Welcome to the Succotash experience, Epi 83. And we’ve got a show chock full of the stuff that you download and/or stream us for: Clips. That's right. Comedy podcast clips from all over the place with not a single interview to sully the mix.
Most of the clips in this episode were provided by Associate Producer Tyson Saner. My wife and I have been in the process of moving for what seems like weeks and so Tyson has been up there at the top of the great dam of the Comedy Reservoir all by himself and he’s let the clips you’re going to hear today get through.
Speaking of Tyson, he got a little shout out from our buddies Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness over at the Chillpak Hollywood Hour last week. So I took the time to snip you that clip myself, as well as a couple of others that you're going to hear this show.
We, as usual, also offer you our Burst O' Durst segment from cultural comedian Will Durst. And we have a Henderson's Pants ad for their new Ransom Pants.
The 10 Most Active Show in Stitcher's Top 100 Comedy Podcast List
Last episode I pretty much skipped this feature because there simply wasn’t that much action on the Stitcher Top 100 in terms of shows moving up or down. This week’s pretty sluggish as well, but there was some movement on the charts…
AT MOVED
16. Duncan Trussell Family Hour +5
25. DeathSquad +5
37. Off The Air – Chick McGee +5
43. Fitzdog Radio -5
46. SModcast >> Edumacation +7
55. Alison Rosen is Your New Best Friend -6
58. This Week In Blackness Radio -8
68. Improv for Humans w/Matt Besser +6
85. The Dana Gould Hour +34
87. New York City Crime Report with Pat Dixon +42
Happy to report that ol’ Succotash is on our way back UP the Stitcher charts after last week’s dreadful score, which was at #9465. This week we’re up 1,977 places to #7488.
Thanks for Amazonin' Through Us!
As I mention in this episode, we've started getting some lovely little checks form Amazon because some of you Succotashians have been using banner ad at the top of our SuccotashShow.com homesite to get ot Amazon to do your shopping. When you do that, they kicks up back a little buckage and that's been helping us to defray a few costs. Please feel free to keep right on doing it!
The Clips
Screams And Moans
Faithful Succotash listener Megan M. (aka @PodcastWhore) has kicked off her own podcast. "Screams And Moans is about movies and sex but not together, as that would be porn," according to a note I got from Megan. She says that every episode is different with a different guest co-host, a different film and a different listener question/topic related to more carnal matters. One of the things she loves most about her show and the format is that she gets to meet a variety of interesting and creative people. Folks featured in the clip we have include Sassy from The Most Popular Girls on the Internet, Bonn from the Bonn and Obo Show, Nigel Boydell from HMS Codcast/Uncle Arthur's Bollocks Collection, Davian Dent from The Bitter Sound and Dr. Norman Trousers from the Casa Mirth podcast.
Steve Agee Uhhh
I’ve been hearing Steve Agee on podcasts for awhile now but, until Tyson Saner sent this clip along this week, I had no idea he not only has a podcast – called Steve Agee Uhhh but he had a previous podcast that had about 50 episodes – he mentions that fact in this clip, with his guest actress Juliette Lewis who, up until this visit, had never been on a podcast.
Getting Doug with High
Tyson grabbed a hunk from the audio version of Doug Benson's LIVE videocast, Getting Doug With High. Every episode he finds interesting people and celebrities and smokes it out with them while talking about issues of the day. In this clip he’s with legendary stoner Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong and comedian Kyle Kinane.
NSF Watercoolers
This next clip is from a show called NSF Watercoolers (or Not Safe For Watercoolers). Apologies. I have no idea who the people are on this show. I could find nothing on the several websites for the show which I looked at, which summons forth one of my pet peeves in podcasting – my PPPs, if you will: How hard is it to put out a little information on your homesite? However, the blurb on their site says “All the Film, TV, Music, and Pop Culture info you need to attack that next watercooler moment with confidence.”
Down With Joe Derosa
One of the newest podcasts by a comedian is Down With Joe Derosa, and he brings a very simple straight-forward show concept with him: One guest, one topic. In the clip we have, he reunions with his former co-host from a radio show and podcast called Uninformed, who is none other the host of the Monday Morning Podcast, Bill Burr. The topic in play? Anger Management.
Ari Shaffir’s Skeptic Tank
This podcast is consistently in Stitcher’s Top 100 Comedy Podcasts as well as always up in the hot downloads on iTunes. Comedian Ari Shaffir usually has fellow comics on with him to talk about all sorts of topics. For instance, in his Epi147, entitled “Closet Case” he has Kevin Meaney on and one of the central points of their conversation is having Kevin talk about what it was like to come out of the closet at the age of 50. In this clip, they’re covering some ground about how he didn’t seem to have much motivation towards comedy or much else in his teen years.
