'Snakes on a Crane'."

This Week With Larry Miller
It’s good to have Larry Miller over at This Week With Larry Miller. He was out for a long time from a fall and some difficult recovery from that but he’s back and with him is his Joke of The Week…that will take a little while to get to the end.

Special thanks to listener Tyson Saner for sending in clips from two of his favorite podcasts:

The Smodco Smorning Show
Returning host Dan Ethridge & permanent host Marty Yu welcome James Franco Jr. and Bill Watterson (some voice acting guy, not the cartoonist who drew Calvin & Hobbs.) This clip is from part of their Mail Sack feature.

The Breaks
This clip is from James Franco Jr.'s own program which is hip-hop and news through a comedy filter... or vice versa. James is known by the nickname/title "Jammaster James" although his fans call him DJ James or Djammaster because of his twitter handle @Djammaster. His guest is Comedian Nestor Rodriguez who shares a childhood memory.

Complete Sentences with Ty & Rocky KSo Rocky K called into the Succotash Hotline, then sent in a promo for his show, THEN sent in an actual clip when I emailed him and told him that clips were preferable. This clip is called "Late Night Stories".

StarEffers
Joe over at Radio Fubar sent along a clip from his show StarEffers – it’s all about pop culture, celebrity gossip and more. 

That's our show for Epi57. Next time out I'll be featuring a bit of a rambling chat/interview/John Wayne extravaganza, recorded on the road with Dana Carvey and SF comedian Larry "Bubbles" Brown.

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi56: Kickstartin' With Michael Celestino

Greeting, Succotashians, and apologies for the late droppage of Epi56 of the Comedy Podcast Podcast. Due to travels and a bum external hard drive, I've been hard-pressed to pull it all together for this one, but it's finally happened.

Those who listen regularly have discovered that, as much as this show is dedicated to podcasts of the comedy variety, we also split out interests amongst both podcasts in general and comedy in the larger sense. Particularly where our interviews are concerned. This episode features a quick chat with filmmaker Michael Celestino, who is in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign to raise $50,000 to fund his latest project, That's Not Funny, where he looks at why and how people find various subjects offensive, especially when coming from a comedian expounding on the topic.
  
The trailer that he put together to kick off the project already features some well-known and outspoken comic types, including Paul Provenza, Greg Proops, Jackie Kashian, Emery Emery, and Kyle Kinane. Have a listen to our epi, take a squint at the video we've embedded on our homesite here at http://SuccotashShow.com, and then click on the link to throw a few bucks Mike's way to help make this important film a reality.

THE SORT-OF-COUNTDOWN
 
Here’s the latest of The 10 Most Active in the Stitcher Top 100 Comedy Podcast List!

49. The Dana Gould Hour +61
65. The Champs -15
67. Superego +49
73. The Phil Hendrie Podcast -17
74. Afterblack +22
78. The Naughty Show -15
84. Vos and Bonnie’s “My Wife Hates Me” +28
91. the Long Shot Podcast +16
93. Walking The Room +58
94. Comedy Of The Week -30 

BURST O' DURST

Our regular blast from Will Durst is all about the opening of baseball season. (The one thing that worked out by this episode being late is that Durst is technically off this week, fine-tuning his new one man show, BoomerAging - From LSD to OMG, that debuts shortly on Tuesdays at the Marsh Theater in San Francisco. Get more details at WillDurst.com!) 

THE CLIPS

The Standup Chronicles
Host Adam Harris sent along a clip of his chat with comedian Dave Coulier. Most people know him from the Full House TV series, but he’s been doing standup for 30+ years and even appeared on The Tonight Show back when Johnny Carson was the host. Dave recounts the lead up to that experience

Who Charted? 
Here's a show that's over on the Earwolf network that’s very popular – sorry to take so long to get around to it! The show’s main focus is to tell you what’s hot and happening via various charts – movies, music and more. Hosted by Howard Kremer and Kulap Vilaysack, their guest is the very funny, very dry, very cool Matt Walsh. In the clip, Matt and Howard exchange stories about getting scammed for pot and tickets.

The Fogelnest Files
Another offering from Earwolf is Jay Fogelnest's show, The Fogelnest Files, that aims it's humor and analyses on a variety of topics. Our clip featuring him and guest Gabe Delahaye talking about a guy doing a YouTube review of the scorpion jacket from the movie Drive. 

Inverse Delirium 
Friend-of-Succotash Geoffrey Welchman sends along a sketch from his Inverse Delirium podcast that I'm just calling "The Doctor Sketch". He's also got a great chat with Lewis Black on Epi61 of ID, so check it out.

Wrong Foot Podcast
We have a second sketch for this week's show - makes for a nice break from all the pop culture/news yak fests going on in Podcastland, doesn't it? The folks over at The Wrong Foot provide a little something from Epi91, their Baseball Episode. It feels a little like some classic Cheech & Chong. Since I mangle the Wrong Foot cat members names in the podcast, htere they are in text form: Weston Prescott, Janice DelDubio, Ray Hemerley, Gail Wavenly, Antonio Belia, S. M. Rombarawitz, Loren Schofield, Gene Dale, Richard A. Goldberg, Lydia Linda Lorna, and Pierre Vuilleumier.

Dorktown
The Dorktown podcast is out of Fresno, CA, Bells, Mikey, and Becky talk about a lot of stuff and have their own Top 25 podcast ratings on their homesite, a rating that changes every month. (Happy to see us sitting at #5 in March!) Our slice from a recent episode features the trio in a the classic debate: Kegstands vs Beer Bongs.

