Succotash Epi48: Illusionoidin'

I’m very excited about today’s show. I’m usually excited about every epi, but sometimes I’m more excited than other times and this is one of those more excited times. Our special guests are Paul Bates, Lee Smart, and Nug Nahrgang – the cast of Illusionoid, one of my favorite podcasts.

One of the most interesting things about Illusionoid is that it is a highly improvised show, built within a framework that makes it seem like each episode is an integral story within a structured whole. Maybe that's where the "illusion" part of the name comes from - I didn't think to ask. We DO get into the nuts and bolts of how the show gets put together - performance, music, sound effects - as well as how the three guys met up and how the show got started.

I play a snippet of a recent Illusionoid episode after the interview, one that was inspired by part of our conversation just before the guys were going into the studio to record the show. You really should hear more and you can do it at http://Illusionoid.com, as well as on iTunes and Stitcher Smart Radio.

COUNTDOWN

Here's the latest Top 10 Comedy Podcast countdown from Stitcher Smart Radio. There are a couple of new entries this week but not a whole lot of action - no movement at all amongst the top eight shows from last week's numbers.

10. SModcast > Tell ‘Em Steve-Dave!
9. The Church of What’s Happening Now
8. Doug Loves Movies
7. Death Squad
6. Mohr Stories
5. The Nerdist
4. NPR: Car Talk Podcast
3. WTF with Mark Maron
2. The Adam Carolla Show
1. The Joe Rogan Experience

WHAT ELSE YOU GOT?

There's our Burst O' Durst, with comedian Will Durst talking about Girls (HBO) creator Lena Dunham and her amazing display of tattoos that joined her at the recent Golden Globes awards. I read a letter from Louis CK. And we have a song from Bonn and Obo.

CLIPS

SModcast: Tell ‘Em, Steve-Dave
Featuring Brian Quinn, Bryan Johnson & Walt Flanagan, Tell 'Em, Steve-Dave is billed as “Two Comic Book Men and An Impractical Joker. Uncensored.” The origin of the title is from a comic store that Kevin Smith and Walt Flanagan used to go to, run by a guy who they could never remember if his name was Steve or Dave. So he became Steve-Dave. Our clip has part of their regular segments called "Fat News".

The Church Of What's Happening NowSome people may be old enough to remember that the title of Joey Diaz’ podcast came from a character that late comedian Flip Wilson did, the Reverend Leroy, and it was the name of his church. Joey’s a truth-to-power kind of guy who also seems heavily fueled by edible forms of marijuana. But he used to be into heavier stuff, as evidenced by the story he tells in our sample of the show.

NPR: Car Talk PodcastDid you know that NPR's Car Talk radio show, featuring the beloved Click and Clack (AKA Tom and Ray Magliozzi) is also Top 10 podcast? You can tell it's new to podcasting and a to a whole new audience because otherwise listeners would know that Car Talk - around for 35 years - stopped producing new shows last October! What you’re hearing are old reruns of people calling in to ask Click and Clack about their old broken down cars.

Sloppy Seconds 
The official blurb for Sloppy Seconds reads: “San Francisco comedian Howard Stone and co-host Tom Sawyer discuss current events in this fast paced comedy talk show with music.” What it neglects to say is that Tom Sawyer has been a fixture in the San Francisco comedy scene for 30 years as the owner of Cobb’s Comedy Club. And he’s got as many opinions as he had comedians cross the Cobb’s stage. Their guest this episode is Bay Area comedian Johnny Steele, who has an opinion or two himself.

TalkS Hit with Eddie Ifft
Here’s a podcast that’s known by slightly different titles depending where you look for it. On its homesite, it’s Talking Shit with Jim Jefferies and Eddie Ifft. Or sometimes just Talking Shit with Eddie Ifft. Or Jim And Eddie Talk Shit. On iTunes, to get past the censorship on titles, it’s called TalkS Hit with Eddie Ifft. Whatever you call it, it has just passed 200 episodes, so something’s working. I will warn you that this show is NOT for the meek. This particular episode they have comedian Greg Wilson dropping by and the stories are, quite frankly, a little rough. Definitely NSFW. But there’s a crude hilarity and sense of fun…up until the moment Eddie shits his pants. Yes, that's right. Say no more.

The DC AM
AM is the host of The DC AM which is in Washington, DC. In a most recent epsiode, AM and a friend – the podcast homesite is very devoid of names – ventured to the Music And Gaming Festival (or MAGFest) in search of costumed weirdos running amok in our nation’s capitol. In the clip we have, they’ve cornered a dude dressed like Encio from the Assassion’s Creed video games.

YA YA
Brian Elles hosts a man-on-the-street type of show in Chicago called Ya Ya in conjunction with Peaches and Hot Sauce Productions. (I think I mispronounce the title of the show during the podcast - it's not "yah-yah" but more "yeh-yeh" - guest I'm not street enough to get those nuances…) In this clip that came right out of our TweetSack, Brian has Greg Gilenna (creator and writer of Meet The Parents) as his guest, who reveals the origins of the movie was a two-minute comedy sketch.