Dave & Crow Show
Darren Staley is back in the podcasting game, along with new partner Dave Simmons. They're just getting started with their random subject chat show. In fact, I'm pulling this clip from Epi2, in which Darren has a bit of a tirade about lanyards.
Ice-T Final Level
Last week we got a note in the Tweetsack suggesting we give a listen to Ice-T's new podcast, Final Level. The father of gangsta rap has conquered music, movies, TV and now, along with co-host Mick Benzo, has entered the podcasting arena. Welcome, Ice-T. Glad to have you aboard. Not sure what he’s doing constitutes a comedy podcast but when Ice-T asks you to play a clip, you play a mutha fuckin’ clip.
Film Fandango
I featured a clip from Do The Right Thing, the English panel show, a couple of episodes ago, on the recommendation of our friend @Good_Podcasts, who then suggested that we give a listen to Film Fandango, which supposedly features Rachel Ward from Do The Right Thing, along with David Reed and Marek Larwood. They talk about movies, as you can tell by the title but, oddly, in the clip we grabbed from Epi118, Rachel Ward doesn’t seem to be part of the mix…
NetHeads
Will Wilkins is the technical wizard who keeps Smodcast Internet Radio running smoothly. And he also co-hosts a live show on the SModcast Internet Radio called NetHeads with Trent Hunsaker. I’ve met Will at last year’s Stitcher Awards because he’s located in the Bay Area so he shows up to pick up any awards the SModcast wins there. He was at THIS year’s awards, too, sporting a pair of Google Glasses. This clip is from a segment of their recent "Best Of, Really?" episode that features regular listener/contributor "Francis" whose speciality is Golden Age Comic books.
Squarehead Kids
Our next clip comes from The Squarehead Kids, a big ol’ barrel full of podcast hosts including Frank, Jay, Big Daddy Deck, Little Ricky and the Good Doctor, PLUS their assorted guests. It’s a bit of a clusterchat but they manage to keep their free-ranging conversation more or less together…
That’s it. We’re done. Epi83 is finito and I’m outta here until next time when we SHOULD have Greg Fitzsimmons as our special guest. Remember to go see him this week at the Punchline in San Francisco if you're in the Bay Area.
In the meantime, be good to each other, shop at Amazon through the banner at SuccotashShow.com, and please remember, no matter where you go or what you do, to pass the Succotash.
— Marc Hershon
This is Episode 82 of Succotash, the Comedy Podcast Podcast, and I AM your host, Marc Hershon. Terribly sorry for the delay between shows. My wife and I have been in the throes of moving - not far, really only about 10 minutes from where we were living - but you know what moving can be like. Especially for a podcaster - you misplace one box with important equipment in it and it's like your show never existed.
Anyway, last episode I had fun with our Associate Producer Tyson Saner co-hosting the show. This time out our special guest is Hal Lublin from The Thrilling Adventure Hour and The David Feldman Show. We first interviewed Hal last year when he was up for the 12th Annual San Francisco Sketchfest. This year he was up for the 13th edition and we caught up with him again. (During the interivew we had some short unplanned cameo appearances by Ben Blacker, Cole Stratton, and Scott Lifton, but that's what happenes when you set up in the lobby of the hotel Sketchfest was using as their main HQ for this year's event…)
In addition to our catch-up session with Hal, we've got some clips and not one but TWO of our Bursts O' Durst with political comedian Will Durst.
THE TEN MOST ACTIVE SHOWS IN THE STITCHER TOP 100 COMEDY PODCAST LIST
Who moved the most up or down the Stitcher Top 100 Comedy Podcast list this past week? Just listen…
AT MOVED
22. What About Pod? +7
32. The Brian & Jill Show -10
36. SModcast >> Jay & Silent Bob Get Old -11
57. The Bryan Callen Show +34
64. Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine +36
73. Harmontown +32
81. Where’s My 40 Acres Podcast -8
90. Three Guys On +102
92. Mr. No Good +108
94. The Craig Shoemaker Show +272
Glad to see our old pal Craig Shoemaker vaulting into the top 100! We had him as our Special Guest back in Epi29 – maybe we can rope him into another interview soon.
