The Laugh Button: Reggie Watts…Daytrotter
If you’ve never paid a visit to the website Daytrotter.com, I highly suggest that you do so. It’s a pretty extensive and terrific catalog of some of rock’s most interesting bands and characters. They have bands record live versions of their songs and release the MP3s free to the world. It’s…
Contrary what was posted earlier, the Comedy Store released a few more tickets to the nearly sold out Friday show in the Main Room. Get them here because tickets for tonight are now sold out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycjR1zMllZ8
Mash Up
with TJ Miller and reenactment help from Doug BensonIt’s comedy… visualized. Dear Comedy Central, please put this up somewhere to download. I would pay cash money to see this again.
I concur, MASH-UP NEEDS TO BE ON TV OR SOME OTHER BROADCAST MEDIUM WHERE EVERYONE CAN WATCH. Cue your own personal Mash-Up chant.
THIS MONDAY! Finish off your Memorial Day celebrations with some Brand X recommended BRUNCH!
This month we’ll be serving:
Will Weldon (Bridgetown Comedy Festival)
Eddie Pepitone (The Sarah Silverman Program)
Sean Conroy (Upright Citizens Brigade)
April Richardson (Chelsea Lately)
Andres Du Bouchet (Conan)Don’t miss out!
RSVP on Facebook here: http://tinyurl.com/BrunchComedy4
The Comedy Garage was rescheduled to make their rise from the ashes tonight in Silverlake, but are now relocating tonight’s festivities to Echo Park-1150 Sunvue Pl. #2, Los Angeles, CA.
Still on the line-up: Chris Fairbanks, Brandon Vaughn, April Richardson, Matt Braunger, Jim Hamilton, Paul Danke, Sean Green, and Cornell Reid.
Special thanks NEEDS to go out to Amaya Perea and Abbey Londer for saving the night.
In so many words, you need to go to the Comedy Garage tonight to feed the house party/comedy show hunger you know you have.
It’s a rare thing to catch any comic, good or bad, doing more than 10 minutes in LA.
Tonight, you have to catch some of best stand-ups in LA actually headline. Pete Holmes (before recording his album) and Thai Rivera (who just recorded his album) who crush going up anywhere in and around town are now getting their night.
Don’t miss it (especially if you missed out on Stanhope headline the Comedy Store or Baron Vaughn record his album).
GO TO:
Pete Holmes at the Hollywood Improv (8162 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA) $18/2 item min./7:30PM–9:30PM
&
Thai Rivera at the Irvine Improv (71 Fortune Rd., Irvine, CA #841) $17/2 item min./11PM
Backstage Video of WTF! w/Marc Maron
Maron wandering around the Steve Allen Theater before his live taping chatting with Eddie Pepitone, BJ Novak, and Joel McHale (whom he asks about performing stand-up before he should have).
Go Kart Racing (Accidentally Masturbating) by Garfunkel and Oates. Have a fun Memorial Day Weekend everybody thinking about this the whole time.
#brainboxupdate: Met a weird guy at open mike. (not the first time that’s been said,…
Met a weird guy at open mike. (not the first time that’s been said, I’m sure). THEN he came up to me at ** and ask if I’d be in his webseries and then asked me if I wanted any material that he had “acquired”. I said… “don’t say acquired, it sounds like you stole it.” him, “Oh, I did.” NOT OKAY… I…
Jackie, do not feel bad for this person.
This anomaly in the comedy world not only steals jokes, but openly admits to it as if it’s an OK thing to do. They’re also the type of person that probably blackmails their way into audition for Last Comic Standing, Live at Gotham, or a major comedy club and, again, thinks all of that is OK. At an open mic, this is the type of person that shouldn’t be talking to anybody, much less pitching projects or giving advice because elsewhere they have the type of reputation of an artistic leper that everyone absolutely stays away from (and reputation travels pretty damn fast; just ask Jason Garrett).
The worst part about people like this is that they have been in comedy for almost too long. They should know better. In the years they’ve worked through in comedy, they should know how hard it is to come up with and hone a comedy act. Yet, whether or not they acknowledge the tribulations of taking a path as a comedic performer that often has no distinct direction, they stick to their philosophy of “whatever it takes” to reach a goal that they, hopefully, never attain.
So, once again, do not feel bad, Jackie. Do not feel bad at all.
Remain Champagne: “DO NOT ANNOY.”
