From the obituary for Linda Smith...

...whose distinctive south London twang was heard on everything from the News Quiz, to Just a Minute, to I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. She also appeared frequently on TV including Have I Got News for You, QI, Call My Bluff and Countdown.[...]

Smith's roots were in standup and she became a circuit regular after winning the Hackney Empire new act of the year in 1987.

testing

Jon Stewart is handling this whole Oscar buildup with astonishing calm. His response to nearly every press inquiry has been either witty, disarming or both. And always funny. And his conversation with Larry King was noteworthy if for no other reason than for his defense of David Letterman's Oscar hosting stint from 1995, which was labeled by the cretins at MSN Entertainment as one of the "Top 10 Cringe-Inducing Oscar Moments"

In 1995, American chat show king David Letterman hosted the Oscars. His chief mistake was importing elements of his night-time show into the ceremony. To say it didn't work is putting it mildly; it was a bigger flop than Rik Waller.

Stewart said he has the '95 Oscarcast on tape and that he marvels every time at how good it was. He said that the lore that has sprung up over the past decade regarding that show doesn't match the reality. It seems apparent, from this and other interviews, that Stewart's worst fear is that he would do what he always does (and does well) but that, like Letterman, his effort would be judged harshly and wrongly. Who can't relate to that?

An item in the Rocky Mountain News ("Starz Inches Into Original Program Fare") says that Starz will start using comedians:

But don't expect Starz to mount a $100 million epic miniseries like HBO's Rome anytime soon. Instead, Douglas County-based Starz is focusing on unconventional time lengths-- like 10-minute acting auditions and stand-up comic routines-- that bolster the network's focus on films while comporting with video-on-demand viewing habits.

The revolution will be televised.

This is worth keeping an eye on. Who really needs more than ten minutes of exposure? Just a nice, tight ten minute set, repeated over and over at various times of day, over a period of weeks. If it gets a good response, agitate for another one. Sounds good.

We were sad to hear that Don Knotts died on Friday. We actually had the pleasure of meeting Knotts. That's him in the middle. On the other side of him is Chicago Comedy Festival honcho Dan Carlson. The SHECKYmagazine staff were thrilled to be invited to a meeting of Yarmy's Army in April of 2000, at Jerry's Deli in Los Angeles. Knotts was among the many legendary comics and writers present at that meeting. Read our account of that encounter here.

"Nothing is off limits," says the woman in charge of beating the bushes for tapes and DVD's for Simon Cowell's next show. Actually, it's his next next show-- the one that hits the airwaves after his show seeking inventions and their inventors debuts. Busy (and, we assume, wealthy) man, that Simon is.

I am casting for a new reality show with Simon Cowell and we are looking for a variety of different talents. The more unique and more personality the better! The show is just starting up, so nothing is off limits. We want everything from jugglers, magicians, comedians, acrobats, animal trainers or bands. I would love it if you could send me demo VHS tapes or DVDs of anyone who may be interested by the middle of next week. You may send them to:

Becky Cattie
Fremantle Media
2700 Colorado Ave Ste:450
Santa Monica, CA 90404

Better hurry.

Sharp-eyed reader Terry Reilly sent us the link to a WSJ story ("A Comic's Quarter Century of Smooth Sailing") about a 25-year veteran of performing on cruise ships, or as author Joanne Kaufman calls it, the "saltwater circuit."

"You play Vegas and you have to cheer up the losers. You play nightclubs and you have to avoid the drunks," explains Mr. Sherman, 74, who speaks from considerable experience. "On a cruise ship the audiences want you to be good. They're rooting for you. It's rare that you encounter any hostility."

74-year-old Don Sherman is profiled in this piece. Worth reading for the telescoped account of one man's zig-zag path through show business. (And for the reference to Hey, Landlord. If it wasn't so easy to look things up on the internet, we'd give something away to the first person to email us with the reason Hey, Landlord is of any significance to a magazine about standup. But it is. So we won't.)

