Succotash Epi41: Backstagin' With Hal Sparks

Getting very excited as the holiday season looms. Not so much for Hanukkah or Christmas, but for Succotash Day! It's coming up on Tuesday, December 4th, and it's all thanks to Jabs, the main man at The DHead Factor podcast in Australia. (We talked about it when he was my special guest co-host in Epi40, if you missed it…) Given our production schedule, this show — Epi41 — is about as close as we're going to get to celebrating it on the air (on the pod?), although we might surprise you. Click over to Jabs' show on the day and find out which other podcasts will be talking about us — and we'd appreciate any ratings, reviews and other kudos that you might want to foist upon us up at iTunes, Stitcher and anywhere else Succotash is heard.

Getting on with this show, I've got my interview with Special Guest Hal Sparks. As I already apologize to Hal in the epi, I recorded our chat two months ago, when he was doing a couple of shows at Yoshi's in San Francisco. I would have gotten this up earlier but…it's Succotash. One of these days we'll actually get everything together on time. But Hal was a terrific interview and, what's more, it was a real treat to see him live. As long as I've been in the comedy world, our paths have never crossed and I've only seen him on TV, in the movies, heard his voicework…but never seen him on stage. check out his homesite for his live appearances and radio shows!

DO IT FOR THE KIDS!

I also have a chat via Skype with Ethan Dettenmaier, host of Combat Radio, about his upcoming 2nd Annual Christmas Breakfast for Homeless Children. That's happening on Saturday, December 8th, at the Salt Creek Grille in Valencia, CA. It was nice to connect with Ethan live after playing a few of his clips on the show, and to hear about this great cause he's putting together to bring Christmas morning to some kids who might otherwise be having nothing but pain this year for the holidays.

POD MAFIA ASSEMBLE!

As mentioned on this podcast, I got the opportunity to have an informal get-together (AKA beers) with two members of the still-coagulating Pod Mafia. Ed Wallick of Don't Quit Your Daycast and Tom Bevis, host of Destination Asphyxiation, met up with me in San Francisco over the Thanksgiving weekend and we chatted about all things podcasty. Great to see those guys and be sure to check out their shows.

JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

If you're looking to do some cyber Christmas shopping this year and Amazon is your destination, you can help put a little something in the ol' Succotash stocking by clicking on our Amazon carousel at the bottom of our homesite to get there. That way, Amazon shaves off a tiny bit of whatever you spend with them and kicks it back to us. On the other hand, browing through our Succotashery might be just the thing if you're looking for some of our lovely merch to make this holiday season bright!

CLIPS!

Besides the two interviews in Epi41, we even had room for a few clips. Here's what you'll hear on the show this time around:

The Fireside Chronicles 
I’ve been seeing tweets by The Fireside Chronicles for a bit now and lo and behold, a clip from that show in England arrived in our Tweetsack! Hosted by Waggy, Matty & Phil, it’s become the sort of flagship show for a little network of podcasts which includes Principa Hypothetica, The Bedside Chronicles, The Kalahari Chronicles and The Ringside Chronicles. In this clip, they mostly talk about sausage rolls…

Ratchet & The Geek 
Over on Splitsider.com in the This Week in Comedy Podcasts column, I’m reviewing Ratchet & The Geek with Luvvie Ajayi and Scott Hanselman. They’ve only put up their 3rd show but they already have over 10,000 downloads. Luvvie runs a highly read comedy blog and Scott's digital nerdiness spreads out in a blog and two other podcasts about tech. It’s entertaining chat, blending gadget talk with current events – their homesite calls it “The Intersection of social media, pop culture and technology.”

The Sibling Rivalry Podcast 
I found Jeremy Grater, Aaron Ristow, and Stacy Black with a random grab off of iTunes' New & Noteworthy this week to bring you a clip from The Sibling Rivalry Podcast. (You have to understand that “New and Noteworthy” is a bit of a misnomer, especially when they have a show like Sibling Rivalry because this clip is from their 309th show!)