There aren't THAT many clips in today's show but, with the Illusionoid interview, this is one of the longer episodes of Succotash we've done. Even so, I still managed to tack on a bonus succotash recipe at the very end, after Bill Haywatt signs off.

Until next time, please remember to pass the Succotash!

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi47: Sketchfestin' With David Owen

I have declared myself to be a "counter Resolutionist" this year and, accordingly, 2013 is right on track since I have broken no resolutions. You can't break what you don't have.  Been suffering from some kind of viral crud (I'm not talking about an onslaught of cute kitty videos) that's going around the past few days but I don't think it's the flu. More like a cold. Whatever it is, it's taken up residence in my throat and sinuses, and will be making a guest appearance during this episode.

Our Special Guest is no virus although, with David Owen's tenaciousness at lining up comedy groups and venues for the San Francisco Sketchfest, he could be mistaken for something contagious. Last year about this time we had Cole Stratton, co-host of the Pop My Culture podcast, former member of my improv group The Riffingtons, and one of the three founder/producers of the  Sketchfest. For the 12th year of the 'fest, Mr. Owen joins me to talk about this year’s upcoming exciting show.

How exciting? Here's just a partial list of the performers scheduled to appear: Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, Rob Corddry, Erinn Hayes, Rob Huebel, Ken Marino, Jonathan Stern, David Wain, Bruce Campbell, Patton Oswalt, Reggie Watts, Kevin McDonald, Adam Savage, Kristen Schaal, Paul F. Tompkins, Janet Varney, Eddie Pepitone, Michael Ian Black, Beth Dover, Carla Gallo, Ryan Hansen, Rob Huebel, Natasha Leggero, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, Erica Oyama, June Diane Raphael, Paul Scheer, Jonathan Stern, Maria Bamford, Roger Bart, Jennifer Coolidge, Rachel Dratch, Janeane Garofalo, Laraine Newman, Eugene Pack, Dayle Reyfel, Maya Rudolph, Fred Willard…the list goes on and one.

If you’re in or near San Francisco between January 24 and February 10, check out the amazing lineup and get ticket at http://SFSketchfest.com You can also follow info about the show on Twitter by following @SFSketchfest.

COUNTDOWN

As we started doing on the show (and in this blog) last week, here is the latest Top 10 Comedy Podcasts from Stitcher Smart Radio:

10. SModcast w/Kevin Smith
9. By The Way, In Conversation w/Jeff Garlin
8. Doug Loves Movies
7. Death Squad
6. Mohr Stories
5. The Nerdist
4. NPR: Car Talk Podcast
3. WTF with Mark Maron
2. The Adam Carolla Show
1. The Joe Rogan Experience

 WHAT'S THAT MUSIC?

This week we're featuring Jesus Walks by Karen Kilgariff from her album, Behind You. Find it and other goodies, such as Karen's tour schedule, at http://KarenKilgariff.com

DURST'S BACK

Although I don't have any resolutions for the New Year, our in-house political comedian and Raging Moderate Will Durst does. and he's not ashamed to share them in this epi's Burst O' Durst. Catch more of Will's musings at http://WillDurst.com

THE CLIPS

By The Way – In Conversation with Jeff Garlin 

This new show jumped into the charts at #9 for its very first week of life. It’s over on the Earwolf network and the show is recorded live in front of an audience at Largo in Los Angeles. For his first outing, host Jeff Garlin has tapped Larry David, the co-creator of Seinfeld and with whom he works on Curb Your Enthusiasm. It’s over an hour of rollicking conversation and the audience LOVES it, as you can hear in this clip.

This Week With Larry Miller 
He’s back! I mentioned last episode that comedian/actor Larry Miller was finally well enough to return to the podcast waves this past week. The first new episode of This Week With Larry Miller dropped last Thursday and most of the show Larry talks about the freak accident that landed him in the hospital, a medically-induced coma, and months of rehabilitation. And he does it in classic Larry Miller storytelling style. (Because that sort of thing is so hard to clip, I’ve opted to tease you with his Joke Of The Week, which is just Larry telling an old joke.)

Double Talk Radio
At Double Talk Radio, Double K and one of his guests from this episode, Matty, have a story to tell. And you’ll probably hear from DK’s co-host Cookie J and their other guest, The Hick. The audio quality of this cast is less than our usual standards, but they’re got something going on it seems – been on for awhile and have a lot of loyal listeners.