Apparently, that's what they call it, "Post-K," as in Pfter Katrina. We got an email from FOS Bill "Wild Bill" Dykes, catching us up on the comedy scene in New Orleans now that the wind has died down and the flood waters have receded:

Hey all:

Just a quick 411 on the state of things here in NOLA. Gearing up for Mardi Gras (pulling out old Halloween costumes to recycle for Fat Tuesday, bingeing on Po-Boys, beer and King Cake...same old.) Jodi Borello is kicking it in a new location in River Ridge on Fridays (with a little help from Louis Duet, formerly of Martine's). They are at www.thecomedystand.com.

Our open mic night has moved to Lucy's Retired Surfers Bar on Wednesday nights. Averaging 10 to 15 newbies and crusty vets a week. Seems there is a bigger demand for funny in post-K NOLA. Crowds have been consistent, and venues are more open to supporting new shows. My company (Stand Up NOLA) is producing the open mic, as well as a show March 24th at One Eyed Jacks with Doug Stanhope, and a fundraiser for Orleans parish schools on April 7th at the Howlin' Wolf with Marc Maron and Bryan Callen.

Hope to have you back soon. Keep up the good work, and I'll keep you all up to date on our slowly healing town.

peace,

bd

The Forward ran a brief item on Yossi Vassa ("Ethiopian Comic Mines History For Laughs"), an Ethiopian Israeli comic. (Check out that byline-- Loolwa Khazzoom!) Vassa was among a few thousand Ethiopian Jews chased to Sudan, then airlifted to Israel back in the '80s and 90's, all the while avoiding starvation, extermination and "villagization." Kinda makes The Big Move look like a stroll in the park!

Vassa's four-week tour — which was designed to coincide with Black History Month — offered American audiences a hilarious, though sometimes painful, glimpse into the lot of Israel's Ethiopian community.

"We dreamed of Jerusalem for 3,000 years, then got dumped in Netanya. That's like spending three millennia pining for Manhattan, and ending up in New Jersey."

We were vaguely aware of the plight of his people prior to seeing this. After reading a brief history of Ethiopian Jews, it's a wonder he can laugh about it!

Word on the street is that Jay Mohr will produce, but not host. The hosting duties, it is rumored, are being offered to Anthony Clark.

Jon Stewart, participating in the Oscar buildup, has probably spent much of the last two weeks on the horn to major dailies from around the globe. And they all ask pretty much the same inane questions-- Are you nervous? What if you bomb?

Stewart, being the professional comic (and wiseass) that he is, handles the queries with aplomb (and a bit of sarcasm):

But if he's nervous, he's not showing it.

"If I had to go out there and surf, that would be a problem," Stewart says. "But you know, it's just comedy."

and

"I've bombed in front of many fine audiences filled with many talented people," he says. "And if this is that night, well, that's the way it goes."

Read the rest here.

We've often said that comedians are important to Western culture, but that, with few exceptions, the MSM tends to downplay our contributions and influence. (It's the funny factor. It's the same reason they rarely or never give out Oscars to people who star in a comedy. But standup comics often seem to pop up, if not at the center of important events, just off center.)

We knew there were comics at the heart of the bloody riots that have recently rocked the Muslim world. But comedians?

There's an op-ed piece making the rounds of newspapers worldwide by Flemming Rose, the culture editors of Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, in which he defends his decision to publish the cartoons. You know, those cartoons. And, don't ya know, a comedian figures in the whole mess:

The idea wasn't to provoke gratuitously — and we certainly didn't intend to trigger violent demonstrations throughout the Muslim world. Our goal was simply to push back self-imposed limits on expression that seemed to be closing in tighter.

At the end of September, a Danish standup comedian said in an interview with Jyllands-Posten that he had no problem urinating on the Bible in front of a camera, but he dared not do the same thing with the Koran.

This was the culmination of a series of disturbing instances of self-censorship.[...]