I don’t often travel, but when I do, signs like these are the best part. Really? The best part? Maybe. Sometimes. You know why? Because they work. I think they do. (I feel like one of these signs has been hanging outside of every apartment I’ve ever lived in.) I personally can’t…
I hope Matt Champagne compiles all of these into a book someday…
This Is Not A Form Of Brainwashing of the Day: The Whitest Kids U’ Know versus The Pledge of Allegiance.
[abp.]
I don’t like reblogging the Daily What because I assume everyone already follows it, but still…this deserves it.
I concur with Kyle. I, like hundreds of other people, just want this on my feed.
Immutable/Inscrutable.: A Suggestion About the Massive Cultural Impact of Comedy and Improv.
People in the comedy world: please forgive this klutzy attempt to insert myself into your role in society.
I’ve had a peripheral role in the New York comedy universe for a little while, as a musical guest. I went to the old Luna shows on Ludlow Street in the 90s, and it just astonishes me how…
It’s almost a similar situation, as this post about poor coverage of NYC comedy suggests, in LA. The LA Times and other major LA news publications are starting to get the message, but a play at the Pantages will get more coverage than Doug Stanhope doing 2 nights at the Comedy Store or Patton Oswalt running through his hour before recording his album or the hilarious talents of Jay Larson, Baron Vaughn, or Andres Du Bouchet recording their albums in town (all of this happened/is happening with the span of month). Every night the top in stand-up, sketch, and improv are out there performing often for little cost and certainly less than $90 or so dollars you’d pay to see “God of Carnage”. You can see the founders of Upright Citizens Brigade do improv at the UCB Theatre in Hollywood, hilarious sketch shows that could give SNL a run for it’s money if it had a chance usually for less than $10.
Yet, dedicated comedy fans, for the most part, that are “in-the-know” are the people that go out to see shows. Just like in NYC, comedy in LA is a vibrant movement that with or without anyone saying anything about it that continues to evolve into a more sophisticated and diverse “art scene” every second. Those moments in history that people often wish that “they were there” is essentially happening right now for all the reasons I’ve listed above and more. A list of names of people coming up through the ranks, running through open mics, putting on and promoting their own shows would be endless, but that’s why more coverage is needed, certainly beyond the efforts of one incredibly understaffed comedy blog/site.
Here at the Comedy Bureau, we try to be a voice for the creative swell in comedy in LA more and more everyday, but, as of the current moment, we can only reach so many people. Hopefully (and I’m fully aware of how baseless a word that can be), through that will change soon.
The Black Empowerment Network presents “SAY BROTHER”
written & directed by DeMorge Brown (aka Leite Preto).
starring DeMorge Brown and Emily Maya Mills.
w/Matt Peters, Willy Roberts, Leina Naversen, Becky Garcia, Dan Murrell, Denver Smith, Lejon Stewart, Matt Olsen, and Lola the jackal.
massive contributions in camera, fx, editing, aesthetics and general enthusiasm from morgan locke and zach zdiebko.
animation by Steven Chunn, Kelsy Abbott, Jennifer Ruiz&Evan Harbuck.
2nd unit by aaron moles, spencer strauss.
special thanks to Devin Mcnulty and Human Resources Gallery — chinatown, los angeles.
The Black Entertainment Network-gloriously absurdist (not in the Ralph Ellison “Invisible Man” way, just really funny)
Puddin’-Eddie Pepitone’s Live Action Comic Strip-“Memorial Day”
Note: You’ll look at Christopher Walken’s monologue in Pulp Fiction in a much different light after this.
Are You Playing A Game You Can Win With Your Comedy Career?
It used to be that the comedy “game” could only really be played one way – in order to succeed you needed to win over the gatekeepers (Hollywood executives, comedy club owners, etc.) and convince them to give you a career.
This was extremely difficult of course, but you could take some level of comfort in its simplicity – there was a clear map to success and understandable rules of the game.
But now, as the comedy business has been disrupted by technology in recent years, the game has changed and you’re forced to figure out for yourself what game you actually want to play.
This is a tremendous opportunity of course, but many comedians don’t see it as such. It’s easier to get frustrated and confused. To get bitter as your peers figure out ways to succeed by playing a game that you didn’t even know existed.
In comedy, just like in life, some people embrace disruptions while others run from them. But nothing good ever comes from running from a disruption.