Duncan Trussell Family Hour 

With well over a hundred episodes of the Duncan Trussell Family Hour under his belt, comedian Duncan Trussell's guests include comedians, actors and people from all sorts of interesting directions. Most recently his focus in his pre-interview portion of the show has been focused on a probable diagnosis of testicular cancer. Our hearts go out to him and we wish him a safe recovery. And you have to admire he spirit with which he approaches such a heavy thing, as heard from the beginning of a recent episode…

The Geek Generation
The Geek Generation, with co-hosts Rob Logan, Mike Volpe, Anna Zifcak, Mikey Arsenault, is another podcast that’s passed the century-episode mark a while ago. They cover ANYTHING remotely geeky – video games, movies, TV, comic books, tech, animation – you name it, they’ll eventually get around to it. And even though co-host Anna Zifcak has grown up by buying a house and now she’s about to get married. But a geek can’t have an ordinary wedding now, can she?

Wheelbarrow Full of Dicks
That’s the name of a podcast featuring Mike, Drunk, Paul, and Nappier – four guys I know very little about because – as is often the case – 84% of podcasters have an aversion to revealing much information about themselves. (I got that stat the same place I found out that 72% of podcasters make up statistics.) Anyway, Wheelbarrow falls under my heading of being an STS show – Shooting The Shit – and these guys will go anywhere that there’s conversation to be had.

It’s Not Soccer Podcast 

What would you call a sports podcast that has precious little to do with sports? How about the It’s Not Soccer Podcast. That’s what Adam Barker who Succotashians know from the Oddcast Podcast and Billy Cutmore call their show. As THEY say, if you’re not into sports, listening to It’s Not Soccer will NOT make you feel left out.

That's about it for this episode. Appreciate you stopping by. Appreciate you even more if you wanted to hit the Donate button in the upper right hand corner of our homesite. Or do you Amazon online shopping by getting there through the carousel on the bottom right of our http://SuccotashShow.com site. You can even ignore the offers for the Hallmark Channel movie DVD's that I wrote or the I Hate People! business book I wrote if you want to - but for every product you buy when you go through our page's portal, we get a li'l kickback from the online store named after a big, dirty river.

Even if you can't or don't donate or buy anything, could you do me a favor and remember to pass the Succotash?

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi46: Pumpin' Out The P'casts

Welcome to our first full-fledged episode of the New Year. We've got nine podcast clips for you, plus a lovely novelty tune, Undead Love Song, by friend-of-Succotash John Anealio. (Off his album Laser Robot Zombie Love, available at http://JohnAnealio.com.) And yet the show comes up a little short, timewise, this week. Maybe it's because we're missing our usual Burst O' Durst with political punwit Will Durst. (Durst's on vacay but will be back next epi...)

Anyway, because the show runs a little shorter than usual, you might actually catch the little "extra" I began tagging onto the very end of the show starting with the previous episode. It's an idea I shamelessly stole from our friend Jabs of The DHead Factor — I started taking the audio track from videos on YouTube that feature recipes for succotash. This week's is a doozy: Daphne Oz and Tom Arnold make "Summerin' Succotash" on ABC's The Chew. Enjoy!

THE COUNTDOWN

Epi46 also marks the start of our Top 10 Comedy Podcast countdown, as tabulated weekly by Stitcher Smart Radio. It turns out that comedy podcasts up there at the top of the heap don't move around a whole lot, so unless you guys want to basically have me read the following list every week, it will behoove us all to get over to Stitcher and start listening and rating our favorites. Here's how this week looks:

10. Ari Shaffir’s Shark Tank
9. Doug Loves Movies
8. DeathSquad
7. SModcast
6. Mohr Stories
5. The Nerdist
4. NPR: Car Talk Podcast
3. WTF with Mark Maron
2. The Adam Carolla Show
1. The Joe Rogan Experience

THE CLIPS

That's about all I have to share with you guys. Maybe if someone wrote in once in a while with questions or beefs or something, we'd get a little going here. Instead, here's who we have ready to serve up for your listening pleasure in this epi:

Dazed & Convicted 
As (belatedly) promised, our lead-off clippage this show is from Monica Hamburg's new Dazed & Convicted podcast, with her equally new co-host, Bill Allman. Longtime Succotashians know Monica from S & M Rants, but she's rebooted the concept and their new show focuses on stories from the news featuring what Monica refers to as “criminal fucktards”. Nice.
 

Ten Minute Podcast
Looking for a quick blast from Podcast Land? Listen no further than the Ten Minute Podcast. It’s three funny guys – Will Sasso, Bryan Callen (both from MAD TV) and Chris D’Elia (from Whitney), and they're happy just to be shootin’ the shit and being funny.

Mohr Stories 
Mohr Stories is the flagship podcast at Jay Mohr’s podcast network, FakeMustache.com. I’ve been wanting to clip his podcast for a while now and then, when I heard Bryan Callen in the Ten Minute Podcast we are also featuring this epi, I thought what a great segue!

Royal & Doodall 
They're back! You can’t escape the Pod Mafia — even though I recently played something from these two "made men" – Tommy Royal and Angus Doodall – I just HAD to play this next clip because it features…me. It’s from the R&D Christmas Panto show, where they had various members of the Pod Mafia from around the world record lines for this holiday audio play, then they stitched the whole thing together like a Christmas goose. I am truly humbled and honored that Royal and Doodall asked me to join in their reindeer games.