That it for Epi41. Next show I will have Special Guest Host That Chris Gore from the PodCRASH podcast with me, pulling clips and kicking back in San Francisco.

Happy Succotash Day (December 4th), everybody! What a great day to pass the Succotash!

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi40: Down Underin' With Jabs

We've got a bunch of clips in Epi40, the longest episode of Succotash yet! Yes, I said "we", because I'm joined by special guest co-host Jabs (aka Jason McNamara) all the way from Canberra, Australia, through the magic of Skype. Jabs is the main man behind The DHead Factor and invited me to share the hosting duties several months ago on his show, so I figured it was high time to return the favor. Wasn't sure how it was going to come together, given the time difference, but Jabs is on holiday down under so he was kindly enough to give up part of a Monday morning at his end.

He really serves as a true co-host in this installment - I didn't really get a chance to interview him about his podcast or his life or anything. So if you're hoping to learn more about Jabs the man, please click right over to his podcast and start filling your ears. We split the job of pulling clips for this show, which allowed us to surprise each other with new discoveries. (And since we both enjoy yakking so much, the running time on this episode is over an hour and a half.)

It was great having Jabs on the show, and that's not just because he's announced that he's proclaimed December 4th to be Succotash Day! That's right - an international observance of this very podcast! We chat about it during the episode and you can be SURE I'll be talking more about it as the blessed event approaches.

T-SHIRT WINNER

In the previous episode with my interview with Andy Bumatai, I offered to give away an old t-shirt of Andy's from the Crack Up Thursdayz one nighter comedy gig in Hawaii to someone who could tell me the distance in miles between San Francisco and Honolulu. I had a number of people email in with the mileage — 2387 — and then randomly drew Esben Borsting's name from the correct entries. So I'll be sending the t-shirt his way...back to Honolulu. Thanks to everyone who entered.


FUNCTIONAL NERDS

Maybe I don't talk about myself enough on THIS show but I can't shut up about me when I guest on Epi126 of the Functional Nerds podcast. Hosts John Anealio (who was a guest on Succotash back in Epi33) and Patrick Hester made me feel welcome and the time flew by. At least for me. Might be different for you. Click over and give a listen...

B & A

Alba Lewis and Thomas Moore of The Brit & The American podcast swept through San Francisco on a roundabout journey to Peru, stopping just long enough to tuck into a Chinese dinner and have some good conversation with yours truly. Thanks for the eats, kids, bon voyage, and I'll be putting up some or all of our chat in the near future.

THE CLIPS

Let's do this thing.

The DHead Factor
The usual haunt for our guest co-host Jabs, The DHead Factor is also occasionally co-manned by #FUJosh and others, all the way from Canberra, Australia. Random news, lively chat, and more.
 
Royal & Doodall
In a classic R&D clip chosen by Jabs, Royal & Doodall pull off a dramatic send-up in which they pay homage/skewer a number of their fellow podcasters. Including US. Check it.
 
This Week With Larry Miller 

Comedian Larry Miller suffered a head injury about a year ago and his podcast over on Adam Carolla’s ACE Broadcasting System has been playing reruns ever since. Larry's been on the mend and fronts a recent repeat episode with this message to his fans…

The Christopher Titus Podcast
I've always enjoyed the rambunctious energy of comic Christopher Titus – even more so now that the sound quality of his podcast is coming together. This episode's a treat, seeing as it also features freind-of-Succotash Kelly Carlin.

Pissed Off Man
Jabs has brought along a clip from a podcast that's a favorite of both of ours - The Pissed Off Man, featuring Gavin, aka Gee from Belfast's Gee & Jay Show. Here our mate's gotten all pissy about eating our at restaurants. Not because of the food. Because of the people.
 
Garagecast
Is anybody as incensed about the Red Dawn remake as Jake and Bryan? I don't think so. Give a listen to the Garagecast podcast, why don't you?
 