Read the whole thing. If we read it correctly, it seems like the comedian's self-imposed censorship was the last straw, in Rose's mind. He lists a handful of incidents, and it seems that the Danish comic's statement was the last one before the you-know-what hit the oscillating cooling device. (Perhaps the thinking was, "Hell, comedians are crazy! If even the comic won't provoke Muslims gratuitously, there's something seriously wrong out there!)

The saga of Club Soda Kenny continues!

This time, the website for a television station in Florida picked up the story off of United Press International ("Cop Suspended for Night Job as Comic").

It's the same story as appeared in the NYT, but worth noting for two reasons:

1. They chose to put it in their "Weird News" section

2. It was accompanied by the above picture.

We're not quite sure who this guy is. We're fairly certain it's not Club Soda Kenny, though. The URL for the pic indicates that it's a stock photo from Clear Channel (the owner of WPMI, NBC 15, on the Florida panhandle) from their "Miscellaneous" files! We suppose that the web editor plucked it from hundreds because it fit his idea of a what a comedian looks like.

Isn't there some sort of law against this? Well, at the very least, a website or a news outlet should go to some lengths to stress that the fellow in the picture isn't the guy talked about in the story. (That's why you'll often see "File Footage" over an old piece of video when they don't have any fresh video on the subject.) This doesn't help the credibility of the folks at WPMI. (And, if the guy above is a clean comic, he won't appreciate being identified as a suspended cop who is "a standup comic specializing in bathroom humor.")

It's a whole different world up there in Maine. And it appears they have their own humor. Check out this article in the Portsmouth Herald Accent ("50 years after 'Bert and I', Maine humor retains its appeal") to get a feel for the "scene," such as it is.

There are a handful of humorist making a decent living by spinning yarns in the peculiar laid back style that has become part of the Pine Tree State culture.

Contemporary comedian Bob Marley is mentioned, but it's clear that the author perceives Marley as a departure from the traditional humorists.

His brand of comedy, he said, comes at a different pace.

"On The Tonight Show, they want a laugh every 20 seconds. A Maine humorist might take four minutes to get the first laugh," he said.

Maine humor is presented most often at theaters, festivals and professional gatherings, not comedy clubs or bars. Humorists steer clear of off-color language and say they avoid performing in venues where liquor flows because their material demands an audience’s close attention.

Sounds like a corporate gig.

SHECKYmagazine columnist Kid Dave Miller sends along pics and his inimitable prose detailing a recent trip with Ron "Tater Salad" White on a one-nighter extraordinaire!

Turns out the jet wasn't a Lear, but a brand new Raytheon Hawker 400. Close enough.

It had been flown one time. You think new car smell is cool, try new jet smell. The jet seats eight passengers, but there was only 3 of us.

We climbed aboard, taxied into position and the pilot firewalled the throttle. The Hawker climbed like a bottle rocket off the runway and into the instrument conditions above. It seemed like we were in the soup about a minute before coming out on top of a cottony white stratus layer of clouds, on our way to a cruising altitude of 34,000 feet. That's about 34,000 feet higher than the cruising altitude at which I usually travel to comedy shows.

I was on my way to open a show for one of the most popular comedians of all time, in a chartered business jet, with the pilot tossing me beers. Never in my wildest open mic dreams did I ever picture anything like this happening to me, but thanks to the generosity of one Ron White, it was.

Wallow in the full account of Kid Dave's trip from Tater's mansion to a gig in Michigan (with a stopover in Columbus, OH)-- all in the space of nine hours!

Now there's a NYT article on Sgt. Feder, aka "Club Soda Kenny," the former Diceman sidekick and frequent Opie & Anthony guest who is suspended without pay from his gig as an internal affairs investigator for the West Orange (NJ) PD.

But late last month, when a CD of Sergeant Feder's act was mailed to police officials and members of the City Council, the laughter stopped. They suspended him last week and filed departmental charges that could cost him his $88,000-a-year job and his pension.

When we first commented on the case, we opined that the suspension was justified, imagining the sticky situation Feder might find himself in with, say, a speeding motorist. However, we now know that Feder has little or no contact with the public (in the traditional cop sense). But, we still aren't certain that his standup isn't at odds with the department's code of conduct.