Nerd Poker 
Comedian Brian Posehn, who you may know from the Sarah Silverman Show, just started hosting a podcast over on the Earwolf network called Nerd Poker. Which is a euphemism for Dungeons & Dragons or D&D as it is often called. The show is Brian and a handful of funny friends, including Blaine Capatch, Ken Daly, Gerry Duggan, and Sarah Guzzardo, who have created strange and wonderful characters that go on adventures overlorded by their Dungeon Master Scott Robison. Because all these folks are comics and writers and actors, it’s all pretty funny and even if you haven’t been into D&D for over 30 years (oops, did I say that?) you’ll still probably enjoy it. (I recently reviewed Nerd Poker over on Splitsider.com - you can catch it at http://hersh.co/TWICP010313)

The Zane Lamprey Show 
Comedian, actor and International Drinking Ambassador Zane Lamprey hosts a show that used to be called Drinking Made Easy but now goes by the name The Zane Lamprey Show. Succotashians were turned onto Zane when we had THAT Chris Gore on as our co-host a month or so ago. Our featured clip is of Zane, his posse Steve McKenna, Fun Josh and Mel, along with guest, three-time Playboy Playmate Jessica Hall.

Allison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend
Although she’s pretty well-known as Adam Carolla’s newsy sidekick on his podcast, The Adam Carolla Show, Alison Rosen’s been hosting her own show since 2009. She’s very engaging, involves her listeners in the show with games and thanks largely to her clout from being part of Carolla Digital (formerly ACE Broadcasting), she gets some awesome guests. Here’s a clip from her recent two-part visit with Dave Atell.

Bertcast 
Bert Kreisher is a comedian with a podcast – imagine that! – and a forthcoming documentary that’s being done about him. We clip his Epi5 where he interviewed the two filmmakers who have been following him around, Jeff Johnson and Jeff Hinman. In the segment we have, they talk about what happened when they went out after hours with fellow comic Hannibal Buress.

Cox & Crendor Show 
The official blurb calls this show “The highest quality non-content 30-minute morning show on the internet in podcast form” and it seem to be holding that spot fairly well. These guys are out of Los Angeles and, if they don’t smoke pot, Jesse Cox and Eric “Crendor” Hraab really should have to explain why they laugh so much during their show.

There's our deal. Epi46 in one neat, tidy bundle. Next week we'll visit with David Owen, one of the founders of the renowned San Francisco Sketchfest, about to kick off it's 12th year. Until then, keep it real. And pass the Succotash!

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi45: Countin' Down With Clips

Happy New Year! 2012 had many ups and downs, and that counts in comedy podcasting, too. Some podcasts went off the rails — such as Affirmation Nation and The Gentlemens' Club — never to be heard from again. While at the same time, milestones were passed for others.

What did WTF, Nerdist, and Never Not Funny have in common? They all dropped their 300th episode this year! Congrats! And You Made It Weird, Who Charted?, Walking the Room, The Long Shot, and Sklarbo Country all turned the corner on their episode 100 in 2012. And the granddaddy of the comedy podcast ilk, Tom Scharpling's The Best Show On WFMU, actually rang up its 500th episode!

I came up with the idea of doing a Top 10 Comedy Podcasts of 2012 but, unfortunately, the concept hit me the day before I was going to record Epi45. I didn't have the time or even a methodology in mind to pull it off, so I did the next best thing. I borrowed a list from the AV Club. They had their panel of reviewers dole out 50 points a piece amongst the podcasts out there in the universe, did careful calculations and considerations before posting their list. I swear we'll do something like that…next year. In the meantime, here's how the AV Club's list shook out:

10. Walking The Room
9.   Pop Culture Happy Hour
8.   Nerdist
7.   Doug Loves Movies
6.   The Pod F. Tompkast
5.   (tie) Sklarbro Country / The Best Show on WFMU
4.   You Made It Weird
3.   Savage Love
2.   Comedy Bang Bang
1.   WTF

This list was meant to be from ALL realms of podcasts but, as you can see, the majority are comedy-based in nature. Three of them have never been clipped on Succotash before, so we make up for that in this episode, with the exception of Savage Love, hosted by Dan Savage out of Seattle, Washington. The reason being that it is not a comedy p'cast but, instead, a very good and somewhat edgy relationship and sexual advice show. (It's currently #1 on Stitcher's Lifestyle & Health Top 100 list.)

POD MAFIA IRREGULARS

Last episode was our Succotash Christmas Card episode to those podcasts in the Pod Mafia collective of internet shows. But there are also a group of shows that have been very supportive of not just our podcast but a number of the Pod Mafia shows as well, so I'm referring to them as the Pod Mafia Irregulars. And this episode we pay tribute to them by clipping some recent editions of The Brit & The American, The Clutch & Wiggle Experience, The Random Variety Show, Toggle The Switch and Bonn And Obo.

