Succotash In The News

This article appeared in the May 25, 2011, edition of the Half Moon Bay Review weekly newspaper:

Succotash Goes Hollywood!

Chillpak Hollywood Hour, that is. In Epi4 of Succotash, my special guests this show are Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness, hosts of the podcast which just marked its fourth year on the web. And, I should mention, a model of consistency, having gotten up every week of those 4 years.

I got a chance to catch up with D & P on the occasion of the US premiere of The Truth Is Out There, a documentary delving into conspiracy theories of every stripe. (I favorably reviewed TTIOT on Huffington Post a couple of months ago.) Shortly before the movie got underway at the Retro Dome in San Jose, California, I was able to sit down with the two — Dean serves as the host for the movie, which Phil was the moviemaker who shot, chopped and shopped the film — in their hotel room.

The interview, featured on Succotash this episode, is interspersed with half dozen podcast clips, including:

• How Did This Get Made?

  Featuring guest Adam Pally

• Doug Loves Movies

  Doug Benson with guest Paul F. Tompkins

• The Adam Carolla Show

  With guest Albert Brooks

• The Titus Podcast

  Christopher Titus' Armageddon Update

• The Glory Hole

  With guest Samm Levine

• Professor Blastoff

  Tig, Kyle & David talk about the Afterlife

Of the clips in this episode, I was especially delighted to get to hear Albert Brooks, a comic mind that tends to stay way too far off the radar, as a guest with Adam Carolla. Maybe one has to be a comic nerd to truly appreciate that some of today's comedy podcasts — like The Adam Carolla Show, WTF with Marc Maron and Greg Fitzsimmons' FitzDog Radio — are likely the only places you're going to find lengthy, in-depth interviews with some of the best comedians of all time.

We're starting to get more clips submitted by you comedy podcasters out there but keep 'em coming! (Since you know your show better than I do, chances are that the 3-5 minute snippet you send me will be more representative of what you do that I'll be able to find...) And for you podcast listeners out there, let us know of your favorite we haven't featured yet! Send any and all emails to marc@SuccotashShow.com.

Until next, please pass the Succotash!

Cheers,

Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi 3 w/Guest Co-Host Dana Carvey

A bit of a delay to get to this, Succotash Epi3, but I was waiting for our guest co-host to clear enough of his schedule to join me in the studio. Since Dana Carvey was going to be the show's first guest, I wanted it to try to get it right. And I think we did!

He had a bit of a time crunch, so this epi's a little light on the podcast commentary in favor of time spent with Dana in the studio. Nonetheless, we manage to get in as many comedy podcast snippets as we have in the two previous episodes. Check out what we've got in store for you this time...

• After Hours with Mark Pitta

• Delicious Mediocrity

• The Longshot Podcast

• The Green Room with Sean Green

• Ham Radio with Brett Hamil

• What Duvet Said

• Chillpak Hollywood Hour

• David Feldman Comedy Show

• Waking From The American Dream with Kelly Carlin

• WTF with Marc Maron

Dana is just the first guest we have in mind for Succotash - stay tuned for upcoming episodes where we'll feature both interviews and guest co-hosting stints from your favorite comedian and/or podcasters!

As I've mentioned before, there are a TON of comedy podcasts out there, so if you ARE a podcaster or a listener who would like to recommend we feature one of your faves, please email me directly at marc@SuccotashShow.com with information about the podcast you're thinking about.

Until next time, please pass the Succotash!

Cheers,

Marc Hershon

Succotash Is Switching Homes!

Ahoy there, friends and listeners! Thanks for your loyal attention to the early beginnings of Succotash, the Comedy Podcast Podcast. Just wanted you to know that I've swapped home sites for the blog (which is where some of you have been listening to the shows, rather than downloading from iTunes...)

Reasons? Mostly better control, more storage and cooler options as the show expands.

The switcheroo won't (or shouldn't) affect iTunes subscribers. But THIS version of the blog on Blogger will no longer be supported. In fact, if you try to use our main URL to get here, you'll end up being whisked to the new home site. Which is were I invite you to hang your eyes and ears from now on.

Because this site will soon cease to exist.

Do it! Hop over to http://SuccotashShow.com

See you there.

And don't forget to pass the Succotash!

Cheers,

Marc Hershon
Host/Executive Producer

In The Meantime...

There's been a slight break between Succotash Episodes 2 and 3 but, never fear, we ARE in pre-production. Just a eensy delay due to actual paying work. But we appreciate the mentions, tweets and Facebook comments about the show. We've also been receiving snippets from comedy podcasts that would like us to take a look at them (Thanks, Sean Green of The Green Room! We'll be hearing from your clip on the upcoming episode of Succotash!)

If you're curious to find out more about host Marc Hershon (aka "me"), we urge you to click on over to Comedy A-Go-Go, where Dave Nelson is featuring his interview with yours truly from just after our debut episode. (The embedded link goes to Dave's website, but you can subscribe to Comedy A-Go-Go via iTunes as well.)

TEASER: In addition to The Green Room, on the upcoming epi3 of Succotash, we're going to be giving a listen to What Duvet Said with Jason Duplissea and Rob Cell, The Longshot Podcast, and we might even give a cut from Doug Stanhope's new album, Oslo, Burning The Bridge To Nowhere, a listen.