HENDERSON'S PANTS LOGO
A few weeks ago, I tweeted that I would like to have folks submit designs for a Henderson's Pants logo, with the idea we might start to sell some t-shirts, open a phony website, who knows? Listener and podcaster Dr. Norman Trousers rose to the challenge and submitted several, one of which appears here:
I love it! Anyone else have an idea, you're going to have to go Doc Trow one better. Plus he and his co-host cut us a special clip from their Casa Mirth podcast for this episode!
CLIPS
What Say You?
As you may know, I’m one of the gang of reviewers that contributes to This Week In Comedy Podcasts up at Splitsider.com every week, along with Zoe Schwab, Pablo Goldstein, Josh Sorokach, Robert Schoon, Scott Reynolds, and Jenny Nelson. This week I reviewed What Say You?, hosted by Brian Quinn and Sal Vulcano. If you watch Impractical Jokers on TruTV, these are two of those guys. And Brian is also part of the Tell ‘Em, Steve-Dave podcast on the SModcast network. What Say You? Is just these two guys – Brian and Sal – talking about whatever comes into their heads. The lastest epsiode has a story about a pair of women’s pants that Sal received via UPS by accident and what he ended up doing about them. It’s, well, not normal… And that’s how it starts. The story get so funny that Brian ends laughing so hard that he actually ends up throwing up. As I concluded on in my review on Splitsider for this show: Podcast Gold.
Casa Mirth
I always appreciate when a podcast wants to send along a clip of their show. Promos I'm not as keen on but one thing that only happened afew times in the almost three years that I've been doing Succotash is someone taking the time to put together a custom clip. Dr. Normal Trousers and his partner-in-podcasting River Zambezi have done just that. Coupled with the Henderson's Pants logo that Trousers did, Casa Mirth ranks right up there with the best!
HMS Codcast
As I just got done writing about, I'm not a big fan of the pre-fab promo but I got one in that's from a pretty original show and put together by a fellow podcast who's recently had some tough breaks, healthwise. Nigel Boydell had been doing a very funny show called Uncle Arthur’s Bollocks as well as a second program, CSI Troutbeck. One of the complications from his health issues was that he had to have 16 teeth removed. Yikes! This has left him with what he calls "a pronounced lisp." But podcasting is what he wanted to do so he ended up WRITING one and engaging podcasters from all over the place to help read the passages from a series of continuing misadventures of a ship’s crew on a voyage to discover the New World. So far he’s got episodes voiced by the likes of the aforementioned Dr Norman Trousers (Casa Mirth), Matt LeRoy (Wicked Radio Network), Matt Brundage (Another Damn Trivia Show) and Jenny Sorens, wife of podcaster Kat Sorens (Strange Times Show)
Salty Language
One of our frequent retweeters is the Salty Language podcast with Bryan Stewart, Tony High, and Tate Hayes. These guys and a gal talk about a lot of stuff and recently they were on about The Beatles big 50th Anniversary on the Ed Sullivan show. Tony isn’t on this clip which our Associate Producer Tyson Saner clipped for us, but you’ll get the idea of the show’s flow.
The Bitter Sound
A longtime supporter of Succotash is Davian Dent, the host of both The Bitter Sound podcast as well as co-host of The Strange Times podcast. The Bitter Sound is a truly strange and wonderful combination of odd ramblings, ambient music, disturbing soundscapes and visits from a variety of people. In fact, our own announcer Bill Heywatt is slated to be a future guest on the show.
Me1 vs Me2
I got a recommendation from Andy McHaffie, who tweets as @AndyMcH, to give a listen to Me1 vs Me2 Snooker, which features British comedian Richard Herring in an ongoing series of snooker games played by himself playing with himself. Well, not playing with himself. Playing AGAINST himself, really. And also serving as the commentators and the referees for the games. With a premise that odd, it had better be good. And so it is…
Not too many clips this episode but the Hal Lublin interview runs about 50 minutes, so you're still getting a lot of show! Enjoy…and remember to please pass the Succotash!
— Marc Hershon
Welcome to Epi81 of Succotash, The Comedy Podcast Podcast. I, Marc Hershon, am not alone this week. Joining me as co-host for the show, via Skype, is Associate Producer Tyson Saner!
It was about a year ago that Tyson began sending me a stray clip or two, testing the waters to see if his choices jibed with the "flow of the show". And it wasn't long after that I recognized his value in helping me to canvas the vastness that is Podcastland in our ever-widening efforts to sample comedy podcasts.
By the end of last summer he'd been named our Honorary Associate Producer. He supplies the show with at least three and as many as a half-dozen of the clips you hear every week, as well as giving me valuable background info on both the specific clips and the shows from which they've been harvested.