FUNNY MUSIC TIME 

 
This episode's music break is furnished by the duo of Paul & Storm. It's their song Nugget Man, a salute to Robert C. Baker, inventor of the Chicken McNugget. Please click on their name to be linked to their most excellent website, which is festooned with their many musical selections! They also have a podcast you should check out, entitled Paul and Storm Talk About Some Stuff for Five to Ten Minutes (On Average).

BURST O' DURST

This time around, our Ambassador to The Middle, political comedian Will Durst gives us is Ode to Twenty Twelve.

CLIPS

Pop Culture Happy Hour
NPR's entertainment and pop culture round-table podcast features Linda Holmes, Trey Graham, Stephen Thompson & Glen Weldon having spirited discussions of movies, books, television, nostalgia, and anything else that might be making them happy.

Nerdist 
Congrats to Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray and Matt Myra! Their Nerdist podcast hit Epi300 this past week or so. And to celebrate the moment, they returned to whence they began, doing the podcast in the office of Thomas Lennon’s house. Lennon was their very first guest and (for my money) he is one of the funniest guests in podcasting, ranking up there with the likes of Paul F. Tompkins.

The Best Show on WFMU 
The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling is a combination music/call-in/comedy radio show originating from New Jersey-based radio station WFMU. The Best Show first aired on October 10, 2000 and, as mentioned up top, they've aired/dropped over 500 episodes!

The Brit & The American
The Brit and The American – namely Alba Lewis and Tom Moore – have translocated to Peru for the next 6 months but continue to pump out the podcasts on a regular basis. We feature a taste from a recent episode, which I think is PRE-Peru. 

The Clutch & Wiggle Experience 
Your hosts Rob and Craig (along with K-Love) take you on a verbal whirlwind as they spin, annihilate and humiliate everything and anything in the world today. Straight from the basement on a real air hockey table, they bring comedy and "justice" the way no one else sees the world. (Their CWERadio.com also rebroadcasts episodes of Succotash each week! 

Random Variety Show Podcast 
Charley Miller is a good friend of Succotash and we’d be remiss if we didn’t include him in this belated Christmas card to the Pod Mafia Irregulars. In this clip Groucho Marx, who handles most of the heavy lifting when it comes to the interviews on  RVSP, talks to Libby Marie and Lishia from the Two Funny Girls podcast.

Toggle the Switch 
Cross-Pacific podcast Toggle The Switch features Susan Wygmans from America and Carl McAteer from Australia. Susan started out as part of the Cuddlah Army, a total fan of Walking The Room with Greg Behrendt and Dave Anthony, and now she finds herself with listeners of her own. We have a snippet of their show talking about “humpy time” and, right after that, we’ve got a little holiday message from the pair that was delayed due to a snag in our Tweetsack. 

BonnAndObo 
Here’s a show that’s definitely Pod Mafia worthy, not to mention they are requesting some guest vocal input from our very own Bill Haywatt. I’ve sent out a request to Bill’s favorite watering holes and, if we can get him upright long enough to record those lines, we’ll get them to you. In this clip, they bring in a very special guest. 

Epic Rant Radio 
As part of Epic Rant Radio with Andre and Eric, they have a feature called “Rounds”, where the two guys go at it over certain subjects. In this clip, it’s the merits of watching old Sex And The City versus Glee.

King Meany 

A few episodes ago, I talked about a new sketch group out of England called King Meany. Liam Beirne, Andy Goddard, Shem Jeffs, Natalie Feehan, and Lizzie Milton were getting ready to start podcasting and now…they have!

Illusionoid
One of my personal favorite podcasts is out of Canada. Illusionoid, with Paul Bates, Lee Smart, and Nug Nahrgang. This was their holiday offering, The Christmas Ninjas, and we play the whole thing.

In the coming year, I'm hoping to have more interesting interviews with podcasters, comedians and interesting people from the world of entertainment. I also hope to keep up a regular release schedule, which should be welcome news for those of you you enjoy a helping of Succotash you can depend on. And I'm going to feature a recipe for actual succotash at the tail end of every episode this year that I've found online. Why? Just to help you to pass the Succotash even more!

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi44: Christmas Cardin' With The Pod Mafia

Happy holidays! Whether you're a Christmas-er, an Hanuakkat, or a Kwanza-hut, Succotash is damned glad to have you. "It's the time of miracles," said Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber in Die Hard and it's true. First of all, we're back in Studio P for the first time in many episodes. So good to have engineer/producer Joe Paulino back behind the controls. Not to mention Bill Haywatt, who has a fresh installment of Boozin' With Bill on tap this time around. Even Kenny Durgess, our booth assistant, is on the job and it's a great way to ring in the holiday season.