Feder's attorney unwittingly made a case for his client's suspension:

He said he suspected that the CD was sent to police officials as an act of retaliation by a rogue police officer Sergeant Feder had investigated. "It's hard to imagine who else might do such a thing," he said.

Oops! Let's see... I'm a cop who investigates other cops... there's an outside chance (just the teeniest, tiniest chance) I might get suspended if somebody finds out I'm telling jokes about screwing my dog... hmmm... I don't suppose I've compromised myself in any way. Not at all. Whew! That was close! (Into intercom) Miss Jones, send in the next (allegedly) dirty cop!

Others are casting this as a free speech issue. The internet is crackling with all manner of foaming, 1st Amendment rhetoric, much of it over the top; some of it from his attorney-- "This is a man who risks his life every day to protect the public and uphold the Constitution," says his lawyer, obviously counting on the reader's ignorance as to Feder's job description. (We've watched enough NYPD Blue's to know that the closest the guys in "IAB" come to risking their lives is via their sedentary lifestyle combined with a high-fat diet.)

Like we said earlier, we haven't heard the last of this story. (Prediction: Feder's attorney will wangle some sort of deal where Feder gets the back pay that he lost during the suspension; Feder apologizes for disgracing the West Orange PD; Feder will promise to keep the child molestation and raping-a-bride-at-knifepoint gags to a minimum over the next few months while Feder's attorney and the department hammer out an early buyout, with full pension. Everybody goes home happy-- West Orange is spared the embarassment, Feder gets his pension, and, most importantly, Feder is free to pursue standup comedy full time! (After you get your puss in the NYT, it should be no problem to secure representation for personal appearances. If Hank the Angry Dwarf could make some coin, it shouldn't be any problem for Club Soda Kenny to make a decent buck cutting ribbons, appearing on O & A and occasionally opening for Jim Norton.) Stay tuned: There's a departmental hearing on Feb. 23!

Las Vegas Casino Death Watch is an online entity entirely devoted to implosions of Vegas casinos. Bookmark it, check it out regularly if you are at all bummed about the disappearance of Old Vegas. (Or Sorta Old Vegas. Let's face it, Old Vegas is gone. And most of us are too young to really remember the Old Vegas.)

On downtown's venerable Golden Gate:

From statements owner Mark Brandenburg has made as well as this hotel's reluctance to ink a new union contract, it sounds like this venerable downtown hotel/casino isn't making a lot of money. While this place may not have elaborate mini-suites, big-name headliners, or gourmet restaurants, we really like this little place. The Golden Gate is probably the casino which best exemplifies the feel of old Glitter Gulch. If we recall correctly, this property first opened in 1906, and it's last major "upgrade" was in 1930. That's a lot of history, and it would be a real shame if the place had to close.

We recall a tremendous late-night breakfast around a large circular table at the Golden Gate during our Comics-Only Reunion back in April of '01. Eight or nine comics (Don Weir, Pat Mac, Kid Dave Miller, to name a few) ordering all manner of unhealthy foods, swapping stories about life on the road, in the clubs or on the stage, staying way past the checks. We'll miss the Gate if it goes down in a cloud of dust.

Word is that Bourbon Street dissolves in a heap TONIGHT!

Those Jean Shepherd CD's from Radio Again will go to Alan Kaye of Egg Harbor Township, NJ!

Mr. Kaye will receive "The X Random Factor" ("8 complete and unabridged classic radio performances by raconteur Jean Shepherd from the archives of Hartwest Productions.")

And "Don't Be A Leaf," in which the master radio storyteller holds forth on "the impact of dirty glasses, shopping for cars with the old man, flyswatters, growing up with the White Sox and the great divide between Southside and Northside baseball fans."

Kaye will get 12 unabridged recordings of some of Jean Shepherd's best work. NINE total hours of humor from the man who brought you "A Christmas Story!"

Congratulations to our winner! And THANKS to all who entered!