At the beginning of the year he became our ACTUAL Associate Producer – as you can now hear in Bill Heywatt's closing credits – and this won't be the last time we hear his dulcet tones on the show, methinks.
In the course of the show we find out a little of Tyson's background, how he stumbled into being a massive podcast listener and fan, how he found Succotash and what really catches his attention when it comes to deciding to click that Subscribe button on a show.
We also have a DOZEN clips in this show, not to mention our Burst O' Durst, a brand new Henderson's Pants ad, and even a song from out of Tyson's repertoire of original music (most of which is available - for free - from SoundCloud!)
PLUS we have a Special Bonus Interview at the very end of this epi! Keep listening after Bill Heywatt says "Goodbye!" to hear my interview with Cole Stratton, co-organizer of the 13th Annual San Francisco Sketchfest and co-host of podcasting's Pop My Culture. We were backstage (or "mid-stage", actually) following his appearance in Speechless (a show I help produce) at the Sketchfest. Our chat is only about nine minutes long but, as it comes at the end of the longest Succotash episode yet recorded, it's a while getting there.
Top 10 Most Active Shows In Stitcher's Top 100 Comedy Podcast List
No wild swings up or down the Stitcher 100 list this past week, but there definitely was some movement in the chart…
AT MOVED
9. SModcast >> Tell ‘Em, Steve-Dave +6
30. The Brian & Jill Show -7
37. Fitzdog Radio +5
52. Keith & The Girl Comedy Talk Show -8
60. A Mediocre Time with Tom & Dan +7
72. Jim Florentine’s Metal Comedy Midgets +5
73. Righteous Prick +7
85. LightCast -7
94. SModcast >> FeaB +20
97. Never Not Funny/Jimmy Pardo -12
I guess there WAS a major jump up the charts, actually, if you look at Succotash's nuimbers. We went from #5945 last week to #5107 this week, so that's pretty sweet!
The 2nd Annual Stitcher Awards were last week and I attended the ceremony, which was held at The Chapel in San Francisco. Many awards were given out for categories across the spectrum. I recount the winner in this episode of Succotash, but you can also go see the list of top prize getters on the Stitcher blog.
Burst O' Durst
In this episode's installment of comedian Will Durst's running commentary, he takes some potshots at the ultra-rich.
Podcast Review
For my portion of This Week In Comedy Podcasts over on Splitsider.com, I've reviewed The Nerdist with hosts Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray, and Matt Mira, interview B.J. Novak, actor/writer from The Office and the author of a new book of short stories.
The Clips
Chillpak Hollywood Hour
This week’s clip from CHH with Dean Haglund & Phil Leirness features them thanking me for catching a big ol’ audio snafu in their recent episode. (Hey, we podcasters have to help each other out, right?)
SModcast
Vintage SModcast (from July 10th, 2008) wherein Kevin Smith turns ordinary circumstances into "What If?" adventure time, pushing Scott Mosier furthur and further outside his comfort zone as the "What if"s become more and more unlikey, bizarre and often outrageous.
Edumacation
The idea behind this show (form the SModcast universe) is that Kevin Smith needs educating so Andy McElfresh brings in stories and information from around the world while Kevin asks as many questions as he possibly can which Andy also attempts to answer. Hilarity Ensues. This clip is of Andy attempting to apply real world diagnoses to the cast of The Cosby Kids.
Fitzdog Radio
Bobcat Goldthwait’s always entertaining and this time Greg Fitzsimmons has him. We get an interesting glimpse into the life of the once celebrated madman comedian whose ambition these days is all about making and directing movies. To fuel his interest, he’s back in the clubs, which leads to an interesting series of comedy club anecdotes.
Perfectly Imperfect
This panel-based comedy commentary show features four variously "challenged" hosts – Kathy Buckley, Tobias Forrest, Geri Jewell and Mark Povinelli – who take off on, debate, and otherwise have their way with a variety of topics. In this clip, it's about marriage equality and Muppets.
Broadcast Basement
I was a guest with Chris Lanuti, the main host of podcasting’s Broadcast Basement this week. He asked me what kinds of podcasts I don’t particular like and which ones I do. Also how Broadcast Basement can get mentioned on our show more. Having me on as a guest is obviously one way…
Nardwuar, The Human Serviette
Nardwuar's chats with musicians are among some of the most unique in the history of music interviews. He plays his own version of This Is Your Life complete with memorabilia and gifts for his guests. In this clip, he's speaking with eclectic musician Jaap Blonk.