So faced with this comedy disruption, here’s a question to ask yourself:
Are you playing a game you can win?
Agreed. You can’t just be a stand-up comedian these days and expect to make it. The path of the creative in the entertainment industry, not just comedy, is so circuitous, you really have to carve your own path if you expect to get anywhere.
Nerdist Industries Presents:
When it comes to movies, there is bad-bad and good-fun-over-the-top bad. Join Eli Olsberg as he invites some comedians in celebrating the latter. Each comic brings in a movie of their choice and after watching a clip/trailer from all of them, the audience votes as to which one they watch and provide deep, insightful, Criterion-style commentary on it aka make fun of the movie.
Since the show is on the cusp of our Nation’s Birthday, the theme will be Patriotic Action Films! So will it be something with Chuck Norris? Navy SEALs? Red Dawn? Something else you’ve never head of? You decide!
This month’s guests:
Pete Holmes
Kumail Nanjiani
Rory ScovelSaturday, June 25th @ 8pm, $10 w/a food truck and candy/soda available, just like you were at the movies, except this time the running commentary is welcome!
Tix here: http://www.meltcomics.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=62
Please “Two Thumbs Way Down!!!” rip on Green Berets, easily one of John Wayne’s worst, that was actually arranged as a pro-government propaganda film supporting military action in Vietnam.
Also, this is another reason you shouldn’t miss events at the Nerdist Theater at the back room of Meltdown Comics.
“…long white T-shirt. He’s armed with a gun and a knife located at the rear of his backpack.”-random excerpt from LAPD Police Scanner
True to the title of this post, the offices of the Comedy Bureau are currently listening to You Are Listening To Los Angeles, which is an audio mash-up of the LAPD police scanner and a shuffled playlist of ambient music via SoundCloud. It’s the soundtrack to the office, lately. At times, it’s existential and at others it’s slightly disturbing, but, for the most part, I visualize the openings to either Falling Down or Blade Runner on repeat permanently. Why can’t You Are Listening to Los Angeles conjure up images of 500 Days of Summer (despite plenty of you hating that movie, it showed a side of LA that isn’t shown during Lakers games)?
Unfortunately, the film most indicative of You Are Listening to Los Angeles would most likely be Crash, which we hate. Everyone at the Bureau hates that film, which takes its overly heavy handed (bordering on ingenuine) comment on racism and furthers the idea that LA represents 6 or 7 out of the 9 rings of hell described in the Inferno by Dante. As good as it is “white noise” to write to, we can’t help but be aware of the fact that is a real police scanner reporting real incidents that are being investigated, reported, or possibly need back up on against ethereal soundscapes. Perhaps, it’s a call to shut up some pesky kids making some noise in the Silverlake/Los Feliz/Echo Park area where many comedy shows take place in living rooms, garages, back yards, etc.
This is not LA. Many people choose to project the horrible misfortune of their own lives on this city because attribute perceived failure to LA supposedly chewing up their dreams and spitting them out, then pretending to care about you making ends meet. The truth is any major metropolitan center where millions flock to has a certain element of that self-perpetuating misery. When it comes to comedy, you can see people bomb, get bitter, vengeful, break up sketch/improv groups, or steal jokes anywhere.
The opposite of the popular image of LA as a dystopia that never seems to just break down into chaos is also true. There are plenty of people, LA transplants and native Los Angelenos alike, that have found their way in this massive collection of cement, steel, and ceaseless traffic (you’ll never hear true silence in Los Angeles county). People do have souls here. People do make it here. That’s why we’re overcrowded in Los Angeles because everyone’s vying for that slice of the pie chart that makes it. For every comedy show that comes to an end, there’s five to take it’s place. As Patton Oswalt pleaded with people at the independently produced comedy show, the Comedy Palace, a few weeks ago while running through his hour special, you never know when you’ll see the next bunch of comedians to make it to the top at some coffee shop. There are so many coffee shops in the plethora of LA neighborhoods that aren’t Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, East LA, and South Central as so often depicted on TV and movies wher
With that in mind, if you are really listening to Los Angeles, then put down your headphones, and step outside because you have already missed too much (like Drennon Davis’ Imaginary Radio at the Nerdist Theater–simply incredible and only about 12 people saw it).
Episode #5
Brian Gallivan and Mike Leffingwell Two of the Sassiest Improvisers in LA.