I wanted to do something special for the holidays, so Epi44 is our Succotash Christmas Card to the illustrious members of the Pod Mafia. Who ARE the Pod Mafia? A loose collective of podcasters who have struck up a virtual (and sometimes actual) friendship via the web, and have actively worked to cross-promote each others' podcasts. I am pleased and honored to have been dubbed the Podfather by this crew, although I'm aware it's a precarious perch at best and someone else could shake me loose at any time. Nonetheless, for the meantime, as Podfather, it's my pleasure to offer up clips from the assembled members of the Pod Mafia this episode.

One of the best things about getting to do an epi of Succotash in Studio P is that it puts us in proximity to Bill Haywatt's wet bar and give us a chance to present Boozin' With Bill. This time about, that workhorse of radio drops a great post New Year's hangover drink on us which he calls Harry Of The Dog That Bit You. It's named for Harry Morgan, with whom Bill worked on an old radio show called Mystery In The Air, and it's a real doozy.

Burst O' Durst

Our resident raging moderate, Will Durst, sounds off about gun control in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School nightmare. 

Holiday Reminder

Show some love to your favorite podcasts by hopping up to iTunes and both rating and reviewing those same podcasts with lots of stars and glowing praise. Then do the same on Stitcher Smart Radio - go up to their website, search for your faves and give them a big ol "thumbs up!" Every little bit helps, and the more often you do it, the better their visibility gets on the charts.

Sing A Song Of Yuletide

I'm happy to be able to feature Is A Chupacabra Kosher?, a new song off the Season's Geekings EP by friend-of-Succotash John Anealio. Jump over to his website to give yourself a stocking stuffer: A free download of his holiday album!

Happy Holidays From Henderson's Pants!

We have a commercial this episode from our friends at Henderson's. More than a commercial, it's a tale done in the style of the popular Christmas poem, 'Twas The Night Before Christmas. Enjoy! 

A Good Run

Our friend Caleb Bacon, host of The Gentlemen's Club podcast, has run down the curtain on that show after 154 episodes. I give him a final salute in the form of a review in This Week In Comedy Podcasts on Splitsider.com but don't despair— Caleb is already prepping to return in February 2013 with his new podcast, Man School! In his farewell episode, Caleb is interviewed as much as he interviews by his guest, That Chris Gore of PodCRASH podcast fame.

The Clips

As I mentioned above, all the clips this week save one are from members of the Pod Mafia.

Dylan Brody’s Neighbor’s Couch

Although Darren Staley is not a member of the Pod Mafia, I think he would be if he trafficked with out kind more. Last epi I though I was going to get to his clip but it didn't happen. So I promised him we'd give him pole position this time around.In addition to being a supporter Succotash his show's audio audio quality has gotten steadily better since I first started listening. And his guests are often, amazing, quite celebrity-statured. This clip features part of his chat with Rosanne Barr.

Royal & Doodall
Tommy Royal of the Royal & Doodall show is – I'm pretty sure – the bloke responsible for coining not just the Pod Mafia name, but also for dubbing yours truly the Podfather. Unfortunately, Tommy is not in the show I'm clipping this episode. It seems he's been replace by Lady Isabel P., who co-hosts this installment with Angus Doodall. Don't miss their Christmas Panto show which should I have role in. See if you can pick out my voice — I’m an audio chameleon.
 
Don’t Quit Your Daycast 
Ed Wallick from Don’t Quit Your Daycast is not just a member of the Pod Mafia but was inspired, in part, do put his own podcast together after hearing Succotash. He just had his one-year-a-versary show, where he ranted – Ed loves to rant – ranted about Thanksgiving with guests Taylor Ripley (aka @TurkReno) and Tom Bevis of the Destination Asphyxiation podcast. (We also have a Christmas Greeting called into the Succotash Hotline by Ed!)

Destination Asphyxiation 
Since we have Ed Wallick and Tom Bevis in the same room – Tom was up from Southern California visiting Ed in Northern California, who turns out to be his uncle – let’s listen for the first time to a clip from Tom’s Destination Asphyxiation show. Oh, look – it’s Ed Wallick, ranting some more!

The DHead Factor 
Though Jabs at The DHead Factor has other fellows who occasionally do the show with him in Canberra, Australia – like #FUJosh – he’s definitely the body and soul of the show and a stalwart member of the Pod Mafia. As the guy who kicked of International Succotash Show Day on December 4th – I hope you all celebrated it – he’s always saluted here at Studio P.
 
Tiny Little Odd Conversations 

Merry Christmas to Travis and Brandi Clark, the hosts of Tiny Odd Conversations. They were almost out of the Pod Mafia before it began toward the end last year because Travis was feeling like there was nowhere else to go with the show. I helped talk him off the ledge, and glad to have done so because we may never have gotten that great cookie recipe from Chef Eddie Vetter otherwise. Here’s part of a conversation that Travis and Brandi had on their Not The Holiday Special episode, about a homeless Santa they came across.
 