A reader, Kliph Nesteroff, writes: Jean Shepherd never did stand-up in the traditional sense, but he did do speaking tours in the same vein that Al Capp did. A comedy record of one of these campus talks by Shepherd was released at the end of the 1960s on Mercury Records titled "The DeClassified Jean Shepherd: The People Have a Right to Know." Added to the record are some strange psychedelic effects at the start in which Shepherd's voice is looped and echoed to some garage guitar music. Thanks, Kliph! (Kliph Nesteroff is a Vancouver based comedian, poet, and record collector. His publication, "Generation Exploitation," covering the world of unusual film and forgotten vinyl records has garnered praise from Vancouver to Baltimore and "sheds light on things that nerds, generally, take too seriously." --Ultra8.ca)

Hollywood Reporter says that principal photography begins Wednesday in Santa Fe, NM, on the Jessica Simpson-Dane Cook movie that's been in the pipeline for a couple months.

The Lionsgate project centers on best friends, played by Cook and Dax Shepard, who work in a Costco-like store and meet a hot new cashier (Simpson) who prefers ambitious men. The men begin an all-out war to become the store's next employee of the month in order to impress her.

Efren Ramirez and Harland Williams will play store employees. Greg Coolidge will make his feature directorial debut on the film.

We swear this is the last time we'll say anything about it until it opens. Promise.

From the New York Post:

A New Jersey cop who moonlights as a comic has been suspended without pay for his gross-out stand-up routine.

Officials say West Orange Police Sgt. John Feder is guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer after he cracked jokes about raping a bride at knifepoint, molesting his own 5-year-old son and bestiality.

Sgt. Feder: Do you have any idea how fast you were going?

West Orange Motorist: Hey! Aren't you that guy who does the bit about diddling your little boy?

Sgt. Feder: That's not the issue here--

West Orange Motorist: You sick bastard! You make jokes about sick shit like that and think you can give me a ticket?!?

You get the idea. We get a little itchy when someone gets canned for doing standup. Perhaps Sgt. Feder should have used a stage name. People with occupations that are far less high-profile often hide their dalliances with standup, fearful of what their bosses or co-workers might think. We don't anticipate seeing a lawsuit from Sgt. Feder any time soon. Perhaps he should literally give up his day job.

It's called "95 Miles to Go" and it's at the South By Southwest fest in Austin. Sketchy details (from the SXSW site) are available:

95 Miles to Go
Dir: Tom Caltabiano; Cast: Ray Romano, Tom Caltabiano, Roger Lay, Jr.
Sitcom star Ray Romano documents his unpredictable stand-up comedy tour through Middle America. (WORLD PREMIERE)

Caltibiano was a comic at one time who abandoned the boards for a writing gig on Romano's long-running series. The fest runs March 10-19.

Nile Seguin is a Toronto-based standup comic who has written for TV and has been around the JFL block more than once. He has written our first "Guest Set," in which a reader is given the opportunity to hold forth on a subject which has not heretofore been addressed in the pages of this magazine. In Seguin's case, he talks about anxiety attacks:

The problem is that I'm thinking. I'm thinking about whether or not this is going to be one of the times I have an anxiety attack. Of course, with something like that, all you have to do is ask the question and it's on. It's like the Beetlejuice of mental luggage. Speak the name and it comes.

Read the rest

Doug Hecox, Writer of Wrongs, tries speed dating as a last resort. In his latest column, "Four Minutes To Fame," he ticks off the various ways for a comedian to get un-single:

...dating for comedians is a challenge. As I continue to discover, many of my single friends are no longer single-- and most of their friends are no longer single either. This tried-and-true "friend-of-a-friend" approach to dating, even for a demi-celebrity like me, is rapidly facing extinction.

I’ve tried it all. I tried "It’s Just Lunch"-- and they lie. It’s just $1,500.

Reasoning that online dating makes sense for someone on the road, I tried Match.com. It didn’t take long for me to conclude that the National Sex Offender Registry is both cheaper AND more effective.