The Firnecast 
Host Dan Firnekas and Mandy Firnekas are a brother/sister team and this epi does family to the third power when they add guest (and dad) Allen Firnekas. They're out of Wyoming, which is may go down as the birthplace of something clipped from their show - Karaoke Rap. Especially as done by the senior Firnekas.

The Double Special Show
Although it's referred to as a "weekly comedy radio show" by host Chris Gorges, Jordan Lee & Tiffany Barbee, it seems like a podcast to me. Out of Tampa Bay, Florida, they have call-in guests, snipe at pop culture and also go after those news stories - such as the move to offer police protection to punks.

That's the rundown for Epi56. Hope you enjoy our clippage and other stuff this week (including a fresh commercial from Henderson's Pants!)

Thanks for passing the Succotash…

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi55: Noshin' With Andy Kindler

This is the two-year-iversary month for Succotash! Two whole years. I didn't know it would last this long but then, I didn't know that it wouldn't last this long. If you've been listening the whole time I can't thank you enough. And if you've picked us up somewhere along the way, I thank you as well.

Epi55 is not a big clip show - we've only got four snippets from comedy podcasts - but that's because the majority of the show is my interview with the poster boy for alt comedy Andy Kindler. I would have really enjoyed settling in for a quiet, contemplative, in-depth one-on-one with Andy, but podcasters can't be choosers. Instead, I got a rollicking chatfest over a late night meal at D'Angelo's Italian restaurant, the usual hang for comedians following the Mark Pitta & Friends show at the 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley, California.

And it wasn't just Andy and me. We were joined by Mark Pitta, Larry "Bubbles" Brown, and Bob Rubin, all of whom would randomly come and go at our table, cracking wise and telling stories as the occasion warranted. In between, Andy answered a few of my questions, none of which really got into his background so if you're unfamiliar with Andy or why he's regarded so highly among comedians, you may not understand why the flock of comics around our table were drawn there like moths to a flame. We do get into some of Andy's thinking about comedy itself and a bit of his history. So it's safe to say there's something for everyone in here.

THE SORT-OF-COUNTDOWN

Having abandoned my countdown of Stitcher's Top 10 Comedy Podcasts because the top shows rarely change position, here's this week's The 10 Most Active in the Stitcher Top 100 Comedy Podcast List*:

10. By The Way: In Conversation with Jeff Garlin +54
29. Sklarbro Country +17
48. The Paul F. Tompkast +63
53. The Phil Hendrie Podcast +19
58. The Tenderloins Podcast +86
80. The Ricky Gervais Show +30
81. Dennis Has A Podcast -26
95. Frangela’s Idiot Of The Week +39
96. NewsPop Comedy +32
100. Work Sucks +30

*The number on the left is the show's ranking in the Top 100. The number on the right are the number of places, up or down, the show moved this last week in ALL of Stitcher's rankings for comedy podcasts.

KICKSTARTING

A new campaign over on Kickstarter.com that caught my eye is That's Not Funny, a documentary by filmmaker Mike Celestino. He's talked to some comedians (and wants to talk to a lot more) about subject matter in comedy that rubs some people the wrong way, and why. Succotash kicked him 50 bucks but he's trying to raise $50 THOUSAND to complete the project. (He's already got interviews in the can with funny folks such as Emery Emery, Jackie Kashian, Kyle Kinane, Greg Proops, and Paul Provenza. As of this posting, he's got 30+ days to go but that's going to run out quick. I'll have him on for a quick chat about the film in Epi56 but, in the meantime, click the link or hop over to http://hersh.co/16ntubA and see if you can't help him out.

BURST O' DURST

Our regular check-in by Will Durst has our favorite raging moderate peering over at the US Supreme Court's reason tussle over the marriage equality issue.

CLIPS

The Rob & Joe Show

We've featured snippet from Rob Maher & Joe Robinson's podcast before. This time it's an indelicate peek into Joe's sexual past. It's not exactly tasteful but, if you're looking for that, there's still terrestrial radio out there for you…

The Random Variety Show Podcast 
Another return visitor this episode is Charley Miller and his Random Variety Show. The chunk Charley sent us is a story he created with the help of sentences sent in by listeners.(BTW, I'm slated to be a guest on the RVS podcast sometime this month - I'll give you a heads up and a link when it happens!)

Todd N’ Tyler Radio Empire 

The Todd N’ Tyler Radio Empire has been cranking on air since 1993 out of KEZO in Omaha, Nebraska. They’re syndicated on a number of stations, on the internet and their show has – as so many other radio shows have – become podcastted. Even with all that coverage, I am embarrassed to say I have never heard of Todd Brandt and Mike Tyler until I read last episode’s The 10 Most Active in the Stitcher Top 100 Comedy Podcast List. That’s when T-N-T rocketed into the Top 100, landing at #73 and climbing an incredible 306 places in one week. So I just HAD to clip 'em…

The Q Show 
Mark Bland sent us a sample of The Q Show which originates from St. Louis, Missouri. The description off the homesite tells us that the show is about "everything and is liberal/moderate radio for people with a brain!" Check out our sample tidbit and see if you qualify.

That's what we've got for you this time around. I'm off on a road trip this week with Dana Carvey and Larry "Bubbles" Brown, during which time we are going to attempt to record enough material for one and maybe even two upcoming episodes. THAT should make it worth passing the Succotash, right?

— Marc Hershon