Succotash Episode 2 Has Arrived!

That didn't take as long as I thought.

After finally posting last week's Succotash debut and getting it linked up with iTunes, I wasn't sure how long it would take to get the next episode together. Happily, through the magnificent efforts of show engineer/producer Joe Paulino, it really only took me getting the next round of comedy podcast clips together and we were ready to go.

After last week's premiere of Succotash, we got some nice mentions and with those, messages from some farflung podcasters who I hadn't heard of before. Now, there are a pile of established comedy p'casts out there and I'm anxious to showcase some of them. But these podcasters had the moxie to step up to the plate and ask if I'd consider featuring them on the show. AND two of them provided me with 3-5 minute clips of what they considered to be representative of their show. That saves me, booth engineer Kenny, and segment producer Stevie endless time so in they went to this week's show.

Without further ado, here's what is on tap in Episode 2:

• This Week with Larry Miller

• The David Feldman Comedy Podcast

• The Mustache Rangers

• FitzDog Radio

• Read It And Weep

• Comedy A-Go-Go

• The Jimmy Dore Show

• Uhh Yeah Dude

• Kevin Pollak Chat Show

You can click on any of the above show names to go directly to the websites dedicated to those shows. I'm still getting used to remembering about leaving show information, where to find the websites, etc., so I'll ask any comedy podcasters featured on Succotash to please bear with my learning curve.

If you're interested in having a particular podcast featured (yours or just one you enjoy), please contact me at marc@SuccotashShow.com. (Better yet, if you're want to send me a chunk of the show, around 3-5 minutes long, that will help my decision-making process immensely!)

Thanks again to engineer/producer Joe Paulino and musical director Scott Carvey.

Until next time, pass the Succotash!

— Marc Hershon

LAST WORD: I was hoping to have a Special Guest with me to co-host this episode — we were all ready to go with that plan — but then we decided to streamline our workflow in assembling the show this week and it felt it would be easier to work the bugs out of the system without having to infringe on our guest's time. I don't want to over-promise, as schedules change without warning, but will nevertheless tease that we will LIKELY have an SNL graduate on-hand in Studio P (The Home of The Hit!) with our next edition.

Succotash Is Getting Noticed

I want to thank the early listeners to our Succotash premiere episode for their kind words on Facebook, Twitter and the like. And I also feel the need to give a humble bow to a couple of great comedy resources who have their fingers on the pulse of the podcast side of things.

First, PlopList rolled out a gracious welcome yesterday:

Succotash Serves Up Comedy Podcast Highlights

Yesterday saw the launch of Succotash - The Comedy Podcast Podcast. Writer, cartoonist, reformed comedian performer and friend to comedy, Marc Hershon started the new show to highlight the best of comedy podcasts in an audio format. Succotash strings together short audio highlights from a variety of shows (no longer than 5 minutes each) interspersed with Hershon's plugs for the shows and some brief editorial commentary.

The first episode plays likes a public radio style recap show. Highlights include WTF With Marc Maron, Pop My Culture, Comedy Death-Ray Radio, The Adam Carolla Show, The Smartest Man In The World, Mike & Tom Eat Snacks and a few others.

Succotash is conceived as a primer for the potential uninitiated comedy podcast listeners out there. It's a simple concept, perhaps born out of the growing interest in the medium, especially when it comes to the comedy format. Another sign of comedy podcasts building on their garage band empire?

No word yet on the interval or whether or not the various shows receiving the highlight treatment will become willing partners of the show. Hershon hints at the heavy workload of putting the show together. This could prohibit a regular release. It's not on iTunes yet but you can still listen to the inaugral episode and keep track through the Succotash blog. Looking forward to see how the show develops.

Then, earlier today, we got a nice welcome from Punchline Magazine:

Punchline Magazine analysis: the comedy podcast goes postmodern
 
Due to the recent surge in popularity, It was only a matter of time, but now it’s official: the comedy podcast has gone postmodern.

Yesterday, via the Plop List, a wonderful hub of everything related to comedy podcasts, the arrival of Succotash - The Comedy Podcast Podcast was announced. As you might figure with the label “comedy podcast podcast”, host/producer Marc Hershon plays several clips from popular podcasts including WTF with Marc Maron and Comedy Death Ray Radio with interstitial commentary on the clips. Basically, it’s a highlight reel of the best of the best in the comedy podcast world.

As evidenced by Rolling Stone’s recent Top Ten Comedy Podcasts of the Moment list and the ease of producing and uploading, proliferation in the medium has developed with the biggest names in comedy all the way down to open mic comedians having their own podcasts. The Soup with Joel McHale came about as there was too much wildly popular bad TV that begged to be parodied on American television; the Soup filled a demand for all of it to be sorted out. On a more “positive tip” Succotash may have come about because comedy podcasts have reached/are very close to reaching a fever pitch that requires the same sort of wrangling, though in admiration rather than in satire.

Whether this development will change the way in which comedians broadcast their thoughts and opinions — like paintings and movies did when their respective art forms moved into their postmodern periods — has yet to be seen. But, at the very least, the medium of the comedy podcast is moving forward, and more importantly, getting way funnier.


Thanks to the folks at both of those comedy resource points. Now that we now we've been noticed, we'll be on our best behavior!