Pissed Off Man 
I THINK Gavin from The Pissed Off Man Show is in the Pod Mafia. But I didn’t want to take a chance that he isn’t because he IS the Pissed Off Man. So Merry Christmas, Gee, and for a guy who says he doesn’t have much to be pissed off about on the last day of existence, according to the Mayan calendar, he still gets a few shots in…
 
From Out Of Nowhere
The From Out of Nowhere podcast – or FOONcast – with Eric Furniss and Rob Kern is really a music podcast but they’ve got a sense of humor and Eric is very active on Twitter as a member of the Pod Mafia. They’ve been doing their show from a local bar because their studio got damaged by Hurrican Sandy. The show I grabbed to clip from, however, actually features Rob in a bar interview he did awhile back with Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister and Matt Sorum. Sorry, Eric – I was in a hurry! We’ll get your voice in there next time.

So that's who's in our Christmas card to the members of the Pod Mafia. I hope I remembered everybody. And I know there are some folks in the Pod Mafia Irregulars that I wanted to clip this episode but there just wasn’t time. I WILL clip you guys next epi, but in the meantime, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to the folks behind Bonnandobo, The Brit And The American, Clutch & Wiggle, The Random Variety Show and Toggle The Switch!

Happy holidays to everybody (especially those of you who have discovered, listened to, and enjoy our show!), and may you all have a great new year, in which you should remember, for the sake of all that's holy, to pass the Succotash!

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi43: Time Jumpin' With Chris Bonno

Happy holiday season to you! Hope yours is shaping up well. I normally don't plug our wares in the blog too much BUT in case you feel like passing the Succotash for the holidays, now would be a good time to hop up to our Succotashery and get friends, loved ones, or just yourself some nifty Succotash t-shirts, mugs, and other assorted stuff.

Commercial mode off.

This epi brings us a special guest, Chris Bonno, in a special two-part interview but in a single show. See, I started the interview live, face-to-face, when Chris was up in San Francisco as the feature act for Hal Sparks, who I also interviewed. (Catch THAT chat back in Epi41!) But we only got about 8 minutes in when things got busy and we never got a chance to finish. Until a few days ago, when I caught up with Chris in LA via Skype and we picked up right where we left off.

Chris is a comedian, an improvisor, a musician, an artist and a podcaster. A VIDEO podcaster, no less, and we will talk about his Electric Bonnoland show during the course of the interview. He's also a guy I've known for about a decade and a half, one of those "comic's comics" who everyone in the comedy scene in LA and Austin, where he got started, knows well but the public is still waiting for him to become an "overnight success".

CLIPS

How Did This Get Made?
A consistently awesome bad movie podcast — that is, a podcast about bad movies — HDTGM? is hosted by Paul Scheer along with Jason Mantzoukas and June Diane Raphael. They have always done feature films on the show but in their Episode 51 they tackle their first TV movie, Liz And Dick, the recent abomination starring the abomination known as Lindsay Lohan. (I give these guys the full review treatment on in This Week In Comedy Podcasts on Splitsider.com, so check that out, too!)

Inverse Delirium
This podcast hails from Baltimore (or Smalltimore, as host Geoffrey Welchman proclaims it.) Geoffrey’s put a lot of effort into his sound quality and he’s got a great pro announcery voice, which you don't find a lot of in podcasting. In this clip, Geoffrey got guest comic-impressionist Kevin Pollak to star in a sketch he wrote.
 
Larcher And Lorensen 
Chicago boys Al Larcher and Clark Lorensen host a sports-and-comedy-based podcast called, rightly enough, Larcher And Lorensen. They’re also part of a comedy troupe in Chi-town called Comedy Accident and, in the clip they sent us, they were visited by a couple of guys from the group.
 
Ragtime
This is a comedy podcast in the vein of movie reviews as well as news about films. It stars Schwood and Suds. (I know that Schwood is actually Chris Sherwood but I have no intel on the identity of Suds. Doesn’t matter…) In a clip from their epi 15 — just in time for the holidays — it’s their Gift Guide for Celebrities!
 
Oddcast Podcast 

Succotash gets a lot of love and support from Adam Barker, the brains behind the Oddcast Podcast in the UK (which is also part of Adam's Pod Gods Network.) Adam and his crew did a Very Special Christmas episode which a clip from can only partially do justice to — it’s basically their version of a Christmas Carol, where Adam is taken to visit the past, present, and future of his own podcast.

Burst O' Durst
Veering a little off of politics (although they're in here, too), our Ambassador to the Middle, Will Durst, reveals his Top 10 Comedic New Stories of 2012. Enjoy!


EXTRA TREATS

In addition to the basket o' clips we have this epi, there are a few other treats…

Friend-of-Succotash and past guest John Anealio provides us with a new holiday tune: Batman Smells (A Rebuttal) off of his new seasonal EP Seasons Geekings — and he's making the download of that 4-song EP FREE if you hop over to his website, http://JohnAnealio.com!