Phil Hendrie Podcast 
I think the best way to encapsulate our inclusion of a clip from the Phil Hendrie Podcast is to run my review of same which ran last week in This Week In Comedy Podcast over on Spiltsider.com:

Good things DO come to those who wait! Years ago, living in Northern California, my only reliable access to Phil Hendrie’s KFI radio show out of Los Angeles was the occasional CDs of the show my friend Matt would send me. And any time I was in the southland, I’d gobble up as much Hendrie as my ears would hold. Hendrie created some of the most original and hilarious programming to be found on radio. NOW he’s making hours and hours of past moments available via his daily podcast. Dr. Jim Sadler’s his guest in this epi, and he’s giving hints on how to get people to move along that are blocking your way in the fast lane on the freeway. “Get right up on their bumper and highbeam ‘em!” urges the doc. “Nobody ever gets mad. In fact, they appreciate you letting them know they’re going too slow.” And if that pokey driver ahead of you is handicapped? “Four short blasts of the horn lets them know you’re back there,” adds Sadler. No one messes with me – I was an all-star wrestler and one look of my well-muscled arm resting on the windowtells folks I mean business.” The people who call into the show are increasingly outraged the more outlanding Sadler gets and even Hendrie cautions him about going to far. Spoiler Alert: Hendrie IS Dr. Jim. And he’s even one of the outraged callers. But the other callers often don’t get the gag…and neither will you until you hear a few episodes and get hip to Hendrie.
 
Mental Poison 
Bill and the rest of the East Coast crew of Mental Poison made it safely through Hurricane Sandy a couple of weeks ago. Now they just need to survive more fantastically lame-brained marketing ideas from Brian…
 
The Bugle
This clip is a slice of the well-crafted and droll wrap-up of the USA’s presidential election, seen through the British filter provided by hosts John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman. We've played a few clips from The Bugle before, and we'll continue to play samples of this great show until you finally relent and subscribe to it!

TOFOP
Thirty Odd Feet Of Podcast is a show I've not heard before, although I did catch a few minutes of co-host Wil Anderson at last month's first ever Los Angeles Podcast Festival. Highly recommended by Jabs, Wil's an Aussie stand-up who's at the top of the pile, while his partner-in-podcasting Charlie Clausen just landed a TV gig that's put their show on hiatus.
 
Unkempt
Does a podcaster shit in the woods? The last time we featured a clip from Unkempt, one of them had, and left it wrapped in a groddy towel. Let's see what Mike & Matt have in store this time around…
 
Burst O’ Durst 
Our political correspondent Will Durst takes a side trip into Thanksgiving Town.

Happy Thanksgiving to our American audience - that would be Happy Thursday to the rest of you. And what an appropriate time for me to urge you to please pass the Succotash!

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi39: Hangin' with Andy Bumatai

I’ve really fallen behind in getting Succotash episodes out the door so apologies to those of you who have been trained by decades of televison and radio with their regular release of content. I’d love to be more on top of the release schedule but I have a regular fulltime gig which, if I were just sitting here with an open mic and spitballing witty bon mots off of today’s headlines, I could probably pull it off. But on this show I try to bring you snippets and bits from comedy podcasts around the interwebs and around the world and that just plain takes time.

So Epi39 is a clipless show BUT I do have a great interview with one of my favorite comedians. Andy Bumatai is from Hawaii and is IN Hawaii and made his name there as well. He gets to the mainland from time to time, which is how I first got to know him. We get into that story in the interview. I recorded my chat with Andy when I was in Honolulu back in September and I was hoping to have it up before now, because it’s got some plugs for a show Andy and some other bruddas from the islands did in the Bay Area and Southern California at the end of October. I was hoping to spread the word but it’s like my whole show is on island time of something.

Anyway, you can see Andy regularly now on YouTube with his series In The Car with Andy Bumatai. (Note: Andy's show hit the web a good half year or so before Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee debuted online.) We talk about not just this current project of Andy’s but touch on many of the other shows he’s done over the years that helped to make him as much about Hawaii as pineapple, poi and pupu platters.

