The Daily Grill

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 [email protected].

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 Succotash, The Comedy Podcast Podcast (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 [email protected] with information about the podcast you're thinking about.

Until next time, please pass the Succotash!

Cheers,

Marc Hershon

Fight The Conspiracy Keeping You From Seeing This Movie Premiere!

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE follows actor-artist-inventor-improv comic Dean Haglund (best know as one of the computer-hacking Lone Gunmen from "The X-Files" and their own spin-off series) as he travels the world, hoping to learn what it means to search for the truth in a world where conspiracies, or conspiracy theories are everywhere.

(IS there a conspiracy to keep people from going to the U.S. premiere on Saturday, May 21st, at the Retro Dome in San Jose? If this is the first you're hearing about the movie, maybe so...)

A true epic that is equal parts comedy, consciousness and conspiracy, the film had its World Premiere on 30 April at the British Film Institute in London.

"This is one of those films that you will have to watch more than once. It's a timeless piece of work and destined to become a legend." - John Bryan, SlideTV

"All in all, THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE is a call to all eager for more knowledge and new insights: They should dare to think beyond current boundaries and not let anyone limit their power of imagination. It is not THE truth that is out there, but rather several truths that wait to be discovered." - Anastasia Hansen, The Junction (Germany).

"THE TRUTH JUST MIGHT BE IN HERE - Examines the world of conspiracy theories in a refreshing and novel way." - Marc Hershon, The Huffington Post (Hey, that's ME!!!)

On Saturday 21 May, at The Retro Dome in San Jose, California, we will be having the US Premiere of the film. The screening will be followed by a brief intermission, and then Dean Haglund and director Phil Leirness will take the stage to do a live installment of our weekly podcast show, Chillpak Hollywood Hour. They will answer questions from the audience and share stories of our adventures on the road.

Because Dean, Phil and producer Lyle Skosey are completely self-distributing the film, they are relying on the help of kindred spirits to help get the TRUTH out there.

If there is anyone you know in, or near, the San Francisco Bay Area, who might enjoy what I expect to be a really fun night, I'd greatly appreciate you helping the guys spread the word.

Tickets can and should be obtained in advance exclusively through Everbrite.

Movie info, the trailer and a link to the tickets can be found at the official site.

Conditional Champion

Corporate sponsor Champion announced that they were dropping Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall as an endorser for the sparkplug manufacturer. The incomplete comes on the heels of some tweets the pro baller made regarding celebrating the death of Osama Bin Laden.

A statement from Champion reads, in part: "Champion is a strong supporter of the government's efforts to fight terrorism and is very appreciative of the dedication and commitment of the U.S. Armed Forces. Earlier this week, Rashard Mendenhall, who endorses Champion products, expressed personal comments and opinions regarding Osama bin Laden and the September 11 terrorist attacks that were inconsistent with the values of the Champion brand and with which we strongly disagreed."

Champion can hire or fire whomever they want, obviously, but it's interesting that one of the stalwart Constitutional rights that keeps terrorism at bay is Freedom of Speech. Seems like Champion is more interested in not pissing off a segment of its customer base than they are in truly supporting "the government's efforts to fight terrorism."

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 [email protected]. (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.