We've also got a holiday greeting from the Bonn And Obo (Bonnandobo) Show, a show that we have yet to play an actual clip from but we will as soon as they say they're ready.

I've been enjoying a video series on YouTube by Joe Plummer's Gotta Kid To Feed Productions, Real Actors Read Yelp Reviews. It's not a podcast but it's such a clever and funny idea I wanted to share it with you Succotashians. In installment #11, actor Darren Goldstein (Damages, Limitless) reads a 5-star Yelp review for a place called Schnitzel Queen. Click over to watch the performance, it's even tastier.

That's pretty much everything we've got in store for you in Epi43. Have a good time, don't let the holidays make you too nuts, and please remember to pass the Succotash!


— Marc Hershon

 

Succotash Epi42: Co-Hostin' With THAT Chris Gore

I'm trying desperately to get this edition of the Comedy Podcast Podcast up while it is still officially International Succotash Day. (As so declared by the inimitable Jabs of The DHead Factor podcast in Australia.) All day long our podcaster friends have been tweeting and messaging words of praise and support for the show — thanks, everybody! — and I've been enjoying seeing the number of downloads and the reviews and ratings go up!

I'm Marc, he's THAT Chris Gore…

Great fun this episode with my special guest co-host That Chris Gore onboard. Chris, the host of the PodCRASH podcast as well as regular on G4's Attack Of The Show, was in San Francisco for Stitcher's Podcast Awards. We talked about his tenure as publisher of one of my favorite magazines, FilmTHREAT, as well as his multi-pronged career doing all kinds of cool stuff in TV, the internet and film.

Chris picked some nice clips for this epi, all of which I'd never covered before, and after we talked about his podcast — listeners of Succotash have heard from PodCRASH here previously — where he appears on other podcasts, then plays excerpts on his show. Which means that you've be able to hear part of this episode of Succotash on a future episode of PodCRASH. It's as about as meta an experience as you're likely to find.

Two Marcs: Maron & Hershon

Last Minute: Since I was late getting this up, I can tell you that I DID end up attending the Stitcher Awards with special guest co-host Chris and it was a grand time. I met the CEO of Stitcher, Noah Shanok, and even got a picture with the evening's host, WTF's Marc Maron. Sadly, though nominated for both Best New Show and Best Album Artwork, Chris didn't end up taking up an Itchy or whatever they call their awards.

CLIPS

PodCRASH 
A clip from PodCRASH epi55, wherein our guest co-host Chris Gore crashes Zane Lamprey Live. The main ingredient here seems to be alcohol. Cheers!

Joe Rogan Experience
Comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan, well-known for hosting TV's Fear Factor, hosts a daily podcast where he talks to other comics, friends and just plain interesting folks. His show is part of the Deathsquad network of podcasts.
http://DeathSquad.tv, iTunes and Stitcher

Lost Moon Radio
I met someone attached to Lost Moon Radio at the LA PodFest in October and he suggested I check it out. Now we're doing the same for you. Chris and I both loved the sound and feel of this sketch group out of Los Angeles, high prise considering this is only their third podcast.

Pointless: With Kevin Pereira
Best known as the co-host (and Chris Gore's colleague) on Attack Of The Show on G4, host Kevin Pereira has kicked off a new podcast on the Deathsquad network. In this clip he's chatting it up with successful YouTube video creator Freddie Wong.

No Pressure To Be Funny 
I'm a huge fan of dry, witty, and biting British comedy. Having cut my teeth on Monty Python way back when they first crept into the US, I'm pleased to discover No Pressure To Be Funny. Hosted by James O’Brien, created by with Nick Revell and Alistair Barrie, each episode pulls a panel together from the arts, media and politics, where they then chat about that week's news in front of a live audience. This clip features Revell with a monolog about the war in Afghanistan, in a style that smacks of Douglas Adams. Brilliant.

Throwing Shade
Chis brings in this clip from Throwing Shade, a new-to-me podcast. Hosts Erin Gibson and Bryan Safi are both prolific writers and comedians whose weekly show focuses on politics, entertainment, gay rights and women's issues. This is pretty damn funny chat.

RIFF-erendum

San Francisco-based comedians Steven Pearl and Al Clethen, a couple of buddies of mine, started up RIFF-erendum so they could converse with some of THEIR favorite comedians and musicians. In the latest episode, they chew the fat with fellow Bay Area comic Jeff Applebaum.

We close out Epi42 with the return of Will Durst and his Burst O' Durst. With the elections over, our Ambassador to the Middle sets his sights on what the lame ducks in Congress are doing…or not doing…as the year winds down.

We're hoping to grace a pre-Christmas episode with a live appearance by the aforementioned Will Durst. If you're doing some driving over this holiday season, just remember that a long car ride is an excellent place to pass the Succotash!

— Marc Hershon