Speaking of pupus, that’s one of the things mentioned on a t-shirt I’m giving away this episode! Seriously. It’s an artifact of Andy’s – a genuine black tee from a long-defunct live comedy show called Crack Up Thursdayz. The show was at Honolulu's East Side Bar & Grill. I even have a picture here of Andy wearing it. Bear in mind I have ONE, it’s a large and it’s well-worn. But it’s also been well-laundered – Andy left it in my rental car when I drove him to a show when I was in Hawaii in September. Wanna win this timeworn classic? Here's how.

Send the number of miles (or kilometers for our metric friends) between San Francisco and Honolulu to me, marc@SuccotashShow.com. I'll draw one name from the correct guesses and mail the winner the Crack Up Thursdayz tee shirt. Be sure to include a mailing address with your emailed entry!

I was going to do a show around the 8th Annual Podcast Awards, which the voting on closes November 15th. Perfect self-contained show idea, right? I thought I’d feature clips from the ten shows in the Comedy category but, again, no time. In lieu of playing those clips, here are the shows nominated:

Beauty and Da Beast, Citizen Radio, Comedy Bang Bang, File Under Horrible, Metrobuzz, My Brother My Brother and Me, The Green Light Show, The Ramen Noodle, Walking The Room, and WTF with Marc Maron.

So get up to http://podcastawards.com and vote before November 15th. (There are a bunch of other shows in other categories as well, but we really don’t care about them here on Succotash, the COMEDY Podcast Podcast.)

With the elections upon us, don't forget that our inhouse political comedian and Ambassador to the Middle Will Durst has an ebook out! It’s called Elect to Laugh, a collection of his election year rants and observations, both from his act and from the syndicated column he does. You may even see a few familiar passages that you’d have heard right here on our Burst O’ Durst feature. Get over to Will’s site and grab it there. 

Early Warning: I'll be a guest on the Functional Nerds podcast next Tuesday night, November 13th, hosted by friend-of-Succotash John Anealio and Patrick Hester. Catch it at 10 PM EST/7 PM PST at http://FunctionalNerds.com or download it later from iTunes!

Next episode not only we'll we have a full rack of clips, but I should be joined by special guest co-host Jabs from The DHead Factor podcast, Skypecasting with me from Australia!

That's it for now. Until next we meet, please be sure to pass the Succotash!

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi38: Recoverin' From The LA PodFest

I’m back from the first Los Angeles Podcast Festival, which was about a week ago. It was pretty much a success and more well organized than you might imagine four comedians — Dave Anthony, Graham Elwood, Chris Mancini and Andy Wood — might be able to pull together. There were some interesting panels on how to promote your podcast and how to soup up your technology, stuff like that. And a bunch of live podcasts, everybody from Greg Behrendt and Dave Anthony’s Walking the Room and Superego! to Fitzdog Radio and Doug Loves Movies. Doug Benson’s show included Marc Maron, Zach Galafinaikis, Steve Agee, Todd Glass, and Dave Anthony. It was the most hilarious train wreck of a live podcast you’re liable to see…or hear.

Susan Wygmans, Travis Clark, Me, Brandy Clark

I got a chance to meet up with some of the podcasters that I’ve been tweeting and Skyping with over the past year or so but have never meet face to face! I had breakfast Travis and Brandy Clark from Tiny Odd Conversations and Susan Wygmans from Toggle The Switch. I recorded our conversation for the heck of it so for those really curious about what four podcasters like to shoot the shit about, just click on the player below. (It's like a Succotash bonus track!)

Here's what waiting for you in this exciting episode...

Firstly, my background music: If you like Bluegrass, check out the tunage behind me in the show's opening. That's It's Okay To Pick It by comedian Denny Johnston and Mark Linford. You can get yourself a copy and can rate it for them over at CDBaby, iTunes and Amazon.