Do The Right Thing
Another fine British recommendation from our friend @Good_Podcasts, Do The Right Thing is a comedy panel show hosted by Danielle Ward with team captains Michael Legge and Margaret Cabourn-Smith. Guest team members this week are Jason Manford & Sara Pascoe. In the “Agony Aunt” sequence this episode, the panel answers a letter about how to deal with a free-loading, loser former best friend.
Comedy Bang Bang
Hosted by Scott Aukerman, the premise of the show is simple: Scott interviews celebrities,
musicians and comedians. Another comedian or
performer comes in after the initial interview and pretends to be
someone else – sometimes a famous actor, but often a character
from a television show, or sometimes a brand new
original character. The featured guest is Park & Rec's Nick Offerman, who is interrupted by a whiny, pissy Paul Giamatti…voiced to perfection by James Adomian.
A Mediocre Time with Tom & Dan
This show was one of the six podcasts nominated for Best Comedy Podcast for the recent Stitcher Awards. The winner was Comedy Bang Bang, but it must mean something that Tom and Dan got in there. They’ve got a subscription model show and a free version and they do their show out of Orlando, Florida. In this clip, they ruminate about Salem witch trials, a hot new restaurant idea, and they also talk about making it big in Nashville with one of their songs.
Adam & JP
Got a note AND a clip in the Tweetsack this week from the Adam & JP podcast: “Hey Marc, I just recently found your show and I love it. Really great work! In advance, thanks for giving us a shout out. Basically, we talk all things geek (gaming, comics, movies, music, pop culture) with a comedic slant. We host a two hour radio show on a local station every Saturday morning and do a weekly podcast. I have attached a clip from our latest episode, in case you wanted to use it. Thanks again and we would love to chat with you on the show sometime to discuss your show." <signed> J Patrick Pretty funny stuff, guys!
That's a pretty full show! Almost TWO hours of Succotash! Enjoy it, savor it, and please remember to pass the Succotash along, too!
— Marc Hershon
Welcome to Epi80 of Succotash, the Comedy Podcast Podcast. This week our special guest is Paul Mecurio, who you would have also heard for a few minutes at the top of last episode, number 79, and for a longer interview back in Epi65.
To be honest, I was going to play my interview that I did back in October with Travis and Brandy Clark, from the Tiny Odd Conversations podcast but I recorded it at a sidewalk café in North Hollywood and the traffic noise made it really difficult to listen to, which means I’ll have to visit them and have another sit down soon. Apologies guys!
I ended up having a good conversation with Paul, who was in town performing at the San Francisco Punchline. I caught his show on Wednesday night then we spent the rest of the week trying to coordinate a time for the interview. What finally worked was getting together in the last hour that he was in town, at his hotel, before he had to dash off to the airport.
We talked about some of the projects he's got going on, from his headlining gigs around the counttry to some TV show ideas he was on his way to LA to pitch, and also The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, both of which he still does audience warmup and writing for.
During the interview I cut away to play a couple of audio snippets from things like his Makeover Specialist and this video segment he did from Got No Game, a show on HBO Sports…
The 10 Most Active Shows in the Stitcher Top 100 Comedy Podcast List
Here's aour weekly look at the shows that moved the most UP or DOWN on Stitcher's Top 100 Comedy Podcast list.
AT MOVED
28. The Crabfeast with Ryan Wickler & Jay Larson +6
34. Bertcast’s Podcast +12
36. SModcast >> Jay & Silent Bob Get Old -10
44. Keith & The Girl Comedy Podcast -11
48. What Say You? +6
62. About Last Night +31
75. How Was Your Week with Julie Klausner +30
85. The Almost A Show Podcast +181
89. The Half-Assed Podcast with Gary & John +295
94. Out Of The Box Podcast -11
And Succotash has actually benefited by missing a week, apparently, as we are hanging at #5945, which is UP 1616 place since last episode! Maybe we'll stay away more often…
Burst O' Durst
In this week's Burst O' Durst segment, our Ambassador to the Middle rails a bit on New Jersey governor Chris Christie. He's a hard target to miss.
Musical Break
During the show we play a cut from Walk The Fire, the new album by friend-of-Succotash John Anealio. You can get the whole album for whatever price you name at http://JohnAnealio.com.
The Clips
Midweek Drive
A few episodes ago we got our weekly shout out from The Chillpak Hollywood Hour from a guest of theirs: Alex Lewczuk, who’s the host of The Midweek Drive radio show and podcast in Britain (where he's joined by regulars John Jarrold, Holly Cox, and Gabriella Peralta.) I vowed then to feature a cut from his show and I finally got one that’s MOSTLY understandable to the American ear and which should be imminently familiar to a British audience. In this clip, Alex’s guest was English comedian Stu Francis. It seems the show, in trying to research Stu, had actually gotten to the website of STEWART Francis, a Canadian comic. Then they get into a discussion about Stu’s catchphrases, which are apparently his hallmark.
