The Definitive Guide to Comedy
We may not have Aspen this winter, but we still have Aspen. You follow? Allow me to explain. After years of rumoring to do so, HBO finally pulled out of Aspen and its sponsorship of the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, the nation’s main event for the comedy industry to scout …
Just got an email from John Kerry, yes the U.S. Sen. John Kerry from Massachusetts who couldn’t figure out how to beat President George W. Bush in an election four years ago, and he wants us all to vote for Barack Obama. Which means bad news for Obama, right? Am …
A new day for The Comic’s Comic. We now have our own channel on Dailymotion. First up: A slice of life on the Greenwich Village sidewalk outside the Comedy Cellar, in which we capture Robert Kelly asking Dan Naturman about his bedtime ritual. Almost edited the end of this, but …
The old adage/joke tells us that the most important thing in comedy is…wait for it…wait for it…timing. Well, that’s what they told us then. Talk to just about anyone in the funny business these days and they’ll all eventually say how much you need to promote yourself to get ahead …
Some club owners rely on "bringer" shows, requiring comedians to bring paying audience members with them to ensure a decent turnout. Here’s another way: Book 50 comedians for your show and they’ll fill the room themselves. Heck, why not make it 70?! That’s not quite what was in the mindset …
An overflowing crowd — 320 crammed in the main room, standing room only watching on closed circuit from the bar — filled Comix last night to witness a touch of Saturday Night Live and raise money for the Writers Guild of America in their ongoing strike. Host Jason Sudeikis (Strike …
Jon Stewart returned with a unibrow and a title change: A Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He had a Cornell professor in labor relations on as his guest to talk about the WGA strike. Twas all about the strike. Stephen Colbert had no intro for his intro and no words …
Aziz Ansari has switched his blog to the newfangled hippity hoppity Tumblr format. Today we learn that Human Giant will have a best-of highlights reel from last year’s 24-hour MTV marathon included in its Season 1 DVD package that comes out March 4. That includes musical guests Mastodon, Ted Leo, …
Whom do you prefer? Are they the same thing? I’ve often told friends and acquaintances that I much prefer associating with, hanging around and talking to comedians rather than actual people. As if comedians are not actual people. Well, they’re not. At least when you spend half of your life …
While everyone was talking about Leno and Kimmel agreeing to go on each other’s shows to break the strike, or wondering how Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert would come back on the air, or buzzing about the return of The L Word, or how The Wire is the greatest show …