 

Epi38 features my interview via Skype with friend-of-the-show Dave Nelson, host of the Comedy A-Go-Go podcast and who recently dropped his 100^th episode. David interviewed me right after the very first episode of Succotash landed and I'm a little embarrassed it's taken this long to return the favor.

 As far as the clips for this episode go, I was so inundated by the popular shows at the Podcast Festival last week that I thought I’d try to feature clips from shows you might not know about, and a few that you might because I’ve featured them here before. 

Chick N Dick Podcast

Our first clip is from a pretty new podcast, the Chick N Dick show with John Simmonds and Lindsey Mogul. John was the co-host of a show called the Truth or Truth podcast which made it to 57 episodes before he and co-host Brandon called it quits but now he’s back with a woman on the other mic so we’ll see how it goes… 

Podkward Podcast

According to their site, Podkward hosts Emilio Rossal and Engineer Cesar chat with actors, musicians, filmmaker and hobos about a variety of topics including movies, relationships, strange rashes and more.

Rob & Joe Show

We’ve heard from Rob Maher and Joe Robinson of The Rob & Joe Show out of Baltimore before. They’re always got some interesting chatter going on and, in this clip, it’s about Rob’s encounter at a standup show with a blind audience member after the show. They livecast every Monday night at 7:30 PM East Coast time at their homesite.

The Rigid Fist

In the second clip we've played from The Rigid Fist, host Kat Sorens and his guest Carl MacAteer start out talking about exercise apps and end up in somewhat seamier territory.

Ben-A-Pod

I’m not quite sure what the thing is with the Ben-A-Pod podcast. Host Benjamin Bubb has guests, features, chat, and “audio drama” but Ben’s voice is electronically modulated throughout the show. It’s like listening to a Stephen Hawking podcast. I’m not sure if it wouldn’t drive you crazy hearing it all the time, but it’s definitely different. Especially this clip which get super-meta as Ben-A-Pod calls an automated help line.

Burst O’ Durst

I actually shouldn’t be playing this epi's Burst O’ Durst with Will Durst because it’s kind of time-sentitive — it’s based on the second presidential debate and now the third and final debate has already come and gone. But it’s Durst, dammit, so here it is!

Hope you enjoy this episode. If you’re a comedy podcaster and want us to feature a clip from your show on Succotash, just send along a 3-5 minute MP3 or WAV chunk to clips@SuccotashShow.com. And if you’re a fan of a particular comedy podcaster, let us know what it is by dropping a line to me, Marc@SuccotashShow.com and I’ll track it down.

Until next time, please remember to pass the Succotash!

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi37: Thrillin' with Ben Blacker

I was delighted to be able to slice out a chunk of time with Ben Blacker, half of the the brain trust (along with producing/writing partner Ben Acker) behind The Thrilling Adventure Hour. For those unfamiliar with TAH, it's a mega-popular once-a-month stage show in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, America, which then gets sliced and diced into a weekly podcast as well. We've featured several clips on Succotash and I've reviewed it favorably in This Week In Comedy Podcasts over on Splitsider.com.

Ben's an affable chap who talks about the origins of some of the show's most popular segments — Beyond Belief, Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars, The Adventures of Captain Laserbeam and more – and we drop clips from the segments as we mention them. Since I've only been able to enjoy TAH via podcast, I can't wait for the opportunity to catch the stage show one of these days during an upcoming trip to Los Angeles.

Because of the length of the interview (and the fact we're playing about a half dozen clips from TAH in the course of the show), there wasn't room for any other podcasts during Epi37. We did squeeze in our regular feature, Burst O' Durst with political comedian Will Durst. And remember that Will's ebook, Elect To Laugh, is out and available just by clicking the linked title (and $5.95.)

If you're a podcast fan, NOW is an ideal time to show it. Nominations are being accepted for both the 8th Annual Podcast Awards AND the Stitcher Smart Radio podcast awards, too! I urge you to nominate your favorite comedy podcast (and your favorite p'cast from other  genres, too!) If you're kind enough to throw a nod our way, I'd suggest putting Succotash in the Entertainment category rather than cast us into the crowded Comedy contingent (where there are MUCH funnier shows, pound for pound.)