ManBuyCow Podcast
This show was recommended to us via Twitter. I think it was Davian Dent from the Bitter Sound Podcast, actually. In realtime, on Twitter, I asked our Associate Producer Tyson Saner to go grab a clip which he did. But I ended up listening to the whole episode and I gotta tell you that, if you’re taste in comedy runs in the Monty Python/Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy vein, this show has got to be on your Subscribe list. ManBuyCow is from England and features two guys – Rufus & Howard. Last names undiscoverable so far. In this clip, the guys are mucking about with a clairvoyant tea kettle.
Newbs Radio
This segment comes directly from Newbs Radio and it is not a comedy podcast, really. But the host, Eric Newby, is a supporter of Succotash and I told him I can pull some strings and get a clip of his show on the episode. He has a lot of musicians on and he sent in this clip from last summer, with his guest – singer Jonathan Richmond – because he felt it “explains what we do for your listeners”.
Proudly Resents
I interviewed the host of the Proudly Resents podcast, Adam Spiegelman, during the LA Podcast Festival a few months ago. He’s been back in New York THIS month for the New York Podcast Festival. He did a live Tribute to Troma Films which I reviewed in last week’s This Week In Comedy Podcasts for http://Splitsider.com. And then he interviewed the co-founder of Troma, Lloyd Kaufman, who’s a genius of the ultra-low budget film. In this clip, he reveals how they can afford to keep flipping and exploding cars in Troma films, as well as how to crush a head on screen
The John Dredge Nothing To Do With Anything Show
The same day I got word about the ManBuyCow podcast (see above), @Good_Podcasts on Twitter suggested we give a listen to The John Dredge Nothing To Do With Anything Show. I was game. @GoodPodcasts never steers us wrong and John Dredge himself has retweeted some of our tweets. So Tysonpulled down a clip from a recent episode and – Ahhhhhh – pure audio hilarious weirdness ensued. Starring John Dredge, Anna Emerson from the Boom Jennies, Greg Haiste from Haiste & Lawrence – and sounding a lot like Greg Proops putting on a British accent – along with James Shakestaff. Needless to say, that’s up on my Subscribe list now, too. The URL is too long for me to read and not screw up so you can click on it at this episode’s blog at http://SuccotashShow.com or just type “John Dredge Show” into Google. You’re find it.
That what Epi80 has in store for you. We appreciate it when you take time out of your busy day to not just listen to the podcast, but especially when you go up to iTunes where you can rate and review us. You can also Like our Facebook page (where you can even stream episodes of Succotash while you're catching up on your friends' status updates!)
Okay, that's it for now.
Please pass the Succotash!
— Marc Hershon
Howdy and Happy New Year from Succotash, the Comedy Podcast Podcast! In typical fashion, this greeting isn't coming until the second week of the new year. We kick off the show with Skype visit from comedian, podcaster, and friend of the show Paul Mecurio. He's going to be at The Punchline in San Francisco this week, so if you're in the Bay Area, be sure to check him out! (I'll be at the Wednesday night show and will be packing some of our Succotash magnetic buttons - just ask me for one!)
I'll be meeting up with Paul and doing a face-to-face sitdown for a longer chat which we'll feature on an upcoming epi.
Paul's opening intro with me is only a few minutes of this show, which means we've got time for a bunch of clips, our Burst O' Durst - in which political comedian Will Durst gives us his predictions for 2014, an ad for Henderson's Auld Lang Slacks, our Tweetsack segment, and the pilot episode for Adam Barker's new Batfella pod series!
As I announce in this week's episode, our Honorary Associate Producer Tyson Saner is no longer honorary, he's actually the Official Associate Producer! While there's no salary or benefits that come with the gig, we're honored to have his services in harvesting clips from the vast field of comedy podcasts out there. And he'll be co-hosting an upcoming episode soon, so you'll get to hear from the man himself.
The 10 Most Active Shows in the Stitcher Top 100 Comedy Podcast List
Of the shows that moved the most on this week's Top 100, nine were up and only one was down.