Check out the rest!

From the JFL website, the remaining showcases throughout most of the English-speaking world:

Montreal showcase

* Friday, February 10 at 8:30pm - Ernie Butler's Comedy Nest
* Monday, February 13 at 9:00pm - The Comedy Works

Ottawa showcase

* Tuesday, February 21 - Absolute Comedy

Los Angeles showcase

* Wednesday, February 8 - Improv
* Thursday, February 9 - Improv
* Wednesday, March 22 - Improv
* Wednesday, March 29 - Improv

Dublin showcase

* Thursday, March 2 - Vicar Street

London showcase

* Monday, March 6 - Comedy Store

FOS John Kensil sent us the URL for a New York Post interview (free reg. required) of FOS Ron White. The interview, conducted by FOS Larry Getlen. Says White, of fellow Texans Hicks and Kinison:

I was just in awe of Hicks, who I thought was infinitely better than Kinison. If you look at the body of work Bill Hicks produced in such a short period of time, it's amazing, and unlike anything anyone else had ever done. Kinison taught comedians that the crowd can genuinely not like you and you can still make them laugh, but Kinison's body of work is not that big, and the subsequent shots didn't hold up as well. Hicks was getting better and better every year. He was by far, in my opinion, the only comedian that mattered when he died.

No mention of a connection to standup comedy is made in the obit of Al Lewis, who co-starred in the ghastly Addams Family ripoff The Munsters. But Lewis for a brief period in the mid-90s lent his name to a comedy club in Queens. Actually, it was named not after Lewis, but after his durable television character "Grandpa."

Lewis, with his wife at his bedside, passed away Friday night, said Bernard White, program director at WBAI-FM, where the actor hosted a weekly radio program. White made the announcement on the air during the Saturday slot where Lewis usually appeared.

FOS Joe Starr writes:Al Lewis was 92. And I know his club was in Staten Island. I played there many times. To which the Male Half of the Staff replies: The wire services initially reported that Lewis was 95 years old. Hours later, they adjusted it (as did we) to 82. We may never know! As for the location of the club, I worked there, too, but only once. And we trust Starr's geography over our own. Staten Island it is/was! Thanks!

Jim Slotek, writing in Jam! Showbiz, interviews Yuk Yuks Grande Fromage Mark Breslin on his Laugh Off comedy contest and the implementation of new technology in the promotion of Mark Bres... er, the promotion of standup comedy.

The conversation turns to the vagaries of contests.

"In this case, since everybody's competing randomly with 10 minutes of stage time, it's conceivable a relative newcomer could defeat a really well-known and well-versed comic. The new guy could have just as strong a 10 minutes as a headliner. It's when you make people do 40 or 50 minutes that you see how it stratifies. But on the level of a 10-minute set, it's kind of democratic."

Breslin is the programmer of XM's latest new channel, Laugh Attack, which features the comedy of Canadian comics. Some folks are saying that the rotation is too tight. (We can attest to that!) But Breslin attributes this to the relatively small number of Canadian comics. "Here, there are only 400 comics in the country. You're going to hear things over and over." On this, we must disagree. We attribute the tightness to the paucity of digitally recorded live standup featuring Canadian comics. Hell, up until just a couple of years ago, many Canadian comics we would encounter were still checking their email from coffee houses. It seemed as though our compadres up north were the victims of high computer prices, exorbitant internet access charges and oppressive taxation on each. We suspect that similar impediments prevented digital recording as well. (Although, what do we know? We're just doltish, bloodthirsty, imperialistic Americans. At least that's what we learned from listening to just a couple hours of Laugh Attack.)

On the overarching issue of live standup, however, we can all agree with Breslin when he says:

"People will always want to go out. Watching or listening at home is not the same. Nothing beats the spiritual connection of laughing with strangers."

Amen, Brother Breslin, amen.

Jason Budjinski, writing a tease of an upcoming theater event in a Florida alterna-rag, has this lovely lede:

When we see photos of comics posing with U.S. troops in Iraq, its tempting to think of it as crass opportunism-- another attempt by American entertainers to cash in on 9/11.