I hope you enjoy Epi37 — The Thrilling Adventure Hour is a kickass show and a lot of fun, and I enjoy doing this sort of "tribute-on-the-fly" for it. Look for more theme shows like this in the future from Succotash but don't worry: We remain your Comedy Podcast Podcast and will be presenting a ton more clips from podcast everywhere!

Live Succotash Alert: The Los Angeles Podcast Festival is this weekend — October 12-14 — in Santa Monica, CA, and I'll be there. Hope to run into a lot of my podcaster friends and acquaintances there. And I'll be interviewing as many folks as I can while I'm in town. Look for me in the Succotash t-shirt. I'll also be tweeting my location through @SuccotashShow live as the fest progresses.

Until next time, please remember to pass the Succotash!

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi36: Goin' Joeless

Although episode 36 of Succotash finds us back in Studio P ("The Home of The Hit!"), it's without the benefit of our engineer/producer Joe Paulino this time. Under the unsteady hand of booth assistant Kenny Durgess, the good ship Succotash manages to make the journey through the rocky shoals of podcast clips and interviews (not to mention a new Boozin' With Bill segment) to arrive in one piece in your ears.

I'd planned to have Will Durst, our Ambassador to the Middle and the funniest political comic this side of Congress, live in the studio. He's just put out a new e-book, Elect To Laugh, a collection of his syndicated newspaper columns and I figured he'd snap up the chance to plug it. This being an election year with very little time left on the clock, it’s a political comic’s busiest season so we'll have to reschedule for right after Libertarian President Gary Johnson gets sworn in. (See what I did there? It's a joke about the fact I probably will never get Will into the studio...) You can click the links here or visit http://SuccotashShow.com and look for the cover of Will's book for a link to where you can buy and download a copy. Not to mention that with close out this edition of the show with our usual Burst O' Durst.

The host with past Succotash guest Joe Klocek

In the realm of other things comedy, apropos of nothing having to do with this podcast, I was at the 32nd annual Comedy Day in San Francisco Sunday before last. It's a big tradition in the history of Bay Area comedy, dubbed by the event's originator, the late Jose Simon, as the local comedy scene's version of a company picnic. I hung out backstage, said howdy to a bunch of comedian friends I probably won't see most of for another year, and enjoyed a rare warm and sunny summer day in Golden Gate Park.

As mentioned above, show announcer Bill Haywatt stumbles into Studio P this episode to ply me with alcohol in another edition of his Boozin' With Bill segment. This time we literally are draining the dregs of this bit when he prepares the drink he calls "The Starter Kit", basing what we swill down on what he finds left in the glasses and bottles strewn around Studio P following some kind of wild party that went on there the night before we taped the show. Normally you want to follow a recipe pretty closely but, in the case of The Starter Kit, you can pretty much throw in whatever you find lying around.

Here's what is in the clip set for Epi36:

Fitzdog Radio 
Greg Fitzsimmons has a great show not just because of the fact he’s genuinely entertaining and funny, but he manages to get some great guests, including producer/director Judd Apatow who, in this clip talks about supporting comedy (being a reformed standup himself), Tweeting too much and casting his own kids in movies.

The Geek Generation 
Rob Logan, Bryan Lipsitz and Mike Volpe are within spitting distance of their 100th Geek Generation episode - congrats, guys - and thought we'd enjoy hearing a slice of their visit with Hollywood producer and former WCW talent Jeff Katz. He tells about the mistakes that were made in regards to Deadpool's character, ultimately resulting in him leaving production of the Wolverine movie.

Tiny Odd Conversations
Not just a clip from Tiny Odd Conversations this episode, but I actually Skyped it up with TOC cohost Travis Clark to dig into the detail of his upcoming Hashtag Comedy Show in Los Angeles. What started out as mostly a joke to get people to donate to his and wife Brandi's podcast has lunged out of control into a full-fledged night of comedy with the focus being on having his non-standup spouse get on stage to tell jokes.

