The Daily Grill

Succotash Epi42: Co-Hostin' With THAT Chris Gore

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

I'm Marc, he's THAT Chris Gore…

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

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

Two Marcs: Maron & Hershon

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

CLIPS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

— Marc Hershon

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 Epi38 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, [email protected]. 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

Flack Jacket

Loved this quote in the NYTimes today, from Greg Vistica, the head of PR firm Washington Media Group. His company has just stopped doing the public relations for the country of Tunisia. Why, you might ask?

"We basically decided on principle that we couldn't work for a country that was using snipers on rooftops to pick off its citizens."

It makes me wonder how many pitches they tried before Washington Media Group figured sniping your own people is a too hard a spin even for pro PR types. Also: There has to be at least a few image companies getting in line to gobble up that sweet Tunisia account.

Backscatter Blowback

To say the Transportation Security Administration has taken some heat from their new draconian full body backscatter X-ray screening at the nation's airports putting it mildly. John Pistole, chief of the TSA, has gotten toasty enough from the flames that he's "rethinking current policy", according to an article in today's NYTimes.

Frankly, after making us put everything into plastic bins and taking off our shoes, I'm not sure what options they have left. It's down to racial profiling, random body cavity searches or issuing all TSA personnel their own pair of X-Ray Specs.

Personally, I find the latter to be less intrusive and chances are Middle Eastern terrorists have never seen them and don't know that it's just a gimmick from an old comic book ad...

One Hand Under Wraps

Everyone would like their honeymoon to be memorable, yeah? Exotic locales, romantic evenings, beautiful weather. I had that during my recent post-nuptial celebrations PLUS I tripped and broke my finger on the second-to-last day in Hawaii. Not just a finger but my WEDDING RING finger. And not only broke my finger but in such a way that it required surgery to put things right.

Memorable honeymoon thus established.

So now onto the aftermath. In addition to sporting my wedding ring on my right hand for now — "Get it off your finger NOW!" ordered my bride within seconds of breaking the digit. "If you don't take it off now, they're going to have to cut it off!" In my rolling-on-the-ground pain and confusion, I didn't know if she meant someone would be cutting off the ring or my finger, so I complied — I have a comically large cast on my right hand and forearm. Which is making it very tricky to type.

This blog entry, for instance, is taking WAY longer than it should to put together. Even trying to bring my encasted hand into play usual results in deleting everything I've typed...and I don't even know what key you could hit that would DO that.

And then there's my new crop of hand whiskers. Yes. Hand whiskers. It seems that, when you have to have surgery on a hand, you get your mitt shaved. (In my case, I got denuded all the way up my forearm for good measure...) Now that it's some days after the surgery, I have hand whiskers growing in. And I'm a little worried. There's a myth that hair, once shaved, grows back thicker and longer. What if it's not just an old wives' tale?

Is it possible I'll be seen sporting a hand beard soon? Because that would really be ironic: As my hairline recedes at record speeds, that I could soon start cultivating a rich, luxurious crop of hand hair really makes me wonder how my life may change.

Once I get this cast off, I may be the only writer I know with a comb-over...on my left hand.

Jerk Report

I realized today that having my own blog is a GREAT way to get back at people who have done me wrong. This photo is of the back of the car of the jerk who cut me off on Highway 92 this morning. He was poking along in the fast lane, so I tried to pass both him and the jerk in front of HIM, but they both sped up to keep me from getting back in. I managed to wedge between the two of them, only to have the jerk in the back pour it on in the right lane, flash me "the face" as he passed, then shimmy in front of me as the lanes narrowed into one again. Here's hoping his roadway triumph made him feel like a big man the rest of the day...

On The Road

I normally don't blog about me, per se, but my blogging is a tad tardy at the moment because I'm on the road and my chance to surf the web is sketchy. I was traveling through Louisville, Kentucky, yesterday however, and caught a shot of this sign from my car window. The place of the birth of the "truth in advertising" concept. My next goal is to find the landmark for the "death of truth in advertising" concept.

That's Damn Cool

A new ad campaign to lure international tourist to Australia uses a mild Australian swear word as a key component in the catchphrase "Where the bloody hell are you?" The Australian government defended the use of the word, calling it "the great Australian adjective". The accompanying illustration is about as tame as we Americans could get trying to do the same thing.