Tempting? Maybe for a shallow, cynical douchebag like Jason Budjinski it's tempting. The rest of us see an entertainer risking his life to bring a couple yucks to people who either bored out of their minds or risking their lives on a near-daily basis. We suspect that Mr. Budjinski felt himself between a rock and a hard place: How do I say something positive about comedian Tom Irwin's one-man show "25 Days In Iraq" and not sound as though I endorse the policies of the imperialistic regime headed by Bushy McChimpHitler? We think he handled it well. (Sarcasm alert.)

Watch it... or just read this.

One of the "Ten great places to sit down and watch standup," according to the April 1, 2005, USA Today article (that was built solely from information and pithy quotes supplied by this publication), has been sold. The Raleigh News & Observer story says that:

Brad Reeder, a standup comic who broke into the business by performing tableside magic tricks at Goodnight's while in college, bought the club last month. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Reeder also owns Laff Trax in Nags Head, and he operates an entertainment booking business.

Goodnight's was founded in 1983 by Tom Williams, who ran the club for two decades before selling it to Reeder. In that time, Goodnight's became an established stop on the standup circuit. The list of comedians who have performed at Goodnight's includes Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Robin Williams, Dave Chappelle, Ray Romano and Ellen DeGeneres.

(Full disclosure: The editorial staff of this publication-- both of us-- will be headlining there March 16-19.)

From NBC.com:

FEBRUARY 21
Los Angeles, CA
Hollywood Improv
8162 Melrose
Los Angeles, CA 90046

FEBRUARY 27
Tempe, AZ
Tempe Improv
930 University Dr
Tempe AZ, 85281

MARCH 2
Austin, TX
Capital City Comedy Club
8120 Research Boulevard
Austin, TX 78758

MARCH 5
Chicago, IL
Zanies
1548 N. Wells St.
Chicago, IL 60610

MARCH 7
NYC
Caroline's
1626 Broadway
New York, NY 10009

MARCH 12
Miami
Coconut Grove Improv
3390 Mary St., 182
Coconut Grove, FL 33133

From a NY Post item on an upcoming roast of Michael Jackson's molestation trial attorney Tom Mesereau:

Roasters have been told to steer clear of mocking Jackson because he's still Mesereau's client, although his pals are probably going to violate that gag order.

It will be two hours of "His hair is so white..."

Andrew Wallenstein writing in the Hollywood Reporter ("Laugh tracks standing up on iTunes") says that-- whaddya know?-- standup comics are wildly popular downloads for folks using video iPods.

That's actually not a joke: MTV Networks has been surprised to discover that low-profile stand-up specials from its Comedy Central channel are outperforming such better-known franchises as MTV's Laguna Beach and Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants since striking a deal last week to bring 14 different MTVN series to iTunes' growing roster of TV downloads for video iPods.

Not sure what Laguna Beach is, but it is huge news when something-- anything-- outperforms SpongeBob. It's a sign that the technology has been pried from the tiny fingers of the tots and is maturing ever so slowly.

As of Wednesday, three of Comedy Central's stand-up specials have broken into the top 20 TV attractions ranked by Apple. Only the most recent episode of ABC's Lost is ahead of up-and-coming comic Dane Cook; cult favorite Mitch Hedberg is at No. 5, while The Daily Show grouch Lewis Black is at No. 15. Two more comics are ranked 36th and 76th.

We tried-- honest we did-- to find out who the "two more comics" were, but Apple's website is so achingly dull and muddled that we eventually gave up finding their video download rankings. If we had to guess, we'd say, it was Ron White and Dan Whitney.

From Hollywood Reporter ("Fox orders comedy, drama pilots") comes word that Fox is cooking up a variety show.