The show is on for November 11 at The Other Door in North Hollywood. And you can get free tickets just by donating to the cause! So click over to http://TOCpod.com and help joke the life our of Brandi Clark!

We also play a clip from TOC feauring their first-ever celebrity chef segment with none other than Chef Eddie Vedder.

Podd Socks
First time on for a show from Down Under I haven’t heard of before, featuring a quartet of Aussie 20-somethings — Ben Dunlop, Kris Francis, Nathan Press and Jack de Zwart — sitting around and shooting the shite about "current events, pop culture, telling personal stories from their lives and analysing conspiracy theories" as their website tells it.

Cashing In with TJ Miller

I've featured a clip before but I’ve loved the concept for this podcast ever since host Cash Levy told it to me so I'm playing some more. It’s supposed to be a regular talk show style podcast with various guests…but every episode the guest who was scheduled never shows up and comedian/actor TJ Miller is always called to fill in. This clip finds them in a riff about going back to where you grew up to do a comedy show and the kind of reception you get from the old hometown crowd. They also coin the term "hot pods".

Random Variety Show Podcast
Flattery may not get you many places but it will definitely get your comedy podcast clip on this show. Especially, as in the case of friend-od-Succotash Charley Miller, who has declared that listening to our podcast is what got him psyched up to do The Random Variety Show. Charley's 17.5 episodes into his show, which originates out of San Diego, and he features interviews with various locally-based performers as well as some unusual guest...like Groucho Marx.

Don’t Quit Your Daycast
Another fine fellow who’s leapt onto the podcasting soundstage recently is Ed Wallick, who’s also been venturing on the open mic stages around the Bay Area for the past couple of years. Like Charley Miller, he credits Succotash with showing him a way to do his own thing on the interwebs and it’s been fun watching him develop his format and style along the way. In this clip from DQYP, Ed teams up with Tiny Odd Conversation's Travis Clark to create Jesse vs. Jesse, a bit about battling Jesse Venturas. Venturai?

The Hustle 
Co-hosts Will Gilman and Adam Tucker run conversationally amok with a variety of guests — comedians, musicians and — I think — random dudes off the street sometimes. In this clip they have fellow comedians Harry J. Riley and Justin McNiff in the house and they’re riffing about men having a limit on the number of erections we get in our lifetimes.

In addition to clips this episode, I feature Angy Robot, a cut off of the album Laser Zombie Robot Love by sci-fi/comedy musician (and past Succotash guest) John Anealio. Feel free to not only enjoy the tunage, but click over to John's site (http://JohnAnealio.com) and grab the whole album for yourself for just $5 bucks.

Finally, as promised on the actual podcast, here's the artist's rendering of yours truly by Angus Doodall Tommy Royal of the Royal & Doodall podcast, luxuriating over a steaming bowl of succotash. Truly a thing of beauty to behold. I should get the original from him and auction it off.

That's our show. Presented for your pleasure. (Here's joping Engineer Joe makes it back in time for the next in-studio edition of the show!)

Please remember to pass the Succotash.

— Marc Hershon

Succotash Epi35: Coffee Housin' with Sammy Wegent

Ringing in with Episode 35, Succotash is beginning to feel like a show (to me, anyway), even if our format keeps sliding around a bit. Maybe that's the nature of this beast. This epi is a real hybrid - half clips, half interview - and it's also the "lots of background noise" episode. I put it together while vacationing in Honolulu and my tracks as festooned with the lapping surf of the Pacific Ocean right outside the window. Coupled with the coffee house environment that special guest Sammy Wegent and I have going on in the background of our interview, I have no right to take anyone down for audio roughage in their clips - this episode, anyway.