AT MOVED
35. What About Pod? +12
36. Bertcast’s Podcast +34
56. PRI: Michael Feldman’s Whad’Ya Know? +28
57. SModcast >> Edumacation +19
69. Wits +28
71. Where’s My Forty Acres: Ratchet & Real Opinions +27
74. Industry Standard w/Barry Katz +57
82. The Champs w/Neal Brennan & Moshe Kasher +14
97. SModcast >> Last Week on Earth with Ben Gleib +28
99. The Dana Gould Hour -13
The Clips
Big Pop Fun
We’ve featured Big Pop Fun before. That's the podcast hosted by comedian and actor Tom F. Wilson. It’s a nicely put-together interview show and recently the guest was none other than friend-of-Succotash Travis Clark from the Tiny Odd Conversations podcast. (I have my own interview that I haven’t had a chance to get to that I did with Travis and his wife Brandi when I was in LA for the Podfest last October. I'll post it soon. I promise!
This Ain’t Iowa
I’m often talking about how vast the world of podcasting is and comedy podcasts comprise a major continent of that world. It’s so big that it’s hard to see – or hear – everything until it’s too late. This Ain’t Iowa is a podcast out of Las Vegas, hosted by comedian Brian Mollica and it’s been chugging along since 2006. But now that chugging is coming to an end. Brian’s doing his “farewell tour” of the show, as he calls it, and has been having past co-hosts and regular guests calling and dropping in. One of those guest was a guy who was only ever identified on the show as “Wooden Spoon” and Spoon seems to have a somewhat colored and checkered past on the show.
Pop My Culture
We haven’t heard from the Pop My Culture podcast for a while, with Cole Stratton and Vanessa Ragland - oh, they've been podcasting, we just haven't played a clip from them recently - but we’re going to hear from them now, along with their guest Armin Shimmerman, who you might know from his role as Quark on Deep Space Nine.
Break Room Party
I first caught wind of the Break Room Party podcast on Twitter so I decided to check ‘em out. At first, it sounded to me like one of those dreaded “shootin’ the shit” shows I’ve kind of come to fear having to slog through but I hung in there. Sure enough, the four hosts – Josh, Brandon, Trey & Ryan – didn’t disappoint. What they lack in comedy chops they make up for in comraderie and good natured ribbing. PLUS they dispense business advice. Every episode’s a different topic and this time it was about The Interview. The boys got off into a sideline about How To Turn The Interview Around.
Uttabull
Another show that came via a Twitter reference is the first podcast that I’d heard of that originates from the Isle of Man in the British Isles. Liam and Jason are the hosts of Uttabull. (Or, rather, Liam seems to be THE host while Jason USUALLY shows up.) They do a segment called Jason’s News and that’s where I pulled this clip from, as the gents get into a story from somewhere in Poland.
Hangin’ Outcast
Twitter was once again the conduit for me virtually meeting up with the Hangin’ Outcast podcast. These guys – Alex and Justin - are located in the Heart of the Inland Empire, which is another way of talking a whole bunch of nothing off the beaten track in Southern California. From this episode, I pulled the two hosts doling out some advice for those who want some to get into this podcast game.
The 31 Podcast
Tyson Saner clipped us something from a show I hadn’t heard of before: The 31 Podcast. It’s basically a twist on the old “20 Questions” game, in which the host, Brandt Tobler, asks his guests 31 questions. Not sure why. But here he is with his guest Tom Segura, cohost of his own podcast, Your Mom’s House.
Batfella
Here's the FULL debut episode of Adam Barker’s parody audio series, The Adventures of Batfella. Written and voiced by Adam along with some guests. Episode one, of many more to come, features the voice talents of British actress Rita Ramnani. If you're an Adam Barker fan (And, really, who isn't?), you should enjoy this show and not just because the two podcasts that Adam normally does – the Oddcast Podcast UK and Its Not Soccer are taking a break until early spring while his girlfriend has a baby.
There it is then. Epi79 is done. 2014 is off and running. And all is right with the world. I want to thank you, our listener, for doing us the honor of listening, I hope you continue to listen and, what’s more it would be delicious of you if you were to pass the Succotash…
— Marc Hershon
As Santa Claus said after a day of delivering toys around the world, "Oy." This Epi78 of Succotash was intended to be our Christmas episode but between the crush of business, holiday shenanigans, a wicked cold and assorted other speed bumps, it's only getting out now. And how was YOUR holiday?
We have a brief chat with Rachel Eaton, the Director of Content Partnership at Stitcher. We start out talking about the nominations for the 2nd Annual Stitcher Awards but they closed the Sunday before Christmas. Fortunately, Rachel also talks about the voting portion of the awards. The finalists to get your votes in each category will be announced on Tuesday, December 31st, after which you can begin voting at the Stitcher site. (I appreciate that Rachel took time out to talk via phone while on vacation visiting family back in Boston!)