Bash, shooting Thursday night in Hollywood, is described as a modern take on the old-time variety show that mixes the format of a celebrity roast with sketch comedy. Johnny Knoxville, Jenny McCarthy, Bob Saget and Jeff Garland are listed as featured guests

We have long held that the variety show is a good thing for standup comics. It gave many comics regular, national exposure in the first three decades of television. Then it ceased. (The suits will tell you that the format is dead. Just like they always proclaim that the sitcom is dead. They like to cite Dolly as the reason no one attempts a variety show any more. Of course, that was 1976, but suits are kinda like aboriginal Australians for their ability to pass on knowledge verbally, from generation to generation.) The real perp when it comes to the death of the variety format was Market Segmentation. (Oddly enough, the same thing is happening to network news.) But all is not lost. The format is merely in a vegetative state.

And then along comes Fox, and Jeffery/Jeffrey Ross. Although you would never be able to devine it, Ross has something to do with Bash, and he may in fact be the host. Witness this bulletin that is currently flying around myspace:

Comedian Jeffrey Ross is shooting a new Television show for the FOX network at the:

Avalon Nightclub/Theater
Thursday, February 2nd.

The show is a unique blend of Jeffreys no-holds-barred comedy mixed with his specialty celebrity-style roasts.

Many BIG Celebrities will be attending!

BASH will be a BLAST! BIG COMEDY EVENT! TON's of LAUGHTER!

We would love to have you join us in the special VIP section of the Avalon Theater in Hollywood (1735 Vine Street) for the taping of BASH.

Arrival is at 6:30pm.

Parking is available in the lot adjacent to the theater.

Please mention that you are there for the VIP parking.

Please ask for Erin Brett at the theater entrance.

Call Erin at (818)487-5060 with any questions.

The Ed Sullivan Show was "fun for the entire family," which would explain its popularity. In this day and age, however, no such thing as fun for the entire family exists. Perhaps in the new age of Market Segmentation, Bash will be a close approximation.

Yahoo!/Reuters/Hollywood Reporter is reporting that:

Sirius will produce and program the new channel in partnership with Parallel Entertainment, which represents the Blue Collar Comedy troupe of Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall. They'll be featured on the channel along with others. Financial terms of the detail were not announced.

We like that part about "along with others." Where's Ron White? (Speaking of White, did anyone see his panel appearance on Tonight last night? A home run.) We wonder what the criteria will be for inclusion on the new channel. A southern accent? A certain unnamed sensibility? Representation by Parallel? So many questions.

Of course, just by mentioning the video for the single from Fiona Apple's latest CD, we participate in their little game. The clip is actually amusing and it features (Friend of Apple) Zach Galifianakis lip-synching to one of Apple's patented angst-fests.

To nutshell it, the story goes like this:

Fiona Apple's clip for the song "Not About Love" took one day to shoot, cost her only a few digital tapes and was never intended to be a proper music video.

And the director (Yes, there is a director!) and she just walked over to Zach's house and shot the video for 27 bucks and change and blah, blah, blah.

The supposedly on-the-cheap video (and it's Blair Witchian, hoaxial back story) is most likely part of a guerilla marketing campaign intended to distract angst-ridden teens from the fact that Apple toils for Sony/BMG. That label had annual revenue last year of $21 billion! (That's "billion" with a "B!") And Apple is the opening act on the upcoming North American tour of Cold Play. (Whose front man, you'll recall, made international headlines last year by saying the most inane things about the "evil profits" of international music conglomerates. "Shareholders are the great evil of this modern world," he said, with a straight face.) They're also spreading the idea that some of Apple's tunes have been "leaked" to radio stations and they've started an online campaign to determine "Whatever happened to Fiona Apple."

It's a slicker, updated, new media version of "Paul is dead."

And it's not unlike what Rolling Rock and Rheingold and other barely drinkable beers are doing to promote their swill to college students.

Targeting hard-to-reach consumers who often relish the fact that they're light years away from the mainstream is the goal of non-traditional advertising, sometimes called guerrilla, viral or grassroots marketing. The non-traditional methods also fly under the radar of many consumers and, in many cases, aren't immediately recognized as advertising or marketing tactics.

But it is amusing, so go check it out.