Sammy is the brains behind Everybody's A Comedian, the web series that is currently "airing" its sixth and final episode on YouTube this week. He's a fascinating guy who I first met when we were brought together a few years ago to put together an improv training program at the San Francisco Comedy College. Actor, stand-up, improvisor, writer...Sammy is a multi-threat talent and he pulled everything together to create the first season of EAC.

The series is roughly based on his own life in San Francisco as a struggling stand-up comedian. Featuring Samy in the lead role, the episodes also show off a number of comedy faces familiar to San Francisco audiences - Kevin Avery, Bob Brindley, Joe Tobin, Allison Page, Yuri Baranovsky, Sal Calanni...and yours truly. (Check out Episode 2...)
 

In our interview, Sammy gets into the background that led him down the paths of acting and comedy, as well as how he found his way to San Francisco. Once he hit the City By The Bay, the seeds for EAC began planting themselves and he talk about how they coalesced into the semi-fictional series that concludes this week.

As far as this episode's clips go, here's the rundown:

Here's The Thing

Alec Baldwin kicked off his own podcast last year and, as you might imagine, he can probably pretty much have whomever he wants as a guest. I’m actually reviewing this episode, in which Alec talks to SNL and Portlandia’s Fred Armisen, on This Week In Comedy Podcasts over on Splitsider.com this week, so be sure to check that out. In our clip, Armisen talks about the transition point he went through from drummer to comedian.

Get Into Character

Blasting out of Grand Rapids and hosted by Tommy and Chubby, I don’t know too much more about these guys, but they’re 22 episodes in and taking this podcast thing seriously. And if Angus Doodle, from the Royal & Doodle podcast likes ‘em, that’s good enough for me! 

Soda Pop Talk 

Soda Pop Talk with Dan and Nolan just started popping up on my radar the past few months when I started seeing their tweets. They sent in the clip and this blurb about their show: We are just two normal guys with much to say about nothing...and anything. Sometimes we go over the line only to realize that there's still further to go. Soda Pop Talk is a show that is about variety - not just soda pop. Able to span current topics to drunken antics of family to UFOs to fecal matter to meaning of life philosophical debates...okay, not so much the latter, but you get the idea.

The Half Scoop 
Here's a "new to me" podcast, this time from Down Under, joining Australian podcasts The DHead Factor and The Rigid Fist as those being featuring on Succotash. Featuring co-hosts Bryce McKeon, Corben Mitchell, and Stephen Denham, each week they sit down and talk about anything and everything including time travel, films and Batman.

Way Too Hip 
LyonHart and Labrat go live every Monday from 7 to 9 PM, East Coast time, then you can catch WTH as a podcast the rest of the week. We haven't checked in with them for a while, so the clip they sent us is a glimpse in a recent screwed-up evening in the life of the hapless Labrat. 

Burst O' Durst
We sign off as per usual with comedian Will Durst reporting in, this episode in the aftermath of the Democratic National Convention. Don't forget to follow Will on Twitter @WillDurst!

Last item this week: I wanted to mention a fond and regretful adieu to The Gee & Jay Show as well as The Pissed Off Man Show, both out Belfast, Ireland, and both mostly out of the mind of Gavin Maxwell. He and Jay have been plugging along in the largely thankless podcast world for a couple of years and they've had enough.. Their shows were breaths of fresh Irish air in a world of soundalike "shootin' the shit" style shows but, for now, they've shut down operations. Gavin sounds off on his blog about the reasons why he's tossing in the towel, so click on the link and give it a read. (Good luck, boys! Come on back anytime!)

UPDATE: Happened to be up late tonight and saw Gavin's tweet that there was an additional Pissed Off Man show that suddenly posted on SoundCloud...it seems if he can find the will (aka money), he'll find a way to keep going. Check it out.

There's Epi35 in a nutshell for you. If you'd like to write me, that's at Marc@SuccotashShow.com and, if you're a comedy podcaster and want to submit a clip, we like 3 to 5 minute ones in MP3 format, which can be sent along to clips@SuccotashShow.com.

Until next time, please pass the Succotash! 

— Marc Hershon