We've also got a bunch of clips for you - many of which were harvested by Tyson Saner, our go-to guy and Honorary Associate Producer. He's also one of the three folks who called into the Succotash Hotline and dropped a holiday greeting on our listeners, all of which are featured in this episode. If you'd like to hear more of his melodious tones, I've been chatting with him about co-hosting an episode of Succotash sometime in January.
SONG OF THE SEASON
Our friend, fellow podcaster (Functional Nerds) and novelty songster John Alealio re-released one of his holiday classics, Batman Smells (A Rebuttal), and it's out pleasure to feature it this episode to help us round out our post-Christmas non-stravaganza. Click on John's name to go visit his site and pick up some of his tunage, won't you?
DOUBLE DOSE O' DURST
We're featuring not one but TWO of our Burst O' Durst segments this episode, including comedian Will Durst's belated Xmas List for 2013.
THE 10 MOST ACTIVE SHOWS ON THE STITCHER TOP 100 COMEDY PODCASTS LIST
Here's the way the movers, shakers, and droppers shaped up this past week:
AT MOVED
33. Ari Shafir’s Skeptic Tank +26
55. Cashing In With TJ Miller +31
57. Improv 4 Humans with Matt Besser +32
60. Thrilling Adventure Hour +41
62. Nobody Likes Onions +50
72. The Trev & Ben Show -12
73. SModcast FeAB +21
91. Jim Florentine’s ‘Metal Comedy Midgets’ +12
93. The Dead Authors Podcast -18
98. SModcast Edumacation -13
CLIPS
Amish Baby Machine
This clip was a request I made of Tyson Saner after I read last week’s Top 10 Most Active Show On Stitcher’s Top 100 Comedy Podcast list. The show jumped up over 500 places to get in. So I asked Tyson to grab me a sample. In this taste, hosts Dags and Jeff welcome back Dan Simon, who shares tales from his recent African adventure.
WTF
One of the best known podcasts around is WTF or What The Fuck, with Marc Maron. He recently hit his epi450 and had Will Farrell on as his guest, which I reviewed for This Week In Comedy Podcasts on Splitsider.com. A few weeks earlier, Marc had author David Sedaris on and he’s a favorite of our friend Tyson Saner, who provided us with this clip of Sedaris reading from Marc’s recently published book. (Marc's IFC TV series Maron returns in May of the new year.)
Broadcast Basement
Chris Lanuti runs his show from an actual bar he has in his actual basement, surrounded by actual friends like Acoustic Mike and Wild Bill as well as whomever drops in. Chris is a former radio guy who knows how to run a show and I guess he’s the commissioner of the Broadcast Basement Fantasy Football League in which our Succotash Rocs did okay in this season, considering I know nothing about football other than the fact it’s the brown oblong ball. This clip focuses on that newish Christmas tradition: The Elf On The Shelf.
Seven Days A Geek
The lads over at Seven Days A Geek recently held their “30 Days of Podcasting” event. These guys aren’t just podcasters but they also get into the nuts and bolts of podcasting a lot – well worth subscribing. In this clip, Jay “The Angry Ginger” and Jeremy McBlizzard discuss horror movies including The Human Centipede.
The Black Guy Who Tips
Tyson Saner has clipped us a hunk of a pretty popular show featuring married couple Rod and Karen – no last names – who have been together since they were 16 and got marreid in 2002. They kick stuff around and also have interesting guests. This slice features the couple discussing R.Kelly’s ill-advised Q&A session via Twitter a little while back.
Big & Clever
This podcast out of England has been around for three years and if it hadn’t been brought to my attention by one of our friends on Twitter, I still might have heard about these guys Danny Blaze and Keith True. They’re a pair of DJs and, much like our new friends Trev & Ben, they talk about news of the day, current events, pop culture and enjoy taking shots at each each other every now and then as well.
There you go. A little over an hour of podcast gold. You can help us out for the new year by heading over to iTunes and gives us a nice star rating and perhaps a short review. You can also give us a "Thumbs Up" on Stitcher, Like us on Facebook, give us a heart on SoundCloud or Favorite our tweets when you see 'em on Twitter. You can also help us to offset expenses by clicking on the Donate button on the righthad side of our SuccotashShow.com website, dipping into your Christmas bonus and sending a little smidgen our way. We'll regale you in word and verse on the show.
Best wishes for a great 2014 and we'll talk to you next year!
- Marc Hershon
